Psalm 68: The True Christian’s Call to Battle!

                                         Let God Arise!                                   Psalm 68:1

Text: “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him.

Psalm 68:1.

Good morning, battle-weary Christian!  For many years, perhaps, you and I - since the Lord God saved our never-dying souls from sin - have laboured to preach and teach Eternal Salvation through the Atonement Sacrifice of Christ Jesus at Calvary’s Cross.

We have sought to be witnesses by giving a word of our own personal testimonies of Christ’s redemption – confessing our former lives of gross sin against our Holy Lord God; our hearing/reading of the glorious Gospel message of Salvation contained in our KJV Bibles; and told of how God granted us His gifts of repentance from sin and faith to receive Christ Jesus as our own and personal Saviour. 

We have desired to bear witness to as many other sinner’s souls as we possibly could, under the power and strength, and opportunities given us by our Sovereign Lord God.  Praise God for the privilege of doing so!

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)

Personal Experience:  In a personal capacity, and at all times by the Sovereign grace and enablement of Almighty Lord God, I was saved in a Maximum-Security Prison cell – cell 9 of H Block 6, at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland, UK – while serving a number of Life sentences for wicked terrorist assassinations and activities carried out while an active service member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters terrorist organisation. 

Like Legion, in Mark chapter 5:1-20, “…no man could tame me…”; I was totally unmanageable in the Prison System, and unleashed gross violence on any Prison Guard that got in my way.  I spent most of my first couple of years imprisonment in solitary confinement, and on what was called The Loyalist Blanket Protest, for political recognition for politically motivated offences.

Reading the old prison issue King James Version Bible, due to the fact that I had nothing else to read on solitary confinement – the Lord God in His Sovereign grace granted me faith in Christ, by the reading of His Word alone!  On August 12^th, 1979, I yielded my will to the Lord God, fell upon my knees in full repentance from my vile sins; and was created a new creature in Christ Jesus; Spiritually quickened and ‘Born Again’.  That was 44 years ago.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed (or continually passing) away; behold (look, and fully understand) all things are become (or are continually becoming) new.  And all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

I spent 16 years in prison, from 1977 to 1993, fourteen of those years as a Spiritually regenerated, Bible-believing, Christian – and as such, seeking to study God’s Word to show myself capable and approved of God to “…rightly divide the Word of truth.”      (2 Timothy 2:15)

During that time of justly deserved incarceration, there is no doubt that I was brought by grace through the waters and through the fire of day-to-day oppositions, afflictions, failings, stumblings, and many Spiritual victories also, for which I praise and thank the Lord.

“For a just man falleth seven times (the perfect number of failings), and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”  (Proverbs 24:16)

“And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”  (Psalm 40:3)

Many did see the evidences of God’s grace in my new life in Christ, and some turned to the Lord also, and were gloriously redeemed by Christ’s Blood.  Glory, all glory, to the Lamb.

During the past 30 years, since being finally released from prison – the Lord God has granted me grace and power to become, first, a Bible-Class Teacher at a Belfast Church; then formally ordained as a Pastor in a Missions Ministry in 1995; travelled on Bible Teaching Missions over to America; India; Spain; the Czech Republic; and all over the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland.  I have been putting out an International Bible Lesson/Exposition, like this one now, every week consistently, for about 28 years – and my Bible Teachings are being used in Bible Colleges in Nigeria, Africa; all over India; China; and America!  To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

Present Day: At this present time, like many Evangelical, Bible-believing Pastors, Teachers, and Christians – I honestly admit to often being so very weary in well-doing. 

I can often be found crying out from my Christian soul, the text for this lesson today: “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him.  As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the Presence of God.  But let the righteous be glad (made righteous by faith in Christ); let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.”  (Psalm 68:1-3)

Oh, that we Bible-believing Christians might see God arising to subdue His enemies today!  Oh Lord, the Battle is not ours but Thine – bare Thine arm, oh Lord! Amen.

Verse 1. “Let God arise.  The ark would have been a poor leader if the Lord had not been present with the symbol.  Before we move, we should always desire to see the Lord lead the way.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 290)

Verse 1. “Let His enemies be scattered.  Our glorious Captain of the vanguard clears the way readily, however many may seek to obstruct it; He has but to arise, and they flee.  He has easily overthrown His foes in days of yore, and will do so all through the ages to come.  Sin, death, and Hell know the terror of His arm; their ranks are broken at his approach.  Our enemies are His enemies, and in this is our confidence of victory.”  (C.H. Spurgeon)

Verse 1. “Let them also that hate Him flee before Him.  To hate the infinitely good God is infamous, and the worst punishment is not too severe.  He comes, He sees, He conquers.  How fitting a prayer is this for the commencement of revival!  How it suggests the true mode of conducting one: the Lord leads the way, His people follow, the enemies flee.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 290)

Thought: “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him…?  Cry out unto the Lord of Hosts, dear brother/sister – ‘Let God arise today!’

3. The Praises of ‘His People’! Psalm 67:3-7

Text: “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.

Good morning, members of the ‘His people’ Church!  The author is not big on what latter day Christianity calls ‘church denominations'.  In fact, I have often - over the past 44 years, since the Lord saved me – been looked at as ODD, when I refused to sign a little piece of paper, or allow myself to be placed on a little list, denoting that I had in fact become a ‘member’ of certain formal ‘church denominational’ groups. 

I have forthrightly and respectfully, as always, informed those church leaders that, the Lord Jesus Christ made me a full ‘member’ of His church back in 1979, in a solitary confinement cell of an infamous maximum-security prison for terrorists in Northern Ireland! 

I was, by God’s Sovereign grace, made a full member of Christ’s Body, the Church, by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, under the regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, I need no small piece of paper, no being added to a little list; no church ceremony; to know that I am, in fact, a full member of Christ’s Church. 

I see myself, therefore, as a full paid-up member of the only real church I know, which is ‘the Church of His people’. 

My Church membership fee was forever paid in full, by sinless and precious shed Blood – the Blood of Jesus Christ, as of a lamb without blemish or spot.  I have God’s receipt for the payment, and that is all I require.

My Eternal Receipt: “Forasmuch as ye KNOW that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation (entire lifestyle) received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”  (1 Peter 1:18-19)

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40)

With these Scripturally proven and clear facts of Christ’s Salvation in mind, dear friend, is it any wonder that gross sinners such as I, and all such sinners that have been called by the Lord God unto Salvation by His grace, should not refrain in the least from raising up our very souls in praise and worship of the Holy One Who has made us a full and integral part of His Body, the universal and international CHURCH – the 'His People Church'? 

Let me hear it beloved in Christ: HALLELUJAH! PRAISE THE LORD! BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL!

God’s Third Link: Praise. Verse 3. “Let the people praise Thee.  Mark the sweet order of the blessed Spirit: first, mercy; then, knowledge; last of all, praising of God.” (John Boys 1560-1643)

Verse 3: “Let the people praise Thee…”  What ‘people’ might be found praising the Lord God Almighty, but those whom the Lord Himself has quickened to Spiritual life; called with His effectual call to Salvation; granted His gifts of repentance and faith to believe and receive Christ’s full Atonement for sins, by the once for all Holy Sacrifice of Himself at Calvary’s Cross for them?  This is the reason that God’s people praise Him.  All others have nothing Eternal to praise Him for, for they know that they are headed eventually into Hell and from there to the lake which burneth with fire forever.  True praise to God Almighty comes only from the lips and hearts of those that belong to Him in Christ Jesus.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not al His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all they diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that they youth is renewed like the eagles.”  (Psalm 103:1-5)

Verse 3.  “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.  There is a constant circular course and recourse from the sea unto the sea; so there is between God and us (His people); the more we praise Him, the more our blessings come down; and the more blessings come down, the more we praise Him again; so that we do not so much bless God as bless ourselves.  When the springs lie low, we pour a little water into the pump, not to enrich the fountain, but to bring up more for ourselves.”  (Thomas Manton 1620-1677)

It would be a most miserly soul that, having received so very much Eternal blessing from God, refused to open his/her mouth in full praise and thanksgiving to Him, in Christ.

Verse 4. “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.  Nothing creates gladness so speedily, surely, and abidingly as the Salvation of God.  Nations never will be glad till they follow the leadership of the great Shepherd.  Some sing for form, others for show, some as a duty, others as an amusement, but to sing from the heart because overflowing joy must find a vent, this is to sing indeed.  Whole nations will do this when Jesus reigns over them in the power of His grace.  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 288)

Today, in this increasingly apostate, anti-Christian, anything-goes 21^st Century of sinfulness, there is much false mirth, fleeting pleasure of sin; and a noise of worldly laughing.  However, when sober minds take time to reflect on the state of the nations – there is little that would constitute real joy and sincere gladness.  It is time for us to repent, right now!

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

Christ’s Holy Name is today written into BBC Dramas as a fully recognised swear word!  Christians, and especially Christian ministers/Pastors are continually portrayed as utter whimps, and flaky clowns, only on screen to be laughed at, or pitied by worldly viewers.  Christian values are shunned, and taken as a sign of weakness, by politicians, so-called, who only live to further their own name, bank accounts, and every one of their cronies they can prosper.  There is little cause for rejoicing and gladness in our nations today.

Thought: Members of ‘the His people church’, alone, can rejoice and praise Christ’s Holy Name!  The Lord Jesus comes real soon to put all things right.  Rejoice true Christian!   Praise and stand firm on the Word of our Lord God.  Amen.

2 (b). God’s Call to Service in Truth Psalm 67:2

Text: “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”

Exodus 4:12.

Good morning, truth-bearing Christian!  We have been saved to serve.  We have not been saved to be smug and to hide the treasures of truth of which the Sovereign Lord God has entrusted us.  We are to be consistent truth-bearers for the risen Lord Jesus, to the greater glory of our Father in Heaven, and to the reaching and quickening of elect souls by the Gospel of Christ and Him Crucified for our sins and arisen again in glory.  There is no saved soul that is exempt from Christian duty.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)

Souls shall never be quickened by God the Spirit’s Divine power, and at all times according to His Sovereign will, unless they hear the life-giving Gospel of the Living Lord God.

Read afresh Ezekiel chapter 37:1-10; see and fully understand what the Spirit of God is teaching us there in that vital chapter concerning the ‘valley of dried bones’.  We were such ‘dried bones’, dead in trespasses and sins; unable to rise; unable to breathe; unable to know or understand the profound Spiritual things of Almighty God – until God, through His written/preached Word, breathed upon us and gave us Eternal life in Christ. Hallelujah!  What Sovereign and Divine grace to Hell-deserving sinners such as we!  Glory to the Lamb!  Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift of Eternal life!  Amen.

Verse 2. “That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.  Despite the gloomy notions of some, we cling to the belief that the Kingdom of Christ will embrace the whole habitable globe and that all flesh shall see the Salvation of God: for this glorious consummation we agonize in prayer.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 288)

However, ‘seeing the Salvation of God’, and actually being a Spiritual part of it, is a matter for the Sovereign will of God in Divine election, and many souls shall take the sight of Christ’s Salvation in the lives of ‘His people’ all the way into Hell, as reprobate souls.  So Eternally sad, but so Eternally true!

There are no unbelievers in Hell, Reader!  They all believe, but they cannot get back out of the Eternal flames of torment and darkness. (Luke 16:19-31)

Universalism Heresy: We have no time for the erroneous doctrine of fools which we call universalism: “The heresy of the ultimate Salvation of every man.  Some universalists have held that at death all are perfectly restored to God, while others have held that such restoration follows a period of future purgatorial punishment. 

“Universalism uses Acts 3:21 and Colossians 1:20 to teach that God’s purpose is to restore all things to their original created purity through Christ (Romans 5:18; Hebrews 2:9).  Such an interpretation of these texts is arbitrary and clearly at variance with the rest of Scripture. 

“All men who are savingly united to Christ, not all men indiscriminately, will be Eternally saved. 

“The Bible teaches that the wicked perish Eternally. (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:10-15), and this effectively demolishes universalism. 

“Unitarianism has long been universalist, and in 1959 formally merged in the United states with the Universalists, now going under the name of Unitarian Universalists.” (Dictionary of Theological Terms, by Alan Cairns, page 424.) 

If the Lord Jesus Himself taught us that we MUST be ‘…Born Again…’, then His way is the only way of true and Eternal Salvation.  Hallelujah!  Praise His Name!

“Marvel not that I (Jesus Christ) said unto thee, Ye must be born again (born from Above).” (John 3:7)

“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)

Verse 2. “That Thy way may be known upon earth…”  “If, therefore, thou continuest still in thy brutish ignorance, and knowest not so much as Who Christ is, and what He hath done for the Salvation of poor sinners, and what thou must do to get interest in Him, thou art far enough from believing.  If the day be not broke in thy soul, much less is the Sun of Righteousness arisen by faith in thy soul.”  (William Gurnall 1617-1679)

We are, therefore, saved to serve Christ, by Christ, and by Him alone.  He is the only way of Eternal Salvation from our vile sins.  Religion just will not do it.  Law-keeping, or so-called good works, just will not do it.  Self-sacrifice, or turning over new leaves, just will not do it either!  If Christ Jesus, and His one-time perfectly sinless Sacrifice on the Cross for our sins is not our full belief and practice – we are still in our sins and on our way to Hell. We have God’s own Word for it. (John 3:18) (John 3:36)

You and I who are Spiritually quickened by the Lord God; made alive Spiritually; redeemed by the precious shed Blood of the Christ of God Himself – are saved to serve Him in making known God’s one true WAY of Salvation in Christ.  What a privilege this is, Reader!

“Thy way: that is, Thy will, Thy Word, Thy works.”  (John Boys 1560-1643)

We only find God’s true way of Salvation; His Sovereign will and purpose for us, ‘His people’, in the precious pages of His infallible Word - our KJV Bibles.

“Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Verse 2.  “That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.” Check out what God the Spirit thinks concerning Christ’s servants that make God’s way of Salvation known upon earth: “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?  As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”  (Romans 10:13-15)

“Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

God’s only way of Salvation – in and through Christ Jesus – shall be made known by those of us that value and fully appreciate God’s forgiveness and deliverance from our sin.

Thought: Your Eternal Salvation is of no value, if you do not share it with others daily!  There is Eternal Salvation in Christ and His Cross – come and be saved!

2(a). God’s Call to Service Psalm 67:2

Text: “That Thy WAY may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.”

Psalm 67:2.

Good morning, Christian called to serve Christ!  God the Holy Spirit has convinced you and I of our vile sins, unworthy thoughts, words, and deeds, and our Father has drawn us to Christ for the Salvation He alone can grant through His Holy Sacrifice for our sins at the Cross of Calvary.  Praise God, we have been graciously and wonderfully SAVED.

“Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honour of His Name; make His praise glorious.”  (Psalm 66:1-2)

It would be a miserly soul that could not uplift its voice in thanksgiving and praise to God, for His forgiveness of ALL our sins, and His great gift of Eternal Salvation, in Christ Jesus.

Think for a moment, Reader!  Contemplate earnestly what the Lord God has done for your sinful soul and mine – let God’s Word, and the meditation of God’s pure Word permeate our souls, focusing our most profound thoughts on exactly what this great Eternal Salvation means to you and to the author.  All we can say after doing so is WOW!  What a Saviour!

“But as it is written, 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. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things yea, the deep things of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

Reader: ALL your sins, sins that you alone know about, ALL the wrong things you have ever been guilty of doing; ALL and EVERY unworthy, foolish, gross or terrible deed, and thought – are forever placed under the precious sinless Blood of our Redeemer Christ.  Wow! 

If this does not make your very soul thrill with boundless gratitude and praise to the Lord God – forget about professing Christianity, my friend, you are still in your sins; you need to be saved. Fact.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth thee from all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”  (Psalm 103:1-5)

If you can say an Amen to this praise, then you have successfully and more fully realised the fact that God has forgiven you all your sins – the first link in His chain of mercies – and you and I are now ready to contemplate the second link in God’s gracious chain.  Service.

God’s Second Link:  We are saved by the risen Christ, to serve the risen Christ.

Verse 2. “That Thy WAY may be known upon earth.  You and I are saved for a purpose, although to see what is loosely called ‘the church’ universal today, one might think immortal souls are saved in order to sit on their backsides and merely observe what is going on around them - while LOOKING good in a new coat, or hat, or suit. Awake church!  Awake to serve the risen Lord Jesus Christ today!

“Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepeth, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See that thy walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”            (Ephesians 5:14-15)

Which “WAY” does God’s Word command us to make known upon earth?  From our knowledge of Scriptures, we know there is only ONE WAY – the Living Lord Jesus Christ, and Salvation in Him through His Blood Sacrifice for our sins.  Check it out, Reader!

“And an highway shall be there, and a WAY, and it shall be called The Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein.  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  (Isaiah 35:8-10)

There is only ONE WAY: Faith and trust in Christ and His Atonement at the Cross!

“Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”  (John 14:5-6)

Thought: if the Spirit of God has shown you and I God’s Way – it is to tell others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 67: Links in God’s Chain of Mercy

                   1. God’s Forgiveness of Sin.                                 Psalm 67:1

Text: “Have mercy upon me, O God according to Thy lovingkindness: according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

Psalm 51:1-2.

Good morning, sin-cleansed Christian!  Being cleansed from our vile sins by the precious shed Blood of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, was the first link in an entire chain of mercies we have received from our Holy Lord God of absolute wrath against all sin.  Without this vital link in the chain of God’s given mercies – you and I could NEVER have been Eternally saved from our sinful transgressions of God’s immutable Law and Commandments. Fact.

The Sin Question: Sin is the failure to come up to the Lord God’s righteous and Holy standard in every area of our human lives.  Our God is a perfect and a perfectly Holy Lord God Who cannot abide the very sight of sinfulness and must turn His Holy face away from it, and punish it – or He will cease to be an impeccably Holy Lord God.

“But as He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (entire lifestyle); because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am Holy.”  (1 Peter 1:15-16)

Sin’s origin is the Garden of Eden and Adam/Eve, God’s Created beings, falling into sin by disobedience to the Word of God: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”  (Genesis 2:16-17)

Eve, being tempted by Satan, in the form of a serpent, ate of the forbidden tree, encouraged Adam to eat of it also – and immediately, their innocent eyes were opened, and they tried to cover up their nakedness by sewing fig leaves together as clothes, and in the guilt of their disobedience, they, “…hid themselves from the Presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”  God in His Holiness cursed all the Creation He had made, and sin entered the world. (Genesis 3:1-19)

Physical Death: That which was Created perfect became imperfect and fallen into sin.  On the very day that our progenitors disobeyed the Lord God, they both DIED – as God said they would.  However, we know that although physical death would become an integral part of God’s Curse upon mankind and the earth - it was not physical death that the Lord took away from them on that terrible day– for Adam lived until he was 930 years old before he physically died!  (Genesis 5:5) 

Spiritual Death: Therefore, we understand that it was Spiritual death that struck the disobedient pair on that precise day, as the Lord God said it would if they ate of the forbidden tree. 

Three-part Beings: God had Created mankind “…in His own image…”, as Scripture clearly proves: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.”  (Genesis 1:27)

We know that our Lord God Almighty is a TRIUNE Being – made up of three distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Thus, mankind, God’s creation, created in God’s own image and, “…after OUR likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) – was created a tri-partite being (three constituent parts), body, soul, and spirit.

Body, Soul & Spirit: The body, formed of the dust of the ground was to correspond to the ground from whence God formed man, and to which mankind would return to when death demanded; the soul was to correspond to the souls of other like-human beings in fellowship and social communication; and the spirit of man was that unique part of mankind that had the full ability to communicate with the One true Lord God which had created it.

On the day of Adam/Eve’s disobedience: it was this unique part of created mankind that surely died.  Disobedient sin had broken the unique fellowship with a Holy Lord God – from that day onwards, all born of woman, as opposed to being created by God, would be born with a body, a soul, and a DEAD SPIRIT.  Born in Adam’s fallen image and in his likeness.

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat (fathered) a son IN HIS OWN LIKENESS (i.e., fallen into sin!), AFTER HIS IMAGE (i.e., fallen in sin, with a dead spirit); and called his name Seth.” (Genesis 5:3)

All born of woman since that terrible day in Eden are born in Adam’s fallen image and likeness and tendency to sin against God.  That is why Jesus taught us, “Ye must be born again!”  We must be ‘quickened by God the Spirit, washed in the precious Blood of Christ the Redeemer Lord; and forgiven of all our sins by our Holy and Heavenly Father God.

“And you (the elect/saved) hath He quickened (made alive Spiritually), who were dead in trespasses and sins…Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).  (Ephesians 2:1-10)

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit (capital S) is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”  (John 3:6-7)

Verse 1. “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us.  Forgiveness of sin is always the first link in the chain of mercies experienced by us.  Mercy is a foundation attribute in our Salvation.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 288)

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Psalm 32:1)

“God forgives, then He gives; till He be merciful to pardon our sins through Christ, He cannot bless or look kindly on us sinners.  All our enjoyments are but blessings in bullion, till Gospel grace and pardoning mercy stamp and make them current. God cannot so much as bear any good will to us till Christ makes peace for us.” (William Gurnall 1617-1679)

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

Verse 1. “God be merciful unto us.  Hugo attributed these words to penitents; Bless us to those setting out in the Christian life; Cause His face to shine upon us; to those who have attained, or the sanctified.  The first seek for pardon, the second for justifying peace, the third for edification and the grace of contemplation.”  (Lorinus, John 1569-1634)

The first link in God’s chain of sure mercies in Salvation must be God’s forgiveness of our original sin, and our committed sins – for we serve a most Holy Lord God. Praise His Name!

Thought: God the Spirit’s first ministry to sinners is to convict us of our vile sin.