Psalm 141:1-8, Genesis 18:23-32, Ephesians 4:17-32, Matthew 9:1-8.
A). TRUST IN THE MIDST OF TRIAL.
Psalm 141:1-8.
This is a confident cry for help in the midst of tribulations. It is addressed initially to “YHWH,” our covenant Lord (PSALM 141:1). Then later the Psalmist addresses “YHWH Adonai” - emphasising both our personal relationship with Him, and His sovereignty over us (PSALM 141:8a).
David lays out His prayer before the LORD as “incense” (PSALM 141:2a). Cf. Revelation 5:8 - ‘golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints.’
The Psalmist desires that the “lifting up” of his hands in prayer should be as valid as the evening sacrifice, and should thus be acceptable with God (PSALM 141:2b).
David was aware that even praying people need the LORD to guard them against sins in thought, word or deed; and against the dangers of keeping bad company (PSALM 141:3-4).
The Psalmist would rather be reproved by the righteous than feast with the wicked. And he would accept that reproof with humility, remembering to pray for his brethren when they too face calamities (PSALM 141:5).
PSALM 141:6 may refer to the fall of Saul and the eventual advancement of David.
David remained painfully aware that he was not the only believer who would ever suffer. Perhaps he also prophesied of calamities that would yet come upon Israel - and the church - when he said: “Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one (ploughs and breaks up) the earth” (PSALM 141:7).
The Psalmist fixes his “trust” in “GOD the Lord” and prays, “leave not my soul desolate” (PSALM 141:8).
APPLICATION.
Let us look unto Jesus as ‘the author and finisher of our faith’ (cf. Hebrew 12:2). He has promised, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (cf. Hebrews 13:5). We can be assured that when we put our trust in Him, He will never leave our soul desolate.
B). A BOLD PRAYER.
Genesis 18:23-32.
The conversation between the LORD and Abraham suggests a relationship. God shares His Word with His covenant children, and prompts us to respond. If we are made privy to the purposes of the LORD then we may, without presumptuousness, speak our mind about those things which we do not understand.
“Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” asked Abraham. “If there are fifty righteous” will you spare the place for the sake of the fifty? “Far be that from you” to slay the righteous with the wicked: “shall not the Judge of all the earth do that which is right?” (GENESIS 18:23-25).
We can shape our prayers in accordance with what we know about the character of God. Yes, replied the LORD, “if I find fifty righteous there, I will spare all the place for their sakes” (GENESIS 18:26).
Abraham had taken upon him to “speak unto the LORD” in such a way, but never lost sight of the fact that he was but “dust and ashes.” Yet he pressed on with boldness: “What if the fifty lacks five?” (GENESIS 18:27-28a).
“If I find forty-five righteous there, I will not destroy it” (GENESIS 18:28b). The numbers continued to come down. “I will not do it for forty’s sake” (GENESIS 18:29).
“Oh let not the LORD be angry.” Thirty? “I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD.” Twenty? (GENESIS 18:30-31).
“Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once.” Ten? (GENESIS 18:32a).
“I will not destroy it for ten’s sake” (GENESIS 18:32b).
This seemed to conclude the conversation. God seemed determined to destroy Sodom, and would not be deterred. Yet the prayer was not unanswered, God did not “destroy the righteous with the wicked.” For ‘righteous Lot,’ Abraham’s nephew, who had been ‘vexing his righteous soul with their unlawful deeds’ was ‘delivered’ (cf. 2 Peter 2:7-8), along with two daughters. Why? ‘Because the LORD remembered Abraham’ (cf. Genesis 19:29).
Abraham is to be admired for his broad vision. He knew that God ‘is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’ (cf. 2 Peter 3:9). Where there is life, there is still opportunity: but nevertheless, if people use their ‘free will’ to go on defying God, then the consequences are grave.
As we continue our mission of prayer before Him, we are thankful that we have access to the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ. May the desires of our hearts be conformed to His will, that we may approach Him with holy boldness (cf. Hebrews 4:16) and gracious submission. To His name be the glory. Amen.
C). THE OLD LIFE AND THE NEW.
Ephesians 4:17-32.
Having argued the case for keeping the unity of the body of Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:1-16), Paul now moves on to insist upon the maintenance of true holiness.
EPHESIANS 4:17. The “therefore” connects with the ‘therefore’ in Ephesians 4:1. Paul is carefully and deliberately unfolding the application of the wonderful teaching found in the first three chapters of this Epistle. Paul’s testimony here is “in the Lord” – meaning ‘in the Lord’s name.’
The Apostle to the Gentiles insists that believers should not “walk” as other Gentiles walk: “in the vanity of their mind.” There needs to be a line of demarcation between what we once were, and what we now are.
EPHESIANS 4:18. The unbelievers' “understanding” is “darkened.” This is on account of their “being alienated from the life of God” due to the “ignorance that is in them.” This all arises from the “hardness” of their hearts.
So, hardness of heart leads to spiritual blindness, moral ignorance - and to alienation from God.
EPHESIANS 4:19. “Having cast off all feeling,” they gave themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to work all kinds of uncleanness (cf. Romans 1:24-26a).
EPHESIANS 4:20. “BUT ye have not thus LEARNED Christ!”
“CHRIST” is THE line of demarcation between what we once were and what we now are. Not just that we learned ABOUT Christ, but that we “learned Christ” – implying a personal relationship with Him.
EPHESIANS 4:21. “If indeed ye HEARD Him.” Not just that we heard the preachers and teachers and other witnesses, but that we heard HIM through them (cf. Hebrews 1:1-2). And hearing Him, that we received His words, and applied them to our hearts:
“And have been TAUGHT by Him according as the truth is in Jesus.” The man Christ Jesus is the very embodiment of truth (cf. John 14:6)!
The following is what we LEARNED, HEARD, and were TAUGHT when we first entered the school of Christ:
EPHESIANS 4:22-24. That we “put off the old man” (EPHESIANS 4:22), and “put on the new man” (EPHESIANS 4:24). This is a description of our conversion, our new birth (cf. John 3:5). We are saved FROM “corruption” and “deceitful lusts” (EPHESIANS 4:22), and we are saved UNTO “righteousness and true holiness” (EPHESIANS 4:24).
The Christian mind, I submit, must constantly be being “renewed” (EPHESIANS 4:23; cf. Romans 12:2).
This being “renewed” is otherwise called ‘mortification of the flesh’ (cf. Colossians 3:5). And it is an ongoing work, based upon the same premise: that we "have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him’ (cf. Colossians 3:9-10).
We could not do this without the work of the Holy Spirit, already at work within us. It is the outworking of what God has put on the inside (cf. Philippians 2:12-13).
One of the practical reasons given for “putting away the lie” (as the Greek of EPHESIANS 4:25 reads) is that “we are members of one another.” Quoting Zechariah 8:16, Paul exhorts every one of us to speak the truth with our neighbour. Paganism is a lie (cf. Romans 1:25), but ‘the truth is in Jesus’ (cf. EPHESIANS 4:20-21; John 14:6). So, we are to be ‘in truth walking’ (cf. 3 John 1:4).
“Be angry” (EPHESIANS 4:26) is an imperative but the verb is passive, not active. So, whilst anger is allowed, we are warned not to allow it to get out of hand: “sin not.” There is such a thing as righteous anger – after all, we are told that even Jesus was “angry” at hardness of heart (cf. Mark 3:5). However, we are warned not to let our anger fester: “let not the sun go down upon your anger.”
There is a fine line between anger and sin, so Paul warns us, “Neither give place to the devil” (EPHESIANS 4:27). If we allow anger to eat away at us, and fail to bring our anger under control, then we can be sure that the devil is hanging around us to disrupt the peace and to provoke us into excessive reactions.
Elsewhere the Apostle advises us to ‘give place to the wrath’ (cf. Romans 12:19) for it has been written, ‘To Me vengeance! I will recompense, says the LORD’ (cf. Deuteronomy 32:35). “The wrath” to which we must give place is ‘the wrath of God’ (cf. Romans 1:18).
Paul draws out the positive side of the eighth commandment, ‘Thou shalt not steal’ (cf. Exodus 20:15). We are to work for our living in order that we might have the wherewithal to give to those in need (EPHESIANS 4:28). Paul was all too aware of church people elsewhere who were ‘working not at all’ (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11).
The Apostle next warns us against corrupt, rotten, speech (EPHESIANS 4:29). Our conversation is rather to be for building up and edification, ministering grace to others (cf. Proverbs 12:18).
The Holy Spirit is “grieved” (EPHESIANS 4:30) when He sees those for whom Christ died ‘giving place to the devil’ (cf. EPHESIANS 4:27). The “Holy Spirit” is a Person, not just an influence. He is grieved by disunity in the church, and by unholiness on the part of believers. This Grief does not speak so much of anger as of a disappointment based in love. ‘Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation’ (cf. Hebrews 6:9).
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit ‘turned to be the enemy’ of rebellious Israel (cf. Isaiah 63:10). But that is not going to happen to those who are “sealed (by the Holy Spirit) unto the day of redemption.” On the contrary, ‘there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit’ (cf. Romans 8:1).
Paul enumerates six more things to “put away” from us (EPHESIANS 4:31).
“Bitterness” speaks of a sour, unforgiving spirit. “Wrath” represents a passionate outburst of rage, whilst “anger” is less explosive and more seething. “Clamour” is a public outcry, raising our voices and shouting. “Evil speaking” is, literally, ‘blaspheming’ (Greek) – and how easily a shouting match does break down into cursing and swearing. “Malice” is literally ‘bad’ (Greek) – thinking and even plotting evil against our opponent.
All these, the Apostle teaches, we are to put it far from us! Failure to do so is to ‘give place to the devil’ (cf. EPHESIANS 4:27) and to ‘grieve’ the Holy Spirit of God (cf. EPHESIANS 4:30).
Instead of these things, we should be “kind” to one another, “tender-heartedly” and affectionately reaching out to one another in compassion. We must never forget that we are a forgiven people, and therefore we must be “forgiving” towards others (EPHESIANS 4:32).
D). FAITH, FORGIVENESS AND HEALING.
Matthew 9:1-8.
The place referred to as “His own city” (Matthew 9:1) appears to be Capernaum (cf. Mark 2:1). This is all the more tragic because of the ‘woe’ which Jesus would later pronounce against that city (Matthew 11:23-24). It would be a tragedy to have had Jesus dwelling in our midst, and to have failed to recognise Him as the Lord that He is!
Matthew gives a briefer account of the healing of the paralysed man, but we know that the “faith” that Jesus observed (Matthew 9:2) was on the part of four men who dug through the roof of the house where Jesus was, and lowered the paralysed man, on his bed, down to Jesus’ feet (cf. Mark 2:3-4). The personal faith of the patient also became evident as events unfolded.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralysed man, "Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you" (Matthew 9:2). This was possibly not what they expected, but this paralysed man had a much greater need than that he should be healed of his physical ailment. Like all of us, he was a sinner in need of forgiveness - and Jesus chose to address that first.
Jesus is not necessarily here suggesting that the man’s specific illness arose from his own specific sins, although that is a possibility. Whilst there are illnesses which can be traced to a specific sin on the part of the sufferer, such as the various illnesses which arise out of an immoral lifestyle, Jesus elsewhere cautions us against judging people in this way (John 9:2-3; Luke 13:1-5).
It is a habit of man to seek after God only in an emergency: when we desire something from Him. Whatever our worries or ailments, they are as nothing compared to our real need. All humankind stands guilty before God, and forgiveness can only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ, through the blood of His sacrifice.
Naturally enough, the religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. They thought to themselves, "this Man blasphemes!" (Matthew 9:3). Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” (Matthew 9:4).
God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12-13). Poor blind leaders of the blind: did they not know that Jesus is God? It may be a rhetorical question, but which is easier for Jesus to say: “Your sins are forgiven you” or “Arise and walk” (Matthew 9:5)?
When Jesus met people, He did not merely deal with them at the level of their physical needs: He dealt with them as whole people needing holistic healing. The satisfying of the physical needs often served to highlight the deeper spiritual need - which is why the apostle John, incidentally, spoke of miracles as ‘signs’ - and Jesus here emphasises that the healing is being used to display His authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6a).
So Jesus changed the instruction to something which, surely, would be less offensive to the religious leaders: “Arise, pick up your bed, and go to your house” (Matthew 9:6b). The hitherto paralysed man got up and walked out in full view of them all (Matthew 9:7). The multitude “marvelled and glorified God, who had given such power to men” (Matthew 9:8).
As we take our leave of this text, let us remember the faith which brought a poor paralysed man, a sufferer like many others, to the feet of Jesus. Let us remember the free gift of forgiveness which he received. Let us encourage one another in the faith, praying for one another that we might find the fullness of life in Him.
