A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Long Road To Soul (#19950809)
by Connie J. Horn

“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:13).

One can be a soul winner only if he has been put through God’s school of repentance. David describes this process in Psalm 51, written “when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba” (title of Psalm 51).

First, note the recognition of sin and whom it ultimately concerns: “I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (vv.3,4). The sinner brings nothing to God but a prayer: “Have mercy upon me, O God . . . according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (v.1). He sees himself stained and ruined by sin. “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me” (vv.2,3).

When a sinner comes to God, he presents himself in his state as a willfully accountable sinner. This kind of vulnerability toward God recognizes also the gulf between what we are and what God desires. “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts” (v.6).

Only God can make us what He wants us to be: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (vv.7-10). When God’s Spirit convicts us, He mercifully gives us a glimpse of eternity without Him and our soul cries out: “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit” (vv.11,12).

Then after we are restored and upheld, we indeed have “good news” to share. We can “teach transgressors” His ways; and sinners, like us, will be converted. CJH

[Soldier4Christ]

Let Them Alone (#19950810)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone” (Hosea 4:17).

The Lord is long-suffering, and those who speak in His name should be also. There do come times, however, when further witness becomes useless or even harmful, or when continued inter-action merely invites contamination with ungodliness. In such cases, we must simply leave such people alone, following them with prayer and trusting God alone to deal with them.

Such was the ten-tribe nation of Israel, led by the tribe of Ephraim, just before God sent them into Assyrian captivity. God, through the prophet Hosea, told Judah henceforth to let them alone—they were hopelessly given over to pagan evolutionistic idolatry. The word “joined to” in our text means, literally, “under the spell of.”

The Lord Jesus used similarly harsh language in reference to the hypocritical Pharisees of His own day: “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14).

There are other similar warnings. Of those who come, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof,” Paul says: “from such turn away” (II Timothy 3:5). He has also warned us to “shun profane and vain babblings [that is, the empty philosophizing of those who reject God]: for they will increase unto more ungodliness” (II Timothy 2:16). “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).

Most, if not all, such warnings seem in context to apply especially to people who once knew and understood the truth, perhaps even professing to accept it for a time, and then knowingly rejected it. When such men oppose our testimony, God says to let them alone; He can deal with them better than we. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Christ, The Believer's Peace (#19950811)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace-offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD” (Leviticus 3:1).

The New Testament fulfillment of the peace-offering is found in Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Because of the voluntary offering of Christ on the cross, the believer has peace with God. Justification declares us righteous before the law-court of God. We were once guilty, but now have been set free. Where once we had no peace, we now have “perfect peace” (Isaiah 26:3). It is all possible because Christ was willing to become our peace-offering. “And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself” (Colossians 1:20). “For He is our peace . . . for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace. . . . And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh” (Ephesians 2:14,15,17).

The unsaved have no peace: “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21), but the believer has been given the gift of peace: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Plus, we have the fruit of peace: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . . (Galatians 5:22).

In Leviticus 3:5 God instructed Aaron to burn the peace-offering on the altar upon the burnt-sacrifice. The believer’s peace rests on the fact of the voluntary sacrifice of Christ. If Christ had not been willing to do the will of God at all costs, typified by the whole burnt offering, the believer could never have had peace. Our peace rests solely upon Christ. Righteousness and peace are wondrously met together in Christ (Psalm 85:10). NPS

[Soldier4Christ]

Eternal Blessings (#19950812)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21).

This beautiful text contains the last of over 40 New Testament occurrences of the phrase “eternal life,” or “everlasting life” (same Greek words). We receive God’s promise of life everlasting, of course, only through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ for “he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36).

This is not just eternal existence, however. The Scriptures give many wonderful promises of eternal blessings as well. We shall have an eternal home, “an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (II Corinthians 5:1). We are also joint heirs with Christ, “that by means of death . . . they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15).

God will wipe away all tears, for our heavenly Father “hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace” (II Thessalonians 2:16). There will even be unending glory for every believer, for He “hath called us unto His eternal glory” (I Peter 5:10). Therefore, as Paul says, “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Corinthians 4:17).

These eternal blessings are all ours through Jesus Christ, for He is “the author of eternal salvation” and has “obtained eternal redemption for us,” all accomplished through His own shed “blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 5:9; 9:12; 13:20).

We shall, in fact, reign as kings, with Him, in “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 1:11), where we “shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). Best of all, however, we shall be with our Savior throughout the endless ages to come. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Tithes And Offerings (#19950813)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

Today there is much talk of financial security. Our text gives the Biblical formula. The passage in which our text falls begins with a scathing indictment. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (v.. What a terrible thing, to rob God. The result of their thievery, in God’s eyes: “Ye are cursed with a curse” (v.9), such that their financial state was much worse than it would have been had they been obedient. This teaching and promise has not been rescinded (Luke 6:38; I Corinthians 16:2; etc.).

God’s charge to us as given in our text is in three steps. First we are told to obey; i.e., “bring ye.” This cannot be considered an option. Secondly, God proposes a test, “prove me,” He says, give and see if He lives up to His promises. Thirdly, trust His promise to meet our needs.

Note that His promise is also threefold. It abundantly covers present needs, for He promises to “pour you out a blessing” unmeasurable in quality or quantity. Likewise it covers the threat of future loss. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field” (v.11). Most precious is His promise to reward obedience and trust with a special relationship: “All nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land” (v.12).

Thus we see that with less than 100% of our income at our disposal, we will have greater financial security than if we had kept it all to ourselves, thereby robbing God. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Taking One's Leave (#19950814)
by Kenneth B. Cumming, Ph.D.

“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (II Corinthians 13:11).

When it comes to moving in new directions, the illustration of Jacob and Laban is a good one. Each had an interest in the inheritance of people and property, but both knew that separation must take place. “Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee” (Genesis 31:44). Then both parties placed a memorial to the event in the form of stones piled in two heaps: “. . . for he said, the LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another” (v.49). “And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place. And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him” (31:55; 32:1).

In like manner Paul in our text gives a closing counsel to the Corinthians that was meant to sustain them while they were apart. He urged them to be perfect, or complete. This can be accomplished only through Scripture: “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God . . . that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16,17).

In the midst of a God-directed transition to a new stage of life, there is no time to come apart or lose resolve. Rather it is a time to be confident and of good comfort, for God is in the event. He will see us through the adjustment. Further, Paul insists that at times like these, we should be of one mind, not wishing to return to the old situation or begrudge the separation, but peacefully content with our next adventure. Why? Because God is in it and His love is sufficient to carry us into the next cycle of our lives. KBC

[Soldier4Christ]

Jesus And The Flood (#19950815)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know” (I Corinthians 8:2).

There are many things which none of us can know—not even the Apostle Paul. Yet even with his realistic modesty, there are certain key truths which Paul could affirm with certainty, and so can we, on the same grounds as he.

One essential thing each of us should know, first of all, is this: “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18). A person needs to know that he is a lost and hopeless sinner before he will ever really come to Christ for salvation.

Once a lost sinner does receive Christ as Savior, however, he then should be able to declare with Paul the certainty of his own salvation. “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” (II Timothy 1:12).

The Christian life, once begun, is not necessarily easy. With Paul, in fact, it involved “labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, . . . In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (II Corinthians 11:23,27). Yet he could say with confidence: “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 8:28).

Because of such an assurance, he could also say: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound” (Philippians 4:11,12). Whatever life might bring, it could never shake his certainty of the life to come. “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”(II Corinthians 5:1). HMM

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:38,39).

The Lord Jesus Christ not only believed in the special, recent creation of all things by God (note Mark 10:6-8), but also in the worldwide Flood of Noah’s day, including the special preservation of life on the Ark. The Flood in which He believed was obviously not a “local flood,” for He compared it to the worldwide future impact of His second coming.

Neither was it a tranquil flood, nor a selective flood, for Jesus said: “the Flood came, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:27). It is clear that He was referring to—and that He believed—the Genesis record of the great Flood! There it says that the whole earth was “filled with violence” (Genesis 6:13), having first been filled with people, and that the resulting world-cleansing deluge was so cataclysmic that “every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth” (Genesis 7:23). Indeed, “the Flood came and took [literally ‘lifted’] them all away.”

This is what Jesus said, and what He believed, and therefore, those who are truly His disciples must also believe this. The destructive effects of the Flood can still be seen today, not only in the Biblical record, but also in the abundant evidences of cataclysmic destruction in the rocks and fossil graveyards all over the world. To refuse this evidence, as do many modern intellectuals, can only be because they “willingly are ignorant,” as Peter said in referring to this testimony (II Peter 3:5). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Jesus And Sin Forgiven (#19950816)
by Paul G. Humber, M.S.

“They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act” (John 8:4).

The origin of sex is a puzzlement for evolutionists, many of whom think nonsexual methods should have dominated reproductive processes. But sex did not evolve—Jesus designed it, taught how it should be used, and is Himself the solution to the problem of selfish sex.

Many who do not build their lives on His teachings find themselves floating in the ebb and flow of sexual confusion and trauma. One such person was “a woman . . . taken in adultery, in the very act (John 8:4).

The Lord had forbidden adultery (Exodus 20:14), and Jesus had extended this commandment: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27,28). Adultery and lust both are sinful!

Since He had come to save sinners, however, Jesus did not speak words of condemnation to this woman. Instead, He stooped down, wrote on the ground and said to those seeking her death, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). When all had left except the woman and Jesus, He knew she had repentant faith in her heart, so He said: “Go, and sin no more” (v.11).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). All who repent and trust Jesus are “in” Him. Just as the waters of judgment did not drown those in Noah’s Ark, so there is no condemnation to those in Jesus Christ.

“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?” (Romans 8:32). PGH

[Soldier4Christ]

Walk By Faith (#19950817)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7).

Although our text for today appears in parentheses in the King James Bible, it is a most important concept in Scripture and is the summary of an extensive passage which precedes it. Beginning with II Corinthians 4:8, Paul continually contrasts the seen and the unseen, finishing up with the admonition to “walk by faith.”

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (vv.4:8,9). Though we have trials on the outside, through faith we have inward triumph.

“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus . . . that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (vv.10,11). Even though “death worketh in us,” that same persecution results in “life in you” (v.12). Through faith we know “that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus” (v.14).

“Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (vv.16,17).

“If our earthly house [i.e., body] of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (5:1), “that mortality might be swallowed up of life” (v.4). The death and decay of this life will ultimately be eradicated. We know this to be fact, for He “hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit (v.5) as a guarantee of our resurrection, if indeed we have been born again by faith, the same faith by which we walk.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (v.4:18). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

True Deliverance (#19950818)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever Amen” (Matthew 6:13).

Certain Christian workers practice what they call a “deliverance ministry,” but true Biblical deliverance is better defined in terms of our text, which, of course, is the last petition in the prayer which Christ taught His disciples to pray. True deliverance is deliverance from evil, whatever form that evil might take, and preservation until God’s kingdom comes. Let us observe several scriptural accounts of true deliverance.

Note that the Greek word has the connotation of “rescue,” and this is its first occurrence in the New Testament, which makes its usage here especially significant. That the Lord will indeed provide such deliverance, if we pray for it in sincerity, is affirmed in many testimonies and promises. Burdened with the problems of his old sin nature, Paul cried out: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” But then the answer comes: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24,25). Even as his anticipated martyrdom was approaching, Paul could still testify: “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom” (II Timothy 4:18).

Peter also assures us that “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (II Peter 2:9). He is able to deliver His people from all the evils of this present evil world, to keep them and prepare them for the glory and the power of His coming kingdom, for He Himself is the Deliverance. “As it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer [same word], and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Battle Is The Lord's (#19950819)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands” (I Samuel 17.47).

These were the ringing words of faith uttered by young David as he faced the Philistine giant, Goliath. Without armor, or spear, or shield, and with only a sling and five smooth stones, David confronted the nine-foot champion of the pagan army in the name of the true God, and soon the giant lay dead with his face to the ground.

The battle must always be the Lord’s, “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Spiritual battles are not won by bullets, nor by ballots, nor by any human means. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). “There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. . . . Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy” (Psalm 33:16,18).

We even have a mandate to attack the enemy in His stronghold. Christ taught: “Upon this rock [of faith in Christ as divine Savior] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

It is easy, in trying to do a work for God, to rely on human abilities and devices, but these will fail, for the battle is the Lord’s. When the battle is going well, we must not boast, for the battle is the Lord’s. When the battle is going hard, we must not despair, for the battle is the Lord’s.

He is our strength. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (II Corinthians 10:3,4). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Minute Men (#19950820)
by Connie J. Horn

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16,17).

Because the Christian walk is a daily walk, it would follow that our “furnishing” or equipping would be a daily one, so that we will be fresh for any situation. We are to “take up (our) cross daily” (Luke 9:23); Paul said “I die daily” (I Corinthians 15:31); the Berean Christians “searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). The word “perfect” in our text verse actually means fresh and implies completeness. The completeness or perfectness in the context of our text verse means that we can be confident we are thoroughly equipped to face any demand, present or future; and serious study of the Scripture is a key to that equipping.

At times we may be called upon to give counsel. The psalmist’s source of counsel should be ours also: “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). We may be needed to give comfort, the “comfort of the Scriptures” (Romans 15:4). So many around us live in spiritual darkness, and Scripture is the lamp and the light that points the way to the “true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). Peter exhorted us to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (I Peter 3:15). The greatest need in Christianity today is for individual believers to study their Bibles and give God’s defense against a tireless battering by evolutionism and humanism.

The above are just some of the “good works” for which we are furnished daily. “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” (II Corinthians 9:. CJH

[Soldier4Christ]

Teaching Stones (#19950821)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it” (Habakkuk 2:19).

How foolish are those who worship idols—objects of wood and stone, with no life in them, not even when they are adorned in silver and gold. Can inanimate objects come to life and even become teachers? A child knows better.

But not college professors! All over the land, these proud purveyors of “science falsely so called” are indoctrinating young minds with the absurd belief that inorganic substances can somehow first become simple living substances and then eventually organize themselves all the way up to being people. They would not, of course, suggest that sticks and stones could suddenly become human (neither did the ancient idolaters, for that matter). They just believe that time—lots of it—can magically develop people out of much simpler substances than even these ancient philosophers ever imagined. “In the beginning, Hydrogen” is their arrogant notion.

But God will not be mocked in this way forever. Life can only come from life—ultimately from the living God! The wooden idol of the pagan is every bit as scientific as the evolutionary models of the modern intellectual; neither one can create life. “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not. . . . They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them” (Psalm 115:4,5,8).

Only God can create life, and He can even cause stones to teach. “Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: . . . Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?” (Job 12:8,9). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

God Remembers (#19950822)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged” (Genesis 8:1).

This verse contains the first mention of the beautiful word “remember” in the Bible, and it tells us that God remembers! During the awful cataclysm of the Flood, the most devastating event thus far in the history of the world, God still remembered the faithful obedience of Noah, and He even remembered every living thing!

We may forget many things, but God remembers: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward His name” (Hebrews 6:10). Nor does He ever forget a promise. The first mention of “remember” in the New Testament is the Spirit-inspired testimony of Zacharias: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people . . . to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham” (Luke 1:68,72,73). That promise had been made 2000 years before, but God remembered.

God even remembers the sparrows; “not one of them is forgotten before God” (Luke 12:6). And He certainly remembers His own children: “For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).

Even after the children of Israel had gone deeply into idolatry He could still say, “I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness” (Jeremiah 2:2).

God remembers the evil as well as the good, of course. The one thing He chooses not to remember is the sinful past of those who have come to Christ for forgiveness. “And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Summary Of Divine Judgment (#19950823)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy. 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. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old” (Micah 7:18-20).

The lengthy text above is quoted in its entirety, because, coming as it does at the end of Micah’s dual prophecy of imminent judgment of the sinful, rebellious nation of Judah, and of the coming glorious reign of the Lord, it sums up the work of God’s grace in dealing with iniquity. Each of the three verses quoted describe a part. Such grace:

Pardons iniquity (v.18): As sinners, we have the assurance of mercy instead of judgment. God pardons our iniquity, passes by our transgressions, retains not His anger. Why? “Because He delighteth in mercy.”

Subdues iniquity (v.19): As forgiven sinners who have tasted of His grace and mercy, we have assurance of deliverance in time of temptation. Why? Because “He will have compassion upon us.”

Performs what it promises (v.20): When circumstances surround and difficulties discourage, we have confidence in the inheritance of covenant promise, just as Jacob and Abraham did. Why? Because “Thou hast sworn,” and His own reputation is at stake.

Israel refused to respond to the warnings of the prophets to turn from their sinful ways. In doing so, they missed God’s great blessing, and reaped His wrath. May God grant us the wisdom and conviction to accept His mercy and compassion, and to believe He is still trustworthy regarding His promises. JDM