Great Counsel

Psalm 130:1-8

“Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord!  O Lord hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!  If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?  But with you, there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word,  I hope; my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.  O Israel, hope in the Lord!  For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.  And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

I often need to reread a book authored by Brennan Manning, titled “The Ragamuffin Gospel”, in that it exposes a man like me that falls short often of being a follower of Christ.  That’s the bad news, but the good news is it also exposes God’s grace to all who will agree with God and have a repentant heart like King David.  Let me share this quote from the book; “For Ragamuffins, God’s name is Mercy.  We see our darkness as a prized possession because it drives us into the heart of God.” (Page 220)

A concern for both you and I is we do not see our sins as darkness, so we don’t cry out to the Lord, and we in some foolish way hope God is not paying attention to our acts of the heart.  But a Ragamuffin understands that if God considered sins, no one could stand.  The fourth verse in the Holman Study Bible, “But with You, there is forgiveness, so that You may be revered.”  The English Standard Version is what is quoted above, and it uses the word feared in place of revered.  It is my belief you should do both.

Verses five and six, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word,  I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.  O Israel, hope in the Lord!”  If you are not spending time in the Scriptures, it’s impossible to grasp how the Holy Spirit of God will encourage, and confront you on your business life, family life, and how you treat your neighbor.  The Word of God is a living word, it does not change with cultures, and God is the same today as yesterday.  But if you are not seeking Him, you have no understanding of the joy and peace you are missing out on, ask a Ragamuffin, like me.  I do Identify with the watchman, in boot camp I pulled fire watch and those nights seemed like they would never end.  I’ve also set in a cold deer stand waiting for the morning light and that’s the longest hour I’ve ever spent.  Maybe that’s the reason I’m so glad Glenn, my wonderful neighbor does the hunting and brings me some deer meat.

But now look at verses 7 and 8, “O Israel, hope in the Lord!  For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.  And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”  What If you and I added in our prayers the United States of America, and the Church of the only God, and His Son Jesus Christ.

I end today with this quote found on page 88 in the Ragamuffin Gospel.  “The gospel of grace calls out, Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.  You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember.  Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever.  In the end, it is the one thing you can hang onto.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice