The God Who Frustrates the Wicked

…But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

Psalm 146:9

We return to the passage upon which we were dwelling quite some time ago. Our text today touches upon how Christ deals with those who have set themselves against Him. Our text declares, ‘But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.’ Other translations put it somewhat more clearly. They say, ‘but he keeps wicked people from reaching their goal.’ Another one says, ‘but the way of the wicked doth he subvert.’ What can we conclude from this? We often, while we observe the prosperity of the wicked, feel that they succeed at all that they attempt. We feel that they never fail or are unable to accomplish their wicked purposes. The Psalmist, in Psalm 73, wrestled with this. Perhaps you may want to take time today, to read that Psalm.  He finally reaches the conclusion, ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.’ This is exactly the conclusion of our text. Put in Christological terms, Christ will bring judgment and justice against the wicked at the last. He will not fail to defeat all of His enemies, and all of ours. He is ‘the Judge of all the earth,’ and He will ‘do right.’ If you are beleaguered and beset today by your enemies, Child of God, ask God to enable you to see things from His Perspective. Beseech Him to show you the All-Conquering Christ. May He bestow upon you the discernment to see that, ‘the way of the wicked He turns upside down.’

O, Gracious, All-Conquering Christ,
we praise You that You will defeat all of Your enemies, and all of ours;
that every evil design will come to nothing,
and that You will get the glory over all.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

 

 

Opening the Eyes of the Blind

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind….

Psalm 146:8

We come to consider another one of the marvelous texts in the 146th Psalm which celebrate the wonderful working of Christ. It is practically impossible to ignore the Christological implications of this list which the Psalm sets forth. Today, we come to consider these words, ‘The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.’ As we turn our attention to the life and ministry of Christ, we behold abundant examples of this, both in physical and spiritual ways. We see that Christ opened the eyes of blind Bartimaeus, of the man who had been born blind, and of the man, from the Gospel of Mark, whom Christ healed in two stages. In addition to these physical examples we see others who Christ liberated from spiritual blindness. Nicodemus, the woman at the well, Zaccheus and a host of others all received spiritual sight by their encounters with Christ. So we find it true for ourselves. We are, by nature, birth, and heritage, blind to all things truly spiritual. We cannot in any wise help our own spiritual blindness. Christ alone can ‘open the eyes of the blind.’ He does so by His Holy Spirit regenerating us, and by granting unto us the ability to see what we could not see by any other means. He enables us to see His truth. He shines the Sunlight of His Revelation upon us. If we have any spiritual understanding whatsoever, it is due to Christ Alone. ‘Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found; was blind, but now I see.’

Our most Gracious and Wonder-working God,
we praise You that You have opened our eyes thus far.
We rejoice that we may see You, the only Wise God,
in the face of Jesus Christ.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning.

Who Keeps Truth Forever

Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever,

Psalm 146:6

God is Truth personified. He who would seek truth must seek God. Because of who and what we are, as fallen, depraved creatures, our perceptions, are invariably skewed. We think we see things quite clearly, only to discover, much later on, that we were wrong entirely. God and God alone can enable us to see things rightly, and to separate truth from error. Our text today declares, of God, ‘Who keeps truth forever.’ Let us bring this as quickly as possible to the Person of Christ. Christ said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Christ is the Living Embodiment of Truth. If we would know Truth, then we must know Christ. We are then inextricably connected to that Truth which God ‘keeps forever.’ It is only by knowing Christ that we understand our origins, for ‘all things were made by Him.’ It is only by knowing Christ that we understand how to behave, for, ‘You will show me the path of life.’ It is only by knowing Christ that we can understand where things are going, and what will be their conclusion, for Christ has said, ‘I will come again,’ with all that that entails. God, ‘keeps truth forever.’ He is the Great Repository of Truth and Christ is all there is to see of Him. If we would have a right view of God, of ourselves, of others of life, of death, and of eternity, we must know Christ, the Embodiment of Truth which God, ‘keeps forever.’

Our most Gracious and Loving Savior,
we rejoice that You are Truth Personified.
We praise You that You impart truth to us,
and that in Your Light we see light.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Freedom to the Prisoners

…The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

Psalm 146:7

The human condition is a desperate one. Whereas erstwhile saviors cry up the human ability to raise itself up by its own bootstraps, the fact is that it shows itself again and again to be utterly incapable of resolving the real problems which are endemic to humanity. God alone has the Power, Wisdom and Grace to effect real change. Psalm 146 lists a number of circumstances which describe the plight of humanity. It also points us to God and what He does to address those conditions. Our text for today declares, ‘The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.’ We find abundant illustrations of this in the Life and Ministry of Christ. Behold, the prisoners whom He set at liberty. The young couple at the marriage feast of Cana were prisoners to their poverty. Christ turned water into wine, and thus liberated them. The woman at the well was a prisoner of her passions and her prejudices. Christ spoke with her, revealed Himself to her as the Messiah, and liberated her from the chains of her past. Christ liberated the Maniac of Gadara from the bondage of his demonic tormentors. He liberated the son of the widow of Nain, Jairus’ daughter, and Lazarus from being prisoners of death. We could multiply illustration after illustration to further prove what is already plain. Christ gives freedom to those who are in bondage to all sorts of imprisoning things. Today, let us take opportunity to magnify this Liberating Christ. ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.’

O, Christ, our Shield and our Defender,
You set us free from all that does enslave us.
Because of all the things You do,
we are now a free people and shall never again be enslaved.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning