1 John 4:19 "We love Him because He first loved us." This verse is part of a broader passage in which the Apostle John writes about the nature of God’s love and how it influences how believers live and relate to one another in the body of Christ. In the preceding verses, John emphasizes that God is love (1 John 4:8) and that God's love is revealed ultimately in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to lay down His life for those whom He, the Father, loved from eternity. The LORD Jesus came to lay down His life for the sinners God the Father has loved and will love forever because of Christ's loving sacrifice unto death for them (1 John 4:9-10) . Contrary to popular opinion, the divine order of love is: God loved, therefore we love. Consider a few thoughts: God’s love is essential — “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16). This is a profound statement. It doesn’t say God has love, but that God is love. In His essence and as an attribute, God is love. He loves Himself primarily. He loves His Righteousness, He loves His Son, He loves those sinners He gave His Son to save, and He loves the finished work of His Son that has satisfied His justice on their behalf. The Scripture puts it in the present tense, and therefore: everlasting, unchangeable, and invariable to His elect in the LORD Jesus Christ. The reason all who are objects of His love love one another unconditionally, even as they have been loved by God, is because they love one another with the same love that their heavenly Father has loved them and begotten them again unto life by the Spirit. This love is because of Christ's complete work accomplished for them on the cross. God’s love is eternal — “…that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me” (John 17:23). By “the world,” Jesus meant the Jews and Gentiles chosen of God and given to Christ. God loves them as He loved Christ: eternally, immutably, and incomprehensibly. Note the past tense: "loved." The Father loved Christ as His own Son and as Mediator. He loved Him when He assumed human nature and became obedient to His will as the God/Man, both in doing and in suffering. When His Father left Him on the cross, (Psalm 22:1), He did not turn His back on His Son, but rather, purposed that He should remain on the cross, while He poured out His wrath (justice) upon Him, until His blood was completely poured out of Him unto death, for His sheep. Nothing less could satisfy God's law and justice. The instances of the Father's love for His Son as Mediator include His putting all things into His hands (John 3:35) , revealing to Him all that He does, concealing nothing from Him, and appointing Him the only Savior, the Head of the church, and the Judge of the world (John 17:2) because of His love for the Son. God’s love is elective — “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13). The context makes it clear that this is not due to the men, their decisions, or deeds, but to God’s will and His electing grace. Some try to soften the impact of God's sovereign choice of some in love, reasoning that this somehow means God preferred one over the other. However, this perverts both the sense of God's love and His hatred of others, referring to God as simply having loved less, rather than as the Word declares, "hated." What should amaze us is not that God hates sinners, because His holiness is the cause of His hatred for them, and justly so. Rather, what is amazing is that He set His love on any. In the case of Rebecca, Isaac's only wife, the choice of her son Jacob was the choice of one of two sons by the same mother, and of the younger in contrast to the elder—before either of them was born and before either had done good or evil to be a ground of God's choice. All this was to show that the sole reason for distinction lay in the unconditional choice of God— "not of works, but of Him that calleth" (Romans 9:11). God’s love is saving — “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son into the world to be the Propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10) . This was the greatest of God's saving acts. God saved from sin through, in connection with, and not without, the satisfying work of Christ, those He chose in Him from eternity. God's decree to save was not salvation itself. God's justice required that the salvation of His elect be accomplished through the satisfactory work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). It is the love of God for His justice that caused Him to send His Son into the world to be " the Propitiation" [satisfactory payment] for the sins of those He loved before the foundation of the world. Such is the effectual, saving love of God for His elect. His is not a general love for everyone that doesn’t actually save them. No! Everyone whom God has loved, Christ has paid their sin debt, and therefore they are saved already when the Lord Jesus finished the work. Since He loved His elect in Christ while they were yet sinners, and the Lord Jesus died for them while they were yet sinners, for what sin would God ever turn away one that He has eternally loved, and Christ has redeemed? Not one! The Lord Jesus declared: “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

Daniel 4:35 "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His Hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" God is the God of all nations and He does what He will do among the nations freely. None can stay His Hand or say to Him, "What doest Thou?" Nothing happens upon this earth but what comes from His Sovereign Hand. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus" (Romans 9:20)? "Our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" (Psalm 115:3). "Who raised the Righteous Man from the east, called Him to His foot, gave the nations before Him, and made Him rule over kings" (Isaiah 41:2)? Christ is that Righteous Man raised up from the east by God His Father. He is that One Who came and earned a righteousness, established it and upon completion of His work, God the Father imputed it to a people that He purposed to save from eternity. God has a particular people called Israel which means a "prince with God," not speaking of natural Israel, but of a Spiritual Israel that God has chosen to save: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:" (1 Peter 2:9). "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 41:14). Regardless of what the world says or does, there are sinners throughout the world, in every tribe, nation, and tongue (Revelation 7:9) who are the apple of God's eye, chosen sinners for whom Christ came, lived, died, and rose again. He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Nor did He come to try to save everybody (John 17:1-12) . If any are lifted in pride and think themselves something, to be one of God's chosen, He reminds us who we are, "thou worm." If we get our backs up against one another and our heads lifted in pride, remember it is nothing but one worm lifting up its head against another worm, crawling over another. Still worms regardless. Anything we are is only by God's Grace, the work of the LORD Jesus Christ, Who came and accomplished the salvation of His people. He came as the Conquering King, He came as the Deliverer of His people, the Captain of Salvation. "But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by Grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His Grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by Grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:4-9).

1 Samuel 22:1,2 "David...escaped to the cave Adullam... And every one that was in distress, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them..." This account of David's escape from Saul's pursuit is rich with types and pictures of Christ and His Church. Wherever Christ is depicted in Scripture, His Church is never far behind. David finds refuge in a cave and cries out to God for comfort. After escaping both Saul and the Philistines, David had nowhere else to hide except for a cave called Adullam. "So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam" (1 Sam. 22:1) . David had lost everything he knew, including his wife, friends, royal status, military command, and freedom. He could not find refuge in any Jewish town or among the Philistines. He was the most wanted man wherever he went. Even worse, he had done nothing to deserve this status. Yet, God remained his Refuge. The cave of Adullam, which means "refuge," was located in the territory of Judah. In the same way, the LORD Jesus came and tabernacled among sinners in the world. He, too, was pursued and maligned. Though He was both God and Creator of those He came to dwell among, they pursued Him to death—yet to no avail. God the Father, like David, had appointed Him to be King and Heir of His people, and the gates of hell could not prevail against Him. Though He would, like David, suffer much affliction and persecution before ascending to the throne (Acts 3:18), He would not be overcome. The sinners that Christ came to save are like those who gathered around David in his suffering—distressed and discontented. Christ said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). These individuals are typical of sinners drawn to the Rock of Refuge, symbolized by the cave of Adullam. "Adullam" means "hiding place," and as the old hymn says, "He hideth my soul in the cleft of the Rock...in the depth of His love...and covers me there with His hand." " But the LORD is my defence, and my God is the Rock of my Refuge" (Psalm 94:22). Those drawn to the Rock of Refuge are always those in trouble. "The LORD also will be a Refuge for the oppressed, a Refuge in times of trouble" (Psalm 9:9). God causes some to fall into great debt, some to be hunted by the world, others to endure great distress through trials, and still others to experience discontentment. But it is for such as these that the LORD Jesus came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:9-10) . To be lost is to have wandered, as sheep do so that they can never find their way back without the Shepherd seeking and bringing them home. The only hope for these malcontents was David, as a type of Christ. God will use whatever means He deems necessary to bring sinners to the end of their way—those He has purposed to save. Even as those who sought David were at the end of their way, the LORD used their circumstances to drive them to him. Similarly, the path God traces for His sheep is designed to draw them to Christ as their only Hope. David could identify with their sufferings because, like our LORD Jesus, he "endured the contradiction of sinners against himself" (Hebrews 12:3). "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things... to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10). As God made David the captain over this worthless bunch, so Christ became the Captain of His sinners through His obedient suffering unto death on the cross. "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of Truth and without iniquity, Just and Right is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4). The LORD Jesus is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20), and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). It is in Him that we “have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18). “ The LORD also will be a Stronghold for the oppressed, a Stronghold in times of trouble" (Psalm 9:9). “And a Man shall be as an Hiding Place from the wind, and a Covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the Shadow of a Great Rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:2)

Jude 1:24 "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy," The language of Scripture is very precise, and therefore we read it prayerfully and carefully. Does it say, "The Lord bless you to keep yourself from falling?" No! It reads, "Now unto HIM that is able to keep you from falling." All of the glory and power belong to the LORD, and the blessed truth is that those He has redeemed through the precious blood of His Son, He does indeed keep. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" (Ephesians 1:3). How many times do we fall daily in our minds and hearts? By the Spirit of God, we are cognizant of the ever-present sinful nature of our hearts. We fall because we are fallen creatures as the descendants of our father Adam (Romans 5:12). But the sense here is not to be kept from falling into sin, because that we do by nature. Rather, it is to be kept by the Power of God in Christ from falling away from HIM and His saving work on our behalf, accomplished for His own at the cross. Those here described by Jude fell away from Christ, never having had His work of Grace begun in them, and therefore did not persevere. It has to do with being kept in Christ and resting in His finished work—wholly accomplished through His life and death, declared in the Gospel, and revealed in the hearts of saved sinners by the Spirit of God. This Faith gives the LORD Jesus all the glory. He stands as an invincible restraint against being drawn away, as so many were during this time, following the way of Cain, who ran greedily after the error of Balaam and the gainsayings of Korah. But here is that blessing: to the God who is able to keep you from falling away, following the error of men, or following a leavened, perverted message that does not give Christ all the glory in creation, providence, salvation, and condemnation. And certainly, that is how the LORD’s people are described—they are kept . "Now the just shall live by Faith: But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:38-39). "Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). If God has chosen us and the Son has paid our complete sin debt, we are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto salvation—the Faith in connection with Christ and His sacrificial death. This Faith, revealed in time through His Word in the Gospel, is how the LORD opens the heart and mind to Christ. "Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). How does God present any sinner faultless "before the Presence of His Glory?" This is not even talking about the fading glory of the Old Testament, the Shekinah Glory that even caused Moses to tremble. Even that was a veiled and temporal glory. But here, it has to do with the very Presence of God's glory and entering in with exceeding joy. If we are the LORD's and He has chosen us, it is certain that He is keeping us from falling away and that He will present us faultless. Therein we rejoice in Him and His Power that keeps us from falling away into perdition. How so? Through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is described the work of Christ, so full and so satisfactory that His shed blood unto death put away all the sin of each elect sinner. That is the only way any of us could ever hope to be presented faultless before the Presence of His Glory. The apostle Paul described it as the love between a husband and wife, whereby, being married to the husband, all of the wife’s previous debts, no matter how many, are absorbed by the husband in the marriage relationship, and the husband stands as the wife’s surety and advocate. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). To Him who has so wisely purposed the salvation of His people, through the redeeming, justifying, and sanctifying work of His Son, and will faithfully and perfectly accomplish it, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." The Greek word translated as "preaching" here is ho logos , which means " the word of the cross." That is, the doctrine of the cross, that proclaims salvation only through the sacrificial death of the LORD Jesus Christ, accomplished on the cross. Preaching the cross is to declare the Christ of the cross—the One Who died, why He died, and what He accomplished by His death. It is to exalt the Lamb of the cross, the LORD Jesus Christ, and the satisfaction that His righteous obedience and effectual bloodshed unto death accomplished in saving those sinners the Father gave Him to save before the foundation of the world (John 10:14–18) . By His one sacrifice, He fully, freely, and forever redeemed, justified, and reconciled to God each one for whom He died: "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). The preaching of the cross is to declare that the sinners that God ordained to salvation have been reconciled to God, pardoned, and saved uniquely by the merits of the LORD Jesus Christ and His effectual sacrifice alone. While one might think that declaring salvation accomplished by the death of Christ would be a subject of rejoicing for all sinners, Scripture declares that it is foolishness to those who are perishing—yet unenlightened or made alive by the Spirit of God. Preaching the cross will always bring division. To those who perish (in a lost state and fit for destruction), it is foolishness, and will always be foolishness (contemptible, stupid, and unworthy of belief). However, to those who are saved, it is the power of God, in contrast to the foolishness of those who are perishing. They are saved by the blood of the LORD Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of Grace revealing Christ in them, drawing them effectually to the crucified One alone, in heart and soul. Sinners are judged as either saved or condemned exclusively by the work of Christ on the cross, manifest through the Spirit’s revelation of Him in the heart. "But unto us which are saved" —This stands in contrast to "them that perish." It refers, doubtless, to the elect of God, as being saved from the power and condemnation of sin; and as having in Christ's death for them an Eternal Salvation, both in this life and the world to come. The Gospel is called "the power of God" because it is the medium through which God exerts His power in the salvation of sinners, revealing Christ to those for whom the LORD Jesus paid the debt. The apostle Paul declared, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). It is how God has purposed to reveal Christ in every redeemed and justified sinner’s heart: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). It answers the sinner’s greatest need before a Holy God, and is efficacious in renewing and sanctifying (setting apart) each elect sinner unto Christ. All in whom the Spirit works rest in the Truth of the Gospel and all that it reveals of Christ and His death, accomplished for sinners. The Gospel of the cross effectively produces the effectual fruits of Christ's work on the cross in each one for whom Christ died. All the fruits of Christ's work on the cross are in time revealed to the soul by the Spirit—in their justification, sanctification, regeneration, repentance, faith, and final glorification. These are only what the Gospel of the cross is suited to produce in the saved sinner. It is the Truth concerning the LORD Jesus and God’s promise to save sinners for whom Christ came into the world. Only the Holy Spirit can take the effects of Christ's work on the cross and reveal them in the hearts, not just the minds, of those whom God the Father chose to save and saved through Christ's sacrifice. Each one that Christ redeemed and the Father justified at the cross, the Holy Spirit does effectually draw to Christ. Of all that the Father gave to His Son and for whom He paid the debt, He can lose nothing (John 6:37).

Ephesians 1:11 "In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the Counsel of His own Will." A more accurate translation of the expression " we have obtained an inheritance" would be "in whom we were also made an inheritance." Whose inheritance are we if God has predestined us to salvation according to the Counsel of His will? We are God's! The whole number of God's elect in Christ are His possession. What then is the possession of the elect? Since they are God's possession in Christ, God is also their Inheritance in Christ. As the LORD Jesus prayed in His High Priestly Prayer, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us" (John 17:21). How beautiful the view of God's purpose in Christ when seen through the prism of the Sonlight. Just like a diamond flashes many colors as its facets catch the light, so here we see the different angles of being the inheritance as God's elect, redeemed ones, but also inheriting the LORD Jesus Christ Himself according to the Father's purpose. If we inherit Eternal Life, that life is in God's Son. "And this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3). To know Christ and be found in Him is as much a part of being heirs of God as it is for us to inherit Eternal Life. God-given Faith is God's Gift to His elect because of His faithfulness to honor His Son with those elect sinners that He gave Him before the foundation of the world. The elect are nothing and have nothing to commend them to God, but their nothingness is replenished with the Fullness of God in Christ. That's why the apostle Paul declared elsewhere, "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:9-10). Blessed Comfort! To know Him is to have Eternal Life, and to be found in Him is to have my emptiness fully replenished in His fullness. We possess God in Christ, and God possesses us in Him. "We were made His inheritance" ... "And He is the earnest of our inheritance." As the children of God in Christ, we are His heirs, chosen in eternity but purchased in time in the coming, doing, dying, rising again, and ascension into the glory of the LORD Jesus. The Scriptures are the legal document, God's testament of redemption for those that He gave to His Son before the foundation of the world, and for whom He came into the world to pay their complete sin debt. It says that when Christ died, His heirs inherited all that He is, as promised. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). It is not by our works but by His. Christ is the Promise given to every one of God's chosen children. Everything about this physical world and our earthly lives is, at best, temporal. Our flesh and blood, our possessions, our works—they are all temporal, which means temporary, and therefore all worthless and passing away. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:17). Only the heirs of Jesus Christ will live forever. Anything that we forsake in this life, for Christ's sake, is not to be compared to the Life Eternal that is in Christ, and to live in His presence forever. " But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come Eternal Life " (Mark 10:30). Christ is that Hundredfold Who bequeathed Himself to His chosen children. He is the Reward, the Righteous One given by His death to unworthy sinners. "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:24).

Micah 7:8 "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a Light unto me." There are often seasons of affliction and oppression that the LORD ordains for His people to endure. Many of these times are filled with darkness, where it appears that God has completely withdrawn His Presence. The child of God may find no comfort until the LORD is pleased to give the Light of His Presence and cause it to shine in their heart once again. As His children, God will grant His Spirit of repentance to look to the LORD Jesus Christ alone, Who is the Light of those who sit in darkness. He gives them the patience of Job to endure the trial and not charge God with sin or evil (Job 1:22). When we are tempted to complain to the LORD about our affliction, it is the pride of the flesh making us think that we deserve better. But then, the LORD mercifully reminds us of what our LORD Jesus endured to save us and present us righteous and faultless before God the Father. Consider what He endured to satisfy the Father so that He might be just in justifying each one for whom He paid the debt. " For consider Him that endured such contradiction from sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:2). In the heat of the trial, we would do well to complain against ourselves rather than find fault with God or wonder why He is exercising us as He is. The comfort is, as the Word declares: "For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6). Knowing that it is in love that God is chastening us, we ought not to complain about the evil of the affliction. Rather, we should complain about the evil of our hearts. Through the exercise of our souls, the LORD weans us from any confidence in the flesh and causes us to depend completely on Him to work deliverance in His due time. What is clear is that if the LORD Jesus paid our horrific sin debt, He cannot leave us to ourselves. Just as a father disciplines his children, the LORD will do the same in us—not only to look to Him for light and comfort but to look for Him to be that Light and Comfort through the trial. In our greatest distresses, we will see no reason to despair of salvation, because, being the LORD's by His electing, redeeming, and effectual grace, He gives each one the Faith to look to and rest in Christ alone as ALL their salvation. The LORD grants the Faith to look to the LORD Jesus Christ Himself as the God of their salvation. Although enemies may appear to triumph for a while through their insults and attacks, we know that in the LORD's time, they will be silenced and put to shame. When Micah prophesied these words, it was 150 years before Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians. Yet, foreseeing the devastation of the destruction of Jerusalem, he prophesied of Hope in the coming Messiah for an elect remnant (Micah 5:2) . The lesson for us is that even though Zion's walls (the Church) might remain in ruins for a time, there would come a day when they would be repaired. Historically, Israel was brought back after 70 years of captivity, and it was the LORD who drew them back from their dispersion. Therefore, they were to find comfort in His Grace and Mercy toward them. Though our enemies may seem to prevail against us and rejoice over us, we should not despair. Though cast down, we are not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-11). We may join hope in God's mercy, with submission to His correction. No hindrances can prevent the favors that the LORD has purposed for His elect children. It is against the backdrop of the darkest times that the Light shines the greatest. "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up" (Matthew 4:16). Like the moon that shines brightest against the darkest sky, God's children are made to see Christ. The darker and deeper the sin, the greater and more glorious the Savior shines!

Isaiah 65:8,9 "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, ‘Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a Seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an Inheritor of my mountains: and mine Elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.” What a beautiful message of hope and restoration we find declared in this text. In these verses, the Sovereign LORD God declares that despite the devastation and destruction that He would bring on the nation of Israel, caused by Israel's sin, there would be a future of hope in God's Grace and Mercy for a promised elect seed, for whom the LORD Jesus would come and pay their sin debt. The metaphor here is of new wine being found in the cluster, which symbolizes the preservation of a remnant—a particular number of elected sinners that God would preserve and keep from destruction, for His Name's sake, and not because of anything inherently good in them. God promises to bless this remnant, bringing them into a prosperous future, contrasting the judgment that had fallen on the reprobate nation of Israel because of its idolatry. These verses reflect God’s Grace and the Hope of restoration for His people, for whom the LORD Jesus would come into the world to earn and establish a righteousness satisfactory to God's law and justice, and thereby would be saved from eternal condemnation. 1. It is a blessed remnant. No matter how rotten the cluster is, because there is a blessing in it, God does not condemn the whole. How important is the word “blessing” or “blessed” to those that the LORD has purposed to save? Our LORD said in Matthew 25:34, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” There is no good inherently in any sinner. All the goodness is in God, Who has purposed to bless a select remnant by His eternal grace and spare them for Christ’s sake, not because of anything good in them. 2. It is a redeemed and justified remnant. The LORD promised a Seed out of Jacob and an inheritor out of Judah. "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). Clearly, Christ is that Seed, and the reason that God did not destroy at that time the entire nation of Israel for its sins. The LORD Jesus Christ is called the Seed of the woman, the Seed of Abraham, the Seed of David, and sprang from Jacob or Israel, and came out of the tribe of Judah. HE is the blessing in the cluster. In HIM are all the divine perfections, and ALL blessings and promises of grace. In HIS blood and righteousness are the pardon, peace, and justification of His people. He is that Seed in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed, and with whom God the Father made that eternal covenant of grace, to save a people from every tribe, nation, and tongue, "of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (Ephesians 3:15).

Luke 18:13 "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Here was one instance where it says, "standing afar off."  Some interpret this as an indication that he wasn't even in the inner court but in the outer one. He dared not even approach; he dared not even look heavenward. This was not just a religious ritual—this was a true cry unto the LORD. Not just for a specific sin, but for Mercy, You won't even have a clue what this means unless the LORD has been pleased to be your Teacher. It's not an emotion, it's an understanding of this sinful flesh and who I am before a Holy God. We are sinners, but, it's for such that Christ came to save, and that's the glorious part of this. It's like Paul said, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15). Any in whom the Spirit of God has done His work of Grace, that is all they can see of themselves, "I am that sinner." If everybody else in the world had been righteous and me the only sinner, it would still have taken Christ coming to pay my debt. That's just how grave and grievous that sin is before God. But that's what this sinner was saying, preeminently sinful. Here's another interpretation of it: devoted to sin. I often hear people say things like, "Well, I used to live that way. I used to think that way. That's what I used to be but now, thank God, I'm..." Well, you're lying then. You're just like that Pharisee: “ I thank God I'm not like other men." What you're really saying is, "I thank God I'm not like those others." Listen to people’s testimonies; often, they focus on what they were and what they are now. But if we belong to the LORD and He has taught us, we will never get over being the sinner. Ever! The closer we get to the Light, the more we see this corruption within us. Grace that is greater than all my sin! It must be that the LORD continues to show us just how sinful we are. If we ever have that little self-righteous thought of, "Hey, I'm improving," all the LORD has to do is open our eyes a little wider, and realize, "Whoa, wait a minute here!" Think about the stench of this old heart. No matter how much you treat it, it still sins. Devoted to sin, That means exceedingly wicked. That's what he was saying. "I am the exceedingly wicked one." Given the test, none of us would naturally answer that way. But have you ever—or do you now—see yourself as the exceedingly wicked one, bent on nothing but sin? There are some moralists, legalists and even so-called “grace” people who will take issue with you for saying, "That's my testimony." Yet, it was Paul's testimony too. As he said, "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Romans 7:17-19). The HOPE for the publican, or any lost sinner that God has purposed to save is in the finished work of the LORD Jesus Christ alone. He is the saved sinner’s Mercy. “I tell you, this man went down to his house JUSTIFIED, rather than the other” (Luke 18:14).

John 17:15 "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Christ is not praying here that we should be taken out of this world. Can you imagine what that would be like? As soon as you're converted, you're immediately out of trouble. At times, we might think that such an escape would be profitable —just a way to avoid the difficulties of life. Yet, we are called to be satisfied as long as the LORD has us here. We can find satisfaction in knowing that it is the LORD Who intercedes for us and has completed His work to preserve us. If you want an excellent example of preservation by Grace, consider how He has kept you in this world—with all of its sin, the corrupting influences of society, the attacks of the evil one, and so much more. As Christ Himself said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Not only was He kept from evil when He was in this world—remaining sinless—but now His intercession ensures that those given to Him by the Father, for whom He paid the ultimate debt, are also preserved. Notice the prayer: "Keep them from the evil." Reflect on all that is evil, which, like a flood, would overwhelm us were it not for Christ’s preserving power through His Word. Consider the apostasy of Judas Iscariot as an example. Christ has kept each one except for the son of perdition, as Scripture foretold. It’s not as though Christ wanted to keep Judas but was unable. No! Judas was not a failure of Christ’s preservation but rather a fulfillment of prophecy. “None of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Look around you and see how many have made professions of faith, but because of trouble, trial, temptation, or sin, have completely fallen away. If we continue in the Faith that is in Christ, it is the LORD Who is keeping us from going astray, as we otherwise surely would. Remember, every time you go to bed at night, you are still battling the enemy within. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other..." (Galatians 5:17). This is why you might even wake up sometimes, bewildered by dreams or thoughts that seem entirely contrary to your conscious mind. Yet, through all of this, the LORD continues to keep His own. "My Grace is sufficient for thee: for My Strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD God , that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD :" When we open the Word of God to Amos chapter eight, it is as though we enter a winter season, an eclipse of the sun, when the LORD withholds His hand. We know the sun continues to shine even if we cannot see it, yet there are days of cloudiness, days when it seems that the sun is removed. And yet God is Who He is. He does not change, though He may, for a time, eclipse His glory and withhold the revelation of Himself from a generation. Amos was one of those early prophets, some seven hundred years before Christ, who declared this most solemn Word of the LORD: “The end is come upon my people of Israel. I will not again pass by them anymore” (Amos 8:2). The vision of a basket of summer fruit was a symbol of the end. No more harvest. No more passing by. The LORD had set the time. And in the midst of such judgment comes the declaration of verse eleven: “I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” How solemn is this famine! It is one thing for the body to hunger for bread or thirst for water. It is another thing altogether for the soul to be starved of the Word of the LORD. Without His Word, there is no light, no direction, no comfort. Without His Word, there is no revelation of Christ, no message of His finished work at Calvary. And this famine is not imaginary. It is real. There have been many a candlestick the LORD has put out in His time (Revelation 2:5). The songs of the temple were turned into howlings. Dead bodies were cast forth in silence. Nebuchadnezzar came down and destroyed Jerusalem, just as the prophets foretold, though false prophets walked about saying, “It will never happen.” So it is with false shepherds. They swallow up the needy, they make the poor of the land to fail. They care not for the sheep, but prey upon them. They falsify the balances of deceit. They are hirelings. And the LORD has sworn, “ Surely I will never forget any of their works.” (Amos 8:7) Yet amid this famine, the LORD keeps His own. Every one of His sheep shall be brought to the great Shepherd (John 6:37). Christ cares for His people, the needy sinners whom He has purchased with His own precious blood. False religion is no refuge. “They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth” (Amos 8:14), shall fall and never rise up again. False religion always ends in destruction. But for God’s people, the famine drives them to Christ, the Bread of Life, the true Water for thirsty souls. If we have Christ, we have the Word made flesh. If we have Christ, we are fed in every season. How seriously then should we take our meeting together, as the LORD chosen and redeemed saints? What a privilege to gather and hear the Word of the LORD! We just assume there will always be another opportunity, another preacher, another message. But the LORD does not have to raise up another Gospel preacher. Often His blessing on a people lasts only a generation. Therefore, let us value every message of Christ the Living Bread and Water, every occasion to hear His Word, every reminder of His finished work. At Calvary, Christ met our greatest need—the need of our sin. He paid the great price with His own precious blood, precious unto God, and now precious unto us. If He has so bought us, then He will also keep us. Though the famine may come to a land, yet the Spirit of Grace breathes upon sinful hearts of God’s elect children and gives them life to look to Christ and Christ alone. In Him, and in His finished work, there is rest. So let us not chase the wind of this world, which is nothing but a vapor, but rejoice that the LORD has been pleased to teach us of Christ His Son. And may our hearts be drawn evermore to Him, who faithfully cares for us, even in days of famine. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine… not of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” May God keep us through such a famine, and keep us ever thankful for His Word, and for Christ, the Living Word, Who has accomplished all for His people.

Psalm 109:1-3 "Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words of hatred; And fought against me without a cause." Looking at this from the perspective of our LORD and His suffering—being hated without cause—we read in verse 1: “ Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise." Some might ask, "If these are Christ's words, why does He refer to God as His God?" The answer lies in Scripture, which shows that Christ, as a man, came to satisfy the law and justice of God the Father. He came to fulfill them so that God might be both Just and Justifier. a Just God and Savior. Thus, these words reflect Christ speaking in His humanity. In Hebrews, 5:8, our LORD is described as having learned obedience: "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered." Righteousness, to be imputed, had to be worked out, which is why Christ had to earn it as a man. The law required that righteousness be established through perfect obedience. God could not just look the other way. As our Substitute, Christ had to satisfy His Father as God, though He Himself is God. While He never ceased being Divine, He had to fulfill the requirements of the law as a man, "A body hast thou prepared me" (Hebrews 10:5). In verse 2, it says: "The mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me." This has accurately been interpreted as referring to Christ. The Pharisees spoke many things against Him: they called Him Beelzebub; evil, the son of the devil, a blasphemer, and a Samaritan. These accusations are well documented throughout the God-inspired Scriptures. However, Paul writes in Romans 3:9 : "What then? are we better than they?" This calls for reflection whenever we read about the Pharisees. Jesus Himself declared, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). He was not speaking about outward actions—like tithing down to the last detail of parsley and herbs—but rather having a Righteousness that equals that of God Himself, which could only be through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Substitute for His people. Mere outward acts of religion hold no value before a Holy God. As Isaiah wrote long before their time: “ All of our righteousnesses, are as filthy rags” [Isaiah 64:6]. The psalm continues: "They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause." Many might say, “That’s not me—I don’t hate God.” Yet, Scripture reveals that our very nature is one of enmity toward God. Unless the LORD, by His Spirit, shows us the truth of our lost condition—that I am that sinner—we remain in darkness and blindness. And yet, there is hope. The Scriptures also tell us that when Christ died, He died for sinners. When He reconciled, He reconciled enemies—not friends.