“Thou art my king, O God: Command deliverance (victories, margin) for Jacob.” (Psalm 44:4, R. V.)
THERE is no foe to your growth in grace, no enemy in your Christian work, which was not included in your Savior’s conquests. You need not be afraid of them. When you touch them, they will flee before you. God has promised to deliver them up before you. Only be strong and very courageous! Fear not, nor be dismayed! The Lord is with you, O mighty men of valor—mighty because one with the Mightiest. Claim victory! Whenever your enemies close in upon you, claim victory! Whenever heart and flesh fail, look up and claim VICTORY! Be sure that you have a share in that triumph which Jesus won, not for Himself alone, but for us all; remember that you were in Him when He won it, and claim victory! Reckon that it is yours, and gather spoil. Neither the Anakim nor fenced cities need daunt or abash you. You are one of the conquering legion. Claim your share in the Savior’s victory.—Joshua, by Meyer. We are children of the King. In which way do we most honor our Divine Sovereign, by failing to claim our rights and even doubting whether they belong to us, or by asserting our privilege as children of the Royal Family and demanding the rights which belong to our heirship?
‘After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.’ Genesis 15:1 SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Habakkuk 3:17–19
The promise expresses the believer’s happiness: thy exceeding great reward. On this ground faith rejoices and says, The Lord is my portion [Lamentations 3:24]. Thy reward: this does not import any desert on our parts. The smallest mercy is of undeserved grace—much more when he gives us himself. But it is a reward, a full amends: (i) for all we leave for him. To be the Lord’s will cost us something. Some sacrifices must be made. But O how are those overpaid who have him. They are all of St Paul’s mind and count everything loss and dung that they may win Christ [Philippians 3:7–8]. (ii) for all we can suffer for him. The world may hate and despise. It may cost a man his life for his attachment to Jesus. But to lose our life in this cause is to save it. Exceeding great. What words can express it? Happy soul who hast the Lord for thy portion. You may rejoice with Habakkuk in the God of your salvation, though everything else is blasted and comfortless around you [Habakkuk 3:17–18]. Rejoice in your privileges. He will guide you while here with his counsel, refresh you with his presence, support you with his arm. Hereafter, he shall receive you to his glory, wipe away all your tears, exceed all your desires, seat you near himself, and so you shall be with him for ever. Was Thomas filled with rapture and love when he saw him return from the grave? What then will you say when you shall see him as he is, when he shall own your worthless name before assembled worlds and say, Come ye blessed [Matthew 25:34]?
FOR MEDITATION: You that see your need of an Almighty Shield, that be happy with nothing less than the Lord himself: fear not—he that has begun the good work will increase it. Pray him to bless the means which he has appointed to strengthen your weak faith. By and by you shall be enabled to say, My beloved is mine and I am his [Song of Solomon 2:16].
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Here the writer to the Hebrews exhorts all who profess faith in Jesus Christ, the “author and perfecter of our faith” (v. 2), to do two things. First, we are to remove or put off any burden that keeps us from Christ-likeness, especially sin because sin ensnares us and keeps us in bondage to itself. Second, we are to persevere, patiently enduring all things until we grow and mature in the faith. James reminds us that trials serve to strengthen our faith and bring us to maturity (James 1:2-3). Hebrews 12:1 is reminding us to persevere through those trials, knowing that, by God’s faithfulness, we won’t be overwhelmed by them (1 Corinthians 10:13).
So who are the “cloud of witnesses,” and how is it they “surround” us? To understand this, we need to look at the previous chapter, as evidenced by the word therefore beginning chapter 12. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of the Old Testament believers looked forward with faith to the coming of the Messiah. The author of Hebrews illustrates this eloquently in chapter 11 and then ends the chapter by telling us that the forefathers had faith to guide and direct them, but God had something better planned. Then he begins chapter 12 with a reference to these faithful men and women who paved the way for us. What the Old Testament believers looked forward to in faith—the Messiah—we look back to, having seen the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning His first coming.
We are surrounded by the saints of the past in a unique way. It’s not that the faithful who have gone before us are spectators to the race we run. Rather, it is a figurative representation and means that we ought to act as if they were in sight and cheering us on to the same victory in the life of faith that they obtained. We are to be inspired by the godly examples these saints set during their lives. These are those whose past lives of faith encourage others to live that way, too. That the cloud is referred to as “great” indicates that millions of believers have gone before us, each bearing witness to the life of faith we now live.
Wist ye not that I must be in My Father’s house? Luke 2:49 (R.V.).
Our Lord’s childhood was not immature manhood: our Lord’s childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy innocent child of God by identification with my Lord and Saviour? Do I look upon life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house in me? The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in holy communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. “I must be about My Father’s business,”—live the moments in My Father’s house. Narrow it down to your individual circumstances—are you so identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father’s house? Are the graces of His ministering life working out through you in your home, in your business, in your domestic circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them, it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in His Father’s providence in your particular sainthood. Let Him have His way, keep in perfect union with Him. The vicarious life of your Lord is to become your vital simple life; the way He worked and lived among men must be the way He lives in you.
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection. (Acts 4:31, 33.)
CHRISTMAS EVANS tells us in his diary that one Sunday afternoon he was traveling a very lonely road to attend an appointment, and he was convicted of a cold heart. He says, “I tethered my horse and went to a sequestered spot, where I walked to and fro in an agony as I reviewed my life. I waited three hours before God, broken with sorrow, until there broke over me a sweet sense of His forgiving love. I received from God a new baptism of the Holy Ghost. As the sun was westering, I went back to the road, found my horse, mounted it and went to my appointment. On the following day I preached with such new power to a vast concourse of people gathered on the hillside, that a revival broke out that day and spread through all Wales.” The greatest question that can be asked of the “twice born” ones is, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” This was the password into the early Church.
“O the Spirit filled life; is it thine, is it thine? Is thy soul wholly filled with the Spirit Divine? O thou child of the King, has He fallen on thee? Does He reign in thy soul, so that all men may see The dear Savior’s blest image reflected in thee?
“Has He swept through thy soul like the waves of the sea? Does the Spirit of God daily rest upon thee? Does He sweeten thy life, does He keep thee from care? Does He guide thee and bless thee in answer to prayer? Is it joy to be led of the Lord anywhere?
“Is He near thee each hour, does He stand at thy side? Does He gird thee with strength, has He come to abide? Does He give thee to know that all things may be done Through the grace and the power of the Crucified One? Does He witness to thee of the glorified Son?
“Has He purged thee of dross with the fire from above? Is He first in thy thoughts, has He all of thy love? Is His service thy choice, and is sacrifice sweet? Is the doing His will both thy drink and thy meat? Dost thou run at His bidding with glad eager feet?
“Has He freed thee from self and from all of thy greed? Dost thou hasten to succor thy brother in need? As a soldier of Christ dost thou hardness endure? Is thy hope in the Lord everlasting and sure? Hast thou patience and meekness, art tender and pure?
“O the Spirit filled life may be thine, may be thine, In thy soul evermore the Shekinah may shine; It is thine to live with the tempests all stilled, It is thine with the blessed Holy Ghost to be filled; It is thine, even thine, for thy Lord has so willed.”
This is my personal collection of thoughts and writings, mainly from much smarter people than I, which challenge me in my discipleship walk. Don't rush by these thoughts, but ponder them.
Milo 