God’s Holy Word

I solicit prayers as my husband and I relocate to another state. I thank God for all of His many blessings and for growing my faith the way that He has. I know that He will continue to do so. As I prepare for my move, this post will be the last until we get settled at our destination, which will probably be about three to four weeks. I plan to begin posting again (weekly) in August. Please continue to be encouraged by God’s Holy Word by meditating on it daily. When you meditate on God’s word, you don’t have time to think about the distractions of the world.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and I pray that everyone who reads this message receives the will God has for your life; in Jesus’ name.

Psalm 14

–To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the LORD?

5 There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.

6 You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his refuge.

7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people,

Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

A description of the depravity of human nature, and the deplorable corruption of a great part of mankind.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. The sinner here described is an atheist, one that saith there is no Judge or Governor of the world, no Providence ruling over the affairs of men. He says this in his heart. He cannot satisfy himself that there is none, but wishes there were none, and pleases himself that it is possible there may be none; he is willing to think there is none. This sinner is a fool; he is simple and unwise, and this is evidence of it: he is wicked and profane, and this is the cause. The word of God is a discerner of these thoughts. No man will say, There is no God, till he is so hardened in sin, that it is become his interest that there should be none to call him to an account.

The disease of sin has infected the whole race of mankind. They are all gone aside, there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Whatever good is in any of the children of men, or is done by them, it is not of themselves, it is God's work in them. They are gone aside from the right way of their duty, the way that leads to happiness, and are turned into the paths of the destroyer. Let us lament the corruption of our nature, and see what need we have of the grace of God: let us not marvel that we are told we must be born again. And we must not rest in any thing short of union with Christ, and a new creation to holiness by his Spirit. The psalmist endeavors to convince sinners of the evil and danger of their way, while they think themselves very wise, and good, and safe. Their wickedness is described. Those that care not for God's people, for God's poor, care not for God himself. People run into all manner of wickedness, because they do not call upon God for his grace. What good can be expected from those that live without prayer?

But those that will not fear God may be made to fear at the shaking of a leaf. All our knowledge of the depravity of human nature should endear to us salvation out of Zion. But in heaven alone shall the whole company of the redeemed rejoice fully, and for evermore. The world is bad; oh that the Messiah would come and change its character! There is universal corruption; oh for the times of reformation! The triumphs of Zion's King will be the joys of Zion's children. The second coming of Christ, finally to do away the dominion of sin and Satan, will be the completing of this salvation, which is the hope, and will be the joy of every Israelite indeed. With this assurance we should comfort ourselves and one another, under the sins of sinners and sufferings of saints.

About this commentary:

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible is available in the Public Domain.

True Repentance

There are synonyms used for the word repent such as regret, remorse, feel sorrow, but none of these accurately describe what true repentance is. It is more than feeling bad about something you’ve done. Judas felt bad about betraying Jesus, but did he repent? Thieves may feel bad about getting caught and thrown into jail, but do they really repent of their wrong doing? Repentance is to change your mind about living a sinful life.

When a person repents, they lay the foundation to be forgiven. John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ, “and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’”[a] Matthew 3:2-3, NKJV. When Christ began His teaching ministry, He instructs people to repent. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Matthew 4:17, KJV.

Often messages are preached about the promises of God, but many fail to realize that repentance is required for these blessings to come about. You can feel sorry all day long about what you’ve done, wracked in guilt over your actions, but until the decision is made to turn away from a sinful life the foundation built is on shaky ground. Everything built upon it will eventually tumble and fall. This is evident when people experience the same things over and over in life wondering why deliverance hasn’t come. They listen to sermon after sermon, message after message, but never truly receive the Word. It’s not enough to be a hearer of the word, we must also be doers.

Repentance will be evident by the fruits one is displaying. Remember, Jesus said that you know them by their fruits. Repentance will be evidence in their works; is it of the flesh or of the Spirit? Repentance is a decision, plain and simple, to deny oneself and follow Christ. “Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart];” Matthew 3:8, AMP.

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

James 5:1-6, NKJV

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.[a]

5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as[b] in a day of slaughter.

6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

There was a time when I was promised a certain wage by an employer I was working for and did not get it. There are others who I know about where hours were stolen and deleted from the record so that the company could retain their funds. All of this is fraud. But as the Bible teaches, they too will have their day.

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord,” Romans 12:19, KJV.