Day 7/17 – The Need to be Glorified

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
The Need to be Glorified
Day One Hundred Ninety-eight

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee.”‘ John 17:1

During the years of His ministry our Lord anticipated His coming hour. He knew He faced a time of supreme testing. It had now come. He prayed in the Garden knowing that He stood under the shadow of the cross. He said that His ability to glorify the Father was dependent upon the Father glorifying the Son.

When my wife and I watched our child die, I knew that the only hope I had of giving glory to the Father lay in His willingness to glorify me with His presence, giving me the ability to glorify Him. I had no natural power to respond biblically reflecting His glory as we passed through “the valley of the shadow of death.” 269 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”270

When you pass through the fire of adversity, and Scripture assures you that you will,271 call upon the Father to do for you what He did for His Son. Do not try to glorify God in your own strength. Acknowledge as did Jesus, that without His presence you will be unable to respond properly to your time of testing.

269 Psalm 23:4
270 II Corinthians 12:9
271 cf. Isaiah 43:2, e.g.

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Psalm 18-19 Acts 20:17-38 (New King James Version)

Psalm 18-19
God the Sovereign Savior
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
18
I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
4
The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.
5
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
7
Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10
And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12
From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13
The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14
He sent out His arrows and scattered [e]the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16
He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19
He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
20
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23
I was also blameless [f]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25
With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26
With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27
For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.
28
For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29
For by You I can [g]run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is [h]proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
31
For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33
He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
34
He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.
37
I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38
I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39
For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40
You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41
They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42
Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.
43
You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the [j]nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.
44
As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners [k]submit to me.
45
The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.
46
The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47
It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
48
He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the [l]Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.
50
Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his [m]descendants forevermore.
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament[n] shows [o]His handiwork.
2
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4
Their [p]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a [q]tabernacle for the sun,
5
Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6
Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7
The law of the Lord is perfect, [r]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [s]honeycomb.
11
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
12
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of [t]great transgression.
14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my [u]strength and my Redeemer.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 18:2 Lit. rock
• Psalm 18:2 Strength
• Psalm 18:4 Lit. Belial
• Psalm 18:13 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; a few Heb. mss., LXX omit Hailstones and coals of fire
• Psalm 18:14 Lit. them
• Psalm 18:23 with
• Psalm 18:29 Or run through
• Psalm 18:30 Lit. refined
• Psalm 18:39 Lit. caused to bow
• Psalm 18:43 Gentiles
• Psalm 18:44 feign submission
• Psalm 18:49 nations
• Psalm 18:50 Lit. seed
• Psalm 19:1 expanse of heaven
• Psalm 19:1 the work of His hands
• Psalm 19:4 LXX, Syr., Vg. sound; Tg. business
• Psalm 19:4 tent
• Psalm 19:7 restoring
• Psalm 19:10 honey in the combs
• Psalm 19:13 Or much
• Psalm 19:14 Lit. rock

Acts 20:17-38
The Ephesian Elders Exhorted
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 [a]But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my [b]race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent[c] of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not [d]shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church [e]of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking [f]perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 [g]Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 Then they all wept [h]freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, 38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
Footnotes:
• Acts 20:24 NU But I do not count my life of any value or dear to myself
• Acts 20:24 course
• Acts 20:26 Lit. clean
• Acts 20:27 avoided declaring
• Acts 20:28 M of the Lord and God
• Acts 20:30 misleading
• Acts 20:34 NU, M omit Yes
• Acts 20:37 Lit. much