Sabbath Afternoon - January 20, 2024

Scripture Reading for the Week:
Psalms 139:1-18; 121:1-8; 17:8; Matthew 23:37; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Hebrews 4:15-16. 


Thought for Meditation:
Reproof and rebuke may, and will, come closer home to individuals than they dream of. God has His work in hand, and declarations will be made that will test the faith and loyalty of the people of God. There are those who have had great light, who are far from God, who in heart are apostates. . . . {CTr 125.6} 

But we may still rejoice in the fact that it is not yet too late for wrongs to be righted. Jesus is a risen, living Saviour, our Advocate in the courts of heaven. “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” As soon as sinners see their sins in the light of God’s Word, repent, and seek pardon with contrition of soul, confessing their sins, the Lord hears and answers.—Letter 12a, 1893. {CTr 125.7} 


Memory Text:

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalms 34:17). 


This week's SSLesson will gaze upon God's wonderful plan for the deliverance of His people from the adversary - the devil and will surely disclose how His hand defended His saints in times of Trouble. This includes the marvelous work He is doing on our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary.


Study Outline:

Sunday - January 21, 2024

My Frame Was Not Hidden from You - The Lord Knows (Psalms 139)

Psalms 139:1-18. 139:1-6; 139:7-12; 139:13-18; 56:13 Romans 3:5,21;  Hebrews 1:3 


Monday - January 22, 2024

Assurance of God's Care - The Lord Cares (Psalms 121)

Psalms 40:1-3; 50:15; 55:22; 121:1-8; 16:8; 7:1; 9:10; 93:1; 125:1; 130:1-2; 121:1-8; 121:3; 66:9; 119:105; 121:5; 74:11; 89:13; 16:8; 109:31; 110:5; Proverbs 3:23; Exodus 13:21-22. 

 

Tuesday - January 23, 2024

The Lord is a Refuge in Adversity - The Lord Defends (Psalm 17)

Psalms 17:7-9; 31:1-3; 91:2-7; 17:8; 57:1; 63:7; Matthew 23:37; Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11.


Wednesday - January 24, 2024

Defender and Deliverer - The Lord Delivers (Psalm 134)

1 Corinthians 10:1-4;  Psalms 114:1-8; 96:9; 99:1).  Deuteronomy 1:44; Joshua 3:14-17; Matthew 8:23-27; John 16:33.


Thursday - January 25, 2024

Help from the Sanctuary - The Lord Hears and Saves

Psalms 3:4; 14:7; 20:1-3; 27:5; 36:8; 61:4; 68:5,35; 50:2; 84:4; 128:5; 134:3; 68:15-16; 143:2,9-12; Isaiah 2:2; Hebrews 4:15-16. 


Friday - January 26, 2024

Insights and Further Study

From the Pen of Inspiration


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Sunday - January 21, 2024

My Frame Was Not Hidden from You - The Lord Knows (Psalm 139)

Psalms 139:1-18. 139:1-6; 139:7-12; 139:13-18; 56:13 Romans 3:5,21;  Hebrews 1:3 

“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me” (Psalm 139:1)


God Knows Us even at the Time of Trouble

In the time of trouble we all fled from the cities and villages, but were pursued by the wicked, who entered the houses of the saints with a sword. They raised the sword to kill us, but it broke, and fell as powerless as a straw. Then we all cried day and night for deliverance, and the cry came up before God. {CET 95.1}   


Jacob's Trouble represents the Experience of God's People in the Time of Trouble

Jacob's night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau, [Genesis 32:24-30.] represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble. Because of the deception practiced to secure his father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother's deadly threats. After remaining for many years an exile, he had set out, at God's command, to return with his wives and children, his flocks and herds, to his native country. On reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's company, unarmed and defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of violence and slaughter. And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing weight of self-reproach; for it was his own sin that had brought this danger. His only hope was in the mercy of God; his only defense must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother, and to avert the threatened danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience.  {GC88 616.2}

Please visit this site for a deeper study on the Jacob's Trouble:
Meat In Due Season - 21. Jacob's Time of Trouble (google.com) 


Consider the Following

David knows that his entire life is transparent before God (Ps. 139:2-3). God already knew him before he was born, since God was who made him grow in his mother's womb (Ps. 139:13-16).

You can meet God wherever you go. If it ascends to the highest (heavens), He is there; If you go down to the depths (Sheol), He finds you; If you turn to the east (the wings of dawn), He guides you; If you head west (the end of the sea), his hand defends you (Ps. 139:7-10).

There is no place so dark that it can hide you from God (Ps. 139:11-12). But David does not seek to flee. He wants and desires to be examined by God. Try to live a righteous life that pleases God, turning away from evil (Ps. 139:17-23).

If you fail, God will make your paths straight (Ps. 139:24). Is this your experience with God?


Monday - January 22, 2024

Assurance of God's Care - The Lord Cares (Psalm 121)

Psalms 40:1-3; 50:15; 55:22; 121:1-8; 16:8; 7:1; 9:10; 93:1; 125:1; 130:1-2; 121:1-8; 121:3; 66:9; 119:105; 121:5; 74:11; 89:13; 16:8; 109:31; 110:5; Proverbs 3:23; Exodus 13:21-22. 

“The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul” (Psalm 121:7)


God Hears our Prayer and Heals Us - an Assurance

He whose "compassions fail not," heard the prayer of His servant. "It came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee. . . ." Gladly the prophet returned with the words of assurance and hope. Directing that a lump of figs be laid upon the diseased part, Isaiah delivered to the king the message of God's mercy and protecting care.  {CC 240.4}  


His Glory Shone Upon Us - Grasp God's Unfailing Care and Assurance

Angels of mercy seemed whispering: "Look up! This glory is but a gleam of the light which flows from the throne of God. Live not for earth alone. Look up, and behold by faith the mansions of the heavenly home." This scene was to me as the bow of promise to Noah, enabling me to grasp the assurance of God's unfailing care, and to look forward to the haven of rest awaiting the faithful worker. . . .  {FLB 248.3}  

As God's children, it is our privilege ever to look up, keeping the eye of faith fixed on Christ. As we constantly keep Him in view, the sunshine of His presence floods the chambers of the mind. The light of Christ in the soul-temple brings peace. The soul is stayed on God. All perplexities and anxieties are committed to Jesus. As we continue to behold Him, His image becomes engraved on the heart, and is revealed in the daily life. . . .  {FLB 248.4}  


Consider the Following

No matter how desperate your situation, God hears (Ps. 130:1-2). He acts on our behalf (Ps. 9:10).

There is hope for everyone who seeks the Lord's favor (Ps. 16:8).

In Psalm 121 we find a description of our Helper, Help and Guardian:

— He will not allow us to slip on the path of life (v. 3)

— He constantly watches over us (v. 4)

— He gives us physical and spiritual refuge (v. 5-6)

— He is always at our side to defend us (v. 7)

— He will take care of us at all times and in all places (v. 8)

Where to go to seek help in difficulty? To the mountains? To economic power? To the political powers?

To our family and friends? (Ps. 121:1).

All of them can fail us. There is only One who never fails (Ps. 121:2).


Tuesday - January 23, 2024

The Lord is a Refuge in Adversity - The Lord Defends (Psalm 17)

Psalms 17:7-9; 31:1-3; 91:2-7; 17:8; 57:1; 63:7; Matthew 23:37; Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11.

“Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm 17:8)


The Fortress for God's People - His Kingdom Church

The church is God's fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.  {AA 11.2} 


God is Our Keeper, Deliverer and Redeemer

Christ declared to the tempter, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”. . . So we may resist temptation and force Satan to depart from us. Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” We cannot save ourselves from the tempter’s power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but “the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.—Manuscript 15, 1908. {CTr 219.6} 

"The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul." "He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Psalm 121:5-7; 91:3-10. {DD 44.3} 


Consider the Following

Confident in a life consistent with what God expects from him, David asks him to be his defender (Ps.17:1-5).

The psalmist uses the metaphor of birds to tell us about how God defends us (Ps. 91:4). He also uses military language to tell us about his active defense (Ps. 91:4).

Other metaphors include the “shelter,” the “shadow,” the “castle,” the “right hand” (Ps. 91:1-2; 17:7-8). All of them talk to us about protection and security.

Without a doubt, we have a Lord who defends us in all adversity. Let us turn to Him. Let us take refuge under his shadow.


Wednesday - January 24, 2024

Defender and Deliverer - The Lord Delivers (Psalm 114)

1 Corinthians 10:1-4;  Psalms 114:1-8; 96:9; 99:1).  Deuteronomy 1:44; Joshua 3:14-17; Matthew 8:23-27; John 16:33.

“The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back” (Psalm 114:3)


God’s People will be Delivered when Human Protection is Withdrawn

Grand, climatic scenes take place when the battle between good and evil comes to its amazing conclusion. Here is how you can meet Jesus in peace and experience all the joy He has in store for you. {DD 45.1} 

When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the decree draws near, the people will conspire to root out the hated sect. It will be determined to strike in one night a decisive blow, which shall utterly silence the voice of dissent and reproof. {DD 45.2} 


An Eternal Rest form Earth's Conflict is Coming

The great general conflagration is but just ahead, when all this wasted labor of life will be swept away in a night and day.  {Mar 283.5}  

There will be . . . great destruction of human life. But as in the days of the great deluge Noah was preserved in the ark that God had prepared for him, so in these days of destruction and calamity, God will be the refuge of His believing ones. Through the psalmist He declares, "Because thou has made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." "For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion. . . ." Then shall we not make the Lord our surety and our defense?  {Mar 283.6}  

We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him. There is a rest from earth's conflict.  {Mar 283.7}  


Rejoice in God Our Deliverer

Be of good courage, my poor suffering husband, wait patiently a little longer and you shall see of the salvation of God. We know in whom we have believed. We have not run as uncertainly. All will come out just right in the end.  {10MR 28.1}  

God will give us strength and we shall yet be a happy family, rejoicing in God our Deliverer.--Letter 10, 1865, p. 2 (To James White, Nov. 24, 1865)  {10MR 28.2}  


God's Witnesses will Speak the True Gospel

If there are those who think that they are making large sacrifices for the work, let them consider the sacrifice that Christ made in their behalf. The human race was under sentence of death, but the Son of God clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to this world to live and die in our behalf. He came to stand against the host of fallen angels. We must have a Defender, and when our Defender came, He was clothed with humanity; for He must be subject to all the temptations wherewith man is beset, that He might understand how to deliver the godly out of temptation. He took His stand at the head of the fallen race, that men and women might be enabled to stand on vantage ground.  {LHU 38.2}  

Let not any man feel that the work of God is under his special guardianship; but realize that it is under the control of Omniscience. The Lord will choose men for these times who will be workers together with him. He will choose men of resolute minds, who will follow his guidance, and act in harmony with the great I AM; who will be actuated by heroic principles, and will accomplish the will of God in preventing evil and promoting good in the world. Privations, trials, and hardships will not discourage them; but they will stand forth as examples of undaunted devotion. It is this class that to all intents and purposes are the defenders of the faith once delivered to the saints. In times of proving and trial, in the day of trouble such as never was, it will be revealed who have builded their characters from material that will stand the test. God's true workmen will be forced to speak the truth and unmask hypocrisy and deception in defending every portion of the word of God. Accusation upon accusation from men of high position will come against those who would be true to God, and they will be compelled to stand in defense of the truth. But the servants of the Lord will be men of opportunity, of energy and tact, and will be ready to promote the interests of truth under every circumstance. They will not be selfish, self-important, self-sufficient persons; they will be men who have the mind of Christ. They will be kind, affectionate, loving, prompt, tender, yet resolute. They will be God-fearing men, and in the face of opposition they will move forward, firm and steadfast, to defend Bible truth. Such men will press the triumphs of the cross of Christ to the very end of the conflict. They will boldly, and yet in the Spirit of Christ, confront the agents of Satan who will seek to suppress religious liberty, and they will not give place to them for an hour.  {RH, October 23, 1894 par. 4} 


Consider the Following

Psalm 114 expresses in a brief and poetic way the way in which God smoothed the difficulties for his people to reach the Promised Land: the [Red] sea saw God and fled (v. 3a); the Jordan River turned back (v. 3b); the mountains and the hills leaped (v. 4)

As Creator, God used his power over nature to free his people. Won't He do the same for us today?

Like them, we too have been miraculously delivered from sin, and our journey to Heavenly Canaan is fraught with danger (mountains and hills). But before the Lord “the earth trembles” (Ps. 114:7).


Thursday - January 25, 2024

Help from the Sanctuary - The Lord Hears and Saves

Psalms 3:4; 14:7; 20:1-3; 27:5; 36:8; 61:4; 68:5,35; 50:2; 84:4; 128:5; 134:3; 68:15-16; 143:2,9-12; Isaiah 2:2; Hebrews 4:15-16. 

“May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion” (Psalm 20:2)


Be Familiar with the Pattern - the Heavenly Sanctuary

We all need to keep the subject of the sanctuary in mind. God forbid that the clatter of words coming from human lips should lessen the belief of our people in the truth that there is a sanctuary in heaven, and that a pattern of this sanctuary was once built on this earth. God desires His people to become familiar with this pattern, keeping ever before their minds the heavenly sanctuary, where God is all and in all. We must keep our minds braced by prayer and a study of God's Word, that we may grasp these truths.--Letter 233, 1904, pp. 3, 4. (To E. R. Palmer, July 8, 1904.)  {2MR 186.3}  


The Cleansing of the Sanctuary - Investigative Judgment for the Dead and the Living

Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary, and he is there to make an atonement for the people. He is there to present his wounded side and pierced hands to his Father. He is there to plead for his Church that is upon the earth. He is cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. What is our work?--It is our work to be in harmony with the work of Christ. By faith we are to work with him, to be in union with him.  {RH, January 28, 1890 par. 7}  


Consider the Following

God dwells on high, but from there He hears and saves (Ps. 20:2; 3:4; 1Ki. 8:30).

For this reason, we can confidently approach Him with the certainty that we will be heard (Heb. 4:16).

But what can He do from his sanctuary? Give salvation (Ps. 14:7); keep us from evil (Ps. 27:5); provide for our needs (Ps. 36:8); defend the defenseless (Ps. 68:5); strengthen us (Ps. 68:35).

When people maintain a right relationship with God through repentance and acceptance of His grace and forgiveness, they can invoke God's guarantee of deliverance. The Sanctuary service represented the salvation found in Jesus.


Friday - January 26, 2024

Insights and Further Study

O, let us live wholly for the Lord, and show by a well ordered life and godly conversation that we have been with Jesus, and are his meek and lowly followers. We must work while the day lasts, for when the dark night of trouble and anguish comes, it will be too late to work for God, Jesus is in his Holy Temple, and will now accept our sacrifices, our prayers, and our confessions of faults and sins, and will now pardon all the transgressions of Israel, that they may be blotted out before he leaves the Sanctuary. When Jesus leaves the Sanctuary, then he that is holy and righteous, will be holy and righteous still; for all their sins will then be blotted out, and they will be sealed with the seal of the living God. But those that are unjust and filthy, will be unjust and filthy still; for then there will be no Priest in the Sanctuary to offer their sacrifices, their confessions, and their prayers before the Father's throne. Therefore, what is done to rescue souls from the coming storm of wrath, must be done before Jesus leaves the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary.  {ExV 29.2} 


Questions to Ponder


From the Pen of Inspiration

"“Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest” E. G. W. (Steps to Christ, pg. 100)