The Lord God Omnipotent Reigns
“Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6) “The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov 16:4). Therefore everything that transpires in this world must be seen to be ordained (directly or indirectly) for the glory of God and the advance of His Kingdom. “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Rom 11:36). It is in this context that we must understand the following.
At 6:30 am on October 7, an estimated 2200 rockets were fired from Gaza toward south and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, by the Hamas militants – according to the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas claims at least 5000 rockets were fired, all landing in south and central Israel. These rocket attacks were followed by onslaughts made by more than 2000 men who entered Israeli territory through breaches in the barrier surrounding the Gaza Strip. The invasion led to horrific atrocities being committed against Israeli civilians of all ages, the terrible details of which need not be repeated.
The Middle East is not the only place where our fellow men suffer great anguish and pain. Other nations too are ravaged by war, civil unrest, earthquakes and similar distressing occurrences. Russia is still fighting with Ukraine; many thousands on both sides have been killed in this terrible conflict, and millions of Ukrainians are now refugees. Earnest prayers should especially be made for the Free Presbyterian congregation and its minister in Odessa, that the cause of God and truth there may prosper under the good hand of the King and Head of the Church, notwithstanding the great difficul-
ties and dangers they continue to face. Likewise, our prayers and supplications should go up for our Church’s friends and contacts in Israel and others in Israel and Gaza, that many may, amid all the sadness and distress encountered there, cast themselves upon God’s mercy and thus know His gracious presence and help during these most trying times.
Almighty God is the Creator and Lord of all. He is constantly, continuously and intimately acquainted with everything: all that is in the past, all that is in the present, and all that shall be in the future. He has perfect knowledge and understanding of all things. His omniscient eye beholds all the details of each of the lives of the billions of our fellow beings living in the many distinct parts of the world, including those living in “the dark places of the earth [that] are full of the habitations of cruelty” (Ps 74:20). Nothing is hidden from Him: His eye sees all, and with God, there are no “ambiguities”, no “mistakes”, no “surprises”, no “accidents”, no “misunderstandings” and no “misrepresentations”.
The Lord is also continuously active in the whole of His created universe. The world is the stage on which His divine operations are displayed. Every city, town and village in every land (including those in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and Russia) share in the solemn display of His infinite power and glory as he makes known the unfolding of His eternal decrees, second by second, among all the peoples of the world. He is the infinite Majesty of heaven: His will is ever perfect, ever holy, ever righteous and ever good!
Like Ezekiel in his prophecy, we are to see in the unfolding of Divine providence the intricacies of wheels revolving within wheels, as the eternal and unchanging decrees of God are manifested in time, not haphazardly, not randomly, nor chaotically, but always orderly, ever wisely measured, and specifically targeted, in total accord with the perfections of His divine mind and will, though most often quite incomprehensible, and contrary to the mind and ways of men.
The world is a world of sin, under the curse and wrath of God. Therefore we should not be surprised when God’s judgements are increasingly meted out. Indeed, we should be wholly astonished that we do not see more of the venting of His wrath and anger upon the highly provocative wickedness of our day in our land and overseas. He who poured forth fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah is the One who, in our day, is still a consuming fire. He is pleased to make known His detestation of all sin and unbelief by sending the thunderbolts of His divine anger as reminders of His righteous anger on all who wilfully and persistently despise Him and His gospel of grace and mercy.
There will always be things we cannot understand, things we cannot
fathom. Man is finite; God alone is infinite. We are ever to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of our infinite God, believing and trusting in Him as the One who alone is (in the well-chosen words of The Shorter Catechism) “infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth”.
May our earnest prayer in the sad day in which we live be that the time may soon come when Israel will be gathered to behold by faith the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they as a people have so bitterly rejected for the last two thousand years, and when, for the blessing of all nations and peoples, throughout the world (including the people of Gaza), “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14)! DPR
Abortion
The organisation Right to Life UK reports that, since the 1968 Abortion Act was introduced, approximately 10.3 million infants have been murdered in the womb in England, Scotland and Wales. This is more than the total current populations of Scotland (5.46m) and Wales (3.16m) combined. A baby is aborted every two and a half minutes; 26 babies every hour. These appalling statistics speak for themselves.
Abortion has become a commonly accepted way of dealing with unwanted pregnancies (with the morning-after pill and other pills for terminating a pregnancy at home made freely available). It now seems to be regarded as the fall-back method of contraception, to the extent that some politicians are now discussing de-criminalising abortion altogether, which would make it legal even up to the day of birth. The rationale seems to be that, since the vast majority of abortions are carried out very early in pregnancy, it is only a small minority who would avail themselves of the facility of such a late termination, and why should this be withheld? How barbaric! The mother would benefit from the usual medical care, but the child would be regarded as disposable.
We know that babies in the womb respond to music or loud noises and their mothers’ moods, suck their thumbs, and are damaged by their mother’s smoking, drinking or drug taking. Little lives, fully dependent on the protection of the womb, and yet deemed disposable! The thought of putting any unborn child to death, especially late term, is distressing enough without elucidating the methods used.
The Lord told Ezekiel to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, including: “Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured.” (Ezek 16:20). “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb
is His reward” (Ps 127:3). By destroying the child in the womb, we despise God, His Word, His heritage, and His children. FRD
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
A new comet has appeared and is expected to be visible with the naked eye next September (although apparently such things are difficult to predict). Naked-eye comets are not common, although there was one in September of this year. The new comet is unusual in that its orbit is such that this is its first-ever visit to the sun, and will be its only visit unless its orbit gets perturbed. How an object can be on such an orbit round the sun is a mystery to non-Creationists, although the astronomers do their best to cover up their ignorance.
It is to such comets that Jude was alluding when he spoke of certain false Christians or false teachers as “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever” (verse 13). Alas that many in Britain are on the same kind of orbit – they are near the Light now but will soon be heading into eternal darkness if they do not repent. DWBS