Lesson 307 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God " (Psalm 92:13).
Cross References
I The Duty and Advantages of Praising God
1. It is a good thing to praise God, Psalm 92:1-3; 33:2; 89:1; 147:1; I Chronicles 23:5.
2. The grandeur of God’s works is shown, Psalm 92:4, 5; 139:17; Isaiah 28:29; Romans 11:33, 34.
3. The brutish man and the foolish man fail to understand the final punishment of the wicked, Psalm 92:6-9; 94:8; 68:1; Jeremiah 12:1-3; Malachi 3:15.
4. The blessings of the righteous are shown, Psalm 92:10-14; 23:5; 89:24; 135:1-3; Isaiah 65:22; Hosea 14:5, 6.
5. All God’s acts of mercy and judgment are founded on and gua-ranteed by His divine perfections, Psalm 92:15; Deuteronomy 32:4; Romans 9:14.
Notes
A Day of Thanksgiving
We are thankful that the Government of the United States of America sets aside one day of each year as a day of thanksgiving. On this day, especially, all the people of the nation are urged to give thanks and praise God for His mercies and blessings during the past year. As a nation, we have much to be thankful for. As individuals, we have much to be thankful for. The Lord seemed to bring this land of America into view at a time when there was a need in the world for a place of refuge for the people of God who had no religious liberty in their own lands.
In this nation of ours, everyone is guaranteed the right, by our nation’s constitution, to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. No other nations have ever enjoyed such full religious freedom as that which is our privilege to enjoy. No other people on earth have more right to praise God than the people of the United States of America.
Many are not thankful for the right that is constitutionally theirs today; and instead of praising and worshiping God, they are making Thanksgiving Day a day of feasting and revelry, drunkenness and rioting. Shame on a nation which God has so wonderfully blessed but where His mercies are trampled under foot! Destruction is ahead for such an ungrateful people unless they repent.
Breadbaskets of America
When we look out over our wide fields of ripened grain, often called the breadbaskets of America, we say, with David: “He [God] watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth” (Psalm 104:13, 14).
The joyful heart does not praise God once a year only, on Thanksgiving Day; but, with the Psalmist, every morning he shows forth God’s loving-kindness and every night His faithfulness. In fact, the child of God has a constant incense of praise arising from the altar of his heart. It makes one feel good to praise the Lord. Many spiritual blessings are obtained, and many spiritual battles are won, by praising the Lord.
Perhaps the Psalmist had been praising the Lord in prayer. He was so happy that he picked up his instrument of ten strings, and as his fingers struck the chords, such exuberant joy came into his soul that he wanted a greater instrument to use in giving vent to his feelings. So he laid down the instrument of ten strings and walked over to his harp, and there his soul mounted higher and higher in spiritual exultation, until his voice picked up the melody and sang praises unto the name of the Most High.
Great Works
“O Lord, how great are thy works!” David, one of the Psalmists, continually marvelled at, and wrote often about, the handiwork of God. He said the heavens declare God’s glory; the sun, moon, and stars reveal His power. David remembered the goodness of God to Israel: that the Red Sea fled at His presence, and that the Jordan River was rolled back before the Children of Israel. Their God had power to do wonderful things.
We serve the same God as the Israelites served. He is a God of power. Our God can transform lives. He can pardon a sinner’s transgressions, clean up his life, and take him out of the kingdom of Satan and put him into the Kingdom of our Christ. It takes divine power to change the heart of a sinner and make him a Christian. No other power or influence can do that.
Do not allow this Thanksgiving Day to pass without lifting your voice in praise to this wonderful God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for the many blessings He has bestowed upon you during the past year. He has given you His protection through many dangers, seen and unseen, that have crossed your path. He has given you health, food, and clothing. Your breath has been given you, and you have been held in the hollow of His hand. He could have snuffed out your life as a candle is extinguished, at any moment. But He has given you innumerable blessings instead. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
Deep Thoughts
“Thy thoughts are very deep.” Man’s thoughts are very shallow. Some people think that because man has been able to harness some of the powers of the universe and make an atomic bomb, his thoughts go very deep. But the so-called discoveries of man are only the bringing to light of a very few of the hidden mysteries of God. God created all things. Man discovers only that which God has already created.
Paul the Apostle exclaimed, after expounding the mysteries of grace: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). Paul explained that through unbelief Israel was cut off, and that now through faith the Gentiles were grafted in. The fact overwhelmed him when he meditated on the depth of God’s thoughts.
The Psalmist also was impressed with the depth of God’s wisdom. He saw that the brutish man and the foolish man did not understand God’s favour toward man; they did not comprehend that it is not to be measured by outward prosperity alone. The wicked may flourish as a green bay tree, but if he leaves God out of his plans the day will come when he will perish forever. Are you leaving God out of your plans today?
Flourishing Like Trees
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” We can easily see, by this, that the hope of the righteous is very different from that of the wicked who are likened to grass, which is soon cut down and withered. The palm tree speaks of grandeur and perpetual fruit bearing. It successfully carries a heavy load of nourishing fruit. There are no seasons of the year when its entire crop of fruit is cast off, when it might have rest from the duties of the fruit-bearing season. It bears fruit continuously. This is much like the life of a Christian. He bears fruit always. There is no time when he is exempt from that privileged duty. And the heavier the load that he carries in service to God and man, the more he flourishes spiritually.
“He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” The cedar gives us an impression of majesty, stability, and durableness. Cedar wood is not destroyed by worms, but lasts for years. Righteous men are planted by faith into the Kingdom of God. They are watered and nourished by the Word. They are rooted and grounded in love. They are strong and stalwart, like the palm trees and the cedars. They bear fruit continuously and are useful in many different ways. And in addition to all that, “they shall still bring forth fruit in old age.” What a comfort to us all!
Simeon and Anna, though aged, were still worshiping in the Temple courts when the infant Jesus was brought there by His parents. Simeon had lived a devout and holy life. He had lived and walked with God for a long time. He had been a fruit-bearing branch of the True Vine for many years, and now that his eyes had seen the Messiah he was ready to depart in peace. Anna, too, served God with fastings and prayers night and day. When she saw Christ she gave testimony to those who looked for redemption in Israel. Simeon and Anna were like palm trees, like cedars in Lebanon; they bore fruit in their old age, as well as in their youth. We all know of devout men and women who have lived fruitful lives for God and who have served Him up to the very hour of death. Some have closed their prayer for a lost world, and were transported immediately to Heaven. Do we want to be like these? We can if we will!
Bountiful Earth
At this Thanksgiving season let us remember God’s bountiful hand that has been outstretched toward us this past year, and sing praises unto His name. For we can say, with David: “Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness: and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.” (Psalm 65:9-13).
Questions
- Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?
- How should we celebrate it? and why?
- How do the brutish and foolish men look at the prosperity of the wicked?
- How does God look at the wicked man’s prosperity?
- To what trees are the righteous compared?
- State some qualities of those trees.
- What does it say the righteous shall do in old age?
- Name some righteous people who have borne fruit in old age.