Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Prayer is often given to us to
make our requests known unto God. Its primary function, however,
is to express worship unto Him who rules in the heavens and
the earth, whose name is holy, and whose ways are past finding
out. Even as the Lord gave the opening line of His moral prayer
for His disciples, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, in earth as it is in heaven. Only then does he speak of making
a request. God will convince His children
of His holiness and justice which grows out of His holiness as
He manifests the giving of His only begotten Son as a satisfaction
of the law which men have despised and presently disregard apart
from His grace. Does he not by this revelation
humble the hearts of those proud sinners for which he shed his
blood? Is this not that which causes them to rejoice in his
goodness? And they that know thy name will put their trust
in thee, for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Even then do they find rest in him and his sovereign rule, for
they know the Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down
to the grave and bringeth up. A man cannot truly rejoice in
the goodness of God to make men to live until he first understands
that he has the power to destroy, that is to kill absolutely both
soul and body in hell. The Lord said of himself, See
now that I, even I am he, and there is no God with me. I kill
and I make alive, I wound and I heal, neither is there any
that can deliver out of my hand. So we see him who does indeed
deliver men from death and destruction. For I lift up my hand to heaven,
and I say, I live forever. If I whet my glittering sword,
and my hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine
enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine
arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh,
and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from
the beginning of revenge is upon the enemy. Rejoice, O ye nations,
with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants,
and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be
merciful unto his land and to his people. He delivers his elect
from the dunghill. A dunghill is literally a pile
of rubbish and filth. Men by nature like to think of
themselves as very special unto the Lord, as they entertain the
notion that they can do many things to please him, and earned
his favor by their morality, obedience, and devotion. Yet
the Lord has no regard unto men and their supposed righteousness.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags, and we do all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities,
like the wind, have taken us away. By this description, we
must despair of ever coming into his presence. Yet we read that
he has seen his people in their dire condition and has had mercy
upon them according to his purpose. And when I passed by thee, I
saw thee polluted in thine own blood. I said unto thee, when
thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, live. Now when I passed by thee and
I looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love. And
I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea, thou
became as mine. Then washed I thee with water,
yea, I thoroughly washed away the blood from thee, and I anointed
thee with oil. Thus he has lifted up the beggar
from the dunghill. Apart from his sovereign grace
we would perish, for we had no riches wherewith to buy the gold
of his kingdom. Then we read that he has raised
up the poor out of the dust. The Lord told Adam that he would
surely die in the day that he ate the fruit of the tree which
he forbade him to eat. When Adam had fulfilled this
prophecy, acting according to his nature, the Lord cursed the
ground and told him, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
till thou return unto the ground. For out of it was thou taken,
for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. The outlook
for mortal man is quite bleak. He has no life within himself.
As the Lord told Adam, he would surely die, and can look forward
to nothing but utter destruction in the lake of fire, apart from
the gift of life from Him who has the power to make men live.
For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to
the Son to have life in Himself. As Thou hast given Him power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many
as Thou hast given Him. And this is the record that God
has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. Surely He raises the poor out
of the dust, now by the new birth, and later in the day of the resurrection,
when the dead in Christ shall awaken from their sleep. Are
you alive in Him? He is the way, the truth, and
the life. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.