Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 100.

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.”   Psalm chapter 100.

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Not all people are “His people”.

“25 As He says also in Hosea,

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”  Romans 9:25-26.

“for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God;  you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Peter 2:10.

Not all people are “the sheep of His pasture”.

“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;  and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”  John 10:26-28.

All the wonderful promises of God that He will bless us and show us His lovingkindness and His faithfulness are not for all people, but rather, all the wonderful promises of God are only for “His people”. 

“His people” are those who believe in Christ a/k/a those who belong to Christ a/k/a those who are in Christ. 

“7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe (in Christ);  but for those who disbelieve,

“The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,”

8 and,

“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God;  you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Peter 2:7-10.

“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”  Galatians 3:29.

“For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (Christ) they are yes;  therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.  Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”  2 Corinthians 1:20-22.

In conclusion, a good summary of the importance of belonging to Christ is found in Question and Answer 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Q. 1.  What is thy only comfort in life and death?

A.  That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ;  who, with His precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil;  and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;  yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 99.

“The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.
4 The strength of the King loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.

6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They kept His testimonies
And the statute that He gave them.
8 O Lord our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For holy is the Lord our God.”  Psalm chapter 99.

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“The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble …”  Verse 1.

“The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.”  Verse 2.

“The strength of the King loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”  Verse 4.

“Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.”  Verse 5.

Which doctrine exalts God more?

Other doctrine which is centered on man and man’s alleged free-will?

Or, Reformed Doctrine which is centered on God and what God has done?

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,
With resounding music upon the lyre.
4 For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.”   Psalm 92:1-3.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 98.

“O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
2 The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.

7 Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy
9 Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity.”  Psalm chapter 98.

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“… He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The Lord has made known His salvation …”  Verses 1-2.

Reformed Doctrine sees throughout Scripture that “God reigns!” and that God does not relinquish control of salvation to man.  Salvation is in the hands of God alone Who performs all that is necessary for salvation from the very beginning to the very ending:  from the very beginning of God’s “Unconditional Election” through God’s “Limited Atonement” through God’s “Irresistible Grace” to the very end of God’s “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

And yet, other doctrine still tries to teach that salvation is in the hands of man to use their alleged free-will to accept it or reject it, and other doctrine relies on the wisdom of man to obtain salvation.

But Reformed Doctrine recognizes that Scripture teaches that God chooses those whom He saves, so that no man may boast before God.

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

And, we see in today’s Scripture:  “… All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”  Verse 3.

God chose those for salvation from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

“And they *sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals;  for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”  Revelation 5:9.

In Article 8 of SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby of Canons of Dordt, it is stated that “… it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation …”.

“27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.

…

31 They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.”  Psalm 22:27-28 and 31.

“7 How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
9 Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.”  Isaiah 52:7-10.

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.”  Verse 4.

“O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.”  Verse 1.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 97.

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.

7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,
Who boast themselves of idols;
Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion heard this and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.”   Psalm chapter 97.

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Other doctrine presents their desired image of the LORD as some kind of “Santa Claus”, manipulated by their alleged free-will desires.

But, Reformed Doctrine presents the LORD of Scripture Who reigns.

Other doctrine does not want the LORD of Scripture Who reigns …

“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”  Psalm 2:3.

But, Reformed Doctrine knows …

“4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”  Psalm 2:4-6.

“…  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”  Verse 2.

“The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”  Verse 5.

There is the sharpest contrast between what the LORD does with his adversaries compared with what the LORD does with the righteous.

“Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.”  Verse 3.

But, for the righteous, the LORD “… preserves the souls of His godly ones;  He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.”  Verse 10.

“11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.”  Verses 11-12.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 94.

“O Lord, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth,
Render recompense to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord,
How long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;
All who do wickedness vaunt themselves.
5 They crush Your people, O Lord,
And afflict Your heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 They have said, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”

8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people;
And when will you understand, stupid ones?
9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10 He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath.

12 Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord,
And whom You teach out of Your law;
13 That You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
15 For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?

17 If the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises mischief by decree?
21 They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my stronghold,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will destroy them.”  Psalm chapter 94.

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The LORD our God is a just God, a “God of vengeance”, “Judge of the earth”, Who will destroy the wicked but Who will also save His people.  Verses 1, 2, 14, and 23.

“35 ‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution,
In due time their foot will slip;
For the day of their calamity is near,
And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
36 “For the Lord will vindicate His people,
And will have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their strength is gone,
And there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 “And He will say, ‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 ‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you,
Let them be your hiding place!
39 ‘See now that I, I am He,
And there is no god besides Me;
It is I who put to death and give life.
I have wounded and it is I who heal,
And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
40 ‘Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven,
And say, as I live forever,
41 If I sharpen My flashing sword,
And My hand takes hold on justice,
I will render vengeance on My adversaries,
And I will repay those who hate Me.
42 ‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword will devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.’
43 “Rejoice, O nations, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And will render vengeance on His adversaries,
And will atone for His land and His people.”  Deuteronomy 32:35-43.

Let their be no doubt.  God will rescue the godly and punish the unrighteous. 

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;  and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;  and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;  and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,”  2 Peter 2:4-9.

Like the Psalmist wondered in verse 3 how long God would allow the wicked to go unpunished, we too may wonder when God will destroy the wicked.  But, it will occur.  “… The Lord our God will destroy them.”  Verse 23. 

“Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”  For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.  But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”  2 Peter 3:3-7.

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”  2 Peter 3:10-13.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 92.  Later today, I will be starting a 10 day vacation (mostly fishing in Canada with college buddies).  God willing, my next devotion will be on Monday, August 8.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
² To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
³ With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,
With resounding music upon the lyre.
⁴ For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 91.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
³ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.