PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
“Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, for we have been brought very low" (Psalm 79:8 NKJV).
Because of sin, judgment has come upon Israel in the form of an invasion of foreign powers. In our verse the Psalmist prays to God on behalf of his people for deliverance from their oppressors. This prayer speaks of the memory of God, the mercy of God, and the method of God.
Memory of God – “Do not remember former iniquities against us.” We all need to ask God to cleanse us from the sins of the past. And although we tend to forget some of our sins, God does not forget. He is omniscient and knows all things; we cannot hide our sins from God. And He will judge us for every one of our sins. However, when we seek God’s forgiveness, He will not only forgive us our sins, but He will forget them, too! “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb. 8:12).
Mercy of God - “Let Your tender mercies speedily to meet us.” This is a wise prayer as the Psalmist is praying for the mercies of God to meet him and speedily. We will not get much if our prayer requests are based on merit. However, prayers based on mercy from God, will open the door to great blessings. And sinners need to come speedily to the Lord Jesus to find mercy for salvation lest it becomes too late for help.
Method of God - “We have been brought very low.” The Divine method of judgment upon sin is to bring the sinner down low. The arrogant attitude of sinners abounds, but they will all be “brought very low” in due time by Divine judgment. Sin does not exalt and lift up a person. Rather, it only leads to the sinner being lowered in shame.
(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)
Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)
Quotation of the Week
“Prayer is a time of exposure of the soul to God!”
Anonymous
Word Study
Pervert (distort)
In Gal. 1:7 we read, “Which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert (distort) the gospel of Christ!” (NKJV).
Pervert (distort) is the Greek word metastrephō (μεταστρέφω = met-as-tref'-o). It is made up of two words: “meta” which means change and “strephō” which means to twist. Thus, the word means to turn about or turn around. It is to transform into something of an opposite character; to corrupt, or reverse. The idea is to turn something to it opposite state, so altering it and causing it to be different. Metastrephō was also used as a political term, with revolutionary action in view.
Further, the word is in the aorist tense which indicates a complete and thorough change or perversion of the true gospel of grace! The Judaizers were perverting Paul’s message of grace through faith alone by adding salvation by works. This meant that the gospel was being transformed into something diametrically opposed to what it was originally; into something of an opposite nature. Yet, there is one only gospel, one message of good news to men from God. If we turn away from that message, we are turning away to falsehood, to that which will bring trouble and lead us astray.
Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus
Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah’s acquaintances would fled from Him (Psalm 31:11)
New Testament Fulfillment – Mark 14:50
Did You Know…
The Gospel According to Mark is the second of the four New Testament Gospels and the third of the three Synoptic Gospels. It is attributed to St. Mark, an associate of St. Paul and a disciple of St. Peter. It is the shortest and the earliest of the four Gospels, written sometime between A.D. 64 and 65. Mark emphasizes the Passion of the Lord Jesus, predicting it as early as chapter 8 and devoting the final third of his Gospel (Chapters 11–16) to the last week of Jesus’ life.
Bible Quiz
According to the Book of Acts, what was Dorcas famous for?
**Answer to last week’s trivia: How is faith described in the book of Hebrews? “The evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).
Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible
"Blessing in disguise”
“But he said, your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing” (Gen. 27:35 NKJV).
“Blessing in disguise” - The expression “blessing in disguise” carries the idea of something thought to be bad turning out otherwise. The blessing that Isaac bestows on Jacob (whom he mistakes for Esau) grants him fertility of the ground, dominion over other nations, including those descended from siblings. Esau finally realize the true nature of Jacob the trickster – this is the second time that he was deceived by Jacob. But God would work through Jacob’s conniving. Yet, he gained nothing that God would not have given him anyway and he lost much. His activities only succeeded in doing what God’s word had predicted. God’s program will triumph, often in spite of human activities.
Did You Know – Christian History
Joseph Alleine was born April 8, 1634 in Wiltshire, England. He was an English Puritan Nonconformist pastor and author of many religious works.
When Alleine’s older brother Edward who was studying for the ministry died, Joseph underwent a spiritual crisis and pleaded with his father to be allowed to take his place. His father agreed and Joseph headed off to school.
Alleine proved to be a diligent scholar, completing his B.D. He first worked as a college tutor, then later as a chaplain, devoting considerable time to preaching in the county jail, visiting the sick, and relieving the poor. He would often rise early in the morning, lamenting that others were already at work before he prayed to his Master. Alleine would customarily have private devotions and meditation with the Lord from 4 to 8 A.M.
After he was ejected for nonconformity in 1662, Alleine increased his preaching. Believing his time was short, he averaged 1 - 2 sermons each day for the next nine months, until he was arrested and cast into prison. The evening prior to his arrest, he had preached and prayed with his people for three hours, declaring, “Glory be to God that hath accounted me worthy to suffer for His gospel!” His prison became a pulpit as he preached to crowds through the bars. Released a year later, he continued preaching. He was arrested a second time while preaching on July 10, 1666, and imprisoned again.
Alleine was again released, but his health eventually gave way under the hardship. He died at age thirty-four in 1668 in full assurance of faith and with much thanksgiving and praise to God. His last words were: “Christ is mine, and I am His-His by covenant.”
Alleine’s Alarm to the Unconverted (A Sure Guide to Heaven), is a powerful manual on conversion and the call of the gospel. This book, reprinted some 500 times, is a classic on evangelism and a tool used for the conversion of many souls. It greatly influenced the evangelistic approach of famous preachers such as George Whitefield and Charles Spurgeon.
A Little Humor
A race track operator offered a gift to a local church for its building fund. The church held a business meeting to decide if they could accept it. The pastor asked the board, “Should we accept this gift from the race track or not?” One member spoke up and said, “I don’t see why we don’t accept his money. He always accept mine.”
Thought Provoking Church Sign
“Salvation is God’s way of making us real people!”
