There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
I serve as president of a small public charity that gives scholarships to undergraduate students. Recently one recipient wrote a letter of thanks, saying: “I am grateful for your investment in my career, and it won’t go to waste.” Then he quoted Proverbs 14:23, “All hard work brings a profit.”Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are two books of the Bible considered wisdom literature. Both books offer important observations about God and humanity, living with wisdom versus living foolishly. Wisdom can be described as the knowledge it takes to live life skillfully. Having wisdom doesn’t mean you’ll always be profitable, but it does mean that you’ll be able to navigate your way through life’s various situations.The foundation of wisdom is learning to respect the Lord. Proverbs describes this as the fear of the Lord (v. 7). The phrase does not mean being terrified of God. Rather it means having respect for Him and His ways. Ecclesiastes ties this to obeying God’s commandments (Eccl. 12:13). Neither the Proverbs nor Ecclesiastes make promises the way promises are typically understood. Both agree that failure, difficulty, and frustration are part of the human condition. Wisdom literature does remind us that, in the end, we answer to a God who does not always tell us why He does what He does.In life, we may work very hard at something and still fail. That does not negate the biblical principle that hard work is good. It also does not negate that in a sinful world hard work does not always produce the fruit we want. Wisdom stands as the bedrock foundation of our confidence. We are to fear the Lord above all else and trust that He alone controls the results of your labor.
Go Deeper Do you feel like you bear the responsibility for the results of your work? Have you considered that your toiling and striving may be more about yourself than about honoring God? Extended Reading: Proverbs 1-2
Pray with Us Lord, thank You for the important principles You revealed in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. We ask for Your wisdom and knowledge. May we trust You, even when we don’t understand Your ways.
I must reverently adore God, as a Being transcendently bright and blessed, self-existent and self-sufficient, an infinite and eternal Spirit who has all perfections in himself, and give him the glory of his titles and attributes.
O LORD our God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, you cover yourself with light as with a garment; Psalm 104:1-2(ESV) and yet to us you make darkness your canopy, Psalm 18:11(ESV) for we cannot draw up our case because of darkness. Job 37:19(ESV)
This is the message which we have heard of you, and we set our seal to it that it is true: God is light, and in him is no darkness at all; 1 John 1:5(ESV) God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16(ESV)
You are the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, and from whom proceeds every good and perfect gift. James 1:17(ESV)
You are the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.1 Timothy 6:15-16(ESV)
46. How do you understand the words, “He ascended into heaven?”
That Christ, in sight of His disciples, was taken up from the earth into heaven;1 and that He is there for our benefit,2 until He shall come again to judge the living and the dead.3
1 Mk 16:19; Lk 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11; 2 Rom 8:34; Heb 4:14, 7:23-25, 9:24; 3 Mt 24:30; Acts 1:11
47. Is Christ, then, not with us unto the end of the world, as He has promised?1
Christ is true man and true God: according to His human nature, He is now not on earth;2 but according to His divine nature, majesty, grace, and Spirit, He is never absent from us.3
48. But are not the two natures in Christ separated from one another if the human nature is not wherever the divine nature is?
By no means; for since the divine nature is incomprehensible and everywhere present,1 it must follow that it is indeed beyond the bounds of the human nature, which He has taken on, nevertheless it is within this human nature and remains personally united to it.2
1 Jer 23:23-24; Acts 7:48-49; 2 Jn 1:14, 3:13; Col 2:9
49. What benefit do we receive from Christ’s ascension “into heaven?”
First, He is our Advocate in the presence of His Father in heaven.1 Second, we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge, that He, our Head, will also take us, His members, up to Himself.2 Third, He sends us His Spirit, as a down payment,3 by whose power we seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God, and not things on the earth.4
Glorious Grace by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). Read the rest at the link.
“And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shouting, crying, grace, grace!“—Zechariah 4:7
“The mercy of God is that attribute which we, the fallen, sinful race of Adam, stand in greatest need of, and God has been pleased, according to our needs, more gloriously to manifest this attribute than any other. The wonders of divine grace are the greatest of all wonders. The wonders of divine power and wisdom in the making [of] this great world are marvelous; other wonders of his justice in punishing sin are wonderful; many wonderful things have happened since the creation of the world, but none like the wonders of grace. “Grace, grace!” is the sound that the gospel rings with, “Grace, grace!” will be that shout which will ring in heaven forever; and perhaps what the angels sung at the birth of Christ, of God’s good will towards men, is the highest theme that ever they entered upon.” ~Jonathan Edwards
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (10:14)
The new sacrifice was effective because it gives believers eternal perfection. Again, it must be emphasized that perfection is eternal salvation. To make perfected here mean “spiritually matured” would not be consistent with the context. The death of Jesus Christ removes sin forever for those who belong to Him. We are totally secure in our Savior. We need cleansing when we fall into sin, but we need never fear God’s judgment on us because of our sin. As far as Christ’s sacrifice is concerned, we have already been sanctified and perfected—which is why He had to sacrifice Himself only once. Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin (10:18). The forgiveness is permanent because the sacrifice is permanent.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1983). Hebrews (p. 256). Moody Press.
Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14. because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Lord unto His Christ has said, Sit Thou at My right hand Until I make Thine enemies Submit to Thy command. —Psalter Hymnal
Psalm 110:1 appears frequently in the Epistle to the Hebrews as a direct quotation or an allusion (1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). Because of Jesus’ interpretation and application of this verse in answer to the question of the Pharisees, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” (Matt. 22:42 and parallels) and frequent allusions to this quotation in Paul’s epistles (Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1), I assume that Psalm 110:1 was a basic tenet of faith in the early church. The author of Hebrews employs this verse almost verbatim; he modifies the wording to fit the context of his writing. Since the time of his ascension, Christ has been “waiting for the moment when his enemies will be made his footstool.” He waits for the appropriate time, much the same as a farmer waits for the land to yield its produce in harvest season (James 5:7; also see Heb. 11:10). His enemies are all those who oppose Christ’s dominion, authority, and power. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26). Christ waits for the final destruction of his enemies. The conquering of Christ’s enemies is not as important as the one offering by which he perfected for all times “those who are being made holy.” The author of Hebrews teaches the same truth repeatedly. In 2:11 he writes, “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.” In 10:10 he refers to the will of God and says, “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” And last, he speaks of “the blood of the covenant that sanctified” the sinner (10:29). When does sanctification take place? The use of the present tense of 2:11 and 10:14 seems to indicate that making someone holy is a process, not a once-for-all act. “We have been made holy” (10:10) but are exhorted to “make every effort … to be holy” (12:14). We see that sanctification is something received but not yet achieved. The sacrifice of Christ, unique in itself, brought about holiness for the believer. That is, every believer receives these benefits of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross: his sins are forgiven; his conscience is cleansed; he has peace with God, assurance of salvation, and the gift of life eternal. Christ has perfected the believer forever. But even though the author writes that Christ “has made perfect forever those who are being made holy,” he shows in other passages the work of perfection is not yet complete in the recipients of his epistle. They are encouraged to resist sin, endure hardship, and submit to discipline (12:4, 7, 9). Perfection, in a sense, is here already and is also not yet here. We have this certainty, however, that we are perfected in Christ, who removed our sin by his sacrifice.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of Hebrews (Vol. 15, pp. 281–282). Baker Book House.
Ver. 14. Perfected for ever them that are sanctified.—
Perfection in faith:— I. THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE HERE INTENDED, UNDER THE TERM “SANCTIFIED”; they are described as sanctified persons. There are two meanings to the term “sanctified.” One is, “set apart.” God has set apart His people from before the foundation of the world, to be His chosen and peculiar inheritance. We are sanctified by God the Father. There is a second signification, which implies not the decree of the Father, but the work of the Holy Spirit. But the word here, I think, includes both of these senses; and I must try to find a figure which will embrace them both. And what is the apostle speaking about? In the ninth chapter he is speaking about the tabernacle, and the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread, and the sanctuary, and the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold, and the pot of manna; he is talking about priests, and holy things; and he is declaring that all these things of which he speaks were sanctified things, but that though they were sanctified things, they wanted to be made perfect by the sprinkling of blood. Now I believe the sanctification of our text is to be understood in this sense. II. IN WHAT SENSE ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND THAT CHRIST HAS PERFECTED THESE THAT ARE SANCTIFIED? When the golden vessels were brought into the temple or into the sanctuary, they were sanctified the very first moment that they were dedicated to God. No one dared to employ them for anything but holy uses. But they were not perfect. What did they need, then, to make them perfect? Why, to have blood sprinkled on them; and, as soon as the blood was sprinkled on them, those golden vessels were perfect vessels, officially perfect. God accepted them as being holy and perfect things, and they stood in His sight as instruments of an acceptable worship. Just so was it with the Levites and the priests. As soon as ever they were set apart to their office; as soon as ever they were bern, in fact, they were consecrated, they belonged to God; they were His peculiar priesthood. But they were not perfect until they had passed through divers washings, and had the blood sprinkled upon them. Then God looked upon them in their official priestly character, as being perfect persons. Here is one sense of the text. The apostle says that we who are the priests of God have a right as priests to go to God’s mercy-seat that is within the veil; but it were to our death to go there unless we were perfect. But we are perfect, for the blood of Christ has been sprinkled on us, and, therefore, our standing before God is the standing of perfection. Our standing, in our own conscience, is imperfection, just as the character of the priest might be imperfect. But that has nothing to do with it. Our standing in the sight of God is a standing of perfection; and when He sees the blood, as of old the destroying angel passed over Israel, so this day, when He sees the blood, God passes over our sins, and accepts us at the throne of His mercy, as if we were perfect. Therefore, let us come boldly; let us “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” And now we will have one more thought, and then I shall have given you the full meaning of the text. In the seventh chapter, the nineteenth verse, there is a word that is a key to the meaning of my text, and that helped me all through it. “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God.” Then with this, compare the tenth chapter and first verse, “The law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year, continually make the comers thereunto perfect.” There is the word “perfect”; and we have it in the text; “for then,” says he, if they had been perfect, “would they not have ceased to be offered.” Why offer any more, if you are a perfect man? “If the sacrifice made is perfect, the worshippers, once purged, should have had no more conscience of sin.” Now mark. The Jewish sacrifice was never intended to make the Jew’s moral character any better, and it did not; it had no effect upon what we call his sanctification; all the sacrifice dealt with was his justification, and the perfection would be sought after; the perfection is not of sanctification, but of official standing, as he stood justified before God. Now that is the meaning of the word “perfect” here. It does not mean that the sacrifice did not make the man perfectly holy, and perfectly moral, and so forth; the sacrifice had no tendency to do that; it was quite another matter. It means that it did not perfectly make him justified in his own conscience and in the sight of God, because he had to come and offer again. But now behold the glory of Christ Jesus as revealed to us in our text. “Those sacrifices could not make the comers thereunto perfect.” They could not feel in their own conscience that they were perfectly justified, and they wanted fresh offerings; but I see the slaughtered Lamb on Calvary. Years ago I sought Him and I found Him. I do not want another Lamb; I do not want another sacrifice. I can still see that blood flowing, and I can feel continually that I have no more conscience of sin. (C. H. Spurgeon.) The one perfect offering:—1. The act is to perfect, which may be to a thing perfect; and seeing the end of Christ’s sacrifice is man’s full happiness, thererefore to perfect is to make us perfectly and fully happy. 2. The subject of this consecration are the sanctified. 3. The effect is glorious and most excellent, and includes regeneration, justification, reconciliation, adoption with the inferior degrees of them all, and also the resurrection and eternal glorification. And surely so rare an effect must have some excellent cause; and so it hath, and that is, that one offering of Christ. (G. Lawson.)
Perfected:—The word “perfected” falls with a strange sound on those who are experiencing daily their sad imperfections. But the Christian is a strange paradox. We are unknown, yet well known; chastened, yet not killed; dying, and, behold, we live; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, yet possessing all things. Let me speak to you then of this twofold aspect of the Christian. You may be caught up into the third heaven, and yet the abundance of this revelation will not burn up the dross that is within you, or kill the old man, the flesh which warreth against the spirit. We have died once in Christ, and in Christ are accepted and perfect; but our old nature is not dead, the flesh in us is not annihilated, there is still within us that which has no pleasure in the will and ways of God. Painful this struggle will ever be, though God is with us, and our joy is greater than our pain. We have in us the death of Adam, and we have in us the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the one we are broken and tormented through sin, and darkness, and sluggishness, and earthliness, and gloom; by Christ we are raised, and strengthened, and comforted. We sin, we fall, we carry about with us a mind resisting God’s will, criticising it, and rebelling; and we shall experience to the very last breath we draw on earth, that there is a conflict, and that we must strive and suffer in order to be faithful unto death. (A. Saphir.)
Importance of the death of Christ:—Speculate on it how we may, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is presented to us in the New Testament as the everlasting reason of every happy relation between sinful man and the moral government of God. (R. W. Dale, LL.D.) By one offering:—As our burnt-offering, Christ became our righteousness in full consecration; as our peace-offering, our life; as our sin-offering, the expiation for our sins; as our guilt-offering, He made satisfaction and plenary reparation in our behalf to the God on whose inalienable rights in us, by our sins we had trespassed without measure. (S. H. Kellogg, D.D.)
Exell, J. S. (n.d.). The Biblical Illustrator: Hebrews (Vol. 2, pp. 98–100). James Nisbet & Co.
For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. (Nahum 1:13)
The Assyrian was allowed for a season to oppress the Lord’s people, but there came a time for his power to be broken. So, many a heart is held in bondage by Satan and frets sorely under the yoke. Oh, that to such prisoners of hope the word of the Lord may come at once, according to the text, “Now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder!”
See! The Lord promises a present deliverance. “Now will I break his yoke from off thee.” Believe for immediate freedom, and according to thy faith so shall it be unto thee at this very hour. When God saith “now,” let no man say “tomorrow.”
See how complete the rescue is to be; for the yoke is not to be removed but broken; and the bonds are not to be untied but burst asunder. Here is a display of divine force which guarantees that the oppressor shall not return. His yoke is broken, we cannot again be bowed down by its weight. His bonds, are burst asunder, they can no longer hold us. Oh, to believe in Jesus for complete and everlasting emancipation! “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Come, Lord, and set free Thy captives, according to Thy Word.
In a post last year, I discussed several implicit lines of evidence for belief in justification apart from baptism among the early extrabiblical sources. As I mentioned there, all of us rely on implicit reasoning across many contexts in life, including when making judgments about Biblical and patristic issues. You wouldn’t be able to function for a single day in your life without relying on implicit reasoning at some point. I gave some examples of how advocates of baptismal regeneration use some implicit arguments to support their own position. Yet, people often reject implicit arguments because of their implicit rather than explicit nature, or they assign implicit arguments less significance than those arguments actually have. Even many opponents of baptismal regeneration seem to get taken in by that sort of bad reasoning, to the point that they won’t cite any extrabiblical sources who seem to support their view in an implicit way, since the evidence isn’t explicit. Whether that’s due to peer pressure, confusing a preference for explicit evidence with a need for it, or whatever else, it’s a mistake.
What I want to do in this post is provide another line of evidence that advocates of baptismal regeneration are dependent on implicit reasoning. In fact, it’s the same kind of implicit reasoning that can, and should, be used to argue that some of the extrabiblical (and Biblical) sources contradict baptismal regeneration.
On rare occasions, an opponent of baptismal regeneration will make an effort to cite support for his position among the extrabiblical sources before the Reformation. I’m one of the few people who do that. When I do it, I sometimes mention that individuals like Clement of Rome and Polycarp only bring up faith when discussing the means by which justification is obtained. A common response, on the unusual occasions when there’s any response, is to object that the author might have intended to include baptism without mentioning it, that the inclusion of baptism was taken for granted as a background assumption, that I’m making an argument from silence, or some such thing. Those responses are inadequate, for reasons I’ve discussed elsewhere, like here.
But notice what happens when we move on to other sources. Let’s go from Polycarp to, say, The Epistle Of Barnabas. Section 11 of the epistle refers to the washing away of sin in baptism. And it’s often cited by advocates of baptismal regeneration as evidence of early belief in the doctrine. They’re right to cite it as such. However, they’re relying on the same sort of reasoning that their opponents use when appealing to a source like Clement or Polycarp.
As I’ve documented elsewhere, many of the early extrabiblical sources included works (or sacraments, rites, or whatever you want to call them) other than baptism as a means of justification. They added the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, foot washing, etc. So, if we can’t cite sources who only mention faith in support of justification through faith, why can we cite sources who only mention faith and baptism in support of justification through faith and baptism? How do you know somebody like the author of The Epistle Of Barnabas wasn’t also including the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, or whatever else? Is it an invalid argument from silence to conclude that the comments of The Epistle Of Barnabas are best explained by faith and baptism alone, without the laying on of hands, foot washing, giving money to the poor, and so on? No, it isn’t an invalid argument from silence. It’s a valid one, for reasons I’ve explained elsewhere, like in the post linked earlier. Just as we don’t need an explicit statement from The Epistle Of Barnabas telling us that he’s not including anointing with oil, participating in the eucharist, etc., we don’t need an explicit statement from somebody like Clement or Polycarp telling us he’s not including baptism.
As I said before, we all rely on this kind of reasoning in many other contexts. In addition to the examples I’ve already cited here and elsewhere, think of canonical issues. If a source lists collection of books X when discussing the contents of his canon, it’s not an invalid argument from silence or problematic in some other way to conclude that the most likely meaning of his comments is that he held to collection X as his canon. If you want us to think he held to X + Y, you bear the burden of proof. Maybe he left out some books he meant to include when he only mentioned X (because of a memory lapse or whatever). But we would need additional evidence to justify concluding that he believed in a canon consisting of more than X. To criticize the person who concludes that the source in question only held to canon X when no evidence has been provided to justify adding anything to X would be perverse. The conclusion of X alone (sola X) makes the most sense under those circumstances. Talking about how the source in question might have believed in a larger canon than he mentions, objecting that I’m appealing to silence, etc. is an inadequate response.
People sometimes object to an argument like the one I’m making by saying that just as we can assume the inclusion of faith or repentance in passages that don’t mention it, we can do the same with baptism. But, as I’ve discussed in other posts, the fact that the inclusion of one thing is implied doesn’t prove that the inclusion of something else is as well, unless the circumstances surrounding that something else are the same or comparable. And baptism isn’t the same as or comparable to faith or repentance. Faith is foundational and assumed in the context of baptism (Romans 14:23, Hebrews 11:6, etc.). And, as I’ve argued elsewhere, faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin, implying each other. By contrast, neither faith nor repentance implies that baptism has already occurred or is presently occurring. Faith and repentance can, and should, be present before baptism. We shouldn’t be baptizing faithless people. Faith and repentance, on the one hand, and baptism, on the other hand, aren’t symmetrical. Faith and repentance are of a different nature than baptism in a relevant way, so the fact that baptism implies faith and repentance doesn’t mean that faith and repentance imply baptism in a relevant manner.
There’s a double-digit number of people in the New Testament who are referred to as being justified apart from baptism (far more than just the thief on the cross or the thief and Cornelius). That’s why even advocates of baptismal regeneration frequently concede that baptismal regeneration wasn’t in effect during Jesus’ public ministry, that Cornelius is an exception to baptismal regeneration, and so on.
Furthermore, if somebody is going to claim that the inclusion of faith or repentance where it isn’t mentioned justifies assuming the inclusion of baptism where it isn’t mentioned, then is the advocate of that view also going to assume the inclusion of the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, foot washing, etc.?
Somebody could respond to what I’m saying in this post by claiming that the appeal to baptismal regeneration in The Epistle Of Barnabas, Justin Martyr, and other sources isn’t meant to be an appeal to those individuals as we’d normally interpret a historical source. Rather, it’s an appeal to how we know they should be interpreted in light of church authority. So, the church tells us that only faith and baptism are involved in obtaining justification (or faith, baptism, and the anointing of oil for those who hold that view, etc.), and we interpret a source like The Epistle Of Barnabas in line with that church authority. But that appeal to church authority is only as good as the church authority in question, meaning that it isn’t good. And what’s the relevance of bringing up the historical sources without mentioning church authority if you just have church authority in mind or some combination of the two? People frequently bring up sources like The Epistle Of Barnabas without saying anything about church authority, so to change your approach by adding an appeal to church authority part way through the discussion is a tacit admission of defeat and an attempt to change the subject. And why do advocates of baptismal regeneration keep claiming that nobody opposed the doctrine before the Reformation and such if they aren’t appealing to historical sources as we’d normally interpret them? Such a claim isn’t inherently about church authority.
My shepherd will supply my need: Jehovah is His name; In pastures fresh He makes me feed, Beside the living stream. He brings my wandering spirit back When I forsake His ways, And leads me, for His mercy’s sake, In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death Thy presence is my stay; One word of Thy supporting breath Drives all my fears away. Thy hand in sight of all my foes, Doth still my table spread; My cup with blessings overflows, Thine oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God Attend me all my days; O may Thy house be mine abode, And all my work be praise! There would I find a settled rest, While others go and come; No more a stranger, nor a guest, But like a child at home.
How do we balance our calling to contend for the faith with Scripture’s command to live in harmony with one another? In this sermon, R.C. Sproul navigates this balance with pastoral insight, reminding Christians of our calling to be peacemakers in the world.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Hold off your hands, ye enemies! Sit down and wait in patience, ye believers! Acknowledge that Jehovah is God, ye who feel the terrors of his wrath! Adore him, and him only, ye who partake in the protections of his grace. Since none can worthily proclaim his nature, let “expressive silence muse his praise.” The boasts of the ungodly and the timorous forebodings of the saints should certainly be hushed by a sight of what the Lord has done in past ages. “I will be exalted among the heathen.” They forget God, they worship idols, but Jehovah will yet be honoured by them. Reader, the prospects of missions are bright, bright as the promises of God. Let no man’s heart fail him; the solemn declarations of this verse must be fulfilled. “I will be exalted in the earth,” among all people, whatever may have been their wickedness or their degradation. Either by terror or love God will subdue all hearts to himself. The whole round earth shall yet reflect the light of his majesty. All the more because of the sin, and obstinacy, and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace reigns unto eternal life in all corners of the world.
Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 27-57 (Vol. 2, p. 343). Marshall Brothers.
Ver. 10. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.—Stillness and the knowledge of God:— There is a class of persons who are designated by divines and Church historians as Quietists. They have not formed a community, but they have been found in all communities. They are not distinguishable by their doctrines so much as by a certain temper or habit of mind. They are to be traced among the Religious Orders of the fourteenth century, amidst the tumults of the Protestant sects in the sixteenth, in our Civil Wars, in the splendour and corruption of the French capital under Louis XIV., in the bustle and restlessness of those days. Now, it is not fair to judge of these men from the representations of their opponents, or even from their own accounts, unless we know their surrounding circumstances; but in so far as they showed dislike to energetic qualities, to conflicts, and to mixture with their fellow-men, so far their spirit seems alien from that which we discern in the holy men whom the Bible tells of. For they seem to be living always in contention and strife, and they confess that they are meant to live in it. How can a Quietist accept the Psalms? must it not be to him a very uncongenial book? How could the man after God’s own heart have been a warrior and yet have given thoughts and prayer and music to the Church in all periods? For there is a Sabbatical character in these psalms. They have a quiet of their own; all feel that. It has been their charm to the weary and tempest-tossed pilgrims; they have taught man how to commune with his own heart, how to be still, how to rest in the Lord and to wait patiently for Him. And through man knowing thus the secret of being still, he has been able to toil manfully. And this is the quietism of the psalms, quietism in the midst of action, which only one who hears the call to act, and obeys it, can understand or prize. The ground of such quiet is given in our text. Only the belief of a Presence near us, with us, can inspire habitual awe, can keep us steady when all things are rocking around us, can take away the eagerness to move, or the cowardice which paralyzes movement. “Be still and know.” You cannot know this deep and eternal truth unless you are still. If you keep the waters of your spirit in continual stir, you will see nothing in them, or only the reflection of your own perturbed self. “Be still and know that I am God.” You may wonder to observe how often this form of speech is adopted in Scripture. He says, “I am God,” not a conception of your minds, not One whom you make what He is by your mode of thinking of Him, but a living Person. And He is not a mere Being, not a mere Ruler, but the perfectly good Being, the perfectly righteous Ruler. And He alone can show you what the perfect goodness is. Israel had been trained in a school of suffering to feel the emptiness and falsehood of all visible creature worship, and that God alone was the Unseen King and Deliverer; they must seek in stillness to know Him, and must confess Him to be the Lord of their once revolted spirits, which in their efforts to be independent had become abject slaves. But the lesson would have been imperfect without the words that follow: “I will be exalted among,” etc. Israel was not to despise the nations round about, or to think them of no value in God’s sight. To do that was to despise God. Even as a comfort in any disaster, individual or national, the belief in God’s presence, in His personality, in His goodness, would have been unsatisfactory, if it had not been accompanied with this belief in His power, with this assurance that it would one day make itself manifest over the universe, and would crush all that opposed it. It is a great question for us to ask ourselves, whether both these dangers are not assailing us at this time, and from the same cause? The words, “Be still and know that I am God,” sound like strange words in the ears of most of us. “How can we be still,” we ask, “while all things are in movement, while all things are unsettled? How can we be still while every one is hasting to be rich, hasting to get beyond his neighbour? How can we be still when all the political world is full of slumbering fires, ready to break forth? How can we be still while all the religious world is full of controversies, tumults, hatreds?” The answer surely should be, “Because there is all this mutation, restlessness, insecurity, therefore this is the very time to obey the command, Be still. For assuredly if we do not, we never shall know that the Lord He is God; we shall not believe, however we may pretend it, that He abides, and that He is with us, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the depths of the sea.” And if we have not that belief, what other can we have? What other will be worth anything to us? (F. D. Maurice, M.A.) God’s working in the world:— The words, “Be still, and know that I am God,” have usually been taken as an invitation to believing hearts to trust and not be afraid. It is very natural that this should be so, especially as that interpretation harmonizes with the prevailing message of the psalm. As a matter of fact, however, they seem to have been addressed to the enemies of God’s people, those who were making war upon them oppressively. The words are not a message of soothing but an utterance of prohibition: Be still. Desist from making war upon My people, and know that I am God, God whose will it is that all nations should own His sovereign sway.
Let us consider the words first from this point of view, which is that of the psalmist. Then we can go on to think of them in the sense in which faith has loved to interpret them. “Be still from war, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” Admittedly, when God is exalted among the nations in the earth, there will be no more war. Where selfishness and tyranny have given place to obedience to God and consequent love to man war cannot possibly be. It is quite true that God has made desolations in the earth by means of war. From the history of Israel to the history of England the Spirit of the Lord has come upon God-fearing men, and bidden them make war either in self-defence or in defence of the weak against some tyrant. On the other hand, it is equally true that God maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth. The more God-fearing a nation becomes, the more reluctant it is to make war. The knowledge of God involves forbearance towards enemies, the desire to use every persuasion rather than come to an open rupture. Above all, it involves regard for human life and for the sentiment of goodwill amongst men, which is more precious even than life. God says that men are not to learn war any more, but to learn to know Him. Let be, and know that I am God; and let all the nations know. Go ye into all the world, not carrying weapons of war, but the Gospel of peace.
In the second place, let us take the words of our text in the more generally accepted sense. It is almost a commonplace that men in the midst of trial do not think of the love of God except to conclude that He has forgotten to be gracious. And yet all the time He is keeping watch, as much is the time of darkness as in the light. I sometimes think that life is like a voyage regarded from the point of view of a passenger. Some travellers are good sailors, others are not. Some make their voyage easily, others not; but the captain of the vessel is equally concerned for the lives and safety of all. While you are lying in your berth ill during the storm you don’t blame the captain because the sea is rough. You do not see the man at his post on the bridge while you are below, but you are quite sure he is there. You saw him there during the fair weather when you were on deck. You noticed his vigilant care even when the sea was calm. You do not imagine for a moment that his vigilance is relaxed during the storm. God is watching over your soul in all its voyage through life. No storm can endanger your safety if you are trusting Him. But you will make shipwreck of your life if you take the control of it out of His hands in time of storm. I do not wish to pretend for a moment that faith is always easy, that it is easy to put a restraint upon impatience. But the effort must be made. It is calamitous if in the storms of life we lose our faith in the Captain. If we obey His order, “Be still, and know that I am God,” our confidence and peace will be maintained. Trouble does not always become easier to bear with time: sometimes it becomes harder; and there is nothing left but a choice between faith and despair. George Eliot well expresses this when she says: “The first shock of trouble may produce an excitement which is transient strength. It is in the slow changed life that follows—in the time when sorrow has become stale—in the time when day follows day in dull unexpectant sameness, and trial is a dreary routine—it is then that despair threatens; it is then that the peremptory hunger of the soul is felt, and eye and car are strained after some unlearned secret of our existence, which shall give to endurance the nature of satisfaction.” Whether we recognize it or not, glumness is the result of shutting the door of our heart against the Holy Spirit, and putting our foot against it. No sufferer is ever glum who says, “I cannot close my heart to Thee who seekst me through pain.” They sometimes call it temperament; it is selfishness pure and simple, the refusal to cultivate a heart at leisure from itself to soothe and sympathize, the refusal to cultivate the sympathetic spirit which rejoices with those that rejoice and weeps with those that weep.
We are not all sufferers, by any means, and many of us are active workers for God. There is a message for us also in this verse, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We sometimes leave too small a part for God in our work. We think that our carefully prepared sermon or lesson will do its own work, and forget to pray that the Holy Spirit may carry it home. We can teach truth. God alone can make that truth life-giving. Recall the legend of Pygmalion and Galatea. The sculptor Pygmalion had made a perfect statue of a beautiful woman. She was so beautiful that he fell in love with her. But one thing he could not do, and that was to give her life. So he prayed to the goddess of love and she granted his petition and touched the statue into life. Burne-Jones has painted the incident in four scenes, which he calls—“The Heart Desires;” “The Hand Refrains;” “The Godhead Fires;” “The Soul Attains.” Every Christian worker must pass his work through these four stages if he is to be successful. (R. M. Moffat, M.A.) The realm of silence:— The realm of silence—do we know anything about it? In these days of push and rush and roar, is it possible to got any appreciation for the calm and unruffled and retired spaces of existence? When one begins to speak of stillness some are afraid. “Everything was so still, I was frightened,” said a lady friend to me of her experience in a retired part of Wordsworth’s Lake District. Be still—and know. There are some forms of knowledge which necessitate stillness. Self-knowledge, God-knowledge—these can never be had until we have learned to be still. “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” “Their strength is to sit still.” If God had not divided our life into days, and compelled us to sleep, we should run out our energy in a very few years of perpetual dissipation. In some countries it would not be necessary to insist on stillness as a condition of knowledge. Where people are temperamentally calrn and reflective we might leave the parts of the Bible which insist on a wise passiveness in life. There is a difference—an immense difference—between the spirit of the old Bible times as represented in the Psalms and our own as represented in the newspapers. “The times explain everything:” fuss, and excursion, and noise, and rattle, and panic, and dissolution, and bank-failure, and bankruptcy, and political crises. It is very significant how all the greatly inspired men were trained in the school of silence. Moses, hidden away forty years in the loneliness of sheep pastures, and again forty days in the depths of Sinai, and when he came down his face shone. That told the story. Ezekiel, sauntering by the way of the river alone. Isaiah saw the King in His beauty when no one was with him. Daniel was accustomed (it was an old habit of his) to go into the quiet of his chamber three times a day. Paul must spend three lonely years in Arabia. John must go to Patmos before he could write the Book of the Revelation and see earth and its history from the height of heaven. Without large spaces of stillness there can be no deep thoughtfulness—Sabbath. And an age which is all rattle, and roar and noise, and self-advertisement, and theatricality needs, if any age ever needed it, to be called back to the fact that there is a kind of knowledge which can never be had except in stillness. But to-day there is no silence, no privacy, and men seldom hear the voice of God speaking in the depths of their own spirit, as did Elijah in his cave. We are full of opinions. They have floated our way and got lodgment, like thistledown in the hair, but they are not ours. They belong to the general community. Nothing is really ours which is not a conviction, something in which we are rooted and grounded. The point I want to make emphatic is this: that every man has his own personal relation to God, positive or negative, as every flower has its own personal relation to the sun; that there are forms of knowledge which are external and common—like bought furniture in a house, these belong to us in communities—but there is a knowledge which is to be had only in the stillness of devout meditation—the soul’s personal knowledge of God. “Be still, and know that I am—that I am God.” It does not come from effort. It comes from reposefulness. Often it is true of men, “Their strength is to sit still”; to sit still as the painter before a great master, simply receiving, as a child reposing in its mother’s arms. The more active, busy and forceful our external life is, the greater the necessity for Sabbath spaces of stillness in the unrevealed centres of our human life. The storm-swept lake reflects no stars, and the perpetually busy, energetic and unquiet life, like “the troubled sea which cannot rest,” makes no response to the overarching heavens, gemmed with those Divine promises of immortality which have purified and ennobled the souls of God’s elect saints. Let us remember that all depths are silent, depths of space as well as depths of thought. The o’erbrooding heavens are silent, speechless to all but the most meditative souls. Extreme emotions of all kinds are silent. (R. Thomas.) Quietness:— There is not a heart assailed by trouble, and trembling at the prospect of further ills to come, to which the voice of encouragement and heavenly assurance is not at this moment saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.” I. It is addressed, above all others, TO THE CAREFUL, WHO KNOWING NOT WHAT A DAY MAY BRING FORTH, OUT OF THAT IGNORANCE DRAW FEAR AND ANXIETY THAT KNOWS NO REST. Is there One who feeds the young lion and clothes the grass of the field, and shall He not much more feed and clothe thee, O thou of little faith? If God be for thee who can be against thee? II. HE WHO IS EARNESTLY LOOKING FOR THE TRUTH, with serious search and humble inquiry and importunate prayer seeking to be taught more of the love of Christ and the will of God, and who makes it part of his daily joy and duty to search the Scriptures that so he may grow in the knowledge his soul desires, that man finds his task a healthy exercise; no feverish excitement waits upon his inquiry, but more and more of peace is shed over his heart and life as he advances in this heavenly knowledge. III. IMPULSIVE HEARTS THAT RISE WITH EVERY HOPE AND SINK WITH EVERY DISCOURAGEMENT IN THE WORK OF LIFE, full of purposes and aims for good, seizing upon every instrument to help them, and finding the insufficiency of each, and with every successive failure adding to that store of disappointment which may one day overlay the springs of hope within them; or minds of steadier energy ever active and not easily east down, who have thrown their strength into labours of love and usefulness, but are struggling to do the Lord’s work without the arm of the Lord, who are ever ready to charge their failures upon secondary causes, and to impute their successes to the instruments used in effecting them, these perhaps are taught at length that “the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong,” IV. WHEN AMBITION IS FRETTING THE MIND AND DISTRACTING IT WITH WORLDLY HOPES AND JEALOUSIES, when the flattery of man on the one hand and the selfishness of man on the other are stirring up delusive expectations and creating bitter disappointments, when all the influences of earthly desire and the fascinations of wealth and honour and ease are leading a man on to trust the shadows of strength which many have fatally trusted before, to believe in idle promises, to exaggerate unmeaning professions, to sacrifice an honest independence, to let meanness creep into his spirit and the fever of self-seeking into his veins, the Word of the Lord says to that foolish heart, “Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of? Be still, and know that I am God.” V. WHEN WE ARE CALLED UPON TO WORK OUT OUR OWN SALVATION it is with fear and trembling indeed, but with the calm assurance nevertheless that it is God which worketh in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. Be still then and put your trust in the blood of the everlasting covenant; work, but work in peace and the spirit of an unofficious service; seek your God, not as the prophets of Baal did, with extravagant zeal and obtrusive crying and impatient torturing of their flesh, but as Elijah the prophet of the Lord, who in calmness and confidence “at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel and that I am Thy servant.” VI. “To strive about words to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers,” TO MAKE RELIGION THE WORK OF A BABBLING TONGUE AND A CONTENTIOUS SPIRIT, TO THINK THAT THE VICTORY OF TRUTH IS TO BE WON AS NATIONS WIN THEIR VICTORIES IN THE FIELD, BY PLANTING ARMY AGAINST ARMY, meeting rage with rage, and stratagem with stratagem, and clamour with clamour; this is not pleasing to the Lord, who says—(2 Tim. 2:24). VII. And ye, the CHILDREN OF HABITUAL SADNESS, who live among the memories of the past and carry sorrow with you as your heart’s raiment, and would not part with that familiar companion which lives with hope and faith in your breast, and is sanctified with that holy communion, forget not that human grief carries with it and will always retain the seeds of mortal rebellion; the impulses of natural affection and the longings of human passion will break out from time to time; and many a heart whose burthen has long been cast upon the Lord, which has long been familiar with the love of Christ, which has long felt the consolation of prayer and the strength of the Word of God, has moments when it would seem as if the whole lesson of trust must be learnt again, moments of unrest and craving in which it longs for the voice that shall gently call it back to the Cross and whisper, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (A. D. Macleane, M.A.) “Be still”:— The command is assuring. Fear not for the ark, for the kingdom, for yourself. God will not fail. I. WHY WE NEED THIS INJUNCTION, “Be still!”
On account of our ignorance and presumption, we see but a fragment of God’s design and work. If we saw the whole campaign and consummation!
Haste and rashness of our judgment.
Conclusions without taking God into account. II. THE STILLNESS ENJOINED not that of indolence, indifference, stoicism or despair, but of humility, observation, expectation. III. THUS SEE GOD IN ALL, riding the whirlwind, bringing forth judgment unto victory. (Homiletic Review.) Be still and believer:— It is not easy to be still in this rough and restless world. Yet God says, “Be still”; and He says also (Isa. 30:15). I. BE STILL, AND THOU SHALT KNOW I CAN PUT ALL ENEMIES TO SHAME. II. BE STILL, AND THOU SHALT KNOW THAT I CAN UPHOLD MY OWN TRUTH IN A DAY OF ERROR. Is not My truth precious to Me? And My Book of truth, is it not above all books in Mine eyes? I am God. III. BE STILL, AND THOU SHALT KNOW THAT I CAN SAY TO THE NATIONS, PEACE, BE STILL. The waves rise, but I am mightier than all. These tumults do not touch My throne. Take no alarm because of this world-wide resistance to My authority and law. I am still God. IV. BE STILL, AND THOU SHALT SEE THE GLORIOUS ISSUE OF ALL THESE CONFUSIONS. This world is My world, and thou shalt see it to be such; this earth shall yet be the abode of the righteous. (H. Bonar, D.D.) The use of religion in a time of affliction:— I. OUR DUTY. “Be still.”
A negative kind of submission; I mean the restraints we ought to lay upon our angry and tumultuous passions. This is the first thing to be attempted, when perhaps we can proceed no farther.
To be still is to preserve a calm and composed temper of mind under affliction.
A higher degree of patience and submission than even this is required of us; and that is, to justify, approve and commend the Divine proceedings. II. OUR OBLIGATIONS TO THE PRACTICE OF THESE GREAT AND DIFFICULT DUTIES.
There is a God. Set Him before you, in all His adorable perfections. Apprehend Him present—immediately present with you, closely watching and accurately observing all your thoughts, reasonings, dispositions and affections.
God, who is thus a witness of what passes in our breasts, is the great Governor of the world, and hath a concern in bringing about those events which occasion all this tumult of our passions.
The God who does it has an unquestionable right to do it.
While God thus proclaims Himself a Sovereign, He would have us consider Him as most just and wise in all His proceedings.
The goodness of God, and the covenant-relation which subsists between Him and us.
All that God does is in reference to some future design. III. THE REGARD WE ARE REQUIRED TO PAY TO THESE INTERESTING TRUTHS. It is our duty to—
Well weigh and consider them.
Believe them.
Apply them to ourselves, and to our own immediate circumstances.
Use fervent prayer. CONCLUSION.
As to such who make light of their afflictions, or, to use the words of Scripture, despise the chastening of the Lord. That insensibility which you account your happiness is not the stillness and composure which the text recommends. Know the rod and who hath appointed it. Inquire wherefore it is he contends with you. Implore the forgiveness of what is amiss. And rest not satisfied without feeling the salutary effect of your affliction, to embitter sin to you, to wean your hearts from the world, and to raise your affections to heaven.
As to those who are apt to faint under the rebukes of Providence—a temper to which Christians are usually more prone than to that just described. With you I most tenderly sympathize. Let me, however, entreat you to turn your attention for a while from your affliction; think with yourselves how much worse your condition would have been if God had treated you according to your deserts; consider the mercies you still enjoy; above all, take sanctuary at the throne of grace, and there pour out your tears of sorrow to Him who hath an ear to hear, and a heart to pity, the afflicted.
As to those who are enabled to practise the great duties I have been describing, how great is your mercy! You may well glory in your infirmities, since the power of Christ thus rests upon you. An end, an important end, is already attained by your having been afflicted. Oh, let patience have its perfect work! (J. Stennet, D.D.) Stillness:— I. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE CONVEYED IN THE WORDS. The spirit of man must be taught by the Spirit of God, or it cannot know Him; and being taught implies receiving impressions; it implies a gradual advance in knowledge, the pupil imbibing the mind of the Teacher, and becoming more and more like Him till it knows even as it is known. Now it is beyond question that this education of the spirit for God is the highest work of man; and must it not then require the shutting out of all other sights and sounds that the heart may be alone with God? Why you think it needful to sit alone hour after hour, day after day, to unravel the intricacies and overcome the difficulties of business! You think it a matter of course that if you are to master a book, or a subject, or a science, you must have leisure from distracting occupations, and give yourself for a time to that one thing! If then to learn man’s business requires stillness from other work; if to understand any of God’s works demands stillness from other thoughts, shall we not, to know God Himself, need stillness of spirit, stillness alike from the bustle of active life, and the engrossment of thinking upon earthly things, and the distraction of fear, and the uneasiness of anxiety? II. ITS PARTICULAR APPLICATION OF THE TEXT TO OURSELVES.
Let it speak to the man who is engrossed in work, trade, business, or profession. The week is gone. Sunday and working day are past. And when was the spirit still and alone with its God? When did it read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest His holy, Word? When did it examine itself, and confess its sins, and dwell on God’s promises, and listen for the whispers of His Spirit, and as a docile pupil receive and reflect His mind?
Let the text speak to those who are distracted by sorrow, fear, or anxiety. The heart broken by sorrow chafes and frets, and is often too unsettled for a season calmly to receive the lesson which God is come to teach. The spirit trembling in fear looks to the right hand and to the left, and despairing of human help is too agitated quietly to wait for God. “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” “Be still, and know that I am God.”
This text will speak to those who resist God’s Spirit and oppose His will. (Canon Morse.) Quietude necessary for a fuller knowledge of God:— I. A WORD OF WARNING ADDRESSED TO NATIONS WHEN INFLAMED WITH THE PASSION FOR CONQUEST AND AGGRANDIZEMENT. War is a time when the worst passions of men are roused, the purest motives of the most patriotic are misunderstood, political life is embittered with the acrimony of party strife and ambition, the unscrupulous are tempted to make capital out of the public troubles, and the mind is too disturbed and demoralized to rise to the calm sublimities of Divine things. Not in the wild commotion and brazen clangour of the battlefield, not in the whizzing hurricane of national strife and uproar, not in the rush and fret of excessive worldly care, is the knowledge of God best acquired; but in the solitude of retirement, in the hush and stillness of some meditative retreat, where the tocsin of war is never heard, and the roar of cannon and clash of arms never penetrate—“Be still, and know that I am God.” II. A WORD ADDRESSED TO THE SINCERE INQUIRER AFTER THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, BY PURELY INTELLECTUAL MEANS. Not in the strain and tussle of intellectual strife, not in the fret and ferment of the proud and restive mind, can God be known; but when the baffled inquirer acknowledges his weakness and defeat, when he looks with humble wistfulness into the darkness that has deepened around him, when he surrenders and stakes his all on the mercy of the Unseen—then, in that solemn moment of pause and conscious self-helplessness, God draws near, and there glows before the soul a sublime vision of the greatness and goodness of the only living and true God—“Be still, and know that I am God!” III. A WORD ADDRESSED TO THE MAN WHO IS TEMPTED TO MURMUR AT THE HARDSHIPS OF A SUFFERING LOT. Life has its sombre side to all, more or less; and bravely as we may strive to look at the bright side, and to make the best of things, there are moments when our way is dark. Can it be wondered that from the pierced heart of suffering humanity a cry of anguish should rise that now and then overpowers the meekest submission and the most heroic patience, and find a plaintive voice in the trembling remonstrance—“O Lord, how long? Why these repeated strokes? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not, and in the night season, and am not silent!” It is then that God draws near and speaks—“Be still, and know that I am God. Cease thy sad complaining. Be hushed, my child. Know that I am here. I have not forgotten thee. I am ruling still. It is thus I am leading thee to teach thee. Know that I am God, even thy God!” There! thou art blessed. (G. Barlow.) The repose of faith:— In all the more delicate cases of surgery the success of the operation is hardly more dependent upon the skill of the practitioner than it is upon the quietness and self-control of the patient. To suppress all irritability and nervous alarms; to submit, in entire reliance, to the course of discipline recommended; to endure pain without flinching, and to encourage, as far as possible, every hopeful impression; all these conduce directly to a happy issue; while they render the task of ministering to the relief of the sufferer himself a labour of love, and afford an edifying and comfortable and blessed example to all around him. Now, this is just the temper recommended in the text, as one of the truest characteristics of God’s servants. I. WHAT IT DOES NOT MEAN. We are not here recommended to sit down in a state of utter indifference and inaction, waiting with folded hands until God shall marvellously interfere for our deliverance. II. WHAT IT DOES MEAN. “Be still;” cease from all vain opposition, from all ineffectual struggles; restrain all petulant curiosity; subdue all unruly desires; submit meekly and thankfully to His irresistible authority, and be convinced, whatever may befall you, that the Judge of all the earth shall assuredly do right. III. APPLY THE COMMANDMENT TO PARTICULAR CASES.
With regard to worldly successes and worldly reverses, what continual cause we find for mistrusting our first impressions respecting them! That which seems most adverse to our happiness often proves the very means of establishing it upon a right foundation; while the realization of our most ardent desires entails countless evils and disappointments which far outweigh all the joy of success. In the Lord’s Prayer there is but one direct petition for earthly good, and that couched in the most moderate terms, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Every other need is embraced in that humble expression, “Thy will be done!”
Look now to God’s dealings in things spiritual. No doubt there is such a thing as a wholesome and righteous uprousing of the powers and desires which God has bestowed, lest they sink into mere lethargy and insensibility; but there is danger, on the other hand, of our mistaking an active state of the soul for a fruitful one. Our Lord speaks of the good seed which is received in an honest and good heart as bringing forth fruit “with patience.” It is no forced and hasty growth, shooting out in the showy but unproductive luxuriance of leaves, and bearing little, if any, perfect grain; there is a solidity and strength in the stem, and a gradual development of power, which gives certain promise of a plentiful harvest in the end. (T. Ainger, M.A.) Lessons from the tomb:— The old proverb says, “Speech is silvery, but silence is golden,” and there are times when its truth becomes apparent. And where can silence be so fitting as when God has spoken in one of those sudden and mysterious dispensations of His providence, asserting His own sovereignty and instructing His erring creatures? The presence of death, the immediate contact with the unknown realities of the world of spirits, are surely, at any time, enough to sober the most reckless, arouse the most indifferent, awe the most trifling, and still the most giddy spirit. But when there are circumstances throwing around the event more than its ordinary awfulness—when a few brief hours or days have sufficed to change the bloom and vigour of health into the cold unbroken silence of the tomb, then, surely, must the effect be yet deeper, and the soul, filled with an overwhelming awe, may well say with David, “I was dumb with silence—I opened not my mouth, because Thou didst it.” I. THE MODE IN WHICH THE ANGEL OF DEATH DOES HIS WORK is fitted ever to impress on us this lesson. It might have been that a generation should have had its allotted time and its peculiar work—that side by side the companions of childhood and youth should have pursued their path, till for all it terminated at the same moment in the grave. The term fixed for human life might have been uniform and invariable. Every element of uncertainty might have been removed, and a man have been able from the very dawning of intelligence to calculate and anticipate the hour of his death. Need I say how great a change would thus have been introduced, or indicate how evil the effects that would have been produced on the majority of men? The thought of death would have been put away until the dreaded hour approached God has mercifully not left us thus. He has encircled us with monitors to remind us of our mortality, to silence every thought of self-confidence, to make us feel how frail we are. We are told of the great Sultan Saladin, that in the midst of the magnificence by which he was surrounded, he had a slave whose business it was daily to remind him that he was mortal. Wise, indeed, to perceive that the consciousness of his power, the pride of majesty, the adulations of those round him were fitted to banish this thought from the mind, and that the fact, thus liable to be forgotten, was that which ought to be ever present to the mind. Yet, surely, there were voices distinct enough to render such a monitor needless. Death doing his work around us is ever speaking to us. Sudden death, especially, should produce this impression. Now, God by such deaths rebukes our carelessness and pleads with us on our own behalf. Yours may be the next door at which Death shall knock. II. LET US LEARN A LESSON OF RESIGNATION. A more wretched feeling cannot come across the soul in moments like these, than the agonizing doubt of the reality of God’s providence. A calamity, sudden, terrible and overwhelming, has come upon us—the reason staggers and the heart sinks beneath the blow. The whole appears so contrary to every principle of God’s government, and every conception of His love, that we begin to ask, “Is there a God that judgeth on the earth? Is there a Judge of the whole earth who will do right? Are we the children of a loving Father who makes all things work together for good?” If so, how can these things be? “Surely Thou hast made all men in vain.” Happy for the spirit that in such dread hour can hear and obey the voice, “Be still, and know that I am God.” III. LET US CHERISH PATIENT BUT CONFIDENT HOPE. There is deep significance in the apostle’s words, “We sorrow not as those who have no hope.” We must sorrow. These partings rend oar hearts within us, and we cannot but sorrow. But we must not so discredit our profession and misrepresent the Gospel as to sorrow with that wild despair which may not unnaturally be associated with unbelief. Our burden may be very heavy, but hope relieves its pressure, and as it whispers in our ears tales of the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” not only helps us to toil on, but teaches us some of the songs of Zion to which we haste, with which to beguile the way. That hope, which rests on the promises of a faithful God, and therefore cannot make ashamed, is your strength and consolation. (J. G. Rogers, B.A.) Submit:— I. AN IMPLICATION OF RESISTANCE. For when it is said, “Be still,” resistance, turbulence, commotion are implied. And there is in all men a disposition to resist, to murmur and to rebel. Sometimes—
Against the dispensations of Providence, when there are afflictions. And sometimes—
Against those of Divine grace. Now—
Why is this? It is owing to human ignorance and human sin. II. AN ASSERTION OF SUPREMACY. “Know that I am God.” Note—
The fact—“I am God.” He is here asserting His superiority to the idols of the heathen. But the recollection of His supremacy will help us to cease from rebelling against Him. We think of His absolute and unimpeachable sovereignty: His pure and equitable justice.
Let us apply this fact. Let it be understood, admitted, and let it have all the influence which its importance demands. III. A CLAIM OF SUBMISSION. “Be still”—be silent and submissive. As Eli, say, “It is the Lord.” (James Parsons.) Be still, and know God:— Every period and every place have their peculiar obstructions to the Christian life. The mistake committed by theologians is in making the Devil but one, when his name is Legion. The great inductive philosopher assigned four kinds of prejudices to man. The devils might have a similar classification, and there is one of those which come from the market, or from intercourse and association with mankind, that might without slander be called the Devil of Haste. We live in an age of hurry. Life, that was formerly likened to a journey, a voyage, or a pilgrimage, has become a race, a chase, in which not bit and bridle, but spurs and whip, are deemed the rider’s best equipment. A late writer has said that “a railway train should be the emblem on our shield, with the motto, Hurrah!” In short, the devil of Haste has entered in and possessed us. He hurries us so fast that we have no time to “be still and know God,” no place quiet enough to read our Bibles and say our prayers. Or, if he should put his hand upon religion, he wishes, to use the vulgar phrase, to “put it through quick,” and he has therefore a high estimation of camp-meetings and revivals, and the whole enginery of fear and excitement, as speedy labour-saving machines to accomplish a work which, in the slower times of prophets, apostles, martyrs and saints, it was thought could only he effected by a lifetime of prayer and charity and self-denial. This style of Christianity will be perishable, we apprehend, as it is rapid. Character is not a blow struck once, but a growth. And we see this same forcing method employed in education: everything must be done rapidly. We have short, twelve-lesson modes of learning, forcing processes of prizes, and embittering emulation to stuff the youthful memory with the largest amount of studies, whether understood and digested or not. Hence tender plants are watered so much that they are drowned. The fuel is heaped so abundantly on the fire that every spark goes out. But this hot and impatient mode of life leaves a host of duties not done, a multitude of truths not meditated, a world of pleasures not enjoyed, and a constellation of graces and virtues not cultivated and assimilated. Who indeed can doubt that, if men would oftener stop in their hurried life and recur to the First Great Cause, and cast a look to heaven while toiling and worrying themselves among their earthly cares, they would be far better armed against temptation, and that fountains of unfading happiness would be opened to the thirsting soul? Who is weak when the thought of God is in his mind? Who is wretched when he consciously rests on an Almighty arm? Alas! how much of the time we call life is really the death, the deadness, of the living part! We vacate the ample palace of the soul, to take up mean and miserable quarters in the hut of coarse and brutish worldliness. How much we need to do what we were told when children to do in reading, mind our stops! Did a day never pass when close and absorbing business so steeped your senses in forgetfulness, that even the thought of God, much less a calm and conscious leaning upon Him, a felt uplifting and grateful opening of the heart to Him, as the Fountain of light and love, never for one blessed instant visited you from twilight to twilight? The prisoner of worldliness is sunk in a subterranean dungeon, whose solid darkness is not pierced by a solitary ray. Let us know that quicksilver is not the only metal, nor lightning the only clement. Instead of this feverish and eager rushing across the stage of life, as of the horse plunging into the battle, we will lift up serene brows to the calm heavens, and we will repeat in a low tone that beautiful strain, which has been chanted for two thousand years, to quiet the restless bosom of humanity, never more restless than here and now—“Be still, and know that I am God.” (A. A. Livermore.) Submission to God:— I. A SUBMISSION TO WHATEVER GOD COMMANDS. II. A SUBMISSION TO WHATEVER GOD DOES. III. A SUBMISSION TO THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH HE IS PLEASED TO CARRY ON HIS WORK, EITHER IN OUR OWN SOULS OR IN THE SOULS OF OTHERS. IV. A SUBMISSION TO GOD, IN REFERENCE TO WHATEVER HE HAS PROMISED. (N. Bangs, D.D.) Confidence in missions:— Our knowledge of the vastness of the heathen world has a distressing influence, our knowledge of the strength of its superstitions, of its false religions. There is the tardiness of the purposes of God, the slowness of His procedure. It may be said that this is characteristic of His ways and works. Dwell on this thought, that in God we may have the stillness of confidence in regard to the future of His gracious rule among the heathen. I. THE HEATHEN BELONG TO GOD. He makes the claim, “All souls are Mine!” But “other sheep I have.” He is the God of the valleys as well as of the hills. The Asiatic is as nearly related to God as the European, and the African is as dear to Him as an Englishman. II. IN THE LOWEST AND THE MOST IGNORANT OF THE HEATHEN THERE IS A CAPACITY FOR GOD. When we speak of “the heathen world” we know that we are to distinguish between some races and others. Among some we find old civilizations, philosophies and religions; China and Japan are different from Africa; India and Ceylon are different from some of the islands of the seas. But the people who have the greatest knowledge and civilization are as much in need of the Gospel as those most deeply sunk in the abyss of barbarism and ignorance. “Leave them alone to work out their own salvation if they need it, by and by they will evolve into something better.” Yes, we are thankful for the conviction that they will evolve into a higher state, but there are means essential for this purpose. The same Gospel is needed by the most advanced as by the most degraded, by the barbarians of Melita, and the philosophers of Athens, by the painted savage and the proud Brahmin. There is a capacity in the very lowest for God. When you deal with the dullest, the most stolid, the most ignorant, only get beneath the crust of habit, formed by years of sensuality, indifference, and prejudice, and you will find a home for the truth—a something within responding to the Word without. “I will be exalted in the earth.” We are warranted in saying that the victories already achieved are such as to encourage and strengthen confidence; but our firmest ground of trust is this, we know that He is God. (James Owen.) Knowledge and silence:— The message of my text, broadly stated, seems to be this: that the soul must make for itself a great silence from all other voices ere it can hear aright the Divine messages which give it the fullest and deepest knowledge of its God. And so all knowledge more or less needs silence, that it may sink into the soul and become part of its own inner and essential life. And it is in silence, too, that there grows that power that is the first-born child of knowledge. Silently the mightiest and most enduring forces act; silently the silver moon drags along the trailing skirts of her glory the ocean’s heaving tides; silently the frost binds in icy fetters the great lakes and flowing streams; silently the vernal sun breaks again those wintry chains and sends forth the rivers to leap in recovered freedom on their course to the far-off sea: silently the trees put forth their branches and gain the strength that shall enable them to hurl back defeated the fury of a hundred storms; silently the harvests ripen under glowing sun and silver moon and quiet stars; silently the great planets perform their measured march across the infinite fields of night. And as in nature, so in mind; it is silently that thought is added to thought, and there is erected the stately palace of intellectual truth or artistic beauty; it is not in the noise or din of the street, not amid the clamorous calls of the market or the forum or the banquet-hall, but in the silence of the chemist’s laboratory or the astronomer’s watch-tower or the philosopher’s study; it is there, it is thus, that the great triumphs of human intellect, the most splendid achievements of human genius, have had their birth. What wonder, then, that God should demand silence as one of the needed conditions for the attainment of that supremest knowledge, that most transcendent power of which our poor humanity is capable—the knowledge that He is God? (Canon O’Meara.) Knowledge through silence:— “Be still and know.” How can God give us visions when life is hurrying at a precipitate rate? I have stood in the National Gallery and seen people gallop round the chamber and glance at twelve of Turner’s pictures in the space of five minutes. Surely we might say to such trippers, “Be still, and know Turner!” Gaze quietly at one little bit of cloud or at one branch, or at one wave of the sea, or at one ray of the drifting moon. “Be still, and know Turner.” But God has difficulty in getting us still. This is perhaps why He has sometimes employed the ministry of dreams. Men have had “visions in the night.” In the daytime I have a diviner visitor in the shape of some worthy thought, or nobler impulse, or hallowed suggestion, but I am in such feverish haste that I do not heed it, and pass along. I do not “turn aside to see this great thing,” and so I lose the heavenly vision. If I would know more of God I must relax the strain and moderate the pace. I must “be still.” (J. H. Jowett.) I will be exalted among the heathen.—The exaltation of Christ among the nations:— There is nothing more remarkable in the history of the Hebrew people than their connection with surrounding nations. That connection is strikingly predicted in the covenant which Jehovah made with the founder of their race: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” This promise began to take effect immediately upon its announcement. “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad.” And the Spirit of Christ pervaded and conducted the history of Israel. There can be no doubt that that measure of truth which is now found in the ancient writings of other faiths was for the most part derived from the connection of Israel with Egypt, with Babylon, with Syria, Persia, and India. The advent of Christ brings us to the perfect fulfilment of the Abrahamic promise. The wonderful declaration of Christ—“And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Myself”—was explained; first, by the lifting up of the Crucifixion; secondly, by the resurrection of the Crucified; and thirdly, by the command of the Risen Redeemer. “All power hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye, therefore,” etc. In this command the mission of exalting God among the nations was directly entrusted to His apostles and followers by the Head of the Church. The Church has no other business on earth but to exalt God among the nations. Her gifts, her ministries, her sacraments, her literature, her spiritual authority have neither divinity nor meaning except in so far as they bear upon the conversion of the world to Christ. For the exaltation of God among the nations is the ascendency of Christ, to whom God hath given “the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9–11). If it be true that in spite of freedom of inquiry, and that licence of speculation which has accompanied the advancement of science, there never was a time when the Church exercised so wide a beneficence as she does to-day, when her followers were so many, so courageous, and so united; when her influence upon the politics and literature of the nations was so commanding, we must ascribe it to the revival of foreign missions. That spirit of enterprise and unselfish love which is the direct inspiration of missions must be the animating genius of all Church work. The ascended Christ pervades by His Spirit everything that touches the mind of nations—the tides of public opinion, their ebb and flow, the changing bases of the religious sentiment, the circulation of literature, the strife and the issue of the battlefield, the revolutions of commerce, and the fate of governments. Christ is in all these movements. He appropriates every force, and uses it for the exaltation of God among the nations. The ultimate fate of the Christian religion is a subject of intense interest even to those who do not believe in its divinity. I refer to the thoughtful men who study the forces that are moving the world. These intellectual observers see in Christianity a tremendous power with a history behind it, and a prospect before it, which not only places it above the rivalship of other faiths, but leaves it absolutely alone as the one religion which educates the highest principles of humanity, and commands the civilization of the world. They assail its dogmas, they predict its fall; and yet are compelled to acknowledge that, in spite of the disunion which distracts its labours and weakens its federations, its march upon the convictions of mankind was never so swift, never so triumphant as it is to-day. The becoming attitude of those within the Church in their observation is stillness. Not the stillness of inactivity, nor the stillness of a sullen disappointment, and still less the quiet of a settled despair. When God says, “Be still,” He enforces the stillness of waiting—of watching the unfolding of ways and the development of thoughts which are as much higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. But why should we be still? Because we know in part, and, therefore, prophesy—that is, utter Divine things—in part. We are ignorant of God’s plan and God’s method. But there are two things on which our ignorance may rest itself. First, the immutable declaration, “I will be exalted among the nations”; secondly, the proofs that this declaration is in process of fulfilment. Let us leave God to work out the realization of His designs in His own way. If the light of His operations is not clear to our understanding, if surrounding events appear to contradict our impression of His mind and character, can we expect any other result when passing finite beings are watching the steps of the Infinite? (E. E. Jenkins, LL.D.)
Exell, J. S. (1909). The Biblical Illustrator: The Psalms (Vol. 2, pp. 457–467). Fleming H. Revell Company; Francis Griffiths.
CIA director met with Venezuela’s leader in Caracas as Trump huddled with Machado CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday in Caracas, the same day President Trump met with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House. Ratcliffe, the most senior administration official to visit Venezuela since U.S. Army Special Forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, traveled to the Latin American country at Trump’s direction to “deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,” a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill on Friday.
Shameless Ilhan Omar Accuses Trump of Wasting Taxpayer Dollars Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is in a very special category: black, Muslim, and a refugee from Somalia. It’s a triple-banger, like Karine Jean-Pierre, always touted as black, lesbian, and Haitian. Never question their prominence on the merits. It’s a born-on-third-base situation in national politics and media. So, when Omar submits herself to television interviews from liberal networks, she knows she can say inflammatory things and not be seriously challenged.
Congress to call Nick Shirley, former investigator to testify as Minnesota fraud crisis explodes Reports of widespread fraud in Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded programs are headed straight into the congressional spotlight next week, with lawmakers preparing to hear from a former fraud investigator and the YouTuber whose videos ignited a national reckoning. “It is our goal to find out what is going on, criminally prosecute who should be prosecuted, and just stop the fraud,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, who will lead the hearing. Those findings echo more than a year of Alpha News reporting, which has uncovered similar patterns across autism therapy clinics, adult daycare programs and transportation companies.
Ayatollah admits thousands dead – US warns According to Ali Khamenei, the violence in Iran was caused by the United States, which he said aims to “swallow Iran.”“The Iranian nation broke the back of the uprising; it must also break the back of the insurgents,” he wrote on X on Saturday, stating that Iran will “not spare domestic or international criminals.” The Ayatollah accused individuals “linked to Israel and the US” of killing thousands of people during the protests. The US State Department sent a warning to Tehran. “As President Trump has repeatedly emphasized – all options remain on the table. (…) Don’t play games with President Trump,” they wrote in Persian in a post on X.
Israel launches major aliyah initiative as antisemitism surges in Western countries The Israeli Ministerial Committee on Immigration and Absorption on Tuesday approved a large-scale Jewish immigration (Aliyah) initiative titled “Nevertheless – Aliyah of Renewal,” amid rising antisemitism in Western countries. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incidents have surged across the West following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis. Antisemitic incidents between 2022 and 2024 soared by 562% in Canada, 450% in the UK, 350% in France and 387% in Australia according to new data released by the Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry
Israel criticizes Trump’s Gaza peace council appointments The Israeli government is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointments to the so-called ‘Gaza Peace Council.’ The composition of the council is at odds with Israel’s goals, said the Israeli prime minister. The Israeli side is also dissatisfied that they were not consulted about the appointments.
Trump vows tariffs on eight European nations over Greenland President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said additional 10% import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain — all already subject to tariffs imposed by Trump. Those tariffs would increase to 25% on June 1 and would continue until a deal was reached for the U.S. to purchase Greenland, Trump wrote.
Where are the so-called human rights defenders for the people of Iran The United Nations, prominent NGOs, liberal politicians, and left-leaning activist networks seemingly love to frame themselves as some kind of elevated moral conscience for the international system. They speak the language of “justice,” “dignity,” and “universal human rights” and insist—sometimes with threats and violence—that silence in the face of oppression is “complicity.” When it comes to Iran, however, where ordinary, unarmed people demanding freedom are being beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and gunned down in the streets by their own leaders, this high-minded moral chorus has all but disappeared. This double standard only exposes the bottomless hypocrisy at the heart of much contemporary human rights activism.
US official: Gaza is our way or the highway US President Donald Trump’s advisers reject criticism of Board of Peace, say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must make a choice, A senior US official told Axios, “This is our show, not his show,” referring to Netanyahu. The official added, “We managed to do things in Gaza in recent months nobody thought was possible, and we are going to continue moving.” The official said stressed, “If he wants us to deal with Gaza, it will have to be our way. We worked over him. Let him focus on Iran and let us deal with Gaza. We are not going to argue with him. He will do his politics and we will keep moving forward with our plan. He can’t really go against us.”
‘Trump United Nations’: Netanyahu invited to join Board of Peace Washington reportedly mulls expanding Trump’s Board of Peace beyond Gaza to Ukraine and Venezuela; over 50 nations invited, including Israel, Turkey and Egypt, as questions mount and critics warn of US-led Security Council alternative. U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join a newly announced international body overseeing postwar Gaza, signaling that the initiative, initially presented as Gaza focused, could evolve into a far broader forum that critics are already dubbing “Trump’s United Nations.”
The a Gaza peace plan’s missing piece: Who will actually dismantle Hamas? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi have been invited to join a ‘peace council’ tasked with ending the war in Gaza. For now, there are no agreements, but the planned lineup is impressive and includes prominent international figures. President Donald Trump is expected to lead the initiative, alongside Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair, the US secretary of state and, inevitably, the perennial son-in-law Jared Kushner. Under the council, an executive body would include special envoy Steven Witkoff once again, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and World Bank President Ajay Banga. Each of the committees is expected to include 15 members charged with overseeing, each in their own field, the Palestinian body meant to administer Gaza. Meant to, because it remains unclear how this would function on the ground. The new framework is designed to bypass what many involved see as the ineffective and frustrating role of the United Nations in Gaza.
Trump to POLITICO: ‘It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran’ President Donald Trump on Saturday called for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37-year reign. “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told POLITICO, as widespread protests calling for an end to the regime appear to have waned. After being read a series of hostile X posts from Iran’s supreme leader, Trump said the ayatollah is guilty of “the complete destruction of his country.”
Iran’s supreme leader acknowledges thousands killed as Trump calls for new leadership Iran’s supreme leader publicly acknowledged for the first time that thousands of people were killed during recent anti-government protests, as President Trump called for new leadership in Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blaming the U.S. for the unrest and violence and saying some protesters died “in an inhuman, savage manner.”
Israel launches major aliyah initiative as antisemitism surges in Western countries The Israeli Ministerial Committee on Immigration and Absorption on Tuesday approved a large-scale Jewish immigration (Aliyah) initiative titled “Nevertheless – Aliyah of Renewal,” amid rising antisemitism in Western countries. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incidents have surged across the West following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis.
Ghazala Hashmi Takes Oath on Quran to Be Sworn In as Virginia Lt. Gov. In video footage posted on social media, Hashmi was seen being instructed to place her left hand on the Quran and to raise her right hand. Hashmi defeated radio host John Reid in Virginia’s election in November 2025. During the campaign, Reid “identified himself as someone who has ‘very strong principles,’” while Hashmi “appealed to her status as a diverse candidate.”
Winter storm warning announced impacting 18 states as rare heavy snow approaches It’s not often that the southeastern United States gets more snow than the Midwest, but it looks like that is going to be the case this weekend, as a rare winter storm warning has been issued for parts of Georgia as a system moves across the eastern United States, bringing winter weather to at least 18 different states along or near the East Coast.
The UK continues its rapid decline into morally rotten irrelevance Whether it’s BBC talking heads hissing at the mention of Christ, an army of cokeheads, or a conservative banned from the country, the UK is on its last legs. It’s painful to watch a country I once respected and admired slide into decayed irrelevancy, but I can’t turn my eyes away. It’s like watching a traffic accident. You know the outcome is going to be dreadful, but part of you hopes a last-minute miracle will occur.
Great Replacement: This Country Imported an “Entire City” of Third Worlders in 2025 Those Germans complaining are just told to shut their mouths — sometimes, persuasively, via “hate speech”-law application. There’s an irony here, too. This new Third World “migrant city” came in during a year when the German government promised to restrict immigration. So what was the supposed alternative, having two Third World “migrant cities” enter the country?
Egyptian Christian Given Five Years’ Hard Labor for YouTube Videos Defending Faith Augustinos Samaan is a Coptic Christian who studies comparative religion. “Through scholarly work and online educational content, he peacefully discussed religious issues and responded to anti-Christian incitement.” His YouTube channel has over 100,000 subscribers. Such popularity is undoubtedly what brought him to the attention of the Egyptian government.
Fox News host Mark Levin outlines the significance of Iran and the ways in which America has used its military historically on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’ #fox #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #foxnews #politics #political #politicalnews #government #nationalsecurity #military #defense #iran #foreignpolicy #global #history #usmilitary #middleeast #lifelibertylevin #marklevin
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig predicted Monday that litigation by state and local officials in Minnesota against the Department of Homeland Security would fail. Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison of […] The post appeared first on The Western Journal .
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil that his interview this week with President Donald Trump needed to air in full or the network would have another lawsuit on its hands.
The New York Times obtained audio from the moments that followed Trump’s interview with Dokoupil in Michigan on Tuesday, which included Leavitt warning, on behalf of the president, not to cut the tape.
“He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,” Leavitt said, according to the audio.
Dokoupil responded, according to recording obtained by The Times, “Yeah, we’re doing it, yeah.”
“The moment we booked this interview we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety,” a CBS News spokesperson said in a statement about the report. The interview was published in full that night.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Leavitt told the Times, “The American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts. And guess what? The interview ran in full.”
Trump did successfully sue CBS News over a “60 Minutes” interview the network did with former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election. CBS’ editing of the interview and how it aired the footage across two different nights was at the center of the suit, with Trump claiming it was election interference.
CBS settled the suit with Trump ahead of parent company Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media last year.
The president teased Dokoupil during the interview on Tuesday and suggested he wouldn’t have a job if Harris had won, after the CBS host pressed Trump on why Americans didn’t feel the benefits of the economy under his administration.
“Tony, we now have the hottest country in the world. And a year-and-a-half ago, our country was dead. We had a dead country,” Trump told Dokoupil. “You wouldn’t have a job right now. If [Kamala Harris] got in, you probably wouldn’t have a job right now.”
“Your boss, who’s an amazing guy, might be bust, OK?” Trump said. “Let me just tell you — you wouldn’t have this job. You wouldn’t have this job — certainly whatever the hell they’re paying you. Our country is rocketing right now. We have the hottest country in the world. If they got in, we’d be Venezuela on steroids.”
Trump was referring to David Ellison, the new owner of CBS parent company Paramount and the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison.
Dokoupil offered a rebuke to the president as the two wrapped up the interview.
“For the record, I do think I’d have this job even if the other guys won,” Dokoupil told Trump. The president then responded, “Yeah — but at a lesser salary.”
Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
There is a problem in Islam, and the problem is we can’t talk about the problem.
In TWestern societies—especially in Europe—are undergoing a gradual but profound transformation driven by Muslim immigration, higher fertility rates, and conversion, coupled with “ideological capture.” This is not a sudden conquest but a demographic and cultural shift unfolding within democratic systems, while open debate about it is stigmatized or criminalized.
The stealth jihad operates on two tracks: physical replacement (mass immigration, welfare incentives, and fertility differentials) and ideological conquest (information warfare and narrative control). Below, High Fitzgerald explains how state-backed media and digital influence—particularly from Qatar, Iran, and Turkey—are central to shaping Western opinion, highlighting the global reach of Al Jazeera and alleged manipulation of platforms like Wikipedia. He also emphasizes the role of the Muslim Brotherhood, which he says advances influence through mosques, NGOs, schools, political parties, and “patient extremism” that reframes Islamist goals in progressive language.
The essay cites political developments in Europe and the United States as evidence that demographic change is translating into policy influence, warning that Western “ideological paralysis” enables this shift. Unless Western societies confront demographic realities and organized digital propaganda openly, they risk losing cultural and political coherence through their own institutions rather than by force.
The Slow and Silent Islamic Transformation of the West
And Western society has criminalized discussion about it.
Through demographic shifts, and ideological subversion, Islam continues to conquer, in slow motion, the European countries of the West. More on Islam’s march to victory in Europe can be found here: “The Islamification of Western democracies: The great, dangerous silent takeover – opinion,” by Eliyahu Haddad, Jerusalem Post, December 31, 2025:
What once required 500 years of military conquest now unfolds in just 50 years through immigration and demographics. Europe’s Muslim population has surged from less than 1% in 1970 to a projected 10 to 14% by 2050, a transformation
There are now 46 million Muslims in Europe, out of a total population of 745 million.
Western civilization faces not conquest but replacement through its own democratic processes and ideological paralysis.
This transformation is “silent” not because it’s invisible – the changes are obvious – but because Western societies have criminalized discussion of it. The takeover operates on two fronts: physical replacement through demographics and ideological conquest through digital warfare.
Muslim numbers in Europe constitute an ever greater proportion of the total population for three reasons: first, there is continued immigration by Muslims, both legal and illegal, that amounts to about two million a year. Second, the much higher fertility rates of Muslim women in Europe, as compared to the indigenous Europeans, whose fertility rates have fallen below replacement level of 2.1. Muslim mothers have an average of one more child than non-Muslim mothers. Third, several hundred thousand Europeans convert to Islam every year.
Physical replacement requires no invasion – only open borders, welfare incentives, and a fertility differential that guarantees Muslim demographic growth while native populations collapse.
Ideological conquest has weaponized social media on an unprecedented scale. State actors – primarily Iran, Qatar, and Turkey – invest billions in bot networks and media empires amplifying pro-Islamic and anti-Israel narratives.
Qatar’s Al Jazeera has become one of the largest media organizations in the world, and its journalists are encouraged to spread their pro-Islam, anti-Israel propaganda in every news story. And Israel is the only country in the world to prevent Al Jazeera from operating within its borders. In addition to Al Jazeera, both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have well-financed government-owned broadcasters. Muslim editors outnumber Jewish ones on Wikipedia 40 to 1; they have had a tremendous influence on how the world understands the Arab-Israeli conflict, and have prepared tens of millions of Wikipedia’s readers to take a dim view of the Jewish state, while holding up the terror groups — Hamas, Hezbollah, and Hamas — as engaged in legitimate “resistance.”
The Muslim Brotherhood operates through seemingly independent channels: media outlets, NGOs, political parties, and mosques. Through “patient extremism,” MB branches present violence as “resistance,” casting genocidal vows as “anti-colonialism,” thereby recruiting Western progressives….
The Muslim Brotherhood has taken in Western “progressives.” Brotherhood members have a tremendous presence everywhere in the Islamic lands, and in some non-Islamic lands as well. The Brotherhood controls mosques, owns its own media outlets, including several satellite channels, runs NGOs, and controls political parties. It runs a huge network of schools, including in the West, that in many cases hide their links to the Brotherhood.
Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York’s mayor symbolizes the transition from cautious immigration to actively reshaping American policy. He is the first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city….
Mamdani is determined not just to be the mayor of New York. He wants to shape American policy toward Muslims and Israel at the national level, intending to continue his policy of defending Islam and Hamas, and of attacking, in every conceivable way, the Jewish state that he accuses of “genocide.”
The Michigan city of Hamtramck became America’s first to have an all-Muslim city council, immediately banning Pride flags on public property. Muslims now constitute one of Michigan’s largest ethnic groups, and their support arguably secured Trump’s victory in this crucial swing state.
Here the writer is wrong: the Muslim voters in Michigan were not responsible for Trump’s victory, though they like to claim having been so. Muslims constitute only 1.8% of those who vote in presidential elections in Michigan. Their effect was inconsequential.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s greatest innovation replaces physical conquest with digital conquest. Iran operates the world’s largest bot networks. Qatar’s Al Jazeera media reaches 430 million viewers across 150 countries, systematically shaping narratives against Israel. The impact is staggering: Fifty percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 now sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis, a complete inversion from previous generations.
Al Jazeera has a greater global reach than any media company save for the BBC. It feeds its audience a steady diet of misinformation and lies that has shaped the narrative about Israel, and turned much of the world against the Jewish state. For all the talk about how “Jews control the media,” the Israeli presence in the media is fifty times smaller than that of Al Jazeera alone. The Al Thani family that owns Qatar has poured billions into Al Jazeera, its broadcast network and its journalists; Israel simply cannot compete.
Perhaps most insidious is Wikipedia manipulation. With 6 billion monthly visits, pro-Palestinian editors outnumber pro-Israel editors 40-to-1 on relevant articles, ensuring systematic bias in humanity’s largest information resource.
The Arabs know that Wikipedia is where most of the world now goes to find out, not just the current news about a subject, but also the history of conflicts, including the Arab-Israeli war. Their Wikipedia editors outnumber pro-Israel editors 40 to 1; the Israelis have not provided enough resources to pay the same number of editors as the Arabs.They need to be persuaded to devote more money to hiring more recruits in the never-ending Battle of Wikipedia.
The US dietary guidelines have shaped what Americans eat for decades, and the results haven’t been good. Discover the new inverted food pyramid and the updated diet recommendations that could change everything.
0:00 Introduction: The new dietary guidelines 2026
5:50 What’s missing from the 2026 nutrition guidelines?
The new dietary guidelines for Americans will improve the food in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, the military, and more. These updated guidelines will require a complete overhaul of the supply chains!
For over 40 years, the foundation of our food pyramid was whole grains. It was recommended that we consume 6 to 11 servings of grains every single day.
This change isn’t based on mere opinion; the data has been accumulating for years. Ultra-processed foods are now being targeted as the primary driver of 90% of chronic disease. For decades, ultra-processed food companies were protected by silence, but not anymore.
Let’s take a look at the old recommendations and see how they compare to the updated dietary recommendations:
• 6-11 servings of carbohydrates
• Low fat
• Low cholesterol
• Low saturated fats
• Focus on calories
• 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight
Updated diet recommendations:
• Inverted food pyramid
• Reduce ultra-processed foods
• Increase animal-based protein
• 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight
The protein increase alone can significantly improve your biochemistry, hormones, blood sugar, and more.
They are now working on a definition for ultra-processed food. Whoever controls the definition controls the outcome. By focusing on the biological definition of food, that which is eaten to sustain life; promote the growth and repair of tissues; nourishment, anything that doesn’t fit this definition would not be classified as food.
There’s one missing piece to the updated dietary recommendations: the root cause of chronic disease. Insulin resistance may be indirectly affected by these changes, but it may not be sufficient for individuals who are already insulin resistant. It’s vital to address the frequency of eating to get to the root of chronic illness.
Every time you eat, whether it’s healthy or unhealthy food, you spike insulin. This contributes to insulin resistance. Healthy eating may prevent insulin resistance, but it may not be enough to reverse it.
Although seed oils and industrial starches were not specifically mentioned, the new inverted food pyramid is a huge step in the right direction.
Fox News contributor Kennedy and co-host Emily Compagno opine on how political the scientific community has become with host Jimmy Failla on ‘Fox News Saturday Night.’ #fox #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #foxnews #foxnewssaturdaynight #politics #political #politicalnews #government #science #media #culture #education #freepeech #opinion #kennedy #emilycompagno #jimmyfailla Don
Truth2Freedom's Blog 