–Louis L’Amour  (The First Fast Draw)

       “And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.”

                    –Luke 8:24 (NKJV)
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Let me start off with an encouraging word from Steven Lawson, “Even in the midst of their darkest hours, believers always have a steadfast hope in God.”   We have a hope that is unshakable and unassailable.  “No matter how black the night, no matter how raging the storm, one’s hope in the Lord should remain strong.” (Lawson)   As we look into Psalm 102, keep that in mind.  This psalm is one of an afflicted man–woe is me.  He is in distress because of his affliction; he is faint and weary because of his trials.

          1 — Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come to You.
          2 — Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily.
          3 — For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned like a hearth.
          4 — My heart is stricken and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread.
          5 — Because of the sound of my groaning my bones cling to my skin.
          6 — I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.
          7 — I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
          8 — My enemies reproach me all day long; those who deride me swear an oath against me.
          9 — For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
        10 — Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; for You have lifted me up and cast me away.
        11 — My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass.  (NKJV)

       Where are you God?  A question along with an exclamation.  I hurt, I fear, I’m in trouble, I’m in despair–where are you God?  George Wood writes, “When you are in emotional pain, there’s no ‘kairos’ [seasonal time]–your life is so burdened that each second seems as an hour, each minute a day, each day a month, and each month a year.  That’s why the Psalmist asks God to do something quickly–‘chronos’ [time that is the endless ticking of the clock] time is a terrible burden and tedium.”
       Read carefully verses 3-11.  Has that ever described your situation?  Perhaps that is the situation that you currently find yourself in.  There is a heavy physical and emotional toll upon the body.  “How awful to be in such desolation of soul and brokenness in spirit!” (Wood)  The writer of this Psalm was alone.  There was no help, no one to cry to, except the Lord and it seems that God has forsaken him as well.  What a terrible place to be.  It seems that weeping became his daily diet.  His life is passing and there does not seem to be any relief in sight.  “Gloom, despair, agony on me…”
       I know of people and have read of others that when great calamity has come that they shut down and shut God out.  This is seen especially when death takes away a loved one.  Anger comes out, they become bitter, and some even utter an oath against God.  They turn their backs on God, when they should be doing what this Psalmist is doing.  Despite his situation, despite seeming as if God has left him, he continues to cry out to Him.  Don’t lose hope in your time of need.  Don’t lose faith in the One who is there waiting for you to turn to Him.

               “We would leave, O God, to Thee
               Every anxious care and fear;
               Thou the troubled thought can see,
               Thou canst dry the bitter tear.”
                       –B. L. Gaskell

                    –Hebrews 9:14 (NIV)
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I want to continue with some thoughts regarding yesterday’s devotion on righteousness.  To start, we need some background information.  We’ll start with the Tabernacle.  Inside the walls was the brazen altar.  It was a messy, gruesome, bloody place where the priests continually made sacrifices for the people.  It shows us that to enter God’s presence we must come first to the place of sacrifice.
       Between the altar and the Tent of Meeting was the laver.  Think of this, the priests were making sacrifices but before they could enter the Tent of Meeting they had to stop at the altar and wash their hands and feet.  They had already gone through purification rights before making the sacrifice, but now they had to stop and wash their hands and feet again.  They had become stained with blood, dust, dirt, and therefore the priest had to cleanse himself.
       Now to the New Testament and on to the upper room.  We see Jesus, stooped over, a rag in hand and He is washing the disciples’ feet.  He comes to Peter, where Peter asks, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” (John 13:6, NKJV)  Jesus tries to explain, but impetuous Peter continues, “‘You shall never wash my feet!’  Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.'” (13:8, NKJV)  
       Peter still did not understand, but he wanted the Lord.  He cried out and said, “Give me a bath.” (my paraphrase of 13:9)  “Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.'” (13:10, NKJV)  Back to the tabernacle–the priest was clean, but on his way to the Tent of Meeting, his hands and feet became dirty.  They needed washing.  We, after accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are clean, but through the toils of the day we get dirty and need our “hands and feet” cleaned.  Not a new salvation, but some cleansing.  That’s why John writes, “If we confess our sins, (this is going to the laver, or having our feet washed) He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NKJV)
       Journeying through this world we come in contact with evil.  Our lives have become tainted, we’re stained.  But we don’t ask for salvation again, we asked for the cleansing power of Jesus to sweep over us.  The “dirt” of the day needs to be washed away.  We don’t need a bath, but only our hands and feet need to be clean.  The altar took care of the sin; we start to go meet with the Lord in righteousness, but before we get to Him, we are stained by the world and are in need of cleansing.  
       This is only a short synopsis of the symbols, therefore it needs more contemplation by you.  Another aspect to look at is the importance of being “clean” before we meet with the Lord.  When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we need to make sure our hearts are clean.  This is all symbolized by the washing.  It is why, when we lay our heads on our pillows at night, we pray that the Lord forgive us our sins of the day; it is part of that cleansing.

                         –William MacLeod Raine  (Mavericks)

       “But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand…  But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.”

                         –Acts 28:3,5 (NKJV)
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               “The ancient Hebrews were so tied by tradition they couldn’t recognize the Messiah when he was right there in front of them, and he was crucified.
               The disciples, who walked and worked with the Christ, were very afraid of him; they hoped, but they also doubted, and they ran that night, and he was crucified.
               The common people mobbed him, showed him their sicknesses and sores, and they threw down an aisle of palms for him and sang to him, and he was crucified.
               His family was embarrassed, and stood outside, and wished he’d come home, and he was crucified.
               Would we crucify Jesus today?  It’s not a rhetorical question for the mind to play with.
                    I believe, we are each born with a body, a mind, a soul, and a handful of nails.
                    I believe, when a man dies, no one has ever found any nails left,
                             clutched in his hands
                                   or stuffed in his pockets.”
                                                    –Lois A. Cheney  (God Is No Fool)

     We’ll never understand it, but we must try.  It is not anything we can do.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship…”  (Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV)  Paul also wrote in Romans, “The just shall live by faith.” (1:17, NKJV)

               “Grace, grace, God’s grace,
               Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
               Grace, grace, God’s grace,
               Grace that is greater than all our sin!”
                         –Julia H. Johnston

       We are saved by grace, but here is what I want you to focus on this morning.  We are sustained by grace as well!  On this pilgrim journey with Christ as the Holy Spirit as our guide we are kept by grace and we grow in grace.  “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19, NKJV)  We continue on the upward way; that narrow trail that is always winding upward.  Oh, the obstacles that are in the way that we must climb over, the hidden rocks and roots in the path that we sometimes stumble over, but we continue on.  Why?  Because we are kept by grace.  
       “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15, NKJV).  Grasp hold of that truth.  Believe it, rest assured in it!   Work on living righteously.  That’s right–work on it.  “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29, NKJV)  When I played ball, I practiced continually.  I practiced in a formal setting with the team, but then I would spend hours practicing on my own.  I practiced to become a ballplayer.  Now, we must do the same as a Christian.  We practice righteousness continually.  No, we will never gain it, for only Jesus is righteous, yet we are to be like Him.  
       We stumble, but the Holy Spirit is there to help us maintain our balance.  We hit a rock and fall to the ground, but the Holy Spirit is there to help us up.  We must put forth our effort:  to walk, to get up, but it is through the power of God that we are righteous.  Remember, the Epistles were written for believers, for those who are a new creation, for those who are walking toward their heavenly goal.  The path is not always easy for there are many different types of snares, traps, battles, storms, sicknesses, sorrows, and the life that may come our way–that will come our way.  Yet, as a believer, as one who has Jesus Christ as Lord, you can rest in the comfort of the words of John, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV)  This is for the Christian, and get it, get it!  He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Oh, that we could grasp that we do not walk in our righteousness, for they are filthy rags, but we walk in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

                         –Isaiah 5:20(NASB)
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I am currently doing a study of which I will share more of it with you in weeks to come.  However, one verse, Psalm 119:53, has caught my attention.  Psalm 119 is such a great Psalm about obedience and commitment to the Word of God, but let’s look a little deeper at verse 53.

          Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
          Who forsake Your law.  (NASB)

       We see in this verse horror and anger.  “Righteous anger,” “burning indignation,” “rage,” “fury,” are all terms used in various translations for the first pass of this verse.  Put them together and we see a person gripped by the evil he sees in the world and in individuals.  Spurgeon says, “he was distressed by a foresight of their overthrow.”   It is hard to completely understand the feeling of this individual.  Perhaps the King James says it best, “Horror hath taken hold upon me…”
       This term, “taken hold,” or “seized” literally means “gripped.”  Gripping is to not let go.  Holding fast, clenching tightly to an object.  In this case, horror/indignation has gripped this person because of wickedness.  This is where we live.  Look around you at the evil, the wickedness.  “Living in a wicked society should scare us.” (Craig Ledbetter).  My question is, does it?  So many, it seems, are complacent at what is happening around them, or they have been so duped by evil that they either tolerate it, or join in.
       Two things bring this horror.  The first is that the Psalmist remembers how God deals with wickedness.  Unless there is genuine repentance, judgment will come.   Sodom comes to mind:  “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Genesis 19:24-25, NASB).  Korah:  “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions.  So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly” (Numbers 16:32-33, NASB).  The children of Israel refused to believe the report of Joshua and Caleb, thus spurning the Lord, and they wandered in the wilderness until all of that generation passed.  Of course, we cannot forget that mankind, with the exception of Noah and his family, was destroyed by the Flood because the people were doing evil continually.
       So the writer of this psalm remembers what happened to those who practiced evil and wickedness in the past.  Because of that, he looks at what is currently happening, as we should do, and knows that God is holy and will only for so long allow evil to bring forth its rotten fruit.  One day the “man of lawlessness” will appear and will bring his wrath upon the earth.  When that happens God will say that is enough and will counter.  Just in the Fourth Seal (Revelation 6:8) we see that power was given to them “to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth” (NKJV).  Continuing in chapter 6, there is the Sixth Seal that will bring great disturbances on earth and in the sky.  Go on and read chapters 8-9 regarding the Trumpets, then chapter 16, the bowl judgments.  
       When we read these our response should be like that of the Psalmist–horror.  God’s character and word is not to be scorned.  His judgments are not to be laughed at.  They should bring horror at what will happen as well as indignation at those who commit such things.  True righteous anger brings abhorrence of all that is contrary to it.  Too often we groan, or smile, or say “let live” or maybe the most appalling, “whatever makes them happy.”  No, the wicked should cause us to cringe.  Their acts should bring an indignation to our being.  It should be as Charles Bridges wrote, “Every stroke at His law you will feel as a stroke at your own heart.”  Wickedness and evil should cause us severe pain for it strikes against the very character of God.