Psalm 91:9-16 "Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation." Psalm 91 brings before us the true security of the believer—not a security rooted in human resolve, decision, or perseverance, but a security established entirely in the Person and work of the LORD Jesus Christ. From beginning to end, this psalm directs our eyes away from ourselves and fixes them upon Him Who alone dwells in the secret place of the Most High. The promise of Psalm 91:9 rests upon a dwelling already established: “Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation.” For a sinner to dwell where God dwells is not a natural possibility. God is holy, and we are not. Yet Scripture reveals that this dwelling is found in Christ. He alone entered fully into God’s Presence as the Righteous High Priest, bearing the names of His people upon His breast. Where He dwells, they dwell. Their lives, as Scripture declares, are “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). The language of Psalm 91 moves us continually back to Christ as the One Who fulfilled it perfectly. He trusted His Father without reserve. He made the LORD His refuge in every step of His earthly obedience. What Adam failed to do, Christ did. What Israel could not accomplish, Christ fulfilled. And having done so, He established a dwelling place not only for Himself, but for all whom the Father gave Him. The promise follows: “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (v.10). This does not deny suffering, trial, or affliction. Christ Himself endured sorrow, rejection, and death. Rather, it declares that no evil—nothing with the power to separate from God—can ever come upon those who are in Him. The true evil would be condemnation, separation, or loss. That evil has already been removed. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The psalm continues with a striking assurance: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (v.11). These words were fulfilled first in Christ. Angels ministered to Him from His birth to His temptation, from His death on the cross to His resurrection. They served Him not as equals, but as servants of His redemptive purpose. And now, as the writer to the Hebrews declares, they are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Their service does not replace Christ’s keeping; it flows from it. The promise is careful and precise: the keeping is “in all thy ways” (v.11). Satan himself omitted these words when he tempted Christ, revealing his aim to distort God’s promises. He misquoted this Scripture in Matthew 4:6 by quoting it partially and out of context . He omitted the phrase “to keep thee in all thy ways,”   which refers to walking in God’s appointed path, not acting presumptuously. By doing so, Satan twisted a promise of God’s protecting care into a temptation for Christ to test God by reckless self-will rather than humble obedience. God's promise to keep Christ was not permission to tempt Him, but assurance that His purpose cannot fail. The way in which God keeps His people is Christ Himself—He Who declared, “I am the way” (John 14:6). Verse 13 moves us to the victory already accomplished: “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder.” This is not a call for believers to engage Satan in their own strength. Adam could not withstand the serpent, nor can we. But Christ has already done so. At the cross, He crushed the serpent’s head, fulfilling the promise of Genesis 3:15. Scripture declares that He “spoiled principalities and powers” and “triumphed over them” (Colossians 2:15). His victory is complete, and it is shared with those who are in Him. The psalm concludes with the Voice of God Himself: “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him” (v.14) . These words speak first of Christ, Who loved the Father perfectly and was delivered through His resurrection and exaltation into glory. Yet they also speak of all whom He represents. Because Christ called upon the Father and was answered, those in Him are heard. Because He was honored, they are accepted. Because He lives, they live also. “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (v.16). Because of Christ's Resurrection, His people inherit Life without end. Christ now lives forever, and so do all who dwell in Him. Here is the believer’s security: not in holding fast to God, but in being held forever in Christ (Hebrews 7:25). The risen and exalted Christ continually represents His people before God. His intercession is not a repeated sacrifice, but because of His finished work, Christ obtained full salvation for all whom the Father gave Him. Because He lives forever, His Priesthood never ends, and His people are kept by His ongoing, effectual mediation.

Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." This verse stands as one of the clearest declarations of God’s sovereign purpose in all of Scripture. Joseph's brothers meant evil against him, but God purposed it for good. These are not two competing wills struggling for preeminence, but One Holy God overruling wickedness of sinners to accomplish His saving purpose that He had determined from the beginning. Joseph does not minimize the sin of his brothers. He does not excuse it, soften it, or redefine it. They meant evil. Yet Joseph looks beyond their hands to God’s Hand, and there he finds Peace. This verse teaches us that God's providence does not excuse evil acts. The brothers acted wickedly and with malice. They sold Joseph into slavery, not knowing what the outcome would be, but fully intending harm. At the same time, God was not reacting, adjusting, or overlooking their sin. He was accomplishing His purpose through it. The same act, viewed from two perspectives: evil from men, good from God. Both are according to God's Sovereign will and purpose for His glory alone. (Isaiah 45:5-7). Joseph’s words are not spoken from theory but from experience. He was standing at the end of the road God laid out for him—a path that passed through betrayal, false accusation, imprisonment, and long waiting. Only now did the pattern become clear. God sent him ahead to preserve life. Not merely Joseph’s life, but the lives of many. The preservation spoken of here is not accidental or temporary; it is deliberate and saving. God’s purpose was life, and He brought it to pass exactly as He intended. This verse presses us forward to Christ. Joseph is not the Savior, but he points us to Him. What Joseph’s brothers meant for evil, God determined for good; what the hands of men did to Christ was the greatest evil ever committed, yet God determined it to be the greatest Good ever accomplished (Acts 2:23). The cross was not an interruption in God’s purpose—it was the revealed purpose of God from eternity. Men acted in hatred, envy, and unbelief, yet God was delivering up His Son according to His determinate counsel and foreknowledge. They could not do one thing more or less than what God had already determined (Acts 4:28). This verse teaches us how to think about the cross. Christ was not a victim overtaken by events. He was not crushed by forces beyond His determination. God determined it and used the very wickedness of men to accomplish the redemption of His elect. Salvation did not come by God preventing evil, but by God overruling it. The same God Who sent Joseph ahead to preserve life sent His Son into the world to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). This truth gives rest to the believer. God so rules and overrules according to His will so that the worst evil ever committed is turned to eternal good. That means that nothing in our lives falls outside His purpose. The verse does not promise ease, but it promises the fulfillment of God's purpose. It does not tell us that evil is good, but it assures us that evil cannot thwart God’s good. The believer’s comfort is not found in understanding every circumstance, but in trusting the God Who purposes good through all of them. Joseph speaks forgiveness to his brethren when he reveals himself to them, after being brought before him by God's sovereign purpose. He did not fear his brothers, nor did he hold their sin over them. God had already ruled. God had already worked. God had already accomplished what He purposed. The Gospel produces this same freedom. When we see our sins dealt with at the cross, we are freed from both guilt and vengeance. Christ has borne the evil, and God has brought good out of it—life everlasting. Genesis 50:20 leaves us not with Joseph, but points us to Christ. It teaches us to look beyond human intent to God's sovereign purpose, beyond present pain to eternal good, and beyond ourselves to the God Who saves. What men meant for evil, God determined for good—to save much people alive. The greatest evidence of that is in the cross of the LORD Jesus and the Salvation of His elect in the delivering up of His Son for their justification before Him.

2 Timothy 1:6-12 "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." The call of the Gospel is not merely to believe, but to stand—unashamed, unmoved, and anchored in what God has done in Christ. Paul exhorts Timothy to stir up the gift of God within him, reminding him that the Source of faithfulness is not natural ability, temperament, or resolve, but God's Sovereign Grace in Christ alone. This charge reaches beyond the minister and presses upon every believer who names the Name of Christ. God has not given His people a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (v.7). Fear belongs to the flesh, to uncertainty, to self-preservation. Power belongs to the Spirit, Who reveals Christ and strengthens the heart to endure reproach. This Power is not loud or forceful; it is the settled confidence that rests in CHRIST ALONE. Where Christ is revealed, fear of men loosens its grip, and the soul is made willing to bear whatever reproach the Gospel brings. To be unashamed of the Gospel is to identify openly with the testimony of Christ. That testimony is not personal experience or religious activity, but the message concerning Who Christ is and what He has accomplished. The Gospel is inseparable from His Person. To shrink from the Gospel is to shrink from Him. Paul’s imprisonment did not discredit the message; it confirmed it. Affliction is not an exception to the Gospel but a companion of it. Those who identify with Christ must expect to share in the afflictions that attend His truth, not by human strength, but “according to the power of God” (v.8). This endurance rests on a foundation that precedes time itself. God “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (v.9). Salvation does not begin with man’s response but with God’s purpose. Grace was not devised after the fall, nor activated by human decision. It was given in Christ before the world existed, made sure in Him, and destined to be revealed in time. That eternal purpose was made manifest in history through the appearing of Jesus Christ. In His incarnation, obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection, He accomplished what God had purposed from eternity. By His death, Christ abolished death—not by removing physical mortality, but by satisfying the law that condemned sinners. The legal power of sin and death was broken at the cross. For those for whom Christ died, death has lost its claim. Through the Gospel, Christ has brought life and immortality to light (v.10) . These realities are not created by belief but revealed by Grace. The Spirit opens the understanding to see what Christ has already accomplished. Life is found in Him; immortality rests upon His finished work. The Gospel does not offer possibility, but proclamation. It declares what God has done to be just and to justify sinners in Christ. This is why shame has no place among those taught of God. There is much in religion to blush over, but nothing in Christ to regret. The Gospel humbles man completely and exalts Christ entirely. It strips away confidence in works and leaves the soul resting in salvation that is entirely the work of God from beginning to end. To be ashamed of this Gospel would be to be ashamed of Christ Himself (Romans 1:1-4). As the Spirit reveals Christ in the heart and strengthens the mind, love is directed toward God, His Son, and His people. A sound mind does not chase novelty, but one that remains fixed upon Christ crucified. Discernment grows where Grace reigns. Strength is given where Christ is honored. And endurance flows from knowing that salvation is God’s work from beginning to end. To stand unashamed is not a mark of courage, but of Revelation. Those who see Christ clearly cannot turn away. Those who know Whom they have believed are persuaded that He is able to keep all that has been committed to Him until that day.

Hebrews 6:3-8 "And this will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned." Hebrews 6:3–8 brings us face-to-face with the Holy God, where grace and warning stand side by side. The writer speaks not to the openly hostile, but to those who have come near—near to the truth, near to the Gospel, near to Christ—yet may still remain strangers to His Sovereign Grace. This passage presses upon the heart a sobering reality: it is possible to be greatly privileged by the Gospel and yet never be converted by it. The writer begins with a confession of dependence: “ And this will we do, if God permit” (v.3). Nothing in the Christian life—growth, understanding, perseverance—originates in human resolve. Even the desire to go on, to mature, to continue in the truth, rests entirely upon God. God in His Grace does not only initiate salvation, but governs every step of it. This single phrase strips away all presumption and places both preacher and hearer beneath the Sovereign Hand of God. Immediately, the Spirit turns us to a solemn warning. The language of verses 4–6 is deliberate and weighty. Those described have been “once enlightened.” Light has entered the mind. Truth has been understood. The Gospel has been heard clearly, not distorted or veiled. They have “tasted of the heavenly gift.” There has been a real encounter with the sweetness of the message—some measure of comfort, conviction, admiration, even joy. Yet tasting is not the same as feeding. Nearness is not the same as union. They are said to be “partakers of the Holy Ghost,” not in regeneration, but in the outward operations of the Spirit—observing His work in others, sitting under His influence in the assembly, witnessing the effects of grace without possessing grace itself. They have “tasted the good word of God,” delighting in its beauty, its order, its truthfulness, and even “the powers of the world to come,” seeing evidences of God’s kingdom set forth in the world in the conversion of God's elect through the preaching of Christ's Gospel here and now. These are not small privileges. These are immense mercies. And yet, the warning is severe: when such fall away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. This is not a loss of salvation, but the exposure of a false profession. To turn away from Christ after such light is not ignorance—it is rebellion and rejection. It is to side with the world against the Gospel, to declare that Christ’s death is insufficient, unnecessary, or replaceable. Scripture declares, "they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" (v.6) . This impossibility does not reflect weakness in God’s Grace, but finality in God’s judgment. When Truth is despised, when Christ is rejected after being clearly set forth, nothing remains but condemnation. There is no other sacrifice for sin. There is no alternate gospel. There is no second christ. The illustration that follows makes the matter plain. The same rain falls upon two fields. One brings forth fruit; the other only thorns and briars. The rain is not the problem. The Gospel is not deficient. The difference lies in where God has purposed to give Grace. Where He gives Grace, He gives Life. The fruit does not commend the soil; it reveals the work of God. Those who are thorns and briars, God has sovereignly ordained them to condemnation. This passage calls for trembling, not speculation. It urges self-examination, not comparison. To sit under the Gospel is a mercy—but it also emphasizes our accountability. Nearness to Christ without faith in Christ is not safety; it is danger. The warning of Hebrews 6:3–8 is not meant to drive true believers to despair, but to strip away false confidence and to magnify the necessity of God's Grace alone in Christ through His finished work. If Salvation is ours, it is because God has purposed it, Christ has accomplished it, and the Spirit has revealed it. Anything less is only nearness—and nearness, without Christ, is not enough.

Judges 13:3-5 "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." In Judges 13:1, it is written, “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.” Israel’s rebellion brought judgment, yet even in their sin, God purposed to raise up a deliverer. This deliverer, Samson, prefigures the greater Deliverer, Christ, Who came “made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4) to redeem His people from sin and bondage. Samson’s birth was announced by the Angel of the LORD to his barren mother: “Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine or strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb” (vv. 3-5) . From the womb, Samson was set apart—a type of Christ, Who was wholly consecrated to the Father from His miraculous birth to His death (Hebrews 4:15). The Nazarite vow, with its abstinence from wine and uncut hair (Numbers 6:1-21), pointed to the perfect obedience and separation of Christ, Who lived under the law without sin. The Angel’s appearance twice, first to the woman and then to Manoah (Judges 13:3, 9), reveals God’s sovereign wisdom. He confounds human expectation, choosing how and to whom to reveal His purpose. Likewise, God revealed the coming Messiah first to Mary (Luke 1:31-38), a woman chosen to bear the Savior of His people. In both cases, the miraculous births signal God’s intervention to bring about salvation beyond human means. God’s acceptance of the offering further illuminates the mercy of Christ. Manoah offered a kid with a meat offering upon a rock (Judges 13:19) , and the Angel ascended in the flame (Judges 13:20). This points to Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, Whose Sacrifice is wholly pleasing to the Father (Isaiah 53:10). Just as the flame confirmed the acceptance of the offering, so Christ’s death and resurrection obtained the salvation of His people (Romans 4:25). If God had intended to destroy, He would not have revealed His purpose or accepted the offering; in the same way, those for whom Christ died are secure in His mercy. Manoah’s response, “ We shall surely die, because we have seen God” (Judges 13:22), reminds us of the reverence due to God’s Presence and Revelation. Yet the Grace shown through the accepted sacrifice produces faith. God does not leave His chosen under condemnation because His purpose is redemption. Through the Spirit and the Word, Faith perceives the promises of God in Christ, as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Samson, though a shadow of weakness and imperfection, points to the perfect obedience and triumph of Christ. He was raised to deliver Israel from the Philistines, yet Christ Alone fully delivers His people from sin, death, and Satan (Colossians 2:15). From the announcement of His birth to the fulfillment of His mission, the life of Christ mirrors the hope foreshadowed in Samson’s calling: the Deliverer set apart, sanctified, and empowered to rescue His people. Thus, Judges 13 causes contemplation of God’s mercy, sovereignty, and faithfulness. Even amid human sinfulness, God raised up the Deliverer, fulfilling His eternal promise. Samson’s birth becomes a type, pointing to the ultimate Deliverer, the LORD Jesus Christ, Whose Consecration, Obedience, and Sacrifice obtained Salvation for all whom the Father has given Him (Hebrews 11:32-40; Psalm 32:1-2). In Him alone, Faith rests, Hope endures, and the soul finds Peace.

Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Matthew records one of the most solemn cries ever spoken: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). These words draw us into the mystery of redemption, unveiled, not in theory, but in the suffering of Christ Himself. The Gospel writers do not give us a strict chronology of events, but a selective history, ordered by God to reveal His Son. Matthew places this cry amid mockery and darkness. Those who passed by “reviled him, wagging their heads” (Matthew 27:39) , echoing the words of Psalm 22 centuries before: “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head” (Psalm 22:7). What men spoke in derision, God had already declared in prophecy. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness covered the land (Matthew 27:45). At the brightest part of the day, creation itself bore witness that something extraordinary was taking place. Then Christ cried aloud. This was not the cry of weakness, nor the complaint of a martyr. Scripture tells us plainly what was happening: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). He did not die as a victim, but as the spotless Substitute. Many have died unjustly in history, yet all were sinners under condemnation. Christ alone was without sin. He was not only innocent, He was Righteous. Isaiah declares, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Men inflicted cruelty upon Him, but that did not draw this cry from His lips. The silence was broken only when the judgment of God fell upon Him as the sin-Bearer. The words Christ spoke were taken directly from Scripture . Psalm 22 opens with the same cry: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). This was no moment of confusion. It was the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. Every detail of the cross unfolded according to God’s sovereign purpose, down to the very hour when the evening sacrifice was offered in the temple. While lambs were being slain below, the True Lamb of God was offering Himself above. This cry reveals the depth of Christ's Substitution. He stood where His people deserved to stand. Being forsaken is the essence of condemnation—separation from God. Yet for those for whom Christ died, this is a reality they will never face. Scripture promises, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). That promise stands because Christ was forsaken, left on the cross, offered up by the Father in their place, but never abandoned by the Father. Here we see the God-Man speaking as Man. He addresses God as His God, fulfilling perfectly what sinners could never do. He believed God, trusted God, loved God, and obeyed God in their stead. Though He is equal with God, He humbled Himself to bear the full weight of Divine wrath. Isaiah explains, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). There would be no failure in this work, no loss among those He redeemed. This cry was not one of despair, being left to die on the cross. Christ acknowledged God’s holiness and justice in God leaving Him there to die: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3). Justice and Mercy met at the cross. God did not spare His own Son, that He might remain just and justify those sinners He gave to His Son, (John 17:6) . Here, Wrath and Grace are fully revealed. In this cry, Righteousness and Peace kissed each other (Psalm 85:10). What was a stumblingblock to the religious world is the believer’s sure Salvation. Christ was delivered up to die as God’s Lamb slain that His people might be justified before Him. He bore their eternal wrath so they might receive eternal life. This is the glory of the cross, where Mercy and Truth meet, and God is revealed as both a just God and a Savior (Isaiah 45:21) .

2 Kings 12:17-21 "Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead." Here we read of King Jehoash—preserved in his youth by God’s providence, instructed under Jehoiada the priest, and used by the LORD to restore the temple. At first glance, his reign looked promising, almost as if he truly belonged to the LORD. Yet when Hazael, king of Syria, threatened Jerusalem, Jehoash did not turn to the LORD. Instead, he took the holy treasures of God’s house and offered them as a bribe for his own safety (2 Kings 12:18). This was a deadly compromise. How solemn this is. Outward reform does not equate to an inward work of the Spirit. Jehoash could rebuild what Athaliah destroyed, but his heart remained unchanged, because only the Spirit of Grace can turn the heart to the LORD (Titus 3:5). When the test came, he chose self-preservation over trust in the living God. It is a reminder of Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal (Hebrews 12:16–17) . Outward privilege and nearness to the things of God mean nothing if the heart is not bound to Christ by grace. Our Hope is not in our perseverance, but in the preserving power of Christ. “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Those who are His cannot finally be lost, for He has borne their sin, every sin, upon the cross. As the psalmist declares, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). This is why the unpardonable sin cannot be committed by the redeemed: Christ has paid it all. It is not our resolve that saves us, but His blood shed unto death, resurrection and ascension on High where He ever lives to intercede for each sinner for whom He died and paid their complete sin debt. Remember how Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27–28). Yet, the story of Jehoash warns us. When Jehoiada the priest died, Jehoash quickly turned to idolatry (2 Chronicles 24:17–18). Without the faithful priest, his heart wandered. How we need our Great High Priest , the LORD Jesus Christ. Without Him, we too would turn aside. “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7). Yet Christ was smitten for those that the Father gave Him from eternity to come in the flesh and lay down His life for them. When He rose again, it was to ascend back to His Father and now to gather each of His redeemed ones to Himself by His Spirit. This narrative of Joash’s reign is a solemn reminder that no earthly king, no matter how outwardly zealous, can secure the true peace of God’s people. Though spared from the Syrians by the providence of God, Joash fell under judgment, betrayed and slain by his own servants. His story underscores the frailty of man, the deceitfulness of the heart, and the inevitability of God's justice. Yet beyond the shadows of Judah’s history shines the glorious Light of Christ, the true King, who, unlike Joash, was not slain for His own sins, but willingly laid down His life as the Substitute for His people. He was “wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5), and by His death He obtained the Eternal Redemption that no power of devils or men can undo (Hebrews 9:12). In Him alone is salvation from God's wrath, and in Him alone is the Hope of glory. While Joash’s reign ended in death and dishonor, nevertheless, the reign of Christ is established forever in righteousness, grace, and truth—an unshakable kingdom of sovereign mercy to all His redeemed ones (Hebrews 12:28). May we never lean on the arm of the flesh—whether that of others or our own—but continually look to Christ, who alone is the Righteousness and Justification of His people. When enemies surrounded Stephen, he lifted his eyes to heaven and saw “Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). By grace, he did not compromise, for the Spirit of Christ directed his gaze to rest on the LORD Jesus alone. May the LORD keep our hearts steadfastly fixed on Him, knowing that unchecked compromise leads to destruction, but that those who belong to Christ are preserved by His keeping grace. All of God’s delight is in His Son—and in Him, sinners redeemed by His blood and righteousness can never fall away into perdition (Hebrews 10:39).

2 Kings 19:23 "By thy servants hast thou reproached the LORD, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains." How is it that men reproach God? How is it that they blaspheme His Name? Religious people that take great care to make sure they never say a swear word, and take great pride in keeping themselves from certain activities in this world, because they call themselves Christian, and yet who blaspheme the Name of the LORD, and are a reproach unto the Holy One of Israel. How? By giving glory to themselves. They call it Christianity, but it is really a world of self will-worship. It begins with the words me, myself, and I. We can't even talk about us having come to Christ, because Christ said, "No man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father." (John 6:65) There is only one answer that anybody can ever give as to why they are the LORD's, and as to why they have a True Hope of salvation. It is the LORD Jesus Christ. It is by His mercies that we are not consumed. It is by His Blood shed unto death. That is all I can say. “Guilty sinner that I am, it is the LORD Jesus Christ that has paid my horrible sin debt. It is because of His unconditional love that I am kept.” What the LORD has purposed no one can alter. We say we believe but when the tide begins to rise and the storm darkens the skies, that is the test of whether we really truly believe or not. Nothing can take place, but what He has purposed, and nothing can alter what He does. When we are in good health, and everything seems to be going our way, it is easy to say, “His will be done.” Yet, when the LORD will take a loved one and before your eyes diminish them and cause them to deteriorate into possibly even a vegetative state because of a debilitating illness, reality hits home. It is a matter of looking at it and saying, "Even in this the LORD is doing His will." Whether He takes one of our children and causes them to run in a rebellious way, headlong as if they had never heard the Gospel, even in that trial, we weigh our heart before the LORD. We must bow to Him for His glory. "It is the LORD: let Him do what seemeth good." (1 Samuel 3:18) That is the reality of His sovereignty. If the LORD has purposed their destruction, they will go that way. So what do we do? We cast ourselves upon His mercy and we bow with our mouths shut. Do we give them direction? Yes. Yet, God is going to teach us, each one in His time and in His manner. He is going to put the Assyrians at our door at some point in our life to where the only way we have to look is up, to Christ!

Galatians 5:19-26 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." In Galatians 5:16–26, the apostle Paul unfolds the living reality of every true child of God. There is a continual conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, a warfare that does not cease while we remain in this body. The Spirit does not enter the believer to reform the flesh, but to rule the heart by directing it continually to the LORD Jesus Christ. To walk in the Spirit is to be led by Him, and that leading is always Christward. Paul declares that walking in the Spirit prevents fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Yet this does not mean the flesh becomes weaker or more manageable. Scripture is clear that the flesh is utterly corrupt. Paul himself confessed in Romans 7:18 that no good thing dwells in the flesh. The lust of the flesh includes not only the outward sins listed later in Galatians 5, but anything that draws the heart away from Christ. The Spirit’s work is not self-improvement, but self-despair that results in faith resting wholly upon Christ and His finished work. This conflict is neither accidental nor temporary. Christ Himself prayed in John 17:15 that His people would not be taken out of the world, but kept from the evil while remaining in it. The persistence of the flesh magnifies the Grace of God, for believers are preserved not by their strength, but by Divine Power. First John 1:8 and 1:10 confirm this reality: those who deny ongoing sin deceive themselves and make God a liar. The Spirit remains in the believer not because the believer is worthy, but because Christ has already paid the debt in full. Paul lists the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19–21, declaring them manifest. These sins are not merely tendencies but realities present in the human heart. Were it not for Christ’s redemptive work, every sinner would stand condemned under the law. Revelation 20:12–13 reveals that those outside of Christ will be judged according to their works, while Revelation points to the Book of the Lamb slain as the sole reason for salvation. Deliverance is not found in moral restraint but in the substitutionary Satisfaction of Christ before the Father of His law and justice. In contrast, Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23. This fruit is singular, not plural, because it is not produced by human effort. It is the effect of the Spirit revealing Christ to and in the heart. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance are not descriptions of the believer’s performance, but of Christ’s obedience imputed to the believer. Against such there is no law, because Christ has fulfilled every demand of the law perfectly. This truth guards both against despair and pride. Believers are reminded that their Righteousness is seated at the Right Hand of God in the Person of Christ. Galatians 2:20 teaches that believers are crucified with Christ, and that the life now lived in the flesh is lived by the faith of the Son of God. The crucifixion of the flesh described in Galatians 5:24 is not an ongoing self-mortification but a completed judgment executed at the cross. The flesh may roar, but it cannot condemn, because its sentence has already been carried out in Christ. To live and walk in the Spirit, as Paul exhorts in Galatians 5:25–26 , is to live consciously under Grace. It is to rest in Christ’s finished work rather than striving for acceptance. The Spirit strips away vainglory and comparison, directing the believer away from self and toward Christ alone. John 15:1–5 reinforces this truth, declaring Christ the True Vine and believers as branches who bear fruit only by abiding in Him. The fruit of the Spirit is not found by introspection but by Faith. As the Spirit reveals Christ in His sufficiency, the believer is kept from condemnation and preserved in Hope. Thus, the Spirit glorifies Christ, and Christ remains the sole Righteousness, Peace, and Life of His redeemed people.

Lamentations 3:52-66 "Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off. I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. O LORD, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD." In Lamentations 3:52–66 , Jeremiah prays against the enemies that were attacking him, enemies who were instruments of the LORD’s judgment. Yet even in the midst of this peril, he lifts his voice to God. This prayer points forward to the greater work of Christ, Who also faced relentless opposition. While many assume that Christ prayed for everyone’s salvation, He interceded specifically for those the Father had given Him (John 17:9,20) . For the rest, judgment and desolation awaited, as He declared to the Jewish nation that their house was left desolate (Matthew 23:38). In this, we see the difference between God’s mercy and human rebellion, and we see Christ’s obedience to the Father’s will. Jeremiah’s words in verse 52 describe being pursued without cause, chased like a bird by a fowler. This is a vivid picture of Christ’s persecution, for He was sought out by those who could find no true fault in Him, only false accusations. Jeremiah’s pit becomes a metaphor for the literal pit of condemnation Christ endured. In order to save His people, He bore the contradiction of sinners against Himself (Hebrews 12:3). From that pit, He cried to the Father with tears and supplications, as recorded in Hebrews 5:7, and was heard, for all things were according to God’s purpose. Christ’s prayers and suffering exemplify intercession on behalf of His people, reflecting the Spirit’s groanings on our behalf described in Romans 8:26. Even when our cries are but a breath, God perceives them, listening as intently as a mother listening for her infant’s breathing, and He hears Christ’s pleas for the fulfillment of redemption. Verses 57–63 of Lamentations reveal Jeremiah’s confidence in God amidst destruction. God drew near when called upon, saying, "Fear not" (v.57). Christ demonstrated the same courage, not fearing what men could do to Him, even as His soul was troubled in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42). He surrendered His will to the Father, bearing the sins of the unjust, and showing that true strength is found in obedience. There is a parallel between Jeremiah pleading his cause and Christ looking to the Father to plead His cause, ultimately resulting in the resurrection that validates the work of redemption. Christ lives to intercede for those He redeemed, demonstrating the assurance we have in His representative work. Jeremiah acknowledges the wrong and vengeance of his enemies, yet he leaves judgment in God’s hands. Similarly, Christ did not retaliate against His persecutors but commended His righteous soul to the Father (Acts 1:24). The mocking and reproach Christ endured, from taunting songs in His day to the crucifixion, mirrors the taunting Jeremiah describes. Christ’s suffering fulfilled God’s righteousness, a righteousness credited to His people, for all human righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Believers are spared from judgment according to works because Christ has borne the penalty. Those who reject Him, however, remain under God’s wrath, as described in Revelation 20:12–13. The enemies of God’s people may think they triumph, but nothing occurs outside His sovereign direction. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection assure the safety of His people, and even in affliction, His followers are preserved. As Jeremiah prayed through the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, we too can turn to God in distress, giving all glory to Him for the work of Christ. Through His intercession, we find confidence and hope, knowing that He has already pleaded our cause, redeemed our lives, and continues to intercede on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25).

1 Samuel 1:9-16 "So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto." In Hannah we are given a portrait of the needy sinner, not in theory, but in living experience. Her trial was outwardly physical—the barrenness of her womb—but Scripture never separates the physical from the spiritual. The bitterness of her soul reached far deeper than circumstance. The LORD had shut up her womb, and in doing so He was drawing out of her heart a cry that only His Spirit can produce. The world looks on such affliction and questions whether the sufferer belongs to God at all. Yet Scripture teaches us the opposite: it is precisely through affliction that the LORD draws His own unto Himself. Hannah’s sorrow was real and consuming. She wept, she could not eat, and her heart was grieved. Even the loving encouragement of Elkanah—“ Am not I better to thee than ten sons” (1 Samuel 1:8)? —could not remove the burden. Still, those words were not wasted. They were a reminder that love bears reproach, and that comfort often comes not by removing the trial, but by sustaining the sufferer within it. Elkanah himself stands as a picture, however faint, of Christ’s zeal for His people—the zeal that bears shame and reproach for the sake of love. Yet Hannah’s comfort did not rest finally in her husband, nor in human sympathy. After eating and drinking, she went to the place where God had appointed to meet with His people. At Shiloh, before the tabernacle of the LORD, she prayed. This is the mark of Grace: “she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD” (v.10). Bitterness drove her not away from God, but unto Him. This is not natural to the flesh. Left to ourselves, sorrow hardens us. Only the Spirit of God causes a sinner to cry unto the covenant LORD. Her prayer was not outwardly impressive. Her lips moved, but no sound was heard. Eli, judging by appearance, misread her condition and accused her of drunkenness. How often men err when they look upon the LORD’s work from the outside. But Hannah’s prayer did not need human approval. She spoke “in her heart” (v.13), pouring out her soul before the LORD. This is the cry of the needy sinner—not rehearsed words, not learned forms, but a heart emptied before God. Here Scripture teaches us something vital: true prayer is the work of the Spirit. As Paul later wrote, “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). Hannah did not come with confidence in herself, nor with demands, nor with a timetable. She came helpless, groaning, and undone. Her very inability was her qualification. The Spirit Himself was giving utterance to her cry, shaping her grief into prayer according to the will of God. The presence of Eli at the tabernacle reminds us that God is always approached through a Mediator. Under the old covenant, that mediation was imperfect and temporary. Eli himself failed. But even his failure points us forward to Christ, the Great High Priest. Hannah stood at the door of an earthly tabernacle; believers today are drawn to the Heavenly throne, where Christ is seated, His work of salvation completed, and now ever lives to intercede on behalf of His redeemed and justified ones (Hebrews 7:25). Yet the Truth has not changed. God is holy, and sinners come only by the Mediator that He has appointed. In Christ, that mediation is perfect and complete. He is not seated by a post of an earthly sanctuary, but passed into the heavens. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). Where Eli misunderstood, Christ intercedes. Where human comfort fails, Christ remains. The cry that Hannah uttered from the depths finds its true fulfillment in Him. And here is the comfort: the throne to which we are drawn is the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). From it flows Mercy—God withholding what we deserve—and Grace—God giving what we do not deserve. The needy sinner is not driven away, but welcomed. There is always Grace to help in time of need, because there is never a time when we are not in need. Thus Hannah’s cry becomes our own. Out of the depths we cry unto the LORD, not because we are strong, but because He is faithful. And in that cry, sustained by the Spirit and answered in Christ, the needy sinner finds Hope.

Romans 3:1-8 "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just." The question set before us in Romans 3 is as searching as it is humbling: Does man’s unbelief thwart God’s purpose?  Paul raises the question not to leave us in uncertainty, but to silence every human objection with a single, thunderous answer— “God forbid” (v.6)  Here, the Spirit of God strips away every refuge of fleshly reasoning and fixes our gaze upon the unchangeable faithfulness of God in Christ. Paul acknowledges that the Jews had real advantages. Chief among them was this: “unto them were committed the oracles of God” (v.2) . God entrusted His Word—His promises, His law, His prophecies, His types and shadows—to a particular people. Yet the possession of Scripture did not equal possession of life. The Word in their hands did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. This reminds us that proximity to Truth is not the same as submission to Truth. Scripture, apart from the Spirit’s work, remains ink on paper, condemning rather than saving. Here lies the sobering lesson: outward privilege never produces inward righteousness. Circumcision, heritage, ceremony, knowledge—none of these can reconcile a sinner to God. They only magnify guilt when Christ is rejected. And yet, even this rejection does not derail God’s purpose. Men may handle the Word, resist the Word, and even oppose the Christ revealed in the Word—but God remains faithful to Himself. Paul’s answer reaches its summit in verse 4: “Let God be true, but every man a liar.”   God’s Truth does not depend on man’s belief. His promises are not upheld by human agreement. His covenant is not sustained by human obedience. God is True because He is God. Every man, left to himself, is a liar by nature—misjudging God, misreading His Way, and misrepresenting His Glory. Nowhere is this truth more clearly displayed than at the cross. Men’s unbelief reached its darkest expression when Christ was crucified. The religious leaders rejected Him. The crowds despised Him. The priests offered Him up, not knowing they were sacrificing the True Lamb of God. Yet this act of rebellion was the very means by which God accomplished redemption. What men meant for evil, God purposed for salvation (Acts 2:23). The cross stands forever as the proof that unbelief does not frustrate God’s will. Paul anticipates the objection: If God’s truth is magnified through man’s unrighteousness, is God unjust to judge? Again, the answer is unequivocal— "God forbid"   (v.6). If God could not judge sin justly, He could not judge the world at all. Judgment is not suspended because Grace exists; rather, Grace shines precisely because judgment has been satisfied in Christ. God does not overlook sin—He condemns it, either in the sinner or in the Substitute. This distinction is crucial. Believers are not spared judgment because their sin is lesser, but because their sin has already been judged in Christ. Unbelievers bear their own guilt because they have no ransom. God remains just in both salvation and condemnation. His glory is not diminished either way. Paul rejects the slander that God’s sovereignty encourages sin. Grace never makes evil good. It reveals that even evil cannot escape God’s sovereign rule. The glory belongs entirely to Him—whether in mercy and grace shown through Christ or in justice exercised without Him. Thus, Romans 3:1–8 calls us to silence our objections and bow before the God Who is always True. Our Hope does not rest in our faithfulness, our understanding, or our obedience, but in Christ alone—the faithful Seed, the fulfilled Promise, the finished Righteousness. Man’s unbelief may rage, resist, and rebel, but God’s purpose stands immovable, crowned forever with the glory of His Son.