Greetings,
I have been keep a journal for some time as I have have been working through Proverbs, mostly, verse by verse. The following is from Tuesday, November 19th, morning meditation. This particular morning I was deeply moved and impressed by the study for the necessity of the message of the coming judgment of the Lord which seems to be absent from many pulpits in our nation.
"Everyone Proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." Proverbs 16:5
Here the Holy One calls the proud in heart an abomination. This word is often used of things related to false religions and of sins such as perversity, injustice, and one who sows division. Prov. 3:32; 11:1.20; 6:19. In Leviticus 18 we can learn the various sins of sexual immorality and the murder of babies to Molech for which the Lord was disposing of those nations, calling them and their deeds abominations, by which the land was defiled and God's judgment was to vomit them out of it. These the Lord called abominations just as He calls a proud heart an abomination. The pride of a man's heart is seen in his face. "An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin." Prov. 21:4. The Lord hates a proud look. Prov. 6:16-17. Here in this Proverb and in Proverb 11:21, we learn the proud in heart and the wicked join forces, literally hand-in-hand. They must think themselves stronger in force and deceive themselves that they are safe and not be shaken because of their numbers and agreement among themselves. But the prophetic Scriptures declare that they shall not go unpunished. "None will go unpunished."
When the whole world united in pride and sin, which one escaped the flood? Only Noah and his family, eight persons, were saved alive because of the grace of God. Genesis 6:8. And now, when the Gospel of Christ is preached to us, if we are proud in our hearts and do not humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and remain disobedient to continue in the perversity and wickedness of our hearts, and do not repent of the evil in our hands, do we think we will escape the wrath of God which is yet to come? None will go unpunished. When these things enter our minds and hearts, and we become concerned for our souls so that our hearts melt within us for the fear of the Lord, let us be like Rahab, who trusted in the Lord, and saved herself and her whole family alive and all that they had.
How interesting that on the heels of this Proverb, the next verse declares, "In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil." v.6 How wonderful the Holy Spirit is who speaks truth in judgment and declares mercy and truth in forgiveness of sins. When I hear His Word that He will not acquit the wicked, my heart melts. My heart says with His Word, "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him." Nahum 1:6. Whose proud heart will not tremble and is so haughty that he thinks he will stand in the day of His anger? I am melted within me and no confidence remains in me. The day of the Lord's wrath surely comes and He does not tarry.
How many tokens can we multiply and examples given of the surety of the fulfillment of His Word? Of the world that perished in the flood, of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by fire, of Jericho, and Babylon, and all the cities dispossessed and destroyed by Israel which the Lord did because of all their abominations. And yet a Day remains when He will come and remove out of the earth and make an end of all the wicked of the earth. And though we live long on the earth, continuing in sins and abominations, and the patience of God continues, in our lack of repentance we do nothing more than store up greater wrath against ourselves when the Lord Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead. Moreover, if we live long in sin and die, our spirits will only be reserved in chains of darkness until that day when all will hear the voice of the Son of God and come out of their graves, the righteous to everlasting peace and joy, and the wicked to everlasting destruction and eternal fire.
O how long will you continue in your wickedness, pride, and stubborn heart? Today is a day of mercy and truth. The Lord is slow to anger and rich in mercy. "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him." Nahum 1:7. Atonement for iniquity has been provided for in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, the Lord and Messiah, the anointed one. Fear the Lord. Repent. Depart from evil and trust in Him. Come to the Lord Jesus and wash away your iniquity in His blood and receive His grace of eternal life. Amen.
