Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.

Luke 23:42-43 

The Scripture declares, that during the days of His earthly ministry, Christ, ‘went about doing good.’ Even the most cursory perusal of the gospels confirm that this is so. From the turning of water into wine, to the personal encounter with Nicodemus, to the evangelization of the woman at the well, to the raising of Lazareth, to the healing of the man born blind, and a host of other acts the accounts of Christ’s well-doing are myriad. Even to the last hours of His earthly days, He continued to do good. He healed the severed ear of Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He guaranteed the liberty of His disciples. He took care of His mother’s future from the cross. While on that cross, He performed another good work. The dying thief was in the pains of death. He rebuked the other thief for his insult of Christ. He then spoke to Christ the words of our text today, ‘Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ Here was one who, at the last hour, repented and sought Christ. Christ answered graciously. ‘And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’ So, Christ yet receives the last hour repentance and faith of the failing one. You may be such a One as the dying thief. Why should you not be as hopeful as he was? Repent and embrace the Christ Who saves to the last hour. He even now stands ready to forgive and to receive. 

Our Gracious God and Loving Savior, 
we rejoice that You forgive to the very last hour. 
We praise You, that where there is life, 
there is for us yet, the hope of repentance and faith.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know.  

Psalm 40:9  

David understood the gospel. He not only understood it, but he proclaimed it. Of necessity, the good news of righteousness must include the knowledge of Christ’s Person as well as His work. Thus when David says, ‘I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness,’ he is saying he has preached Christ. This is a clear statement of his evangelical knowledge. It means he understood the gospel of free grace, with its’ justification by faith, and imputed righteousness clearly enough to articulate it, ‘in the great assembly.’ This gives us every reason to go to David’s works as well as the rest of the Old Testament to proclaim the gospel, ‘the good news of righteousness.’ This was exactly what Christ did in Luke 24 when, ‘And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.’ Christ took the whole of the Old Testament to proclaim Himself to New Testament believers. All the preaching of Christ in the New Testament arose from the texts of the Old Testament. If Christ and the Apostles used it, we also can use it, as well as the New Testament to proclaim the good news of righteousness. Christ is throughout the whole of the Scriptures and as He said, ‘they are they which testify of me.’ The Bible is the message of redemption and Christ is the central character. He is the One to Whom God, His Father would have us listen. He is the Heart of the good news. 

O God of our salvation, 
we rejoice that You have given us the gospel. 
We praise You that in every age,  
Your people have proclaimed the good news.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart. 

Psalm 40:6-8 

David was a man after God’s own heart. He loved God and sought with all his heart to walk in His ways. He eloquently testified of all God had done for him and made much of Christ. In some of the things he wrote he used strongly evangelical language which appears in the New Testament. Our text is one of those passages. The writer of Hebrews quotes this passage in the tenth chapter. The argument he makes is that Christ having come into the world has done His Father’s will and by His sacrifice has removed the need for the sacrifices of the ancient Jewish system. His conclusion is, ‘By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…’ Thus David, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, utters in summary the work of Christ to accomplish the redemptive will of God. How does this relate to David’s life? It relates in that David, as he wrote these words was not just writing as a prophet, but also as an ardent follower of Christ. He spoke these words as one who was willing to do God’s will himself. How do we learn to do the will of God? We learn by seeing how Christ did it. He is the Grand Template for us. Even thought David preceded the incarnation of Christ by centuries he understood the spirit of Christ to do the will of God, His Father. As David learned from Christ, so we also learn from His example.   

Our Sovereign, Living God, 
we rejoice in Your perfect will. 
We praise You that Christ has performed it, 
and taught us to follow Him. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.  

Psalm 40:5 

How much does God think about me? This is a worthwhile question. It is something upon which David had meditated and articulates in our text. He realized the truth of Jeremiah 29, long before Jeremiah wrote, ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’ God thinks about us, not in an abstract way, but in a positive, intervening way. As David puts it, ‘Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted in order.’ He adds, ‘they are more than can be numbered.’ Thus, God thinks of us quite a lot; more than we can comprehend. The idea that He does not think of us or care about our lives is a lie. It is a lie we may tell ourself or that a bad actor tells us. David was fully aware of the truth regarding God’s thoughts toward us. The most salient evidence of God’s thoughts toward us manifests itself in the Person and Work of Christ. God was thinking thoughts toward us when He chose us in Christ before the world began. The plan of redemption was already in place when He created us. He preceded the fall of humanity with the message of the Gospel already prepared. He has orchestrated all the course of human history with Christ as the apex. He has sent Christ to purchase redemption and the Holy Spirit to apply it. This is a  mere scratching of the surface of all His thoughts toward us.    

Great God of wonders, 
we rejoice that Your thoughts are ever toward us. 
We praise You that all these thoughts 
lead us toward a good end. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, and does not respect the proud,   
nor such as turn aside to lies.  

Psalm 40:4  

We will trust something or someone. In our day it is popular to trust in our own self, our ability to make wise and good judgments, investments, and expenditures whether of time, money, or some other commodity. Inevitably the person who abounds in self-trust finds themself in a situation or multiple situations where they have to act or react honestly or dishonestly. They either speak the truth or resort to lies. In the immediate circumstance the lie is more convenient. Perhaps the truth would make them look bad. Perhaps someone has developed a habit of lying to preserve image or status. Maybe their whole life is a lie. Where does this take that person? Speaking of the eternal state, John says in Revelation 22, ‘Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.’ To love and make a lie is to live without trust in God. It is the Christless life. If we do trust God and because of that, Christ, then these people cannot be the ones we honor, venerate, and imitate. We either follow Christ, and seek to imitate Him, because we trust Him or we imitate those who live lies, and seem to prosper, at least for the moment. David contrasted these two groups of people. He sets before us the way to blessedness and the way to perdition. We live and die by faith that God is worthy of our trust. That is the right way. 

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You are utterly trustworthy. 
We praise You that through Christ You lead us 
in the pathway of truth. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning