Text: Numbers 21:4-9

4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom:  and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.   5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  for there is no bread, neither is there any water;  and our soul loatheth this light bread.   6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people;  and much people of Israel died.   7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee;  pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.   And Moses prayed for the people.   8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole:  and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.   9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 

Thursday, 26^th September 2024

THE SERPENT IS GIVEN TO HISSING

Text: Numbers 21:4-9

Memory verse: Romans 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

Do not be like the serpent in hissing. Hissing out reproaches and criticisms against the saints and people of God. These are the seeds of the serpent who hiss at godliness. The Lord will one day reckon with men for all their hard speeches. Jude 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

Grudging and grumbling at all men, and at all things; complainers of their fate or destiny finding fault with God and all his divine dispensations, making and governing worlds in their own way; persons whom neither God nor man can please. It is very common for men to complain of their situations; to think that it is hard; to compare theirs with that of others, and to blame God for not making their circumstances different. The poor complain that they are not rich like others; the sick that they are not well; the enslaved that they are not free; the bereaved that they are deprived of friends; the ugly that they are not beautiful; those in humble life that their situation is not easy among the great. The virtue that is opposed to this is contentment, a virtue of inestimable value.

Romans 15:3 For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. The life of Jesus Christ did not seek personal comfort, wealth, or friends, or honours. He denied himself to promote the welfare of others; he was poor that they might be rich; he was in lonely places that he might seek out the needy and provide for them. He did not seek to preserve his own life when the appointed time came to die but gave himself up for all. He bore with patience the ignorance, blindness, erroneous views, and ambitious projects of his disciples. He exhibited kindness to them when in error; and was not harsh, critical, or unkind, when they were filled with vain projects of ambition, or perverted his words, or were dull of apprehension. So, says the apostle, we ought to do in relation to our brethren and not hissing out their reproaches. We may see the kindness of the Lord Jesus in being willing to throw himself between the sinner and God; to intercept our sins and bear the effects of them in his own person. He stood between us and God; and both the reproaches and the Divine displeasure due to them, were inflicted on his sacred Person, and produced the sorrows of the atonement, his bitter agony in the garden and on the cross. Jesus showed his love of God in being willing to bear the reproaches aimed at him; and his love to men in being willing to endure the sufferings necessary to atone for these very sins.

If Jesus bore reproaches, we should be willing also to endure them. We suffer in the cause where he has gone before us, and where he has set us the example; and as he was abused and belittled, we should be willing to be so also.

CGDS HYMN 5; SS&S 618:

YIELDED TO GOD, MY BODY SOUL AND SPIRIT

1. Yielded to God, my body, soul, and spirit,

Oh, what rejoicing fills my peaceful breast !

All, all is well : no doubt nor fear disturbs me,

While on His promise now alone I rest.

2. Yielded to God, reposing 'neath His shadow,

Sunshine and gladness round my pathway fall ;

Yielded to God, whose love dispels all sorrow,

He is my Refuge, and my All in All.

3. Yielded to God, my life and its devotion,

Yielded the service of each day and year;

Oh, what a peace pervades my every feeling !

Oh, what sweet visions on my sight appear !

4. Yielded to God, and in His holy keeping

My heart His temple evermore shall be ;

Yielded to God, in willing consecration,

Blessed Redemeer, I am lost in Thee.

 Prayers 

1.  Lord Jesus, deliver me from reproaches to people.

2.  LORD God Almighty, purge me from unhealthy criticism toward people, especially toward the saint in Jesus’ name. Amen.    

3.  Pray for others in this regard.