Men should praise the Lord, and they ought to praise Him often. They should praise Him in scriptural manners and for scriptural reasons. Yet, no matter how lofty the praise may be that man offers to the Lord, it still falls short of declaring the greatness of God. In Nehemiah 9:5, the Levites admonished the people to “stand up and bless the LORD,” while at the same time expressing that the name of God far surpassed all their praises. Some might suggest that the failures of men’s praise should altogether exclude the praise, but the Levites emphasized that men still ought to offer their praise. Though the praise of men can never reach to the height of God’s worth, God still chose to inhabit the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).
God’s people should conscientiously cover themselves so that the shame of their nakedness does not appear to others. Yet, it is also important that their choice of covering be acceptable in the sight of the Lord. Some people have wrongfully assumed that the Lord does not give any thought to the attire of His people. God's word emphasizing the inward man does not reflect a lack of concern for the outward adornments. The assumption that it does is sometimes based upon a misapplication of 1 Samuel 16:7 where the Bible says, “for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Truly, man is generally limited to looking upon the outward appearance, but God sees both the outward appearance and the inward man. In fact, Proverbs 7:10 testifies to the validity of this truth. In that passage, the Holy Ghost plainly indicated that a woman’s clothing was representative of a harlot’s attire. Apparently, the Holy Ghost was keenly aware of what was seen on the outside.
When a believer meditates upon the things of God, those truths become more firmly planted in the heart. Eventually, the contents of the heart become evident from the words that escape the mouth (Luke 6:45). Therefore, the meditations of our heart will eventually be the words of our conversations. This is exactly the truth conveyed by Asaph in our passage from Psalm 77. He understood that meditation upon the work of God would eventually cause him to talk of God’s doings. It is right for God’s people to speak truth, especially when it concerns testifying to the truth of God’s holy words. Yet, this is not possible unless a believer first hides the words of God in his heart (Psalm 119:11), and one way to do so is through meditation.
In a day when the world uses the word love rather flippantly, the people of God need to revisit the concept of biblical love. The Bible says, “A friend loveth at all times.” This infers that the concept of falling in and out of love is unscriptural. Biblically defined love is not a fleeting emotion controlled by one’s feelings. It remains a choice based on the truths of scripture and falls outside the whims of one's emotional passions. The world declares its love for something and in the same breath declares its love lost for the latest passing fad. Just as God’s love for us remains permanent, so ought our love for others. Unfortunately, this fickleness has crept into the lives of the believers. We could learn much by considering the example of the Lord’s love for His enemies even after they had so cruelly nailed Him to the tree (Luke 23:34). Biblical love forgives and continues to unconditionally forgive regardless of any objectionable response to one’s love (Proverbs 10:12).
The common misconception concerning love is that it simply involves an emotion felt for those for whom we care. Although love is associated with our emotions, love is, in reality, much deeper than an emotion. It is first and foremost a choice that we consciously make. When God commanded His people to love Him, He was not asking them to feel an emotion, but rather, to choose to care for Him. In like manner, when the Lord commanded husbands to love their wives (Ephesians 5:25), He was not asking merely for an emotional attachment, but something much deeper and far greater. In fact, love is something that can be taught and learned. In Titus 2:4, the older women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands and children. Therefore, when God asks us to love, He is asking us to make a choice to love others regardless of our swinging moods or wavering feelings. Love is a choice to make and a decision to do what God has directed His children to do.
A leader who has no followers is no leader. The disciples were given some explicit instructions from the Lord. Like each of us, they had a responsibility to do God’s work, yet Simon Peter chose instead to go fishing. His decision influenced others to move in the same direction away from the will of God. The disciples blindly followed his lead. The Lord had admonished Peter to strengthen his brethren (Luke 22:32), but under Peter’s leadership, the disciples became weak through disobedience. Perhaps Peter never desired to be a leader. He may have been satisfied to simply follow others, but God knew what was best for Peter and the other apostles. When Peter made the wrong decisions, he had others that he negatively affected. Every leader must consider that the direction he chooses will lead others in his footsteps.
Sorrows and tears fill the life of many people, yet one day all that will gloriously change for the child of God. Today, this world may laugh, mock, and ridicule the Lord and His people, but one day soon, the tide will turn. The Bible has some shocking truths. In fact, several passages attest to the fact that God will laugh at the wicked (Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:13; Psalm 59:8). This may seem harsh, but God is gracious, merciful, and longsuffering. The Lord will never laugh at the difficulties of any to whom He has not first offered refuge and deliverance. In like manner, wisdom personified in the Bible warns her rejecters that she too will laugh at their calamity and mock when their fear cometh (Proverbs 1:26). On the other hand, the Bible assures a glorious future time of laughter for the people of God (Luke 6:21).
Most of us would assume that the Lord laughed at some point during His earthly ministry, yet the scripture never focuses on this point. Rather, the scripture seems to focus on the fact that He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). We know very little of any laughter, yet we do know that He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). He further lamented over Jerusalem because of their rebellion (Luke 13:34). We also know that He sighed at the healing of the deaf man who had a speech impediment (Mark 7:34). Heaven affords the Lord great rejoicing, yet His earthly ministry was consumed by heartache rather than mirth. This most likely was a result of dealing with the consequences of man’s sin.
Most people would readily admit that they would rather laugh than cry. Yet, these are not God’s thoughts concerning the matter (Isaiah 55:8-9). According to the Bible, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Laughter seems much more enjoyable than sorrow, yet life’s lessons are learned much faster from sorrow than they are from amusement. Sorrow teaches us and molds us into better servants for the Lord. This does not mean that laughter is evil or harmful. It simply means that from God’s perspective, sorrow is a much better teacher. Solomon bluntly spoke of what he knew concerning laughter in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2. The Bible says that Solomon gave himself to mirth and pleasure. In the end, he found this mirth and pleasure to be vain.
The Old Testament shows that God’s people (the Jews) repeatedly turned from the Lord and worshipped idols. Because of their sinful ways, they spent a considerable amount of time in captivity. Each time they turned back to God, He was faithful to bring them out of their times of captivity. Today’s passage details one of those times when the people found joy in God’s deliverance. The Bible testifies that their mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with singing. The heathen took note and said, “The LORD hath done great things for them.” When God did something special for His people, the overflowing emotions turned to laughter. They were grateful to God for His unmerited goodness to them and it was manifested in that their mouths were filled with laughter. Christians should likewise be glad when God pours out His manifold blessings by delivering from physical or spiritual captivity.
