David's Testimony

Psa 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.


By: James Smith 

(Grace Gems)

Ease and prosperity breed a number of temptations, and it is but seldom that we escape being taken in some of them. Hezekiah could pray, wrestle, and prevail with God in affliction — but when ease and prosperity were his lot, he soon turned aside! In ease and prosperity — the heart gets hardened; and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Even the Lord Himself gets no attention; hence He complains, "I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice."Jer 22:21

David could maintain his character in afflictions, much better than in prosperity — it was from the mount of prosperity that he fell, in the case of Uriah the Hittite. The prosperity of fools destroys them, and the Lord's family would be very much injured, if it were not for trials and troubles.

Look at the afflictions of David — how many, how various! Saul hunts him for a long period, like a partridge upon the mountains; Keilah, the city he lived in, is burnt — his wives and property are gone into captivity, and the people talk of stoning him. His beloved child, by Bathsheba, is taken away in judgment. Amnon ravishes his sister Tamar. Absalom raises a rebellion, defiles his concubines, drives him into exile, and is at length cut off in his sins. The three days' pestilence came upon the land in consequence of his sin, and seventy thousand people are cut off. These and other afflictions, are recorded in his history; and be looks upon them as the consequences of his going astray.

Affliction is to call him back to his closet, his Bible, and his God. Afflictions are corrections for sin, and intended to teach us. "Your own wickedness shall correct you, and your backsliding shall reprove you; know therefore and see, that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and that my fear is not in you, says the Lord Almighty!"

Rightly viewed, our afflictions humble us before God, give us a greater hatred to sin; and urge us to cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart. They are designed to reveal to us the nature of sin, the effects of transgression, the necessity for watchfulness, and the need of being daily upheld by the right hand of Jehovah's righteousness. When they lead us to search, plead, apply, and obey God's word — they accomplish a most desirable end; and it is evident they are blessings in disguise, and have done us real good.

Believer, prize your Bible; study the Lord's will; aim in all things, and at all times, to be ruled by its wholesome and holy precepts.

I know your judgments, Lord, are right,

Though they may seem severe; 

The sharpest sufferings I endure 

Flow from your faithful care.

Yes, I have found it good for me

To bear my Father's rod;

Afflictions make me learn your law,

And live upon my God!

Before I knew your chastening rod 

My feet were apt to stray;

But now I learn to keep your word, 

Nor wander from your way!

Yoked to Work for Wages Right

Read 

This 

From

Jeremy Walker 

And click the links above to read more.

"I am working on a piece on Matthew Henry, born 350 years ago this year, and came across some gems of advice from his father, Philip Henry.....

From a pious aged father to his son a minister newly married

Dear Pair, whom God hath now of two made One

Suffer a Father's exhortation.

In the first Place see that with joynt indeavour -

You set yourselves to serve the Lord together,

You are yoakt to work but for work Wages write,

His Yoak is easie, & his burden light,

Love one another, Pray oft together, and see,

You never both together Angry bee -

If one speak fire t'other with water come,

Is one provok'd be tother soft or dumb -

Walk low, but aim high, spotless be your life

You are a Minister, and a Minister's Wife

Therefore as Beacons set upon a Hill -

To angels and to men a spectacle -

Your slips will falls be calld, your falls each one

Will be a blemish to Religion -

Do good to all, bee affable and meek

Your converse must be Preaching all the week -

Your Garb and Dress must not be vain or Gay,

Reckon good works your richest, best array -

Your House must be a Bethel, and your Door

Always stand open to receive the Poor

Call your estate God's, not your own, ingrave

Holiness to the Lord on all you have

Count upon suffering, or you count amis,

Sufficient to each day its evil is,

All are born once to trouble, but saints twice,

And as experience shews Min[iste]rs thrice,

But if you suffer with and for your Lord,

You'l reign with him according to his Word.

M . H. Lee, Diaries and Letters of Philip Henry (London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1882),  359-60, quoted in Allan Harman, Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence(Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2012) 

Incidentally, Philip Henry, from his deathbed, gave Matthew further advice in response to his son's request, "Oh, sir, pray for me that I may but tread in your steps." Philip replied, "Yea, follow peace and holiness, and let them say what they will."

The Accessibility of Christ

A couple weeks ago I was privilaged to be invited to the  New Testament Baptist Church in Bristol, TN.  Lewis Kiger is the faithful pastor there, and a dear friend.

Here is a message I preached on the Accessibility of Christ.



People in positions of power and authority often don’t have time or the desire to be called upon by the "little people" and make themselves only accessible to those in equal or greater power and authority. Do you think you could go to the Oval Office today and get a meeting with the President?

It is like that for most, but not all.The most powerful of all Kings, the greatest of all Lords made Himself accessible - not to dignitaries and those of great power and influence, but the undesirables, the little people, the sinners.

What a Saviour! What a King! Christ Jesus, the eternal Son of God, to stoop to make Himself accessible to us!

Toughness

"No one is saying that a boy with a severed limb should be yelled at for bleeding on the carpet. Neverthless, instilling toughness in boys is extrodinarily important. A masculine toughness is the only foundation upon which a masculine tenderness may be safely placed. Without a concrete foundation, thoughtfulness, consideration, and sensitivity in men [are] simply gross."--Douglas Wilson, Future Men

That's right..

Yes, that's right - another name change. And it might change again because I can't leave it blank. My plight apparently is a common one. As Luke might say "blogs that are titled "An Untitled Blog" are not a few".  Which says something about me - I am not alone in my struggle to name my blog, or I like change, or it just means that I'm not very creative.

When my fourth son Jacob was born, we went to the hospital not knowing what we were going to name him. We joked that we had just run out of boy names. After he was born, I was with the hospital staff as they were counting fingers, toes, and other necessary extremities to make sure they were all accounted for and where they were supposed to be, they asked"well Dad, what's his name?"

After briefly considering saying that I would follow ancient Jewish custom by naming the child on the eighth day, but not willing or able to go back under the law - I said the first name that I could think of in the list of names we were considering: Jacob.

He is still Jacob by the way.

He was always going to be Jacob, I just didn't know it. That is the awesome thing about God's sovereignty. This world isn't spinning out of control, though it feels like it. Our lives aren't spinning out of control, even though it feels like it.

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.  (Isa 46:9-11)

As long as we are being devotional and you are still with me, allow me to tell you another awesome thing about God's sovereignty. God is sovereign over the big things, but not just the big things. God is sovereign ALL THE TIME. When life seems out of control and the world is crazy, but also over the flight pattern of the blue bird that is currently residing in my back yard. God is sovereign over  the rock that I ran over with the lawn mower Saturday that has been waiting underground for thousands of years to make its appearance above the earth to glorify God in dulling my mower blades. God's sovereignty is displayed in a foul ball with the tying run on third and it is displayed in the next pitch that sends the batter back to the dugout.

It is also in the naming of blogs and children. The name of this blog is really inconsequential in the scheme of things I suppose, but as I consider how God has used this for me personally to meditate on God's greatness I can see how He cares for my soul even in my struggles - which makes me Rejoice in the Lord.


Grace & Peace - DP Newell