. ____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ April 26, 2009 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) The Blessed Man (Jim McDonald) 2) Applying Principles We Learn From the Plagues (Donnie V. Rader) ____________________________________________________ -1- The Blessed Man by Jim McDonald "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of Jehovah; and on his law doth he meditate day and night." The first Psalm is without a heading, assigned to no author, therefore its human authorship is uncertain. We accept all 150 psalms as the inspired work of the Spirit, but the human instrument through whom he moved is not known in that Psalm. David is author of about half of the psalms and at least five other men are named: Asaph, Moses, Solomon, Teman, and Heman. Since several of the Psalms are without a heading, they could have been written by any of these men or by some other of whom we know nothing. The first is a sort of introduction to the whole book, a collection of psalms that had been in writing for at least 500 years. The blessed (happy) man is the subject of this Psalm. He is viewed from two perspectives: negative and positive. He is blessed because of what he is not and on the other hand of what he is. Such a perspective should not be surprising for every balanced life is composed of these two elements. Could it be otherwise? The words of a song of yesterday go like this: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don't mess with Mr. In Between." Such a philosophy would make a battery useless. Both negative and positive posts are necessary for the car to function. Such a philosophy equally renders useless the life of a Christian. Trials are those things, which bring out sturdiness in us and sharpen our resolve to do right. No child can properly develop without both negative and positive instructions from his parents. Parents cannot say "Yes" all the time any more than they can say "No." Both things are needful to a child's proper training and development. The Ten Commandments illustrated the necessities of "do's" and "don'ts" in the life of the ancient Israelite. The New Testament reveals that the noble Christian must also have these two qualities. We must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts (negative); we must live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world (positive) (Tit. 2:11). Pure religion is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction (positive) and keep oneself unspotted from the world (negative) (Jas. 1:27). Read also Romans 12:1f. The blessed man is blessed because of what he does not do. He does not: 1. Walk in the counsel of the wicked; 2. Stand in the way of sinners; 3. Sit in the seat of scoffers. These three things show sin's progressive nature. Paul wrote: "Evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse" (2 Tim. 3 :13). James said: "Each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed and the lust when it hath conceived beareth sin, and sin, when it is full grown bringeth forth death" (Jas. 1:13f). On the other hand, the blessed man is blessed because of what he does. "His delight is in the law of Jehovah and on his law doth he meditate day and night." This passage reflects an attitude of love and respect. The blessed man loves the Scriptures. He loves them because: 1. Of their origin. He believes they are the sole oral revelation the Creator of this world has made to mankind. 2. Of their worth. They are "Sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Ps.19). Need it be observed that any one who loves the Scriptures will be obedient to them? The blessed man is an obedient one. "Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have a right to the tree of life and enter by the gates into the city" (Rev. 22:14). -- Via The Gospel Teacher ____________________________________________________ -2- Applying Principles We Learn From the Plagues by Donnie V. Rader The story of Moses and his spokesman Aaron going before Pharaoh with the demand of God to let his people go is rich with principles that drive home practical lessons. The texts we are considering are Exodus 7-10. Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh and demand the release of the children of Israel who were being held captive and used as servants by the Egyptians. With each denial of the request, God sent a plague upon the land of Egypt. Nine plagues are delivered by the end of chapter 10. Let's consider some lessons from these chapters. 1. Wrong on the part of others can be used to demonstrate the power of God (Exod. 7:4). Each time Pharaoh rebelled and stubbornly refused to heed the demand of God, it simply gave God an opportunity to demonstrate his power with another plague. God used the apostasy of the Jews to bring the Gentiles in and the jealousy it created to win back some of the Jews (Rom. 11). Today, God can use (not cause) the depth of the sin of man to demonstrate this power to forgive (Col. 1:20-22). However great the sin, there is that much more grace (Rom. 5:20). 2. Our obedience should be just as we have been commanded. God had commanded Moses and Aaron to go before Pharaoh. "Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did" (Exod. 7:6). Our obedience should be "just as the Lord commanded." Partial obedience is not true obedience. We cannot be selective in which commands are important and which are not. We must obey just as we have been instructed. 3. When the heart is not moved, it is hardened. After the first plague Pharaoh's heart was not moved (Exod. 7:23). The verse before says his heart grew hard (v. 22). Thus, I conclude that when one will not allow his heart to be moved by the message of God, his heart becomes harder. With each rejection it gets harder and harder until the gospel no longer can prick the heart (Acts 2:37). 4. The absurdity of waiting until tomorrow. When the second plague (the frogs) came upon Pharaoh's land, he called upon Moses to entreat the Lord to take away the frogs (Exod. 8:8). Moses told Pharaoh to pick the time he wanted to frogs removed (v. 9). Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow" (v. 10). Why wait? Why not removed them now? In essence he said, "Let us spend one more night with the frogs." Sound strange? Yet, there are people in sin (non-Christians and Christians alike) who want to be forgiven, but put it off for a week, a month, or a year. Though God is ready to forgive, they are saying, "Let me have one more week or month with my sins. I'd rather have the frogs." 5. God takes care of his people. With the fourth plague (the flies) God specifically excluded the land of Goshen (where his people lived) so that they did not suffer like the wicked Egyptians (Exod. 8:22). I must conclude that God takes care of his people. He promises to put his eyes over us and have his ears attuned to our prayers (1 Pet. 3:12). 6. Some make promises and pleas only when they are down. Pharaoh cared little about God and his people. Only when the plagues had him in a corner did he cry out to God for deliverance and promise to release the children of Israel (Exod. 8:29ff). Yet when the plague was lifted he returns again to his stubborn rebellion against God. Today, there are those who continue in their lives of sin until all is out of their control and only then do they make promises of doing better if their situation is improved. 7. Those who fear God regard his word and obey. Exodus 9:20-21 shows a contrast between those who fear God and those who do not regard his word. Thus, those who fear God are those who regard the word of God. Later Moses told Pharaoh that he knew he would not fear God (9:30). The context shows that he meant he would not obey God. 8. God expects us to pass the knowledge of him on from generation to generation. God told Moses that as he showed his power and might in the plagues, he wanted told "in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things that I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord" (Exod. 10:2). The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Moses and Aaron should have been just as impressed with the mighty plagues as they were. God expects us to well inform our children so they will know the Lord God and be able to do the same for their children. 9. Stubbornness has consequences. No one has been any more stubborn in dealing with God's requirements than Pharaoh was. However, his stubbornness led to the destruction of his land, his people, his power, and himself. Today there are people who are so stubborn that they refuse to obey the gospel lest someone get the impression they are being "pushed" or "forced" into doing what they don't want to do. One who will not swallow his pride and submit to the Lord in obedience is stubborn. Stubbornness has consequences. -- Via Truth Magazine Vol. XLIV: 24 p13 December 21, 2000 ____________________________________________________ "The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. "The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. "Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face" (Psalm 11:4-7). ____________________________________________________ CHURCH OF CHRIST 201 Rushing Road (at the Hampton Inn) Denham Springs, LA 70726 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 tedwards@onemain.com http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go DIRECTIONS: Take the Denham Springs exit (exit 10) off of I-12. At the end of the exit ramp, turn north. Go about a stone's throw to Rushing Road. (You'll see a Starbucks, Circle K, and two other gas stations; with each on each corner.) Turn left on Rushing Road, and go less then 0.3 of a mile. Hampton Inn will be on the right. We assemble in its meeting room, which is very close to the reception counter. ____________________________________________________