A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Friday,
April 30,
2021
Monroe Valley Chapel
On Tuesday we passed this tiny chapel built in 1841 in
northern Lebanon County.
A quote often attributed to Alexis de
Tocqueville, a Frenchman who authored Democracy in America
in the early 1800s, helps to identify how far we have
drifted as a nation: "It was not until I went to the
churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with
righteousness did I understand the secret of her success.
America is great because she is good, and if America
ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
"For
Such A Worm As I"
Message
summary: We must recognize the awful extent
of sin and that our only hope exists in God’s
redemption through Jesus Christ.
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
“How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!” (Job 25:4-6). "But I am a worm and not a man” (Psalm 22:6). “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24a).
Several
weeks ago I placed a bird feeder on a movable post
right outside our home office window. We wanted a
good view of the birds feeding. The other day I
moved the feeder and made a discovery some will
find rather distasteful; worms had made a home
under the board due to the moisture. Brooksyne,
strange as it may seem, was so appalled by the
sight that she took a photo but due to its rather
gross nature forbids me from sharing the photo on
this page but for the terminally curious we post
it as a link here.
“How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!” (Job 25:4-6). "But I am a worm and not a man” (Psalm 22:6). “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24a).
Alas!
And did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Several
weeks ago I placed a bird feeder on a movable post
right outside our home office window. We wanted a
good view of the birds feeding. The other day I
moved the feeder and made a discovery some will
find rather distasteful; worms had made a home
under the board due to the moisture. Brooksyne,
strange as it may seem, was so appalled by the
sight that she took a photo but due to its rather
gross nature forbids me from sharing the photo on
this page but for the terminally curious we post
it as a link here.
For
sure the sight of these slimy worms doesn’t whet
my appetite and almost certainly not yours, but to
a robin it’s like a juicy steak is to us.The
sight of these worms brings to mind the phrase in
today’s opening hymn that many of us have often
sung, "Would He devote that sacred head for such a
worm as I?" (Although many modern versions change
the words to "for sinners such as I".)
Earlier
this week we quoted a line from Charles Wesley's
deathbed hymn,
In age and feebleness extreme,
Who shall a helpless worm redeem?
Jesus, my only hope Thou art,
Strength of my failing flesh and heart:
O could I catch one smile from Thee,
And drop into eternity!
We
may wonder what these 18th century hymn-writers
had with worms!
When I attended Bible College in the 70's there were various jobs around the campus for students to work at to assist with paying their school bills. For a time I drove the campus garbage truck, one of numerous interesting jobs I’ve had through the years. Not pleasant at the time but I now see it as part of God’s school of real life instruction (AKA “the school of hard knocks”). To this day I have a real appreciation for garbage collection personnel who work hard performing a service necessary to all and yet often under-appreciated. I wonder if there is a garbage collector appreciation day? There should be.
The
truck I drove was equipped with a front loading
lift which attached to the dumpster and then
heaved the dumpster over the cab emptying the
contents into the back of the truck. Theoretically
the driver could stay in the cab and never see or
touch anything.
But sometimes you still needed to get out when something got jammed. I recall emptying the dumpsters behind the cafeteria. As I can vividly recall, especially during hotter weather, the dumpsters would have a lot of crawling maggots; tiny white worms that fed on the decaying food. It was a very unpleasant sight and odor to say the least!
At that time I was pondering God’s love for the fallen human race and considered what it would be like to send my precious child to live among the “maggots”. Well it sure has caused me to marvel in God’s far-reaching love. Some may find this particular illustration distasteful or offensive. But actually the Scripture uses this same imagery in our daily texts.
Bildad, one of Job’s friends, asks a question that is theologically sound in light of the rest of Scripture that teaches about our innermost need for God due to our sin nature: “How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!”
Isaac
Watts likely had this verse in mind along with our
second text when he wrote the personalized phrase,
"such a worm as I". In using this image he was
illustrating a theological concept known as total
depravity. This runs so contrary to the
self-esteem emphasis of our generation but we must
recognize the awful extent of sin and that our
only hope exists in God’s redemption through
Jesus Christ.
Paul, in what many see as a description regarding his state without Christ, declares, “What a wretched man I am!” (Surely he’d be required to attend a class or get counseling for positive self-image today.) But immediately following this he asks and answers his own question, “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24b,25).
Matthew Henry, commenting on Psalm 22, which is considered a Messianic Psalm writes,
When I attended Bible College in the 70's there were various jobs around the campus for students to work at to assist with paying their school bills. For a time I drove the campus garbage truck, one of numerous interesting jobs I’ve had through the years. Not pleasant at the time but I now see it as part of God’s school of real life instruction (AKA “the school of hard knocks”). To this day I have a real appreciation for garbage collection personnel who work hard performing a service necessary to all and yet often under-appreciated. I wonder if there is a garbage collector appreciation day? There should be.
The
truck I drove was equipped with a front loading
lift which attached to the dumpster and then
heaved the dumpster over the cab emptying the
contents into the back of the truck. Theoretically
the driver could stay in the cab and never see or
touch anything.But sometimes you still needed to get out when something got jammed. I recall emptying the dumpsters behind the cafeteria. As I can vividly recall, especially during hotter weather, the dumpsters would have a lot of crawling maggots; tiny white worms that fed on the decaying food. It was a very unpleasant sight and odor to say the least!
At that time I was pondering God’s love for the fallen human race and considered what it would be like to send my precious child to live among the “maggots”. Well it sure has caused me to marvel in God’s far-reaching love. Some may find this particular illustration distasteful or offensive. But actually the Scripture uses this same imagery in our daily texts.
Bildad, one of Job’s friends, asks a question that is theologically sound in light of the rest of Scripture that teaches about our innermost need for God due to our sin nature: “How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!”
Isaac
Watts likely had this verse in mind along with our
second text when he wrote the personalized phrase,
"such a worm as I". In using this image he was
illustrating a theological concept known as total
depravity. This runs so contrary to the
self-esteem emphasis of our generation but we must
recognize the awful extent of sin and that our
only hope exists in God’s redemption through
Jesus Christ.Paul, in what many see as a description regarding his state without Christ, declares, “What a wretched man I am!” (Surely he’d be required to attend a class or get counseling for positive self-image today.) But immediately following this he asks and answers his own question, “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24b,25).
Matthew Henry, commenting on Psalm 22, which is considered a Messianic Psalm writes,
“What
little reason has man to be proud, and what
great reason to be humble! So weak and impotent,
and so easily crushed, and therefore a very
unequal match for Almighty God. Shall man be
such a fool as to contend with his Maker, who
can tread him to pieces more easily than we can
a worm? ... Let us therefore wonder at God’s
condescension in taking such worms as we are
into covenant and communion with Himself,
especially at the condescension of the Son of
God, in emptying Himself so far as to say, ‘I am
a worm, and no man’.”
Although Isaac Watts ends the first stanza of his hymn with this question, “Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?” the hymn goes on to declare that we have victory due to Christ’s reconciliation. In a refrain written over 100 years later, by Ralph E. Hudson in 1885, we exultantly sing the chorus:
At
the cross, at the cross where I first saw the
light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we do
well to apply Bildad's counsel to Job to our own
lives, considering that we are but a worm in
comparison to Your greatness. You give grace to the
humble and oppose the proud. We acknowledge that we
are nothing, of no greater value than an earthworm
or worse yet, a maggot, in comparison with Your
glorious Son, Jesus Christ, who left the throne of
heaven and emptied Himself of majestic glory to take
His place among us. We are eternally indebted to
Your magnificent love that provided a way through
Jesus to loosen sin’s shackles so that we might be
reshaped into Your likeness. It is in Jesus’ name
that we pray. Amen.Today’s first text is a response from Bildad, one of Job’s friends. I recall a conversation many years ago with Tim Casey, a friend, who was a school librarian and a very thoughtful Bible student/teacher. We were musing about just how much counsel we should take from Job’s three friends since overall God repudiates their outlook. The truth in today’s text is amply verified in the balance of Scripture.
C.S. Lewis expresses the view:
"Whenever we find that our religious life
is making us feel that we are good-above all, that
we are better than someone else-I think we may be
sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by
the devil. The real test of being in the presence of
God is that you either forget about yourself
altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty
object." (Mere Christianity 1952, P.124).
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Alas
And Did My Savior Bleed" Video
Many modern versions feel compelled
to change the original words to "for
sinners such as I" in place of
Watt's original "For such a worm as
I?" This version retains the
original.
Send
a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
To receive the
"Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday
through email see this
page to subscribe to our email list. You can also
subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or
through a Wordpress email subscription.
(See the email subscription on the right side
after opening this page)
Permissions:
Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and
distribute any material on Daily Encouragement
Net, in part or in whole, in any format,
provided that you do not alter the wording in
any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of
reproduction. It is our desire to spread this
material, not protect or restrict it. We do
request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription
information intact.
We want to thank all who financially
support our ministry. We
realize there are many fine ministries and
causes requesting support but if the Lord
would lead you we surely need and appreciate
the financial support from our readers and
listeners. Our
ministry labor is comprised of approximately
half our time to Daily Encouragement and the
other half to our chaplaincy ministry to
companies for which we receive compensation.
Each of these ministries essentially is the
same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for
each of us. Our goal for many years is that
each would provide half of our ministry
expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note: We
also provide this easy option due to the
convenience, for international supporters,
and for those who may not be concerned
regarding receiving an official tax
deductible receipt. Click here to
send an offering using PayPal. This
will open to a page that states "Brooksyne
Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2021 Stephen C. & Brooksyne
Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA