In Psalm 119:25-32, the Psalmist open his heart before the Lord in an expressive prayer of great humility. “I am laid low in the dust” (verse 25), he says, and his “soul is weary with sorrow” (verse 28). He seeks “to understand God’s teachings of His precepts” (verse 27) for his own life, so that he can “meditate on the wonders of God” (verse 27). This section of Psalm 119 is especially instructive for our Christian lives, and we should emulate the Psalmist’s posture. Jesus lived a life of humility, and He desires that we do the same. The Psalmist realizes that only by God’s Word and His wonderful deeds will we ever find the “preservation and strength” (verses 25 and 28) that can “keep us from deceitful ways of shame” (verses 29-31). He contends that he has “chosen the way of truth and set his heart on God’s laws” (verse 30). Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (cf., John 8:31-32). Here, in Psalm 119:32, the Psalmist agrees – “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” The essence of real freedom is found in the truth of the pure Word of God.
Jeremiah 27-29 show us the continuation of God’s tender love and support for Jeremiah’s faithfulness in his constant battle with the false prophets of his day. In chapter 27, God gives Jeremiah a special assignment – a dramatic and symbolic object lesson of truth – to “wear a yoke of straps and crossbars” (verse 2). By this drama, God reveals through Jeremiah “early in the reign of Zedekiah, that He is going to hand all the surrounding countries over to His servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will make even the wild animals and all nations to become subject to him, his son, and his grandson … until the time for his land comes” (verses 6-7). Here, we also see opposition to Jeremiah by the false prophets – especially Hananiah – in chapter 28. Jeremiah exposed Hananiah as a false prophet, and he pointed out that the people were not to listen to a prophet whose message did not come true (cf., Deuteronomy 18:14-22; Jeremiah 28:9). After Hananiah's false prophecy, Jeremiah prophesied that Hananiah would die within a year; Hananiah died seven months later. Who was the true prophet? In chapter 29, we read God’s Word to Jeremiah – the captivity would last seventy years, but God mercifully promised His “plans to prosper us with hope and a future” (verse 11). These prophetic passages are literally breathtaking.
Paul begins his second letter to the Thessalonians in chapter 1 with a commendation for their “growing faith” and “increasing love” in the face of “suffering and trouble” (verses 3-6). Here, Paul boasted “among God’s churches about the perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials that the Thessalonians endured” (verse 4). Clearly, this was a group of believers who were living properly for the Lord. Nevertheless, we marvel that after more than two thousand years of history, man still has not learned to stop troubling his neighbor with suffering and heartache. Paul reminds these believers (and us) that Jesus is coming back – “in blazing fire with His powerful angels – to give relief to us and to punish those who do not know God” (verses 7-8). Paul assures them of his own encouraging prayers for them – that God may make them “worthy of His calling” (verse 11).
Comments