Psalm 89:15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord in the light of thy countenance.
Awright it’s Monday…and many of us are deliriously happy because it’s a public holiday, Victoria Day, in honour of Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire for almost 64 years from 1837 till her death in 1901. She was the longest reigning British monarch until the present one, Queen Elizabeth II, who is now coming up to her seventieth year on the throne. Victoria Day was once a holiday across the entire British Empire, but now I believe it’s still celebrated only in Canada…Way to go Canada!
And Victoria Day usually heralds the opening of the summer season, meaning that cottage country will be awash with visitors from now to the end of summer. But please remember friends, that though the regulations on Covid have been relaxed, it’s still around, and still causing havoc, so we still need to be very careful with our comings and goings and how we interact with each other. And remember to go also easy on the fire water in all the gaiety, because tomorrow is work, and you cannot afford to be absent or hung over. End of sermon! (smile)
But who’s listening eh, on this first long weekend of the summer, after being cooped up for so long on account of Covid and the dreary winter months? Let’s hope and pray that there will be no boating, vehicle or other serious accidents in all the craziness that will take place. That brings us to these interesting and important words of Ethan the Ezrahite from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David – which talks about a universal problem amongst believers, who wrestle with the faithfulness of God to His promises.
The psalmist solemnly asks: ‘For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who amongst the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? (Ps. 89:6) And the correct answer to that question is obviously ‘NO ONE!’ Consequently, Ethan continues. ‘God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had (held) in reverence of all them that are about him.’ (Ps. 89:7) And that’s the living truth my brethren! Our God is great and ought to be held in high esteem and be considered faithful to His promises.
Now, listen to how Ethan describes the Lord later on in the psalm. ‘Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgement (righteousness and justice) are the habitation (foundation) of thy throne: mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth shall go before thy face. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength; and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:13-18)
Yes friends, with a King, a God, a Creator like the Lord God of Hosts, how could He ever not be faithful to His promises eh? He created the heavens, the earth and all therein, so He is omnipotent, has all power to do whatever He says. So why do we still doubt Him? Even when we have had personal experience with His faithfulness, whenever problems appear, the first thing that crops up in our hearts is fear, not faith. That’s understandable if the problem comes as a surprise, but it should not last any length of time.
Remember Bruh Paul’s to Timothy. ‘For the Lord hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined mind).’ (2 Tim. 1:7) Once we’ve taken the measure of the problem, our hearts should be flooded with faith, being fully aware and convinced of God’s promises to help us deal successfully with them.
But as always, that level of faith can only come with plenty practice and experience. The more you see the Lord’s faithfulness, the easier it becomes, but until such time comes, you need to keep your heart saturated with His word, read and study the promises He made to the men of great faith like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David and see how He kept them when they were obedient to His will.
Have no fear, we will all be tested, and many times too when we claim that Christ is our Lord and Saviour. And that’s when we must step out boldly and let our faith show. Remember, ‘faith’ like LOVE, is an action word, you have to show it, not merely talk it. And believe me, in these crazy and uncertain times, believers in Christ Jesus need to step up and show oodles of faith and LOVE, because our confused and strife-filled world is desperately calling for those two Christ-filled medications.
And it all begins with prayer, with sincere communication between us and our Creator. So, let’s take the opportunity to do that right now nuh. Let’s go to Him through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for His divine help with our earthly problems. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And since we are the ones needing help, not God, it only makes sense for us to keep our promises and turn from our evil, unfaithful, ungodly ways so that divine help will be forthcoming. Much LOVE!
…if one holds on to doubt and fear…then faith and LOVE…cannot enter there…
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