The Ohio Independent Baptist, March 1968

salm attcl nem By Ralph T. Nordlund (Read PSALM XC in your Bibl e first) The year and generation pass, In brevity contrasting With earth and moun.tai:is and the more With God, the Everla ti:ig! ing . Man of faith a Moses was, he begi, s with tha;iks– givi ng for a ~piritual home in God whi le dwe lling in a tent on earth, and he ends with ear:ie t prayer that his works might be crowned with success; and yet he feel s the shortnes and sadness of life as well . Indeed , all de ert trave ler ar·e overwhelmed by the mystic pessimism of man's s,mall;1es and transiency! A thousand year are in Hi i~ht A one brief day expended; But men are wept aiway in flood , Their little life soon ended. I .. ike grass we greet the mor:iing light, By eveni:-ig, n1owed, we wither; While yet a young minister, I we:it with an older evangeli t-pa tor to ita]k to a back lider and was amazed to hear ,the evange li t confess that the seventh verse, which the man qt1oted, seemed to co:i trad,ict the love of God. I pt111ed out my Bi ble and read the psalm and the:1 aid omething like thi s : "Isn't it a fact that we a re physically under ,the curse of God for Ad am's sin, and ti]l suffer and die? The thing for us to do is not to quarrel with it, but turn to God, o that our souls won' t suffer puni h 1 ment ,too. ' How can we de:1y the fact th a,t during the pa t year half a dozen frie:ids have pas ed on? Con urned ·in wrath, we tr,oubled be, And ask the que .tion, "Wither?" Our years are . pent , the tale ,00:1 told, In 1abor in and orrow; We only Jive to four score years If we may ten years borrow! O teach us, Lord a:id wisdom give, That we our days may :iumber - That we may early seek Thy grace Before we, too, mu t slumber! We would rejoice, in s·pite of grief, In Thy good work and glory· And with Thy beauty crown our years And leave a whole ome story . The Ninetieth Psalm is so appropriate to .this sea on, that we cannot help but wo:ider whether it wa writte:1 · on one of the sad anniversaries of the Wilderness wander- I uppose the lesson was more evident to Moses in the wilde r:iess, where an average of two thousand funeraJ were held each day in o:ie tent city; ,but how can we forget that a year from now our li fe tory may have been told , and that only labor ,done fo r God will last? All the re t will o nly be a decaying mo:iument to labor and sorrow suffered in vain. 0 that we mi·ght pray with Mo es that God wi11 e tablish the works of our hands, cro,wn our years with beauty and help us to leave behind "a whole ome story." Scriptural Meaning of ''Binding and Loosing' ' Does ome self-deceived religious tyro dare think that to his upposed ordained hands is committed the ac– tual power to forgive sins? Does Romi sh dogma arrogantly boast with just cause th at to popery be1o ngs the .,,. right to dispense Gods mercy? Are some so spiritLtal]y sensele s to sur- ·mise that God has given to mortal man the authority to save o ne here and to condemn another there - at will! ~he ure anc;wer to all tho e queries is "NO' ' - one thousand times NO. The so-called ordained hands of a fallible priest can not forgive! N V R ! ro be sure, Ciod ha<; not ever con1- n1itted to n1ortal main the right to ~ave or lo condemn! N V R! The duped votarie<; of Rome, blinded by the loud and fal\e cla i111 s f atholicisn1, would not rcn1ain ir1 ')piritual ignorance Cor Jong if 1hey wou]d open their 81l1Je~ to sec, to hear, to know. and to l)elievc the HoI y Sc r i pt ures of ru t h w h i c11 J rc– )en t si 111r>ly. clearly, t111<.lcrstan{lal1ly fHE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST by Rev. John Lineberry the bles ed and glorious Truth ,that the eternal alvation of 1 one' .. oul re t not i,n g.ood wo,rks (Titu 3: 5), but in the fini hed work of Chri t at Calvary (John 19:30) . The wonderful fact tha,t oul-salva– ti on is all of God's match,le s grace i borne 011t fo rcefully in an enlarged train Jat ion of our verse, Without in– volvement of technical term , known by any dependable exegete, of sound exegesi , solidly upported by ,the rule of G reek grammar and yntax. let me give the lran. lation, " J hal l r- ive to you the keys to the kingdon1 of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth (forbid to l)e done) : <;h ttll have been a1rcady bound (forbidd n to he done) in heaven: and whatever yott Joo\e on earth ( pern1it to be (lone). ~half have already been 1oo~ct1 in heaven (pern1ittccl to be dt)n ) ." Now, let 111e illustralc. ' I~l,c "i ,111)lc 111ea n Ing is clear, I l1c I 1c ve. \Vhen– cvcr the 1C)~ J)C I is JJ1oc la1111c tl antl the c lai111s l.>f the l ..i l)I' 1 J~'-ius lll) >n one' ouJ are et fort h in unday School c la , wor hip service, revival meet ing, home jai l house, treet– corner meeting, in a car, on a ship, in an airplane, and a inner believe in Chri t a~ per onal avior. the teac her, Chri tian worker, evangeli t , per ona] worker, n1i ionary. preacher can a ure that per on on the author– it y of God' Word that hi in for tin1e and eternity are forgiven, in which ca e one declares on arth what ha already taken place at th throne of Gotl in heaven. The preacher doe not do the . nving: neither doc h Jay clai n1 to that which on Jy ,od ca11 tlo a11ywa ' · hltt he doc. pr cl,li111 with a ring f certainty what od ha alr l1d,, done 1n glory: na111el y. that (1oti save anyone an(I everyone who \\ tll trtt~t in l-l1s c) n, tl1c l .. c) rd Je\tl'-i, fo, ,,11- va tt l) n f1()t11 ,1n ( Jt)h11 7:37. 1\ ct, t}: J 2: l{ t)111an\ 1(). 1 J. H l). 7· 5). t)\\I, let ~ l!t) fo1tJ1 to shout f~,, lrc– n1cntfl)tt s n1e,,age t)f ( ,t)~J)l: I I rut}1 - ell('J'\' H 1 flt ' J < // • MARC~I , 1968 PAGE 17