PSALM 27 VERSE 13 COMMENTARY Written and edited by Glenn Pease

13. I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

1. David is not just hoping for pie in the sky on high by and by when we die, but for

good things to be found all around right here on the ground. His hope is not just

eternal, but temporal. It is all about temporal salvation, and so he expects to

experience the goodness of God in time with the living, and not just in heaven with

those who have died. He expects to taste the goodness of God even in this fallen

world filled with enemies and trials of all kinds. David faces many sorrows and

trials, and so this life was not all good and glorious, but he was still filled with hope

because he knew God was good. If God is good, then his goodness should be seen in

the land of the living and not just in the land of the dead. Heaven is our greatest

hope, but the second greatest is heaven on earth tasting of the goodness of God right

now in time.

1B. M. Rev. Earl Ledden told of visiting an old saint who was on his death bed.

When he entered the room he thought the old man had already dropped off into

eternity. He bent over to whisper a final word of prayer, when to his surprise the

old man opened his eyes and said, "Brother Ledden, you see that I am still in the

land of the dying." This came as a shock to pastor Ledden for like most of us he

thought we were in the land of the living, but not so. We are in the land of the

dying, and those with Christ are in the land of the living where they can die no

more. This is true, but in this verse David is writing about experiencing the

goodness of God in this life, and not in the life to come.

2. There are those who even doubt that they will see the goodness of God in the land

of those beyond this life. The following humorous fiction story illustrates the big

question mark about the goodness of God even in heaven.

A Presbyterian, a Methodist, and a Baptist pastor and their wives were on a

cruise. A tidal wave came up and swamped the ship; they all drowned, and

next thing you know, they're standing before Saint Peter.

First came the Presbyterian and his wife. Saint Peter shook his head sadly.

"I can't let you in. You loved money too much. You loved it so much, you

even married a woman named Penny."

Then came the Methodist. "Sorry, can't let you in, either. You loved food

too much. You loved to eat so much, you even married a woman named Candy!"

The Baptist turned to his wife and whispered nervously,

"It doesn't look good, Fanny."

3. Money, food and sex are all important pleasures of this life, and when enjoyed in

moderation, they represent the goodness of God to us in the land of the living. Even

if we sometimes go beyond moderation we do not close the door to his goodness, for

where even sin abound, his goodness abounds even greater. Psalm 86:5 "You are

forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." If the

goodness of God did not rise above our sin, we would be sunk without hope, for

judgment is all we could expect from him. His goodness is seen in his giving and in

his forgiving, which continues to give even when we do not deserve it. This is grace

giving, and it is a major aspect of the goodness of God. It parallels parental love that

goes on doing all that a child needs for a good life even when they are disobedient

and displeasing to the parents. There may be negative consequences to pay, but

there is forgiveness and a continual flow of goodness toward that child. Such is our

experience as children of God. I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins he is faithful

and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It is

possible for a parent to be unforgiving to a child who comes confessing his fault, but

it is impossible for God to reject any who call upon him, for it is part of his very

essence to be forgiving and good, and abounding in love toward all who call to him.

This is temporal salvation, for it is being saved from the rejection and punishment

that our sins deserve. It is tasting the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

4. Spurgeon wrote, "We all know that this world is a very unpromising field for

faith; according to our varied experiences, we must all subscribe to the declaration

that this earth is, more or less, a vale of tears, that it is not our rest, for it is

polluted. There are too many thorns in this nest for us to abide comfortably

in it. This world is under the curse, so it still bringeth forth thorns and

thistles, and in the sweat of our face do we eat our bread until we return to

the earth out of which man was at first taken. Were this world really to be

our home, it would be a terrible fate for us; if we were always to live in this

huge penal settlement, it would be sad indeed for us to know that we had

continually to dwell where the shadow of the curse ever lingers, and where

we have only the shadow of the cross to sustain us under it. But faith

comes into this unpromising field, and believes that she shall see the

goodness of the Lord even here. She rushes into the fiercest fight that ever

rages here, fully believing that she shall see the banner of the Lord’s mercy

and truth waving even there. She bears the burden and heat of the earthly

toil, and expects to experience the loving kindness of the Lord beneath it

all. She knows that she will see more of her God in the land beyond the

flood; but, still, she believes to, see the goodness of the Lord even in this

land of the living which is so distracted and disturbed with sorrows and

cares, and trials and tribulations."

4B. In this world of so much sin

I am still filled with delight,

For I know that I can win

And have a future that is bright.

I know One whose always been

Ready all my foes to smite.

He took on him human skin

To set everything aright.

He is now a next of kin,

And it does my soul excite.

It gives me an inner grin,

And makes my soul soar like a kite.

He’s beside me like a twin,

As against the world we fight,

And there’s no way to begin

To compare his awesome might.

My Lord is so genuine,

He is pure without a blight,

And by grace and discipline,

I will join Him in that height.

5. David is saying, "I know that I will live to see the Lord's goodness in this present

life." This temporal salvation is the key to the good life. It does not mean lack ot

suffering and trials, for temporal salvation is partial, for nobody, not even Jesus

could live in time and escape all suffering and disappointments. It means that in

spite of a world messed up by sin, there will be much to give thanks for in this fallen

world. "Someone has said that we aren't always delivered out of our circumstances,

but we are always delivered in our circumstances. At the end of Psalm 23, he said,

"I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life." Paul put it this

way, "We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him,

those whom he has called according to his purpose" (Rom.8.28). Paul knew that no

circumstances - not even death itself - "can separate us from the love of God which

is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord" (vv.38-39)."

6. The promise of, and our hope of, eternal salvation is what enables us to endure

the trials of this life still looking for the goodness of God. Peter wrote to suffering

Christians with these words of hope, "Let us give thanks to the God and Father of

our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising

Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, and so we look forward to

possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you

in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away. They are for you, who

through faith are kept safe by God's power for the salvation which is ready to be

revealed at the end of time. Be glad about this, even though it may now be

necessary for you to be sad for awhile because of the many kinds of trials you

suffer…" (1 Peter 1.3-6)

7. As Christians we live in two worlds at the same time, and so we need to maintain

a balance where we are not so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good, or so

earthly minded that we fail to live with eternity's values in view. I Tim. 4:8 "For

physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding

promise for both the present life and the life to come." There are values that are for

time only, and those that are for both time and eternity. Our focus ought to be on

those things that have both temporal and eternal value. This does not mean we can

ignore the values that end with time, for they are still a part of the blessings of God

in this fallen world. Exercise may not be of any eternal value, but it can still be a

blessing for time and enable us to enjoy more of the goodness of God in the land of

the living.

8. David's confident hope of earthly blessing is based on God's goodness. Everything

we expect to get from God is based on his goodness, but the fact is, the goodness of

God is highly questionable by those who are unbelievers, agnostics and skeptics.

There is so much evil in the world that they see too many reasons to doubt God's

goodness. What we need to see is that we start with the fact that God's revelation

declares that he is good. He is incapable of doing evil, for he is light and in him is no

darkness at all. If we believe the Bible, God can only do good, for he is good and

cannot do evil, and so all that God does is good. When you start with this concept,

based on all the Scripture we share below, you recognize that everything that makes

you doubt God's goodness is based on your assumption that all the bad things in the

world are somehow his will. Get rid of that nonsense and you will no longer need to

doubt God's goodness. All the evil and bad things that leads people to reject God are

not his will at all. He is the author of all that is good, true and beautiful. Every good

and perfect gift comes from the Father above. God is good and all he does is good.

Get this reality in your head and you will seek to find other explanations for why the

world is so full of what is not good. If not from God, it has to have another source,

and when people realize this they can overcome their anger and rebellion against

God, and the world is full of it even though it has not basis.

8B. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT GOD'S GOODNESS

Exodus 33:19

And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will

proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will

have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord

God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,"

NKJV

2 Chronicles 6:41

"Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your

might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints

rejoice in your goodness.

Nehemiah 9:25

They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled

with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit

trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in

your great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:35

Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the

spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their

evil ways.

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the

house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 25:8 — Good and upright is the Lord.

Psalm 27:13

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the

living.

Psalm 31:19

How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which

you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

Psalm 33:5

He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the

LORD.

Psalm 69:16

Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to

me.

Psalm 86:5

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all

them that call upon thee.

Psalm 86:17

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 109:21

But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake; out of the

goodness of your love, deliver me.

Psalm 116:12

How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?

Psalm 136:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures

forever. NKJV

Psalm 142:7

Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will

gather about me because of your goodness to me.

Psalm 145:7

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Nahum 1:7

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that

trust in him.

Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and

longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

NKJV

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness,

Hebrews 6:5

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,

James 1:17 — Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down

from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

2 Peter 1:3

[ Making One's Calling and Election Sure ] His divine power has given us

everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called

us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:5

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to

goodness, knowledge;

"God is good. Don Moen has a song out with Integrity called God Is Good All The

Time, and it's just that simple. God is a good God. He's not an evil God. He's not a

vindictive God. He's not a spiteful God. He's not a capricious God. He's a good

God."

9. GOD'S UNIVERSAL GOODNESS OR COMMON GRACE

Psalm 145:9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

It is a major mistake to limit God's goodness to the saints of God, or to believers as

an exclusive group who alone can taste of God's goodness. Even those who do not

believe are blest with abundant examples of God's goodness. The rain and sun

brings forth fruit on the land of the godless the same as on the land of the believer.

Unbelievers are favored with healthy children, and good jobs and a life filled with

beauty and happiness of all kinds.

Acts 17:23-31 Amplified Version

23For as I passed along and carefully observed your objects of worship, I came

also upon an altar with this inscription, To the unknown god. Now what you are

already worshiping as unknown, this I set forth to you.

24The God Who produced and formed the world and all things in it, being Lord

of heaven and earth, does not dwell in handmade shrines.

25Neither is He served by human hands, as though He lacked anything, for it is

He Himself Who gives life and breath and all things to all [people].

26And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of

men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted

periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands,

and abodes),

27So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and

find Him, although He is not far from each one of us.

28For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own]

poets have said, For we are also His offspring.

29Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to suppose that Deity (the

Godhead) is like gold or silver or stone, [of the nature of] a representation by human

art and imagination, or anything constructed or invented.

30Such [former] ages of ignorance God, it is true, ignored and allowed to pass

unnoticed; but now He charges all people everywhere to repent ([d]to change their

minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past

sins),

31Because He has fixed a day when He will judge the world righteously (justly) by

a Man Whom He has destined and appointed for that task, and He has made this

credible and given conviction and assurance and evidence to everyone by raising

Him from the dead.

THE MESSAGE

22-23So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for

them. "It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I

arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And

then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I'm here to introduce you to

this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you're dealing with.

24-29"The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and

land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for

him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures

don't make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made

the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after

God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play

hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't

get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' Well, if

we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a

sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

30-31"God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better—but that time is past.

The unknown is now known, and he's calling for a radical life-change. He has set a

day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has

already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from

the dead."

Matthew 5:43-45

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine

enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to

them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute

you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his

sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the

unjust.

Genesis 8:21-22

And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not

again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart

is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I

have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and

summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Psalm 145:9, 15-16

The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16

Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

Acts 14:17

Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us

rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Romans 5:6-8

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man

some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ

died for us.

9B. Here is a testimony of one who, like most of us, experiences common good every

day. "Besides being enjoyable, everyday pleasures can be useful. During those

darker times when I cannot bring myself to face God, I still cannot turn off delight. I

am stuck with goodness. Sometimes, it seems as though all I have to hold on to is one

small enjoyment. Something feels good, and no one can take it from me—sun rays

on my face, a toddler's hand in mine, managing to tell the truth, a shower, a day

without a headache, the five minutes I spend reading an article in The Economist

that makes my world both stranger and easier to grasp. On those unguarded

occasions when I can taste, see, feel, smell, and know that, in Gerard Manley

Hopkins's words, "the world is charged with the grandeur of God," I revel a little. I

notice. Something must have propelled the sun from behind the clouds. Some power

must have suspended it in just the right spot. Suddenly, without putting much

thought into it, I find myself saying thank you. A lungful of marvel becomes a

prayer of gratitude. Supposedly ordinary acts turn sacramental, with no effort on

my part. This, too, is worship: to receive all good things and to bow our heads in the

knowledge that they come from God. To take whatever is lovely, splendid, pure,

noble, and true—and to follow where it leads. To taste and see that the Lord is

good." Non-Christians experience these things also.

9C. Wayne Grudem wrote, "When we walk down a street and see houses and

gardens and families dwelling in security, or when we do business in the

marketplace and see the abundant results of technological progress, or when we

walk through the woods and see the beauty of nature, or when we are protected by

government, or when we are educated from the vast storehouse of human

knowledge, we should realize not only that God in his sovereignty is ultimately

responsible for all of these blessings, but also that God has granted them to sinners

who are totally undeserving of any of them. Scripture supports these conclusions:

1. In "Nature" (i.e. Creation) God pours out blessings on all without distinction -

fresh air and water, family, weather, pleasure and creativity (Matt. 5:44f. Acts

14:17; Lk 6:33). Though this world is fallen and tainted we nevertheless enjoy God's

benevolent provision.

2. In Morality and Ethics. God has given all men consciences (the law written on our

hearts, Rom 2:15). Conscience is to mirror and be trained by the law of the Lord -

but even in the non-believer it is not completely corrupted. General agreements

about dishonesty, laziness, cruelty, infidelity and theft are found in every culture.

3. In Society (Gen 2) and Government (Romans 13). God has instituted marriage as

a creation ordinance and delegated authority (exousia) to kings and princes.

4. In the influence believers make on the world through teaching, social action

(emancipation and education movements) and through their prayers (e.g. Mtt. 5:13-

6 et. al.).Implications

a.. Common Grace will allow me to work with those who we may disagree with

radically in some areas, but in other areas we may collude - whenever the good, true

and right is being pursued. We are reminded that total depravity is not utter

depravity - bad pagans do good things!

b.. Common Grace urges me to realize that God's plans are broader than

soteriology. Clearly we must be always concerned that people hear the Gospel, but

good music, inspiring art, eloquent writing, glorious sunsets etc. should receive

commendation and, for the believer, result in praise to God!

c.. Common Grace encourages me to be thankful and encouraging of giftedness in

any area of life and; conversely, to work for the prospering of goodness where it is

not seen. It also helps to prevent dualism – for there is no separation between

"secular" actions and "spiritual" action.. God is the giver of both.

d.. Common Grace does not save people - indeed God's blessing may lead to pride

and complacency - however Christians should be engaged in encouraging non-

believers to see his kindness and come to repentance (Acts 14:17; Rom 2:4).

However, having the kindness of God displayed before them, a non-believer may be

more disposed to hear the Gospel."

10. The bottom line is, God loves mankind, and he had provided a great deal for

their comfort and happiness in this world, but he cares about their eternal

happiness as well, and so he has provided a way for them to have access to that

eternal happiness by faith in the Savior he sent to die for them and then rise from

the dead, thus giving hope for man beyond death. God so loved the world that he

gave his only begotten son. God is for us and not against us as people. His goodness

is the foundation for all the good in the world, and for all the good he prepares for

eternity.

11. Spurgeon, " Kindness is a law of God's universe: the world was planned for

happiness; even now that sin has so sadly marred God's handiwork, and introduced

elements which were not from the beginning, the Lord has so arranged matters that

the fall is broken, the curse is met by an antidote, and the inevitable pain is softened

with mitigations. Even in this sin stricken world, under its disordered economy,

there are abundant traces of a hand skilful to soothe distress and heal disease. That

which makes life bearable is the tenderness of the great Father. This is seen in the

creation of an insect as well as in the ruling of nations. The Creator is never rough,

the Provider is never forgetful, the Ruler is never cruel. Nothing is done to create

disease, no organs are arranged to promote misery; the incoming of sickness and

pain is not according to the original design, but a result of our disordered state.

Man's body as it left the Maker's hand was neither framed for disease, decay, nor

death, neither was the purpose of it discomfort and anguish; far otherwise, it was

framed for a joyful activity, and a peaceful enjoyment of God. Jehovah has in great

consideration laid up in the world cures for our ailments, and helps for our

feebleness; and if many of these have been long in their discovery, it is because it

was more for man's benefit to find them out himself, than to have them labelled and

placed in order before his eyes. We may be sure of this, that Jehovah has never

taken delight in the ills of his creatures, but has sought their good, and laid himself

out to alleviate the distresses into which they have guiltily plunged themselves."

12. There is special goodness of God to those who love him and receive his Son.

Blessings:

John 1:12

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe on his name:

I John 3:1

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be

called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Ephesians 1:5

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,

according to the good pleasure of his will,

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them

who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:32

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not

with him also freely give us all things?

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with

all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we

should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,

according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the

beloved.

Ephesians 1:7-8

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according

to the riches of his grace;

8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Ephesians 1:13

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your

salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of

promise,

2 Peter 1:3-4

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life

and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these

ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in

the world through lust.

13 God has given his children a Purpose in Life:

Psalm 34:14

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God

hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Colossians 1:10

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every

good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Titus 3:8

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they

which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things

are good and profitable unto men.

Romans 8:29

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of

his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

14. Biblical Examples of Good Works

Psalm 133:1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Proverbs 12:25

Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

Micah 6:8

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of

thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Matthew 5:44-45

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them

that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his

sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the

unjust.

Matthew 7:11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your

children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to

them that ask him?"

Romans 12:9-21

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is

good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one

another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend

to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is

written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so

doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

I Thessalonians 5:15-21

See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good,

both among yourselves, and to all men.

16 Rejoice evermore.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning

you.

19 Quench not the Spirit.

20 Despise not prophesyings.

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

I Timothy 2:1-3

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving

of thanks, be made for all men;

2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable

life in all godliness and honesty.

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;

Titus 2:4-5

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love

their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own

husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Titus 3:1-2

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to

be ready to every good work, 2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but

gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

Philippians 2:13

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

15. God has enabled you to accomplish good.

Romans 7:18-19, 24-25

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is

present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good

that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve

the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all

sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

2 Peter 1:3

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life

and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

16. Consequences of Good Works

I Peter 2:12

Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak

against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold,

glorify God in the day of visitation.

Deuteronomy 6:24

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God,

for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye,

always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

17. EXAMPLES OF GOOD OUT OF EVIL

A. Spurgeon, "There is many a believer who has lived to see the

goodness of God to him. Bernard Gilpin’s case was a very clear one. As he

was on his way to London to be burned at the stake, his leg was broken,

and he had to stop on the road. He said it was all for the best, and so it

was; for, when he reached London, the bells were ringing, for Queen Mary

was dead, and Queen Elizabeth had come to the throne, so he was not

burned, the breaking of his leg had saved his life. Some of us have also

seen the goodness of the Lord displayed under very strange circumstances.

It was so in connection with that terrible calamity at the Surrey Gardens

Music Hall. Notwithstanding all the sorrow and suffering that it brought

upon us, as we now look back upon it, we see how God, by means of that

calamity, called public attention to the preaching of the Word; and I have

no doubt that, for every life that was then lost, a thousand souls have since

been saved from going down to the pit, so let God’s name be praised for

that gracious overruling of a terrible crime. You may not have to wait even

a day before you will distinctly see the goodness of the Lord; but you must

believe it before you see it. It must be a matter of duty to you now to

believe it; and then, by-and-by, it may be a matter of privilege to you to see

it.

B. There is a man lying upon the surgeon’s operating table, and the skillful

surgeon has to cut deeply; why does the man endure that operation?

Because he believes it is for his lasting good. He believes that the surgeon

will not cause him an atom of pain more than is necessary, and therefore he

lies quietly, and endures it all. But imagine that any of us were there, and

that we fancied that the operator meant to do us has instead of good. Then

we should rebel; but the conviction that it is all right helps us to play the

man, and to bear the pain with patience. That should be your attitude

towards God, my dear friend. May your belief in his goodness enable you

to bear the sharp cuts of the knife which he is using upon you!

C. Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew crashed in the South Pacific during World

War II. For weeks they drifted until all their food was gone. By the grace of God a

seagull landed on the head of Richenbacker. He grabbed it and they ate it. They

used the innards for bait to catch fish. They survived and were rescued. It was a

tragic experience, but one of the men said that he was glad the plane crashed, for

that experience took much of the nonsense out of his life. He said, "There is

something inside me now that won't let me forget that God stayed right by us out

there."

D. Wrecked outright on Jesus' breast;

Only wrecked souls thus can sing;

Little boats that hug the shore,

Fearing what the storm may bring,

Never find on Jesus' breast

All that wrecked souls mean by rest.

Wrecked outright. "Twas purest gain:

Henceforth other craft can see

That the storm may be a boon,

That, however wrought the sea,

God Himself doth watchful stand--

For the wreck is in His hand.

---M.E. Barbour

E. The headmaster of an important school was lame, and one day a friend said to

him, "What a pity that you are thus handicapped." "Do not say, 'What a pity,' but

'What a blessing,' he answered. "When I was ten years old I slipped on the floor,

and strained the ligaments of the hip. I was shut in for more than a year. One day,

when I was able to hobble around on a crutch, I heard my father say, 'As James can

do nothing on the farm, he may as well go to school.' 'No,' sighed mother, 'James

will never be strong enough to earn his living like the other boys.' So I went to

school and afterwards to college. My brothers are still on the farm, barely making a

livelihood. The last time I went home my dear old mother said, 'You will never

know how I prayed that you might be strong and staight like other boys; but, you

see, the Lord knows best. You are doing a great work. Your brothers are all so

proud of you."

F. E. Stanley Jones, "As a young Christian I stumbled and fell. As I got up and as I

brushed off my spiritual clothes, I said to the temper:

"All right, Mr. devil, you got me there, but I've learned a lesson I'll remember."

And I did. The learning of that lesson proved to be of value to me. It over balanced

the hurt from the fall. The fall was forgiven and wipped out, but the lesson lived on

a part of me laid up against a future situation. Just as a bone broken becomes

stronger at that place, when it heals, then the rest of the bone, so we can become

strong by our very weaknesses."

G. A group of men were carrying on a friendly conversation. One of them

remarked that he had learned to be especially careful about small things. "Would

you believe," he said, that a little thing like a pair of socks changed the entire

course of my life?" "I can hardly believe that," replied another man. "Well, it's

true! Once I planned to take a trip with some of my friends on a canal boat, but two

days before we intended to leave, I injured my foot while chopping wood. It was

only a small cut, but the blue dye in the homemade socks I wore poisoned the

wound, and I was compelled to stay at home. While my friends were on their

journey, a powerful preacher came to our town to hold revival meetings. Since I

didn't have anything else to do, I decided to attend. The message touched me deeply,

and as a result, I surrendered my heart to the Lord." Afterward I saw that I needed

to change my life in many ways. New desires and purposes took hold of me. I

determined also to seek an education, for I trusted that this would enable me to life

more usefully for the Lord." The man who made these comments was a former

President of the United States -- James A. Garfield!

H. A young woman was preparing to show some slides on a projector. A few of

them bothered her. She said, "It is hard to tell whether these are pictures of sunsets

or sunrises. They look just about the same." In those words she said something

profound about many of life’s experiences. So many things seem to be sunsets, that

is, they look as though night were closing in, as though there were no more hope.

Then these sunsets turn out to be sunrises; they usher in a new day with new

beginnings. It is God's overruling providence which so often turns sunsets into

sunrises."

I. Donald Hall writes, "When the Declaration of Independence was before Congress

that had their meeting near a livery-stable. The members wore short breeches and

silk stockings, and with handkerchief in hand they were diligently employed in

lashing the flies from their legs. So very vexatious were these annoying creatures

that they aroused impatience in the sufferers, and Jefferson said it hastened their

willingness to sign the great document. Jefferson gives credit to the flies for their

help that gave bite to a great nation. He told the story with glee as he revealed how

they signed the paper and fled from the scene. Of course, they were convinced, but

the flies moved them to action, whereas if they were comfortable they might have

delayed."

J. Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident

which taught her this principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just

been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet,

Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely

overcrowded and flea-infested. Their Scripture reading that morning

in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray

constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to

stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters.

Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy

persisted. She finally succumbed. During the months spent at that

camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible

study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several

months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the

barracks because of the fleas.

K. Early in his Christian life, E. Stanley Jones discovered the principle of using all

things for good. He immediately began to make it a central and driving force in his

life. He learned not just to bear opposition and difficulties in a passive manner, but

rather to actively use everything that happened, whether good, bad, or indifferent.

When he was 83 years old he wrote:

Make everything serve. Just as an airplane always rises

from an airport, not with the wind, but in the face of the wind,

so I would make oppositions send me up, not down......I

could make things make me when they were intended to

destroy me......

Jesus took the worst thing that could happen to him,

namely, the cross, and turned it into the best thing that

could happen to humanity, namely, its redemption. He

didn't bear the cross; he used it. The cross was sin, and he

turned it into the healing of sin; the cross was hate, and he

turned it into a revelation of love; the cross was man at his

worst, and Jesus turned it into God at his redemptive best.

The answer, then is: don't bear trouble, use it......

Take whatever happens---justice and injustice, pleasure and

pain, compliment and criticism---take it up into the purpose

of your life and make something out of it. Turn it into a tes-

timony. Don't explain evil; exploit evil; make it serve you.

Just as the lotus flower reaches down and takes up the mud

and mire to the purposes of its life and produces the lotus

flower out of them, so you are to take whatever happens

and make something out of it."

L. E. Stanley Jones writes, "Years ago some friends of mine in the restaurant

business in Oklahoma City were leaving to go further west to begin over again, for

they had not made a success of their business there. The wife had prepared a

chicken basket dinner for them to eat as they drove along. She was just getting

ready to hand him a piece of chicken, when the car hit a bump in the road and the

chicken fell on the floor. She picked it up and said, "I'm sorry, dear, but I'm afraid

I'm serving you 'Chicken-in-the-rough.'" He said, "Wait a minute! We are going

back!" They turned the car around and went back and founded a business which

they called "Chicken-in-the-Rough" and made a fortune. They took a bump in the

road and let it bump them into a million-dollar idea. He dedicated that fortune and

himself to God.

M. The greatest example of good out of evil is the death of Jesus on the cross. It was

a horrible crime of injustice, for he was innocent of all sin, and worthy to escape all

judgment. However, his innocent death was for our benefit, and because of it we can

be forgiven of all sin, and have the privilege of being raised with Jesus into the very

presence of God to dwell in heaven forever. That is the greatest good out of the

greatest evil. Death, however, is still the greatest challenge to God's goodness in this

world. There is so much tragic death that it even makes Christians struggle with

how to reconcile it with the goodness of God. It is important to study this issue of

death in order to see that it is compatible with God's goodness. This is what we will

do in the following section.

18. THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OF DEATH.

1. POSITIVE.

A. Death frees us from the limitations of the flesh. It makes possible the new life

beyond the flesh. The old must die to make way for the new. The new can never be

until the old is gone.

And thou, most kind and gentle death,

Waiting to hush our latest breath.

Thou leadest home the child of God,

Where Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

This is superficial in that death is an enemy even though God uses it to bring us into

His presence. The glory does not go to death, but rather to God who brings good

out of evil. But the fact does remain that death is the door to the presence of God

and so there is a positive side to this negative reality.

B. Thomas Parnell, Death is but a path that must be trod-if man would ever pass

to God.

C. Spurgeon, "Trees only grow to be cut down. Yes, and greater things than

these feel death. Empires rise and flourish; they flourish only to fall into decay,

they rise to fall. How often do we take up a history book, and read of the rise and

fall of empires. We hear of the coronation and the death of kings. Death is the

black servant who rides behind the chariot of life. See life! and death is close behind

it. Death reaches far throughout this world, and has stamped all terrestrial things

with an arrow pointing to the grave. Stars die; it is said that large and destructive

fires have been seen in outer space, and astronomers have marked the funerals of

planets--the decay of those mighty spheres, that we had imagined set forever in

sockets of silver, to glisten as the lamps of eternity. But blessed be God, there is one

place where death is not life's brother--where life reigns alone; "to live" is not the

first syllable which is to be followed by the next, "to die." There is a land where the

death bells are never tolled, where grave clothes are never put on, where graves are

never dug. Blessed land beyond the skies! To reach it, we must die."

D. Rev. Chauncey Giles writes about the blessedness of death. It seems a little too

flowery to me, and ignores the negative reality of death as an enemy and a curse, but

the bottom line is true. He wrote, "Death is generally regarded as a terrible

calamity. This misconception is due first to our looking at it only from the earthly

side; the eye which shone upon us is darkened, the lips silent, the hand cold and

lifeless; and it is due also to our thinking of the death of the material body as being

that of the man himself. But death should rather be regarded as a blessing. It is a

part of God's plan from the beginning. Man was not intended to remain in this

world forever. He is a spiritual being and his wants can only be supplied in a

spiritual world. Our material body is the swaddling clothes in which we are

wrapped. Death is a provision of the Divine love and wisdom. It is a step in life as

great for man as birth into this world. It is indeed birth into the spiritual world,

which is as much superior to this world in every way as the mind is superior to the

body.

Death has been represented as a merciless skeleton, sweeping young and old alike to

destruction. What a mistake! He is the most loving, gentle and beautiful of the

angels. He comes to cherish, not to destroy; to transplant, not to kill; to awake us

from sleep and lead us into life. Death opens the prison-door to the soul, breaks off

our chains, and with gentle hand and smiling face leads us to a bright eternal home,

where we shall find those who love us; a home to rest in, to live in, to love in; where

there will be free play for every faculty and ample means for the attainment of every

heavenly purpose. This is the blessedness to which death leads us."

E. In Book of Church Services of 1922 we read, "Help us to see that death is not

the destruction but the expansion of our life; that it opens the way into larger

opportunities of service, and higher joys....Strengthen us so to live this earthly life

that this world shall be but the vestibule of that higher and more beautiful home

where thy children dwell in everlasting felicity." Did not Paul say for me to live is

Christ and to die is gain. There is a way to see death as positive.

F. Spurgeon again wrote, "Here we see through a glass that is dark and cloudy,

but there we shall see face to face. There, what "eye has not seen nor ear heard"

shall be fully revealed to us. There, paradoxes will be unraveled, mysteries made

plain, obscure texts enlightened, confusing and questionable verses will be revealed

as being amazingly simple and true. The least of all souls in heaven knows more of

God than the greatest saint on the earth. The greatest saint on the earth may have it

said of him, "Nevertheless he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than

he." Not our greatest preachers understand as much of theology as the lambs of the

flock of glory. Not even the greatest masterminds of the earth understand one-

millionth part of the mighty meanings which have been discovered by souls

liberated from these bodies made from clay.

Yes, "To die is gain." Take away, take away that hearse, remove the covering of

black, adorn it in white with bright shiny decorations. There, take away the music

of the death march, rather lend me the trumpet and the drum. O hallelujah,

hallelujah, hallelujah; why do we cry as the saints go to heaven? They are not dead,

they have simply gone to heaven before us. Stop, stop that crying, hold back your

tears, clap your hands, clap your hands.

"They are supremely blessed,

Are done with care and sin and woe,

And with their Savior they rest."

What! weep! weep! for heads that are crowned with crowns of heaven? Weep, weep

for hands that hold the harps of gold? What, weep for eyes that see the Redeemer?

What, weep for hearts that are washed from sin, and are throbbing with eternal

bliss? What, weep for men that are in the Savior's arms? No; weep for yourselves,

that you are here. Weep that the mandate has not come which commands you to

die. Weep that you must remain. But not for them. I see them turning back on you

with loving wonder, and they exclaim, "Why do you weep? What, weep for poverty

that is clothed in riches? What, weep for sickness, that has inherited eternal health?

What, weep for shame, that is glorified; and weep for sinful mortality, that has

become immaculate? Oh, do not weep, but rejoice. If you knew what it was that I

have said to you, and where I have gone, you would rejoice with a joy that no man

should take from you."

G. Death is one of the means by which God eliminates evil. Fulton Sheen wrote,

"Once evil has come into the world, death is seen as a kind of blessing, for if there

was not death, evil could go on forever. That is why God stationed an angel with a

flaming sword at the gate of paradise, less fallen man, eating of the tree of

immortality, should immortalize his evil. But, because of death evil cannot carry on

its wickedness indefinately." His point is that God will not allow evil to become

eternal. He also wrote, "Death is God's necessary gift to a universe in which evil has

been let loose."

2. NEGATIVE.

A. Martyrs are greatly rewarded-why? Because death is evil. There would be

no point in rewarding men for a blessing. They are rewarded for suffering great

loss, and that great loss was their life.

B. Death is not a gift of God like life. It is the wages of sin. It is an intruder that

robs us of life which is good. There is a lot of superficial talk about God never

taking us until we finish our task, but I find no basis for such an idea in the Bible or

in the facts of life. If God was in charge of death and determined all death, then it

would not be an enemy, but a total friend.

C. "A former president of the American Medical Association once told me he

had never operated on a person who was ready to die. He did not mean he had

never operated on a good person, but that every person who had come before him

wanted to live a little longer. It is amazing how interested we are in personal

longevity."

D. Some say if life beyond is true it will banish all sorrow at death, but this is not

so, for Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus knowing he would soon raise him up.

Death is still an enemy and does rob us of something important to us even if heaven

be there waiting for us. It is still a loss of time and time is precious to us with our

loved ones.

E. What is death we all so dread?

Is it the termination of a life that has fled,

Or is it a transition from cares of earth

To the realms of bliss and perpetual mirth?

If death is a transition from earth to bliss;

The meeting of loved ones long we have missed,

Why should we dread the narrow span;

The narrow divide to the spirit land?

The reason is plain when you come to think

That the laws of God are a dividing link,

And he who trangresses the laws that were given

Stands aghast at the thought of the transition. -----C.M. Hoiner

In other words, we fear death because we are still sinners and fear we are not

worthy of the presence of God.

F. If death was a good and positive thing we would not be conditioned to resist

and fight it. The fear of death grows out of the fact that it robs us of what we love

and desire.

3. Death is both good and evil depending on circumstances, but we need to see that

death is not usually the personal choice of God. One of the areas where Christians

are more influenced by the Koran than the Bible is in this area of death.

Mohammed taught that all death is the will of God. You die when your number is

up and nothing can change or alter that destiny. This idea is commonly held, but is

it supported by the Bible? Let us look at the evidence.

God warns man about death in Gen.2:17 to prevent his dying. He said if you eat of

the forbidden fruit you shall surely die. He cannot warn about it, and seek to

prevent it, and at the same time will it to be. God did not want man to die. If I mean

it when I tell my child not to go down by the creek alone, I cannot be glad if he does

it, nor can it be my will that he does it. The warning is given because it is my will

that he does not do it. His warning was to prevent it. Death, therefore, is not God's

will, but, rather, the result of defying his will.

In Gen.4:8 we see the death of Abel as the first death. It was the result of an evil act

out of God's will. Murder can never be the will of God, for he makes it clear that it

is forbidden and contrary to his will. He did permit this evil act, and he does not

prevent other godly people from being murdered either, but his permissive will is

not the same as his positive will, or what he desires to be. God permits what he does

not will, for he has to do so if he is going to allow free will to be a reality in the

creatures he has made. Many of God's people have died at the hands of violent and

wicked men. Death that is caused by the anger, evil acts, and folly of men cannot be

attributed to God. Thousands die every year on the highway because of drunk

drivers, and who can say it is God's will that men drive drunk and kill by such

folly? If the folly and the blunders of men are the will of God then all the evil and

foolishness of life are of God and not man, for if God wills it what can men do? But

God is not the author of evil and so all death that results because of the evil of men

cannot be God's will. If you believe all death is the will of God then you are making

God the author of evil, and the one responsible for all of the evils and blunders of

men.

What we need to see is that God has limited his sovereignty by permitting free acts

that can be contrary to his will. If there are other wills in this universe besides the

will of God, and if these wills are free to act contrary to his will, then you will have

many things in the universe that are not God's will. This is why there is such a thing

as evil. It is a necessary reality in a universe where there are other wills than God's

will. If his was the only will there could be no evil, for evil by definition is that which

is contrary to the will of God. To say that everything is God's will is to deny evil, for

if God wills it, it has to be good. But the Bible makes it clear, there is much that is

not God's will and therefore evil. Evil is real, and if you make all death the will of

God you deny the reality of evil, and reject the Biblical perspective of reality. It

sounds good sometimes to say all is due to the sovereignty of God. Every flower

opens because God says open, and every bird sings because God says sing, and all

beauty of life is God's doing. But when we look at evil it is a horrible philosophy to

believe in determinism, for then every murder is because God says now murder, and

every rape because God says now rape. If we could take the good and leave the evil

out, it would be a fine idea, but you can't leave the evil out, and therefore the idea

that God determines all is contrary to the Scriptures, and the very nature of God.

God does not ordain what he forbids. That is why he judges those who do what he

forbids. They choose what he forbids and have to suffer the consequences of doing

what he does not will. The death penalty inflicted on those who do great evil is God's

will, but it is never his will that they do the sin that leads to this judgment and,

therefore, even this kind of death is not his will in the sense that he wants anyone to

die in judgment. His will is that they obey his commandments and never need to die.

It is a paradox that all who die in judgment die both out of God's will and by his

will. He does not want it but justice demands it. He does not will that they kill an

innocent person and commit a cold blooded murder, for he has made it clear this is

not his will in the ten commandments. But now that they have defied his will, he

does will that they pay the price of their own life for doing it. Death is his will now,

but only in a secondary sense, for he preferred that they never be worthy of such a

fate by obeying his command not to murder.

Bob Deffinbaugh tells this story: "When my Grandmother Palmer was alive, she

lived on a farm outside of Shelton, Washington. At the entrance to her driveway was

a small lot, where a small mobile home was parked. As I recall, the woman who

lived in the trailer and her husband were estranged. The husband, who had served

time in prison, was prone to violence. When the husband came to the mobile home

to see his wife, another man was there. An argument resulted, and blows were

exchanged. Ultimately, the woman's visitor brandished a weapon and demanded

that the husband leave. He left, but only while uttering threats about what he was

yet to do. A few hours later, my uncle came by to visit my grandmother. He was just

entering the driveway, very near the little mobile home where the altercation

occurred earlier. Unfortunately, my uncle was driving a car which looked similar to

the one driven by the estranged husband's adversary parked outside the trailer

earlier in the day. Gunshots rang out as the enraged husband fulfilled his vow. The

rifle easily penetrated the windshield, and my uncle was instantly killed -- by

mistake. The angry husband had killed my uncle, falsely assuming that he was his

adversary. " God forbids murder, and hatred so bad it leads to manslaughter, but it

happens daily because people do not care about God's respect for life.

19. EXAMPLES OF DEATH THAT GOD DOES NOT WILL:

1. Deut.20:1-9. 1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and

chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the

LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you

are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He

shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do

not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. 4

For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your

enemies to give you victory." 5 The officers shall say to the army: "Has anyone built

a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and

someone else may dedicate it. 6 Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to

enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. 7 Has

anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he

may die in battle and someone else marry her." 8 Then the officers shall add, "Is

any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not

become disheartened too." 9 When the officers have finished speaking to the army,

they shall appoint commanders over it." Deut. 24:5 "If a man has recently married,

he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to

be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married."

God will protect his people in general and give them victory, but the fact is he will

not protect every individual in war. Anyone can die in war and so provision was

made to keep certain people out of the war zone so they could live. God would not

perform a mass of miracles to prevent the death of these people. They had to stay

away from the battle or they could die. Even the most innocent can die in war and

they do. God wanted men who were single to stay out of the war zone until they had

a year to spend with their wives and have a child. Every man was to have a child,

and so they were to stay away from war lest they be killed before they had a chance

to marry and have that child. God is showing his goodness here in that he wants

young men to experience the basic good things of life before they die and never get

the chance. He will not protect the individual in battle, even though he will assure

the army as a whole will win the battle.

War is dangerous for everyone, and there can be dirty tricks so that even your own

soldiers can kill you. Uriah was a good guy and a great soldier, be he was

deliberately sent into battle, and then deserted by his own troops so he would be

killed by the order of David. This was murder, and was not the will of God. Millions

have died in war that was not the will of God but the evil of men. David did an evil

that led to many others dying in judgment as we see in IISam.12:7-15. " 7 Then

Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel,

says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I

gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you

the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given

you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil

in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to

be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore,

the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the

wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

2. "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring

calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to

one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did

it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "13 Then

David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The

LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing

this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, [a] the son born

to you will die."

None of this death was God's will in the sense that he wanted it to happen. His

wrath was provoked by David's evil deed, and all the death that resulted was not

what God wanted to happen, but man made it necessary. Most of the death of the

Old Testament was in this category.

What this means is that people can and do die all the time before there time. God

does not appoint a time for all to die. People make bad choices and die by there

folly. People say because God knows when we will die that he has appointed it. Not

so. God knows that in every large city someone will be murdered this week. His

knowing of it is not the cause of it. This reasoning has led many to argue that since

there is an appointed day of death it makes no difference what you do for you

cannot die until that day appointed. This means I can drive 100 miles per hour and

not worry if my day is not today. This is folly for you will likely make it your day by

such a decision. Men die by making bad choices, and not because God wills it that

they die. If the men he tells to stay home from war say if my number is not up I can

be in battle and will not die anyway, so I will go to battle, they will likely die before

their time and not because God set a day.

Are all the mistakes of the world the will of God? Does God will all of the math

mistakes in school that gives many students F's and D's. Does God will all of the

errors in bank statements and tax forms, and the thousands of other places where

they are made every day by the millions? NO, we assume all of this is human error

and not the will of God. Mistakes of men lead to death also that is not the will of

God. Dag Hammarskjold, the General Secretary of the U.N was killed in a plane

crash. In the wreckage of that plane a map lay open showing the town of Nadolo in

the Congo. The plane was headed for Nodola, Zambia. The map the pilot was going

by for Nodola showed a 1000 foot longer runway than the one at Nadolo. The result

of having the wrong map led to the death of this great and godly leader. It was only

an o where an a was but that slight mistake led to death. Is God the author of

human mistakes? No way.

We say doctors bury their mistake and this can be a fact. Doctors make mistakes

that lead to death. Parents leave poisons where children can get at them and they

dies by the hundreds every year. Is this God's will or human error? Once you say

God wills human error you remove all the responsibility from man and put it on

God, and blame God for all the mistakes of men. This is folly, and it leads people to

get mad at God for the foolishness of men. If all of the decisions and mistakes of men

are the will of God then you make God the author of all evil, and even all abortions

that kill a child are the will of God. You just as well blame God for your check book

not balancing if you are going to blame him for all the mistakes of men and call the

results his will. Nobody likes to accept blame but men have to face up to their

responsibility for causing mistakes which can lead to death that is not the will of

God.

3. Death can come by disobedience to God's warnings. He gives the warning so men

will not die, but men can chose to ignore the warnings. Lev. 10:1-10, "Aaron's sons

Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they

offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire

came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before

the LORD. 3 Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he

said:

" 'Among those who approach me

I will show myself holy;

in the sight of all the people

I will be honored.' "

Aaron remained silent.

4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said

to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of

the sanctuary." 5 So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the

camp, as Moses ordered. 6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and

Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, [a] and do not tear your clothes, or

you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your

relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by

fire. 7 Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the

LORD'S anointing oil is on you." So they did as Moses said. 8 Then the LORD said

to Aaron, 9 "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink

whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance

for the generations to come. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the

common, between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you must teach the Israelites all

the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses."

The Old Testament is full of commands that when broken lead to death. God wants

none of it, and that is why he gives the warnings. Men are free to ignore God's

warnings, however, and they pay the price. Is it God's will that they die? Yes and

no. No he did not want them to disobey, but yes, if they do he wills their death. His

primary will is that they not die, but his secondary will is they must to honor his

commands. If God warned of death and never carried it out it would be worthless to

have the commands in the first place.

When the communist rebels took over the capital Wembo Nyama Mission station

and held the missionaries hostage, they promised to allow the women and children

to be air lifted to safety. Burleigh Law was the pilot assigned to pick them up. He

was a good missionary pilot. If the missionaries were seated on the runway he was

not to come in. If they were standing he could come in. When he flew over they

were seated. It was a signal of danger. But he could not bear to leave them waiting,

and so he landed and was immediately shoot by a rebel soldier. It was love and

compassion that motivated him, but he deliberately ignored a warning signal and it

cost him his life.

Is it God's will that we ignore warning signals? If I see a flashing light warning of

an oncoming train and I ignore it and die, will anyone be so bold as to say the Lord

called me home? If that is not escapism I don't know what is. A Christian is

responsible for what he chooses to do with warnings. If he chooses to ignore them

his death will be his own responsibility. God did not call him home. If anyone did it

was his own stubborn pride and arrogance that called him home. Don't blame God

for human folly.

CITIES OF REFUGE

4. The cities of refuge imply clearly that death can be accidental and be neither

God's will nor the will of man, but the result of an unplanned act. God in his

goodness and mercy makes provision for the safety of those who accidentally kill

someone, which was obviously much easier to do in that day than today. All

accidental death is not death that God has ordained, for if it was, the all accidents

are God's will, but God makes provision for those who do them showing it is not his

will.

Deut. 19:1-13, "When the LORD your God has destroyed the nations whose land he

is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and

houses, 2 then set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the

LORD your God is giving you to possess. 3 Build roads to them and divide into

three parts the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that

anyone who kills a man may flee there. 4 This is the rule concerning the man who

kills another and flees there to save his life—one who kills his neighbor

unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 For instance, a man may go into the

forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head

may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these

cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a

rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not

deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. 7

This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities. 8 If the LORD

your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your forefathers, and

gives you the whole land he promised them, 9 because you carefully follow all these

laws I command you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk always in his

ways—then you are to set aside three more cities. 10 Do this so that innocent blood

will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your

inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed. 11 But if a man hates his

neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of

these cities, 12 the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the

city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show him no pity. You

must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well

with you."

Numbers 35:9-15, 20-28, "Then the LORD said to Moses: 10 "Speak to the

Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 11 select some

towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone

accidentally may flee. 12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a

person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. 13

These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. 14 Give three on this side of

the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. 15 These six towns will be a place

of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that

anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there."

20 If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him

intentionally so that he dies 21 or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he

dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall

put the murderer to death when he meets him. 22 " 'But if without hostility

someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally 23 or,

without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since

he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him, 24 the assembly must

judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. 25 The

assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and

send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the

death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 " 'But if the accused

ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he has fled 27 and the

avenger of blood finds him outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the

accused without being guilty of murder. 28 The accused must stay in his city of

refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may

he return to his own property."

Joshua 20, " 1 Then the LORD said to Joshua: 2 "Tell the Israelites to designate the

cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a

person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the

avenger of blood. 4 "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the

entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they

are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. 5 If the

avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he

killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. 6 He is to stay

in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the

high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the

town from which he fled." 7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country

of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is,

Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8 On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho [a]

they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in

Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Any of

the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could

flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to

standing trial before the assembly."

Believe it or not, these are not all that the Bible says about these cities of refuge.

They were so important to God that this topic takes up a lot of space in the Word of

God. God was determined to make sure that accidental death did not lead to

deliberate death of innocent people. These 6 cities were an enormous part of the

grace of God in providing for those who caused an accidental death. It was

equivalent to todays insurance companies who insure against any such event. To

show you just how important this insurance was to God, let me share some of the

insights of Andrew Bonar. He wrote, "There were six cities of refuge in the land of

Israel. These were so situated that any manslayer, when pursued, might find his

flight directed and his escape assisted by the very nature of the ground where they

stood. (1.) Three of them stood on one side of Jordan and three on the other. No

river rolled between him and his place of safety. (2.) All of them stood in plains;

Kedesh in the plains of Zaanaim, Sychem in the plain of Moreh, Hebron in a level

wilderness, Golan and Ramoth-Gilead at the foot of their adjoining hills. The

manslayer had no up-hill race to run in seeking deliverance ; there was nothing in

his way which might hinder his flight."

20. WHY DO PEOPLE DIE EARLY?

D. Gene Strother, "A friend of mine told me about a family that had become very

dear to him. He was best friends with this couple’s son, and his friend died. The

couple, unable to deal with the loss, "adopted" my friend. The unexpected tragedy

had a terrible affect on them, putting a strain on their marriage, and just a few days

ago, the man took an overdose of prescription medication and was hospitalized in

serious condition.

This story – and thousands like it – lead us to ask, "Why, Lord? Why do people die

prematurely?" The Bible makes it clear that some people do die prematurely –

before their appointed time. Why?"

We do have some clues, if not all the answers. Stephen died young at the hands of

legalists who took the law into their own hands, and stones him for his belief that

Jesus was the Son of God. Acts 7:57-60 reveals he died as a martyr for his faith.

Many of God's people have so died before their time. The world is full of injustice,

and believers suffer a great deal because of it. The injustice is an evil, and God is

never the author of evil, and so the good die young because of choices of evil people.

It has led to millions of innocent people dying before their time. Accidents come into

the picture here as well, and we have looked at that issue above.

Peter is another example of one who died because he was killed for his faith. We

read in John 21:18-19, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou

girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old,

thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee

whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify

God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me."

Early deaths which are the result of sin. Text: Ec.7:17- "Be not over much wicked,

neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?"

1. In 1 Jn.5:16- "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he

shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin

unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." We have the death of the innocent

because of injustice, but here we have the death of the guilty because they have done

something that is worthy of death. We have a number of capital crimes where

people are executed for their crime. I knew a Christian who died in the electric chair

because he killed a man. He became a believer in prison, but still had to die as a

young man for his crime. Many believers over the centuries have had to die justly

because they have violated the laws of God and man.

2. The Corinthian believers are an example of sin unto death: 1 Cor.11:30- "For this

cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." They died because of

disrespect and violation of God's will.

1. They were abusing the Lord’s table, each other and His house.

2. Their sin was willful and incessant.

3. "For this cause" many had died and others were dying.

3. Ananias and Sapphira [Acts 5:1-11] They conspired to lie to the Holy Spirit, and

it cost them an early death. None of these kinds of sins are God's will, and so it is

totally due to man's choices and not God's.

4. In the Old Testament we have the case of Moses who disobeyed God by striking

the rock instead of just speaking to it. He paid for that defiance of God witha

premature death. We read in Deut.32:48-52- "And the LORD spake unto Moses

that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo,

which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of

Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: And die in the

mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy

brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: Because ye

trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-

Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the

children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go

thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel."

As we read ahead inDeut.34:5-7 we see that Moses died in the best of health, and

might have lived many more years had he obeyed God. "So Moses the servant of

the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And

he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man

knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty

years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."

5. Disobedient children will cut their lives short by bringing dishonor on their

parents. Eph.6:1-3- "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That

it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."

6. Those who live lives of violence will likely die early. Mt.26:52- "Then said Jesus

unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword

shall perish with the sword."

7. Millions have died early because of tyrants who have had no respect for life, and

they have killed innocent people in vast numbers. This is one of the clear ways to

demonstrate that God doe not will such deaths. Here is my argument on this matter.

Because God is good he does not determine the death of every individual. He did

determine the death of His Son, and there are others as well that he has decreed

would die, such as Saul in the battle the next day, and a host of others in judgment.

But the idea that God determined all death is not only not Biblical, but it is a denial

of the goodness of God. Before we look at Scripture lets just look at this logically. If

God is the one who determines the day of all peoples death, then Hitler and Stalin

are to be recognized as the great heroes of history. They were doing God a major

favor, and the nations they ruled as well, for they killed millions of innocent people

in a matter of a short time. If they had not done so, all of those millions would have

had to be falling out of windows, crashing in planes and cars and being shot by

thieves, and a host of other terrible tragedies. The cities would have been filled with

bodies everywhere, but these noble servants saved all this mess by killing them all in

isolated places. It was all so clean and non-messy compared to people dying all over

the place. Hitler’s big ovens could handle thousands a day. He was just doing the

work of God more efficiently if, in fact, God was going to take all their lives that day

anyway. You see the point! Once you believe that God appoints all death you have

to make God the author of all the things that we hate. All the tragic accidents caused

by drunk drivers are really not their fault, for those people were appointed to die

that day anyway, and so they become God’s servants also, for you would not want

your loved ones to be killed by good people. It is much better they die by the choices

of irresponsible drunkards that you can hate. And why lock up the murderers, for

the ones they kill had to die that day anyway, and so it is no big deal.

If God is the one who appoints all death then all that mankind does to defeat disease

and dangers that take lives is a fight against God. And every time we defeat such a

disease we rob God of one of his servants that fulfills his will of taking lives. The

Bible teaches just the opposite and that is that all such efforts are a part of God’s

will. It is evil that is being overcome. Jesus spent his life overcoming all the evils that

rob people of health and life. He even raised people from the dead. Never once did

he injure another human and take a life. He came to give life and life abundant.

Death is the last enemy to be destroyed Paul says, and so death is no friend of God,

but the final enemy. If he appointed all death it would be his greatest servant doing

his will more consistently than any other servant. Hopefully you can see how

ridiculous it is to think that God appoints the death of all people. People die because

man is evil, and he takes life with no respect to the will of God. If you acknowledge

that the deaths caused by tyrants has been evil, then you have to acknowledge that

God had no part in it, for he is infinitely good, and does not partake of any evil. All

of the tragic history of man's evil, and murder of the innocent, is the work of evil

minds such as that in Satan and man, and never in the mind of God.

The fact is, God is the only one who is good in an absolute sense. We can be good in

a relative way, but we are fallen and corrupted by sin, and cannot be perfectly good.

God can be, and is, perfectly good, and this means he cannot be connected with

what is not good. All that is not good has its source somewhere other than God. God

is so good that he cannot add to his goodness, for he is already as good as possible,

and he cannot subtract from his goodness, for that would be to diminish what is

infinite, and that cannot be, for it is contrary to his very nature and being.

Father of all, in every age

In every clime adored

By saint, by savage, and by sage

Jehovah, Jove, or Lord;

Thou First Great Cause, least understood.

Who all my sense confined,

To know but this; that Thou art good,

And I, myself, am blind. Pope

21. The Bible says God is so good you can taste it. Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that

the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Bible in Basic English

By experience you will see that the Lord is good; happy is the man who has faith in

him.

Douay-Rheims Bible

O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him.

Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to

my mouth!

Tasting is experiencing, and so experience that God is good, for it is good to do so.

We use our taste buds in spiritual growth and in knowing the goodness of God.

Hebrews 6:5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to

come,

1 Peter 2:3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

22. God and chocolate have something in common, they both taste good. Some

people even make chocolate their god, and they come very near worshipping it.

They devote a good amount of money purchasing it and consuming it, and dreaming

about it when they can’t get to it. Believe it or not there is a novel called Chocolate

Jesus, written in 1998 by Stephen Jaramillo, and it is about a candy maker who

made chocolate candy for Easter made in the image of Jesus.

It was quite a surprise to me to discover that some Jewish congregations use

chocolate in their seder celebrations, and many Jews link God and chocolate

together in their lives. So Jewish people love chocolate, and they often thank God for

it, but they are not alone, for God and chocolate are popular subjects in current

books. We have for example:

How God gives us chocolate by Henrietta Gambill

...And on the 28th Day God Created Chocolate by Carrie J. Hickman

The Neurotic's Guide to God, Love, and Chocolate (Barbour Value Paperback) by

Lance Moore

Chocolate for Lent by Hilary Brand

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the tree Theobroma cacao. Theobroma is Greek

for 'food of the gods'. The ancient Aztecs venerated the cacao tree and used its beans

as a form of currency.

God and chocolate have this is common also that both are involved in healing. It was

often thought to have healing qualities, and today we know that dark chocolate is

the food with the highest level antioxidants to fight off alien bodies that enter the

body. An old ad went like this-

Don't worry about little things

There's no need to whine or fret.

As these reminders will tell you

All can be cured with chocolate!

A man found a bottle washed upon the shore. When he opened it a genie popped out

who gave him three wishes. He wished for a million dollars and poof... there was a

million dollars. Then he wished for a convertible and poof... there was a convertible.

Lastly, he wished he could be irresistible to all women and poof... he turned into a

box of chocolates.

23. I want to pursue this comparison with God and chocolate. It has it humorous

side, but also the serious side to show that taste is a powerful force in deciding the

choices people make. You cannot argue anyone into believing that Chocolate tastes

good. No argument however good, and however complete in giving all of the

ingredients and history and testimonies of satisfied customers will do the job of one

taste. So it is with God. People need to taste and see that he is good, for that is the

only way they will know that it is true. Chocolate is an idol, and it is a competitor

with God. It is connected with love, and God is love. It has many qualities that draw

people to it, and God has them all as well. Lets look at chocolate and the many

factors that make it an idol.

· Chocolate is a natural wonder drug.

· Chocolate is an antidepressant, which is especially useful as you start to gain

weight.

· Chocolate is an essential nutrient.

· Chocolate is the answer. Who cares what the question is!

· Chocolate is the eighth wonder of the world.

· Chocolate is the food group they don't tell you about!

· Chocolate is to die for. Only it's so sinfully good I'd never get to heaven!

· Chocolate is worth its weight in gold.

· Chocolate lovers unite!

Dieter's Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I should eat, the

courage to avoid the things I should not eat, and the wisdom to know that a little

chocolate makes it all go down better!

· Exercise is a dirty word... Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with

chocolate.

· Fall into chocolate, it makes life sweeter.

· First you consume chocolate and then chocolate consumes you.

· Friends and chocolate make life bearable.

· Friends are the chocolate chips of life.

· Give me chocolate or give me death, for to live without chocolate is not living!

· God gave the angels wings, and He gave us chocolate.

· God sends no stress that prayer and chocolate cannot handle!

· I am a woman of many moods, and they all require chocolate.

· I am not overweight. I'm just chocolate-enriched.

I never met a chocolate I didn't like.

· If God had meant us to be thin, He would NOT have created chocolate

Life is uncertain - have chocolate for breakfast

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of chocolate.

· Q: Is there life without chocolate? A: We don't know. No one dared to attempt it

yet.

· Question: Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous?

Answer: Because no one wants to quit.

Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare

hands and then eat just one of the pieces. -- Judith Viorst

Studies show that nine out of ten people like chocolate. It also proves that there's a

liar in every bunch.

· When no one is there, you can always count on chocolate!

· When no one understand you, chocolate is there.

· When the going gets tough, the tough get chocolate.

· When you count your blessings you can always count on chocolate.

In the post classic texts of which there are only four that are known to have

survived, Chocolate as we know it today is directly referred to as the god's food.

Chocolate was considered in rituals as well as in many religious ceremonies.

If God Was Chocolate

Bob Halligan, Jr., Linda Halligan

I can feel Your presence in the summer breeze / I can see the distance

between You and me / I can catch your fragrance from an April rose /

Sure can hear your rhythms when the thunder rolls / But I can’t taste

You; don’t think I’m s’posed to / But what would people do / /

Chorus: If God was chocolate; everyone loves chocolate / Everyone

would want Him, want Him all the time / You can almost taste it;

every godly visit, a party for the spirit, body, soul and mind / If God

was chocolate – chocolate - chocolate / Mm-mm – chocolate –

chocolate - chocolate //

Pray for an end to anger, you get a Hershey’s kiss / For each good

deed a Snickers, I could get used to this / Pray they stop the fighting in

the Middle East / and the battleground starts changing / to a chocolate

fondue feast / The whole world over we’d discover a whole new

hunger //

Chocolate - chocolate Chocolate - chocolate / Can almost taste You /

but I think it all through / and I think it’s also true that God is

broccoli, asparagus and herb tea / all that stuff that’s good for me that

may not taste divine / But it makes a good start at building me a

strong heart. So if you eat your broccoli / and you drink your herbal

tea, finish your supper and you will see. You will see how it can be

that // Chorus

Peggie's Place!

by Peggie C. Bohanon

One of my earliest kid memories is having been sent to the store to buy milk or

bread. My mom watched at the window as I went...but she did not see me return "in

due season." She watched and watched and eventually, she saw her little daughter

sauntering down the street with a "buddy," chocolate ice cream running down both

their faces. You see, on my way to the store, I encountered my friend who asked me

how much money I had. I showed her and she promptly suggested, "You freat me

and I'll freat you--and we'll both get some ice cream!" I wasn't too worldly-wise in

those days--I spent the milk money on memorable chocolate, made a good friend,

and got a good reprimand from my Mama!

Say "chocolate" and my eyes still light up--for you see, I've never outgrown the

delight of indulging in creamy, crunchy, NUTTY chocolate...can't you just taste it

now! Do our eyes also light up in delight when we hear the Name of Jesus? When we

grab a morsel of delight from God's Word? When we share that morsel with

another? Or has it become a hum-drum routine love affair--the chocolate's melted,

the wonder's gone, de-light has gone out! Oh, that we would fall in love anew today

with our Lord and Savior, to delight/re-light in His presence and rejoice in His

love....THEN go light up someone else's "DE-lighted" eyes (and there's a lot of

people in our world for whom the light's gone out!), as we share the light of His love-

-a smile, a hug, a word of encouragement--and yes, some CHOCOLATE too! Do it

today--and go have yourself a DELIGHTFUL day!

"More than 400 chemicals have been identified in chocolate, some of which could

affect mood. Zellner says she thinks any pharmacologically active chemicals in

chocolate occur in amounts too small to have an impact, but others aren't so sure.

Debra Waterhouse, a registered dietitian and the author of the 1999 book "Why

Women Need Chocolate," thinks both culture and chemicals come into play.

Chemicals in chocolate affect levels of the body's mood-affecting chemicals,

including serotonin, endorphins and phenylethylamine, which the body releases in

response to romance, Waterhouse says.

A comprehensive review of chocolate research, published in the October 1999

Journal of the American Dietetic Association, came to the same conclusion. Two

nutritionists at the University of Arizona in Tucson examined almost 75 research

papers published over the past two decades on the craving for chocolate -- and

decided emotions, social values, sensory qualities, chemicals and the hormonal

cycles of women all play a role. "It's the whole package," says co-author and

nutrition professor Doug Taren, Ph.D.

Of course, the swirl of clinical opinions matters little when it comes to pleasing your

sweetheart. "The bottom line is that chocolate does make women feel good,"

Waterhouse says. "If the message -- loud and clear -- is chocolate, trust your body,

let go of the guilt." From WebMD

SOME HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE

Mayans and Aztecs took beans from the cacao tree and made a drink they called

xocoatl. Aztec Indian legend held that cacao seeds had been brought from Paradise

and that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit of the cacao tree.

Ancient chronicles report that the Aztecs, believing that the god Quetzalcoatl

traveled to earth on a beam of light from the Morning Star with a cacao tree from

Paradise, took his offering to the people. They learned from Quetzalcoatl how to

roast and grind the cacao seeds, making a nourishing paste that could be dissolved

in water. They added spices and called this drink chocolatl, or bitter-water, and

believed it brought universal wisdom and knowledge.

Chocolate was first noted in 1519 when Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez visited

the court of Emperor Montezuma of Mexico. Reports claim that Montezuma took

no other beverage than the chocolatl (thick liquid chocolate flavored with vanilla

and spices) prepared as a froth the consistency of honey, which gradually dissolved

in the mouth. The fact that Montezuma consumed his chocolatl in goblets before

entering his harem led to the belief that it was an aphrodisiac.

In 1528 Cortez brought chocolate back from Mexico to the royal court of King

Charles V. Monks, hidden away in Spanish monasteries, processed the cocoa beans

and kept chocolate a secret for nearly a century. It made a profitable industry for

Spain, which planted cocoa trees in its overseas colonies.

24. Chocolate is just one of the many great tasting foods that God has blest us with

in this world, and there will be even greater tastes in heaven. Taste and all of our

senses are to be used in practicing the presence of God. Fred Grossenbach wrote,

"Read the verse “Taste and See that the Lord is Good.” Ask the Lord to show you

through your senses His goodness. Today. Now begin to be aware of your sense of

taste. Choose to notice what you taste today. Don’t put anything into your mouth

without noticing it. No mindless eating. When tasting something you enjoy today,

be it a steaming cup of bold dark roast coffee, or a ripe, sweet and juicy peach, feel

the liquid-- cold or hot filling your mouth and breathe deeply. Taste it. Notice the

temperature. The texture. The flavors. Let it linger in your mouth while you enjoy

what you are tasting. Thank the Lord for your sense of taste, and thank Him for

His goodness. Ask Him to remind you of His goodness through your sense of taste.

Ask Him what His goodness tastes like. Listen.

Whenever you can today, meditate upon the concept of tasting the Lord’s goodness.

Continue to notice your own sense of taste as you are eating and drinking today.

Taking time to do this will increase your ability to be more aware of the Lord’s

presence through your bodily sensation of taste. As you notice your senses of taste

and sight, you simply will become more aware of your surroundings, your reaction

to your surroundings, and the presence of the Holy Spirit within and around you.

You will increase your receptivity to encounter God through your body, your mind

and your spirit. As you continue to practice meditating on Psalm 34: 8a, you may

wish to expand your practice of meditating upon the Lord’s goodness to include

your sense of sound, touch and smell. If you practice the art of observing your

senses while asking the Lord to reveal Himself to you, you may find yourself

becoming more present, more receptive and more in tune with the holy presence of

the Living God."

"I once heard a wonderful analogy that was an extension of this verse. It was a

comparison of the knowledge of God's goodness to the tasting of a cake. If you have

tasted a cake, and found that it is wonderfully sweet on your tongue, you may try to

explain the experience to others. You may try to explain the taste using the most

descriptive words that you can find; you may tell of all of the ingredients that are

used to make the cake and that give it its taste; you may even write down the recipe

so that someone might be able to understand how the cake is made. However, until

another person actually tastes the cake for their self... it is impossible that they will

fully understand how good the cake actually is."

Spurgeon in his commentary on Psalm 34:8 has the following comments from

himself and others. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." wrote, ".. taste and see.

Make a trial, an inward, experimental trial of the goodness of God. You cannot see

except by tasting for yourself; but if you taste you shall see, for this, like Jonathan's

honey, enlightens the eyes. That the Lord is good. You can only know this really and

personally by experience. There is the banquet with its oxen and fatlings; its fat

things full of marrow, and wine on the lees well refined; but their sweetness will be

all unknown to you except you make the blessings of grace your own, by a living,

inward, vital participation in them......"

Our senses help our understandings; we cannot by the most rational discourse

perceive what the sweetness of honey is; taste it and you shall perceive it. "His fruit

was sweet to my taste. "Richard Alleine

Taste and see. There are some things, especially in the depths of the religious life,

which can only be understood by being experienced, and which even then are

incapable of being adequately embodied in words. O taste and see that the Lord is

good. The enjoyment must come before the illumination; or rather the enjoyment is

the illumination. There are things that must be loved before we can know them to be

worthy of our love; things to be believed before we can understand them to be

worthy of belief." Thomas Binney

25. The bottom line is, we must be confident that we will see the goodness of the

Lord in the land of the living. We will experience his goodness forever, but we must

seek to be aware that we are seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, and feeling his

goodness all the time in this life. I want to conclude the study of this verse with a

series of quotes and song lyrics that focus on the goodness of God.

1.A. W. Tozer wrote, "That God is good is taught or implied on every page of the

Bible and must be received as an article of faith as impregnable as the throne of

God. It is a foundation stone for all sound thought about God and is necessary to

moral sanity. To allow that God could be other than good is to deny the validity of

all thought and the negation of every moral judgment. If God is not good, then there

can be no distinction between kindness and cruelty, and heaven can be hell and hell,

heaven.

The goodness of God is the drive behind all the blessings He daily bestows upon us.

God created us because He felt good in His heart and He redeemed us for the same

reason. Christ walked with men on earth that He might show them what God is like

and make known the true nature of God to a race that had wrong ideas about Him.

This was only one of the things He did while here in the flesh, but this He did with

beautiful perfection. From Him we learn how God acts toward people. The

hypocritical, the basically insincere, will find Him cold and aloof, as they once found

Jesus; but the penitent will find Him merciful; the self-condemned will find Him

generous and kind. To the frightened He is friendly, to the poor in spirit He is

forgiving, to the ignorant, considerate; to the weak, gentle; to the stranger,

hospitable."

2. Psalm 52:9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will

hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

O God, my hope, my heavenly rest,

My all of happiness below,

Grant my importunate request,

To me, to me, Thy goodness show;

Thy beatific face display,

The brightness of eternal day.

Before my faith’s enlightened eyes,

Make all Thy gracious goodness pass;

Thy goodness is the sight I prize:

might I see Thy smiling face:

They nature in my soul proclaim,

Reveal Thy love, Thy glorious name. Charles Wesley

3. John H. Gurney,

Yes, God is good; in earth and sky,

From ocean depths and spreading wood,

Ten thousand voices seem to cry,

“God made us all, and God is good.”

The sun that keeps his trackless way

And downward pours his golden flood,

Night’s sparkling hosts, all seem to say,

In accents clear, that God is good.

The merry birds prolong the strain,

Their song with every spring renewed;

And balmy air, and falling rain,

Each softly whispers, “God is good.”

I hear it in the rushing breeze;

The hills that have for ages stood,

The echoing sky and roaring seas,

All swell the chorus, God is good.

Yes, God is good, all nature says,

By God’s own hand with speech endued;

And man, in louder notes of praise,

Should sing for joy that God is good.

For all Thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord,

But chiefly for our heavenly food;

Thy pardoning grace, Thy quickening word,

These prompt our song, that God is good.

4. Psalm 119:68 says, "You are good and what you do is good..."God is only good in

his nature, and he does only good in his actions. Strauss comments on these

powerful words: "First of all, God Himself is good; that is, He is everything that

God should be—the ideal person, the sum total of all perfection. There are no

defects or contradictions in Him, and nothing can be added to His nature to make

Him any better. He is excellence to an infinite degree, possessing every desirable

quality, and therefore of inestimable value. God is good.

Because God is Himself the highest and greatest good, He is also the source and

fountain of all other good. He does good things. He extends His goodness to others.

It is His nature to be kind, generous, and benevolent, to demonstrate good will

toward men, and to take great pleasure in making them happy. Because God is

good, He wants us to have what we need for our happiness and He sees that it is

available to us. Every good thing we now enjoy or ever hope to enjoy flows from

Him, and no good thing has ever existed or ever will exist that does not come from

His good hand."

5. Strauss goes on, "If everything God does is good and all His acts are the out

flowing of His goodness, it would seem that this attribute embraces all His other

attributes. There is some Biblical evidence for that. God promised Moses that He

would make all His goodness pass before him (Exodus 33:19). When God did pass

before him the next morning on Mount Sinai, He revealed His compassion, His

graciousness, His long-suffering, His mercy, His truth, and His forgiveness (Exodus

34:5-7). Evidently all those attributes were summed up in His goodness.

We readily can see the relationship between goodness and some of God’s other

attributes. For example, when His goodness gives of itself unconditionally and

sacrificially, it is love. When it shows favor to the guilty and undeserving, it is grace.

When it reaches out to relieve the miserable and distressed, it is mercy. When it

shows patience toward those who deserve punishment, it is long-suffering. When it

reveals to us the way things are, it is truth. When it bears the offense of our sin and

absolves us of our guilt, it is forgiveness. When the Bible says that God is good, it is

referring to all these qualities and more."