Also the sons Of the stranger, that join themselVes tO the LORD, tO serVe Him, aNd tO loVe the Name Of the LORD, tO Be His serVants, eVery One that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, aNd taketh hold Of my coVenant; Even them Will I bring tO my holy mountain, aNd make them joyful in my house Of praYer: their burnt offerings aNd their sacrifices shall Be accepted upOn mine altar; fOr mine house shall Be called an house Of praYer fOr All people. The Lord GOD which gathereth the oUtcasts Of Israel saith, Yet will I gather Others tO Him, beside those that aRe gathered untO Him. ~> Isaiah 56:6-8 ....thoughts On these Verses... Meditate a moment On God’s declaration: “I will gather still Others.” Do U realiZe that by God’s grace through faith, U aRe a fulfillment Of these Words? Think Of All the amaZing stories in the Bible U wish U could haVe been a part Of. This one in Isaiah—it includes U! Imagine Urself sitting in the house Of God. Now reflect On why U aRe here. U haVe a phenomenal story, don’t U? Consider where U came from. There is No darker place than “dead in sin,” is there? But here U aRe. Recall Ur prodigal paths, each One illustrating how lost in sin U were. Still, here U aRe, in God’s house. U realiZe U should be On the outside looking in. “Foreigner” describes U well, doesn’t it? But here U sit in God’s house, bound tO Him, loVing His saVing Name, giVing Him the glory He deserVes, clinging tO His promises, praYing With fellow belieVers. Why? The Sovereign Lord has gathered U here. That word “soVereign” says a lot about Ur Lord. And it says a lot about Ur life, about the Lord’s gracIOUs rule that has brought U intO His presence. Do some more reflecting. Think Of where U’ve been, the company U’ve kept, the rebellion Of Ur life. U kNow there aRe times U could haVe died because Of Ur foolishNess. U would cringe at the thought Of detailing these disgraces in an autobiography fOr all the World tO read, but Ur God kNows Ur story intimately. Yet here U aRe, sitting in the Lord’s house. Again, Why? U sit here because Of God’s grace. U sit here because the saVing Waters Of baptism haVe made U aliVe in Christ. U sit here because “faith comes from hearing the message, aNd the message is heard through the Word Of Christ” (Romans 10:17). U sit here because While U were still a sinner, Christ died fOr U aNd saVed U from God’s Wrath. This isN’t just Ur story. It is the story Of countless Others from All nations, All whom the Lord has gathered by grace. ~>Matthew Henrys Concise Commentary~>56:3-8 Unbelief often suggests things to discourage believers, against which God has expressly guarded. Spiritual blessings are unspeakably better than having sons and daughters; for children are a care, and may prove a grief and shame, but the blessings we partake of in Gods house, are comforts which cannot be made bitter. Those who love the Lord truly, will serve him faithfully, and then his commandments are not grievous. Three things are promised. Assistance: I will not only bid them welcome, but incline them to come. Acceptance, and comfort: though they came mourning to the house of prayer, they shall go away rejoicing. They shall find ease by casting their cares and burdens upon God. Many a sorrowful spirit has been made joyful in the house of prayer. The Gentiles shall be one body with the Jews, that, as Christ says, Joh 10:16, there may be one fold and one Shepherd. Thanks be to God that none are separated from him except by wilful sin and unbelief; and if we come to him, we shall be accepted through the sacrifice of our great High Priest.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 12:15:50 +0000
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