LOVING AND EXALTING JESUS CHRIST OUR SONG* The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. /Psalm 118:14./ In Colossians 1:27-28 we read: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” That hope is Christ in you, that obedience of faith, that Spirit of Christ that dwells within that gives a new desire to walk in and do the will of God. A believer’s only sure confidence is their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, not merely His gifts, nor the inheritance we have in Him, but the very person of Jesus Christ Himself is our attraction and our song. So many people want to have a certain experience, and that foundation is the experience of their hope. They want to build on the gifts rather than on Christ Himself. Christ is not their foundation. The true believer, who has a sure confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, does not merely build on His gifts, nor on the inheritance we have in Him. The Lord Jesus gave a parable to the Pharisees that they were killing the Son that the inheritance might be theirs. The inheritance was their foundation. There was no fruit of repentance. There was no fruit of serving the Lord. In MAT 21:41 we read, “They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.” The Son was not the object of their love. They would kill Him to get the inheritance. We need to look to the very person of Christ as our strength, our hope and our salvation. This is where our attraction should be. Our song should be centered on the Lord Jesus Christ more so than the gifts that we receive from Him. Isaiah 12:2-6 says, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” The Lord Jehovah is the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not say, “Make mention that His gifts are exalted;” His Name, a name of authority, is to be exalted. He must be exalted as king, the Lord our God, our Saviour. We get our refreshment when our hearts and eyes of faith are fixed on the person of Christ. That brings about the blessed experiences and blessed assurances. If you had a large family, and you were a wealthy man, and your children were always coming to see if they could get some of your money, and you could tell that all their hearts were set on was what they could get from you, that would not sit well. If one of your children came to see what he or she could do to please you, because you were personally loved rather than your mansion or your wealth, that would bring about a better relationship. To come before the Lord seeking what we can get for ourselves would not be pleasing to Him. The Father wants the Lord Jesus Christ to be our attraction. In His presence is joy forevermore. That is where the joy is reciprocated to us. We have a desire to do His will because He is worthy to be praised. We can sing of all His blessings and deliverances, but we do not want to settle on those. The settling of our affections must be on the person of Jesus Christ. * We have many occasions to sing of mercy, for many a great deliverance. We read in Psalm 32:7: “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.” But the mercy of all mercies that we are to sing of is that of the love of the Father in the unspeakable gift of His only begotten Son. John 3:16-17 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Being saved should not be the center of our affections. The center of our affections must be believing in the Son of His love. One of our forms of gratitude for this unspeakable gift of the Father is shown by our generosity to the work of the Lord. How do we show gratitude to such generosity from the Father but by our generosity in return to the Lord and His people? We read in 2 Corinthians 9:8-13: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written [in Psalm 112], He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.” Amen.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 10:40:23 +0000
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