–Emerson Hough  (54-40 or Fight!)

       “Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

                    –1 Kings 18:37 (NKJV)
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       Barton Bouchier, the 19th-century theological writer, said, “There are many precious texts of Scripture that we will carry to heaven with us and will form the theme of our song.  But if there is one text that must break forth from every redeemed one as he enters heaven, it is the first verse of this psalm.”  The Psalm is 115.

          1 — Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.
          2 — Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?”
          3 — But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
          4 — Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
          5 — They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see;
          6 — They have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell;
          7 — They have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat.
          8 — Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.  (NKJV)

       Psalm 115, is a testimony to the world’s ignorance of God. (Lawson)  The answer is clear; it is the Lord alone who is God.  The Bible from the very beginning does not try to prove God; it simply states, “In the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1)  God is, and that settles it.   There is only one God, the true God–He is the God revealed in creation, history and the Bible, and He is sovereign over all.
       In these verses we see a contrast of the one, true God and those devised by the imaginations of man.  It is almost comical what man throughout history has tried to devise as God.  It continues on today, perhaps not as many silver and gold idols, but the main idol today is man himself.  Verse 8 sums that up, the people who devise gods are like them.  They cannot answer the world’s problems, they have no answer to their own problems.  Neither did the gods of the day in which this psalm was written.
       What is your answer when things do not seem to be going your way?  When God does not seem to be answering your prayers and He is allowing you to suffer?  This is what was happening to Israel, others were mocking God.  The answer is clear if we take time to look for it.  Steven Lawson writes, “Life does not revolve around man but around God.”  Fact–Amen, so be it.  We get ourselves in a dilemma when we begin to think or imagine that life should revolve around us.  “The Psalmist turns the argument of his enemies against them saying, in effect, ‘So you want me to serve visible gods?  Well, why don’t you take a closer look?  My God, who is unseen, is alive.  Your gods, which you can see, are dead!'” (George O. Wood)
       Verse 3 shows the definite attribute of the sovereignty of God.  People who are ignorant of Him, or who do not believe in Him abhor this attribute as do even some Christians.  God does whatever He pleases.  He does what He wants with what is His.  His sovereignty is unequaled, unrivaled, and unopposed.  “No so-called god or idol-worshipping nation can oppose Him.” (Lawson)  Whatever man makes, idols whether by his hands or in his mind, is powerless when compared to God.  I recall the challenge of Elijah to the prophets of Baal.  Who is God?  Those gods had no power to act–and as the foolish gods today made by man they are utterly worthless.  Their senses are useless, they cannot even reach out to do anything.  Oh, man, the self-proclaimed god, tries, but in the end he fails.  Those that worship these false gods are just like them–dead.

               “Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted;
               Not I, but Christ be seen, be known, be heard;
               Not I, but Christ, in every look and action;
               Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word.”
                         –A.B. Simpson

                    –John Deacon  (Final Justice)

      “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?”

                    –Psalm 118:6 (NKJV)
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I thought of this grand old hymn when I wrote yesterday’s Echo.  It is one of my favorites and it goes right along with the thoughts of yesterday.  The composer is unknown and the first known publishing of the hymn was in 1895.  In thinking of the first verse, I remember the incident in my life from which I became terribly afraid of lightning and thunderstorms.  When those storms would come it seemed as if they were going to shake the house apart.  Then I thought of the storms–the lightning bolts and rattling of the devil trying, note that, trying to conquer my soul.  When I came to realize that the Lord was with me in every storm and tempest in life, I no longer feared the lightning and thunder, but instead rather relished the power of God being displayed.

          I’ve seen the lightning flashing, And heard the thunder roll;
          I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, Trying to conquer my soul;
          I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, Telling me still to fight on;
          He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

As we move along this trek of life there are all kinds of obstacles that we must face, go around, or go over.  We weren’t promised an easy way.  In fact, it is because of the obstacles that we grow spiritual muscles.  Not only our spiritual muscles, but trust, faith, and courage grow as well.  Paul reminds us that when we have done all to stand, continue to stand (Ephesians 6:13).  There was a great book out several years back titled, The Winds of War.  That makes a great analogy for the life of the believer.  The winds of adversity come; the temptations are sharp and jagged.  However!  Let me repeat that, however, Christ our Lord is there standing beside us.  When no one else is around, or when no one else seems to care–He is there!

          The world’s fierce winds are blowing Temptations sharp and keen;
          I feel a peace in knowing My Savior stands between;
          He stands to shield me from danger, When earthly friends are gone;
          He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

The old missionary Charles Greenaway used to say, “we’re going to make it.”  We may not look like much when we cross into the portals of glory.  Scars and wounds may cover the body, fatigue and weariness may have set in, but guess what?  Because of Jesus, we’re going to make it.  Sometimes in the journey of life it is hard to lift one foot to take another step.  The legs are feeble, the arms are tired, the burden is heavy to bear.  Sometimes the briars snatch at our feet, or we get too close to the jumping cholla.  It is then we should hearken to the words of the writer of Hebrews, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet…  I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 12:12-13; 13:5, NKJV)

          When in affliction’s valley I’m treading the road of care,
          My Savior helps me to carry My cross when heavy to bear;
          My feet, entangled with briars Ready to cast me down,
          My Savior whispers His promise, “I never will leave thee alone.”

Oh, the suffering He went through for you and me.  The pain and agony His body and soul felt upon the cross for you and me.  On that cruel tree, He became sin, He felt the presence of His Father leave Him, He was alone, the imps of the pit laughing and mocking Him.  He did that for you and me–to purchase our redemption with His precious blood (1 Peter 1:19)  Now, He is seated on the heavenly throne, waiting for us to come to Him by death, or He will rise to gather us in the air.  Either way He is with us, and while on this journey of life we have the blessed Holy Spirit to guide us, to show us the way to glory.

          He died for me on the mountain, For me they pierced His side;
          For me He opened the fountain, The crimson, cleansing tide;
          For me He’s waiting in glory, Seated upon His throne;
          He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

                     –Psalm 1:3 (Amplified)
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                 “And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham.  He called them by the names which his father had called them…  They dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also…  And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it…”
                         –Genesis 26:18, 21-22 (NKJV)

     “There was a famine in the land,” sound familiar?  Remember the first famine, Abraham went down to Egypt.  This time the Lord appeared to Isaac warning him not to go to Egypt, but to live in the land and that He would be with Isaac.  Isaac thus dwells in Gerar, the land of the Philistines of whom Abimelech is the king.  Now, when I read verse 7, I shake my head in wonder.  The men in the region were asking about Rebekah, so what does the “man” Isaac do?  “‘She is my sister’; for he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife,’ because he thought, ‘lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah because she is beautiful to behold.'” (26:7)
      Abimelech became quite concerned and confronted Isaac.  He recognized that Isaac’s actions could have led to one of the men taking Rebekah.  Abimelech, and I think it was in rebuke, said, “you would have brought guilt on us.” (26:10).  Then Abimelech warned his people, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” (26:11)  Was Isaac just a pretender, or was he a wuss, or just plain fearful?  Whichever, Abimelech does not throw him out of the country.  The Lord blessed him, and “The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.” (26:13).  In fact, so prosperous that the Philistines envied him and Abimelech finally told him to leave the land.
      There was a problem, however, with the growth of his herds–the lack of water.  For some reason the Philistines stopped up all the wells that Abraham had previously dug.  Isaac had his men begin to dig and they uncovered water.  The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s men, so instead of fighting, Isaac had his men dig another well.  The same happened again.  Isaac moved and again began to dig for water, and again found it and this time the Philistines did not challenge him.  Isaac “names it Rehoboth, because he said, ‘For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” (26:22)
      Would it have been worth the fight?  Was Isaac timid, or meek?  Was he fearful or wise?  The Philistines had been envious of Abraham, hence the wells were stopped up.  Now Isaac, being blessed by the Lord opened them and finds water.  Envy, fear, anxiety, all come to rest upon the Philistines.  Isaac shrugs his shoulders, and moves to dig another well.  See, this was faith, he knew that it was the Lord blessing him, and he remembered that he was the child of promise.  Isaac simply picked up, no fuss, not bother–a man of peace, he moves.  
       The Lord spoke to Isaac, perhaps not in the same manner as Abraham, but we do see that Isaac and God spoke with each other.  And, importantly, Isaac listened.  Isaac, the well-digger, rebuilt and restored the wells of Abraham, but after the Lord met with him, he built his own altar.  When he built the altar at Beersheba, he called upon the name of the Lord.  Abimelech was fearful of the prosperity and power of Isaac, but moreso, he was concerned because he recognized the hand of God upon Isaac.  He went to Isaac and made a pact with him.  The same day that Isaac was sent away in peace, his men came to him with the news that they had dug another well that was full of water.
      There are many lessons we can gain from this portion of Scripture, but I want to point out two.  The first is the water.  Water, especially in the desert, is more valuable than gold.  Without water there can be no life.  Water is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit.  It denotes blessing, refreshing, growth, and thus–life.  It is up to us to seek after this “water” to “work out our own salvation.”  The Holy Spirit is there waiting and wanting us to seek Him in all His fullness.  The second lesson, I see that goes along with Isaac’s meekness is that of persistence.  He continued to dig the wells.  He continued to pursue that life-giving source of water (i.e., the Holy Spirit)  When the enemy came to bring strife and quarreling, Isaac refused to get involved with the scrabble, but instead followed the guidance of God and persisted in digging another well.  He persisted in trying to find that life-giving “water.”