Worship: Before the Throne of God by Selah
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!
Songwriters: DP
Before the Throne Of God Above lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Video: https://youtu.be/4MUNywhsZPU
Witness:
I have two thoughts in my head today about the Word of God. The first one that came to my mind has to do with the study of God’s word. The second has to do with the origin of the Word. Today I will share my thoughts on the first one. In the past, I have written about persevering in the study of the Word and having a personal quiet time. This is not about that. Nor is it a pep talk on having a deep, qualitative time with the Lord. No, this thought is born of personal introspection and an examination of my feelings lately about the study of His Word.
Lately, my life has been in disarray. Lack of sleep, discipline, and desire are at the root of the problem. It is the last on the list that was foremost in my thoughts lately. You see, I desire to study His Word. I feel frustrated by distractions and drowsiness. Yet, I began to question the motive(s) behind my desire. Was it born of habit? Have I been doing it for so long that to be long away from practicing it was tantamount to withdrawal symptoms? Or did it come from a nostalgic reflection on the way it used to be in the past when I spent every day, for at least 2 hours, in glorious worship, praise, and study in His presence?
I believe there is some truth in the answers above to these questions I have asked my self. However, I think at the present time that the angst I am feeling is born more of guilt than anything else. Guilt can be a good thing if one is purposely neglecting the study of God’s Word and personal time spent with Him. That is not the case here so let me clarify. My wrestling with guilt centered more around desiring to come to His Word out of duty rather than a pure, hungering desire for it. I saw that my desire was more from a feeling of obligation than a longing to be in His presence, to grow in knowledge and love of Him, and to be fed by Him.
Desire born of duty or obligation comes from fear. Real, lasting desire comes from love. It is a passion flowing from the joy found in bringing glory to Him who saved us, sealed us with His Spirit, and is sanctifying us by His Word and Spirit. There is no fear in love (1 John 4:18). Therefore there is no duty in it either, at least not in the obligatory, grumbling, “if I have to” attitude sense of the word. If there be any duty, it is born of a noble desire and love to know and honor the One who has chosen to, in grace and mercy, reveal Himself to us.
Therefore, my reason for reading and studying the Bible is first and foremost to know God. It’s not first to find answers on how to live, pray, or work. No, it’s only in knowing the God of the universe that I find a reason to desire to know the answers to these issues. Before we seek the “how” let us seek the “Who” first (we all know “Who’s on first” and “what’s” on second –“what” can be another way of saying “how” 😊). One thing we will find as we come to know God is that the purpose for living, praying, and working becomes clearer. We find that the “how” flows naturally from the “Who.” In fact, in some ways, they are inextricably tied to each other. We are commanded in Scripture to love one another (Jn 13:34, Rom. 13:8, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:23). But note what the Apostle John says in his first epistle.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 NIV
Paul says to Titus:
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Titus 1:16 NIV
The knowledge I am speaking about is not just informational but relational and experiential. Yet a relationship cannot grow unless we grow in information about a person through their words and actions. Therefore we can learn more about who God is through His Word the Bible and His works found in His Word and His faithful working out of them in our lives. So we are commanded in scripture to grow in knowledge.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:18 NIV
One final thought which has expanded from my original thoughts on my motives to study God’s Word to the ultimate reason for studying God’s Word – to know God. Perhaps we/I need to pray for that which Paul prayed for the Colossian believers.
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Col 1:9-14 NIV
We have read in Psalm 25 that David prayed that God would show him His paths and be guided in His truth. We read in John 17 that God’s Word is truth. Therefore to be filled “with the knowledge of” God’s will is first and foremost grounded in Scripture. This knowledge is not just a cognitive exercise in learning facts but is informed from and guided by “spiritual wisdom and understanding.” The order in greek ties the word “spiritual” to both words for it literally reads
“all wisdom and understanding; spiritual.”(Interlinear Transliterated Bible. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see the full copyright page.])
The purpose of this Spirit guided knowledge is so that we would live a life that is “worthy” and “pleasing” to the Lord. Paul then goes on to speak of the fruit that grows out of the soil of this knowledge and explains that which is worthy and pleasing to the Lord. He uses two images: fruit bearing and growth. The first is “fruit” born of “good works.” These good works come from knowing His will. The second is related to the first in that as we perform these good works we will grow in our knowledge of God. Knowing His will should lead to the working out of that will in all areas of our lives, and in doing so, we will also grow in and deepen our understanding of who God is. Our growth (v. 10) is watered by wisdom and understanding (v.9) and fertilized by His strength (v.11a) resulting in the fruit of our lips “joyfully giving thanks to the Father” (v. 11b-12a).
This then should be the essence of my desire to study his word: “a longing to be in His presence, to grow in knowledge and love of Him, and to be fed by Him.” But as I have dug deeper in contemplating this I also see that my desire should not only be to gain knowledge for knowledge sake. It is not to sit behind this computer screen and fill my head with the glorious truths of Scripture. No, the seed of knowledge thus planted would never grow. I must take this knowledge and let it bear fruit in my life of good God-pleasing works. As I know, I will grow, and as I grow, I will know more and grow more and increase in strength and endurance with this end in view – His glory resulting from a God-pleasing life and my joyful, grateful, praise.
WORD:
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Ps 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life —
of whom shall I be afraid?
NIV
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Ps 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Ps 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
KJV
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Ps 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
ESV
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Because the Lord is David’s light (the strength of his life, his hope, his guide, his vindicator) and his salvation (deliverer, savior, victor) he exhorts and comforts himself in the form of a rhetorical question - “whom shall I fear?” The answer to this question will sustain him in all of the battles he faces in life.
And with the greater light of the New Testament, I too should not be afraid. I will be sustained by these very same truths made fuller in light of the cross and the witness of the Spirit.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 8:31-39 NIV
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