MORNING BY MORNING

“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised.” (Psalm 113:3).

 

As I sat down in my little upper room this week to study and to pray, the sun was rising and filling the eastern sky with the most glorious colors and patterns.  I had to rejoice just then and give thanks to the Creator for the promise of a new day and for all He might have in store for me that day.  It reminded me of the verse above, but also of David’s Psalm 19 which begins, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” 

 

Every day we can find new reasons to praise and reverence our God.  His grace toward us is unlimited, and His mercy is everlasting.  Just as all green things respond to the dawning of each new day by drinking in the light and warmth of the sun, we, too, should look with anticipation on every new morning.  Each day we wake to the wonderful opportunities our Heavenly Father sends our way for our growth and development as children of God.  Every evening also we should give the Lord thanks for what He has done for us that day.

 

Psalm 19 continues, “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” (verses 2, 3).  Every morning, every evening, and all the time in between, God speaks to us through His wonderful creation, and through the works of His hands.  From the beauty and delicacy of the most fragile flower to the violence of a thunder storm, we learn both the goodness and severity of God.  There is no language on earth that cannot comprehend the lessons that God teaches in all of nature. 

 

“Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” (Psalm 19:4, 5).  Above all, God has set the sun in the heavens.  Without it, there would be no warmth, there would be no light, and there would be no life.  In this, the sun is symbolic of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Without Him, we would not know the warmth of God’s love for us, the light of understanding and truth, or the quickening influence of His life on ours.  Like the bridegroom coming out of his chamber, Jesus has come to seek and save His Bride.  And, like a strong man, Jesus is chomping at the bit to run His race and show Himself as our Champion and our Forerunner in all things.  “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.” (Luke 11:21, 22).  Christ is the stronger man, and has overcome Satan, taken his armor from him, and divided his spoils.  He has done all of this in order that we might have victory!

 

“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” (Isaiah 50:4).  The Lord teaches us day by day to speak the words of life to those who are hungering and thirsting for truth, those who are sorrowing and downtrodden, and those who are just weary from the fight.  More importantly, the Lord teaches us to hear as the learned so that we can apply His truth to our life and our walk. 

 

“His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” (Psalm 19:6).  The sun’s circuit is from one end of heaven to the other.  His gaze encompasses all of heaven and earth, and his heat is felt by every creature.   Similarly, this is true of Jesus, the Word of God.  “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13).  Every day, God wishes to shed His light into our hearts and minds in order to chase away all of the darkness that constantly threatens to envelope us.  It is His truth that makes us free!  It is a woeful commentary on modern Christianity that a great many of God’s children are ignorant of what the Bible says or does not say on any given topic.  They have not established a routine that includes prayer and Bible study in their daily habits.  Could it be that they are afraid of exposing themselves to the light of God’s truth?  Are they nervous about what God may uncover and require?  Like Adam and Eve after they had disobeyed God’s command, are they trying to hide from the presence of the Lord?  God’s children are recognized by this characteristic: they have a hunger and a thirst for righteousness and have a love of the truth. 

 

Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread from heaven and likened Himself to the manna which God sent to the Israelites when they were hungering in the desert of Sinai.  In the Old Testament account, God told His people that He would send manna each day for them to collect.  They were to collect only enough for themselves and the members of their household to eat for that day.  Anything more than that would rot before the next day.  They were not expected to eat leftover manna.  It was given to them fresh every day.  The one exception was on the day before the Sabbath.  On that day they were told to gather twice as much so that they would not break the Sabbath by gathering on that holy day.  God miraculously kept it fresh that day so that it did not rot!  This story speaks to our need of Jesus every day.  Just as we grow weaker physically the longer we go without food, so also will we grow weaker spiritually the longer we go without the Bread of Life. 

 

I worked in a manufacturing plant from the time I was 19 until I retired at age 62.  After my conversion to Christianity in 1971, I had the habit of sitting down on my breaks and reading portions of scripture.  One day, a work mate called me over to where he was working and said something like, “I’ve noticed that every time you get a break you open that book and read it, and that you’ve been doing it for a long time.  Well, I have a question for you.”  I said, “Yes?”  He looked at me in all earnestness and said, “Haven’t you finished it yet?!”  It was one of those moments when I realized that the Lord was about to give me “the tongue of the learned” so that I could speak a word in season to one who was weary.  I looked at my work mate and said, “Well, I’ve noticed something about you also.  I see that every time you get a break you go up to the cafeteria and get something to eat.  I need to ask you: aren’t you full yet?!”  He gave me a quizzical look, and I continued, “Just as you get hungry every day and need to eat to keep up your strength, I need to read the Bible every day in order to stay strong in my faith.  That book that I read is food for my soul.”  My buddy looked at me, and I knew that at some level he understood.  I thanked God for the opportunity to witness to him in such a simple way!

 

At this point in the Psalm, David describes the many facets of the Word of God and the effect that each has on the soul who is hungry:

 

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul...” (Psalm 19:7).  By “the law,” David is referring to the written and oral record of God’s word to Israel encompassing the original covenant that He made with His people according to the Mosaic Law.  At the time that David wrote this Psalm, very little of the Bible as we know it today existed.  He would have had most of the Pentateuch (the first five books of our Bible), the book of Joshua, Judges, and perhaps a few Psalms, but that would have been all. 

 

Today, the law’s primary function is made abundantly clear for us in scripture.  It was not to make people righteous, but to convince them of their un-righteousness.  “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20).  It was meant to be a schoolteacher that would lead us (usually out of desperation) to the grace and truth that is in Christ Jesus.  The law is indeed perfect: the Apostle Paul describes it as holy, just and good.  It can only operate in its one capacity, however, and that is to convict of sin and to convince us that we don’t have the ability to make ourselves righteous – we need a Savior!  In this sense, it is an essential aid in “converting our souls.”

 

“…the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”  The testimony of the Lord is the practical application of God’s Word.  It is the witness of God’s faithfulness to mankind.  It is “sure” (faithful, established, steadfast) because it is the consequence of believing the Lord’s promises.  When we give testimony of how God is working in our lives, and how He is fulfilling His Word, it can bring understanding to those who have not experienced the Lord’s grace in that way.  This is why our personal story of salvation is so very powerful in convincing sinners to accept Christ.  It takes the Word from being just speculative and theoretical in their eyes to being practical, viable and real.      

 

“The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart…” (Psalm 19:8).  The difference between statutes and commandments is that a commandment sets down a broad principle meant to govern our actions before God and toward our fellow beings, while statutes go beyond and define how we live out those principles in more specific terms.  “Love your enemies” can be considered a command, while blessing them that curse you, praying for them which despitefully use you, turning the other cheek, and going the extra mile can be considered statutes.  They define what loving your enemy may look like in specific circumstances. 

 

The statutes of the Lord are those things that the Lord speaks to our spirit to teach us how He wants us to live out our faith.  They are always right, and they will always rejoice the heart.  There may be times when you see others partaking of the same things that the Lord has forbidden you to do, and it may make you want to question your conviction, but be steadfast in the thing that God has required of you.  His statutes are right!  God will give you an abundance of joy for your obedience to Him.  We do not all grow at the same rate – we should neither judge our brother or sister nor feel superior to them in any way.  As God is able to correct you, He is also able to correct me. 

 

God’s statutes are not always pleasant to the flesh, this is true, but while our outward man perishes, yet our inward man is renewed day by day (see 2 Corinthians 4:16).  We must decrease so that the Lord might increase in our life.  We must put off the things of the flesh so that Christ can have the preeminence always.

 

 “…the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”  The commandments of God are the benchmark of purity and wholesomeness.  Even many of those who have never heard of the Ten Commandments have established tribal laws that reflect many of those commandments.  They know that it is wrong to kill, steal, take their neighbor’s wife, disrespect their parents, lie, etc.  “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19, 20).  As God has pointed out in this Psalm, “There is no speech nor language, where their voice [the witness of God’s handiwork] is not heard.”    

 

“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever…” (Psalm 19:9).  We know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  It is the thing that gets our attention when nothing else will.  It would be ideal if we all would just serve and honor the Creator out of love, respect, appreciation or awe; but, unfortunately, that is not the case.  Perfect love should cast out fear, but we cannot manufacture perfect love by ourselves.  Even that is a gift of God’s grace.  No, it takes fear.  When we consider the reality of standing before the God of the universe and having to give account for everything we have thought, said or done, knowing that He has the power to condemn us to everlasting torment, then it should strike some godly reverence in us and cause us to want to adjust our behaviors before that day.

 

We can see the breakdown of law and order all around us today.  We are aghast at the many news stories that we see about uncontrolled theft, brutal beatings of innocent people, senseless murders, and wanton rioting and looting.  These events have been greatly accelerated by the deterioration of respect and fear of our laws and of our law enforcement agencies.  When with one broad stroke we portray all law enforcement personal as evil because of a few bad examples, then we take a giant leap toward anarchy and chaos.

 

Modern society has tried to paint fear as something that is unclean, primitive, and base.  Parents have been so threatened and intimidated away from the use of the rod of correction and of the discipline of their children that they no longer know how to administer the rod in love; nor do they have a desire to learn.  Instead, they try to be a friend to their sons and daughters, and end up losing the reverence and respect that is needed for their children to pay attention to them.  True, some parents have abused their children in the name of discipline, but this is where the church has failed them in not teaching them to control their own anger before ever correcting their children. 

 

There are some things that will surely pass away in the next world, but fear will not be one of them.  It will endure forever.  

 

“…the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.”  When I think of judgments, I think of the image of Lady Justice that we see portrayed in most courtrooms.  She is blindfolded to show her impartiality and is holding a balance in which each decision is weighed based on facts and evidence.  People are brought before a judge when they are accused of some wrongdoing.  In the court of man’s law, decisions are not always impartial or just.  The Lord’s judgments, however, are always “true and righteous altogether.”

 

Judgment is an essential part of our relationship with the Lord.  Scripture tells us, “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:32).  Even Jesus had to learn obedience through the things which He suffered in the flesh (see Hebrews 5:7, 8).  Chastisement and correction are necessary elements for bringing children into maturity.  God, being the perfect heavenly Father to us, His children, employs both for our benefit and growth.  “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). 

 

The Prophet Isaiah speaks to us from ages long ago.  The Word of God spoken by him rings as true today as it did when he first uttered it: “The way of the just is uprightness: Thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.  Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for Thee; the desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee.  With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.  Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.  LORD, when Thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of Thine enemies shall devour them.” (Isaiah 26:7-11).  The righteous are pictured as those who are anticipating the Lord’s judgments in their lives.  It is the desire of their soul.  They have desired the Lord to speak to them in the night as they meditate on the Lord’s ways.  Their spirits are seeking God’s will early each day.  Why?  “…for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness,” and God’s people have a hunger and a thirst for righteousness.  There is a dear sister that we fellowship with who often says after a hard message has been preached that she loves the Word and doesn’t even mind when the Lord steps on her toes! 

 

The wicked, on the other hand, are those who have been shown favor by the Lord, yet they have refused to learn righteousness.  Even in the land of uprightness, they will deal unjustly with their neighbors because they have ignored God’s judgments in their life.

 

“More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:10).  Once a person has tasted of the Lord and of His ways, they quickly understand how valuable God is, and how sweet He is.  Nothing else in this life can even come close.  It is He Who gives us life (not just existence), and that in great abundance!

 

“Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:11).  The Lord speaks to us through His Word to warn us of the traps and pitfalls that we all encounter in our lives.  A good topographical map in the hands of a hiker reveals the highs and lows of the terrain, any buildings or barriers on the route, water sources, hazards, etc.  Similarly, the Bible can warn us of every spiritual hazard that we may encounter in our walk.  In keeping God’s Word, we are promised to inherit great rewards, treasures in heaven that will not rust or be stolen.

 

“Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults.  Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” (Psalm 19:12, 13).  We need God to shed His light on our life and reveal the secret faults that we all have.  Our tendency would be to excuse our faults, but the Word of God is like a double-edged sword that can discern even between what is from our soul and what is from our spirit.  It can discern the difference between our thoughts and our actual intentions.  We need God to expose our sins and then extend His grace to us so that they may not have dominion over us.  Then we can stand before Him with confidence.  The Lord sends His Holy Spirit to abide in every believer who has been born again.  It is the Spirit’s job to reveal to us our faults and then reveal the grace that is ours if we repent and believe.  “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.  And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:7, 8).

 

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14).  Is this the prayer of your heart today?  It is certainly God’s will to bring each of us into such a place.  His grace is sufficient regardless of where you stand with Him right now.  If we first have a willing heart, and we begin to seek for Him with all of our heart, we will find Him.  He will save us and change us.  Christianity must never become just one more element of our lives, it must become our life.