-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [The Moderator would welcome your comments/feedback] [<SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> Archives/Read online: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> < 6 October 2002> Contents: ----------- (1) <Devotional> "Treasury of David - Psalm 84:9"- C.H.Spurgeon (2) <Bible-Study> "Exposition of the Levitical offerings" (Pt-9)-C.E.Wigg (3) <Exhortational> ""Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice" C.H. Mackintosh (4) <Devotional> "Worship" (Pt-1) - F.J.R. (5) <From-the-Gleaner> "Top-stories-of-the-week" - Ben (1) <DEVOTIONAL> TREASURY OF DAVID - PSALM 84:9 C. H. Spurgeon Vererse 9. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. Here we have the nation's prayer for David; and the believer's prayer for the Son of David. Let but the Lord look upon our Lord Jesus, and we shall be shielded from all harm; let him behold the face of his Anointed, and we shall be able to behold his face with joy. We also are anointed by the Lord's grace, and our desire is that he will look upon us with an eye of love in Christ Jesus. Our best prayers when we are in the best place are for our glorious King, and for the enjoyment of his Father's smile. EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS: Verse 9. While many, alas, are satisfied with mere formalities in religion, or with the dry discussion of doctrines, high or low, as they may be called, see thou and be occupied with Christ himself. It is the knowledge of his person that gives strength and joy to the soul. At all times, under all circumstances, we can say, Look upon the face of thine Anointed. We cannot always say, Look on us; but we may always say, Look on Him. In deepest sorrow through conscious failure, or in trials and difficulties through faithfulness to his name, we can ever plead with God what Christ is. God is ever well pleased with him-ever occupied with him as risen from the dead and exalted to his own right hand in heaven; and he would have us also to be occupied with him as the heart's exclusive object. True faith can only rest on God's estimate of Christ, not on inward thoughts and feelings. That which may be called the faith of the formalist, rests on the ability of his own mind to judge of these matters. He trusts in himself. This is the essential difference between faith in appearance and faith in reality. THINGS NEW AND OLD: Verse 9. Look upon the face of thine anointed. For I shall never come to look upon thy face, if thou vouchsafe not first to look upon mine: if thou afford me not as well the benefit of thine eyes, to look upon me, as the favour of thine ears, to hear me, I shall be left only to a bare expectation, but never come to the happiness of fruition; but when thou vouchsafest to look upon my face, that look of thine hath an influence of all true blessedness, and makes me find what a happiness it is to have the God of Jacob for my shield. (Sir Richard Baker) _______________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> THE BREAD OF GOD - AN EXPOSITION OF SOME OF THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS (PART-9) Charles E. Wigg .... THE OFFERING OF THE SACRIFICE: In verse 7 of Lev. 1, the sons of Aaron were to put fire on the altar, or to re-kindle the fire that was never to go out, and to lay the wood in order upon the fire. The fire speaks of judgment and the suffering associated with it, which the Lord Jesus bore in all its fury, when he hung on the cross. There was no mitigation, God's wrath in all its terrible fury was poured out upon him, but the flame that consumed the sacrifice , made the sweet odour to ascend to God. The terrible sufferings of Christ will ever remain a mystery to us and to angels. The deepest of those sufferings can never be described or expressed, and were hidden from the gaze of men and of angels by the terrifying darkness of those three hours, the sixth hour, until the ninth hour. The sufferings through which our Lord Jesus passed, only served to bring out his perfection. Though so dreadfully marred and battered by the brutality of men, yet to his lovers he was never more appealing or lovable than when he hung on the cross, our hearts have been drawn to him there, just as he said, "I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all to me," (John,12;32.) You will note that the priest had to place the offering piece by piece, in order, upon the wood which was upon the fire. The statement "in order" is important to notice, it was not to be done according to the desires or designs of the worshipper. This shows us that in true worship there will be no confusion, but a divine order and this order flows out of obedience to the word of God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit not out of compliance with liturgies or the rituals of men. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace in the assemblies of the saints, and there all things are to be done "decently and in order", (1 Cor. 14;33 & 40.) can you imagine clapping, shouting or dancing at such a scene as is described in this chapter? After this we read that the priest was to burn all upon the altar, which would teach us that everything about the Lord Jesus was acceptable to God. The burnt-offering was wholly for God, the priest received nothing from it, only the skin, this would show us that worship is not at all for our personal pleasure or satisfaction, and certainly not for our entertainment, it is wholly for God. What we gain as we see the fire devour the sacrifice is a deeper, greater appreciation of the worth and excellence of him who offered himself without spot to God. It is true that when one worships audibly , in spirit and in truth, that others who hear will be edified, ( 1 Cor. 14;7,) but the primary object is that God alone may be glorified. THE SMALLER OFFERINGS: Now we come to consider the smaller offerings and as we have dealt with this matter somewhat earlier in this chapter we shall not repeat. However there are some things here that should be an encouragement to all. As we have seen, the bullock represents a large and rich appreciation of Christ, and it conveys the ideas of strength, patience and faithfulness. We come to appreciate these qualities in the person of Christ as we prove him in the trials, troubles and difficulties of life. The smaller offerings however, teach us that we should not be discouraged because our understanding, knowledge and appreciation of Christ is not as great as others who have loved and labored for him over a lifetime. God encourages us all to bring to him our appreciation of Christ, of his worth and glory, which he wants us to present in our own words, though helped and led by the Holy Spirit, as best we can, no matter how poor our praise and worship may seem to us. Let us remember, "The Father seeketh such to worship him". The appeal of the bridegroom to the bride in Song of Songs 2;14, should also help us to realize how the Lord Jesus longs to hear us express in our own words the love of our hearts for him, and our personal appreciation of himself, "Let me hear thy voice,....for sweet is thy voice". THE LAMB OR GOAT: would remind us of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, his unresisting, un-complaining submission and surrender to the will of God. "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb before her shearers, so he opened not his mouth", (Isaiah 53;7.) It also stresses his perfect innocence, so that when men clamored for him to be crucified Pilate asked, "Why, what evil has he done? The procedure for the smaller offerings was the same as for the bullock, except that they were to be slain on the side of the altar northward.. Perhaps this would remind us of the coldness of man's inhumanity, as the North is the quarter from which the cold winter winds and weather come. It is John who tells us that it was winter, and that it was cold, Jn. 10;22, & ch 18;18.). --- [Reproduced with permission] _______________________________________________________ (3) <DEVOTIONAL> "BEHOLD, TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE" C.H. Mackintosh There is immense power in Samuel's brief but pointed reply to Saul, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burn offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord! Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22). Saul's word was "Sacrifice." Samuel's word was "Obedience." No doubt the bleating of sheep and the lowing of the oxen were most exciting. They would be looked upon as substantial proofs that something was being done; while on the other hand, the path of obedience seemed narrow, silent, lonely, and fruitless. But oh! those pungent worlds of Samuel! "to obey is better than sacrifice." What a triumphant answer to the most eloquent advocates of expediency! They are most conclusive--most commanding words. They teach us that it is better, if it must be so, to stand, like a marble statue, on the pathway of obedience, than to reach the most desirable ends by transgressing a plain precept of the Word of God. _______________________________________________________ (4) <DOCTRINAL> "WORSHIP" 1/2 F.J.R* The first mention of worship in the Bible is in Gen.22:5 and the last in Rev. 22:9. As an introduction to the subject of worship I would like to read you a couple of pages out of a book by Daniel Smith titled "Worship and Remembrance" from chapter two. " Worship is the key word in Scripture. In the final consummation of all things, after God has dealt with the whole of evil and imprisoned it forever, he will be fully worshipped in all His universe. The whole universe is yet to be filled with His glory, and from every part of it worship is to break forth. At the heart of all true worship there is a recognition of the rights of God most High. God has rights. Every living being owes his origin to God as the Creator, and therefore should render to Him an undivided, unrivalled, and unreserved worship. That is our duty as created beings. We are to acknowledge that all things are the Lord's and that there is none worthy of worship but the One who created all things. But there is another who has usurped this claim and demanded worship. When Lucifer, the son of the morning - no doubt the brightest and most intelligent of all created beings - said in his heart through the rising of pride, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.... I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14), he gathered, in his rebellious challenge, a company of the angelic host with the intent of drawing worship away from God to himself.. And by reason of consent in an hour of temptation, man brought Satan and his mischief here on earth. Under his dominion, man has come to the place of refusing God the right of worship and has turned to acknowledge the of the usurper. by yielding to Satan, he has transferred his worship from one to another. Thus we now have two systems of worship. Satan is profoundly antagonistic to God's gaining His own rights in any man and to God's receiving worship from man. Thus, wherever the rights of God are recognized, and worship is rendered to Him, that worship is now challenged. The great work of Satan is to prevent man from worshipping God and so to deny God the worship due to His name. THE OPPOSITION OF SATAN: This antagonism appears wherever true worship arises to God. When Able recognized God's rights, erected and altar, and placed a blood sacrifice upon it as a figure of God's great sacrifice to come in His Son, he was murdered (Gen.4:8). When Noah stepped out onto the new earth after the flood and built an altar at which to worship, he was set a Satanic trap and, for a moment, was involved in shame (Gen.9:20-23). When Abraham offered sacrifice to God in heartfelt worship, the vultures swooped down to try to steal it away (Gen.15:11). When Solomon built the Temple magnifical that the Lord might have a worshipping people before Him, Satan moved to cast him down from his excellency (1Kings 11). When Elijah stood for the true worship against all that was of Baal and Ashtaroth, Jezebel, a daughter of Satan if ever there was one, rose to seek his life (1Ki.19:2). We see this opposition intensify when the Lord of Glory came into our humanity. No sooner had He taken His place here on earth by becoming the Son of man and entering the world as we do, than Herod sent to sly all the children of Bethlehem, hoping the holy child would be among them (Matthew 2:16). And as soon as our Lord began His public ministry, Satan was there with an offer: "All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me" (Matthew 4:9). Some think that Satan's offer of the world kingdoms to our Lord was a huge fraud, offering what he did not possess; but three times Jesus called him "the prince of this world." The force of Satan's temptation was the reality of the offer. Satan offered to abdicate if the Son of God would do him homage. But the love of this world shuts out the love of the Father. To escape it, to conquer it, there would have to be the death of the cross, a crucifixion to the world, and a crucifixion of the world. The Lord Jesus was the one man who would not recognize Satan's rights. The problem with man is that, having received satanic influence and control of life, he desires what Satan desires - self-exaltation. There is therefore a withholding on man's part of worship to God and, in its place, if not direct worship of Satan, though that is coming more and more into the open, a recognition that even man has rights. It is this which lies deeply hidden behind the spirit of self-interest, self-glory, and self-preservation. Good books on worship are rare because centuries of dead religion has influenced the gathering and practices of even true Christians. Ecclesiastes 5:1+2 should be a constant reminder to us as when we consider worship :"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that they do evil. 2, Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven; and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. [To be concluded] _______________________________________________________ (5) <FROM-THE-GLEANER> A-GLANCE-AT-THE-TOP-STORIES-OF-THE-WEEK Ben PUSH FOR NEW TERMS ON IRAQ GAINS IN UN: Amid signs of modest progress in contentious negotiations over a new U.N. resolution sending weapons inspectors back to Iraq, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said yesterday that he was "optimistic as this week has gone by" that agreement can be reached. BUSH TO ADDRESS NATION ON IRAQ: President Bush will deliver a "comprehensive" address Monday night from Cincinnati, Ohio to "talk directly to the American people" about the "growing threat" posed by Saddam Hussein, senior administration officials said Friday. BEN-ELIEZER: US WILL ATTACH IRAQ IN NOVEMBER: Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said last night that he expects an American attack on Iraq by late November. "It's possible it will begin toward the end of November," Ben-Eliezer told Labor Party ministers in Tel Aviv. IRAN: SHIHAB MISSLE DESIGNED TO TARGET ISRAEL: Iran's long-range rockets were developed to hit Israel in retaliation for any strike on Iran, Ahmed Wahid, head of Iran's missile development program, revealed Thursday, adding that Iran would also soon launch a spy satellite. ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS SPAR OVER WALL: Israel is moving toward fixing a huge bulge in a wall of the Old City of Jerusalem that archaeologists say is near collapse, threatening to set off a new explosion of Mideast violence Israel to transfer NIS 70 million to PA finance minister SHARON TO VISIT US AMID EFFORT TO REVIVE TALKS: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to travel to Washington on October 15 at the invitation of President Bush, sources close to the government said on Saturday. COMPARISON TO MOSEL EVOKES FURY: Left-wing extremists showed up at the Tel Aviv District Court today to show their support for terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti - but were outdone by his Jewish lawyer who compared him to none other than Moses. POLICE STORM TEMPLE MOUNT AFTER WORSHIPPERS STONE WESTERN WALL: Jerusalem police stormed the Temple Mount, after dozens of Palestinian worshippers threw stones at the officers stationed meters away from the Western Wall plaza, following Friday prayers. AS CHRISTIAN RIGHT PREPARES RALLY FOR ISRAEL, SOME JEWS ARE UNEASY: Thousands of people will gather in Washington next week in support of Israel, but there won't be many Jews there. Poll: 60% of Israelis say they are fighting for their survival. Sixty percent of Israelis believe Israel is fighting for its existence in the now two-year old Palestinian war, according to a poll conducted for The Jerusalem Post by Smith Research and Consulting. The poll covered a random sample of 500 Israeli adults. PAKISTANI ELECTIONS WILL BE 'JIHAD': Religious parties opposed to the U.S. presence in the Islamic world say the Oct. 10 elections to the Pakistani Parliament will be a "jihad" or holy war. IS THIS THE NEXT POPE?: Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze is hotly tipped to succeed John Paul II following a Vatican re-shuffle on Tuesday. TEN NEW COUNTRIES RECOMMENDED TO JOIN EU IN 2004: The European Commission will be recommending the entry of 10 candidate countries in the next EU accession, according to the BBC. No date however was set for Turkey, which is demanding that a date for accession negotiations be given at the Copenhagen summit in December. _____________________<BrethrenVoice>_____________________ Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32 _______________________________________________________