"And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You." (Psalm 9:10)
There were Jews and other first century people who were of the people of our text, "who know Your name and...put their trust in You." There was Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea, Matthew, Simeon, Anna, a Roman centurion, and, I could name many more. They knew His Name the only way you and I, "know [His] Name," today------------------------- "by faith."
Vine says this of the word for, "know," in our text-- "The first sense appears in Gen. 8:11, where Noah 'knew' the waters had abated as a result of seeing the freshly picked olive leaf in the dove's mouth; he 'knew' it after observing and thinking about what he had seen. He did not actually see or experience the abatement himself." You and I "did not actually see or experience" the crucifixion, the death, burial, and resurrection of Our Lord, King and Savior Jesus Christ. But, "after observing and thinking about what [we] had seen," e.g., "The Scriptures," the testimony of the Redeemed through the centuries, we believed, accepted as fact/reality that, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once."
People believe that George Washington actually lived and was the first President of the United States of America. Yet there is no recording of his voice, no photo, no eye witnesses alive today who saw him. The only proof we have is from his contemporaries, people who saw him, ate with him, saw his mighty deeds, and, by paintings and the written word have passed on to us the testimony that there actually was a George Washington. So, based on similar evidence, I declare today------------------------- HE IS RISEN!"
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Lest I forget Gethsemane;
Lest I forget Thine agony,
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary." Amen.
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When an 18 year old Norwegian "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
