Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Sufferings can come to the Christian because of his faith in Jesus Christ. As he seeks to please Christ and do His will, sufferings can come perhaps as a result of persecution as in the experience of the Apostle Paul. He was not dismayed because he experienced the comfort and strengthening that Christ promised His disciples.
God Will Take Care of You
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
The prophet Isaiah gave these words to the poor and afflicted of God’s people so that they may be encouraged and strengthened in the heart to trust Him to take care of them.
The word “tribulation’ means “pressing together, squeezing”. It describes a pressure applied to a breaking point. The Apostle Paul speaks of the comfort of God’s mercies during the time of tribulation for God’s people. He is there for them to take care of them who are in any trouble.
Believers in the face of afflictions can attest to God’s help in sending relief, comfort and solace. It is in their experience of God’s presence in their afflictions that gives them the confidence to recommend Him to others going through affliction.
Our Father in heaven is called the Father of mercies because He dispenses His mercies to His people. Daniel admits in his prayer to this truth in Daniel 9:9-10 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against him; neither have we obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
Hymns: RHC 339 When I Fear My Faith Will Fail 311 Does Jesus Care? 318 Blessed Assurance
PSALM 147
1 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. 2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. 3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. 4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. 6 The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. 7 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: 8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. 10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. 12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. 13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. 14 He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. 16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. 17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? 18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. 19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. 20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 147:1-20 (KJV)
EXTOLLING OUR ALL-CARING GOD
William MacDonald observed well, “The letter is addressed to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia. The expression “church of God” means that it was an assembly of believers belonging to God. It was not a heathen assembly, or some nonreligious gathering of people, but a company of born-again Christians, called out from the world to belong to the Lord.”
The word “peace” comes from the Greek verb eirō which means “to join” and the noun eirēnē refers to “the things joined together. To make peace, therefore, means “to join together that which is separated.
It is the grace of God that brought our salvation. By grace, we are saved through faith. And the grace of God that came will continue to be speed believers along the pathway on the pilgrimage to heaven until they safely arrive home. We need to be reminded that the grace of God abides with His people to help them through life after they confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. A most fitting greeting among God’s people as they seek the Lord grace to strengthen each other. This grace comes from the Godhead.
Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.