Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. When the Lord revealed himself
to Moses, he simply said that his name was I Am. He would leave
no doubt in Moses' mind that he was that one who was and is
and is to come, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and
the end. He is the first cause of all causes and events, and
all things were created by him. All things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made. There is
nothing that exists that did not have its origin with God.
We are sure that Satan is the father of lies, yet we are also
certain that the everlasting and holy God created Satan out
of nothing that did then appear in order to fulfill his divine
purpose. We are also certain that all
evil will serve the purpose of God and can in no wise occur
apart from His divine decree. Not only that, but that God did
create and form His own enemies in order to display His mighty
power in their destruction and cause the glory of the redemption
of His people to shine brightly in contrast to their utter destruction. 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. So the enemies of God can in
reality do nothing to thwart his way, but rather they fulfill
his very purpose for them with their every action. They include
those who have a contempt and disregard for his truth, such
as Pharaoh, and those who are religious and value their own
religion and righteousness as being quite acceptable in his
sight, such as the religious Pharisees. They have demonstrated
a true hatred for him by a disregard for his truth, and he will utterly
destroy them forever. Paul describes them as those
who are ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge
of the truth. We see the certain justice of God towards his enemies
demonstrated in David's command to his son Solomon concerning
Shimei. David, being a man after God's
own heart, demanded that Solomon not let Shimei die in peace,
but to execute him. Shimei is a good example of the
enemies of God who rail upon the rightful king. Not only was
the king the object of his scorn and ridicule, but also those
who were the servants of the king and the heirs of the kingdom.
He threw rocks at them all. This is not surprising since
he arose from the house of Saul, from whom the kingdom was stripped.
There is a natural enmity that abides in the heart of men against
Christ the King, and was demonstrated by the religious Jews. And except
it be taken away, everyone would express themselves in cursing
His name. Yet the Lord, in His mercy, has
not ordained that all of those born of woman would be His enemies. Rather, He has ordained that
some would believe and follow Him. And when the Gentiles heard
this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Shimei, even though
he was the enemy of King David, was nonetheless the recipient
of David's mercy and longsuffering. He could have ordered Abishai
to remove his head immediately, but instead he permitted him
to live. A thing no doubt enjoyed by Shimei even if he was not
thankful, thinking perhaps that he deserved such a blessing.
What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power
known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his
glory on the vessels of mercy, which he hath before prepared
unto glory? So God is often pleased to shower
his enemies with prosperity and make them to appear wiser in
this generation than the sons of God. They are often allowed
to drink their fill of this world's pleasures, but nothing will change
their rebellion against the authority of God, nor their relentless
pursuit of their own destruction to which they are ordained. Solomon,
David's son, whom he chose as the heir to his throne, had all
judgment and justice committed into his hands. He issued clear
warnings to Shimei of his impending doom and what would precipitate
it. Yet Shimei was heedless of these
warnings and demonstrated his own contempt of Solomon's admonition
by doing exactly what Solomon warned him against, even as Adam
was heedless of the command of God. Solomon's kingdom was established
by the destruction of his enemies, and so it is with that of the
Lord Jesus Christ, as he has made his foes his footstool and
triumphed openly over all powers and principalities. What a contrast
is seen in their destruction to those who are the objects
of mercy and not appointed under wrath. For if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more
being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. And not only
so, but we also join in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
we have now received the atonement. Are you reconciled to God? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.