Alice Capen

From Days of Praise: April 17, 2024 A More Sure Word “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19) In this important passage, Peter explains the ultimate source of his writings. He did not merely repeat cunningly devised fables when he taught majestic things about the Lord Jesus Christ but was himself an “eyewitness” of His glory and personally heard the very voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration (vv. 16-18). The three chosen disciples witnessed His prophesied glory and heard God speak of Christ’s pleasing Sonship. There could be no doubt of God’s special plan for His Son. As eyewitnesses, they bore the onus of bearing witness to the facts. But Peter downplayed the importance of his own personal testimony, even though it was a firsthand account and quite important, and he knew it was absolutely correct. The “more sure word of prophecy” he recommended, however, that outshines any human testimony was the written Word of God, for the Transfiguration confirmed numerous Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ. Prophecies already fulfilled multiply our confidence in the rest of Scripture. Oral or written testimony of human observers, no matter how trustworthy they may be, is still subject to human error and not “inerrant” in the same way as Scripture. Christians must always remember that the written Word of God is more certain than personal memories or impressions. The experiences we have must never be viewed as validating God’s Word. Rather, God’s Word validates our experiences. The early church only had a few portions of the New Testament in those days of beginning, but thankfully, we have it all and have ready access to it. Peter recognized it as superior to any personal testimony. How much more should we deem it trustworthy and authoritative? JDM

From Days of Praise: April 16, 2024 All the Lonely People “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” (Psalm 142:4) This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. To be all alone, not knowing where to find refuge from problems that bear heavily at times—this is the lot of many lonely people. Sometimes, of course, one’s feelings of loneliness may be because of unconfessed sin, as when David lamented after his crime of adultery and murder: “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me” (Psalm 32:3-4). Outwardly silent, but inwardly roaring—that’s the way it is when a believer tries to rationalize and hide his sin from God and man. The remedy in such a case is obvious: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah” (Psalm 32:5). When the problem is not one of unconfessed sin, the Lord is always there to comfort and guide, if we ask Him. Following the sad complaint of our text, David made a statement of hope and faith. “The righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me” (Psalm 142:7). There was a time, in fact, when the Lord Himself was all alone. When He was arrested, “then all the disciples forsook him, and fled” (Matthew 26:56). But that was not the worst of it. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus died all alone on the cross—the loneliest and most forsaken person in all human history—since even His heavenly Father had to abandon Him when He took our sins and died for us. Thus, He understands our own need and is always there. “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted [or ‘tested’], he is able to succor them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). HMM