Day 8/14 – Obeying God

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Obeying God
Day Two Hundred Twenty-six

“And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

When God speaks, He expects to be obeyed. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.”295 You see the power of God’s Word in creation. As far as we can tell, the only ones who have had the audacity to disobey God are angels and people. Only humans have an opportunity for redemption. Since God took the effort to save us, we do well to listen to Him.

Only an individual with a false sense of security feels he can ignore God when He speaks. You are not responsible for what you do not know; God does not judge you for being ignorant. He only holds you accountable for what you do know. But beware of willful ignorance. If you could have and should have known, but did not make the effort, you are guilty.

There may be times when you appear obedient while being disobedient. For example, you may say you repent when you really don’t, like the person who says he is sorry for his crime and means by it that he is sorry that he got caught. Likewise, you are not necessarily pleasing God just because those who love you affirm what you do. Their love for you, or their reluctance to alter similar behavior in their own lives, can prejudice their council. In your heart you know whether you are as close to God as you ought to be; keep your ears open to your conscience, your heart open to God and your eyes in the Word.

295 Psalm 33:6

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Psalm 89-90 Romans 14 (New King James Version)

Psalm 89-90
Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings
A [a]Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2
For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3
“I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:
4
‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah
5
And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6
For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
7
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8
O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9
You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10
You have broken [b]Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12
The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13
You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16
In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17
For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our [c]horn is exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Then You spoke in a vision to Your [d]holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20
I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21
With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22
The enemy shall not [e]outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23
I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24
“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25
Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27
Also I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28
My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29
His seed also I will make to endure forever,
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30
“If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31
If they [f]break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33
Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not [g]utterly take from him,
Nor [h]allow My faithfulness to fail.
34
My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35
Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36
His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
37
It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
38
But You have cast off and abhorred,[i]
You have been furious with Your [j]anointed.
39
You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
You have [k]profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40
You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his [l]strongholds to ruin.
41
All who pass by the way plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43
You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
44
You have made his [m]glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
45
The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah
46
How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47
Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
48
What man can live and not [n]see death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of [o]the grave? Selah
49
Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You swore to David in Your truth?
50
Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51
With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your [p]anointed.
52
Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90–106
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
90
Lord, You have been our [q]dwelling place in all generations.
2
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You [r]had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3
You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
4
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5
You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
6
In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7
For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8
You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9
For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11
Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13
Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
14
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 89:1 Heb. Maschil
• Psalm 89:10 Egypt
• Psalm 89:17 Strength
• Psalm 89:19 So with many Heb. mss.; MT, LXX, Tg., Vg. holy ones
• Psalm 89:22 Or exact usury from him
• Psalm 89:31 profane
• Psalm 89:33 Lit. break off
• Psalm 89:33 Lit. deal falsely with My faithfulness
• Psalm 89:38 rejected
• Psalm 89:38 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
• Psalm 89:39 defiled
• Psalm 89:40 fortresses
• Psalm 89:44 splendor or brightness
• Psalm 89:48 experience death
• Psalm 89:48 Or Sheol
• Psalm 89:51 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
• Psalm 90:1 LXX, Tg., Vg. refuge
• Psalm 90:2 Lit. gave birth to

Romans 14
The Law of Liberty
14 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; [a]and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died [b]and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of [c]Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another [d]anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
The Law of Love
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in [e]these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may [f]edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with [g]offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles [h]or is offended or is made weak. 22 [i]Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is [j]sin.
Footnotes:
• Romans 14:6 NU omits the rest of this sentence.
• Romans 14:9 NU omits and rose
• Romans 14:10 NU God
• Romans 14:13 any longer
• Romans 14:18 NU this thing
• Romans 14:19 build up
• Romans 14:20 A feeling of giving offense
• Romans 14:21 NU omits the rest of v. 21.
• Romans 14:22 NU The faith which you have—have
• Romans 14:23 M puts Rom. 16:25–27 here.