Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 20.

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!
² May He send you help from the sanctuary
And support you from Zion!
³ May He remember all your meal offerings
And find your burnt offering acceptable!  Selah.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 19.

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
² Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
⁶ Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 18:20-36.

“²⁰ The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
²³ I was also blameless with Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
²⁴ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 17.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+17&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Hear a just cause, O Lord, give heed to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with equity.
3 You have tried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have tested me and You find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the paths of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to Your paths.
My feet have not slipped.

6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the wicked who despoil me,
My deadly enemies who surround me.

…

15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.”  Psalm 17:1-9 and 15.

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“Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me in the shadow of Your wings”  Verse 8.

We find similar images as “apple of the eye” and “wings” in Deuteronomy 32:9-14.

“9 “For the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.
10 “He found him in a desert land,
And in the howling waste of a wilderness;
He encircled him, He cared for him,
He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.
11 “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
That hovers over its young,
He spread His wings and caught them,
He carried them on His pinions.
12 “The Lord alone guided him,
And there was no foreign god with him.
13 “He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
And He made him suck honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock,
14 Curds of cows, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the finest of the wheat—
And of the blood of grapes you drank wine.”  Deuteronomy 32:9-14.

From this Deuteronomy Scripture, we learn that the reason why God protects us and otherwise blesses us is that God chose us.  We are “His people,” His “portion”, and “His inheritance”.  Deuteronomy 32:9.

There was nothing attractive about us as taught by “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation, that motivated God to save us.  In the language of this Deuteronomy Scripture, we were lost in “a desert land”.  We were helpless in the “howling waste of a wilderness”.  Deuteronomy 32:9.

But, God “encircled” us.  God “cared” for us.  God “guarded” us “as the pupil of His eye”.  “Like an eagle”, God “spread His wings” over us and “caught” us and “carried” us.  Deuteronomy 32:10-12.

In addition to protecting us, God “wondrously” shows us His lovingkindness.  Verse 7 and Deuteronomy 32:13-14.

And, God will bring us home to heaven where we shall behold His face in righteousness, holy and blameless, and we shall be with Him and be like Him.  Verse 15.

“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.

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 8:28-32.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 15.

“O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
² He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
³ He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴ In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.”   Psalm chapter 15.

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A few days ago, we read:

“For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.”  Psalm 11:7.

So, we can understand today’s Scripture:

“O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
² He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.”  Verses 1-2. 

But, in our last devotion, we read:

“… “There is none righteous, not even one;
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.”  Romans 3:10-11.

How is man’s “Total Depravity” reconciled with God’s love of righteousness?!

But, there is hope!  God has done it!!

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,  yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—”  Colossians 1:21-22.

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;  for there is no distinction;  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;  whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”  Romans 3:21-25. 

“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”  Romans 5:17.

Today’s devotion comes from Psalm chapter 14.

“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Do all the workers of wickedness not know,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great dread,
For God is with the righteous generation.
6 You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,
But the Lord is his refuge.

7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.  Psalm chapter 14.

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“10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
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.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  Romans 3:10-18.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  Ephesians 2:1-3.

Reformed Doctrine summarizes these Scriptures and other similar Scriptures as “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

When we believe “Total Depravity” with our mind, then “Unconditional Election”, the next point of “TULIP” will make logical sense, because we will understand that because we are dead in sin, there is nothing that we can contribute that will obtain or secure our salvation and that our only chance for salvation is “Unconditional Election” by God.

But, when we really believe “Total Depravity” with our heart, then our heart will rejoice about “Unconditional Election”.  We will eagerly preach and teach it.  We will pound the pulpit and shout from the rooftops about these precious truths of the gospel.

I bring out this second point about believing with our heart, because there seems to be too many who belong to Reformed or Presbyterian churches who try so hard to avoid both “Total Depravity” and “Unconditional Election”.  They can’t refute the truth of that doctrine, but they certainly can and do bristle against it and avoid it and minimize it.  They may pay lip service and mention both points in passing, but it is only in passing on the way to the conclusion of their sermon or other teaching or concluding song which emphasizes man’s works, man’s wisdom, or man’s will (choices).  The totality of their words show that they really don’t believe “Total Depravity” or “Unconditional Election”.

But, what does the Heidelberg Catechism state about our comfort and happiness?
 
Q. 2.  How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

A.  Three:  the first, how great my sins and miseries are;  the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries;  the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.  Heidelberg Catechism.

“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 13.

“How long, O Lord?  Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”    Psalm chapter 13.

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“Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”  Psalm 116:7.

“10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”  Psalm 32:10-11.

“8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”  Psalm 52:8-9.

Other doctrine tries to earn God’s lovingkindness whether by works or by will.

Reformed Doctrine trusts and rests in God’s lovingkindness.

Other doctrine anxiously tries to just do it and is thankful for what it thinks that it contributes to obtain and secure its own salvation.

But, Reformed Doctrine rejoices and gives thanks to God forever for His salvation, because He has done it from His “Unconditional Election” to His “Limited Atonement” to His “Irresistible Grace” to His “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.