INTERESTING FACTS : Francis Grimke, (4 November 1852 - 11 October 1937) was a Presbyterian minister who was prominent in working for equal rights for African Americans. He was active in the Niagara Movement and helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).[1]

 

"If the time ever comes when we shall go to pieces, it will . . . be . . . from inward corruption - from the disregard of right principles . . . from losing sight of the fact that "Righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is a reproach to any people" [Proverbs 14:34]. . . .[T]he secession of the Southern States in 1860 was a small matter with the secession of the Union itself from the great principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, in the Golden Rule, in the Ten Commandments, in the Sermon on the Mount. Unless we hold, and hold firmly to these great fundamental principles of righteousness, . . . our Union . . . will be "only a covenant with death and an agreement with hell."[2]

 

Daily Reading : Nahum

 

TEXT : Nah 1:1  The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Nah 1:2  God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. Nah 1:3  The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Nah 1:4  He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. Nah 1:5  The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Nah 1:6  Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. Nah 1:7  The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

 

THEME :  JUDGMENT

 

About a hundred years before, at Jonah's preaching, the Ninevites repented, and were spared, yet, soon after, they became worse than ever. Nineveh knows not that God who contends with her, but is told what a God he is. It is good for all to mix faith with what is here said concerning Him, which speaks great terror to the wicked, and comfort to believers. Let each take his portion from it: let sinners read it and tremble; and let saints read it and triumph. The anger of the Lord is contrasted with his goodness to his people. Perhaps they are obscure and little regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them. The Scripture character of Jehovah agrees not with the views of proud reasoners. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is slow to wrath and ready to forgive, but he will by no means acquit the wicked; and there is tribulation and anguish for every soul that doeth evil: but who duly regards the power of his wrath? [Matthew Henry][3]

 

The Argument - As those of Nineveh showed themselves prompt and ready to receive the word of God at Jonah's preaching, and so turned to the Lord by repentance, so after a certain time they gave themselves to worldly means to increase their dominion, rather than seeking to continue in that fear of God, and path in which they had begun. They cast off the care of religion, and so returned to their vomit and provoked God's just judgment against them, in afflicting his people. Therefore their city Nineveh was destroyed, and Meroch-baladan, king of Babel (or as some think, Nebuchadnezzar) enjoyed the empire of the Assyrians. But because God has a continual care for his Church, he stirs up his Prophet to comfort the godly, showing that the destruction of their enemies would be for their consolation: and as it seems, he prophesies around the time of Hezekiah, and not in the time of Manasseh his son, as the Jews write. [Geneva Bible Translation Notes][4]

TRUTH FOR TODAY : "REPENTANCE IS AN ONGOING VIRTUE."

 

You read in Nahum, the decision of the LORD to destroy the Ninevites. If you read this Book in conjunction with Jonah without knowledge of history, it would confuse you. Jonah preaches mercy and the Ninevites repent. Nahum speaks of judgment and the Ninevites are destroyed. Hence, you now see the need for teachers in the Church. Without them, you would be utterly confused in so many portions of the Holy Scriptures. Case in point, about 100 years separate the preaching of Jonah and the pronouncements of Nahum. Without that knowledge, the passages of Jonah versus Nahum would seem irreconcilably contradictory.

 

Repentance is both an initial action and an ongoing activity. Since all Men are sinful, there is a need for continual contriteness and humility. Without this constant vigilance against sin, you will fall back into it thus, incurring the judgment of God. The Ninevites give you an example of [a] people who forgot their past, and as a result, sinned worse than before. Remember, God spared these people from severe judgment. Yet, it was not long before they were again in a position of rebellion with God. The Assyrians were fierce and known for their exceptional cruelty.

 

"The last great Assyrian ruler was Ashurbanipal, but his last years and the period following his death, in 627 BC, are obscure. The state was finally destroyed by a Chaldean-Median coalition in 612-609 BC. Famous for their cruelty and fighting prowess, the Assyrians were also monumental builders, as shown by archaeological sites at Nineveh, Ashur, and Nimrūd."[6]

 

In the Christian walk, there is a need for continual repentance and renewal of grace. Part of an old puritan prayer states -

 

"Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach. Help me chastely to flee it and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Thine alone. Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in Thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Thy Word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.

 

Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until Thou alone art seen in me, Thy beauty golden like summer harvest, Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

 

I have no master but Thee, no law but Thy will, no delight but Thyself, no wealth but that Thou givest, no good but that Thou blessest, no peace but that Thou bestowest. I am nothing but that Thou makest me. I have nothing but that I receive from Thee. I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water." [7]

 

Had the Ninevites, and for that matter Israel and Judah, maintained the spirit of this prayer, they would have never lost sight of the LORD or been judged. They are gone. You are here. Therefore, seek the LORD in daily contrition and humility. Without that, you risk losing sight [remembrance] of the LORD's cleansing you from your past sins.

 

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 2Pe 1:11  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.