Frost covered leaves this morning."Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth." ~Genesis 8:11
"But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have 
taken us away." ~Isaiah 64:6
"The people of God, in affliction, confess and bewail their sins, owning themselves unworthy of his mercy. Sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Our deeds, whatever they may seem to be, if we think to merit by them at God's hand, are as rags, and will not cover us; filthy rags, and will but defile us. Even our few good works in which there is real excellence, as fruits of the Spirit, are so defective and defiled as done by us, that they need to be washed in the fountain open for sin and uncleanness. It bodes ill when prayer is kept back. To pray, is by faith to take hold of the promises the Lord has made of his good-will to us, and to plead them; to take hold of him, earnestly begging him not to leave us; or soliciting his return... God may delay for a time to answer our prayers, but he will, in the end, answer those who call on his name and hope in his mercy." ~Matthew Henry, on Isaiah 64 verses 6-12.
"Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor 
stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper." ~Psalm 1:1-3
"To meditate in God's word, is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with close application of mind and fixedness of thought. We must have constant regard to the word of God, as the rule of our actions, and the spring of our comforts; and have it in our thoughts night and day. For this purpose no time is amiss."
~Matthew Henry on Psalm 1:1: Verses 1-3.
4 comments:
Gracie, I hadn't connected that yet. Thanks for putting it like that. I see a similarity now between these verses connecting us to the leaves, and to Romans 11:17-20, using a branch analogy--
'And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.'
We especially like to sing Psalm One. :-)
Looking at that Psalm again, it is interesting to see the contrast. The righteous, with unwithering leaves, and the wicked, chaff. Kind of like dry leaves. :-)
Psalm 1:4
"The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away."
I agree that discerning wolves from sheep is important. I think it is part of being "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16b) Especial care is needed since we've been warned that "Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14b)
Thanks for the feedback, Gracie. It made me think. :-)
Thank you Naddy for sharing the Bible on your blog!
-J.L.M
The piece by Matthew Henry is wonderful. "To pray, is by faith to take hold of the promises the Lord has made of His goodwill to us, and to plead them; to take hold of Him, earnestly begging Him not to leave us;"... That is beautiful! Then he says that He may delay in an answer, but He will answer when the time is right. Amen... Sometimes the answer is the delay (wait), sometimes it is yes and other times no. He always answers us. That was very encouraging. Thank you Naddy.
You're welcome J.L.M. and A. Victoria. :-)
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