Psalm 3:8
No child of God denies that the world and all that it contains belongs to God. The Scriptures begin by impressing upon our minds that God made it all and did so out of nothing. But every child of God should also say with David, "Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Selah" Psalm 3:8. We sing it thus (PRC Psalter):
Salvation to the Lord belongs,
In Him His saints are blest;
O let Thy blessing evermore
Upon Thy people rest.
Now that salvation belongs to God certainly means that all the credit for it is His. He realized every part of it, and in no way and to no degree, and not for the slightest fraction of a moment, does man help God save him. God, the Creator of all, in no way is ever saved from disappointment by the work of the creatures He made.
Our Savior's name is Jesus. That name comes from the Hebrew words Jehovah and salvation. Did not the angel tell Joseph that the child that would be born to Mary must be called Jesus "for he shall save his people from their sins"? Matthew 1:21.
The word Selah means: Pause and think this over. Surely in this present day and age we ought to give serious thought to this truth. Salvation belongs to God. He realizes it in its smallest detail. Therefore He should receive all the praise and thanksgiving for this tremendously important work.
So often we hear men deny this truth in their preaching and witnessing. Emphatically and correctly they say that He wants to save. But we must go a step further, He saves and does not simply try to save. Never does He fail to save even one of those He sets out to save. He is not dependent upon the will of the man He sets out to save. He commands faith and does not plead with man to believe in order that He may save him.
Let us reject any idea that God is ever frustrated by man. Salvation belongs to God. It is His gift to us, and we give Him nothing for it. Man does not let God save him. God blesses us with full salvation.
Read: Psalm 3
Psalter versification: #5:5
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #190
Why not sing along??
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Daniel 11:36-45 ; Daniel 12
1 John 4:1-21
Psalm 123:1-4
Proverbs 29:2-4
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Quote for Reflection:
“There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for Thine own sake, whose joy Thou Thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee, for Thee; this it is, and there is no other.” The Confessions of St. Augustine (354-430)
Additional Info
- Date: 4-December
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.