"Come!
... Come! ... Come! ... Come!" (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7). The invitation
is clear. We are to come to the Lord. How are we to come to Him? If we
are to learn how we are to come to Him, we should learn also how we are
not to come to Him. Malachi 1 stresses that we are not to come to Him
with blemished sacrifices. Bringing such sacrifices shows contempt for
the Name of the Lord (Malachi 1:6-9). We are not to show contempt for
"the Lord's table" (Malachi 1:7). We are not to say of the Lord's table,
"It is defiled." We are not to say of the food of the Lord's table,
"It is contemptible." We are not come to the Lord's table, saying,
"What a burden!" (Malachi 1:12). This is no way to come to the Lord. We
are to come with "pure offerings", acknowledging the greatness of the
Lord's Name (Malachi 1:11). He is the "great King" whose "Name is to be
feared among the nations" (Malachi 1:14). The invitation comes from
"the Lamb" (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7). Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. He
is the pure Sacrifice. He has been slain for us. He is the foundation
of our worship. He is the basis on which we come to God the Father.
When we cry to God, "O Lord ... Listen to my cry for mercy" (Psalm
143:1), we come to Him in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we
plead His "faithfulness and righteousness" (Psalm 143:1), our attention
is fixed on the Cross of Christ. There, God's faithfulness and
righteousness are revealed to us. When, in our morning meditation, we
pray, "Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have
put my trust in You" (Psalm 143:8), we are looking, in faith, to the
Christ of Calvary from whom blessing flows to us. When we pray, "In
Your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am
your servant" (Psalm 143:12), we are seeking God's forgiveness and new
life and are committing ourselves to be His servants.
What God did for His people, Israel, was very great. There is a striking contrast between their slavery in Egypt and their abundance in the promised land. God had multiplied His blessing upon them, just as Jesus did when He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). If the blessing is to be maintained and increased, we must honour the Lord. We must cry to Him for blessing: "Hear my prayer, O God, listen to the words of my mouth." We must call upon Him with faith: "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the One who sustains me" (Psalm 54:2,4).
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