Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. David aptly describes the
imaginary gods which men worship. Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but
they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell
not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but
they walk not. Neither speak they through their
throat. They that make them are like unto them. So is everyone
that trusteth in them. The scripture says that the Lord
will have men in derision and will laugh at them for such foolishness.
He that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh. The Lord shall have
them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. But thou,
O Lord, shalt laugh at them. Thou shalt have all the heathen
in derision. But ye have said it not, all my counsel, and would
none of my reproof. I will also laugh at your calamity.
I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation,
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me. When men do not fear the Lord,
they will go about to establish their own righteousness, and
will rejoice in their own power and might. The Lord raised up
Pharaoh and made him to be a mighty man in the earth, in order to
manifest his own righteous judgment and power, and to demonstrate
that his mercy is sovereignly dispensed. For the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. Quite in contrast
to the gods of the heathen, David declares, But our God is in the
heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Cicero was quite impressed with
himself being the captain of the Canaanite king Jabin's army
and going to war with 900 chariots of iron. He commanded quite a
formidable force for the time and oppressed Israel for over
20 years. Yet in his own time, the Lord
laid Cicero low and demonstrated quite clearly that the might
and power of men, regardless of how formidable it may be,
is as nothing before him. Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket, and are counted as a small dust of the balance.
Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. To die
at the hand of a woman is about as low a state as a man of Cicero's
mindset would be. Thus the Lord added insult to
injury and showed his utter disdain for the strength of men as he
ordained that Sisera should be slain by Jael, the wife of Heber
the Kenite. She lured him to his death and
drove a tent stake through his temple as he slept and then cut
off his head. The scripture says the Lord discomfited
Cicero. This is a word which basically
means put into chaos. This is exactly what happened
as every one of Cicero's men were slain by Barak's army. In
the heat of this battle, Cicero the mighty abandoned his chariot
of iron and fled like a dog running away from the fight. If you had
been able to ask Cicero about his power and might at that time,
he would no doubt have confessed his own weakness. I'm reminded
of another man of great power who went into battle with great
religious zeal, breathing out threatening and slaughter to
the household of God. Yet he too fell upon his face
before the Lord on the road to Damascus as the Lord discomfited
Saul of Tarsus and brought him to repentance in a moment. Such
is the work of God which is visited upon those whom he has ordained
unto eternal life. While Sisera was discomfited
unto destruction, those whom the Lord loves are discomfited
that they might be given life. We see this illustrated in David,
Job, and Peter, just to name a few. Those for whom Christ
has shed his precious blood shall all in his time be brought down
to his feet, confessing their sins and calling upon his name. He is the Savior of sinners and
will lose none of those for whom he obtained eternal redemption.
Have you been discomfited by the Lord? The Lamb has exalted
repentance to give that sin may be hated while sinners believe. Contrition is granted and God
justified. The sinner is humbled and self
is denied. Repentance flows freely through
Calvary's blood, produced by the Spirit in goodness of God.
The living possess it through faith, hope, and love, and only
the blessings sent down from above. All born of the Spirit
are brought to repent. Free grace can make adamant hearts
to relent. Repentance is granted, God's
justice to prove. Remission is given, and both
from His love. Have you been discomfited by
the Lord? For a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts,
send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net