The Godly Man

Bible Reading: Psalm 1

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Key Words: and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper

In the symbolism of Scripture, water for cleansing invariably represents the Word of God; water for drinking symbolizes the Spirit of God. Meditation in Scripture releases the river of God’s Spirit so that our lives are refreshed and revitalized.

The Psalmist notes seven things which mark the life of the man who is situated by the river.

His Prominence: he is like “a tree.”

His Permanence: he is like a tree “planted.” Unlike the grass, which is mowed down in successive harvests, a tree sends its roots down deep into the soil. It has a deep, hidden life.

His Position: he is planted “by the rivers of water.” The droughts which bring bleakness and barrenness to others do not affect him. He has an unfailing source of life.

His Productivity: he “brings forth fruit.” His branches run over the wall, he is a blessing to everyone.

His Propriety: he brings forth his fruit “in his season.” He is not a freak. There are times for fruit-bearing just as there are times for growth and times for rest. So long as we are abiding in the Spirit we need not worry about the fruit. It will come in its season.

His Perpetuity: “his leaf also shall not wither.” There are two trees outside my window. One has little rust-red leaves on it just now. They look very pretty, but soon they will fall to the ground. The other tree has fresh, green pine needles. It is an evergreen. That’s what we are to be like – not affected by the winter or the weather – always the same.

His Prosperity: “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Everything will prosper – his family life, his business life, his church life, his personal life. Such is the godly man, the happy, happy man.

 

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Be like a tree planted by the river of water or you’ll just dry up and die.

 

Praise the Lord

Bible Reading: Psalm 148-150

Key Verse: Verse 1 of each psalm - “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. (Ps. 148:1)   Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. (Ps. 149:1)  Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. (Ps. 150:1)”

Key Words: Praise ye the LORD

Does the psalmist leave anything out in regard to praising the Lord?

As the psalmist closes out this great book, he doesn’t mention a single plea or petition – only praise. Twenty-nine times he cries out “Praise the Lord.”

John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic. One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley’s heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished conditions that he didn’t even have a bed. Yet he was an unusually happy person, filled with gratitude to God. Wesley, being immature, thoughtlessly joked about the man’s misfortunes. “And what else do you thank God for?” he said with a touch of sarcasm. The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, “I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all, a constant desire to serve Him!” Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness.

Many years later, in 1791, John Wesley lay on his deathbed at the age of 88. Those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in every circumstance. Despite Wesley’s extreme weakness, he began singing the hymn, “I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath.”

Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD.

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Spend your time praising God and you’ll find little time to find fault in others.

What God Takes Pleasure In

Bible Reading: Psalm 147

Key Verse: Verse 10 – “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.”

Key Words: He delighteth not

God doesn’t delight when our confidence is in military might; God delights when we fear Him. The word fear means a reverent respect, to be in awe of.

One time many years ago, the king of Hungary found himself depressed and unhappy. He sent for his brother, a good-natured but rather indifferent prince. The king said to him, “I am a great sinner. I fear to meet God.” But the prince only laughed at him. This didn’t help the king’s disposition any. Though he was a believer, the king had gotten a glimpse of his guilt for the way he’d been living lately, and he seriously wanted help. In those days it was customary if the executioner sounded a trumpet before a man’s door at any hour, it was a signal that he was to be led to his execution. The king sent the executioner in the dead of night to sound the fateful blast at his brother’s door. The prince realized with horror what was happening. Quickly dressing, he stepped to the door and was seized by the executioner, and dragged pale and trembling into the king’s presence. In an agony of terror he fell on his knees before his brother and begged to know how he had offended him. “My brother,” answered the king, “if the sight of a human executioner is so terrible to you, shall not I, having grievously offended God, fear to be brought before Christ?” 

Let me challenge you to fear God!! It’s where God gets His delight.

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Fear God!!

Misplaced Trust

Bible Reading:  Psalm 146

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”

Key Words: Put not your trust

I read recently where someone said that millions of people have misplaced trust – trust deposited (often sincerely enough) in the wrong person, the wrong institution, the wrong object. We sometimes hear well-meaning people say, “Just have faith.” That is a foolish exhortation.

Faith in what? Faith in whom? Some put their faith in money, but banks fail and there are many things money cannot buy (including happiness and holiness). Some put their faith in politics, but political systems break down because of the limitations of the people who run them or the wrong philosophies they espouse. Some put their faith in religion, but religion apart from Christ is a satanic delusion and leads to a lost eternity. Some put their faith in education, but persons of equal education often differ radically on important issues. Two doctors can examine the same patient and diagnose different illnesses; two statesmen can weigh the same international situation and recommend opposite policies; two judges can listen to the same evidence and pronounce different verdicts.

Nor can we put our faith implicitly in conscience. When John Huss was burned at the stake, a poor widow brought a faggot of sticks and gave them to the priest in charge of the pyre. She said, “Put them up close, holy father.” John Huss said to her, “You must hate me a great deal. What have I done to you or yours that you hate me so?” She said, “You are a heretic. Wood is expensive and I am poor. I cannot afford this bundle of sticks, but to burn a heretic is a good work so I have made the sacrifice.” Conscience said to John Huss, “Give your body to be burned.” Conscience said to the widow, “Give your bundle of sticks to burn him.” Conscience alone is a poor thing in which to trust. Simply to say, “Just have faith,” is foolish.

 Our faith must be in God, so we read in verse 5, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help.” Today, I trust you do not have a misplaced trust.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Put your trust in God.

Bless The Lord

Bible Reading: Psalm 145

Key Verse: Verse 2 - “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”

Key Words: Every day will I bless thee

The psalmist did not say, “Everyday will God bless me,” even though He does. The psalmist wants to be a blessing to God. One way we can do this is by praising God.

“Everyday will I bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name for ever and ever.” David takes both an everyday view of things and an everlasting view of things. His time was made up of days – not a day would pass without praise. He might write in his diary: “Today I praise God for sending old Barzillai to me with all those generous provisions for me and my men.” Or, “Today I praise God for bringing to naught the counsel of Ahithophel.” Or, “Today I praise God for such a competent general as Joab.” Or, “Today I praise God that Absalom is dead, even though my heart is broken. At least I did not have to sign his death warrant.” Or, “Today I praise God that He put it into my heart to grant that wicked man Shimei a stay of execution.” 

David determined to never let a day go by without discovering some way to weigh it down with praise. What a noble ambition for us to emulate – and all because David was looking forward to praising God forever and ever in yonder bright regions of joy. He wanted to be in practice. When he arrived on the golden sands beyond the shining river, he did not want to have to start out in the kindergarten of praise and learn how it was done. He wanted to graduate from earth with high honors in the subject of praise and arrive in heaven able to take his place at once with the worthies on the other shore.

At age 16 Andor Foldes was already a skilled pianist, but he was experiencing a troubled year. In the midst of the young Hungarian’s personal struggles, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to Budapest. Emil von Sauer was famous not only for his abilities; he was also the last surviving pupil of the great Franz Liszt. Von Sauer requested that Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann.

When he finished, von Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. “My son,” he said, “when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, ‘Take good care of this kiss – it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.’ I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it.”

 Today, why don’t you kiss God with your praises?

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember that praising God is a blessing to Him.

A Mirthful People

Bible Reading:  Psalm 144

Key Verse: Verse 15 - “Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.”

Key Words: Happy is that people

“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.” David’s national goal was that his people be free from complaints and full of contentment. He realized that there was only one way for such national goals to be realized. They cannot be attained by political acumen nor by the pursuit of peace and prosperity in themselves. No humanistic policies will produce the national happiness envisioned by David – policies that leave God out.

True political stability and national well-being must be related to God. Any nation that departs from God sows the seeds of its own disunity, discontent, and dissolution.

HAPPY IS THAT PEOPLE WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD. It should be written in the halls of Congress and in the houses of parliament of the nations. It should be written over the Senate and in the chambers of the Supreme Court. It should be written in the council chamber of the United Nations. It should be at the core of the curriculum in our schools. It should be the first essential and inviolate plank in every political platform. It should be the conviction of every politician and statesman. It should be the motto of every king, president, and prime minister. It should be drilled into the consciousness of every citizen. It should be written on the table of every human heart. HAPPY IS THAT PEOPLE WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD.

No wonder our nation and the nations in general are not happy.

 

                                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Is God your Lord (master of your life)?

Gigo - TAU

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:169-176

Key Verse: Verse 172 – “My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.”

Key Words: My tongue shall speak of thy word

“My tongue shall speak of Thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.” Our tongues usually speak our own words, and what words they are: so often deceptive, defiant, defiling, derisive, disrespectful, and damaging. James says that if a man can control his tongue, he is perfect; he can control his whole body. The tongue is an unruly member. Men can bridle wild horses more easily than they can tame their tongues. They can steer great ships with little rudders more easily than they can guide their conversation. The psalmist said, “My tongue shall speak of Thy Word.” If only we could harness our tongue like that.

Of course, if our tongue is to speak God’s Word, then that Word must first get down into our heart. It is “out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaketh,” Jesus said.

In recent years men have invented a new language, one never used on earth until the 20^th century. No barbarian tribe invented the language. It was invented by brilliant men of science. It is a strange language. It has only two words in it, the mathematical equivalents of yes and no. It is “binary” computer language. With that language men can solve problems in arithmetic at almost the speed of light. They can use that language to guide spaceships to the stars.

Programmers, who write the instructions for their computers in that new language, have an expressive word to describe the way things work out when that language is spoken to the machines they have made. It is the GIGO. The word GIGO means: “Garbage in, garbage out.” In other words, if they put misinformation into the computer’s electronic brain, they will get misinformation out when the machine responds.

If my tongue is to speak God’s Word, if that is what I am to get out, that is what I have to put in. I shall never be able to proclaim the Word if I do not meditate on that Word day and night, saturating my soul with its treasures of wisdom.

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Remember, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

I Will Not Stumble - SCHIN

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:161-168

Key Verse: Verse 165 - “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

Key Words: Great peace have they

“Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” The word for offend is literally “make them stumble.” Those who love God’s Word are armored against the fiery darts of Satan; their feet are guided so they do not fall into his snares.

Situations cannot make them stumble. On the contrary they can say with the apostle Paul, “The things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Thank God for that!

Scholars cannot make them stumble. They are in touch with truth itself, truth imparted by the omniscient wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The theories and philosophies of men are like surging seas which break themselves at last against the massive headlands and coastline of the Word of God.

Sovereigns cannot make them stumble. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water:”

(Proverbs 21:1), said Solomon, one of the most imperious of kings. “He turneth it whithersoever He will.” A human government can do nothing that God does not permit. God has His ways of hanging this world’s Hamans on the gallows; they prepare for His Mordecais.

Sinners cannot make them stumble. The temptations they put before them do not entice them; the terrors they threaten do not intimidate. “Great peace have they that love Thy law and nothing shall make them stumble.”

 Such is the peace of the psalmist. It is a peace the world cannot give, a peace it cannot take away. It is a peace that does not depend on what happens. It is the peace of God. Do you have that peace?

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞All of our decisions should be based on the peace of God.

Determination - RESH

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:153-160

Key Verse: Verse 157 – “Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.”

Key Words: Many are my persecutors and mine enemies

It is easy to go downhill. Anyone who rides a bike knows that. It is easy to go zipping along on a flat road; that calls for very little effort. But going uphill is another matter. Even a slight incline calls for more determination, and taking on a steep grade calls for all the strength and resolution a person has. But going downhill? Anyone can do that. Many a cyclist, faced with a really stiff hill, will simply turn around and coast back the way he came. The reason, of course, is that he was not really going anywhere in the first place. After all, he was just out for a joyride.

Being a believer, however, is no joyride. The psalmist was facing a stiff grade: “Many are my persecutors and mine enemies,” he said. Everywhere he looked he saw unfriendly faces. The temptation was to give up. “Yet I do not decline from Thy testimonies,” he added.

John Phillips tells the following story. “As a boy I was brought up in a town that was avidly devoted to soccer. It was the big game. On Saturday afternoons thousands of people would flock to the stadium to see the weekly match. In those days most people walked, took the occasional bus, or rode a bicycle. Very few people had cars. When the match was over and the crowds poured out of the stadium the sidewalks would be jammed with people walking back toward town. Anyone could have gone with that crowd. A small person could have picked up his legs and been carried along by the crowd, the people were so tightly packed. But try going against it – that was different. To go against the crowd called for determination. It was a struggle every single step.”

In spite of the struggle, we need the determination of the psalmist, “Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.”

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Be determined to follow the Lord. It will be an uphill struggle, but be determined to stay the course.

Redeeming The Time - QOPH

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:145-152

Key Verse: Verses 148 - “Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.”

Key Words: that I might meditate in thy word

Someone once said:

“Long before his bed became a wrack, he would pray. Lying in bed waiting for sleep to come, he would pray. ‘Mine eyes prevent [anticipate, forestall] the night watches, that I might meditate in Thy word.’  He turned those moments before sleep came into good use. He composed himself for sleep by prayerfully turning over the Word of God in his mind. In other words, he had what today we would call a quiet time.

“Surely most of us waste far too much time. Someone has calculated that the average believer, if he lives to be 75 years of age, spends 25 years asleep, 17 years at work, 6 years in traveling, 7 ½ years in dressing, 9 years in watching television, 6 years being sick, and only 4 years in prayer and Bible study. Imagine 4 years out of 75 preparing for eternity, less than half the time spent watching television. Suppose we converted half the travel time, mostly idle time, into praying or memorizing Scripture instead of daydreaming. Suppose we invested most of the time spent dressing engaging our minds in prayer. Suppose we took an hour less sleep at night and devoted the time to concentrated Bible study. Suppose we cut two-thirds of the time spent watching television and devoted that time to reading the Bible, studying the Word, and praying for family, friends, missionaries, and all those hundreds of other things we say we are too busy to pray about. Why, we could increase the time we spend in prayer and Bible study by 19 years. Instead of a paltry 4 years, we would spend 23 years in getting ready for the judgment seat of Christ.

“F. W. Boreham used to tell the story of a gypsy he knew in his youth. She would come to the village green near where he lived and open her chest of treasures. From that chest she would take all kinds of things, fingering and fondling the items one by one and offering them for sale. She would announce the price, permit no haggling, offer the item, and unless it was purchased at once, back it went back into the chest. On no account would she take it out again and give the people standing around a second chance to purchase it. The bargain had to be taken at once or the chance was gone.

“Redeeming the time,” says Paul. God offers each one of us a fleeting moment of time. We can seize it and freight it down with something for eternity, or it passes back unredeemed into God’s keeping to be a witness against us at the judgment seat. Life’s golden moments never return. This wise old singer made it his plan to buy up the time.”

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Make sure you’re using your time wisely on things that count for eternity.

We Live By The Word - TSADHE

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:137-144

Key Verse: Verse 138 - “Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.”

Key Words: Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.

“Thy testimonies that Thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.”  It is impossible for God ever to lead us astray, for Him ever to ask us to do any wrong. 

In the halls of the American Congress one finds two kinds of people, the legislators and the lobbyists.  The politician is there to make the laws.  The pressure groups are there to influence those laws, to see that the only laws passed are the ones their particular group wants.  The gun lobby wants no laws that will interfere with the right of people to own weapons.  The pro-abortionist wants no laws that will restrict a woman’s right to end unwanted pregnancies.  The sexual deviant wants laws that will protect his lifestyle.  Thus it is with our laws.  All too often, instead of being righteous and faithful, they simply reflect the interest of whichever side can bring the most pressure to bear on politicians.

God’s laws are not like that.  He is not swayed by public opinion.  He is not running for office, nor is He running this planet along democratic lines.  His laws are not influenced by polls or pressure groups.  God’s laws are righteous and faithful.  They are impartial, imperial, and impeccable. They are magnificent in scope and substance.

In His law, God has spoken to moral issues, political issues, and social issues. He has spoken His mind about sex, sanitation, and stealing. He has spoken about diet and dress, family and financial matters, warfare and welfare. There is no one nor topic in God’s Word left to our imagination. Every Word of God is righteous and very faithful.

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:  

✞ Live by the Word.

Look Where The Light Is - PE

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:129-136

Key Verse: Verse 130 - “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

Key Words: The entrance of thy words giveth light

In his book on Psalms, John Phillips says, “God’s Word gives light.  People can shut light out of their life, of course, and remain forever in the dark, or they can open the windows of their soul and let that light flood in.

“Light reveals dirt.  There was a time when I lived in a cold climate, where every year storm windows had to be put in place to help keep out the cold.  That annual chore always necessitated washing windows.  The storm windows, stored all summer, had to be cleansed of the dust and dirt that had accumulated on them.  The regular windows had to be cleansed, too – by strict order of the lady of the house.  Finally, after an exhausting day, the last storm window would be fitted into place, and with a sigh of relief I would sit back, thankful that the job was done for another year.  The next day the sun would come out and the slanting rays would shine on the windows and reveal the streaks, the spots, the places that were missed.  The light revealed the dirt.  The windows had looked quite acceptable in yesterday’s shadows, but in today’s sunshine all the grime was conspicuously revealed.

“Light reveals disorder.  Things might be badly out of place in a room; and, as long as it is dark, it makes no difference.  But when the light is turned on, the mess and muddle can be clearly seen.  Just so, God’s Word reveals the disorder in our lives.

“Light reveals direction.  A man stumbling through the darkness may have no idea where he is or what immediate perils lay at his feet.  Light changes all that.  It gives us a sense of direction, enabling us to see signposts and landmarks.  This is one of the chief blessings of God’s Word.  It gives light.”

If we are to find truth, we must search for it in the light of God’s Word.

Instead of trusting God’s Word, modern-day thinkers insist on using human wisdom alone for answers to eternal questions.  The tragedy of this situation was graphically illustrated in a humorous skit performed by Karl Vallentin, a Munich comedian.  Walking on a stage where everything was dark except for a small area under a street lamp, he began to look for something on the ground.  He told the policeman who came on the scene that he was trying to find a key, whereupon the two continued the search.  Finally the officer asked, “Are you sure you lost it here?”  “Oh, no,” said Vallentin as he pointed to a corner, “it was over there, but here is where the light is!”

                                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Make sure you are walking in the light of God’s Word.

Its Time - AYIN

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:121-128

Key Verse: Verse 126 – “It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.”

Key Words: It is time for thee, LORD, to work

“It is time for Thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.”  As though we can tell God when He ought to go to work!  Like Job, we think we have all the answers.  Like Job, too, we find that we really know nothing at all about the great issues, of the working of those “wheels within wheels” of His will.

The only person who can pray like that, with any authority or assurance, is a person who lives close enough to the Lord to know God’s Word very well.  Such a person can appeal to God on the basis of intimate knowledge of His will.  Daniel could do that.  He had so thoroughly mastered the Word of God as given to Jeremiah, he had so marked the passing of the years, he was so conversant with the signs of the times that he could pray, “It is time, O Lord, for Thee to work.”

George Mueller also could do that at times.  He was so sensitive to the leading of the Lord in his life that he could say, in effect: “It is time, O Lord, for Thee to work.”  On one occasion, George Mueller was sailing down the Saint Lawrence into Montreal to keep an appointment he knew to be in the will of God.  A heavy fog came down and the ship reduced speed to a crawl.  The captain of the ship was a believer, so Mr. Mueller approached him and asked him if they would make Montreal on time.  The captain said, “Not unless this fog lifts at once.”  Said George Mueller, “Very well, we shall ask the Lord to take the fog away.”  He knelt down and, in a simple prayer, made his request.  When the captain was about to pray, Mr. Mueller gently put his hand on his arm.  “Don’t you pray,” he said.  “Why not?” the captain asked.  “You don’t really believe the fog will lift.  Besides, it has already gone!” said Mr. Mueller.

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Live close to God and then you’ll know when it’s time for the Lord to go to work.

The Hiding Place - SAMECH

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:113-120

Key Verse: Verse 114 - “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”

Key Words: Thou art my hiding place

The psalmist shares with us his emotions in these eight verses.  In verses 113 to 117 we see the psalmist trusting.  He says in verse 114 that God is his hiding place, but then in verses 118 to 120 we see the psalmist trembling.  See verse 120. He says “my flesh trembleth.”  The psalmist knew that it was a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.

The two thoughts before give us a picture of mankind.  Either man is trusting or he will end up trembling.  The psalmist chooses to trust in God as his hiding place.

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in Thy word.”  We need a hiding place when danger threatens: we need a shield when danger makes its thrust.  A hiding place suggests that the danger, though real enough, is not yet at hand.  It can still be averted perhaps.  A shield is needed when the hiding place no longer affords protection.  The danger has become immediate, a present-tense peril.

The psalmist’s first line of defense against his foes is God, and his final line of defense against his foes is God.   He has no other defense, nor does he need any.  His hope is not in his friends or family, in his own resources or resolution, in his skill with sword or spear.  His hope is in God and in God’s Word.  Since that cannot fail, his victory is assured.

The Great Wall of China is a gigantic structure which cost an enormous amount of money and labor.  When it was finished, it appeared to be impregnable.  But the enemy did break it – not by breaking it down or going around it or under it – they did it by bribing the gatekeepers, proving we are only as strong as our weakest link.  No wonder David turned to God and declared God as his hiding place, for in Him there is no weakness.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse        

 What to do: 

✞Let God be your hiding place today and every day.

A Heritage Forever - NUN

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:105-112

Key Verse: Verse 111 - “Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.”

Key Words:  Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever

“Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.”  A heritage is something we inherit.  The most priceless heritage we have is the Bible.  Nothing can compare to it down here.  The Bible, however, is like some other inheritances people receive – it yields its treasures only under certain conditions.

A man owned a vineyard, and his sons believed their father to be very wealthy.  Since he was secretive about it, they could not be sure, but they hoped to inherit a fortune when he died.  On his deathbed he told his sons that the secret of his wealth was to be found in the vineyard.  The boys immediately began to dig, hoping to find the treasure they believed to be hidden under the vines.  They toiled for months, being careful not to damage the vines.  In the course of time they dug over every inch of the vineyard and discovered nothing.  But that fall their vineyard produced the finest crop of grapes on record.  Then they realized what their wise old father had done.  He had forced them to stop loafing around and instead to cultivate the vineyard.  The secret of his wealth was the vines which, properly cared for, would keep them rich.

Our heritage, too, is priceless but it will not yield its wealth to us without work.  When we work at it, the Bible never fails to yield its riches to our souls.

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Put the Word of God to work in your life, and it will rejoice your soul.

Wiser Than They - MEM

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:97-104

Key Verse: Verse 98 – “Thou through thy command -ments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

Key Words:  thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies

Geoffrey Bull, recounting his experience in a Chinese communist prison camp, tells of three years he had to live without a Bible.  The communists hoped to cut him off from his source of spiritual solace and strength.  It was a vain hope.  He had for years been storing up that Word in his heart.  Then they began brainwashing him.  He describes the nagging and noise, the scrutiny and spying, the tension.  He tells how they would threaten him with execution – threats always baited with a promise of pardon if he would reform and acknowledge his crime against the people.  The tension was aggravated by ceaseless provocation and baiting, by attacks on his integrity and self-respect, and by endless prying into his thoughts.  From morning to night, day after day, month after month it went on – argument, haranguing, criticism, and struggle.  Every movement he made was under intense scrutiny.  Officials, wardens, fellow prisoners kept at it.  For fear of their own future they dared not relent.  There was no love, no peace, nothing but indoctrination and examination.  The whole thing was aimed at a single end: to bring his mind into captivity to Marx. 

In the end they gave him back his Bible.  Geoffrey Bull describes the ecstasy with which he once again held it in his hands: “Ringing in my ears were forty months of man’s words, man’s wisdom, man’s arguments, man’s hurt.  Now on the page before me ran the quiet yet pungent words of Holy Scripture: ‘Where is the wise...where is the disputer of this world?’”  Long after his release he wrote, “Even today, I feel like running up and down the corridors of learning shouting out: ‘Yes, where is he?’  After the mad haranguings and fanatical ragings of the Marxists, let me ask...’Where is the wise?  Hath not God made the foolish the wisdom of this world?’”

Geoffrey Bull’s tormentors had their wits sharpened by enmity.  His mind was sharpened by God’s Word.  He was wiser than they.

                                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Study the Word of God; it will make you wiser than your enemies.

God's Taking Our Picture - LAMED

Bible Reading:  Psalm 119:89-96

Key Verse: Verse 89 – “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”

Key Words:  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven

The Word is permanent because it is the Lord’s word.  That is why God does not have to change His mind.  In His omniscient wisdom, God knows everything – everything possible and everything that is.  He is acquainted with every fact, every detail, about everything and everyone in Heaven, earth, and hell.  He may be invisible to us, but we are not invisible to Him.  He saw Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, saw Cain murder his brother, heard Sarah laugh in the privacy of her tent.  One of the first revelations of God occurs on the Bible’s opening page: seven times the Holy Spirit says, “And God saw.”

God knows every detail about everything that has happened in the past.  He knows everything going on right at this moment throughout all the vast reaches of space.  He knows every event, from the smallest to the greatest, that will ever happen in the ages and eternities to be.  If it were possible for something to happen that God did not know about, He would cease to be omniscient; He would cease to be God.

When Donald and Simmie Godwin took their four-year-old grandson camping at Lake Superior, they got a basic theology lesson.  When a bad thunderstorm came up, the little guy was fascinated by the flashes of “whitening.”  He watched the sky light up for several minutes then gave his commentary: “Look!  Jesus is taking my picture.”  Our activities and attitudes never escape the attention of God.  It’s as if God were constantly taking our picture.

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Always act and think as if God is watching – because He is.

Heaven's Point of View - CAPH

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:81-88

Key Verse: Verse 81 – “My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.”

Key Words: My soul fainteth

“My soul fainteth for Thy salvation: but I hope in Thy word.”  Salvation is a concept of various textures and tones.  The Biblical context must always determine what kind of salvation the writer has in mind.  There is, of course, salvation from sin – its penalty, power, and presence.  There is salvation from sorrow as well as salvation from situations.  This last aspect of salvation is in view here, although we do not know what the singer’s situation was.  We do know, as the Scripture puts it elsewhere, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.”

I remember one time taking off in a plane straight into a bank of heavy clouds.  The day had been completely overcast, a laden sky scowling down on a gloomy landscape.  The plane taxied down the runway, took off, and instantly a gray world enveloped us.  Looking out of the window, I could see nothing except a blanket of foggy vapor so thick it even streamed down the windows.  Then suddenly the plane broke through and we were above the clouds.  The sky was a blazing sapphire, the sun was shining.  Looking down at the clouds, now far below, I saw them transformed into things of beauty, billowing fleece of whitest wool.  The blue skies were there all the time and, seen from above, the dark clouds were already being hurried away by the wind.

The Word of God is like the sun, shining always in the sky. Our frowning circumstances are the clouds.  When we stare up at them from down below, they appear threatening.  But when we allow God’s Word to change our viewpoint we see them as temporary troubles, soon to vanish, and, in any case, glorious from Heaven’s point of view.

 

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Let God’s Word change your point of view.