Psalm 105:1-5

Do Not Praise the Dead and Shun the Living

If I truly believe the gospel of God’s sovereign grace and glory, I will not hesitate to be fully identified with those who believe and preach that gospel IN MY DAY. Paul said to Timothy, “Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner.”

It is cowardice and compromising to brag on dead preachers like Spurgeon, Pink, and Barnard, and yet fail to support, encourage, and hear those who preach the same gospel NOW! Such professors who never bear the scars of battle will never wear the crown. Those who shun the good fight of faith in their day will never celebrate the victory in that great day of our Lord.

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (1988)

“We Will Be Glad And Rejoice In Thee”

Song of Solomon 1:4

Another year is dawning. We who are the children of the living God will not open the gates of the New Year in sorrow and mourning. We will sing unto our God. With joy in our hearts and gladness in our souls, we will make known his lovingkindness, his faithfulness, and his grace. “We will be glad and rejoice in thee!” The eternal God is our Father. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter. The blessed Son is our Savior. Why should we not rejoice? We will rejoice. We are determined. Our God must have the crown of our hearts’ praise. We will be glad because of all that he has done. And we will rejoice because he is who he is.

We will rejoice because our God is God. “Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3). God our Father rules this world. He is the inexpressibly majestic sovereign of the universe. He rules absolutely, and he rules absolutely well. All that he does, or allows to be done, is positively good for his people. He does all things for the salvation, the spiritual good, and the eternal felicity of his own elect. And he does all things for his own eternal praise and glory. We want no more than this. “We will be glad and rejoice in thee!”

We will be glad because of all that God has done for us in Christ. “Count your many blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!” He chose us as the peculiar objects of his grace in eternal, electing love. He redeemed us by the blood of his own dear Son. He has forgiven us of all our sin and justified us by his grace. He preserved us, even in our rebellion, unto the day of his grace. He regenerated us, called us, and gave us faith in Christ. God has saved us by his matchless grace. Oh yes, “We will be glad and rejoice in thee!”

Pastor Don Fortner (1950-2020)

The Lord’s Last Seven Beatitudes

We read in the Psalms many times about how believers are blessed in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

Our Lord Jesus Christ also on the Sermon on the Mount gave us nine beatitudes we read about in Matthew 5:3-12. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God.”

Then in the apostles Paul’s last word to the elders from Ephesus he gave the church the Lord’s words about giving, “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

But we also find in the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ the Lord’s last seven beatitudes given unto His church. What a great blessing the Lord pronounces upon every believer of the gospel.

Rev. 1:3; “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Rev. 14:13; “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”

Rev. 16:15; “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

Rev. 19:9; “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Rev. 20:6; “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ.”

Rev. 22:7; “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Rev.22:14; “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”