“ Religious pluralism is a myth ” Dr. Morecraft asks, what are we to tell this nation about Psalm 47? That no one has the right to worship the god of his choice unless that God is Jehovah Jesus. No one has the right to any other religion, regardless of how sincere he may be, except biblical Christianity. Pluralism dethrones Christ from His position of universal Lord to a local option that the rest of the world can ignore with impunity. Furthermore, pluralism is a myth. We do not live in a religiously pluralistic country where all religions and all gods are tolerated equally and where there is the disestablishment of all religions. There is no such thing and there can't be such a thing. One religion will prevail. One god will prevail. If you think there's toleration of all religions in our country, try teaching biblical creation in the public schools. Invite liberals to church who believe in hate-crime laws and preach a sermon on how homosexuality is a crime. There is no pluralism here.
“ The siege of the church in America ” Dr. Morecraft explains that the siege of the church in America began in the late 1700s when the enemies of biblical Christianity and a Christian America realized the church was too strong to defeat head-on by a face-to-face confrontation. Since then, the enemies of a Christian America have tried to make us weary of standing firm, inflexible and constantly for the truth of God and its all-governing authority over every area of life. Once we have surrendered, our children will have their minds corrupted, justice will be perverted, liberty will be greatly curtailed, we will no longer stand in the way or be critical of the new socialistic and international order, where the state is a tyrannical god, and all religions will be tolerated except biblical Christianity. This siege is not fought with swords and spears and catapults, but with ideas, legislation, judicial decrees, and lies about our history.
“ Civil magistrates as ministers of God ” Among other points, Dr. Morecraft explains that civil magistrates are to hate wickedness and they are to love righteousness. That is, they are to restrain and punish whatever God's law says is wicked, and they are to protect and reward whatever God says is good. Romans 13:4 says that the civil magistrate "is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil." If the purpose of the civil magistrate is to rule in the name of Christ and he rewards goodness and righteousness and punishes evil and wickedness, he must have some standard by which he can accurately distinguish the two. Without an adequate standard, he might punish righteousness and reward wickedness. And the only reliable standard that distinguishes between the two is the law of God contained in Holy Scripture.
“ The hand that smites us ” Dr. Morecraft quotes from John Calvin's commentary on Psalm 44 that "when the faithful people of God represent God as the author of their calamities, it is not murmuring against Him, but that they may with greater confidence seek relief from the same hand which smote and wounded them. It is certainly impossible that those who impute their miseries to fortune [or chance or bad luck] can sincerely have recourse to God, or look for help and salvation from Him. If, therefore, we would expect a remedy from God for our miseries, we must believe that they befall us not by fortune or mere chance, but that they are inflicted upon us properly by His hand." If you attribute the miseries that take place in your life to God, your God, then you know that you can go to the same hand that smites you for relief.
“ Praying for light from God ” With regard to Psalm 43:3, Dr. Morecraft explains that David is praying that the eyes of his heart would receive light from God. Just as physical light helps physical eyes see physical reality, so spiritual light lets spiritual eyes see spiritual reality. What is it he needs to see clearly about? Providence. He needs to see God's providence clearly, that it is a beautiful thing. It is a wise thing. It is a thrilling thing. David says, I'm in the dark, and I need deliverance, not from enemies, but from a more dangerous enemy than the people around me in this nation. I need deliverance from a darkness that causes the world to look much more attractive than it is. I'm letting my emotions get the best of me. I'm getting down in the dumps over what I see all around me. I need to be rescued, Lord, from these dark times that make surrender to the world and compromise with the world so attractive. Help me to walk in the light of the truth and to see your hand in everything that's taking place in my life.
“ The face of God ” Dr. Morecraft quotes from John Calvin's commentary on Psalm 42 that "when we see the marks of the divine presence engraved on the word, or on external symbols, we can say with David, there is the face of God, provided we come with pure hearts to seek him in a spiritual manner." To see God's presence engraved on everything we do in worship if what we're doing is commanded by Him. We see the face of God in Christ by faith when we sing, when we pray, when we hear the reading and preaching of the Word of God, and when we participate in the sacraments.
“ God will rescue us ” Among other points in this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains that the more cruelly the world treats us, the more disposed God is to rescue us. The more ferociously the world attacks God's people, the more ferociously the Lion of the tribe of Judah pounces upon their attackers. The worst thing this culture could do is to persecute God's people, because once they start persecuting us, watch for the Lion of the tribe of Judah to attack those who dare attack His people. So whatever the future holds there's nothing for us to be afraid of.
“ Entire trust in God ” Dr. Morecraft explains that when things happen in your life that you just don't understand, don't let it confuse you, don't let it cause you to murmur; instead, worship and praise God. John Calvin wrote in his commentary on Psalm 40, "No man places, as he ought, entire trust in God, but he who, shutting his eyes upon external circumstances, allows himself to be governed by God according to God's good pleasure." No man trusts God as he should, until he shuts his eyes to things he cannot understand and the things that weigh heavily upon him, and recognizes gladly and submissively the fact that his life is governed by God who does to him and with him whatever He pleases, without ever asking his approval or his permission. Until you believe that, you're not really going to trust the Lord.
“ Humble ourselves before God ” Dr. Morecraft asks, How are we to humble ourselves before God today? Confess that we, the church in America, are arrogant and have forsaken God for generations. Confess that we are facing God's judgment for our sin. Confess that God is righteous regardless of what He may do to us or our nation. We must work harder at subduing and conquering our own proud hearts than at Christianizing America. We must begin early at humbling ourselves before God and earnestly praying that God would give us tender hearts instead of hearts that are calloused and hardened by longstanding sin. We must allow the decline of the church in America and its disregard for God's law and gospel to break us and to move us deeply. And we must make seeking God and doing His will the all-consuming passion of our lives.
“ Afflictions from God ” In discussing Psalm 39, Dr. Morecraft explains that David's attitude was to accept his afflictions as coming directly from God. As John Calvin wrote in his commentary on Psalm 39, "David regarded the secret judgments of God with such reverence and wonder, that, satisfied with His will alone, he considers it sinful to open his mouth to utter a single word against Him." That's the kind of attitude that God wants to see in us. Verse 11 says, "Thou dost consume as a moth what is precious to him." This means that sometimes God chastens us and brings us low and deprives us of that which we cherish but should not cherish, like a moth does in a closet. He doesn't always come upon us like Lot, but sometimes like a moth, silently, secretly, you don't know it, you're not expecting it. God's anger is eating away at what your heart cherishes until it's gone.
“ The wicked plot against the righteous ” Among other points in this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains that in this life, in this country, the wicked plot against the righteous. Those who are in rebellion against God gnash their teeth when they think of those who are upright in conduct. Christians are against everything the wicked stand for. Christians represent everything that the wicked hate and everything they're trying to dissolve in this culture. There is in this culture, as in David's culture, a plot to try to discredit and destroy the people of God. But God's people are secure because He protects them. As John Calvin wrote in his commentary on Psalm 37:13, "he who sees the executioner standing behind the aggressor with drawn sword no longer desires revenge, but rather rejoices in the prospect of speedy retribution."
“ Excellent Definition of the Wisdom of God! ” God's wisdom is His ability to use His knowledge and His power to accomplish His purposes in such a way, that brings him the most glory, most benefits his people, and most confounds his enemies. Hallelujah!
“ The fear of God ” While discussing Psalm 36:1, Dr. Morecraft explains that to fear God is to stand in awe of Him. It is to so revere Him and adore Him that the chief desire of your heart is to worship Him fervently and earnestly. You stand in awe of Him because He is so incomprehensibly and incomparably majestic in holiness. You stand in awe every time you think about this great God.
“ Pray Psalm 35 ” Dr. Morecraft explains that today there are powerful forces in place and aggressively active in the political arena, the media, educational institutions, popular culture, and many churches, that are trying constantly to silence and discredit those of us who stand for Christ and His Word. They want to steal from us our country, our children, and our children's future. These people and institutions are constantly and deceitfully harassing us, and accusing us of things that are not true. They try to make us look like fools, and the only way to silence them is to pray Psalm 35. How are we to work to overturn their efforts to de-Christianize America? We must pray the prayer of Psalm 35 sincerely, continually, and fervently.
“ The tongue is a powerful weapon ” With regard to Psalm 34:13, Dr. Morecraft mentions the stupid little ditty, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words shall never harm me." He explains that it's wrong. Sticks and stones will break your bones and words can kill you. Words can destroy a marriage. Words can destroy a relationship. Words can drive somebody to suicide. Words can lift somebody out of a suicidal attitude to the heights of ecstasy and joy. Words are powerful things. Also, your tongue reveals your heart. There's a direct connection from your tongue to your heart. So that what you say (the themes of your ordinary course of conversation) is an expression of what fills your heart. Your tongue is a powerful weapon.
“ Waiting for the Lord ” In discussing Psalm 33:20, Dr. Morecraft explains that waiting for the Lord implies a quiet and submissive spirit. Somebody who waits upon the Lord is not anxious, not somebody who is worrisome. He is somebody who's at peace. He trusts the Lord with his life and his future. He's not somebody who just sits back and does nothing. He's somebody who, as he waits, conscientiously does all the duties that God has laid upon his life. Everything he knows to do right he's going to do no matter how long he has to wait for God's intervention. He's going to wait with hope and expectancy. He knows that God is going to intervene on his behalf. He waits in peace; he's not a nervous wreck on the inside; he conscientiously perseveres in what God has called him to do, and he knows that God's going to do what He promised.
“ True happiness ” In explaining the theme of Psalm 32, Dr. Morecraft quotes from John Calvin that "true happiness consists only in the free forgiveness of sins, for nothing can be more terrible than to have God for our enemy."
“ Hate and love ” In preaching on Psalm 31:6 ("I hate those who regard vain idols") Dr. Morecraft explains that Christians are supposed to love everybody and hate the wicked at the same time. You can't love and hate somebody at the same time if love and hate are just emotions. But they are more than that. Several verses in the Psalms mention hate. "Hate evil, you who love the LORD" (Psalm 97:10). If you love somebody, you're going to hate anybody that tries to hurt the person you love. And if you love good, you're going to hate evil. "I hate the work of those who fall away" (Psalm 101:3). "I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:104). "I hate those who are double-minded" (Psalm 119:113). "I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:128 ). "I hate and despise falsehood" (Psalm 119:163). "Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies" (Psalm 139:21-22). The Bible defines love as the fulfillment of the law of God. No matter what anybody does to you in this world, you may never break the law of God with reference to them. You cannot do evil that good may result. You love somebody by fulfilling the law of God with reference to them, making sure that you're treating them as God commands in His Word.
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