Say So, Part II

--Brian Cox

"To be salt and light in the world"

This idea has always fascinated me. Sometimes, the smallest ideas can be the most profound. The words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in Matthew are as follows:

"¹²Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you. [II Chron. 36:16.]

¹³You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltiness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

¹⁶Let your light so shine before men that they may see your ^a]">[a]moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and ^b]">[b]recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." Matthew 5:12-16 (Amplified Bible)

SALT

Notice that Jesus didn't say we were the sugar, or the honey of the world. He also didn't say we were the pepper of the world. The function of salt was to preserve the meat from rotting. To prevent corruption and putrification.

Speaking of the condition of the world, the Holy Spirit tells us this:

"²⁹Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

³⁰Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

³¹Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

³²Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." Romans 1:29-32 (King James Version)

This is God's description of a rotting world...a world in need of preservation. We have the answer for this dying world, and His Name is Jesus. If we are not in the world, among the non-believer, what good is our saltiness? A good question to ask ourselves is, "Have we lost our saltiness?"

LIGHT

"I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life."--John 8:12 (Amp)

Again, notice the contrast: salt is the answer for corruption, light is the answer for darkness. The condemnation of the world is not a question, it is a fact. (Rom 1:18) Our light must shine for all men to see. While we must not be a part of the world, we must be in it.

"¹⁴I have given and delivered to them Your word (message) and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world [do not belong to the world], just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one"--John 17:14-15

We don't buy light or salt for their own sake. No one eats a chunk of salt, or sits down to look at light. However, these are both things that are useful and necessary to live and to appreciate life. The world needs our message, our Savior. It may not taste like sugar (the flesh wars against the Spirit, Gal. 5:17), but it is the Gospel that is the power to salvation (Rom. 1:16).

Say So, Part I

-Brian Cox

Ps. 107:1-9

¹O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; ³And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. ⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. ⁵Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. ⁶Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. ⁷And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. ⁸Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. (Psalm 107:1-9, King James Version)


The Chorus of Israel Houghton's song "Say So" encourages the redeemed of the Lord to pronounce their redemption. Verse 2 of Psalm 107 continues to say that He has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy.

Backing up a verse, this is a song of praise to the Lord for His goodness and mercy towards us as is evidenced by his redemption.

Often our "soul faints" when we are "hungry and thirsty" (v. 5), when our situation seems desperate. Our temporal problems often keep us from remembering our eternal salvation. How sad is that?

The very name of Jesus means both "Salvation," and is the concatenated form of "Joshua" ("Yahoshua"), which means "The Lord Who Is Salvation." One of my favorite verses about the Lord is found in Zephaniah 3:17:

^"The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing." (AMP)

Perhaps this is more recognizable in the King James:

"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

The psalmist's heart toward the Lord is so very evident in verse 8: "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness." Do we feel that way? We should ache and long for our fellow man to see the goodness and love and mercy and grace of Jesus. We should be constantly reminded of His great love towards us in saving us from death and hell. We should be so convinced of His worthiness that we can't understand why anyone would not fall in love with our Lord.

⁸Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

A final note: Imagine yourself recognizing the greatness of the Lord, and worshiping Him, thanking Him for His goodness and mercy. Now imagine the Lord exulting over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). Creation and Creator singing to each other with joy and love. "He will exult over you with singing."