Psa. 9:9 The LORD also\nwill be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psa. 9:10 And they that\nknow thy name will put their trust in thee:<\/strong> for thou, LORD, hast not\nforsaken them that seek thee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Psa. 9:11 Sing praises to\nthe LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything that God requires from me and\nyou He must provide, and the only thing He accepts is what He provides, and all\nthat He provides He provides in the Lord Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You and I cannot be useful\nif we want to be sweet as honey in the mouths of men. God will never bless us\nif we wish to please men, that they may think well of us. Are you willing to\ntell them what will break your own heart in the telling and break theirs in the\nhearing? If not, you are not fit to serve the Lord. You must be willing to go\nand speak for God, though you will be rejected.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charles Spurgeon <\/p>\n\n\n\n “If God be for us, who\ncan be against us!”\u2014Romans 8:31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE truth here asserted is\nindisputable. Even heathens have taken this for their motto, and emblazoned it\nupon their standards of war. “God is for us!” has been the war-cry of\nmany a warrior as he has dashed to the fight; however out of place it was in\nsuch association its force was clearly perceived. Our text, however, protects\nitself from ill usage, for you observe that the text is guarded with the little\nword “If,” as a sentinel. No man, therefore, has any right to the\ntreasures of this text, unless he can give the pass-word, and answer the\nquestion. It is not every man who can say that God is on his side; on the\ncontrary. the most of men are fighting against the Lord. By nature we are the\nfriends of sin, and then God is against us; with all the powers of justice he\nis against us for our destruction unless we turn and repent. Is God for us?\nRemember he is so if we have been reconciled to him by the death of his Son;\nbut an absolute God must be in arms against us, for even our God is a consuming\nfire. It is only when we behold the Lord Jehovah in the person of Jesus Christ\nthat our hope and joy can begin; when we see Deity incarnate, when we see God\nsurrendering the glories of his throne to become man, and then stooping to the\nshameful death of the cross-it is then that we perceive Emmanuel, “God\nwith us,” and perceiving him, we feel that he is on our side. Question\nyourself then, soul, whether you are in Christ. He who is not with Christ is\nnot with God. If you are without Christ, you are without God, and a stranger\nfrom the commonwealth of Israel; but if through the sprinkled blood you can say\nthat you are reconciled unto God, then take the full meaning of this text, and\nfeast upon it, and be you blessed, for “If God be for us, who can be\nagainst us?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n C.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n “On whom dost thou\ntrust?” Isaiah 36:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reader, this is an important\nquestion. Listen to the Christian’s answer, and see if it is yours. “On\nwhom do you trust?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I trust,” says the\nChristian, “in a triune God. I trust the Father<\/strong>, believing\nthat He has chosen me from before the foundation of the world; I trust Him to\nprovide for me in His providence, to teach me, to guide me, to correct me if\nneed be, and to bring me home to His own house where the many mansions\nare!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I trust the Son<\/strong>.\nThe man Christ Jesus\u2014is also the true God. I trust in Him to take away all my\nsins by His own sacrifice, and to adorn me with His perfect righteousness. I\ntrust Him to be my Intercessor, to present my prayers and desires before His\nFather’s throne, and I trust Him to be my Advocate at the last great day, to\nplead my cause, and to justify me. I trust Him for what He is, for what He has\ndone, and for what He has promised yet to do!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And I trust the Holy\nSpirit<\/strong>\u2014He has begun to save me from my inbred sins; I trust Him to drive\nthem all out. I trust Him to curb my temper, to subdue my will, to enlighten my\nunderstanding, to check my evil passions. I trust Him to comfort my\ndespondency, to help my weakness, to illuminate my darkness. I trust Him to\ndwell in me as my life, to reign in me as my King, to sanctify me wholly\u2014and\nthen to take me up to dwell forever in glory!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, blessed trust! To trust Him\n. . . Happy are you, reader\u2014if this\ntrust is yours! So trusting, you shall enjoy sweet peace now, and glory\nhereafter! The foundation of your trust shall never be removed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n C.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David’s\nSpoil” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nSamuel 30:18-20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout\nthis story David is a type of Christ. In his conquest over the Amalekites, in\nhis recovery of that which had been lost, and in the spoils he gathered, David\nrepresents our Saviour. When Christ accomplished redemption for us by his death\non the cross, he recovered all that we lost in the fall and gathered great\nspoil for us (Isa. 53:12). The spoils which David brought back\nto Israel were things they could never have possessed had the\nAmalekites not taken them captive. Their captivity was a very painful and\nsorrowful thing in the experience of it. But it proved to be a most blessed\nthing in the end. Israel lost nothing by their captivity, but gained\nmuch in their recovery. And God’s elect really lose nothing by our fall in\nAdam. It is a painful, sorrowful thing to experience. But in the end it will\nprove to have been a great act of mercy on God’s part that he allowed us to\nfall in Adam, that we might be redeemed by Christ. I say, with Martin Luther,\n“O happy fall!” In the end God’s elect will find great reason to\npraise and give thanks to God for their fall in Adam, because it paved the way\nfor our redemption by Christ. Had there been no fall, there could be no song of\nredemption to the glory of the Lamb (Rev. 5:9-14). Here are a few of the spoils\nChrist has won for us, treasures we could never possess had God not allowed the\nfall and redeemed us by Christ (l.) Manhood is lifted to the highest possible\nglory and honour, because we are now one with Christ our God (Eph. 5:30).\n(2.) We shall be creatures in heaven who have known the glory, grace, love and\ngoodness of God in redeeming us from sin by Christ (Rev. 7:14). (3.) In\nredeemed sinners God shall show forth the riches of his glory to wondering\nworlds, as they could never have been known apart from the fall (Eph. 2:7,\n3:10). (4.) And we shall be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ in\nglorious resurrection bodies, which we could never possess had there been no\nfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As\nDavid turned Israel’s loss into great gain, Christ turns our fall into a\ngreat blessing. In him the promise is fulfilled, “They that spoil thee\nshall be a spoil” (Jer. 30:16-17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jehovah-Shammah:\nThe Lord Is There<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ezekiel\n48:35<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nis the name given to God’s Church by the prophet Ezekiel. While Ezekiel has in\nhis mind’s eye the Church of God in its glorified state,\nthis name is equally applicable to the Church below. Wherever you find God’s\nelect in this world individually, gathered as local churches, or considered as\nthe whole Church universal, “THE LORD IS THERE!”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nname, Jehovah-shammah, means that God dwells with us, “the Lord is\nthere”. And it is the presence of God with her that is the blessedness,\nhappiness, security and glory of God’s church on earth and in heaven. It\nis true, God is with all his creatures in a general way. He is\neverywhere at all times, because he is omnipresent. And the Lord is everywhere\nin a providential way, sovereignly performing his will and accomplishing his\npurpose in all things. But when the Holy Spirit calls the Church of God\n“Jehovah-shammah”, he means for us to understand that “the Lord\nis there” in a special way to exercise his grace and power and make\nhimself known. The Lord is in Zion as he is nowhere else. And the\nLord does for Zion what he does for no one else. Therefore the\nPsalmist sang, “God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen\nraged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice: the earth melted. The\nLord of hosts is with us; the God os Jacob is our refuge” (Psa.46:5-7).\nThe prophet Zephaniah said, “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is\nmighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his\nlove, he will joy over thee with singing” (3:17). And the Lord himself\ndeclares, “I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the\nglory in the midst of her” (Zech. 2:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Child\nof God, your Lord and Redeemer has made all these blessed promises to\nyou. Believe him. Wherever you are, whatever your trial, temptation, struggle\nand trouble of heart is, “the Lord is there”. He is present to\nsupport you, comfort you, help you, instruct you, guide you and deliver you.\nSet your heart not upon your troubles, but upon your God. And “rejoice in\nthe Lord alway, again, I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all\nmen, the Lord is at hand!” Our God is at hand. What shall we fear? Our God\nis at hand. Of whom shall we be afraid? Our God is at hand. What can make us\nsad, or cause our hearts to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And I will deliver thee\nout of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the\nterrible.” Jeremiah 15:21<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note the glorious person <\/em>of\nthe promise. I will, I will. <\/em>The Lord Jehovah Himself\ninterposes to deliver and redeem His people. He pledges Himself personally to\nrescue them. His own arm shall do it, that He may have the glory. Here is not a\nword said of any effort of our own which may be needed to assist the Lord.\nNeither our strength <\/em>nor our weakness <\/em>is\ntaken into the account\u2014but the lone “I”, like the sun in the heavens,\nshines out resplendent in all-sufficiency. Why then do we calculate our <\/em>forces,\nand consult with flesh and blood\u2014to our grievous wounding? Jehovah has power\nenough, without borrowing from our puny arm! Peace, you unbelieving thoughts!\nBe still, and know that the Lord reigns!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nor is there a hint\nconcerning secondary <\/em>means and causes. The Lord says nothing\nof friends and helpers\u2014He undertakes the work alone, and feels no need of human\narms to aid Him. Vain are all our lookings around to companions and relatives;\nthey are broken reeds <\/em>if we lean upon them. The are\noften unwilling <\/em>when able\u2014or unable <\/em>when they\nare willing. Since the promise comes alone from God, it would be well to wait\nonly upon Him; and when we do so, our expectation never fails us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who are the wicked <\/strong>that\nwe should fear them? The Lord will utterly consume them! They are to be pitied<\/em>,\nrather than feared! <\/em>As for cruel <\/strong>ones, they\nare only terrors to those who have no God to fly to\u2014for when the Lord is on our\nside, whom shall we fear? If we run into sin to please the wicked, we have\ncause to be alarmed\u2014but if we hold fast our integrity, the rage of tyrants\nshall be overruled for our good. When the fish swallowed Jonah, it found him to\nbe a morsel which he could not digest; and when the world devours the church,\nit is glad to be rid of it again. In all times of fiery trial, in patience let\nus possess our souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord reigns!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John Newton) Psa. 9:9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Psa. 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Psa. 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6975,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6974\/revisions\/6975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nwhose power <\/em>will never be exhausted,
\nwhose love <\/em>will never wane,
\nwhose kindness <\/em>will never change,
\nwhose faithfulness <\/em>will never fail,
\nwhose wisdom <\/em>will never be confounded, and
\nwhose perfect goodness <\/em>can never know a\ndiminution!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n“The Lord reigneth, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord is\nclothed with strength, wherewith He has girded Himself:” Psalm 93:1
\n
\n“The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble:” Psalm\n99:1
\n
\nThe Lord reigns!<\/strong> He who once bore our sins\nand carried our sorrows – is seated upon a throne of glory and exercises all\npower in heaven and on earth! Thrones, principalities and powers bow before\nHim. Every being <\/em>and event <\/em>are under His\nrule. His providence <\/em>pervades and manages the whole, and is as\nminutely attentive to every part-as if there were only that single object in\nHis view.
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\nFrom the tallest archangel<\/em>, to the meanest ant <\/em>or fly<\/em>-all\ndepend on Him for their being, their preservation and their powers! He directs\nthe sparrows <\/em>where to build their nests, and to find their\nfood. He overrules the rise and fall of nations<\/em>; and bends, with an\ninvincible energy and unerring wisdom-all events! So that, while many intend\notherwise-in the outcome their designs all concur and coincide in the\naccomplishment of His holy will. He restrains<\/em> with a mighty\nhand the still more formidable efforts of the powers of darkness; and Satan\nwith all his hosts cannot exert their malice a hair’s breadth beyond the limits\nof His permission. Satan may rage-but he is a chained <\/em>enemy!
\n
\nThis is He, who is the Redeemer and Husband of His believing\npeople.
\nHow happy <\/em>are those whom it is His good\npleasure to bless!
\nHow safe <\/em>are those whom He has engaged to\nprotect!
\nHow honoured <\/em>and privileged <\/em>are\nthose whom He enables and warrants to claim Him as their friend and their\nportion!
\nHaving redeemed<\/em> them by His own blood, He sets\na high value<\/em> upon them! He esteems them His treasure, His\njewels! He guards<\/em> them as the pupil of His eye. They shall not\nlack, and they need not fear!
\nHis eye <\/em>is upon them in every situation,
\nHis ear <\/em>is open to their prayers, and
\nHis everlasting arms <\/em>are under them for their\nsure support.
\n
\nOn earth, <\/em>He guides their steps, controls their\nenemies, and directs all His dispensations for their good! While, in Heaven<\/em>,\nHe is pleading their cause, preparing a place for them, and communicating down\nto them reviving foretastes of the glory that shall shortly be theirs!
\n
\n“The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto\nall generations. Praise ye the Lord!” Psalm 146:10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"