The Lion Of God's Word

The Lion Of God’s Word

I love how the Apostle Paul used many images and comparisons in his preaching and writing to get the truth across to his readers, like in the following verse:

2 Timothy 2:8-9 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary says this about the word “bound” as used in this passage:

“…its ministry, course and efficacy were not hindered by the bonds and imprisonment suffered by the apostle.”

Even though Paul was imprisoned and bound, the Word of God was not.

“The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.” - Charles Spurgeon

“The Word of God can take care of itself, and will do so if we preach it, and cease defending it. See you that lion. They have caged him for his preservation; shut him up behind iron bars to secure him from his foes! See how a band of armed men have gathered together to protect the lion. What a clatter they make with their swords and spears! These mighty men are intent upon defending a lion. O fools, and slow of heart! Open that door! Let the lord of the forest come forth free. Who will dare to encounter him? What does he want with your guardian care? Let the pure gospel go forth in all its lion-like majesty, and it will soon clear its own way and ease itself of its adversaries.” – Charles Spurgeon - (“The Lover of God’s Law Filled with Peace”, sermon #2004, January 1888)

Don’t hold back the lion - just let it out!

2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.

The phrase “free course” means “to run or walk hastily (literally or figuratively).” Paul’s desire was that the Word of God was running freely, achieving its intended affect in the lives of those who heard it, with nothing hindering it from doing so.

Psalms 147:15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.

Keep studying, keep applying what you have learned, and keep sowing the seed of the Word in the hearts of the lost around you. Let the lion of God’s Word out to roam.

Isaiah 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

I love how we can run in the path of God’s will when we understand His Word:

Habakkuk 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

Psalms 119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

There’s A Lion In My Heart

There’s a lion in my heart,
Running freely through my veins;
I can’t hold back this power -
I give the Lord free reign.

This old world hates the Bible,
There’s no place left for God’s Word;
But still it cuts so deeply,
Through soul and spirit, like a sword.

Reading and studying daily,
Like Mary, at Jesus’ feet;
Searching for hidden treasures,
Gleaning wisdom and digging deep.

Mind filled and overflowing,
Mouth filled and opened wide;
I am weary with forbearing -
I cannot hold God’s Word inside.

Though at times I cannot speak,
And feel I am but a child,
There’s a lion in my soul,
Breaking free and running wild.

November 1st, 2022
Jerry Bouey

The Work Of Thy Hands

The Work Of Thy Hands

Half truth: God loves you just as you are!

Real truth: God loves you as you are (minus the sin), but He loves you too much to leave you as you are!

Jeremiah 18:2-6 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Our vessels, though created by the Potter, are marred by sin. We need the Lord Himself to remake and remold our broken, marred vessels. We need to be born again, be made new creatures in Christ Jesus. This can only happen through faith in His finished work upon the cross of Calvary. Have you trusted in Jesus alone to save you from your sins – have you trusted in the Saviour to do what He came to do: save you from your sins?

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus and His gift of salvation, not in your own good works, to save you, then the next verse is also applicable to you:

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.

God is working on each of us – not only working in our lives, but working directly inside us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Those who have trusted in Christ are new vessels that He has put back on the Potter's wheel and is remaking. The word for workmanship in the above passage is “poemia,” where we get our word “poem” from. As any writer knows, an Author keeps working on a poem until He gets it exactly right, exactly the way He wants it.

He is changing and transforming us, conforming us to the image of His Son.

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.

Not only is God working on us, we have His sure promise that He will strengthen and finish what He has begun! We need never fear – He won't rest content in His work until He has removed the blots out of our vessels. Though the work won't be completely finished until we get to Heaven, as we walk with Him daily we will be changed from glory to glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Psalms 68:28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.

Psalms 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

To perfect means to complete, to finish what He has started.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Isaiah 26:12 LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

One verse that the Lord has impressed upon my heart lately, and that I have shared with several friends in the Gospel Mission's drug and alcohol recovery program, is:

Psalms 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

We are like a clay vessel that has fallen, dropped on the ground and shattered. Because of our sins, we are lying among the pottery shards, broken and useless. But the Lord makes us a wonderful promise, if we have trusted in Him for salvation, He will make us as a dove whose wings are covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. We will be transformed from something marred, of no value, to something that is beautiful and virtuous. The next verse in this study expresses it wonderfully:

Song of Solomon 7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

God's work is the work of a cunning workman, a master craftsman – something that the Master has taken great pains with, that He has put time and effort into to make His finished product just right.

One final verse for us:

Job 14:14-15 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

Praise the Lord! Just as any good artist or writer, the Lord cares about His new creation, and desires to always be with us.

To end this study, I want to quote a devotion from Charles Spurgeon's Morning And Evening that has been a real blessing to me:

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." --Psalm 138:8

Most manifestly the confidence which the Psalmist here expressed was a divine confidence. He did not say, "I have grace enough to perfect that which concerneth me -- my faith is so steady that it will not stagger -- my love is so warm that it will never grow cold -- my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it; no, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we indulge in any confidence which is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our confidence is worse than a dream, it will fall upon us, and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion. All that Nature spins time will unravel, to the eternal confusion of all who are clothed therein. The Psalmist was wise, he rested upon nothing short of the Lord's work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is He who has carried it on; and if He does not finish it, it never will be complete. If there be one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness which we are to insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence, the Lord who began will perfect. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. Unbelief insinuates -- "You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart, you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you, you will be certainly allured by them and led astray." Ah! yes, we should indeed perish if left to our own strength. If we had alone to navigate our frail vessels over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but, thanks be to God, He will perfect that which concerneth us, and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in Him alone, and never too much concerned to have such a trust.

Preached April 17th/07
Jerry Bouey

Immanuel (Hymn by Charles Spurgeon)

Immanuel

When once I mourned a load of sin;
When conscience felt a wound within;
When all my works were thrown away;
When on my knees I knelt to pray,
Then, blissful hour, remembered well,
I learned Thy love, Immanuel.

When storms of sorrow toss my soul;
When waves of care around me roll;
When comforts sink, when joys shall flee;
When hopeless griefs shall gape for me,
One word the tempest's rage shall quell -
That word, Thy name, Immanuel.

When for the truth I suffer shame;
When foes pour scandal on my name;
When cruel taunts and jeers abound;
When "Bulls of Bashan" gird me round,
Secure within Thy tower I'll dwell -
That tower, Thy grace, Immanuel.

When hell enraged lifts up her roar;
When Satan stops my path before;
When fiends rejoice and wait my end;
When legioned hosts their arrows send,
Fear not, my soul, but hurl at hell
Thy battle-cry, Immanuel.

When down the hill of life I go;
When o'er my feet death's waters flow;
When in the deep'ning flood I sink;
When friends stand weeping on the brink,
I'll mingle with my last farewell
Thy lovely name, Immanuel.

When tears are banished from mine eye;
When fairer worlds than these are nigh;
When heaven shall fill my ravished sight;
When I shall bathe in sweet delight,
One joy all joys shall far excel,
To see Thy face, Immanuel.

Charles Spurgeon

This is one of my favourite poems - by my all-time favourite preacher.

The Lord Is Able

The Lord Is Able

What the Lord is able to do in our lives:

1) Able to give you an inheritance.

Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

2) Able to fulfill all His promises.

Romans 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.

3) Able to make you stand.

Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

4) Able to make all grace abound towards you (able to give you all you need to serve Him).

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.

5) Able to do exceeding abundantly.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

6) Able to subdue all things.

Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.

God can subdue the lions in the lions' den, the fire in the fiery furnace, the storms in your life, and the sin in your soul.

Micah 7:19 He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

The Lord can subdue this storm in your life and give you peace; He can subdue the mouth of that old roaring lion (the accuser of the brethren); He can quench and heal the fiery pain in your heart; and He can subdue any sins in your life, and cast them into the depths of the sea where He will never see them anymore.

7) Able to keep those committed to His trust.

2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

8) Able to aid those that are tempted.

Hebrews 2:18 For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted.

9) Able to save to the uttermost.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.

10) Able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless.

Jude 1:24 Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.

August 13th, 2004
Jerry Bouey

I wanted to add the following devotional from Charles Spurgeon, as it really builds upon what is presented in this study (or if you want to put it another way, this study really builds upon Spurgeon's devotional):

"Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn." Ruth 2:2

Downcast and troubled Christian, come and glean today in the broad field of promise. Here are abundance of precious promises, which exactly meet thy wants.

Take this one: "He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax." Doth not that suit thy case? A reed, helpless, insignificant, and weak, a bruised reed, out of which no music can come; weaker than weakness itself; a reed, and that reed bruised, yet, He will not break thee; but on the contrary, will restore and strengthen thee. Thou art like the smoking flax: no light, no warmth, can come from thee; but He will not quench thee; He will blow with His sweet breath of mercy till He fans thee to a flame.

Wouldst thou glean another ear? "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." What soft words! Thy heart is tender, and the Master knows it, and therefore He speaketh so gently to thee. Wilt thou not obey Him, and come to Him even now? Take another ear of corn: "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." How canst thou fear with such a wonderful assurance as this?

Thou mayest gather ten thousand such golden ears as these! "I have blotted out thy sins like a cloud, and like a thick cloud thy transgressions." Or this, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Or this, "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely." Our Master's field is very rich; behold the handfuls. See, there they lie before thee, poor timid believer! Gather them up, make them thine own, for Jesus bids thee take them. Be not afraid, only believe! Grasp these sweet promises, thresh them out by meditation and feed on them with joy.

(From Charles Spurgeon's Morning And Evening Devotional)

Marrow In Your Bones - Spiritually

This was something I had posted on a message board in March 2005, when my Mom was undergoing cancer treatments and the complications that resulted from that:

What happens when the marrow in your bones is depleted and how does that effect you physically? This is what my Mom is experiencing due to her health problems this past year. When she mentioned the fact of her marrow being depleted last week, it caused me to think of several passages in the Scriptures. I was wondering how the physical effects could picture spiritual effects.

Psalms 32:3-5 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Job 21:24 His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.

Psalms 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips:

Proverbs 3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

I have read some commentaries where they state the moisture and the marrow is referring to spiritual vitality. Is your physical vitality or strength lost when your bone marrow is being depleted or the moisture is diminishing - and vice-versa? How does that relate to the spiritual picture?

I remember reading Spurgeon's comments a while ago on Psalm 32, from his Treasury of David, so I will also post those here:

Verses 3-5. David now gives us his own experience: no instructor is so efficient as one who testifies to what he has personally known and felt. He writes well who like the spider spins his matter out of his own bowels.

Verse 3. When I kept silence. When through neglect I failed to confess, or through despair dared not do so, my bones, those solid pillars of my frame, the stronger portions of my bodily constitution, waxed old, began to decay with weakness, for my grief was so intense as to sap my health and destroy my vital energy. What a killing thing is sin! It is a pestilent disease! A fire in the bones! While we smother our sin it rages within, and like a gathering wound swells horribly and torments terribly. Through my roaring all the day long. He was silent as to confession, but not as to sorrow. Horror at his great guilt, drove David to incessant laments, until his voice was no longer like the articulate speech of man, but so full of sighing and groaning, that it resembled to hoarse roaring of a wounded beast. None knows the pangs of conviction but those who have endured them. The rack, the wheel, the flaming fagot are ease compared with the Tophet which a guilty conscience kindles within the breast: better suffer all the diseases which flesh is heir to, than lie under the crushing sense of the wrath of almighty God. The Spanish inquisition with all its tortures was nothing to the inquest which conscience holds within the heart.

Verse 4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. God's finger can crush us — what must his hand be, and that pressing heavily and continuously! Under terrors of conscience, men have little rest by night, for the grim thoughts of the day dog them to their chambers and haunt their dreams, or else they lie awake in a cold sweat of dread. God's hand is very helpful when it uplifts, but it is awful when it presses down: better a world on the shoulder, like Atlas, than God's hand on the heart, like David. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. The sap of his soul was dried, and the body through sympathy appeared to be bereft of its needful fluids. The oil was almost gone from the lamp of life, and the flame flickered as though it would soon expire. Unconfessed transgression, like a fierce poison, dried up the fountain of the man's strength and made him like a tree blasted by the lightning, or a plant withered by the scorching heat of a tropical sun. Alas! for a poor soul when it has learned its sin but forgets its Saviour, it goes hard with it indeed. Selah. It was time to change the tune, for the notes are very low in the scale, and with such hard usage, the strings of the harp are out of order: the next verse will surely be set to another key, or will rehearse a more joyful subject.

Verse 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee. After long lingering, the broken heart bethought itself of what it ought to have done at the first, and laid bare its bosom before the Lord. The lancet must be let into the gathering ulcer before relief can be afforded. The least thing we can do, if we would be pardoned, is to acknowledge our fault; if we are too proud for this we double deserve punishment. And mine iniquity have I not hid. We must confess the guilt as well as the fact of sin. It is useless to conceal it, for it is well known to God; it is beneficial to us to own it, for a full confession softens and humbles the heart. We must as far as possible unveil the secrets of the soul, dig up the hidden treasure of Achan, and by weight and measure bring out our sins. I said. This was his fixed resolution. I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord. Not to my fellow men or to the high priest, but unto Jehovah; even in those days of symbol the faithful looked to God alone for deliverance from sin's intolerable load, much more now, when types and shadows have vanished at the appearance of the dawn. When the soul determines to lay low and plead guilty, absolution is near at hand; hence we read, And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Not only was the sin itself pardoned, but the iniquity of it; the virus of its guilt was put away, and that at once, so soon as the acknowledgment was made. God's pardons are deep and thorough: the knife of mercy cuts at the roots of the ill weed of sin. Selah. Another pause is needed, for the matter is not such as may be hurried over.

"Pause, my soul, adore and wonder,
Ask, O why such love to me?
Grace has put me in the number
Of the Saviour's family.
Hallelujah!
Thanks, eternal thanks, to thee."

A couple more quotations from the same book:

Verse 4. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Another meaning may be attributed to these words. We may suppose the psalmist to be referring to spiritual drought.

Verse 4. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. The summer is from the middle of August to the middle of November. The intensity of the heat is great, and almost intolerable...

For more studies that use passages in the Psalms as the springboard:

Psalms Series