Daily Meditations for May by Rev. J. Heys

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May 21

DESIGNED AND EMPOWERED TO GLORIFY GOD
Psalm 22:27

    Our bodies were designed to have a definite number of members and organs, each having its own place, work, color, and shape. Divine wisdom designed our bodies, and God's power brought them into being.

    So it is also with His church, which is often in Scripture called the body of Christ. It too was divinely designed to have a definite number of members, each having its own nature, place, and work to perform.

    This was so clearly shown on the day of Pentecost, when the Son of God sent down His Spirit with a powerful sound, with light from divided tongues as of fire, and with unexpected speech in tongues the speakers did not know before that day. On that day the truth of Psalm 22:27 was displayed. There David wrote, "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.'' From that day of Pentecost onward the church, Christ's body, began to be gathered out of every nation, tongue, and tribe. The believers from the fleshly seed of David were powerfully moved, enlightened, and set on fire with holy zeal to speak in languages of other nations about their risen and exalted Lord, the Head of the body, His church.

    That sound as of a mighty rushing wind revealed the irresistible power of God that enlightens and sets on fire with holy zeal all the eternally designed members of that body, so that they will speak His praises. Indeed, we belong to a beautiful, divinely designed body. Let us then sing:

    The ends of all the earth shall hear
    And turn unto the Lord in fear;
    All kindreds of the earth shall own
    And worship Him as God alone.
    All earth to Him her homage brings,
    The Lord of lords and King of kings.

    We are many, but we are one in Christ. We are all different, but we have the Spirit of Christ and with Christ will glorify God.

Read: Acts 2:1-21
Psalter versification: 49:1

Daily  Meditations
 
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 229
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
I Samuel 29
I Samuel 30
I Samuel 31
John 11:55-57
John 12:1-19
Psalm 118:1-18
Proverbs 15:24-26

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Quote for Reflection:

"A chorus of voices keeps harping the unity tune. They are saying that Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must come together in one visible organization, regardless....... Such teaching is false, reckless, and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity. Unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord's prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context. Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the gospel." -- Charles Spurgeon


May 22

DESIGNED AND EMPOWERED TO GLORIFY GOD
Psalm 22:27

    Our bodies were designed to have a definite number of members and organs, each having its own place, work, color, and shape. Divine wisdom designed our bodies, and God's power brought them into being.

    So it is also with His church, which is often in Scripture called the body of Christ. It too was divinely designed to have a definite number of members, each having its own nature, place, and work to perform.

    This was so clearly shown on the day of Pentecost, when the Son of God sent down His Spirit with a powerful sound, with light from divided tongues as of fire, and with unexpected speech in tongues the speakers did not know before that day. On that day the truth of Psalm 22:27 was displayed. There David wrote, "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.'' From that day of Pentecost onward the church, Christ's body, began to be gathered out of every nation, tongue, and tribe. The believers from the fleshly seed of David were powerfully moved, enlightened, and set on fire with holy zeal to speak in languages of other nations about their risen and exalted Lord, the Head of the body, His church.

    That sound as of a mighty rushing wind revealed the irresistible power of God that enlightens and sets on fire with holy zeal all the eternally designed members of that body, so that they will speak His praises. Indeed, we belong to a beautiful, divinely designed body. Let us then sing:

    The ends of all the earth shall hear
    And turn unto the Lord in fear;
    All kindreds of the earth shall own
    And worship Him as God alone.
    All earth to Him her homage brings,
    The Lord of lords and King of kings.

    We are many, but we are one in Christ. We are all different, but we have the Spirit of Christ and with Christ will glorify God.

Read: Acts 2:1-21
Psalter versification: 49:1

Daily  Meditations
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 247
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 1
II Samuel 2:1-12
John 12:20-50
Psalm 118:19-29
Proverbs 15:27-28

****
Quote for Reflection:

    "If it is only in Christ that God has put forth his power to save us, we are not at liberty to depart from that method, if we desire to obtain salvation from God. Let it be also observed, that this horn brings salvation to believers, but terror to the ungodly, whom it scatters, or bruises and lays prostrate." -- John Calvin


May 23

CHOOSING THE WAY OF TRUTH
Psalm 119:29,30

    The psalmist writes in Psalm 119:29, 30, "Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me Thy law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me.''  This must not surprise us, even though he had from verse one onward revealed himself as a very spiritual child of God. Will such men walk in the lie and have to pray to be delivered from the way of lying?

    Yes, they will. For no sin of any kind is very far away from the most faithful child of God. Here below we still have only a small beginning of the new obedience. With Paul we all trust say, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"  Romans 7:24.  And if we do not lie with our lips, we do by our deeds.

    Think that over today. We go by the name Christian; but can Christ always be seen in our lives? Are we bearing a true or a false witness by our conduct? Do we clearly reveal that we are disciples of Christ? When we say that we were lucky or unlucky, or bet this or bet that, are we manifesting faith in God and the conviction that all comes out of His counsel? When we gamble with goods He gave us, are we using these things in the fear of His name? Are we glorifying Him with these items which really belong to Him and we have only so we may serve and glorify Him?

    Well may we pray and learn to sing:

    Keep me from falsehood, let, Thy law
    With me in grace abide;
    The way of faithfulness I choose,
    Thy precepts are my guide.

    All through the day there is reason to pray for that law to be in our hearts as our guide, and to be kept from falsehood. We need God's grace to keep us in the way of His law. Salvation is in every sense a gift; and we earn not the smallest blessing it contains. In fact, that we receive anything from God in His grace means that we deserve the opposite. God's grace is God giving blessings for nothing to those who deserve visitation in His wrath.  It is for Christ's sake, not ours, that we are rewarded for the good works He enabled us to perform.

Read: Proverbs 6:1-19
Psalter versification: 324:3

Daily  Meditations
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 53
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 2:12-32
II Samuel 3
John 13:1-30
Psalm 119:1-16
Proverbs 15:29-30

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Quote for Reflection:

"... vow we made, too, when we united ourselves to the church of God. There was an understood compact between us and the church, that we would serve it, that we would seek to honour Christ by holy living, increase the church by propagating the faith, seek its unity, its comfort, by our own love and sympathy with the members. We had no right to join with the church if we did not mean to give ourselves up to it, under Christ, to aid in its prosperity and increase. There was a stipulation made, and a covenant understood, when we entered into communion and league with our brethren in Christ. How about that? Can we say that, as unto God and in his sight, the vow has been performed?" --C. H. Spurgeon


May 24

RUNNING WITH AN ENLARGED HEART
Psalm 119:31,32

    Let us be honest and speak the truth. We are so frail spiritually and have a sinful flesh that troubles us even step of our way. So often we are proud of our sins rather than ashamed and sorry. By God's grace we have not fallen into unbelief and hatred against God; but we still are prone to stumble into sins which we ought to hate.

    Is there ever going to be a change? Will we ever love God with all our heart? Yes, but it will not be because we in our strength put off all our love of sin and got full control of all our members. Listen to the psalmist in Psalm 119:31, 32: "I have stuck unto Thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.  I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.'' Get that!  When God enlarges our hearts, we will run in His commandments.

    As the newborn babe grows, its heart becomes larger. So it must be with us as children of God. Our hearts must become larger than they now are, if we are going to run, in God's commandments. That is, our hearts must be able to hold more spiritual blood to send to every fiber of our being, if we are to run in holiness. That spiritual blood is love to God. A large heart full of it will walk as Christ walked.

    But note that God must enlarge that heart; and then we will not walk but run in love to God. We sing that in our versification:

    I cleave unto Thy truth, O Lord;
    From shame deliver me:
    In glad obedience I will live
    Through strength bestowed by Thee.

    There you have it. Strength bestowed by God will enable us to run the way of His commandments. Boast of doing so in your own strength, and you show yourself in Satan's clutches and that your heart is large with hatred against God. Love to God will praise Him and make us strive to run faster in service to Him than in the past. We will not be satisfied with walking, but will want to serve Him fully with every fiber of our being. Pray then that you may be kept from the shameful way of sin and of boasting. Run in the confession of God's love and grace.

Read: Psalm 119:97-112
Psalter versification: 324:4

Daily  Meditations
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 36
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 4
II Samuel 5
II Samuel 6
John 13:31-38
John 14:1-14
Psalm 119:17-32
Proverbs 15:31-32

****
Quote for Reflection:

"The will of Jesus Christ, is that those who belong to Him should walk exactly in his footsteps; that they should be, as He was, full of mercy and love; that they should render to no one evil for evil, but endure, for His sake, injuries, calumnies, and every outrage. To them all anger and resentment should be unknown." -- Athanasius


May 25

WHOLEHEARTED PRAISE
Psalm 9:1,2

    Many years ago, when our country was at war, a soldier wrote and said that the chaplain had preached on the subject of heaven, and said that his first fifty years there, he was going to fish and hunt. Plainly he knew nothing about heaven. And we ourselves often entertain foolish notions about life in the new Jerusalem.

    But listen to David as in Psalm 9:1,2 he writes, "I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thee, O most High.''

    Do you want that kind of heaven?  Then you will now want to praise Him, show His marvelous works and rejoice in Him. Or as we sing it:

    O Lord Most High, with all my heart
    Thy wondrous works I will proclaim;
    I will be glad and give Thee thanks
    And sing the praises of Thy name.

    Now if it is true that we look forward to such a life, it is true that we purpose the remainder of our lives here below to praise God's name, because we rejoice in Him Who wrought such marvelous works through His Son, with Whom we will live in the glory of His kingdom.

    What a marvelous work He wrought in that Son! We are still under the curse that rests upon us in this vale of tears. Our bodies also are not yet glorified. But what a huge load of sin has He removed.  It may be threescore years, and thus 25,550 days of sin which we committed. Multiply that by an innumerable host of saints, whose sins have been paid in full, and what a marvelous work that is! All accomplished by pouring out His holy wrath on that Son.

    What a reason we have to be glad and rejoice in our God with such love for is! What a reason to praise Him and thank Him. We need an everlasting life to do that. And it is promised us. What is more, there it will indeed be a wholehearted praise of people who are spiritually glad.

Read: Psalm 9
Psalter versification: 17:1

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 315
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 7
II Samuel 8
  John 14:15-31
Psalm 119:33-48
Proverbs 15:33

****
Quote for Reflection:

  … we are not curiously to inquire about the election of our brethren, but ought on the contrary to regard their calling, so that all who are admitted by faith into the church, are to be counted as the elect; for God thus separates them from the world, which is a sign of election. It is no objection to say that many fall away, having nothing but the semblance; for it is the judgment of charity and not of faith, when we deem all those elect in whom appears the mark of God’s adoption.            John Calvin


May 26

OUR CAUSE MAINTAINED
Psalm 9:3,4

    A truth that we are so inclined to doubt is that God loves us and watches mercifully over us. It takes only a little misery, while the ungodly increase in their wealth and pleasures of the flesh and we are ready to stop praising God and talking of His marvelous works. With Rebekah we are so quick to ask, "Why am I thus?'' Or, "Why does this have to happen to me?"

    We do well therefore to listen to David, who indeed had a rough life with enemies within and outside of his kingdom. In Psalm 9:3,4 he wrote, "When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at Thy presence.  For Thou hast maintained my right and my cause; Thou satest in the throne judging right."

    Take careful note of that last statement.  God is ruler over all things, sitting on a throne that is over all creation and He judges righteously. Never doubt any one of these elements, no matter how miserable your life becomes, and regardless of how many and fierce your enemies become. God is never on vacation and never sleeps. He is on His throne with perfect control over every creature from Satan down to every speck of dust.

    That He judges righteously means that He will not let anything happen to those whose sins His Son blotted out, that will keep them from the particular place and degree of glory He eternally planned for them and promised them. In fact, all their griefs and sorrows, miseries and enemies He will use to bring them there at the right time and in the right way.

    What a comfort as we approach the days of the antichrist, when the devil will raise up his "man of sin" to abuse us, our children, and our grandchildren. Signs of this are all around us today already, both outside of and inside of the church world. But let us sing:

    The Lord, the everlasting King,
    Is seated on His judgment throne;
    The righteous judge of all the world
    Will make His perfect justice known.

Read: II Thessalonians 2
Psalter versification: 17:2

Daily  Meditations
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 270
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 9
II Samuel 10
II Samuel 11
  John 15
Psalm 119:49-64
Proverbs 16:1-3

****
Quote for Reflection:

  … in the government of the world distinctions of rank are admitted, but in the spiritual kingdom of Christ they can have no place.         John Calvin


May 27

KNOWING GOD IN HIS FAITHFULNESS
Psalm 9:10

    Although it may not look that way because we closed our eyes, yet God is always faithful and can be trusted to do fully all that which He promised us. Even though on a cloudy night we cannot see the moon or the stars, they are there above us in the sky; and it is folly to say that they are not there, just because we cannot see them. Yet so often we go by what our fleshly eyes see or cannot see and behave as though what the eye of faith sees does not exist. For we have closed our eye of faith and judge all things by what our fleshly eye sees.

    David warns us against this when in Psalm 9:10 he writes, "And they that have known Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, 0 Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.''  David here uses the name Elohim, the Almighty One, and that name says that all the creatures have strength only when and in the measure that God gives it to them. And therefore knowing God's name means that we know and see Him with the eye of faith as the one Who has every creature large or small, animate or inanimate, in the angel world or in the world of men, completely under His control. They can only do what He eternally decreed that they would do, and what He gives them the strength to do.

    No wonder then that David says that those who know God's name can trust Him and see that He never forsakes one of His children. And with David we can sing:

    All they, O Lord, that know Thy name
    Their confidence in Thee will place,
    For Thou hast ne'er forsaken them
    Who earnestly have sought Thy face.

    Consider then that, since our God is almighty, no one can prevent Him from doing what He promised us, and no one has the strength to make Him change His mind. See Him then in that name, with your eye of faith, as an unchangeably faithful God Who will destroy all your enemies and bring you to glory. And when things look bad, as far as the eye of flesh is concerned, look at Him with the eye of faith.

Read: Revelation 20
Psalter versification: 17:2

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 25
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 12
  John 16
Psalm 119:65-80
Proverbs 16:4-5

****
Quote for Reflection:

  … And assuredly, when we consider that the sluggishness of our flesh hinders us from elevating our minds to the height of the divine majesty, in vain would God call us to himself, did he not at the same time, on his part, come down to us; or, did he not at least, by the interposition of means, stretch out his hand to us, so to speak, in order to lift us up to himself.          John Calvin


May 28

SINGING GOD'S PRAISES PROPERLY
Psalm 9:11

    David began Psalm 9 by declaring that he would praise God with his whole heart. But now in verse 11 he writes, "Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion; declare among the people His doings.''  Plainly he is calling others to do what he had been given grace to do. And the truth behind this is that if we truly are singing Gods praises wholeheartedly, we will want others to do so as well.

    A question we must answer therefore is whether we do sing God's praises with our whole heart. The question is not whether we sing His praises with our voices and tongues. There are many who hate God, and never enter into His house of prayer to worship Him, who will sing certain hymns or oratorios because they like the music or are seeking the praise of men. And a pointed and important question is, "What are your favorite songs?'' Are they the songs of men, or songs of praise to God? And is this one your favorite song because of the words, the truth expressed in it that praises God, or is it because of the smooth flowing melody and rich harmony?

    Another question is whether we are singing to men or to God.  Do we have God in our thoughts when we sing? Are we perhaps singing so rapidly that we cannot even give thought to the truth we express with our lips? Notice the versification of this Psalm:

    Sing praises to the Lord Most High,
    To Him Who doth in Zion dwell:
    Declare His mighty deeds abroad,
    His deeds among the nations tell.

    Here is a call to sing praises unto God as well as of God. We must declare His mighty deeds abroad, but in a way that we direct our praise to God.  We must do it in a way that teaches others to praise Him. We must want others to know what He did for us in His Son, but our deepest concern must be that others confess Him, and with us praise Him as the one of Whom, through Whom, and unto Whom are all things. We must be interested in their salvation, but chiefly because we want God to have all the praise that is due unto His name. Then we will sing only that which is based on true Biblical doctrine.

Read: Psalm 107:1-31
Psalter versification: 17:5

Daily  Meditations
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

 Song for Meditation: Psalter number 72
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 13
  John 17
Psalm 119:81-96
Proverbs 16:6-7

****
Quote for Reflection:

     … The end of the pilgrim’s journey that starts outside of the gate and on the which you are called to bear the reproach of the Sufferer of Golgotha, is the beautiful City of God.

     And it is about to come. . .

     Yet a little patience, and a little suffering, yet a little struggle and a little battle and the end of your journey shall have been reached.

     A very light affliction, quickly passing.

     And then eternal joy!

     Seek that City!

     Press on!    Herman Hoeksema (S.B. - Vol. 2, pg. 99)


May 29

BLESSED MEEKNESS
Psalm 131:1

    Psalm 131 is another brief Psalm being only one verse more than Psalm 117 which is the shortest chapter in the Bible. And in verse 1 the psalmist declares, "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or things too high for me." Our versification helps us understand this when it says:

    Not haughty is my heart,
    Not lofty is my pride;
    I do not seek to know the things
    God's wisdom has denied.

    The things "too high for me'' are things God's wisdom had denied him knowledge of in this life. And to be haughty and proud is to act and think that we know better than God what ought to happen,

    How about it? Were you fully satisfied with what God did yesterday? Are you willing to leave all things up to Him today? We must bow before His will. We do, without much thought, often pray "Thy by will be done,'' but only a few minutes later we are so apt to pray that He will change things to satisfy our plans and ambitions.

    Yet when God performs works which we do not understand, we should go in our thoughts to the cross of Christ. Many devout children of God stood around that cross wondering why it had to happen and wishing it had not taken place. But after the day of Pentecost they understood; and so do we.

    There are those events that we call accidents. There are works of God that touch our families and lives and seem to deny His love and make us question His wisdom. But by all means do not in haughtiness and pride think for one moment that you could have run the world better, or ordered in greater wisdom the things in your life. Be sure that all God's works are wrought n inscrutable wisdom. Never did He make a mistake. Never did things slip out of His control.

    There are things too high for us. But in childlike meekness leave all things in God's hands. He knows the best means and the best way to fulfill all His promises to us. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Read: Romans 8:28-39
Psalter versification: 366:1

Daily  Meditations
 on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 190
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 14
II Samuel 15:1-22
  John 18:1-24
Psalm 119:97-112
Proverbs 16:8-9

****
Quote for Reflection:

"This aspect of obedience to the Fourth Commandment is threatened today. There are leaks in the dike. There are those who attend only infrequently, missing entire Sundays or consistently missing one of the services every Sunday ("oncers"). There is the growing practice of missing the worship services, now and then, because they interfere with our pleasures, e.g., our vacation-plans. The Lord's Day is completely forgotten. It is used for traveling or for sightseeing, just as though it did not belong to the risen Christ, but to ourselves. The strange notion is found in the Church that the Fourth Commandment may be broken occasionally. Men suppose that, if they remember the Lord's Day 51 weeks of the year, they are warranted in forgetting it one week. What would these same people say if others would adopt this thinking in regard to the commandment against stealing, or the commandment against murder?

"But the Lord's Day gets in the way of my pleasures," says the man determined to enjoy his weekend vacation. Yes, the Law of God has a way of doing this. Throughout the Old Testament, the Sabbath-Commandment "interfered" with Israel's pleasures; and for this reason they broke it (cf. Isaiah 58:13 and Amos 8:5). May we bend and twist the Law to suit our pleasures? Or are we to plan our lives according to the law and to find our pleasure in doing what it says?

Our would-be vacationer persists, "But I work hard during the year, and I need some rest." To be sure, we need rest; and this needed rest is the rest of the Lord's house and the Lord's Word." Remembering the Lord's Day, by Prof. Engelsma


May 30

CHILDLIKE TRUST IN GOD
Psalm 131:2

    When in Psalm 131:1 David confessed that he is not haughty and his eyes were not lofty, one might be inclined to say that his very words reveal pride and conceit. If you please, he says to God that he is not haughty.  He says this to one Who reads the heart and from Whom nothing can be hid. Do not such words then show both pride and ignorance?

    His words in the next verse seem to reveal even more pride. For there he states. "Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child'" Psalm 131:2. Is that not boasting of what he did, and that, before the face of God?

    No, David's reference to a mother reveals his humility.  For he is speaking of what state a mother brought her child unto, not what he achieved by his own strength or ingenuity. Rightly understood he confesses here that unto which God brought him. He trusts in God and calmly rests in the assurance that God will take care of him. He has a childlike contentment given to him and worked in Him by God. As our versification sings it:

    With childlike trust, O Lord,
    In Thee I calmly rest,
    Contented as a little child
    Upon its mother's breast.

    David is therefore confessing what God did to him. The fact that he begins the Psalm with the word Lord reveals that. The Psalm speaks of a divinely wrought humility, a childlike faith in God, And his use of the pronouns my, mine, myself, me, and I do not reveal pride but are used that he may express what God did to him.

    Can you say that with David? Can you humbly say this is true of you as well as it was of  David? Are you weaned from your fleshly desires so that you are content with whatever God sends you, assured it works together for your good? And, if you please, David could confess that long before the cross of Christ. Do we not have more reason than he to walk in childlike trust in God? If you cannot walk that way, then pray for the grace to do so.

Read: Psalm 130
Psalter versification: 366:2

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

 Song for Meditation: Psalter number 412
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 15:23-37
II Samuel 16
  John 18:25-40
John 19:1-22
Psalm 119:113-128
Proverbs 16:10-11

****
Quote for Reflection:

John Calvin on God's promises:

·     “Whatever God promises, belongs to his elect, not to all.

·     Promises are related to the covenant as their only source.

·     The efficacy of God's promises depends on Christ alone.

·     We ought not to judge of the promises of God from our condition, but from His truth.

·     Faith cannot stand, unless it be founded on the promises of God.

·     The only cure for covetousness is to embrace the promises of God.

·     We cannot rely on his promises without obeying His commandments.

·     The main thing in the worship of God is to embrace His promises with obedience.”


May 31

HOPE THAT MAKETH NOT ASHAMED
Psalm 131:3

    If there is one word that is abused and wrongly taken upon the lips of a child of God very often in this day and age, it is the word hope. Much of the time we say, "I hope so" and all that we mean thereby is, ''I would like to see it happen.'' However, the word hope means "to desire with expectancy and believe that it is attainable." And the hope of the child of God, as presented in Scripture, always has both of those elements in it, namely, desire or longing and expectation or assurance that the object hoped for will come.

    Thus when in Psalm 131:3 David writes "Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and forever," he means that we should desire salvation and its blessings, which God promises us, and live in the confidence that He will fulfill all of His promises in the minutest detail. Thus our versification has:

    Ye people of the Lord,
    In Him alone confide;
    From this time forth and evermore
    His wisdom be your guide.

    All this fits in so beautifully with David's previous words that his heart is not haughty, and that he has behaved and quieted his soul. (The Hebrew word is soul rather than myself.)  He is now like a child weaned, weaned away from his former silly and haughty notions that he knew better than God what was good for him.

    What about you and me? Do we hope in God? When it comes down to it, you and I cannot hope in God's promises without conviction that they will be fulfilled. We hope, do we not, that Christ will return? We hope that He will lift us up above the curse which now rests upon this earth. But we also hope that He will deliver us completely from the power of sin, so that in the new Jerusalem it will be impossible for us to sin. We will awake with Christ's likeness and forever be satisfied (Psalm 17:15). But we hope for all this in the expectation of its coming. We hope because we are confident that it will take place.

    Use the word hope that way. And live in that hope, which in Romans 5:5 Paul says ''maketh not ashamed.''

Read: Romans 5
Psalter versification: 366:3

Daily  Meditations on the
Heidelberg Catechism

 Song for Meditation: Psalter number 149  
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 17
II Samuel 16
  John 19:23-42
Psalm 119:129-152
Proverbs 16:12-13

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Quote for Reflection:

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4: "The hindering of good work is that which bad men aim at and promise themselves; but good work is God’s work, and it shall prosper."


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Last modified, 05-Mar-2007