#836.75 Drawn Out Of Water

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

3 Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

4 Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually!

5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7 He is the Lord our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever,

the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,

his sworn promise to Isaac,

10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan

as your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were few in number,

of little account, and sojourners in it,

13 wandering from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another people,

14 he allowed no one to oppress them;

he rebuked kings on their account,

15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,

do my prophets no harm!”

16 When he summoned a famine on the land

and broke all supply of bread,

17 he had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

18 His feet were hurt with fetters;

his neck was put in a collar of iron;

19 until what he had said came to pass,

the word of the Lord tested him.

20 The king sent and released him;

the ruler of the peoples set him free;

21 he made him lord of his house

and ruler of all his possessions,

22 to bind his princes at his pleasure

and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel came to Egypt;

Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful

and made them stronger than their foes.

25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,

to deal craftily with his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27 They performed his signs among them

and miracles in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;

they did not rebel against his words.

29 He turned their waters into blood

and caused their fish to die.

30 Their land swarmed with frogs,

even in the chambers of their kings.

31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,

and gnats throughout their country.

32 He gave them hail for rain,

and fiery lightning bolts through their land.

33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,

and shattered the trees of their country.

34 He spoke, and the locusts came,

young locusts without number,

35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land

and ate up the fruit of their ground.

36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the first fruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,

and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.

38 Egypt was glad when they departed,

for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,

and fire to give light by night.

40 They asked, and he brought quail,

and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.

41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

it flowed through the desert like a river.

42 For he remembered his holy promise,

and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,

his chosen ones with singing.

44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,

and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,

45 that they might keep his statutes

and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord! Psalm 105 ESV

A Psalm recounting God's sovereign acts.

He turned their hearts to hate His people - Israel has grown in the womb of a country that no longer sees them as a blessing. God has sustained them in a foreign land where their race was deemed less than, but now He will work through unlikely means, he will choose a man.

Exodus

He sent Moses, His servant - Moses was born to a time of persecution, he was hidden from the mandate that all males born among the Jews were to be slaughtered. The Pharaoh at the time had no regard for the history of Joseph. He could not see that the only reason they survived was by the intervention of this God of the Hebrews. Pharaoh held not only to the idea of his personal autonomy, but that he was as a god in this land, he saw himself as sovereign. Moses was saved alive in a tiny ark made of bull rushes. He was raised by the daughter of Pharaoh, trained as a prince of Egypt. He became a vigilante, a social justice warrior, but this all came to not, the people did not want him and this was not his time, so he fled.

They performed His signs among them - This was not by trade or craft, the signs were from God to show that this is His work, these are His servants, messengers to His people. The Psalmist is recounting the acts of God as we should all meditate upon. Scripture has made clear that these things are written for out instruction, and that this is God's story of redemption, not reaction. No matter the human instrument, this is God's revelation, His word, and His word is truth.

…20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever brought about through human initiative, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1: 20-21

…16 So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.… Romans 9: 16- 18

He sent darkness, and made the land dark -

- i. “In order to understand these plagues we need to understand that they were directed against the gods and goddesses of Egypt and were intended to show the superiority of the God of Israel to the Egyptian gods.” (Boice)

· When God sent darkness, He showed Himself greater than Ra (the sun God) and Nut (the sky goddess).

· When God turned their waters into blood, He showed Himself greater than Osiris (god of the Nile) and Khnum (the guardian of the Nile).

· When God made their land abound with frogs, He showed Himself greater than the goddess Hekt (the frog-goddess of fertility).

· When God sent swarms of flies and lice, He showed Himself greater than the fly-god Uatchit.

· When God sent hail for rain, He showed Himself greater than Geb, the god of the earth; Nepri, the goddess of grain; and Anuibis, the guardian of the fields.

· When God sent locusts without number, He showed Himself greater than Shu, the god of the atmosphere, and Min, the deity of the harvest. - Cited from Enduring Word

They did not rebel against His words - None of these gods rose up, none could come to the aid of those who had fashioned them. These were worthless idols and the sorcerers could only imitate some of the signs, but they could not take them away. When there were frogs, they could only add to the problem. "Look, you have cancer, let me give you some more." False signs and wonders only contribute to the darkness men are already under, only give a sedative to their unbelief, consolation to their delusion, hardness to their already hardened hearts.

He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their strength - This is the Passover, every door marked with blood, the angel of death passed over. Life belongs to God, and He is holy not only in his love and mercy, but also in justice. It was of no goodness or holiness on the part of Israel, which they will prove out time and again, but every day, every breath is the mercy of God at the price of His love. In this was the love of God manifested, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is the unilateral nature of His covenant to Abraham. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, unable to resurrect our spirits unto life, to be saved would require an act of God.

Passover

For He remembered His holy promise - God is the keeper of the covenant, He keeps His word, knowing from the vantage of eternity the frailty of His people, their lost and fallen natures, yet He loves them and provides a Way.

That they might keep His statutes - In a very positive recollection of God's work among the nation of Israel, nothing is here said of their utter failure and lack of conviction. Yet in this last line we have an opening to the next chapter. God did not just save them because He drew their names in a lottery. He did not bring them out of Egypt to be like Egypt or the nations He would drive out before them. He sets no one apart to remain in bondage to sin, but will reveal some of Himself, that He is holy and we are not. They were not chosen by merit, for this they lacked, or gratitude, for they had none. He will reveal His ways to be so much different than our own, the law will show them to be outside of the camp, but grace will bring them in.

“The final verse shows why grace abounded; not that sin might also abound, but (to quote a New Testament equivalent of verse 45), ‘that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit’ (Rom. 8:4).” (Kidner)

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#823 Thanks and Winter

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night,

3 to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

5 How great are your works, O Lord!

Your thoughts are very deep!

6 The stupid man cannot know;

the fool cannot understand this:

7 that though the wicked sprout like grass

and all evildoers flourish,

they are doomed to destruction forever;

8 but you, O Lord, are on high forever.

9 For behold, your enemies, O Lord,

for behold, your enemies shall perish;

all evildoers shall be scattered.

10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;

you have poured over me fresh oil.

11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree

and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;

they flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They still bear fruit in old age;

they are ever full of sap and green,

15 to declare that the Lord is upright;

he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92 ESV

A Psalm or song for the Sabbath Day.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord - Given the title, it reminds me of Sunday worship at my church. I use to look for every and any excuse to stay home, and all of us that are this way have many reasons that we give when asked why we don't attend. I was sick, but always recovered in time to go fishing or out with a friend. There were too many hypocrites, and I preferred solitude over company. The word of God does not back my disenchantment with the body, but says not to forsake, and it is enough here that it says it is good to give thanks. For all the many reasons I didn't give thanks or cared to spend time with other believers doing so, they were all rooted in pride. The next time I do something so marvelous as creating the heavens and the earth, hold back my wrath from those who have lived in constant offense to my holiness, and then provide an infinitely pure and just sacrifice to save those who I have called from eternity, then I shall not speak from the dark. I was called and so I give thanks, I was created and so I give thanks, I was sustained and so I give thanks. Meditating on my problems, my wants, my desire to be recognized and esteemed by men, to be thought clever and deep, to impose my will, this left no room to thank God for all I could see was myself. If the church could not entertain me, provide me with self fulfillment, euphoria, and moving experiences, then what good was she? It is a sin against God and nature, God, for He is worthy above nature, and nature, because she is His handiwork, and even her rocks cry out, glory to the Most High, there is nothing that was not made.

To declare Your steadfast love in the morning - Chase all else away, every temptation, every road to nowhere, and as the sun rises so let my praise. Early will I seek You, O God of my salvation, let me start each day in Your presence and walk in Your shadow at home, at work, at church, everywhere. Thank you for another day, another opportunity to know more of You, to be bathed in Your word, illuminated by Your Spirit, thank You for Your mercy and Your unfailing love toward me.

And Your faithfulness by night - I have much to bring to You by the end of the day, and mostly not good, so I have much to confess, but You are faithful and just to forgive. Lord, don't let the sun go down upon a hardened heart. Help me to forgive those that have trespassed against me, to not return insult for insult, injury for injury. Forgive me for those sins which I knew to be so and committed anyway, for those I thought, for those I sought to justify because of someone else's behavior, and for those sins of omission that I have not yet come to see. Give me Thy peace, O Lord, let me rest in Thee.

The stupid man cannot know - This is not against the simple, but against the arrogant, those that think they are too smart to believe in God, or believe there is a Creator, yet worship themselves instead. No one seeks the truth, no one can find God on their own. He is known because He makes Himself known, reveals Himself to the blind and deaf. We are born dead in our trespasses and sins, no one raises themselves from this state. Without Him I have no righteousness in myself, I labor in vain. Thank You for making Yourself known to me, writing the story about Your Son, and drawing me by Your Spirit.

- So far from paying respect to great thinkers who will not own the glory or being of God, we ought to regard them as comparable to the beasts which perish, only vastly lower than mere brutes, because their degrading condition is of their own choosing. O God, how sorrowful a thing it is that men whom thou hast so largely gifted, and made in thine own image, should so brutify themselves that they will neither see nor understand what thou hast made so clear. Well might an eccentric writer say, "God made man a little lower than the angels at first, and he has been trying to get lower ever since." C. H. Spurgeon

Your enemies shall perish - The time for their self exaltation will come to an end. Those that lift themselves up, who carry their egos, haven't a shoulder left for the cross. They did not want You, and so they hate reason, shun humility, and in the end they have what they wanted all along, separation from You, but what a sad state.

…10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.… Romans 3: 10-12

You have poured over me fresh oil - Taken from what men did not esteem, a lowly beginning, a nobody, and yet Your mercy covers me, Your grace anoints my head, and I am adopted into a royal family forever. 

My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies - Look down the road, this is a blessing of God's word, that you can see so much farther than before. There are only two possible ends for my enemies, that they come to know God and become therefore my family, or they die in their sin and come to know God's judgment. I pray the former, but trust God either way, for only He knows, and He knows best. Help me to deny myself in this, O God, leave me innocent of their blood, that I have told the truth, loved my enemy, and prayed for those who have mistreated me. You have done all that and more for me, so thank You once again and forever.

They are planted in the house of the Lord - Grass is a shallow thing, it withers easily, but the righteous are like trees, planted in the soil prepared by the Lord, nourished by His every Word. The root runs deep, and the heat of the sun does not burn it away.

They still bear fruit in old age - Let my later years far outshine today. Let everyday bring me the joy of Your salvation, Your praise upon my lips, and the gospel to share with others. I am watching winter come upon two people even now, and Lord I have looked hard, but I have not seen the fruit of Your Spirit. There is nothing about them that is not self serving and yet I would be an ungrateful servant if I did not love them the way You have loved me. Can I be so bold to appeal to the story of the thief upon the cross? Greater than the parting of the sea, or water from the rock, Lord those are but shadows, and I would ask to see the greatest miracle of all, there is nothing more beautiful than a dead soul being raised unto life. "Remember me when You enter Your kingdom." God, save my parents, for I do not know. Everyone tells me that doctrine is not important, that we can hold on to bad Theology and still be saved, as if that were the goal, to not know Who You are, Who Christ is, or that I am a sinner whose works cannot save. Please keep me from error, from saying things without love and compassion, from saying what You wouldn't say. Thank You for Your word and let it stand as my light and measure, keep me hungry and ever growing in the knowledge of Your truth. Help me forsake the desire to be liked, to cave in, but let me instead stand firmly on Your Word. 

…24 And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. 25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.… 2 Timothy 2: 24-26

…15 Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4: 15-16

…15 But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have. But respond with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you will be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.… 1 Peter 3: 15-17

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