Today’s Scrip-Bit   24 August 2022   Psalm 37:23.

Psalm 37:23.      The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. 

Well, it’s Wednesday, the middle day of the work week. So how are we going my dear brethren in Christ at this point in time? Let’s hope that with Christ surrounding us that we are doing pretty good, catching our second wind and moving forward with faith, despite all the confusion and evil workings that currently have our world in grip. 

And regardless of what’s happening in our lives right now, I believe it is of the utmost importance for us to believe these marvellous words promised by Bruh David on God’s behalf from Psalm 37. ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.’ (Ps. 37:23-24) Now, if we don’t believe that promise what hope is there for us then eh? None whatsoever! 

And Bruh David drives home that amazing hope in Christ Jesus when he continues: ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever (always) merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed.’ (Ps. 37:25-26) Oh my people, how wonderful is that statement eh? Most wonderful! Why? Because when we walk faithfully with God, it ensures the goodness of God to our families after we are gone. And who doesn’t want that assurance? 

But before it can happen, we must faithfully do certain things. Bruh David puts it simply, but it’s ever powerful in truth. ‘Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. For the Lord LOVETH judgment (justice), and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever; but the seed of the wicked shall he cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.’ (Ps. 37:27-29) It couldn’t be put any simpler or more truthfully my people!  The Lord, as it were, bends over backwards for the righteous, while He crushes the wicked without mercy. 

And why would the Lord do that eh? Because ‘The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement (mercy). The law of God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide (slip).’ (Ps. 37:30-31) Wow! What encouraging and reassuring scriptures! But then we talk about the ‘law of God,’ what exactly is that? Ah friends, the scholars give us a lengthy but very useful discourse on the subject. (smile) 

They say, ‘The law of God is the extension of God’s nature and expression of God’s will in His creation. God’s law is expressed in different forms, relating to different areas of His creation. The physical law of God includes the laws of nature which govern the continuous physical existence of this world (Gen. 8:22; Col. 1:17). The moral law, also called “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:15), governs the immaterial issues of life (2 Tim. 3:17). 

The social law of God affects interpersonal relationships and can be summarized by “the royal law” (James 2:8). The spiritual law deals with a man’s relationship with God. It is summarized in “the first and great commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). And we all know what that is: ‘LOVE the Lord with all thy heart, mind and soul…etc. etc.’ 

Illustration: The purpose of the law is to reveal the sovereignty of God (Ex. 20:2), to place a restraint on the sinner (Ps. 68:7-8), to show the greatness and reality of sin (Rom. 3:19-20), and to lead the sinner to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The purpose of the law did not change with the gospel. When the Judaizers in Galatia sought to teach their erroneous view of the law, they failed to realize that the law has never been able to save anyone. Application: As Christians, we should be concerned to live decently and orderly. (First ref. Gen. 2:17; Primary ref. Rom. 7:7-14; cf. Ex. 3:13).’ 

Glory be my people! There’s enough scripture and other info there to keep us occupied for the rest of the day! (smile) And I expect us to look up those scriptures, so that we can get a better understanding of God’s law. Why? Because how can we live a godly life, one in tune with God’s law if we don’t know and understand that law eh? 

Now, I believe there’s one thing, we need to further explain; that’s about ‘the Judaizers.” They were ‘a group of Jewish Christians who insisted that their co-religionists should follow the Mosaic Law and that Gentile converts to Christianity must first be circumcised.’ They considered that the Old Testament laws were still binding on all Christians. 

But Bruh Paul made it quite clear otherwise in his letter to the Galatians.  He begins by saying in 2:15: ‘We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,’ That was a derogatory term against Gentiles, who were considered synonymous with sinners, since they didn’t live under the Jewish law, which kept the Jews somewhat restrained in their own sinful behaviour. 

Then Bruh Paul continues: ‘Knowing that a man is not justified (declared righteous) by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of (in ) Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.’ (Gal. 2:16) 

Please remember that friends. It’s not by works we are saved but by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:8-9) And yes, we definitely ought to do good works, but those works don’t mean anything when it comes to saving us from hellfire and damnation. They may bring us rewards in heaven, but they will NEVER get us to heaven! 

And since we began with the awesome words of Psalm 37, it only makes sense to end with some of them. (smile) And we can never go wrong when we follow this marvellous advice of Bruh David. ‘Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.’ (Ps. 37: 34) Yes, my fellow believers, waiting patiently and expectantly on our God is one of the best things we can ever do, for He will exalt us in His own time. 

And for those of us who are sincerely trying to do just that, let’s go home now declaring (oh yeahhh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one confident and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Now my fellow saints, that means we must do whatever it takes to keep on keeping on. And don’t forget, that if we endure to the very end, that future with Christ will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Mama Mia! What an amazing life is to be had with Christ! Much LOVE

…only in Christ…can the real and true life be found… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 December 2014 Psalm 37:30

Psalm 37:30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement (justice).
 

Well Friends, another beautiful day is in the offing! It’s Tuesday, and thankfully there are just two more days to the big day of Christmas. Hope you have all your preparations completed, and are not running around like a chicken with its head cut off to try and complete them before the day arrives. (smile)

Thank the Lord I’ve given up all that sort of stuff! I no longer run around to buy gifts etc. If I give anything, it’s usually money for others to run around and buy what they want. That works perfectly for me. (smile)

Anyway, today I’m going to share a quote from a friend, who sends me one every day. It’s called ‘Anselm’s Quote For the Day. Inspiring You For a Better Tomorrow.’ And the quote itself is attributed to Buddha, the religious deity of Buddhism. It says that: ‘Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.’

And Anselm himself offers this advice. ‘This is a nice quote to remind us that without health we really have nothing, and without being content all the riches in the world matter not. There are a lot of people out there that are sick and ailing that would trade anything for good health.

And there are plenty of rich people in the world that are absolutely miserable and resort to drugs and alcohol to make up for an empty life. It’s easy to think that riches bring true wealth and that there’s a gift better than health, but when you stop to consider it further you realize that this quote is right.’

And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! Regardless of what material things or power we possess, if we don’t have decent health, then we’re helpless to really enjoy life. The things of the world don’t always ensure a good and/or healthy environment for us. So please remember that and stop running down the things of the world.

In fact, running them down will only make you sick, note the pandemic of stress that’s currently has our world in grip, because we are all working like crazy to make ends meet or get ahead in this cutthroat world. And the sad part too, is that when we finally get the material things or power we’re running after, we either get fed up with them quite quickly, or we just don’t have the time to enjoy them. And this Christmas season is a great example of that. A lot of the stuff we receive is returned to the stores for one reason or another.

Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit, taken from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked, by Bruh David. ‘The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement (justice).’

Now that’s indisputable truth my people! You cannot be righteous and foolish and blasphemous. And Jesus added His contention to the matter by saying: ‘A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:35-37)

Oh Friends, please write that indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, especially in this day and age where unjustified talking is on the upswing with the many means of quick communication now available to us. And we are already seeing Jesus’ warning coming to pass down here on earth, where people are saying and posting a lot of nonsense on the social media and getting in trouble for it. Remember that words have power, both for good and for evil.

But as Bruh David continues after our Bit: ‘The law of his God is in his heart (that of the righteous); none of his steps shall slide (slip). The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.’ (Ps.37:31-33)

Yes my people, our God will not allow the wicked to have dominion over His righteous children. He will enable them to get out of the grip of the evil one and his cohorts. Please believe that and act on it.

Now here is some interesting and educational info from the scholars re the Law of God. ’37:31. The law of God is the extension of God’s nature and expression of God’s will in His creation. God’s law is expressed in different forms, relating to different areas of His creation. The physical law of God includes the laws of nature which govern the continuous physical existence of this world. (Gen.8:22; Col.1:17).The moral law, also called “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25), governs the immaterial issues of life (2 Tim.3:17). The social law of God affects interpersonal relationships and can be summarized by “the royal law” (James 2:8). The spiritual law deals with a man’s relationship with God. It is summarized in “the first and great commandment” (Matt.22:37).

Illustration: The purpose of the law is to reveal the sovereignty of God (ex.20:2), to place a restraint on the sinner (68:7-8), to show the greatness and reality of sin (Rom.3:19-20), and to lead the sinner to Christ (Gal.3:24). The purpose of the law did not change with the gospel. When the Judaizers in Galatia sought to teach their erroneous view of the law, they failed to realize that the law has never been able to save anyone. Application: As Christians, we should be concerned to live decently and orderly. First Ref. Gen.2:17; Primary Ref. Rom.1:7-14; cf, Ex.3:13.)’

Oh my fellow believers in Christ, I do hope that that info gives us greater understanding of God’s Word. And we’ll end with this wise advice from Bruh David. ‘Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.’ (Ps.37:34)

Words to live by my people! So let’s live by them nuh, so we can be considered righteous and have the blessings of our wonderful God! Much LOVE

…in righteousness…there is always wisdom and justice…