Following Righteousness and Mercy

He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor.

Proverbs 21:21

Proverbs is, of course, the book of wisdom.  And it has much to say about the things that we pursue, or follow after.  In this verse, the Bible tells us that if we will follow after righteousness and mercy, not only will we find righteousness and mercy, but we will also find life and honor.  In reality, when we follow after righteousness and mercy, we are following after the Lord.  He is righteous and He is merciful.  The Bible says that “all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”.  We don’t have any righteousness of our own.  The only righteousness we have is of and through Christ.  When we follow Him, we obtain His mercy, we obtain His righteousness, we obtain His life, and we obtain His honor. 

The question is- what are we following after?  If we are following after evil, Proverbs tells us that we will find it.  If we are following after the Lord, the Bible is full of promises that tell us that we will find Him.  Actually, even if we aren’t following Him, He is looking for us.  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”.  He is always waiting for us to turn to Him and to come to Him.  If we do, we will have Him and we will have everything He offers.  What a wonderful promise!

The Iniquity of Us All

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6

Every single one of us has “gone astray”.  Every single one of us has turned to our way.  Romans tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.  There is not one person among us who can say that we have not sinned.  There is not one person among us who can say that we have lived a righteous life in the sight of God and have always perfectly followed Him.  We are all sinners. 

But “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all”.  That is an incredible thought when you stop to think about it.  God took all of our sin.  All of it.  All of the sins you have ever committed and will ever commit and all of the sins I have ever committed and will ever commit.  Think of all the people that statement applies to.  Think of all of the sin that statement encompasses.  God took all of that huge mass of vile, wicked sin and laid it all on His Son, Jesus.  And He did all of that for us. 

It is true that “all we like sheep have gone astray”, but it is also true that “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all”.  We have sinned, but that sin was paid for in full on the cross.  What a beautiful truth- may we never forget it.

Where is our Trust?

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.  They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

Psalm 20:7-8

What are we trusting in today?  In this passage, the Psalmist tells us that some are trusting in chariots and some are trusting in horses.  I doubt if any of us are literally trusting in chariots or horses, but there are many things apart from the Lord that we can attempt to put our trust in.

Some of us may trust in our strength or our wealth.  Both of those things, as it tells us in verse 8, are brought down and fallen.  Strength eventually fails.  It’s easy to trust in yourself when you are young and strong, but as you get older, your strength tends to start leaving you.  Strength is a vain thing in which to place your trust.  There is nothing wrong with having money and wealth, but it is a terrible thing in which to place your trust.  Money is easily lost, spent and used.  Wealth might be made to last a generation or two, but at the end of your life, what good is it you?  Wealth can not buy admission to Heaven, nor can it buy forgiveness of sins.  Strength and wealth are nice things, but they are not things in which to put our trust.

The only sure thing that we can trust absolutely with no doubts is the Lord.  The Psalmist says that “we will remember the name of the Lord” and that when others around us are fallen, we “are risen” and “stand upright”.  Where is our trust?  It’s either in ourselves or in the Lord.

Describing the Bible, Part II

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The statutes of the Lord right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:7-10

We looked at some of the characteristics of the Bible yesterday as found in these verses.  Today, we will look at some of the results of those characteristics.

1. It “converts the soul”
-Without the Word of God, how would we know about the salvation that it offers?  We would be hopelessly lost in the world without it.

2. It “makes wise the simple”
-We are born “simple”.  We just don’t know the things we need to know.  The Bible helps us with that.  If we will read it, study it and obey it, we will gain wisdom.

3. It “rejoices the heart”
-Outside of the statutes of the Lord, we have no real joy.  Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5.  We can rejoice in that we have found the truth!

4. It “enlightens our eyes”
-The Bible is referred to as a “lamp” in Psalm 119.  It illuminates the way through a dark world.  It is the only true source of light.

5. It “endures forever”
-There is no end to the Bible and to the Lord.  It endures forever.

When we stop to think about all of the things that the Bible and the Lord give us, how can we not be thankful?  How can we not praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy to us?  It saves us, makes us wise, gives us light to direct our way, gives us joy and rejoicing and it will never end.  What an amazing book!

Describing the Bible, Part I

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The statutes of the Lord right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:7-10

This is a great passage dealing with different things that the Bible and the Lord do for us.  Verses seven through nine deal with specific attributes:

1. The law of the Lord is perfect
-There is nothing more perfect than the law of the Lord.  The law of the Lord is found in the Bible.  It is perfect and we can neither add to it nor take away from it.

2. The testimony of the Lord is sure
-There is no doubt about anything when the Lord speaks.  It is sure.  The Bible tells us that His Word is forever settled in Heaven (Psalm 119:89)

3. The statutes of the Lord are right
-There are many things in the world today that are wrong, but the things found in the Bible are always and forever right.

4. The commandment of the Lord is pure
-There are no flaws in the commandment of the Lord.  There is nothing that shouldn’t be there and there is nothing left out that should be in.  It is pure.

5. The fear of the Lord is clean
-This is a very practical truth.  The fear of the Lord is clean.  Do you want to be clean?  Do you want to keep youself unspotted from the world?  If so, the fear of the Lord will help you do just that.  If we fear Him as we should, evil and sin will not be quite so tempting.  Our fear of Him keeps us clean. 

These things are all found in the Bible.  What a truly amazing book we hold in our hands!  Tomorrow we will look at the results of these things.

Turning the Other Cheek

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

Proverbs 20:22

It is human nature to want to “get even with” someone who we feel has wronged us.  When someone disrespects us or does anything to us that we don’t like, it is our nature to want to fight fire with fire and snap right back at them.  But that should not be the way of the Christian.  The Bibles says here in Proverbs that we should not recompense (or pay back) evil.  The Lord sees everything.  If someone wrongs us, the Lord knows about it.  He didn’t accidentally miss it when we were wronged.  We are wait on Him, and trust that He knows what He is doing.  And the end of the verse tells us that He “shall save thee”.  He will reward us for leaving things in His hands instead of trying to fight our own battles.

The New Testaments speaks of this attitude also in Matthew 5:39, “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  That is the famous “turn the other cheek” verse.  I’m sure we have all heard of that verse before, but how many of us actually use it and put it into practice?  When someone wrongs us, do we really accept it with a meek spirit and “turn the other cheek” or do we stiffen our necks and adopt the “you’re not going to do that to me” attitude?  Do we try to pay back evil at every turn or do we wait on the Lord and trust Him to save us?

They Would Not Hearken

Whithersoever they went  out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.  Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.

Judges 2:15-17

This is a sad passage.  The children of Israel had entered the Promised Land and had rejected the Lord who brought them there.  And, as the Lord had promised, he punished them.  Verse 15 tells us that wherever they went, the “hand of the Lord was against them for evil”.  That is a frightful thought.  I do not want the hand of the Lord following me everywhere I go to be against me for evil.  But that is the position that the Israelites found themselves in because of their sin against God.  They didn’t have to be in that position and we don’t have to be in that position either.  But when we refuse Him and rebel against Him, that is where we find ourselves.

In vers 16, the Bible says something encouraging: “Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them”.  Nevertheless is a good word.  Even though His people had rejected Him to serve other gods, He still loved them and still made a way for them to be delivered.  Even when we reject Him, He still loves us and He has made a way for us to get right with Him and He is ready and willing to deliver us. 

The saddest part of this passage to me is found in verse 17 when the Bible says that, even though He made a way for them to be delivered after they rejected Him, “yet they would not hearken unto their judges”.  They still refused to listen.  After God’s great gift to them of the Promised Land and after all of His blessings, they still rejected Him.  So He punished them and brought judgment on them, and still they rejected Him.  So He made a way for them to be delivered from their punishments, and still they would not listen.  Does that describe us today?  Let us walk with Him and if we get out of the way and feel His hand of chastisement, let us come back to Him.  We don’t have to relive this sad story, but unfortunately, many people will.  Let us not be among them.

Who to Complain to

I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.  I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

Psalm 142:1-2

As humans, we have an inborn tendency to want to complain when things aren’t going exactly as we would like them to go.  The question is: who are we complaining to?

I heard a great quote from Wil Rice once about the definition of complaining.  He said that complaining is “speaking about something in a derogatory manner when the person to whom you speak can do nothing about it”.  That is a good, practical definition and would probably encompass most of our “complaints”.  If I were to complain to you about hot or cold it is, would that really help anything?  I can’t change the weather and you can’t either.  The only thing that complaint would do is give both of us a sour, negative attitude about the temperature.  We all have problems about which we could complain. 

The Psalmist was no different.  He had complaints- in fact, the heading on this Psalm tells us that he was in a cave.  And I don’t think he was just out exploring the cave.  He had legitimate problems.  But he directed his complaints to the Lord.  The Lord, unlike us, is in a position to do something about anything that we may face.  When we tell Him about our problems, we are telling someone with the infinite power needed to fix any problem.  When we have a complaint or a problem, we need to take it to Him instead of taking to someone who can’t do anything about it.  As the Bible says in I Peter 5:7 “casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”.  We don’t have to face our troubles alone- we are told to give them to Him.  No matter what the problem, tell it to Jesus- he can help and has promised to help.

Choose You This Day

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

In Joshua 24, the Lord goes through a very long list of things that He had done for Israel.  He takes them all the way back to Egypt and tells them the story of their coming to and possessing the Promised Land.  In this story, He is careful to remind them just who it was that did everything.  They did nothing.  It was the Lord and only the Lord that brought them out of Egypt and it was Him and only Him who led them through the wilderness and it was Him and only Him who conquered their enemies one by one.  Now that they have possessed the land and He has reminded them of who gave them the land, we come to this verse.

Joshua starts out by telling the people that “if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve”.  “If it seem evil unto you”- that is quite a statement in light of the first part of the chapter.  But how many of us act as if we think it would seem evil to serve the Lord?  After all He has done for us and all of His many blessings to us, how often do we not serve Him?  When really put to the test, how often do we not “choose Him”?

Joshua had the right idea here at the end of the verse: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.  That should be our motto today- it doesn’t matter what anyone else does.  It doesn’t matter what goes on around me; as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

They Didn’t Know Him

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim

Judges 2:10-11

This is a very sad passage.  In Joshua, the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land.  In the last chapter of Joshua, the Israelites are promising Joshua that they will fear the Lord and will serve Him.  The Lord brought them out of Egypt and gave them a wonderful land. And the Bible says in verse 7 “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel”.  The people did serve the Lord, but they forgot one very important detail.

 In Deuteronomy 11:19, the Lord told them “And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up”.  The Lord gave the people several reminders in the book of Deuteronomy to teach the things they had seen to their children.  But apparently they didn’t do that.  The people who had seen the Lord’s mighty works served Him, but they didn’t pass that on to the next generation because verse 10 tells us that “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel”.  They didn’t know Him and they didn’t even know of the works He had done for them.  As a result, they started serving false gods and were destroyed for it.

What are we passing to the next generation?  Are we helping them to “know the Lord” and are we telling them of the “works which he had done”?  The question is this- if we aren’t telling them, who is going to?