8
“Submit Yourselves to God”
T
he Epistle of James contains words of
wisdom and sound advice: “Submit your-
selves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). In other
words, if we try to obey God, the things of the
flesh will no longer have dominion over us.
The Apostle doesn’t spare words: “Draw nigh
to God and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners; and purify your
hearts, ye double minded.” (v8)
If we claim to be children of God, then we
must continually examine our position before
our Heavenly Father, for the whole creation
comes under divine surveillance – and God
cannot be deceived.
Humility is of great price in the sight of God:
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and he shall lift you up.” (v10). We cannot
elevate ourselves, but God can do it for us.
There can be no place in our lives for ego or
false attitudes, for all of us fall short in our
emulation of Jesus Christ.
We all have need of greater contrition before
our Creator. If we submit ourselves to Him in
humility we shall be lifted up in faith and find
the peace that passes understanding: “Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”
(1 Peter 5:6).
DME
God’s Loving Kindness
| Bro Stephen Siamabi (Mazabuka, Zambia)
L
uv - ing - kind’nes (חסד, hesedh): “Lov-
̣
̣
ingkindness” in the King James Version
always represents this word (30 times), but of
hesedh there are many other renderings, e.g.
̣
̣
“mercy” (frequently), “kindness” (38), “good-
ness” (12). The word is derived from hasadh,
̣
̄
̣
meaning, perhaps, “to bend or bow oneself,”
“to incline oneself”; hence, “to be gracious or
merciful.” The English Revised Version has not
many changes, but in the American Standard
Revised Version “lovingkindness” is invariably
employed when hesedh is used of God, and, as
̣
̣
a rule, “kindness” when it is used of man.
When used of God hesedh denotes, in general,
̣
̣
“the Divine Love condescending to His crea-
tures, more especially to sinners, in unmerited
kindness” (Delitzsch). It is frequency associ-
ated with forgiveness, and is practically equiv-
alent to “mercy” or “mercifulness” (Ex 20:6),
“showing lovingkindness (R.V) unto thousands
of them that love me”; Ex 34:6 f, “slow to
anger, and abundant in lovingkindness” (RV
“plenteous in mercy”); (Ex 34:7) “keeping
lovingkindness (RV “mercy”) for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”
(compare Num 14:18 ); Micah 7:18, “He
retaineth not his anger for ever, because he
delighteth in lovingkindness” (RV “mercy”).
This quality in Yahweh was one by which He
sought to bind His people to Himself. It is
greatly magnified in the Old Testament, highly
extolled and gloried in, in many of the Psalms
(Ps 136 has the constant refrain, “For his
lovingkindness endureth forever”). In Deut
7:12 it is associated with the covenant, and in
2 Sam 7:15 with the covenant with David. It
was something that could always be relied on.
Being such an essential and distinctive quality
of God, the prophets taught that it should also
characterize His people. It is part of the Divine
requirement in Micah 6:8, “to love kindness”
Zech 7:9, “Show kindness and compassion
every man to his brother”. The want of it in
the nation was a cause of Yahweh’s contro-
versy with them, e.g. Hosea 4:1, “There is no
truth, nor goodness (hesedh) (KJV and RV
̣
̣
“mercy”), nor knowledge of God in the land”;
Hosea 12:6, “Therefore turn thou to thy God:
keep kindness (the KJV and the English Revised
Version “mercy”) and justice, and wait for thy
God continually.” Cheyne (Encyclopedia
Biblica) regards hesedh as denoting paternal
̣
̣
affection on God’s part, answered by filial and
loyal affection and brotherly love on man’s
part in the New Testament.