King's Business - 1917-11

THE KING’S BUSINESS

1031

closest fellowship with God may be sick at the time of their most intimate fellow­ ship with Him, sick even of a sickness whereof they are not healed, but whereof they die (2 Kings 13:14; note context). But Jehovah did heal all the Psalmist’s diseases and it is His will as a rule to heal the sicknesses of those who are walking in fellowship with Him, unless there is some specific reason why they should not be healed. The presumption is all in favor of healing. Where God gives faith and where the other conditions of healing are met, we may be positviely sure of physical healing (James 5 :14, 15); but if God with­ hold faith, we should not blame ourselves, that He does not give us faith, for there may be reasons why it is better that we be not healed. Healing is a part of the 'Gos­ pel, but it is not -the most important part of the Gospel, and the healing of the soul is far more important than the healing of the body. (3) “Redeemeth thy life from destruction.” The word here ren­ dered “destruction” means the grave. The Lord Jesus by dying in our place, redeemed our bodies from the grave. His own death was the price He paid to do it (Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21). This does not mean that our body shall never go into' the grave, but that thfiy are redeemed from it. This redemp­ tion we get in its fullness at the return of the Lord Jesus, when our bodies are to be raised (Rom. 8:11, 23-25; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Phil. 13:20, 21). We have the first fruits of this redemption in the strengthen­ ing of our physical bodies even in this present dispensation. (4) “Crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies.” Jehovah crowns his people with a fairer crown than any earthly monarch ever wore. (5) “Satisfieth thy mouth with good things.” In verse 3 we have seen Jehovah magnify his grace in the judgment.hall and in the sick room; in verse 4 we have seen Him magnify His grace in the cemetery and the throne room; and here we see Him magnify his grace in the banqueting hall. He satisfies and He alone can satisfy. How fully He satisfies we see in Psa. 23:5;

63:5; 65:9 R. V.; 104:28; 107:9. With what He satisfies, namely, the Holy Spirit as the living water, we see in John 4:14; 7 :37-39. The result of Jehovah’s satisfying is that our youth is renewed like the eagle (cf. Isa. 40:31). This verse does not teach that- thé eagle renews his youth, which is not a scientific fact, it teaches that our youth is renewed so that it becomes strong and soaring as an eagle is strong and soar­ ing. The complete fulfillment of this will be in the resurrection in which we will become perennially young; but even in the life that now is, the pne who trusts in God does not grow old. Jehovah Himself is the fountain of perennial youth. ( 6 ) “Executeth righteous acts and judgments for all that are oppressed.” The God of the Bible is a God of justice. He is always on the side of the oppressed and against the oppressor (Psa. 9:9; 146:7; Deut. 24:14, 15; Prov. 14:31; 22:22, 23; Ex. 22:7, 12-14). It is in favor of the “oppressed” that Jehovah executes His righteous acts and judgements^ They are not so much for the punishment of the wicked as for the defense of the righteous and oppressed. (7) “He made known His ways unto Moses, His doings unto the, children of „Israel.” The teaching here is that Jehovah is the self-revealing God. This is the best thing that He does for us, to reveal Himself to us, (John 17:3). The full revelation of Himself and His ways, is in the person of His Son (Heb. 1:1-3 R. V.; John 14:9). It is because He is a complete revelation of Jehovah God that the Lord Jesus is known as “the Word of God” (John 1:1). God revealed Himself to Moses as to no one else of His day, or for many centuries after his day (Deut. 34:10; Ex. 19:8, 19, 20; 20:21; 24:2-4; Num. 12:6-8). The Lord Jesus Himself in a most remarkable way set the stamp of His endorsement upon the story of the Divine revelation jnade to Moses, which is recorded in the Pentateuch (John 5:46, 47), but as wonderful as was the revela­ tion which Jehovah made of Himself to Moses, it was very incomplete compared

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