Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

⁵ They do not know nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
⁶ I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are sons of the Most High.
⁷ “Nevertheless you will die like men
And fall like any one of the princes.”
⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth!
For it is You who possesses all the nations.”  Psalm chapter 82.

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Man judges unjustly.  Verse 2.

Verses 3-4 show what should be done.

But, man does not understand.  Verse 5.

We are reminded of Romans 3:11-12:

“¹¹ There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”

Other doctrine has confidence in man.

But, Reformed Doctrine, consistent with Scripture, has only confidence in God.

Other doctrine desires man’s alleged free-will.

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

But, Reformed Doctrine desires God’s sovereignty and knows that God possesses and controls the nations.

“Arise, O God, judge the earth!
For it is You who possesses all the nations.”  Verse 8.

“God takes His stand in His own congregation;
He judges in the midst of the rulers.”  Verse 1.

Regarding other doctrine’s desire for man’s alleged free-will:

“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.”

⁶ “I relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the basket.
⁷ “You called in trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the waters of Meribah.  Selah.
⁸ “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!
⁹ “Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
¹⁰ “I, the Lord, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

¹¹ “But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.
¹² “So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
¹³ “Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
¹⁴ “I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
¹⁵ “Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
¹⁶ “But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”  Psalm chapter 81.

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As summarized in the last highlighted 4 sentences of today’s Scripture, there is every good reason for people to walk in God’s ways.

“How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
² When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you.
³ Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
⁴ Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.

Other doctrine thinks it is sufficient to present the blessings and then depend on man’s wisdom and will to make the right decision to fear God, obey, and walk in His ways.

But, Reformed Doctrine knows that natural condition of man is “Total Depravity” and that no matter how much sense it makes to fear God, obey, and walk in His ways, we need more than the “carrot” of God’s blessings and our own wisdom and will.  We need the Sovereign God to cause us to fear God, obey, and walk in His ways.

“²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.  ²³ I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst.  Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.  ²⁴ For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.  ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;  I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  ²⁷ 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.

⁴ O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And You have made them to drink tears in large measure.
⁶ You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
⁷ O God of hosts, restore us
And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

⁸ You removed a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹ You cleared the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land.
¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And the cedars of God with its boughs.
¹¹ It was sending out its branches to the sea
And its shoots to the River.
¹² Why have You broken down its hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
¹³ A boar from the forest eats it away
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

¹⁴ O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
¹⁵ Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.
¹⁶ It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
¹⁷ Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
¹⁸ Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
¹⁹ O Lord God of hosts, restore us;
Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”  Psalm chapter 80.

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We see three very similar verses in today’s Scripture:  verses 3, 7, and 19.  (As a side note, there is increasing praise in addressing God from “O God” in verse 3 to “O God of hosts” in verse 7 to “O LORD God of hosts” in verse 19.)  

We will focus on the phrase:  “Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”  

“O Lord God of hosts, restore us;
Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”  Verse 19.

The first part of the phrase “Cause Your face to shine us” requests that God love us.  

The importance of this phrase is that we can be assured that if God loves us, then He will certainly save us:  “we will be saved.”  

Other doctrine teaches us that God loves everybody, but really does not save anyone in the sense that it is up to the individual to contribute whatever is necessary (whether it be works, wisdom, or will) to lift himself or herself out of the pool of everybody in order to be saved.

But, Reformed Doctrine teaches that if God loves us, then He will certainly do everything necessary to obtain our salvation from the very beginning to the very end:  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.

“… In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,”  Ephesians 1:4-5.

“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 8:29-30.

“for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”  Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  Romans 9:11-13.

“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”  Jeremiah 31:3.

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, 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, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever. 

Article 9.  This purpose proceeding from everlasting love towards the elect, has from the beginning of the world to this day been powerfully accomplished, and will henceforward still continue to be accomplished, notwithstanding all the ineffectual opposition of the gates of hell, so that the elect in due time may be gathered together into one, and that there never may be wanting a church composed of believers, the foundation of which is laid in the blood of Christ, which may steadfastly love, and faithfully serve him as their Savior, who as a bridegroom for his bride, laid down his life for them upon the cross, and which may celebrate his praises here and through all eternity.  SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby of Canons of Dordt.