Satan, the father of the lie, told Eve, and through her told Adam, that God is a liar. He told them that if they would disobey God, they would not die as God had said, but would become like Him, knowing that which is good for them and evil unto them. But how different is that which God says through the psalmist in Psalm 99:4, 5, where we read: "The King's strength also loveth judgment; Thou dost establish equity, Thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; for He is holy."
Instead of saying the truth about God, Satan made man believe that he can be God's equal. He denied the whole truth wherewith the psalmist began this Psalm, namely, that God reigneth and is high above us.
And do not ever forget that every time we sin, we say by that act that we know better than He does what is good and what is evil for us, that we are above God and need not bow before Him and His will. We say that in every sin we commit.
How important it is that we listen to God and not to the devil and our flesh. How important that we sing:
Merciful and mighty, He delights in justice,
For He reigns in righteousness and rules in equity;
Worship and exalt Him, bowing down before Him,
Perfect in power and holiness is He.
God reigns over all that which He made, and He judges all men and angels in strict justice. He does not waver to any degree at any time. We are going to have to take hold of that truth, if we are going to understand and appreciate what He did for us in His Son. Because He loves strict justice, He sent His Son to suffer our punishment and to fulfill the law for us.
What a calling we have then to humble ourselves at His feet and to worship Him as one Who is high above us. We must look up to Him, for we are at His feet in His grace.
Read: Revelation 4
Psalter versification: 266:2
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
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Song for Meditation: Psalter number 171
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Jeremiah 19 ; Jeremiah 20 ; Jeremiah 21:1-14
1 Thessalonians 5:4-28
Psalm 82:1-8
Proverbs 25:9-10
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Quote for Reflection:
Herman Hoeksema: "Our immediate concern is ... with those who , while they loudly and emphatically proclaim that ‘Jesus saves,’ yet deprive Him of all power to save unless the sinner gives his consent. This is a great evil, and a very general and prevalent one in our day, all the more dangerous because those that thus preach Jesus ostensibly emphasize strongly exactly that which they, nevertheless deny: that Jesus saves. The name of Jesus is on the lips of many a preacher today, who, nevertheless, proclaims a Jesus that is impotent to save ... For they do not mean that Jesus actually saves, but that He is willing to save provided the sinner gives his consent, will let himself be saved by Jesus; if not, their Jesus is powerless to save. In other words, they do not find in their Jesus absolutely all things necessary to save a sinner, and that, too, not a willing, but an unwilling sinner that is dead through trespasses and sins. And, therefore, it is not only proper, but urgently necessary for the church that prizes and would preserve the truth as it is in Christ, to emphasize that Christ is a complete, a perfect and only Saviour, and that He is not only willing, but powerful to save even unto the end. His name is called Jesus, ‘because he shall save His people from their sins’" (The Triple Knowledge, p. 454).
