Rest in the Vengeance of Jesus
LHC: Message Forty-Three (980823PM)

LHC-55
Week 43: Rest in the Vengeance of Jesus
(Revelation 19:11–21)

As the end of days approaches, you can find hope as you rest in the vengeance of
Jesus.
SUNDAY: The Vengeance of Jesus “O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs—. . . Render punishment to the proud. Lord, how long will the wicked . . . triumph? They . . . speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. They break in pieces Your people, O Lord, And afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. Yet they say, ‘The Lord does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand.’ ” —Psalm 94:1–7, emphasis added We usually don’t think of Jesus as being vengeful. That is why Revelation 19 is so astounding! Since time began, His saints have pondered the wonder of Jesus’ waiting to avenge evil upon the earth. This passage is representative of the heart’s cry of God’s people for thousands of years. For all of human history since Eden, Satan has seemingly triumphed. Sin and death have run riotously around the globe. Un-avenged evils, from the time of the first murder until this present hour, are still pending. Human history has been written in blood, tears, and death. Yet Jesus still waits—and we, His children, continue to persevere in the hope of Him that endures and anchors our souls. For we know that somewhere beyond the starry sky is a herald angel standing ready, by the decree of the Lord God Almighty, to sound his trumpet, and the kingdoms of this world shall then become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. In that moment Jesus will return in all His glory to His world! The climax of all human history unfolds in this week’s text (Revelation 19:11–21). The purposes of God long hidden in His eternal counsels are now made clear. When Jesus steps back into history, He will no longer be the Suffering Servant—He will be Lord of All! Hallelujah! Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the
nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.’ And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. —Revelation 19:11–21 What an awesome event! And in that passage we see two remarkably vivid truths: 1) the absolute security of trusting the timing of Jesus (vv. 11–16), and 2) the absolute futility of resisting the offers of Jesus (vv. 17–21). Contemplate the significance of this majestic scene as you reflect upon the content of the prayer below. My Prayer for You This Week: Glorious Lord Jesus, we, with the Apostle John and the saints of all times, say, “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Come to wreak Your vengeance upon this world; come to right all wrongs; come to settle all debts—for vengeance is Yours. You who are a consuming fire in Your holiness, oh Father, have committed all judgment to Your Son. How we await His coming! We know that He will come for us, Your beloved ones in Your church, to take us from this world before the hour of the Great Tribulation comes upon the earth. We know that we shall return, as Your Word says, clothed in white, riding on a white horse as a member of Your army at Your return. As we look into this very beautiful passage, may we see the wonderful truth of Your character revealed. And as we see the folly of the world which thinks it can fight against God, grant discernment that will enable us to better live in the light of Your Word. Bless Your Word to our hearts. Help us to be expectant of Your coming, or Your calling of us home. May we be found looking and living in a way that pleases You! We thank You in Your precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
MONDAY: The Absolute Security of Trusting Jesus’ Timing “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”
—Jude 24–25, emphasis added No book is more tied to the rest of the Bible than Revelation, for Revelation is not only the conclusion but also the summation of the entire Scriptures. Everything that began in Genesis, and has woven its way through all the other Books of the Bible, comes to a conclusion here. Now let us look closely at Revelation 19 as God pulls back the veil and reveals the awesome majesty of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in all His glory! Remember that this is the vivid, eyewitness account of John. He briefly saw this whole revelation from God’s perspective—almost at once. Imagine what it would have been like for John to actually see the Second Coming of Christ: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:11, NIV). The One who ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9–11) and had been seated at the Father’s right hand (Hebrews 8:1; 10:12; 1 Peter 3:22) will return to take back the earth from the usurper and establish His kingdom (Revelation 5:1–10). The nature of Christ’s Second Coming shows how it differs from the Rapture. At the Rapture, Christ meets His own in the air; in Revelation 19 He comes with them to earth. At the Rapture, there is no judgment; the Second Coming is all about judgment. The Day of the Lord (as the Second Coming is called in the Old Testament) is preceded by blackness—a darkened sun, a moon turned blood red, stars seemingly falling from the sky, thick smoke like from a furnace—then lightning and blinding light as Jesus comes. These details are not recorded in Rapture passages (John 14:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). In verse 11 are also two of the wonderful titles of Jesus Christ—Faithful and True. These titles remind us that we can fully trust Him. Not one word He spoke will ever be false. Not one promise He made will ever fail. Christ came for His saints, as He promised (Revelation 4:1), and now He will return with them. During all of human history, He has been watching and waiting. Nothing has missed His eyes. Now He will begin to bring Truth to bear upon all lies, falsehoods, and deception. In the broad scope of God’s plan for the ages, we know that His timing can be nothing other than perfect. He is never too early and never too late; His timing is always precise. Every genuine prophecy ever made will be fulfilled—exactly as predicted. On a personal level, the same holds true. We can trust Jesus to hear every prayer that is according to His will, and if He hears us, we have the petition requested (1 John 5:14–15)—at just the right and sometimes absolutely incredible moment. We can always rest in the absolute security of His perfect timing, whether it is that of fulfilling prophecy or meeting individual needs, for He is the God who does all things well (Mark 7:37)! In the quietness of your heart, reflect upon God’s perfect timing, and then worshipfully sing (or pray) this little chorus to the Lord. In His Time In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me ev’ry day as you’re teaching me Your way That You do just what You say in Your time. In Your time, in Your time, You make all things beautiful in Your time. Lord, my life to You I bring; may each song I have to sing Be to You a lovely thing in Your time. As you meditate on the wondrous character of Jesus, let your heart feel sweetly secure in the One who is called “Faithful and True”—the lover of your soul! No one but Jesus is always faithful and true, and very few are regularly that way. You can expect to be let down at some point by others, but Jesus will never let you down!
TUESDAY: Jesus Will Right All Wrongs “Do not avenge yourselves, but . . . give place to wrath; for . . . ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. . . . The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.” —Romans 12:19; 2 Peter 2:9; emphasis added Did you know that the earliest prophecy in the Bible was from the first known prophet in the Bible, one who lived before the Flood? There were three categories of people involved in the Flood: 1) the one who was taken out before the Flood came— Enoch; 2) Noah’s family which was preserved through the Flood; and 3) the earth dwellers who perished in the Flood. The earliest recorded prophecy in the Bible was by Enoch, who was seven generations from Adam. He had a son, Methuselah, who lived the longest of anyone; he was the one whose very name in Hebrew means “when he dies the judgment will come.” And so it seems to have happened at the very same year that Methusaleh died—the Flood began! Methuselah’s son was Lamech, and he fathered Noah. In Noah’s six hundredth year, the Flood came. Have you ever thought about how many people perished in the Flood? If the families were the same size as biblical families, and they kept having children as long as was usual back then, there may have been a billion people on this planet when the Flood came. One creationist, Henry Morris, believes that there were four to six billion. If you want to know about God and His justice, how many people survived the Flood? Only nine—one was taken out just before, and eight went through it. If you think that the majority of the world is going to get to heaven, then you are not thinking like God does. God offers salvation to all, but so few come to Him. Methuselah, according to Jewish tradition, lived until one week before the rain started. Look at what his father prophesied while he lived here: “Enoch . . . prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands [hundreds of millions] of His saints [His army of the church saints, pre-church saints, pre-Flood saints], to execute judgment on all, to convict . . . of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him’ ” (Jude 14–15). This is a prophecy of Christ’s Second Coming. God’s analysis of this planet apart from His intervening grace and hearts
responsive to Him is “ungodly, ungodly, ungodly.” There is a moment in the future when God will say, “That is it!” He will then execute judgment on all. Just as it was at the time of the Flood, in the Tribulation we see the same type categories of people: the saints of the church age who will be pulled out just before the Tribulation; the Tribulation witnesses—the 144,000 and the two witnesses—who will be preserved through it; and the world that will perish under all the horrors of God’s wrath in the Tribulation. To His saints, He offers assurance that He is faithful and true. That is important to grasp, especially when it comes to the matter of executing vengeance. If someone harms you or despitefully uses you, God promises that Jesus will execute vengeance, so He says, “Wait for Me to handle it.” The ungodly are punished in this life through never experiencing Christ, but they will also be punished in the life to come. Therefore, we don’t need to personally add to their punishment. Jesus will repay every evil—He asks us to trust Him: “ ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘the Lord will judge His people’ ” (Hebrews 10:30). Jesus has promised that He will repay every evil, so trust Him. Getting out of sorts spiritually through anger and bitterness expends vital energies that are better spent elsewhere. So the Lord says, “Trust Me. I will repay every evil if you will just give them to Me instead of trying to handle them yourself.” Jesus will vindicate all who have been oppressed—He asks us to hope in Him: “The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. . . . The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble” (Psalm 103:6; Psalm 9:9). Jesus will reward the righteous—He asks us to work for Him: “So that men will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the earth’ ” (Psalm 58:11). God asks us to work for Him, hope in Him, trust in Him, and wait for Him. If someone oppresses you because you are a Christian, the most powerful thing you can do is leave vengeance up to the Lord. That will free you up to serve Him: “Rejoice . . . , for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12). Are you assured that Jesus is really the Truth? Are you daily pouring out all your sadness, anxieties, and woes on Him? Only Jesus can give you the rest and peace that all will be well in Him (Matthew 11:28–30). Let Jesus be your pattern for how to respond to offenses. When He was reviled, He never retaliated. Revelation 19:11–16 bears witness that we can go through our earthly days trusting in the timing of Jesus to right all wrongs.
WEDNESDAY: The Absolute Futility of Resisting Jesus’ Power “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God.’ ” —Revelation 19:17, emphasis added
In Revelation 19:17–21, we see the folly of the world as they finally begin to reap the justice they deserve. What does the Lord reveal as the elements of this futile resistance against God? The earth dwellers will find that God’s plan and His programs are inescapable. Remember Ahab and the bowshot in 1 Kings 22:34? Ahab was the wicked king of Israel. He thought he was smart, so he disguised himself and went into battle with the righteous king of Judah. The king of Judah wore his kingly robes, but he was God’s man. In warfare, the opposing forces always tried to attack the king. If they killed him, his army would scatter. The Syrians started shooting their arrows at the king of Judah, but God protected him. But, when a soldier of the Syrian army decided to shoot an arrow at random, God directed that arrow between a joint in Ahab’s armor and killed him. God had said that Ahab would face His judgment because of his grievous sins, so Ahab could not escape the plan of God. Though a person may run, he or she can never hide from God! Now look at these elements that further reveal the absolute futility of trying to resist God’s power. The Inescapable Humiliation of Pride by God: “ ‘[The birds] may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great’ ” (19:18). Do you remember Satan’s five “I will’s” in Isaiah 14? You can try, but you will never succeed in exalting yourself. That is why the Lord says in James 4:6b: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The Inescapable Power of God: “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army” (19:19). All the powerful of the planet will come to fight God. Doesn’t that make you wonder: How can anyone fight God? And what will they fight with? The Inescapable Judgment of God: “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image” (19:20). The beast will be captured—the one who led the whole world astray. He and the false prophet will then be the first to be cast alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone. The Inescapable Execution by God: “And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (19:21). All the Lord will have to do is speak and there will be a 180-mile-long river of blood draining from human bodies! Their blood will flow to the horse’s bridles! At one point near the end of World War II, so many had been killed at Okinawa (150,000 Japanese troops and 15,000 American troops) that survivors tell of walking for miles through pools of blood as they carried away the wounded. Why does the Lord give such a horribly graphic view of these, His enemies? To remind us of the absolute futility of resisting the power of Jesus! Are you “spinning your wheels” trying to resist Him? Or have you submitted and are now basking in His love?
THURSDAY: Jesus Offers Intimacy “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” —John 17:3, emphasis added Not many experience intimacy with Jesus because they often don’t seek Him deeply. When we read some of the old hymns like the eleventh-century song by Bernard Clairvaux—“Jesus the very thought of Thee, with sweetness fills my breast”—the wording seems foreign because we are not customarily prone to thinking in such a manner. Why is that? The old saints intimately spent hours with the Lord. Martin Luther translated the whole Bible from Hebrew and Greek to German, and yet he prayed three to four hours a day. Most of today’s Christians can finish prayer in five minutes or less. Men like Luther weren’t “asking” the Lord for things—they were “basking” in the delights of Him! “Basking” is resting and nourishing ourselves in the presence of the Lord, getting to know Him personally. Have you ever thought about what a precious, blessed privilege that is? Jesus said in John 14:21: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Think about it! The Lord is waiting to unveil more of Himself to you. Do you want to experience the God of the Universe intimately? Then spend both quality and quantity time with Him. Do you know why I love astronomy, oceanography, and science in general? What intrigues me so much about all that is getting to learn more about God in nature because I want to know as much as possible about my Lord. If you want to know God, will you accept the greatest offer of all? A personal, always-present relationship with the Majesty on High? The One who is the very center of all-that-ever-will-be wants to show you more of Himself every day. Jesus wants us to remember what salvation is: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). That is the Christian life in one short statement: we are His sheep because we can hear His voice—He knows us, and we follow Him. If you struggle with assurance of your salvation, are you hearing the voice of the Lord? Is He revealing Himself to You? Are you following Him? Jesus offers us the enjoyment of intimacy. Are you enjoying an intimate relationship with Him today? Are you enjoying the personal revelation of Him? Do you enjoy talking to Him? Are you reading His letters to you—the Bible’s books? Are they at the top of your pile? When the mail comes, I usually sort through it very quickly. Half of it normally goes into the trash, and half can be read any time. But there is usually a letter or two that I just can’t wait to open because I can tell by the handwriting or some other sign that they are of personal interest to me. In America, one of the most anticipated events is the mail delivery. But far greater is the fresh letter the Lord Jesus mails to us through His Word every day, and He wants us to put it at the top of our pile. I recently met with someone who told me that they were having a bad week and, in fact, a bad summer. I asked, “What is so bad about it?” They admitted that they had not been reading the Bible much. My diagnosis was that they were spiritually sick. At times when we have called the pediatrician about one
of our children, their doctor always asks if there is a loss of appetite or lethargy. When that happens, the child is actually sick. As God’s child, if you have lost your appetite for God’s Word, and have become spiritually lethargic, you are likewise sick. The cure: Do not expose yourself to things that grieve and quench the Holy Spirit of God. Someone has aptly said this about the Bible: “This Book will keep you from sin—or sin will keep you from this Book.” What do you know of Jesus that only comes by long hours shared with Him? I’m not talking about learning from what some great writer has written, but what you personally know from seeing Jesus reflected in His Word until your heart can’t help but rise in intimate worship of God. Now do you see how the old saints could pray for hours? Such prayer is a reflection of a heart panting after Christ: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God” (Psalm 42:1).
FRIDAY: Resting in His Redemption “In Him we have redemption through His blood, . . . and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. [He is] the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth . . . who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” —Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; emphasis added The blood of Christ is the scarlet thread that ties all of the Word into one. It is in His shed blood that we hope. Are you resting in Christ’s perfect redemption and in the hope you have? Romans 8:1 says, “There is . . . no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Our sins are gone, and God will never condemn us for them. We will never have to stand in judgment for our sins because Jesus paid it all. What are you holding onto to get you to God? Do you trust only in the sacrifice of Jesus for you? Do you trust in all that He did, and His redeeming blood—or is it “Jesus’ blood plus my baptism” or “Jesus’ blood plus ‘I’m a good guy’ ”? It ought to be as hymn writer Count Nicholaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf wrote in 1739: Jesus, thy blood and righteousness my beauty are, my glorious dress; ‘midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, with joy shall I lift up my head. Jesus asks us to trust in His faithfulness: “The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses” (Revelation 19:14). This is wonderful! Not one of the members of His armies is lost, missing, or A.W.O.L. He has faithfully cared for them (and always will) through sickness, health, adversity, prosperity, loneliness, and joy. He is thus called Faithful. The very character of God is that of faithfulness: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 Peter 4:19). Jesus reminds us to wait for His judgment: “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15). At last it comes, the wrath of God falls. This judgment of Christ’s Second Coming is a “compression into a sudden flash, all the inevitable results of wrong doing.”1 Just as the crashing down of the Red Sea upon
Pharaoh was the demonstration of the danger to any human power that defies the supreme power of God, and the inescapable fiery brimstone God used in the judgment on Sodom was about those who trifle with sexual promiscuity, so the fierce wrath of God here at Christ’s return is the clear judgment of God upon sin. Jesus asks us to submit to His authority: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). Like Job and Jeremiah, we must trust God even when we can’t understand Him: “ ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches, But let him, who glories, glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:23– 24). Are you worshiping the Lord, your faithful God? One of the doctrines that some people hold to is the idea of losing your salvation. It attacks the very nature of God because you did not get saved on your own, and you can’t lose salvation on your own. It is a free, gracious gift from God—and He is faithful to keep all that you have committed to Him. Are you resting in His faithful provision for your needs right now? Are you confident in any adversity that God is above all, and is working His glory through it? How about your health? Is it in His faithful hands? Your children, marital hopes, childbearing desires, or college dreams—are they all given to the Faithful One? God will bring them to fruition according to His perfect plan and timing. Trust in His faithfulness! So then, what does the Second Coming of Christ teach us? Jesus offers us the assurance that He is faithful and true; Jesus offers us the enjoyment of intimacy with Him; Jesus offers us the rest of His redemption; Jesus asks us to trust in His faithfulness; and Jesus asks us to submit to His authority. Say “Yes, Lord, yes!” to His will and to His way. Trust and obey Him. And when the Spirit speaks to you, with your whole heart agree with Him.
SATURDAY: Great Is God’s Faithfulness “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” —Lamentations 3:22–23, emphasis added What should be our response to what we’ve learned through Revelation 19 this week and last? Look at verse 19:10 again: “I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” There are two gems in this verse: 1) worship God, and 2) see Jesus. Worship God by giving Jesus your consecration. Focus on the reverent presentation of all you have to God, which is your spiritual worship: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1–2). Worship God by giving Jesus your devotion. Let Jesus reveal Himself to you in every page of His Book. Learn to pause and often pray Psalm 119:18 before you study God’s Word: “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.” Yield to Him as He opens the Word; earnestly seek Him, and prayerfully allow Him to open your eyes. Give Him the devotion of your spirit in worship, and your body as a living sacrifice. Worship God by yielding to Jesus: “Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. . . . It came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:27–31). Worship God by earnestly living for Jesus: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (1 Peter 1:10–11). Worship God by prayerfulness: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). In these few verses, God gives the prerequisites for living the kind of life that truly honors Him: rejoice, pray, and give thanks! Make a Choice to Live in Hope: To live in enduring hope, reaffirm today that you will not let anything interfere with consecrating your body and your life to Him. Ask the Lord to empower you to not walk in pride, to not walk undisciplined in lust, to not let anything wicked be before your eyes, and to not let your hands be used for things that defile and thus grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. Make this commitment to Jesus: By Your grace, I will not let myself be any less than a consecrated sacrifice to You. That is how you can worship the Lord as He deserves. So then, I exhort you to choose to see Jesus as Faithful and True. See Him as the faithful One who always speaks Truth. See Him as the One who will never break a promise. See Him as the One you can always trust! Doesn’t reflecting upon the wondrous character of Jesus prompt your spirit to want to worshipfully sing this song to Him? Great Is Thy Faithfulness Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Refrain: Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! —Thomas A. Chisholm (1866–1960) 1 F. B. Meyer, Exodus (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1978), p. 133.