Soul – Praying Pint

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”.

1 John 5:11-13    And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

John 3:36     Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 5:24   Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6:40     For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:47    Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

John 8:51    Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

John 11:26    and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Mark 16:16    Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

1 Peter 1:21   who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

John 10:27-30   My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

1 Thessalonians 5:9     For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 John 3:14    We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

Ephesians 2:5     even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

The second we were born we were given a “death sentence”. Seems harsh, doesn’t it? Some may be born and live 70 to 100 years. Others are much shorter. However, the fact remains that every last one of us will die. We will experience death. Our time on this side of eternity will stop. All of the pleasures, trials, blessings, troubles, love, anger, joy, hate, worry, fear, peace, hope, etc…… on earth will cease for us. We do not know the day or time of our death but it is as sure as the sun rising and setting. We don’t give much thought to our death, but we sure give much thought to our living.

We try to prolong life and delay death without giving much thought to death. It seems as though it is something that happens to others and not so much to us, when in fact, it will. We don’t know when our time will be over. And yet it will happen.

When we don’t give thought to death and what is on the other side of it, our lives become full of only what this world has to offer us. temporal things, things that will decay, things that give us short-lived satisfaction, and they are all left behind when we die.

There is a spiritual side to every single person born just as there is a fleshly side. We tend to the flesh but give little thought to the spiritual. Think about it, how much of your time any given day is given toward God and eternity compared to things of this world.

Scripture tells us that though our flesh dies our spirit lives forever. It also reveals that there are two destinations to which our spirit will arrive. Eternal life in heaven with God or eternal total separation from God in hell. How important then is it to give time to thinking about the eternal over what is temporal? How important is it to give thought to eternal life in heaven and eternal separation in hell?

Scripture says – Death

Romans 5:12     Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Hebrews 9:27. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”.

Job 14:5    Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

Job 30:23     For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living.

Psalms 89:48     What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?

Ecclesiastes 3:20    All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.

Ecclesiastes 9:5     For the living know that they will die

Ecclesiastes 12:7   and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Scripture says – Judgment

Ecclesiastes 11:9    Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Ecclesiastes 12:14     For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Matthew 25:31-34     “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

41  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

2 Timothy 4:1     I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead

Romans 2:5   But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Romans 14:12   So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:10    For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Jude 1:15    to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Scripture says – Life

Jhn 3:16    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:15-16    The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

John 3:36    Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 5:24     Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6:40     For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 20:31    but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Romans 5:21     so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23     For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 5:11-12    And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

53.m. Wilderness – 17.s. ““Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today”

Deu 32:45-47  And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Deuteronomy 6:6-7    And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Deuteronomy 11:18     “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

1 Chronicles 22:19    Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.

Proverbs 3:1-4    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Ezekiel 40:4    And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

Hebrews 2:1    Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

1 Timothy 4:8     for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

And he said unto them,…. By way of exhortation: set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you this day; it was not enough to hear them, but they were to lay them up in their hearts, and retain them in their memories; and not only so, but reflect on them in their minds, and closely apply to the consideration of them, and get the true knowledge and sense of them, and put it in practice. (Gill)

Moses: “I am warning you today”. Mose’s time was about up. He was not going into the Promised Land. He had spent 40 years in the wilderness, leading and instructing them in the Word of God, the Things of God, and the intentional choice to obey and follow God. Unbelief, grumbling, and disobedience were always at the door of their hearts and minds. The older generation of these unbelieving, grumbling, and disobedient people passed away in the wilderness. They were not allowed to enter into the promised land. This new generation was about to enter the promised land and Moses was instructing them on the importance of obeying and following after God; ““Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law.”

I sometimes think how easy it would be to follow after God if there wasn’t so much busyness and intrusion, things that grab hold of my time and concern. (which by the way are nothing more than excuses we use to become complacent) Think about the Israelites. They spent 40 years in the wilderness with very little outside influence. They weren’t building towns or homes or businesses. They were tending their flocks and when God indicated it was time to move they broke camp and moved on to another place. They would see firsthand the provisions of God in their water and food supply in the desert. They would see the could by day and fire by night of the presence of God leading them. They would have seen God’s blessings and judgments. They would have heard firsthand communication from God through Moses. They were taught temple worship, sacrifice, and the Law of God. What happened? They would commit to the covenant of God and then, over time, forget and commit the very things they committed not to do and not do the things they said they would.

I have come to understand that it is not the busyness of life that distracts us into complacency and falling away. Our heart, mind, and soul are not making an intentional choice, a life commitment choice, to follow, obey, trust, and rely upon God. Busyness is just an excuse we use to neglect God’s Word.

Take a look at where you are spiritually. Do you hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life? Are you hungering, thirsting, and desiring the Word of God so that you can better honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all your thoughts, words, and actions? If the Word of God has become a dry well, and its fruits a dead and dying tree, then recognize it and repent of it, and seek after that which is holy and honorable. The world and its pleasures and lusts will consume the heart, mind, and soul if the Word of God is neglected and not desired.

52.o. Wilderness – 16.u. ““But if you will not listen to Me”

Deu 28:15-20  “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.

Leviticus 26:14-16    “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,  if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you:

I will set my face against you

I will visit you with panic

I will set my face against you

I will discipline you

I will break the pride of your power

I will continue striking you

I also will walk contrary to you in fury

I will bring a sword upon you

I will send pestilence among you

I break your supply of bread

I myself will discipline

I myself will devastate the land

I will unsheathe the sword after you

I will send faintness into their hearts

“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity, I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers

I am the LORD their God.

Isaiah 3:11     Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Daniel 9:13    As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.

Malachi 2:2     If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

Romans 2:8-9     but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.  There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek

Galatians 3:10    For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

We enjoy and turn our ears toward scripture where grace, peace, love, joy, hope, refuge, eternal life, salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are found. Our ears open up and our hearts are encouraged by them. And they should be, for in them we find eternal hope and reasons for living to the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

I fear we stop short of our understanding of the holiness of God though. We truly enjoy hearing about the blessings of God but much of the time we skim over or deafen our ears to the warnings and curses of God. When we do this our understanding of our fleshly desires, sinfulness, and worldly temptations get watered down. We live in a make believe mindset that views God as a blessing giver and all we have to do is to the God-ATM and withdraw a blessing when we are running low. It is as though we keep a ledger book of the good works we do in the hope they will over shadow the wrongs, and thereby, add blessings into our account. It is as if we don’t even consider the need for confession and repentance because our minds are set on receiving blessings. Many times the blessings we seek are worldly and not of God. Other times we seek blessings while we are openly walking in sin.

A weak understanding of the curses, which points out the sinfulness of our hearts and minds, severely hinders our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love. Without this understanding of our sinfulness and the greatness of God’s grace, mercy, and love we live blinded to worldly and fleshly lusts and unable to discern between Godly and worldly. It is through His Word and the Holy Spirit that we are able to examine our hearts and minds of worldly and fleshly desires.

How can we be careful to do all the Lord commands without knowing His Word? How can we know the fullness of God’s grace without knowing the full extent of our intent to disregard holy living? God is not mocked. If we sow neglect to His Word we will harvest the rotting flesh of the fruit of neglect. If we sow desires for what this world has to offer we will harvest nothing that will satisfy our hungering soul. If we sow the busyness of life we will harvest nothing that gives us peace, joy, or rest.

The whole Word of God is given to us so that we will grow and mature in our understanding of His holiness, grace, mercy, and love. It is in this understanding that we continue to grow and mature in our desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions every second of every day.

52.g. Wilderness – 16.m. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Deu 26:11  And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.  I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 12:7   And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 12:12     And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your town

Deuteronomy 16:11    And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there.

Deuteronomy 28:47     Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

Psalms 63:3-5    Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.  My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips

Psalms 100:1-2    Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!  Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Acts 2:46-47   And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Philippians 4:4    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

1 Timothy 6:17-18     As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

When God has made good his promises to us, he expects we should own it to the honour of his faithfulness. And our creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise. The comfort we have in our own enjoyments, should lead us to be thankful for our share in public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should bless the Lord for the former mercies we remember, and the further mercies we expect and hope for. (Henry)

When we receive from the LORD, and give back to Him, it makes us rejoice. It is the proper response of a creature to his Creator, who has supplied him with all good things. The prayer described here shows that the giving was done with the right kind of heart. God not only wants us to give, but to give with the right heart. Right giving is done according to God’s Word Right giving is done within the context of a whole life of obedience. Right giving genuinely sets aside what is to be given unto the LORD. Right giving is not done superstitiously, Right giving is done with the expectation of blessing. (Guzik)

How can we not rejoice? When saved our sins were washed away, we were forgiven, redeemed, born again, and transformed. We were promised eternal life in heaven with God. We were given the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, teach, encourage, convict us of sin, and yield the fruits of joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, love, grace, mercy, generosity, hospitality, humbleness, and patience. Beyond this God blesses us with great and precious promises, godly wisdom, fruits of our labors, and material, financial, and relational blessings. How can we not rejoice?

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

52. Wilderness – 16.f. “Each one shall die for his own sin.”

Deu 24:16  “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

2 Kings 14:5-6    And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father.  But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”

2 Chronicles 25:4    But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, “Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.”

Jeremiah 31:29-30    In those days they shall no longer say: “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’  But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge

Ezekiel 18:20   The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Understand it thus, if the one be free from the guilt of the other’s sin, and except in those cases where the sovereign Lord of life and death, before whom none is innocent, hath commanded it, as Deu 13 Jos 7:24. For this law is given to men, not to God; and though God do visit the father’s sins upon the children, Exo 20, yet he will not suffer men to do so. (Poole)

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children,…. By the civil magistrates, for sins committed by them of a capital nature, and which are worthy of death: neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; for sins committed by them that deserve it: (Gill)

Fathers were not to be put to death upon (along with) their sons, nor sons upon (along with) their fathers, i.e., they were not to suffer the punishment of death with them for crimes in which they had no share; but every one was to be punished simply for his own sin. This command was important, to prevent an unwarrantable and abusive application of the law which is manifest in the movements of divine justice to the criminal jurisprudence of the lane (Exodus 20:5), since it was a common thing among the heathen nations – e.g., the Persians, Macedonians, and others – for the children and families of criminals to be also put to death. (Keil)

Among heathen nations it was common for a whole family to be involved in the penalty incurred by the head of the family, and to be put to death along with him. Such severity of retribution is here prohibited in the penal code of the Israelites. Though God, in the exercise of his absolute sovereignty, might visit the sins of the parent upon the children (Exodus 20:5), earthly judges were not to assume this power. Only the transgressor himself was to bear the penalty of his sin. (Unkown)

We all have sinned and are worthy of not only death but eternal torment. We fall short in doing what is right, good, and holy before God. Where is our hope for redemption, salvation, and forgiveness? How can we pass from an eternal torment death sentence into justified eternal life?

Jhn 3:16-21 📝 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

“Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart”

Psalm 119 1-8. Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

This long psalm deserves a long introduction. The author is unnamed; older commentators almost universally said it is a psalm of David, composed throughout his entire life. More modern commentators sometimes conclude that it is post-exilic, coming from the days of Nehemiah or Ezra. It may be that David was the author, but we can’t say this with certainty, and it is not necessary to know; if it were important, God would have preserved the name of David to this psalm. No matter who the author was, it was likely written over some period of time and later compiled, because there is not a definite flow of thought from the beginning of the psalm to the end. The sections and verses are not like a chain, where one link is connected to the other, but like a string of pearls where each pearl has equal, but independent value.

Though this is only a small section of the 119th Psalm it is important to see what others have said of the whole before diving into it.

“This wonderful psalm, from its great length, helps us to wonder at the immensity of Scripture. From its keeping to one subject it helps us to adore the unity of Scripture; for it is but one. Yet, from the many turns it gives to the same thought, it helps you to see the variety of Scripture….

Some have said that in it there is an absence of variety, but that is merely the observation of those who have not studied it. I have weighed each word, and looked at each syllable with lengthened meditation; and I bear witness that this sacred song has no tautology in it, but is charmingly varied from beginning to end. Its variety is that of a kaleidoscope: from a few objects a boundless variation is produced. In the kaleidoscope you look once, and there is a strangely beautiful form. You shift the glass a very little, and another shape, equally delicate and beautiful, is before your eyes. So it is here.” (Charles Spurgeon)

“The reason we are not happy is that we sin, and the main reason we sin as much as we do is that we do not know the Bible well enough…. Apart from being instructed by God, human beings do not know how to achieve happiness.” (Boice)

We wouldn’t know what a pure life was without God telling us. Certainly, some aspects of a pure life are revealed in human conscience and known widely among humanity. Yet there are other aspects of the pure life that we learn only from the word of God. (Guzik)

“To enjoy this beatitude a holy walking must become habitual. This sacred exercise is very different from sluggish piety. ‘Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord.’ A man may sit down in the road without soiling his skin or fouling his apparel, but that is not enough. There must be progress – practical action – in the Christian life; and in order to experience blessedness we must be doing something for the Master.” “Blessedness is ascribed to those who treasure up the testimonies of the Lord: in which is implied that they search the Scriptures, that they come to an understanding of them, that they love them, and then that they continue in the practice of them. We must first get a thing before we can keep it. In order to keep it well we must get a firm grip of it: we cannot keep in the heart that which we have not heartily embraced by the affections.” Yet, we do not miss the emphasis on the heart. “God is not truly sought by the cold researches of the brain: we must seek him with the heart. Love reveals itself to love: God manifests his heart to the heart of his people. It is in vain that we endeavour to comprehend him by reason; we must apprehend him by affection.” “There is a twofold shame; the shame of a guilty conscience; and the shame of a tender conscience. The one is the merit and fruit of sin; the other is an act of grace.” “Young man, the Bible must be your chart, and you must exercise great watchfulness that your way may be according to its directions. You must take heed to your daily life as well as study your Bible, and you must study your Bible that you may take heed to your daily life. With the greatest care a man will go astray if his map misleads him; but with the most accurate map he will still lose his road if he does not take heed to it.”(Spurgeon)

“Neither is it enough that we understand or ponder God’s precepts, but we must practise them, if we would be happy.” (Trapp)

“Because it was a hard thing to rightly understand this word in all its parts, and harder to put it in practice, he therefore intermixed many prayers to God for his help therein, thereby directing and encouraging others to take the same course.” (Poole)

“Without thee I can do nothing; my soul is unstable and fickle; and it will continue weak and uncertain till thou strengthen and establish it.” (Clarke)

Proverbs 2:10-12: When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.

46.d. “Wilderness” – 10.j. “Why are you cast down, O my soul”

Num 6:26  the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Psalms 42:5    Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation

Psalms 89:15    Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,

Acts 2:28     You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Psalms 29:11    May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Isaiah 26:3    You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:12    O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.

Luke 2:14   “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

John 14:27     Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Romans 15:13   May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:33    May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Philippians 4:7     And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,…. Show his face and favour, look cheerfully on his people, declare himself well pleased with them in Christ, and appear as smiling upon them through him, indulging them with visits of love, restoring to them the joys of his salvation, and upholding them with his free Spirit; and so causing them to walk pleasantly and comfortably in the ways of God, expecting eternal life and happiness, as God’s free gift through Christ: and give thee peace; all outward needful prosperity, internal peace of mind, through the blood and righteousness of Christ, the peacemaker, and peace giver, and eternal peace in the world to come. (Gill)

Implying more personal and individual attention from the Lord. His face shines upon all that love him, as the sun shines wherever no clouds intervene; but his face is lifted up to that soul for which he has a more special regard. To lift up the eyes or the face upon any one is to look upon that one with peculiar and tender interest. This peace, being the perfect fruit in experience of the grace which comes from God. (Unknown)

There is a lot in this world and in our lives that can and, at times, rob us of peace. News and media outlets are full of peace-zapping articles. The worse they can make it seem seems to be their purpose. I truly wonder what a person’s life would be like if they shut off their TV and no longer filled their minds with the fear, anger, lies, and half-truths being proclaimed. There is little to no benefit from watching or knowing it. You are being fed what they want you to think, feel, and blame. There is no peace in this.

Other times there is life itself that has a way of creeping in and zapping our faith. Accidents, finances, physical health, relationships, marriage, and even past memories all can find roots to establish a means of robbing us of peace. No one is immune to it, it comes to all of us at various times throughout our lives. Some of these are attacks by Satan but certainly more of them happen in life because of sin in the world. However, we are not of this world. This is not our home. Our home is in heaven with our heavenly father where there will be no more sickness, death, pain, or suffering.

What is a person to do when they find peace is absent? I find no other cure than to dig into God’s promises.

“I am with you”

“I will never leave you”

“I am your refuge”

“I am your strength”

“I will guide you”

“My peace I give to you”

“I will send a Helper (the Holy Spirit)”

“I can do more than you as or can imagine”

“I will give you peace that passes all understanding”

“I know your coming and going”

“I have plans for you”

“Believe and trust in Me”

When you find yourself in a mental state where peace is nowhere to be found, go to a quiet place and focus your mind on Jesus Christ and His promises. He will fill your heart and mind with peace and give you rest.

43.x. “Wilderness” – 8.d. “Pay attention to all that I have said to you”

Exodus 23:13  “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

Joshua 22:5   Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Joshua 23:11   Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God.

Psalms 39:1   I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Ephesians 5:15   Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

1 Timothy 4:16    Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Deuteronomy 4:9    “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—

Psalms 16:4    The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

And in all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect,…. Or observe them, be careful to keep them punctually and constantly, even all that are delivered in this and the preceding chapters: and make no mention of the name of other gods; neither call upon them, nor swear by them, nor make vows to them; and, as little as possible, ever utter their names, and never with pleasure and delight, and showing any honour of them, and reverence to them, but with the utmost detestation and abhorrence. (Gill)

We hear of those who are popular and how they have found some sort of inner peace through following after some form of religion/god. This god they worship is not the God of heaven and earth but rather a manifestation of man’s attempt at creating a god that seems more to their liking. They replace God with whatever seems right in their own eyes rather than seeking their creator. For whatever reason, they deny the one and only true God and chase after another. They replace God with man-made god(s) and proclaim to their followers that this is the way to true happiness. The same can be said of those who are not popular that follow after the same foolishness.

God reached out to His creation. He spoke to them, did wonders and signs, and recorded His Word so that His creation might begin to understand and know Him. He proclaimed His holiness and mankind’s sinfulness. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem His creation, forgive their sins, and fill them with the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, He gifted His creation to live with ever-growing knowledge and understanding of His grace, mercy, and love. He offers peace, rest, comfort, courage, joy, hope, faith, love, kindness, gentleness, generosity, and patience. Denying or rejecting all of this will leave a void in a person that wants to be filled. People will try to fill this in every way possible, but apart from God, it is not.

Seek to ever-grow, understand, and know how to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all that you think, say, and do every minute of every day.

42.u. “Wilderness” – 7.c. Sinai – No other gods before Me

Exodus 20:3  “You shall have no other gods before me.

Deuteronomy 6:5   You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:14    You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you

Joshua 24:22-24. Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”  And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

Psalms 29:2     Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

Psalms 73:25   Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Psalms 81:9    There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

Isaiah 26:4    Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 43:10    “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9   remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me

Jeremiah 25:6   Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’

Jeremiah 35:15   I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.

Matthew 4:10    Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

Philippians 3:19   Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

In these first few words, God both reminded and taught Israel essential facts or principles about who He is, about His nature.

· God is above nature; He is not merely the personification of fire, or the wind, or the sun, or the sky, or any other created thing.

· God is personal; He is not a depersonalized force; He relates with and communicates to man in an understandable way. God has a mind, a will, a voice, and so forth.

· God is good; He had done good for Israel and now does good for them in giving these commands, the keeping of which not only pleases Him, but is genuinely best for humanity.

· God is holy; He is different than the supposed gods of the pagans, and He therefore also expects His people to be different.

“God did not promulgate a code of laws for the children of Israel, while they were in bondage, telling them that if they would obey it, He would deliver them. He brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and then gave them His law.” (Morgan)

The first commandment logically flowed from understanding who God was and what He had done for Israel. Because of that, nothing was to come before God and He was the only God we worship and serve. In the days of ancient Israel, there was great temptation to worship the gods of materialism (such as Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (such as Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities. We are tempted to worship the same gods, but without the old-fashioned names and images. It has been said (perhaps first by John Calvin) that human nature is like an idol factory that operates constantly. We constantly deal with the temptation to set all kinds of things before or competing with God and His preeminent place in our life. This means God demands to be more than added to our lives. We don’t just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our life. Failure to obey this commandment is called idolatry. We are to flee idolatry. (Guzik)

God will have no rivals and competitors; though he was worshipped, yet if others were worshipped with him, if others were set before him and worshipped along with him, or it was pretended he was worshipped in them, and even he with a superior and they with an inferior kind of worship; yet this was what he could by no means admit. (Gill)

The Israelites had lived in bondage within a nation that had worshipped many idols. God has not only shown them His power and might and love by many signs and wonders, He has also led, fed, and given water to them. He was a fire by night and cloud by day – ever-present. He allowed them to hear His voice speaking to Moses. His first commandment was clear – “You shall have no other gods besides me”. You shall not share in worship, praise, honor, or glory with another god or idol in your life. Whatever we place before or whatever we allow to take place of honor, glory, worship, and praise of God is falling short of this commandment. Family, friends, sports, work, pleasure, etc…. all have the potential to consume not only our time but our worship of God and time with God. In fact, it is placing something else in front of Him.

We do well to live in His presence at all times with the deep desire and commitment to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.

39.r. “The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”

Genesis 49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Psalms 26:9    Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

Psalms 64:2    Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,

2 Corinthians 6:14    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Proverbs 1:15-16   my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,  for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

Proverbs 12:5    The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

Our soul is our honor; by its powers we are distinguished from, and raised above, the beasts that perish. We ought, from our hearts, to abhor all bloody and mischievous men. Cursed be their anger. (Henry)

Simeon and Levi are brothers,…. Not because they were so in a natural sense, being brethren both by father and mother’s side, for there were others so besides them; but because they were of like tempers, dispositions, and manners (f), bold, wrathful, cruel, revengeful, and deceitful, and joined together in their evil counsels and evil actions, and so are joined together in the evils predicted of them, instruments of cruelty. (Gill)

Being in agreement with someone and joining together in an act does not necessarily make that act right, good, or just. It may make us think it is, but that will never make it so. Being angered at an act of another person(s) will surely come to us at some point in our lives, whether it be an act against us, our family, our friends, our community, or our nation. For some reason, anger is a part of our nature, and rightly so. Having the ability to recognize right and wrong, good and bad, just and injustice, and have either indignation or pleasure from it seems to be within our nature. How we treat this recognition in light of our knowledge and application of God’s Word is the difference between that which brings honor and glory to Jesus Christ or not.

By faith, trust, and reliance on God and His promises we can choose to lay the burden of our hearts about wrongs, injustice, and other sinful actions of others at His feet. Why???

Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God
Vengeance is mine; I will repay
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.
Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
the Lord will repay him according to his deeds
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
the Lord is an avenger in all these things

I think it is good that we can see wrongs and feel indignation and anger. This means we have the ability to know the difference. However, some people may be angered by good. The civil war is an example of two groups of people who saw the same thing, one calling it wrong and one calling it good. When we look at abortion there are those who call killing unborn babies good and those who call it bad. The same can be said about pornography, sex trafficking, LGBTQ, looting and burning businesses in an outcry of retaliation, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, etc…. Let us know that it is from the heart that seeks and desires to honor and glorify Jesus Christ that a person will discern what is right, true, just, and good. Praise God that we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us unto truth in all matters. Praise God that we have been given discernment. Praise God that we have been given His promises of handling all wrongs, injustices, and cruelty. Praise God who gives us promises that allow us to lay these at His feet and know, in His Holiness and in His time they will be justly handled. Praise God we can rest and have peace when all around us are in fear and anger. Praise God and rejoice for He is God and in Him, we have hope for today and assurance for tomorrow.