~Psalm 117
1 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.
Today's text is so short but it is packed with blessing! The Psalmist is exhorting us to praise the Lord. Why? Psalm 117:2 says that God's merciful kindness is great toward us! Amen to that! If it weren't for the Lord Jesus Christ saving my soul over 30 years ago, I would be dead and burning in Hell! That's great mercy! But the latter part of verse 2 says that the Lord's truth endures forever! Then the Psalmist tells us to praise the Lord again! We ought to praise God for showing His great mercy toward us by preserving His truth - His word!
God's truth will endure forever! Endure what? Let's stop and meditate on these verses as the Lord reveals His word to us, amen? I am currently doing a study on Bible versions and the history of God's words preserved through these thousands of years. Countless men and women have been killed over the preservation of God's word. It did not take Satan long before he started corrupting the word of God - in fact, he began this corruption by causing doubt and actually changing what God said in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1).
It amazes me that you can discuss the preservation of God's word with Christians today and they doubt that there is a true copy God's word available to us today. Yet these same Christians believe that God created the universe and all that is in it. Why does their faith stop with creation, I wonder? Can not this same God preserve His word? God tells us that He can in His word so why are there doubts today?
Jesus said that God's word is true and sanctifies (sets apart) the believer.
~John 17:17-19 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19
Is it any wonder that the devil would try to corrupt it or have people wonder if it even exists? Satan does not want Christians to be sanctified. He wants Christians to be powerless. Furthermore, he does not want anyone coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he has succeeded in producing 200+ bible versions out there which could not lead a horse to water, let alone a man to salvation.
God is not a liar, like man (Romans 3:4). He speaks the truth through His word. In fact, His word is more important to God than His very name!
~Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Since God holds His own word above His own name (He magnifies it), it stands to reason that He would preserve it through the centuries and make sure that His creation would have His true words so they could find His blessed gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ!
~Psalms 12:6-7 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
I encourage anyone who is reading to do a study on the history of God's word and the corruption of the texts through the ages. You must know that God would not give us 200+ versions of His word to cause confusion for His creation. That has never been His intention. It is, however, the intention of Satan to change, pervert and corrupt (Genesis 3:1). He is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he hates truth! It is not rocket science - this should be evident to all Christians yet many are convinced that we cannot possibly have the preserved words of God!
The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. It is also found in Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33.
Christian, you believe that God can keep your salvation - why can you not believe that He can keep His word? You cannot escape God's truth. The devil wants you to but you cannot escape God's word.
~Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
I encourage each reader to study the history of the words of God as I have. We have God's word in the English language and it is not contained in 200+ versions. Men and women died preserving the manuscripts throughout the years and, yes, God's word does exist in the King James Bible. Don't be deceived that you have to have a modern English translation to understand. That is just another ploy of Satan's to keep you from the truth. God can preserve His words - don't buy that lie from the pits of Hell.
A closing thought - as I was studying, one of the defenses used by those pushing the modern versions was that their manuscripts were in excellent shape and older than the manuscript used for the Kind James translation. Friend, pause for a moment - do you have a favorite book on your book shelf that you have read over and over? You've dog-eared the pages and the pages are worn from reading over and over. A well read manuscript would be worn out - after all, they were written on papyrus. It would not be in perfect condition. I would be more concerned about a manuscript that was in mint condition - which would tell me it was never used. Is it any wonder that the manuscripts from the Authorized Version (AV) are newer than the corrupt manuscripts because the older ones were so used they fell apart? A well read and beloved book does not stay on a bookshelf! Many have died making sure that God's word would be preserved through the ages. Yes, man can fail - but God cannot fail - He is perfect!
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