Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

⁴ One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
⁶ And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
¹² Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.”  Psalm chapter 27.

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I will summarize the four phases of thought in today’s Scripture;  there are cross-overs, but these are the four predominant themes of these verses:

1.  Confident boasting in the LORD.  Verses 1-3. 

2.  Quiet meditation.  Verses 4-6.

3.  Humble pleading.  Verses 7-13.

4.  Waiting on the LORD.  Verse 14.

We too go through similar phases in our life.  At times, we are strong and boast in the LORD:  “The Lord is my light and my salvation;  Whom shall I fear?”

 At other times, we more quietly meditate to learn more about the LORD:  “To behold the beauty of the Lord”.

When we go through trials and tribulations, we humbly cry out to the LORD:  “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.”

But, there is both a conclusion and a summary of our lives in that we live by faith, we wait for the LORD:  “Wait for the Lord;  Be strong and let your heart take courage;  Yes, wait for the Lord.”

Other doctrine focuses on itself and just does it.

But, Reformed Doctrine focuses on the LORD and waits for the LORD, trusting in His goodness, His faithfulness, and His works:  His “Unconditional Election”, His “Limited Atonement”, His “Irresistible Grace”, and His “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
⁸ Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory.  Selah.”  Psalm chapter 24.  

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Let us be “the generation of those who seek Him”.  Verse 6.

Let us lift up our heads and properly honor “the King of glory”.  Verses 7-10.

The following Scriptures give us some insight into the LORD’s glory.  The LORD does not give His glory to others, not to idols and not to man.  Part of the LORD’s glory comes from His victorious power over His enemies.  

“⁸ “I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.
⁹ “Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

Which doctrine is more consistent with such descriptions of the LORD as “the King of glory” Who goes forth like a warrior completely victorious over His enemies?

Other doctrine which portrays the LORD as “the man upstairs” or as some Santa Claus at the beck and call of man and Who bows down to the alleged free-will of man?

Or, Reformed Doctrine which shows the Almighty, the all Sovereign LORD of Scripture Who establishes His purpose and accomplishes all of His good pleasure?

“9 “Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken;  truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.”   Isaiah 46:9-11.   

“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.

“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.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”   Psalm chapter 23.

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Other doctrine teaches that God loves us and shows us lovingkindness, because we first love God and somehow earn His lovingkindness.

But, Reformed Doctrine teaches that God loves us and shows us lovingkindness, because He chose us to be recipients of His love and lovingkindness.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  1 John 4:10.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”  Romans 5:8-10.

Other doctrine makes us doubt the magnificent promise in verse 6 of today’s Scripture that goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all our days, because it teaches us that we must somehow earn and keep God’s lovingkindness through our works, wisdom, or alleged free-will choice of Him.  

But, Reformed Doctrine makes us believe this magnificent promise that goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all our days, because it teaches us that God’s lovingkindness is not dependent on anything that we contribute, but rather God’s lovingkindness is dependent on God’s “Unconditional Election”, the “U” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“… I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”  Jeremiah 31:3.

“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  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.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7.

“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.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
A reproach of men and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
⁸ “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

⁹ Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ Upon You I was cast from birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
¹² Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
¹³ They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
¹⁸ They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹ But You, O Lord, be not far off;
O You my help, hasten to my assistance.
²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword,
My only life from the power of the dog.
²¹ Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.

²² I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

²³ You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
²⁴ For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.

²⁵ From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
²⁶ The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
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.
²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
³¹ They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.”    Psalm chapter 22.

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In today’s Scripture which is one of the most well-known Messianic Psalms, we are reminded of our weakness and our need for a Savior.  We are reminded of our Savior Jesus Christ’s suffering in His sacrifice for us.  We are reminded that God performed our salvation.

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man;  though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”  Romans 5:6-9. 

“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.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:1-8.

Other doctrine relies on man being strong to do sufficient works and have sufficient wisdom and sufficient will in order to be saved.

But, Reformed Doctrine recognizes that not only man is weak, man is dead in sin incapable of doing sufficient works, sufficient wisdom, or sufficient will in order to be saved.  In fact, we are not even close to contributing what is sufficient.  We are not like a drowning person splashing around and waving their desire to be saved.  We are like a corpse at the bottom of the ocean, completely dead.

“¹⁰ as it is written,

⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
⁸ Your hand will find out all your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
⁹ You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger;
The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath,
And fire will devour them.
¹⁰ Their offspring You will destroy from the earth,
And their descendants from among the sons of men.
¹¹ Though they intended evil against You
And devised a plot,
They will not succeed.
¹² For You will make them turn their back;
You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.
¹³ Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
We will sing and praise Your power.”    Psalm chapter 21.

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Other doctrine is focused on itself, continually anxious, because it depends on itself to contribute sufficient works, wisdom, or will to earn salvation. 

But, Reformed Doctrine is focused on the LORD and His strength, continually joyful and peaceful, because it trusts the LORD to provide all that it needs for salvation.

Other doctrine does not enjoy the good things, continually anxious, because it depends on itself to get and keep them.

But, Reformed Doctrine does enjoy the good things, continually joyful and peaceful, because it trusts the LORD that they are gifts and blessings flowing from the grace of the LORD.

Other doctrine anxiously looks at events that threaten and trouble and then anxiously considers what it should do.  

But, Reformed Doctrine remains focused on the LORD and joyfully and peacefully trusts Him for what He promised in His word that He has done and will do for His elect.   

⁴ May He grant you your heart’s desire
And fulfill all your counsel!
⁵ We will sing for joy over your victory,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
⁷ Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.
⁸ They have bowed down and fallen,
But we have risen and stood upright.
⁹ Save, O Lord;
May the King answer us in the day we call.”  Psalm chapter 20.

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“Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.”  Verse 7.

Some doctrine boasts in its works.

Some doctrine boasts in its wisdom.

Some doctrine boasts in its alleged free-will and choices.

But, Reformed Doctrine, recognizing its “Total Depravity” (that it is dead in sin), boasts in the name of the LORD, its God. 

Reformed Doctrine boasts in what the LORD has done 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.

We may not do the right works.

We may not know the right thing to do through our wisdom.

We may not even want to do the right thing through our alleged free-will.

But, we trust the LORD to do the right works.

We trust the LORD to have the perfect wisdom to know the right thing to do.

We trust the LORD to have the perfect will to want to do the right thing.

 “Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed …”.  Verse 6. 

“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 1:30-31.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true;  they are righteous altogether.
¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
¹² Who can discern his errors?  Acquit me of hidden faults.
¹³ Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”  Psalm chapter 19.

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We can most easily see God’s glory and the works of His hands in His awesome creation.  Verses 1-6.

And, we can also see God’s glory and the works of His hands in His word that is perfect, restoring the soul.  Verses 7-11.

But, if we notice most carefully, then we will also see God’s glory and the works of His hands in His work behind the scenes to keep us away from small hidden faults as well as big bold sins, causing us to be blameless.  Verses 12-13.

Other doctrine does not lift its head to notice God’s glory and the works of His hands, being content to look inside man.  

But, Reformed Doctrine looks up to notice God’s glory and the works of His hands in His creation, His word, and His sovereign power which causes all things to work together for good to His elect.   

“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.