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The Silence Of Faith
Saturday the 10th of June
in Meditations I
One reveals one's faith by what one says. However, that speaking is not only that which is produced by the lips and voice. As the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." By our behavior or conduct we with a silent mouth say whether we are children of God or of the devil. But there is also a silence wrought by mouth and heart which is produced by faith. And there are times when as the psalmist says in Psalm 46:10, we must "Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted in the earth."
The word "still", used here, is most often translated as "be feeble, be idle, weaken, let alone, let go," and "stay." Quite plainly then we are here exhorted to stop questioning God's strength and faithfulness to His promises. Positively it means that we have implicit trust in God as our refuge. Beautifully this truth is sung in our versification:
Be still and know that I am God,
O'er all exalted high;
The subject nations of the earth
My name shall magnify.
The Lord of Hosts is on our side,
Our safety to secure;
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure.
That we may have unshaken trust in God and be absolutely sure that we will dwell with Him, the psalmist had written in verse 8, "Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He hath made in the earth." And for us that means that we study the Scriptures and behold how He saved Noah and his family, brought Israel up out of Egypt and safely through the Red Sea, and gave Israel the whole promised land of Canaan. It means that we look closely at Christ and His cross every time we have doubts and fears. That cross was not the failure it looked like to some at that time. It was God's way of making a place for us in the new Jerusalem, the city of God and place of everlasting blessedness.
Be still then. Be silent as far as doubts and fears are concerned. We have a refuge, an absolutely safe place and an absolutely safe journey to that city of God.
Read: Psalm 4
Psalter versification: #126:5
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 135
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
1 Kings 7
Acts 7:30-50
Psalm 128:1-6
Proverbs 16:31-33
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Quote for Reflection:
You cannot make your children love the Bible, I allow. None but the Holy Ghost can give us a heart to delight in the Word. But you can make your children acquainted with the Bible; and be sure they cannot be acquainted with that blessed book too soon, or too well. --J.C. Ryle, "The Duties of Parents"
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