Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The sparing of the sons of Korah
provide a perfect illustration of the Lord's declaration of
His good pleasure. And He said, I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. The conditionalists and prophets of free will wished
that this scripture would disappear, along with Paul's commentary
on this very truth to the Corinthians. For who maketh thee to differ
from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?
Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou
hadst not received it? The demonstration of His sovereignty
in the dispensing of mercy is but a demonstration of His goodness,
and is in no wise predicated upon anything foreseen or observed
in the recipients. When men recognize the total
worthiness of all men to be destroyed, then the fact that He would be
pleased to show mercy to some can then be seen not as withholding
mercy from some, but rather the pouring out of mercy upon those
who do not deserve it. So while the households of Dathan
and Abiram perished, the sons of Korah were spared. It is further
noted that great blessing was poured out upon Korah's offspring
as they were given the privilege of singing praises unto him whose
grace was magnified in them even as his judgment was magnified
in their father. The psalmist said that it is
a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. We are reminded that
every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning. A man by nature could and would
sooner howl at the moon than give true thanks and praise unto
the Most High God. There is none that doeth good,
there is none that seeketh after God. They have all gone aside
in pursuit of their own way. There is a natural religion that
man gravitates towards, which promotes the worship of gods,
which suit their own imagination. David describes these men and
their gods. 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, and so is everyone
that trusteth in them. Men imagine a vain thing, for
they will worship gods which have respect unto their desires
and free will, and who act only according to that which they
would allow him to do. These gods are their servants,
and are much like the genie in a lamp, which only has to be
rubbed the right way, and their wishes are granted. The God of
present-day so-called Christianity has no power to save anyone unless
they let him into their hearts, pray the right prayer, or obey
his commands. David said, But our God is in
the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. The natural man is in total rebellion against him,
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their
cords from us. Religious men often think themselves
to be in service to God, even as Paul did when he was on the
road to Damascus. Yet apart from the gift of God,
they will never be able to praise Him alone, and will continue
on their chosen path, quite content with the traditions and doctrines
of their fathers, ever learning and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth. They will continue to believe
that they can thwart His will by the exercise of their own.
Yet the true and living God, who is worthy of all praise,
will do according to His will at all times. This very fact
will elicit praise from those whom He is pleased to enlighten,
to understand that their only hope of deliverance rests in
His willingness to show mercy to those whom He will. How can
a ruined sinner find any help at all in a supposed God who
only shows mercy to those who take the first step towards Him?
Sinners know themselves to be lame in both feet. Christ draws
sinners unto Himself to obtain that salvation which He has provided,
according to His purpose to save those He has loved with an everlasting
love. Their confession is, Thou hast
put gladness in my heart. I will both lay me down in peace
and sleep, for Thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises
unto Thy name, O Most High. The loving kindness of the inapproachable
and invisible God has been manifested in Jesus Christ, our glorious
Redeemer. Can the tongues of the redeemed
be silent? Must we not break forth in doxologies of praise
and thanksgiving unto Him who has shed His precious blood for
such unworthy sinners as ourselves? It is a good thing to magnify
His glorious name. and they sung a new song saying
thou art worthy to take the book to open the seals thereof for
thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred and tongue and people and nation. May he ever
be praised. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.