"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3)
HALLELUJAH PRAISE JEHOVAH Tune to "GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH" 8.7.8.7.8.7.7. Words by JIM BYRD
1. Hallelujah praise Jehovah, Author of redeeming grace; He ordained to save a people, Purposed Christ to take our place. Chosen in the blest Redeemer, He became our Substitute, He became our Substitute.
2. Hallelujah praise Jehovah, May His praises never cease; He redeemed His captive people, Brought in everlasting peace. Jesus died to seal our pardon, Died to save His chosen race; Died to save His chosen race.
3. Hallelujah praise Jehovah, By His grace we live again; Now by faith we trust the Savior, Who delivered us from sin. We are righteous in Christ Jesus, Sing the praises of the King; Sing the praises of the King.
SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY: MORNING: REVELATION 16:12-21 EVENING: LUKE 20:27-47
DEALING WITH TEMPTATIONS "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Ephesians 6:16). Satan is sure to cast "the flaming missiles" (Amplified Bible) of temptation toward the children of the Lord, but we must not be dismayed. While the evil one is no match for us, he is no match for our Sovereign by Whose power and grace we overcome the enemy. The inspired Apostle tells us the way to "quench" (extinguish, suppress, stifle) "the fiery darts of the wicked [one]" is by "taking the shield of faith." This may be understood as looking to and trusting the Lord. We know that faith, in and of itself, is not our shield; it has no power to ward off the attacks of the Devil. It is not our faith in Christ, therefore, but the Christ of our faith Who defends us. "The Word of the LORD came to Abram...saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and great reward" (Genesis 15:1). "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory" (Psalm 84:11). "Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him" (Proverbs 30:5). Jehovah our Savior is our Protector, and it is by looking to Him that we extinguish the fiery darts of temptation. We must rely upon the Lord Whose love, power and faithfulness surround the believer like a shield. "Taking the shield of faith" also means looking to and being ever mindful of the gospel, that body of truth often referred to in Scripture as "the faith." At all times we are to look to the good news of the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ to defend us from the wicked one. We know, by painful experience, that Satan still oppresses and disturbs the people of God, but he cannot defeat us for he has been conquered by the death and resurrection of our almighty Substitute. He who held us captive at his will has been taken into captivity by the triumphant Redeemer, the Man Christ Jesus. The nail-scarred hand of our Savior has a firm grasp upon the neck of our enemy. In times of temptation, we must focus upon the truth of "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." The way to victory over temptations is by bringing to mind the gospel, the good news of the successful work of the Savior. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). That which Satan despises, and the only way to successfully resist him and douse his flaming darts of temptation is by remembering the glorious gospel of the blood and righteousness of Christ. Saturate your mind and heart with the message of the justice-satisfying cross-death, burial and resurrection of Christ and the tempter will depart. –Pastor Jim Byrd
-------------------- IF WE HAVE CHRIST... If we have Christ, we have His blood for pardon, His righteousness for justification, His fulness to supply all our needs, His promises to cheer us, His strength to support us, His wisdom to guide us in all our ways. We have Him in all the offices He sustains, –as Prophet to teach and instruct us, as Priest to atone and plead for us, and as King to rule over us and in us. We have Him in all the blessed characters He bears, –as our Shepherd, our Captain, our Bread of Life, Water of Life and the Wine of God to cheer us. We have Him in the endearing relationship He sustains as our Elder Brother. And...we have Him as our Husband; and He does not take His bride as we are in the habit of taking ours, "for better or for worse." O no! He knew she would have no " better" about her; it would be all "worse;" therefore, He took her with all her sin and guilt, and stood answerable for all her debts. –From a sermon by William Gadsby, preached 4/13/1843
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