Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 78:21-39.  We include verses 21-22 which were also covered by yesgterday’s devotion in order to provide context.

“21 Therefore the Lord heard and was full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And opened the doors of heaven;
24 He rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them food from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
Even winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 Then He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
Round about their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.
30 Before they had satisfied their desire,
While their food was in their mouths,
31 The anger of God rose against them
And killed some of their stoutest ones,
And subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they still sinned
And did not believe in His wonderful works.
33 So He brought their days to an end in futility
And their years in sudden terror.

34 When He killed them, then they sought Him,
And returned and searched diligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 But they deceived Him with their mouth
And lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He restrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus He remembered that they were but flesh,
A wind that passes and does not return.”  Psalm 78:21-39.

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Despite miracles testifying to God’s power and despite the provisions of manna and water, Israel did not believe in God nor in His wonderful works nor trust in His salvation.

Therefore, God was angry, full of wrath. 

The lesson for us is to avoid Israel’s mistakes.

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;  and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;  and all ate the same spiritual food;  and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them;  and the rock was Christ.  Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased;  for they were laid low in the wilderness.

Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.  Do not be idolaters, as some of them were;  as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.”  Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.  Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.  Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  1 Corinthians 10:1-11.

Search diligently for God.  Believe in God’s wonderous works.  Remember that God is your Rock and your Redeemer.

Reformed Doctrine can help, because it focuses on God, His wonderous works, and continually presents God as our Rock and Redeemer.  And, “TULIP” helps us remember the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation, namely man’s “Total Depravity”, God’s “Unconditional Election”, God’s “Limited Atonement”, God’s “Irresistible Grace”, and God’s “Preservation of the Saints”. 

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 77.

“My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint.  Selah.
4 You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
6 I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:

7 Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
8 Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?  Selah.
10 Then I said, “It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph.  Selah.

16 The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
20 You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.”  Psalm chapter 77.

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We experience troubles and lose sight of God.

“Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.”  Verse 19.

But, God has not lost sight of us;  God continues to faithfully lead us.

“You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.”  Verse 20.

Life may seem like a storm at sea.

“16 The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.”  Verses 16-18.

But, Reformed Doctrine is like a lighthouse which helps ships lost at sea.  When we focus on God and His great works, as Reformed Doctrine continually teaches us, then we regain our bearings and our comfort.

Other doctrine depends on its own feelings.

But, Reformed Doctrine depends on God’s feats and faithfulness.

By God’s power, God has redeemed His people 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.

“11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph.  Selah.”  Verses 11-15.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 75.

“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your name is near;
Men declare Your wondrous works.
2 “When I select an appointed time,
It is I who judge with equity.
3 “The earth and all who dwell in it melt;
It is I who have firmly set its pillars.  Selah.
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;
5 Do not lift up your horn on high,
Do not speak with insolent pride.’”

6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation;
7 But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and exalts another.
8 For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.

9 But as for me, I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off,
But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”    Psalm chapter 75.

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“Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Other doctrine boasts of what it has accomplished through its own alleged free-will, its own wisdom, and its own works.

But, Reformed Doctrine strips away any basis for boasting though its teaching of the natural condition of man summarized by “Total Depravity”.

And, Reformed Doctrine proceeds to declare the LORD’s wonderous works and show how the LORD “exercises this lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth” (in the above-stated Jeremiah 9:23-24) in its teaching of the LORD’s “Unconditional Election”, the LORD’s “Limited Atonement” , the LORD’s “Irresistible Grace”, and the LORD’s “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“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.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 74.

“O God, why have You rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins;
The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their own standards for signs.
5 It seems as if one had lifted up
His axe in a forest of trees.
6 And now all its carved work
They smash with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
There is no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary revile,
And the enemy spurn Your name forever?
11 Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
From within Your bosom, destroy them!

12 Yet God is my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You broke open springs and torrents;
You dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled,
And a foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the covenant;
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

22 Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries,
The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.”  Psalm chapter 74.

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Today’s Scripture shows us the basis of our hope that God will deliver us and otherwise help us, particularly when it seems to us that the world is getting worse and worse.

There is the reminder that the people who are experiencing the afflictions are God’s people whom He has purchased.

“Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.”  Verse 2.

There is the reminder that God loves us.  In the following verse, we notice the use of the tender intimate nickname of “turtledove” for His beloved.

“Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.”  Verse 19.

There is the reminder that it is God’s covenant through which He takes care of His people.

“Consider the covenant;
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.”  Verse 20.

There is the reminder that it is God’s name and God’s cause at stake.

“They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.”  Verse 7.

“Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long.”  Verse 22.

Other doctrine depends on its own goodness and its own cuteness in praying to God to deliver and otherwise help it.

But, Reformed Doctrine knows that there is no goodness and no cuteness in the natural condition of man (which it labels as “Total Depravity”) and that it can only hope and depend on God’s cause, God’s name, God’s covenant, God’s love, and God’s choice of His people whom He purchased for redemption.  

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 72.

“Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness
And Your afflicted with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.

5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

8 May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11 And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless him all day long.

16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.
17 May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wonders.
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”  Psalm chapter 72.

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Although superficially this chapter appears to be a prayer of David for his son Solomon, we should meditate on the deeper and more important meaning of its description of the reign of Jesus Christ.  Christ has these qualities and done these works.

The reign of Christ is sovereign over all the earth.  Verses 8-11.

The reign of Christ brings forth justice and righteousness.  Verses 1-4.

The reign of Christ brings forth lovingkindness.  Verses 12-16.

And, we call Christ blessed.  Verses 17-19.

Other doctrine focuses on man and man’s work.

But, Reformed Doctrine focuses on God and God’s work.

Here is what the Westminster Larger Catechism states:

Q. 45.  How doth Christ execute the office of a king?

A.  Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them;  in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory, and their good;  and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.

“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wonders.”  Verse 18.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 71.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+71&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“⁵ For You are my hope;
O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.
⁶ By You I have been sustained from my birth;
You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;
My praise is continually of You.