July 18, 2022 -- Psalm 50:16-23 -- The Merciful Warning of God

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,
    and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
    and you keep company with adulterers.

19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
    you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who orders his way rightly
    I will show the salvation of God!”
Psalm 50:16-23 ESV

Can God the Judge of all the earth be more direct in His accusing?! The words at verse 22 are particularly chilling to the soul—the Almighty One of Heaven and Earth is prepared to tear apart all those who forget Him. Why does He declare this? So that the slanderer and the liar, the wicked and undisciplined, will hear and turn from their wicked ways. The words of warning are in fact mercy-filled so that now is the day of salvation. Now is the day to hear the words of God and turn to Jesus, abandoning sinful ways and as one prayerfully seeks the power of the Spirit he will be made more and more like Jesus.

LORD JESUS,
I sin –  Grant that I may
never cease grieving because of it,
never be content with myself,
never think I can reach a point of perfection.
Kill my envy, command my tongue,
trample down self.
Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure,
peaceable,
to live for thee and not for self,
to copy thy words, acts, spirit,
to be transformed into thy likeness,
to be consecrated wholly to thee,
to live entirely to thy glory.
Deliver me from attachment to things unclean,
from wrong associations,
from the predominance of evil passions,
from the sugar of sin as well as its gall,
that with self-loathing, deep contrition,
earnest heart searching I may come to thee,
cast myself on thee,
trust in thee, cry to thee,
be delivered by thee.
O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that
all things are shadows, but thou art substance,
all things are quicksands, but thou art mountain,
all things are shifting, but thou art anchor,
all things are ignorance, but thou art wisdom.
If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat,
so be it,
but do thou sit at the furnace mouth
to watch the ore that nothing be lost.
If I sin wilfully, grievously, tormentedly,
in grace take away my mourning and give me music;
remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty;
still my sighs and fill my mouth with song,
then give me summer weather as a Christian.
"PURIFICATION" The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Carlisle: PA. The Banner of Truth Trust, 2020, page 146.

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