Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 119:49-64.

“49 Remember the word to Your servant,
In which You have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has revived me.
51 The arrogant utterly deride me,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.
52 I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O Lord,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
55 O Lord, I remember Your name in the night,
And keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
That I observe Your precepts.

57 The Lord is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.
58 I sought Your favor with all my heart;
Be gracious to me according to Your word.
59 I considered my ways
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The cords of the wicked have encircled me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
62 At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your righteous ordinances.
63 I am a companion of all those who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.”  Psalm 119:49-64.

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Today’s Scripture points to the hope, comfort, grace, and lovingkindness in God’s Word.

No wonder the Psalmist, and all others who are wise, seek God’s Word, meditate upon it, and trust it!

“56 This has become mine,
That I observe Your precepts.

57 The Lord is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.”  Verses 56-57.

God’s Word is that “In which You have made me hope.”  Verse 49.

God’s Word is “my comfort in my affliction”.  Verse 50.

God’s Word is “gracious to me”.  Verse 58.

God’s Word is “full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord”.  Verse 64.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 119:33-48.

“33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.
37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.
38 Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.

41 May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Lord,
Your salvation according to Your word;
42 So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I wait for Your ordinances.
44 So I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
46 I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
47 I shall delight in Your commandments,
Which I love.
48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I love;
And I will meditate on Your statutes.”  Psalm 119:33-48.

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There is a progression in asking for more and more help in Verses 33-35.

First, there is a request for God to teach knowledge:  “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, …”.  Verse 33.

Second, there is a request for God to give understanding:  “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law …”  Verse 34.

Third, there is a request for God to cause:  “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, …”  Verse 35.

Knowledge of the statutes is insufficient.  Understanding the wisdom and goodness of the law is even insufficient.  The Psalmist knows that he needs God to cause Him to walk in the paths of His commandments.

Other doctrine depends on man to get his own knowledge and understanding of God’s law and then use his own alleged own free-will to obey it.  Just do it!

But, Reformed Doctrine, consistent with this Scripture and other Scripture, depends on God to do everything necessary for one to walk in the path of His commandments.

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Ezekiel 36:27.

And, we see the language of the “walk” in Galatians 5:16:  “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

“Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.  But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.  But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;  but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:12-18.

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free;  therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”  Galatians 5:1.

“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ;  and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”  Galatians 2:19-21.

“And I will walk at liberty, …”  Verse 45.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 119:17-32.

“17 Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed,
Who wander from Your commandments.
22 Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my delight;
They are my counselors.

25 My soul cleaves to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders.
28 My soul weeps because of grief;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have placed Your ordinances before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will enlarge my heart.”  Psalm 119:17-32.

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“Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.”  Verse 18.

“Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders.”  Verse 27.

“6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”  Isaiah 9:6-7.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;  it is these that testify about Me;  and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”  John 5:39-40.

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:24-26.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  Romans 10:4.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”  Romans 7:4.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 119:1-16.

“How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
3 They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
And regard Your ways.
16 I shall delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.”  Psalm 119:1-16.

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“For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:  sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”  Romans 7:22 to Romans 8:4.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”  Romans 7:4.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”  Galatians 5:16.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 118:15-29.

“15 The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 I will not die, but live,
And tell of the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
The righteous will enter through it.
21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O Lord, do save, we beseech You;
O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, and He has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, I extol You.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Psalm 118:15-29.

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“This is the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.”  Verse 23.

Other doctrine is all about man’s doing.
 
But, Reformed Doctrine, consistent with today’s Scripture, is all about “the Lord’s doing”.
 
Salvation is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verses 15 and 21.

The “right hand of the Lord does valiantly” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verses 15-16.

The “works of the LORD” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verse 17.

The “gates of righteousness” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verses 19-20.

Sending us Jesus Christ and making Him “the chief corner stone” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verse 22.

“This is the day which the Lord has made” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verse 24.

Sending us “prosperity” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verse 25.

Sending us “the one who comes in the name of the Lord” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verse 26.

Giving us “light” is “the Lord’s doing”.  Verse 27.

The beginning verse and the concluding verse of this chapter gives thanks for “the Lord’s doing”.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Verses 1 and 29.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 118:1-14.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Oh let Israel say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
3 Oh let the house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
4 Oh let those who fear the Lord say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

5 From my distress I called upon the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.
6 The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.

10 All nations surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
13 You pushed me violently so that I was falling,
But the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”  Psalm 118:1-14.

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“It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.”  Verse 8.

And yet, other doctrine takes refuge in man and man’s wisdom, man’s works, and man’s alleged free-will.

But, Reformed Doctrine takes refuge in the LORD and the LORD’s wisdom and the LORD’s works and the LORD’s will.

“5 Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:5-8.

“The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”  Verse 14.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Verse 1.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 117.

“Praise the Lord, all nations;
Laud Him, all peoples!
2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the LORD!”  Psalm chapter 117.

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Other doctrine presents the works of man.

But, Reformed Doctrine presents the works of God.

Other doctrine praises man.

But, Reformed Doctrine praises the LORD.

“For His lovingkindness is great toward us …”  Verse 2.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 116.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+116&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“I love the Lord, because He hears
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death encompassed me
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.”  Psalm 116:1-8.

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Which doctrine is more consistent with today’s Scripture?

Other doctrine which focuses on man, man’s wisdom, man’s works, and man’s alleged free-will?

Or, Reformed Doctrine which focuses on God, God’s wisdom, God’s works, and God’s will?

“5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.”  Verses 5-6.

Reformed Doctrine shows the God of Scripture Who saves from the very beginning to the very end, providing all that is necessary for salvation, from the very beginning of “Unconditional Election”, through “Limited Atonement” and “Irresistible Grace”, to the very end of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I” and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.”  Verses 7-8.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 115.  Here is a link to this chapter –  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+115&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”
3 But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.

…

9 O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has been mindful of us;  He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.

16 The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,
But the earth He has given to the sons of men.
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;
18 But as for us, we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Praise the Lord!”  Psalm 115:1-3 and 9-18.

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God indeed is sovereign as is described in verse 3.

“But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.”  Verse 3.

God indeed is “Maker of heaven and earth” as stated in verse 15.

But, today’s Scripture emphasizes how the LORD uses His sovereign power.

“He will bless those who fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.”  Verse 13.

The LORD gives “increase” to us and our children.  Verse 14.

The LORD has given us “increase” in our life in so many different ways.

“11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”  Psalm 84:11-12.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:32.

But, these blessings are not random.  God designs and causes the blessings according to His perfect plan to have a good cumulative effect.

The vivid images of the following Scripture shows that these blessings strengthen us (“They go from strength to strength”).  These blessings also bless others (“Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring”).  These blessings lead us and others to the LORD (“In whose heart are the highways to Zion!  …  Every one of them appears before God in Zion.”). 

“5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.”  Psalm 84:5-7.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 114.

“When Israel went forth from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became His sanctuary,
Israel, His dominion.

3 The sea looked and fled;
The Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
The hills, like lambs.
5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water.”  Psalm chapter 114.

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The LORD defines Himself as “the God of Jacob” and defends the house of Jacob from all their enemies and deflects all their obstacles away from them.

Today’s Scripture gives us, also His chosen ones, great confidence.

“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;  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 2:9-19.

“10 Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
11 Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,
His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,
13 O seed of Israel His servant,
Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.”  1 Chronicles 16:10-14.

“What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:31-32.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;  and these whom He predestined, He also called;  and these whom He called, He also justified;  and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”  Romans 8:28-30.