The Devotional - 1495 - One more call to national Repentance

The Devotional – 1495 – One more call to national Repentance

Psalm 119:153-160 – Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your judgments. Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from Your testimonies. I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word. Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. 

Comments and Challenges:

As citizens of this nation, we have not seen the affliction that the psalmist cries out to the LORD to be delivered from. So does this mean that we are less qualified to call out to God for some pending national affliction? No; not at all, but first let me cover the reason why all people groups, nations and tribes are personally qualified to be delivered from any national affliction. Please read Genesis 3:1-24 as in this chapter, God reveals that mankind’s entire affliction is due to SIN.

It is not as if Adam forgot the LAW of God; Adam knowingly ate of the fruit which represents the world view of temporal life. The world in which we live is saturated with “good and evil” (the world view) and yet the LAW of God says that there is a better or eternal way. Like Adam our heart (mind and soul) knows this continually, even when we ignore His Word. Thus when affliction hits there must be a soul searching, personal reconciliation with God and then a national soul search.

This revival as I have said before must begin with one person “you” each of us must be willing to recall what we already know and that is to “obey God” or national revival will never reach the national battle front. Redemption from national SIN is available but it is only through the Living Word of God. Deliverance is out of the reach of the wicked, the wicked does not care for the Statutes of God, thus the foundation that the wicked stand on is nothing more than quicksand. 

Now go ahead and say it: “Jesse I am not a wicked person”! Okay; by who’s definition? Of the thirty-on chapters of Proverbs, the word wicked shows up in twenty-three of the chapters with chapter ten carrying the load with twelve verses on the wickedness in the heart of mankind. Skill of living in accordance with the Word of God is something we nationally fall short of. So if you consider that wickedness is not your best suit, it is the nation’s daily clothing. So be like Daniel the prophet and confess the wickedness of the nation.

Now if we are naïve to the schemes of those who are treacherous, we still understand and are disgusted when we learn of the nation’s evil, even the wickedness found in high ranking offices. These do not keep the Word of God, thus our duty is PRAYER and yet I know that some will say it is TOO LATE, the nation has gone too far and God must judge the nation. Well, I do not disagree that there should be a judgment; but as long as there is a voice of the remnant; like Israel, God will judge us in lovingkindness.

The entirety of God’s word is TRUTH and every one of His RIGHTEOUS judgments endures forever.