The Solution to the Mess that
the World ,
and Each of Us are In Today Part XXIII
Psalm 53, 59, 67 & 68
plus
Various New Testament Passages
November
9, 2025
The
Ascension (v. 18)
Consider in three aspects.
fulfilled. What was a faith is now a fact (Acts 1:2-9; Ephesians
4:7).
While there is much that is strange, there is nothing that
is incredible. The
marvelous thing was not Christ’s ascent, but His descent. Believe in the
Incarnation, and all beside, down to the glorious ascent
from Olivet,
becomes not only credible, but natural. (for deity)
II. AS A POWER. Christ ascended as a conqueror. His entrance into
heaven was a triumph. His power is seen not only in victory over
His
enemies, but in blessings to
His friends. Power over matter is great,
but
power over mind is greater. Christ’s power is moral and beneficent. The
work He did on earth was the earnest of the work He carries on in heaven.
His “gifts” are not only kingly, but
they are bestowed in the most kingly
manner. “The rebellious” are not excluded. There is mercy for the greatest
sinner, as there is grace
to the uttermost for all the saints. Christ’s “gifts”
are
not only precious, but permanent. As long as there is need on earth
there will be supply from
heaven (Hebrews 4:14-16). THE SOLUTION!
III. AS A PROPHECY. Christ was the first, but not the last, to ascend,
He has “opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.” His ascent is the
pledge of His people’s
ascent. “Where should the living members
be but
with their living Head?” His ascent is the sure prophecy of His
second
coming, and of the everlasting glory of His kingdom (You can take that to
the
bank just like Acts 17:31 - CY - 2025 - (“Acts
1:10-11; “Ye men of
why stand
ye gazing up into heaven,? This same Jesus, which is taken up from
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen Him go
into heaven.”) Colossians 3:4; When Christ , who is our life, shall
appear, then
shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”) “So Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many, and unto them that look for Him
shall He appear the second time
without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews
9:28).
Ø
“In His blessed life
we see the path, (“Thou hast showed me the path of life,
in thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there
are pleasures for
evermore. (Psalm 16:11)
Ø
in His death the
price, and
Ø
in His great ascent the proof supreme of immortality.”
Joy
in God (vs. 3-4)
“Let the righteous be glad.”The Bible, like human life, has its dark as
well as bright side. Rather say, shows human life thus double-sided — half
in light of
happiness, knowledge, goodness; half in night of weeping. And
as
the earth in her path round the sun makes her own night, rolling into her
own
shadow; so the darkness of life results from man’s turning away from
God, the source of light, life, joy. No depths of sorrow so dark as
those the
Bible reveals. No heights of joy so bright. Almost the first page
records the
incoming of sin and death.
Almost the last page, the forecast of doom. But
before the record of
sin, the declaration that man was created in God’s
image; and that all which God had made was good. After prophecy of
judgments, the promise of new
heavens and earth — the unclouded glory
of the heavenly city. The
text, in harmony with large part of Psalter,
brings
before us the bright side of life
— JOY IN GOD!
I. GROUNDS
OF THIS JOY.
1. Deepest and highest of
all reasons for joy in God:
Ø his
character:
Ø
righteousness,
Ø
truth,
Ø
mercy, or (as same word beautifully translated)
Ø
loving kindness; eternal
opposition to evil, and delight in good.
All this is summed up in two words: “holiness,”
“love.” These do not
divide God’s character; each describes the whole. In regard to His own
perfection — pattern and fountain of all
goodness:
Ø
God is holy. In regard to His
creatures,
Ø
God is love.
Peculiar inalienable
glory of Bible — it lays this moral
spiritual basis
for religion. Worship, which regards the infinite greatness and glory of the
Creator; obedience (“the fear of God”), which regards
His authority and
power as Lord of all; — these are everywhere inseparably joined
with faith
(trust), which goodness alone can command or warrant. The more we
disinter the relics of ancient religions (inscriptions, sacred
books, etc.), the
more evident how widely the knowledge of the true God was once
diffused; how gradually the darkness swallowed up the light. We meet
with wonderful and beautiful settings forth of Divine glory.
Yet the contrast
with religious teaching of Bible only grows more
marked.
One reason — nowhere else do we find a practical revelation, even the
very notion or pretence, of God’s character by
continuous course of
dealings and messages, parallel with human history. (Concerning the Fall
of
His
messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had
compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ..”But they
mocked
the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His
prophets,
until the wrath of Lord arose against His people, TILL THERE WAS
NO
REMEDY.” (Italics mine - CY - 2025 - II Chronicles 36:15; Jeremiah 25:3-4;
35:15; 44:4-8; Luke 19:41-44)
The phrase "rising up early and sending
them" refers to a recurring
theme in the Bible, particularly in the book of Jeremiah,
where God
repeatedly sent His prophets
to His people to warn them and call
them to repentance. This
action was a consistent effort by God,
described as "rising early and sending them"
day after day,
despite the people's refusal
to listen to the prophets' messages.
God's repeated messengers: The phrase highlights
God's persistent
effort to communicate with
His people by sending prophets to them. (AI)
Nowhere else any hint, much less a full
unfolding, of a Divine message to
the whole human race, “God so loved the
world;” to every individual,
“Be ye reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5:20) (What I am trying to
do is to establish the parallel
with “then” and
“now.”
- CY - 2025)
IF YOU KNOW THAT JOY IN GOD - THEN THERE IS SATISFACTION -
THE SOLUTION I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR MONTHS -
IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS JOY IN GOD THROUGH CHRIST
(KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE) THEN YOUR
ONLY ONE OF DEPRESSION AND DISSATISFACTION, BUT ONE OF
HOPELESSNESS DUE TO NO GOD, NO CHRIST, NO HOPE, ALIENS
FROM HEAVEN, STRANGERS FROM THE TRUTH OF THE COVENANTS
OF THE PROMISE, WITHOUT CHRIST AND WITHOUT GOD IN THE
WORLD. (Ephesians 2)
2. Second ground
of joy — OUR PERSONAL RELATION TO GOD
THROUGH HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S
ONLY APPOINTED WAT. The New
Testament is full of this. “Children of God”
(Galatians 3:26; 1 John 3:1). Modern heresy of substituting what is called “the
universal Fatherhood of God” for the message of gospel, substitutes a general
for a personal relation. (no knowledge, no understanding,
of God’s revelation
and manifestation of His Only Begotten Son who came saying “Ye
must be born
again” and died on the
cross for that to happen! (CY -
2025) It throws
back religion
into Genesis.
Each Hebrew, under Law of Moses, was brought into personal relation to
God:
Ø
by the covenant at
Sinai, to which “his Name Jah” (equivalent to
“Jehovah”) referred;
Ø
by sacrifices, which had direct reference to his own sins. Conversion to
God
cannot be more truly described than as coming consciously, joyfully,
trustfully, though penitently, into personal relation with
God, in and
through Christ. The vital question for
every one is, “On what footing am I
with
the Father of spirits?’ Is it possible — not even on speaking terms?
Or, if not so bad as
that, yet so that you cannot, dare not, say, “My
God;
my Father”? Then you cannot
rejoice in God.
Ø
Third reason for joy in God — His unchangeableness. This is what gives
value to all past revelations; trustworthiness to promises;
security for the
future; for eternity.
.
4. Fourth reason — the assured triumph of right over wrong;
good over
evil, BECAUSE GOD REIGNS! A severe side to this.
Perfect goodness cannot
but have its severe side, in a world swarming with injustice, cruelty,
falsehood, lust. There is a
powerful tendency of present day to ignore this; to
look only on soft side of goodness. But perfect love must include
perfect hatred
of all
that debases and ruins human life. Illust.:
Father sees child maimed or
blinded, through carelessness or cruelty; Christian meekness
represses
desire of vengeance; but not
to feel righteous anger would be monstrous
insensibility. And welfare of society may
demand exemplary punishment.
God’s character assures us that
He has “no pleasure in the death of a
sinner;” but equally,
that
“the wages of sin is death.”
“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in
the death of the wicked; but that the wicked
turn from his way and
live: turn ye, turn from your evil ways for why
will ye die, O house
of
“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God:
and not that he should return from his ways, and
live?” (Ezekiel 18:23)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord!”
(Romans
6:23)
II. INFLUENCE OF THIS JOY IN GOD. Suppose the agnostic is right;
revelation is an illusion; faith is a blind conjecture flung out into
a void of
ignorance. Even so, it would remain true that the believer has
spring of
unselfish motive, inspiration of pure, lofty aim, fount of comfort
and joy,
the
world cannot give or take away. but For
we did not follow cunningly
devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of
our
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His
majesty.” (II Peter 1:18)
“While He yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them: and
behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved
Son, in
whom I am well pleased; HEAR YE
HIM.” (Matthew 17:5)
II
Peter 1:18 refers to the Transfiguration
of Jesus, where Peter,
along with James and John, heard the voice of God the Father
declare Jesus as His beloved Son while on a sacred mountain.
This
eyewitness account serves as proof that the apostles'
message about Jesus is not based on cleverly devised fables,
but on actual, firsthand experience of Christ's
majesty. (AI)
But
“we have not
followed… fables.” If deprived of this wonderful
Book of Psalms, of the whole story of God’s dealings and
messages down
to
two years ago, this would not alter the
Glory or the certainty of the
fact that “God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us
the word of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:19)
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