The Enemies of Early-Seekers! Psalm 63:9-11

Text: “But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.  They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.”

Psalm 63:9-10.

Good morning, successfully seeking Christian!   You have sought to be obedient to the Word of the Lord that you have read; you have indeed, ‘…studied to show yourself approved unto God, a workman/woman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth…’  And, as a direct, and never failing consequences, you have accrued much vital Spiritual knowledge from God  - but you have also multiplied malicious enemies who would, if they possible could, try to destroy your very soul, never mind merely help to detract from or mar your Christian witness for Christ.  Fact. 

It has been a recurring theme throughout our Searching In Psalms series of Bible studies that, when our souls are saved from our sin; and when we are wonderfully redeemed from our sin by the sinless and precious Blood Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ – we almost immediately receive grave oppositions, hindrances, and persecutions from those with whom we come into contact day and daily. 

Has this been your experience, dear Reader?  It certainly has been mine.  When we get the blessing of true Salvation in Christ, we are assured of the Devil’s own blastings, at the hands of ‘his children’ as well as his own vile hand.

The Lord Jesus teaches us: “Behold (listen, and fully understand!), I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”  (Matthew 10:16-18)

And again: “And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”  (Matthew 10:22)

When you and I – by the gracious leading of God the Holy Spirit – seek to draw close to Christ early; to follow hard and earnestly after Truth; to embrace our Abba Father in Heaven, via the Atonement Sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus – we WILL endure much opposition, hindrance; and be hated by those all around us.  This is merely a fact of our faith.

The apostle Paul, following hard after Jesus, experienced all such hatred of men for Christ’s dear sake:

“But thou hast fully known my doctrine (seemingly a dirty word to some church leaders today!), manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.” (2 Timothy 3:10-11)

“The cleaving of David’s spirit was a gluing of the Lord’s Spirit; a marriage of the Lord’s making is altogether incapable of the Devil’s breaking.”  (Alexander Pringle 1657 “…a worthless servant to Christ in the work of His Gospel…”, in, ‘A Stay in Trouble; or, The Saint’s Rest in the Evil Day’.

Such persecutors and tormenters of genuine Christ-serving Christians, are not completely aware, or are often completely unaware, that they are being used of Satan to treat believers in this diabolical fashion.  Their father, the Devil, merely inspires them to do so, and off they go to fulfil his vile will and purpose.  Those that are not redeemed by Christ, He defines as ‘the Devil’s children’.

“Why do ye not understand My speech?   Even because ye cannot hear My Word.  Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts (whims, will) of your father ye will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:43-44)

Yet, all such unsaved, reprobate (rejected by God) persons, have their own personal responsibility for this sin perpetrated, and sad to say, must reap the severe punishments reserved by God for their actions against ‘His people’ in Christ.  They are doubly guilty, and declared to be so by the Lord.

Verse 9.  “But they that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.  Every blow aimed against the godly  will recoil on the persecutor; he who smites a believer drives a nail in his own coffin.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 276)

Bible Expositor, Matthew Henry comments:  “Those that follow hard after God, would soon fail, if God's right hand did not uphold them. It is he that strengthens us and comforts us. The psalmist doubts not but that though now sowing in tears, he should reap in joy. Messiah the Prince shall rejoice in God; he is already entered into the joy set before him, and his glory will be completed at his second coming. Blessed Lord, let our desire towards Thee increase every hour; let our love be always upon Thee; let all our enjoyment be in Thee, and all our satisfaction from Thee. Be Thou all in all to us while we remain in the present wilderness state, and bring us home to the everlasting enjoyment of Thee forever.”  (Matthew Henry's 1662-1714, Concise Commentary on the Bible, Psalms 63)

Online commentary, Enduring Word commenting on Psalm 63, says:

Verse 9. “But those who seek my life, to destroy it: David’s deep communion with God did not take away his problems. There were still those who wanted to kill him. According to its title, Psalm 63 was written from the Wilderness of Judah and David was in the wilderness hiding from a conspiracy to kill him.”  (Enduring Word online)

Verse 10. “They shall fall by the sword: David trusted God to deal with his enemies, especially with King Saul. In God’s time and in God’s way, David’s enemies did fall by the sword, which has the sense of being killed in battle.” 

(Enduring Word online: Enduring Word exists to promote the work of Christian discipleship and evangelism worldwide, mainly through the publication and dissemination of the Bible teaching work of David Guzik and likeminded people.)

Thought: When we seek the Lord early, and serve the risen Christ faithfully and earnestly – we shall have deadly enemies – but the Lord God deals with all our enemies without fail.  Standing fast in faith, the believer is assured of Divine protection, help, and full assurance of Salvation in Christ Jesus.  Glory to His Name!

Deeper Spiritual Intimacy for Early Seekers! Psalm 63:8

Text: “My soul followeth (follows, and continues to follow) hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth (upholds, and continues to uphold) me" 

Psalm 63:8.

Good morning, Christian seeking Christ’s intimacy!  The Spirit of God has quickened you, made you alive to the love and truth of Christ Jesus, and He has become both your Saviour and your Lord.  You are born again, Spiritually regenerated by God’s free grace to sinners; and now you are seeking a more mature intimacy and knowledge of the One Who has redeemed your never-dying soul.  Praise God, you do well to seek that intimacy early in your Christian life! 

Too many today, in this increasingly Laodicean church-age of the 21^st Century, get saved, then they get stuck in the class of ‘babes in Christ’ and fail to experience the wonder of early intimacy with that blessed Lamb of God.  Too often such believers go through life as ‘half-baked Christians’, always having to be spoon fed by a Pastor; never reaching a maturity of Bible-believing faith; faith that is most necessary if the saved soul is to serve the Master, Jesus, and further His Kingdom.

There is what Paul describes as ‘the milk’ of God’s Word; and there is what he has called ‘the meat’ of God’s Word – and, to the shame of many church groups today, we find full congregations of those who have been gloriously saved by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit’s grace, yet remain in a ‘saved and stuck’ position of being ‘babes in Christ’! 

This should not be, beloved Christian.  We are saved by childlike faith and trust in Christ; but not one of us are encouraged to remain in that novice position, we are commanded to “…Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever.  Amen (So be it!).”  (2 Peter 3:18)

The apostle Paul is seen to admonishing the Corinthian church on this same matter.  God the Spirit teaches us through this inspiration today: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto Spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  I have fed you with milk (light, easy lessons from God’s Word), and not with meat (more mature doctrinal lessons contained in God’s Word): for (the reason why) hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  For ye are yet carnal.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

God’s Word commands us to grow in maturity of faith, to follow hard after Christ Jesus; to study earnestly, in private Bible studies alone with the Lord God; and to seek hard after a truer Spiritual intimacy with the Almighty Lord God of wrath against all sin.

Heed the alarm!  We are to be ‘workmen/workwomen’, not work-babes in Christ!

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman (workwoman) that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”  (2 Timothy 2:15-16)

Check out the Spiritual intimacy followed hard after by Christian believers just a couple of hundred years ago.  Let’s you and I ask ourselves: Am I, personally, following hard after this intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus?  Have I been earnestly seeking early after God?

Check out also the sound instruction featured in hymns/songs of an earlier church age below:  Praise and worship in that time was never ‘just another gig!’.  Take heed!

“Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Refrain: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!”  (Hymn written by Sarah Flower Adams 1841)

“Sarah Flower Adams was a British actress who received praise for her performance in an 1837 production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After health problems disrupted her plans to continue with theatre, she found comfort in writing poems and hymns.

“Her most notable hymn, “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” came about in 1841 when Adam’s pastor was looking for a hymn for the following week’s sermon on Genesis 28:11-19, which is referred to by many as “Jacob’s ladder,” or “Jacob’s dream.” Adams offered to write the hymn and completed it within a week to go along with the pastor’s sermon. The hymn was originally set to music written by her sister, Eliza Flower, but another hymn-tune called “BETHANY,” written by Lowell Mason in 1856, has become most widely recognized and is most familiar to listeners today.”  (The Tabernacle Choir Blog, online)

The great hymn-writer, Frances J. Crosby caught the urgency of Spiritual intimacy with Christ, and an early drawing close to the Lord God, and she penned these words below:

1.    I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

o   Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2.    Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

3.    Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

4.    There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Frances J. Crosby, published 1875.

Thought: Those that desire God’s intimate Presence are guided and upheld by His hand – “…Thy right hand upholdeth me.”  Come, let’s get serious about our faith!

The Early-Seekers Deep Desire! Psalm 63:8

Text:  “My soul followeth (follows, and continues to follow) hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth (upholds, and continues to uphold) me.”

Psalm 63:8.

          “Follow peace with all men, and Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”

Hebrews 12:14-15.

Good morning, early-pursuing Christian!  Maturity of faith has taught you and me that the Lord’s Presence is a vital, totally essential, necessity, if you are to claim to be a true and genuine follower of the risen Christ Jesus – with all such attendant hindrances and oppositions encountered daily, as you seek to earnestly and effectively serve the Lord. 

Seeing and having experienced many of the dangers salt-bearing Christians face continually – you have learned, as I have, the necessity of seeking God’s face early, and pursuing hard after His Presence in a pro-active manner.

God’s Holy Presence in close fellowship, is the deepest desire of the genuine Spirit-born Christian believer.  Oh the wondrous love of Almighty Lord God!

“As a bird sheltered in the rich foliage from the heat of the sun sings its merry notes; so he celebrates his songs of praise from the shadow of the wings of God.”  (Augustus F. Tholuck1799-1877)

Human relationships give us Christians something of an instructive insight into our Spiritual relationship with Almighty Lord God Jehovah.  In Christ Jesus, and through Christ Jesus, and in the mysterious power of God the Holy Ghost, we experience the Divine Presence as a Spiritual intermingling of what is merely human and what is wondrously Divine and Holy; it is an experience that mere words could never come near expressing in full; a Divine gift of sheer bliss, that only the born again soul can experience in Christ Jesus.  Thinking more profoundly of such an intimate experience with the Creator Lord God of Heaven and earth – would melt the mind with soul-gratitude and worshipful love for the Lord.

God’s Presence in Heaven will be an experience that is in every way ‘out of this world’!

“…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9)

“Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy Presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”  (Psalm 16:11)

Verse 8. “My soul followeth hard after Thee.  This is the language of a good man in his worst frames; for when he has lost his nearness to God, he will be uneasy till he has again obtained it and will follow after it with all his might.  It is also his language in his best frames; for when he knows and enjoys most of God he wants to know and enjoy more.  Not earth nor Heaven merely is the object of pursuit, but God Himself.  (Condensed from Benjamin Beddome’s Sermon, ‘The Christian’s Pursuit’ in ‘Short Discourses' 1717-1795)

The human experience we have of the rules of intimacy with one’s spouse holds many lesser, yet most relevant, hints for a close, or closer, relationship with our Holy Lord God.

1. Human intimacy requires a profound and sincere two-way relationship.

“And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet (fit) for him…And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  (Genesis 2:18; 22-24)

“Marvel not that I say unto thee, Ye MUST be born again.”  (John 3:3-8)

2. Both humans interacting must be in good speaking terms (fellowship) with each other.

“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

3.  Intimacy is more probable when relations are close and mutually pleasing.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he/she that cometh to God must believe that He is (exists), and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

4.  Wronged spouses cannot react with right intimacy – sin separates us from God.

“Take heed to yourselves: if they brother (or spouse) trespass against thee, rebuke him/her; and if he/she repent, forgive him/her.  And if he/she trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him/her.” (Luke 17:3-4)

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”  (Isaiah 59:2)

“If we confess our sins, He (the Lord) is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9) 

Intimate fellowship with God can be promptly resumed, when we seek His forgiveness early!

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness (intimacy with God); that the bones which Thou has broken may rejoice.  Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (constant) spirit within me.  Cast me not away from Thy Presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy (intimacy) of Thy Salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.”  (Psalm 51:7012)

“The primary sense is agglutinavit, to glue together; from thence it signifies figuratively to associate, to adhere to, to be united with; and particularly to be firmly united with strong affection.  ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife’; properly, be closely united and compacted with his wife with the most permanent affection.” (Samuel Chandler 1693-1766)

Early pursuing the love of Christ brings with it a deep desire to know the Lord in a most intimately Spiritual manner.  My next lesson will deal further with this wonderful desire.

Thought: We fellowship with God in prayer – the Lord fellowships with us in His Word.  This is the new nature of a true and genuine soul converted to Christ Jesus.

Early-Seekers Need God’s Prompt Help! Psalm 63:7

Text: “O God, Thou art my God: early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth (thirsts, and continues to thirst) for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no (Spiritual) water is.”

Psalm 63:1.

Good morning, seriously seeking Christian!  You feel that you are in BIG trouble this morning!  Circumstances, situations in your life, or in the life/lives of your close family; or your neighbourhood, church group, or community, may have suddenly produced fear, dread, depression of spirit; loss of hope; pending disgrace, shame, and profound consequences. 

What are you doing down there in that Spiritual dump, beloved Christian friend?  Why are you trying in some strange manner to handle all that has happened, or may happen, by your puny self?  When you are thus down, stay down, and get on your knees early, and pray up!

In previous verses in Psalm 63, we were reminded of the constant Presence of great Jehovah Lord God Almighty, Who has redeemed our very souls through the Living Lord Jesus Christ.  (“When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night seasons…”) 

Personal Questions:  What did we remember?  What did we meditate on throughout the night?  Why, we surely have remembered the times in the past when we FELT very threatened and in fear, and lost hope, and could well have been left in total ruin and disgrace.  However, we then remembered that there was no threat too big; no failing too scandalous; no shame or threat of disgrace too vile – that we could not bring such a situation to the Lord God, Who had given you and I His only begotten Lamb as a Sacrifice upon a cruel and pain filled Cross, to save us from our sins.  We remembered that we sought His face early, cried out to Him and confessed our sin, our fault, our failing, the fault or failing of our close relative, brother, or sister in Christ. 

We brought the grave danger, threat, dread, to His throne of grace – and the Lord heard us and helped us very quickly to overcome in the situation.  Glory to His gracious and ever-forgiving Name!  What we remembered, only caused us to have even more faith in receiving God’s prompt help right now, if it would only be his will to grant it.  Amen?   Praise God!

Nothing too small; nothing too great; nothing to seemingly impossible!  Bring it to the Lord, Christian – our God is the Lord God of the utterly impossible!          (Luke 1:37)

“Call upon Me, and I will answer thee, and show you great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

Verse 7. “Because Thou (the Lord God) hast been my help. This is the grand use of memory, to furnish us with proofs of the Lord’s faithfulness and lead us onward to a growing confidence in Him.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 275)

Over the past forty-plus years, since the Lord God has saved me, I have often failed Him, often made wrong decisions in life; often became involved in things, with hindsight, I should not have got involved with – yet, in every situation, the Holy Spirit living within me, has never permitted me to go very far down the wrong path taken, the foolish decision made; the path of utter ruin, perhaps, I had started down in my human fallibility and weakness.  No!  The Lord God is a Holy Lord God, and shall never condone a wrong path, and never leave the redeemed soul to continue down such a destructive or shameful road of sin and foolishness.

“Guide me oh Thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land, I am weak but Thou art mighty, hold me with Thy powerful hand…”  (Hymn: Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah)

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”  (Ephesians 4:30)

“In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise, which is the earnest (guarantee) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.  Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and love to all the saints.”  (Ephesians 1:13-15)

The Spiritually regenerate soul shall go wrong many times in life – but God the Spirit within us will not permit us to continue on in sin or a wrong path for too long.  His grief within us, very quickly turns us from a path He does not desire us to walk.  Praise His Name!

Verse 7. “Therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.  No man/woman can go very far relying on their own fallen human will – we are born sinners, and sin is our natural bent.  However, when the Lord redeems us in Christ, we nestle at all times under His Almighty wings, and serving Christ in the shadow of His wings, we can totally trust Him to guide us, and to keep us at the centre of His Sovereign will. 

“Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 34:12)

“I cannot have better security for present nor future than God’s former mercies exhibited to me.”  (Abraham Wright 1611-1690)

It is a great cause for rejoicing that the Lord God Almighty Jehovah, does not save us, only to leave us to our own fallible and puny devices.  No!  The Lord possesses our reins for Christ Jesus, and condescends to walk with us, and in us, forever more.  Praise His gracious Name! 

We seek Him early – in times of personal failure or difficulty – because His Spirit within us desires to have full fellowship with us, and we with Him.  Sin separates us from the Holy Lord God, and failure in His service grieves both us and God the Spirit within our hearts.  Therefore, we know from our personal experiences, early seekers need God’s prompt help, and, by His grace alone, always receive it.  His Word is His bond to us, ‘His people’.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.  Behold (look closely and fully understand) all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.”    (Isaiah 41:10)

Verse 7. “…Therefore (a definite conclusion) in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.  The very shade of God is sweet to a believer.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 276)

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”  (Psalm 91:1-2)

Thought: Knowing the Divine shelter God gives to us, ‘His people’, is it any wonder in this day of increased anti-Christian apostasy, that we run into His Presence very early?

The Praise of Early-Seekers after Christ Psalm 63:4-6

Text: “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (the very best); and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips”

Psalm 63:5.

          “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless (praise) His Holy Name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth (forgives, and continues to forgive) all thine iniquities, Who healeth (heals, and continues to heal) all thy diseases…”

Psalm 103: 1-3.

Good morning, early praising Christian!  You, like the author, have so much to thank and praise the Lord God for, that we are compelled to go to Him early each day, in order to find the time for such a wealth of overwhelming grace and Divine generosity.  Hallelujah!  Praise God for all His loving kindnesses and the wealth of His benefits given to us, ‘His people’!

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.  O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.”  (Psalm 84:11-12)

Upon waking each new morning that the Lord in His grace grants us, our initial thoughts should be focused on the Lord God Who has redeemed us from sin’s ruin and placed us in His family – in Christ Jesus, our Saviour and our Lord.  Born again minds are continually drawn like a magnet to the Person of Christ, and His great Sacrifice for us at Calvary’s Cross.  We have no other, or better, focus for our mortal minds.  All else is mere distraction.

“Thou (the Lord God) wilt keep him/her in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed (focused) on Thee: because he/she trusteth (trusts and continues to trust) in Thee.”  (Isaiah 26:3)

Past, present and future record of personal sins, for the true regenerate, Bible-believing Christian, has been wiped every jot clean; placed upon the altogether lovely and sinless Lord Jesus as He suffered there upon that cruel Cross – our entire record of a lifetime of sin was nailed to that Tree in Christ, and carried away from us forever.  In Christ, we are FREE!

The Psalmist is reminded of such wondrous things when he concludes: “Thus (a conclusion) will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy Name.”    (Psalm 63:4)

Verse 4. “I will lift up my hands in Thy Name.  No hands need hang down when God draws near in love.  The Name of Jesus has often made lame men leap as a hart and it has made sad men clap their hands for joy.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 275)

The Name of Jesus should have a very special, the most special, place in the heart and mind of the true Christian believer – that is why the misuse of His Holy and much revered Name makes any genuine, Spirit-filled Christian immediately winch in disgust at the infidel’s misuse, and blasphemous abuse, of such an Almighty and Omnipotent Name.

“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a Son, and thou (Joseph) shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:21)

The Name of the incarnate (God in bodily form) Jesus would become the Name under which Eternal Salvation would be granted to all souls that the Father had elected to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repent from sin, and come to belong to the family of the Living Lord God.  Is it any wonder that we Christians rejoice and praise the very moment that we heard that  life-giving Name?

Jesus: “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”   (Philippians 2:8-11)

Jesus: “Neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Jesus: “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.  And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing.  Verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it you.  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”  (John 16:22-24)

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…there’s something about that Name: ”(Gospel Song https://youtu.be/d4FUKTQFlX4)

When the Spiritually regenerated heart (whole essence of being) hears the Name of Jesus, it thrills with the bliss of Heaven and cries out in praise of this glorious King of all kings.

Verse 5. “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (all goodness). It oftentimes so fell out that David had nothing but the bare ground for his bed, and the stones for his pillows, and the hedges for his curtains, and the heavens for his canopy; yet, in that condition, God was sweeter than marrow and fatness to him.”  (Thomas Brooks1608-1680)

I have personally found, over the past forty years since the Lord Jesus saved my sinful soul, that the times I have felt so exposed to harm; times when my life has been constantly and imminently in danger; times when sleep has deserted me as I allowed dread and anxieties over family members and friends to rob me of rest – these where the blessed times when the Lord has seen fit to draw nigh unto my soul, and thoroughly bless me with His Holy Presence and protective grace.  There is no one, nor anything, to compare with my Jesus.

Verse 5. “My mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips.  When the Lord puts His Spirit within us, then our starving souls begin to be feasted; for this blessed Spirit shows us the things of Christ and applies Him to us; by which means we are enabled to eat His flesh and drink His Blood.  And after the Holy Ghost is thus given, He is never taken away.”  (Outline of a Sermon by John Frazer, 1745-1818)

Verse 6. “When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night seasons.”  Whether it be the ‘bed of languishing’ during a sickness; or a bed of ease while enjoying refreshing sleep – the born again heart and soul knows the Divine company of great Jehovah, Lord God Almighty, Who has promised: ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee…’ (Hebrews 13:5-6)  “And He said, Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” (Numbers 12:6) (Job 33:14-16)

Thought: If we are asking the Lord to hear and answer our prayers early, should we not seek to come very early to His throne to offer up to Him our sincere and earnest praise?  Let us together say, ‘Hallelujah, dear Lord God, we worship and praise Thee.’ Amen.