Book of Psalms

Praise Ye the Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Let Heaven and Earth Praise the Lord

Book of Psalms Psalm 148

The phrase “praise ye the Lord” has been used twenty-five times and only in the Old Testament.

The phrase “praise Him” has been used twenty-two times and only in the Old Testament.

The phrase “praise the Lord” is used thirty-two times in the Old Testament except for one verse written by the Apostle Paul which says.

Rom_15:11  And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.

When we try to grasp the Greatness and the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that it overwhelms us so much that, we wonder why He would even have thoughts of us.

Many people believe that He could have just set all His creations in order and then gone off to do godly things or created other people on another planet.

We know that He did not create any other people, and Adam and Eve did not look like they came from apes, nor did any of their descendants.

Evolution played no part in creating plants, animals, or people.

What puzzles evolutionists so much is that Adam possessed far more intelligence than the people of today.

We are getting dumber, not smarter, as time passes by.

I did not mean to chase that rabbit, but I believe the Holy Spirit led me.

This Psalm is known as the joy-song of creation.

This Psalm calls on all the things in the Heavens and Earth to praise our Lord Jesus our God.

Everyone from the lowest to the highest, no matter where they are located, is called on to Praise the Lord.

This is the God who made us and there are no other Gods! We are called upon to adore our Creator.

Scientist have spent their lives studying God’s creatures and many of those creations are so complicated in their structure, that they cannot figure them out this was God’s plan to show these doubters that there had to be a Maker, a Creator.

It is wicked men who have caused so many of God’s creatures to no longer be with us.

Most of the time, it is the goal to be rich that is destroying our planet, and all our government can do drive our nation into obscurity because it is afraid to go after the real polluters.

I do not believe this will change under our new President!

Fifty-seven companies cause eighty percent of pollution, and no one is speaking of changing their ways because of money.

That lasts twenty percent (us) no matter how hard we try can change the pollution of this world.

Those who make so much money off of pollution and those who accept bribes to be quiet about what they do are not going to change.

Another rabbit.

We just need to praise the Lord!

What is praise? The word praise comes from the Latin word “pretium” which is “price” or “value”.

True praise consists in a sincere acknowledgment of real conviction of worth.

How can we not praise Him?

Rev 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. 

Rev 5:12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

We need to be honest in our praise of the Lord, He knows when we are not sincere.

These things are another battle for Him, and we are just to praise His Holy Name!

The Lord Jesus Christ will come to this world just in time to save it!

It is not because He cannot make all things new because He will, He will save this world because there are still people upon this world that can be saved.

We should know that as long as people are alive if they pray that sinner’s prayer in truth, they will be saved.

*****Psa 148:1  Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 

You can bet the cherubim and the seraphim; the angels all praise the Lord constantly.

We are certainly fools if we do not praise our Maker!

When we grasp the greatness, and the glory of the Lord, how can we not praise our Creator?

It can be said that we are created to praise the Lord!

There is no excuse for us to not adore our Savior!

All our praise must be directed at Jehovah, the “I AM” of the Old Testament, who in the flesh is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament.

 “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living”

All of Heaven does certainly praise the Lord.

*****Psa 148:2  Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Not one of the Lord’s Creatures in Heaven is exempted from praising their Creator and their God.

Not even Gabriel nor Michael is exempt from praising the Lord of Host.

The angelic army will praise their Commander, who is the Lord of all the hosts of Heaven.

Let us just get real, every part of everything that was created by the Lord will praise Him!

*****Psa 148:3  Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Psa 148:4  Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 

The Heaven of heavens is the home of the Lord.

The lower heaven is the place where the birds fly and where the clouds that hold the waters bring rain.

The middle heaven is the space where all the stars and all the planets are located.

There are only three heavens and if we look at the vast expanse of the second heaven we can just wonder how vast is the Heaven of heavens.

One thing is certain this Heaven of heavens cannot be reached by spacecraft!

It can only be reached by loving the Lord Jesus our Creator and believing in the work He has done for our salvation.

On the day of the Rapture, all those lifeless bodies in their graves will go to Heaven faster than any spacecraft.

All the places of God’s creation are commanded to praise the Lord.

Psa_33:9  For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Most people have forgotten that all the Lord has to do is speak things into existence.

The world had better realize that all the Lord has to do is speak and this world can be destroyed.

Rev_1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Rev_19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Rev_19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

All these scriptures tell us of the power of God that He only has to speak things into existence, and he can also speak things into destruction.

Psa 33:6  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 

Psa 33:7  He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. 

Psa 33:8  Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 

Psa 33:9  For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. 

Psa 33:10  The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. 

Psa 33:11  The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 

How could we ever believe that we can step into Heaven and not praise the Savior who freed us from the chains of sin?

I have news for you, we are saved to praise and worship our Maker among our other duties.

*****Psa 148:5  Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. 

Psa 148:6  He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. 

It is our creation that gives us a reason to praise our Creator.

For those who say it is then better to not be created, I can tell you that Heaven will be far greater than any place you have ever seen and you should want to go there for its beauty and where you can find the life that the Lord wanted us to have from the beginning.

What does God actually say:

Pro 8:32  Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. 

Pro 8:33  Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. 

Pro 8:34  Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 

Pro 8:35  For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 

Pro 8:36  But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. 

The Lord is serious about all those who want to be with Him.

*****Psa 148:7  Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: 

When we see this verse we need to accept as it is written.

Gen 1:21  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

Psa 104:26  There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

All of the earth must praise the Lord.

All that is in the Seas must praise the Lord.

Psa 74:13  Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 

Psa 74:14  Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

We know that there are places in the Oceans where there are depths that are deeper than the highest mountains that can be seen, these are those places that are called the “deeps”.

The deep is the deepest part of the Seas and these are the places where the largest animals in the Seas play out of sight most of the time from the people.

Some people are privileged to see them come to the surface on occasion.

Most people write them off as non-existent.

Psa 104:4  Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 

Psa 104:5  Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. 

Psa 104:6  Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

Psa 33:6  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 

Psa 33:7  He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

No one has been to the deepest seas so only God knows what lives in those places.

Psa 33:13  The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 

Psa 33:14  From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

Some things have been proved by mankind:

Pro 8:28  When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:

These are the same waters that burst forth in the days of the flood.

Gen 7:11  In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 

These waters returned to their place at the command of God.

Gen 8:3  And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. 

We know that the waters of the deep can be both constructive and also destructive.

These waters can also be a blessing.

Deu 8:7  For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; 

It is only the Lord God, the Living God that can control these waters of the great deep.

Psa 95:2  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 

Psa 95:3  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 

Psa 95:4  In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 

Psa 95:5  The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 

We are in the season of Thanksgiving now and we can see why we need to praise the Lord while offering Thanksgiving to Him.

*****Psa 148:8  Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 

Psa 148:9  Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 

Psa 148:10  Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 

Psa 148:11  Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: 

Psa 148:12  Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: 

Psa 148:13  Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. 

We humans are the most stubborn creations that God has made!

All the other of God’s creations will gladly praise Him.

They understand that He is the God of all creation.

In verse eight we see the Psalmist calls upon all of the natural elements of weather to praise the Lord.

All these elements can merge together at the command of the Lord.

There are “laws of nature” but they too are the creations of the Living God.

They will certainly do His bidding if He so chooses!

After the weather, the elements, all the elements of the earth will offer praise to the Lord.

Then all land animals, all the birds, and the insect world will offer praise to the Lord.

Then the most stubborn of all of them!

The various rulers of this world, all the people, the princes, those considered to be next in line to rule, and all the judges.

Then the young generation and the old generation are left behind, all these are called to praise the Lord.

Why should humans offer praise to the Lord?

1) The Lord Jesus Christ is the only true and Living God!

His glory is above all of His creation!

His name is above and greater than all universes and greater than the earth and the heavens.

Notice that all the universes and there are many, and many more unseen, but they have less value than the Earth and the people of Earth.

2) There is no one more powerful than our Lord!

Psa 148:14  He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD. 

In the New Testament, the Horn represents strength.

Luk 1:68  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 

Luk 1:69  And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 

That exalted horn is the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the praise of all His saints. These are not those saints chosen by the Catholic Church; these are all those who have accepted the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

These also include the children of Israel who in the last days will join the Church.

In other words, everything that God has created is to offer up praise to the Lord!

Those who have received the salvation gift of the Lord should be praising the Lord the loudest and the longest.

Just so we know, God’s most powerful creatures the Angels, long to understand salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 

Only the saints of God can praise Him for His redeeming love, a love so great that He sacrificed His Son for us.

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Praise ye the Lord

Amen

God Gives Us Hope

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Hope for the Persecuted Soul

Book of Psalms Psalm 143

The phrase it “came to pass” is used 457 times in the Bible which teaches us these things that we are so afraid of may come, but they will not stay, they come, and they will pass on out of our lives.

Most of us can say that every obstacle we have faced in our lives has come to pass on out of our lives.

Some of them may leave scars, but they cannot keep us out of Heaven!

We must completely understand that the faithfulness of God makes it impossible for God to go against the covenant He has made with us.

God has revealed Himself as the God of mercy and forgiveness, and He can never go against these things.

So, we can boldly plead for mercy and if we are living a righteous life, then that mercy will come.

What is the truth?

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The prayers of every saint today are just as important to God as those prayers David prayed in his day.

*Psa 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
Psa 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

We see David in another crisis because his life was filled with danger.

We cannot link this Psalm to any one particular thing that happened in David’s life.

David knew at this point in his life, that if he did not get God’s help he might die, or some terrible thing might happen to him.

I believe every one of us have had this same feeling.

1) David appealed to God to hear his prayer.
2) David appealed to the faithfulness of God.
3) David appealed to the righteousness of God.

David knew he needed a quick answer from God.

It seems that we need to know more about the characteristics of God, and we must never ask God to go against His own characteristics.

We cannot know these things unless we study the Bible!

We should shape our prayers according to God’s characteristics, as did David.

We must never ask God to be unfaithful to His Word!

We can plead to God for His help and sometimes we need to pray and fast, to show God that we are serious.

When we are in a real crisis God already knows this.

Prayer is not merely a self-improvement exercise that is good for us, whether God hears our prayers or not.

Prayer is a real plea made to a real God!

God is always faithful to do just as He has written down in His recorded Word.

Our faith in Him, is the key to every answer we get from Him.

We must remember that if we ask for forgiveness of our sins, then there is no record of our sins in Heaven.

Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We will pay for our sins, but God has already forgiven us of our sin, and He will not remember them.

These are the only things God forgets.

God does this because He chooses to do so because our sins are under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ

God’s memory is perfect, but He just chooses to forget our sins!

Because God has chosen to forget our sins we have missed out on the judgment for our sin.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

David was in the same shape as we are, but sometimes we have a lack of faith, and we will think that God still has something that He will punish us for.

Faith is still the key to a perfect relationship with our Heavenly Father and His Son because they are both the same!

*Psa 143:3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
Psa 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.

We must understand that our enemy is vicious!

Our enemy wants the worst possible evil to happen to us!

Our enemy wants us to die in some evil situation that will make us an embarrassment to God!

David felt like he was just thrown out onto the street to be trampled alive.

We must understand that our adversaries, who are led by Satan, want us dead and useless in the work the Lord has given us to do.

Satan will do everything he possibly can to cause us to lose our testimony!

Satan would kill us in a split second if the Lord allowed him to have access to us.

We may feal like Satan is about to take over our lives, but our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will always save us, as long as it is true faith.

We know from the Book of Job that Satan needs God’s permission to attack us and if we think we are in the class of Job, then we are not, but God loves as much as He loved Job.

Certainly, we will face persecution, and certainly, we will call upon the Lord for help, but most of the problems we will face in our lifetime are of our own making and we may need the Lord’s to help us in those situations also.

We must understand that our enemy is powerful, and we cannot face him alone, we need the Lord to fight all our battles, and He will, if we remain faithful.

If the Lord permits us to dwell in the darkness of the dead, then He will surely bring us into His Light and cause us to dwell with those who are enjoying eternal life in Heaven.

We should understand that we are already in that realm of eternal life now as we exist here on earth.

We are already on our journey to Heaven because we can never die even though we will shed this useless flesh that we live in today.

Lam 3:24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

We know that King Saul had banished David from Judah, and it was felt by David, and when he thought about these things it broke the heart of David.

We are wrong to sit and mull over our circumstances, when the Lord has shed His light on our future!

We have a marvelous future ahead of us and nothing in this world can change that fact.

God cares too much for us to allow those things that are pressing heavily on us to remain on us.

God does not want us to suffer stress in these crises that come into our lives.

We must remember God has a job for us to do and He wants us to be busy doing this job.

When our burdens are too heavy for us to bear God knows, and He will take those burdens away from us if we ask Him in faith.

Psa 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

God is our Father, and we are his sons and daughters, He will not allow His children to suffer very long.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

God has enough “grace” to see us through every obstacle in our path!

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

We sometimes wait until we are deep in trouble before we call upon the Lord, but we should call upon the Lord when we first see trouble coming our way!

In fact, we need to be in constant communication with the Lord God!

God has a plan that cannot be altered and if we have a part in that plan, and we do, then we cannot fail and the trouble we are in will cease to exist.

*Psa 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
Psa 143:6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

I love those worship services when it seems like I can just reach us and touch God.

So, sometimes we just need to think back on what God has already done and know that He is still All Powerful.

God will do whatever it takes to fulfill the glorious plan He has for us!

God had anointed David to be the King of Israel and David would soon be the next King of Israel.

1Sa 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
1Sa 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

This is God’s plan not David’s plan and God’s plans never fail!

David had a burning desire to know that God would answer his prayer.

Nothing would satisfy David, but the presence of the Lord!

We must keep in mind that there is nothing too hard for God.

Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

There is nothing that God cannot do but go against His character.

God rescued Israel once long ago and God’s plan for Israel is not yet complete.

God had called Abraham and made a covenant with Him.
God had placed Joseph into Egypt so Israel could be fed during a drought.
God had raised up Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt.
God had caused a great miracle at the Red Sea.
God had brought Israel through the wilderness.
God had led Israel into the Promised Land.

For David, God had already given Him victory over Goliath.
God had anointed David to be the next King of Israel.

We can see that God’s plans simply do not fail!

We can be sure that God will rescue Israel again so, His plan can be completed as He has it written down.

David had said that His soul was thirsting after God as a thirsty land.

David’s distressing situation had drained every last drop of life out of Him.

His soul was parched and cracked like dry earth that was in a drought.

We simply need to get our mind off of our own circumstances and remember God’s power and God’s faithfulness to obey His promises.

What God has already done for us is nothing compared to what God is going to do for us!

When we dwell upon things that seem to be impossible, we must know that the word “impossible” is not a word that God uses because nothing is impossible for God!

Isa 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Isa 40:27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Isa 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

There is nothing that God cannot do, if He so chooses.

God did not give us the Bible to show His failures because there are no failures of God in it!

David kept praying:

*Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

After expressing his thirst for God David resumed praying about his crisis.

David had pressed the Lord to answer quickly, and David was becoming more desperate because David was afraid God would be too late answering his prayer.

God will not fail when our spirits fail!

God does not know how to fail; failure is not part of God’s agenda!

The truth is, if we have God’s countenance we live, but if God turns His back on us, we will die!

When the Lord looks with favor upon our efforts we prosper, but if God refuses to look upon them, we labor in vain.

God will not look upon sin!

We cannot cause God to rush because God always knows what is going on in our lives and the Holy Spirit has already told Him, He just knows.

Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

We should understand that Divine loving kindness is the root of which all other blessings come.

We could say that God’s love is the fountain from which all blessings flow!
We all desire to walk in the way that the Lord has chosen for us.

Psa 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

David would worship Jehovah daily but in the morning hours and many times God spoke with David in that time and here David desires that the Lord would speak to him as He did in those morning worship services.

David was desperate to hear from God, but we cannot make demands of God.

Why was David so desperate? Look again at verse three.

“For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead”

David felt like he could lose his life at any time!

We know that it is God that knows when our life will end, no one else.

What was the best thing David could do?

*Psa 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Psa 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Psa 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
Psa 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

At the first sign of trouble, we need to flee unto God to hide us from our enemy.

**Psa_17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Psa_27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Psa_64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

All these Psalms were attributed to David, so we see David had prayed for Jehovah’s help many times.

What does God teach us? God teaches us that sometimes we need to sort of pester Him to get an answer from Him.

God wants to know how sincere we are.

Luk 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 11:6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luk 11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Importunity means persistence, especially to the point of annoyance.

David prayed that God would keep him out of the hands of his enemies.

What prayers will God surely answer?

God will teach us His will for us!

God will also deliver us for His namesake!

The Lord is glorified when it is proved that He is true to His Holy Name!

One of the reasons people are powerless in prayer is because they do not pray specifically.

When we pray in general terms and not specific terms, we are thoughtless and effortless.

God already knows why we are praying we need to be specific.
God already knows our needs we need to be specific, describing them to God.
God knows how desperate we are to evade our enemies, and He will answer in time, but He knows exactly what the right time is!

We know that in David’s early life King Saul was trying his best to kill David or have him killed and we know David needed the Lord to rescue him and He did.

Again, we need to make specific requests in our prayers!

Most of the time in our prayers we just need God to show us His love!

We cannot be fervent in our prayer life if our requests are general and not our specific needs.

If we put ourselves in David’s shoes, we would have panicked far more than David did.

When we desire God’s help, we need to cry out passionately to Him.

We must clearly understand that God wants to answer our prayers!

We would like to think that God would only answer those prayer that are good for us but I believe He will allow us to get some things that are bad for us so we can learn some valuable lesson.

His will for us is for us to do His will for us and most all of it is written down and all we have to do is study the Bible to know His will.

In the end God wants us to be obedient to His Word, live godly lives, and spread the Gospel and enjoy the life He has given us.

Amen

God Does Only Righteous Things

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Lord Our Help and Our Shield

Book of Psalms 115

We have just witnessed nature’s power, and those folks in Florida have seen much more of nature’s power than we have seen.

No doubt many will blame God, and most others will question God’s love and concern for people.

Some will sneer at the mention of the existence of God.

When many of our brothers and sisters are affected, the unbelievers will mock our faith.

We know our God is righteous so everything He does was the right thing to do.

Did God send these Hurricanes, my answer would be no.

Could God have stopped these mighty storms from causing devastation then certainly my answer is yes.

We know that Satan has some powers even over storms just read the Book of Job where a tornado or something similar causes all of Job’s children to die at the same time. There were ten of them.

When tragedy strikes, our first response should not be “Where is God”!

Today’s lesson will teach us that God is great in His moral excellence.

“Mercy and truth” are the foundation of moral greatness!

This was the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jhn_1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

A man may be capable of making some laws for people to live by, but most of them are seldom based upon righteousness.

Grace and truth came from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The question we should ask when tragedy comes is, how have we treated our Savior?

Have we given Him the glory that He deserves?

*Psa 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

Our faith must be based upon the truth or reality.

Without love, we will live in a world of selfishness which we see today.

Selfishness is the essence of sin!

Selfishness is contrary to the law of God!

The reality is that we have no right to question God for any action He might take!

We can ask the Lord any question, but we will not always be pleased with His answers.

We must not show any lack of faith when we are talking to the Lord our God!

If the Lord does not interfere on behalf of His people, we must not think that His attributes of love and faithfulness have vanished.

No matter what is happening in our world, we must give God the glory!

Here in Anderson during the last storm, five deaths were storm related.

We must not condemn God for those deaths, we must give God the glory that there were no more than five deaths here where we live.

When Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, we can be sure that many unbelievers were mocking God, but the truth is that God was using the Babylonians to discipline Israel.

Israel had turned to idols but after the conquest by the Babylonians, Israel never turned to idols again.

Sometimes God’s methods may be harsh, but they are effective. Harsh does not ever mean abuse!

As God’s people, we will suffer through trials and tribulations, and unbelievers will mock us, but we must never retreat from our goal of serving the Lord until we get to Heaven.

Why should anyone question our loyalty to God?

We must always do our very best to look like Jesus Christ!

*Psa 115:2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

When we go about our daily routine looking defeated our enemies will ask us, “Where is your God now, when you need Him so desperately?

if we look back at the Jews, we know that they had endured the taunts of the idolatrous nations.

We do not have to go that far today as our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are blasphemed today.

On that day, the heathen had scoffed at the invisible God.

Keep in mind those who scoffed had to go home and wipe the dust off of some idol who could not even talk to them.

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem, they made a strong confession of their faith and even though they were far from perfect they were not called idol worshipers again.

Though they struggled to put their lives back together they knew to go to God and not go to man.

We have seen over and over again that when we pray, we need to tell God what we are going through.

Yes, He already knows, but He wants us to understand that that is nothing too hard for God!

They happily proclaimed the superiority of the Living God to all who had ears!

When we are true to the Lord, He will be true to us!

It angers the Lord for His name to be blasphemed, and He will show His power by His people much of the time.

If God does not help His children, then Satan and his children will triumph!

Where is God? He is in the Heavens in a place where He can see all His people.

The truth is God does as He pleases all the time.

There is never a time that Jehovah God is wondering what He is going to do next!

Our dearly loved Savior always, ALWAYS wants to help us through this life and He has already prepared for our future non-ending life in Glory.

God not only has the will to help those who love Him, He also has the power to make sure what He does is done right!

Mic 7:10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

Another thing we must understand is that, if we are suffering then it is the will of God and He has a good reason for that suffering.

In most cases it is to bring us closer to Him!

God never lacks the power to end our suffering.

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

There are no gods who can hinder the work of God!

False gods are either a figment of their imagination or they are pieces of wood, gold, silver, or some other handmade object that can do nothing.

*Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

Anyone who comes to us questioning our God, we should ask them about their god!

People may scoff, which is mockery and ridicule, at Jehovah who we worship but the fact remains that He is alive, but He is invisible.

He is invisible for the reason that if He had shown Himself without His glory people would have made an idol of Him and they would have worshipped that idol instead of the invisible God just as people did the pole with a serpent of brass.

Num 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Num 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Num 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

What happened?

This brazen serpent known as Nehushtan, became on object of idolatry and King Hezakiah destroyed it.

2Ki 18:4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

This brazen serpent upon a pole had a reality as a type of the Lord Jesus upon the cross, when He died for our salvation.

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Idols cannot speak, see. hear, smell, feel, or walk.

Yet even today some people still worship idols.

Psa 135:18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.

Many today have made themselves to be idols such as so-called movie stars, or some sports figures, and yes, some political figures think they should be worshipped, and we certainly cannot leave out those who worship Satan.

Then there is the idol of money/material things:

We already know what God says about this.

1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Money is the root of all the evil of today. Most all our politicians are bought out in one way or another.

Other modern idols include, status, physical appearance, entertainment, influence, and yes sex has become an idol which is why abortion is fought so hard along with the LBGTQ is prevalent in our nation and now sex change.

These are all idols that are worshipped by the “now” generation and God is tossed aside as irrelevant in today’s world.

All these people are in for a terrible surprise very soon.

Such gods drag down their worshippers to a level of senseless stupidity!

Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

God does not play around with idol worshippers!

We must trust in the Lord!

*Psa 115:9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psa 115:10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psa 115:11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

Trust means we are reliant upon God for all things including life, justice, and our love for one another.

We do not worship a god we have made, but we worship the God who has made us, our Creator, our Maker!

There is only one true God.

There are many today that say all religions worship the same God, but nothing could be further from the truth! They just do not know Jehovah.

God has revealed Himself to us through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible if you have a true Bible.

It is true that once we come to know Christ as our Savior, we need to constantly examine our hearts for spiritual idolatry.

Jehovah is also a jealous God! The lost do what lost people do, but anyone that claims Christ as their Savior and falls into the trap of idolatry could come under the truth of God’s jealousy.

Three times these verses say the word trust.

1) God is our help and our shield.

God is safe to depend upon for defense and for offense for all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

God is also our shield to cover us from danger and to protect us from assault and injury.

2) For all those who preach the truth of the Scriptures, God is also their help and their shield.

3) The Lord has had His mind on us since our creation. The remnant of this world who love the salvation gift of God.

Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

This one verse should tell all those who think we all worship the same God that it is simply not true. By the way, this was the lord Jesus Himself that was speaking. He knows everything.

We could look at this passage as God’s invitation for Israel to join the Church because it is the Church that God is protecting in this world.

The battles of Israel will show that only the Church is on their side along with Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even this week our administration has sent a unit to Israel that can intercept missiles from Iran to try to keep Israel from going after the oil and nuclear sites of Iran.

This is only bribery when Israel should destroy Iran, and this world would be a little bit better because of it.

We cannot trust man, but we can trust God to do the right things.

Many scientists and archaeologists wonder what happened to many old civilizations, but they are not around, and many have no history because God knew no one needed to know how wicked they were.

We should not forget that Iran is that part of old Persia and the other part Iraq is trying its best to get away from the USA and then they will join Iran and Persia will be again and war mongering nation.

God will only bless those who trust Him!

You cannot trust idols because they cannot do anything at all!

The Holy Spirit wants us to grasp the importance of trusting God!

We will face persecution, but we must not falter in our trust for the Almighty God!

If we are worried about what is going on in our nation and in this world, then we do not trust the God of all creation and His plan which He has given us a copy of.

We must have confidence in our Holy God and His Word salvaged by the Holy Spirit and is the truth.

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

We were once a part of the world but now if you love the Lord Jesus, we are part of Heaven. Ambassadors to this world.

We are always on the mind of our God!

*Psa 115:12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
Psa 115:13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
Psa 115:14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
Psa 115:15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.

Who does the Lord bless?

He blesses those who trust Him!

Even though Israel does not trust the Son of God, most of them do trust Jehovah (Yahweh).

They reject that they are the same God!

They are wrong to not accept the Messiah, but they will eventually, at least a remnant of them will.

We should keep in mind that this Psalm was probably written for the dedication of the Second Temple after the return from Babylon.

They had been released by the King of Persia who had defeated Babylon.

We could say that God would bless those who had returned with many children for only about fifty thousand had returned of those who were captured.

Israel began to see just how great their God is.

God is always, ALWAYS, working to do good to His people!

God is always, ALWAYS, mindful of the covenants He has made with all His children!

God is always, ALWAYS, mindful of the promises He has made, and He will never break a promise He has made to anyone.

Why is God able to bless so much?

It is pretty simple, God is our Creator, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and God can do anything He wants to His creation, but He cannot go against His Word!

Notice that Israel is back in a part of the land God had given to them and God will get the remainder of that land that was promised back to Israel.

We may be seeing this today, the Lord giving Israel their entire homeland and the world cannot stop it!

No, there will never be a Palestinian nation within the boundaries of the land God gave to Abraham, the same land God gave to Israel!

When those who hate God scoff at us, we need to stand firm in our confidence in the Lord.

We may go through trials.
We may go through persecution.
We may go through attacks.
We may be oppressed.

God’s purpose for us cannot be defeated!

Nothing can separate us from the love of God!

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

*Psa 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Verse fifteen says it is our LORD who is the Creator of the heavens, and we know of three heavens.

The first heaven is the space where we get our air to breathe and the place where the birds fly.
The second heaven is what we call outer space, a place where all planets, all stars, and anything we find in outer space, and it is immense.
The third Heaven is the place where God dwells with His angels and all those souls who are in that Heaven today.

Notice the Earth is mentioned as the only place God has given mankind to live.

We know the earth is also the Lord’s:

Psa 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

This Psalmist has said that God has given the earth to mankind to live upon.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

God has not given mankind any other planet, moon, or star to live.

This earth is where we belong, where we live and work and where our future lies unless we believe all these things and our Creator who made all these things, then our future lies in the third Heaven with our God.

We know that mankind has not cooperated with God on the development of all the resources of this Earth, but they are all gifts from God for our use.

God has given the occupants of Earth the responsibility of overseeing the resources of Earth.

This Earth is the only planet that God gave to be inhabited!

Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

We need to be sure to know that God only declares things that are right and not wrong!

Isa 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

The trouble today is that a few greedy people have tried their best to gain control of the earth’s resources and for the most part they have, and the governments control the rest.

But you see God has reconciled the world back to Himself by the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now I cannot explain the meaning of all these things, but I know that these words are true.

Jesus Christ (Messiah) came to this earth to establish the only means of salvation which is available to all people.

The desire to let the whole redeemed world know of its redemption should move in the heart of every man but the world is tied up with greed for the resources of our planet, corrupt governments, and immorality.

*Psa 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Psa 115:18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

It should be obvious that those who are dead cannot praise anyone.

When we die our voices are silenced.

In fact, those who are dead lose all communication with the Lord who died for them.

Isa 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

I must never forget my job is to praise my Lord.

No matter what I’m going through, I need to praise the Lord, and I know I do not praise Him enough.

Even when the Lost World scoffs at me, I will praise the Lord!

My opportunities to praise the Lord will cease when I take my last breath, but my blessings will continue because I am a child of God!

Psa 118:17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
Psa 118:18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
Psa 118:19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
Psa 118:20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
Psa 118:21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Amen

The Bible Relevant in Any Age

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise and Trust from the Past for Today

Book of Psalms 108

When we study the Book of Psalms, we will see that Psalm 108 combines Psalm 57 and Psalm 60 and David is credited for all three of them, even though he was not alive when Psalm 108 was composed.

David composed Psalm 57 while hiding in a cave from King Saul.
David composed Psalm 60 about his battle with the Edomites.

We may not know the purpose of this Psalmist in doing this, but we all know that we may remember and sing a song that brought us comfort in our past during our own stress.

The one thing we can understand is the fact that the Holy Spirit decided that this new psalm should be included in the Book we call the Bible.

1)We must completely understand that the Word of God is relevant in any age!

2)The lessons from the Bible are applicable in every situation we may come to in every generation.

3)The Word of God gives of the wisdom of God so we can make the right decisions.

4) The Word of God is always fresh and always gives us encouragement to move forward in life.

Even today the Psalms of David, in fact all the Psalms, bring us to the reality of this wicked and evil world we live in, and the knowledge that we need the Lord Jesus Christ to be in charge of our lives, every day!

We must ask for God’s help in every situation we face if we expect to have triumph in our Christian life!

Every question we have of God should begin with praise.

*Psa 108:1 A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

Notice that this praise comes from a confident heart.

God will not take the time to answer any of our requests if we do not have enough faith that He can.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Our hearts must be fixed upon the reality of the existence of our Savior!

Our soul, the one that God has given to us, that is now saved by His power, is the most glorious thing that we have in our relationship with God.

We must make our flesh understand that it also belongs to God.

2Co_4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

We should also understand that the Psalms were intended for the worship service and our praise of the Lord Jesus is designed to be in a public manner.

Rom_10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

We should understand that before we offer up our praise, we should have already offered up our prayers.

When our hearts are affixed to praise the Lord, they will exalt Him to the highest degree.

*Psa 108:2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

It is usually the dawn that awakens us, but this psalmist says he will awaken all the instruments that had been silent, and he will awaken the dawn by his praises before daybreak.

The Lord never sleeps.

Even when the Lord Jesus was taken off that cross and laid in a borrowed tomb, He was very busy.

What did Paul say by the Holy Spirit?

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

The Lord Jesus descended into Hell to get the keys that the devil once had.

Rev_1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Our Lord is always busy, so we are foolish to limit the Lord to our hours and days.

We must praise Him with all that we have, any time of the day or night.

We can always at any time turn to the Lord for help and most of the time He is as near as opening up our Bibles to see what He has already said because He never changes.

This is exactly what this psalmist did. He took part of two psalms of David, and he made a new psalm by listening to the Holy Spirit who wrote all the Books of the Bible.

The same God that led David to victory will lead us to victory!

*Psa 108:3 I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

If we study the Bible, we will realize that there is a new day coming if we trust the Lord and the words, He has given us.

We must praise the Lord when we are alone.
We must praise the Lord in our congregations.
We must praise the Lord in our cities.
We must praise the lord in our nations.

Mal 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

Instead of a great falling away, we need a regathering of the children of God!

It is not time to flee from the truth, but to gather together because we have the truth and are not ashamed to say so!

*Psa 108:4 For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

You can take the word “mercy” away and substitute “Jesus” to have a better understanding of what mercy truly means.

Why did the Lord first come to this place called Earth?

Luk 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Luk 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

Psa 98:3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Psa 98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Mercy is compassion for the miserable!

The object of this world and now the government of our nation, is for us all to live in misery.

I am not going to live in misery!

The atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is the way to open up the exercise of “mercy” to all mankind.

It is wicked governments who are trying to stop what they cannot stop.

They only win when we forsake the Lord!

Psa 86:14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
Psa 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

As Christians we can depend upon the “mercy” of God to bring us to victory.

*Psa 108:5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
Psa 108:6 That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.

Psa 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

The Christian life is a warfare!

We have to battle our flesh and our own evil tendencies daily.
We have to battle corrupt opinions of us and our practices in society, which is hard to say society today because societies have forsaken all godly principles to live by immorality and corruption and they seem to be proud of it.
We also have to deal with the temptations of the Devil.

We must be aware that every renewed child of God is assured of ultimate victory in all these conflicts.

The truth is, we have already won we just do not realize it, which shows a lack of faith on our part.

The strength of God cannot be overcome, and His plan continues to move according to the things He has directed.

Once we get to Heaven we may look back and see that all these things had taken place just as God has said they would.

The Word of God is the truth in this wicked world, and we can lean on this truth while we are praising the One God who has the complete truth.

We are a delivered people; we just have not arrived at our destination yet.

If we increase our faith, then there is no reason we cannot enjoy the trip instead of moping around like a bunch of losers.

My God is powerful, you should check to see if your god is as powerful as mine!

*Psa 108:7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

It may be that right now God is dividing Shechem.

It is at Shechem where Jesus Christ had a conversation with a Samaritan woman who was saved and is now in Heaven, her past forgotten.

God always speaks in His holiness.

God is holy, entirely set apart from sin and sinners. This is the reason God’s Spirit is the Holy Spirit and the third person of the Holy Trinity.

This also means that the Lord Jesus Christ is Holy because as the Son of God He is part of the Holy Trinity, and we are to defend His holiness.

We can only become holy when we are set apart from sin and sinners!

Succoth is the name of the first encampment in the Exodus of God’s people from Egypt.

Succoth is also the place where the brass foundries were located in the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem.

In fact, every time Succoth is mentioned in the Bible, it is a place where God’s people come to victory.

Jacob had a victory there.
Gideon had a victory there.

Succoth represents the anticipation of victory, but Succoth also reminds us of worldly success when we might look down upon our enemies as the world does and this goes against the teachings of God.

Haughtiness is pride mingled with contempt or we could say arrogance.

We must be aware that we have victory when it comes by the Lord.

We do not necessarily have the same victory when it comes by our own hands.

Pro 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Pro 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Pro 16:20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.

What is happening in America today?

A certain group looks down upon Christians and our cling to freedoms, with heartless contempt and we had better realize it.

Our vote in this next election is more important than it has ever been, but only if we vote for Christian principles!

*Psa 108:8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Psa 108:9 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.

Gilead is best known as the Hill of Testimony or the Mount of Testimony.

In reality, this verse and much of this psalm is a song in anticipation of victory.

Verse 7 says that “God has spoken”, in fact, it said “God had spoken in His holiness”.

It can also be read “God has spoken in His sanctuary”.

What God says, is at the same time, what God does!

We should understand that our Lord had promised all this land to Abraham.

If the lord does not fulfill His promise, His name will be profaned.

God would be a liar, and this is impossible.

Now we may never understand everything that God says, but we can certainly understand His promises.

Now to get this clear understanding of God’s view of each situation, we must go to where God dwells and He dwells in the sanctuary of the true Church.

God is nowhere near a place where false teaching occurs, and we need to know this truth.

It is best to leave any place where the truth of the Gospel, the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ, is not preached.

There is victory in Jesus, but there is no victory in any false god.

When we know how God feels about a matter we can know real joy, because God does as He feels.

The Bible says that Ephraim is the “helmet” or better said “protection”.

Ephraim was sitting on the largest part of the land that was given to Abraham, the Northern part.

Judah is the “scepter” and the “lawgiver”.

It is from Judah that the law will be taught and enforced during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ and all this land promised to Abraham will be fulfilled.

God then proclaims that He has ownership of all the territories outside of Israel.

Moab the washpot. A washpot is a place that serves to clean feet.

The place of Moses’ death, Mount Nebo, at the top of Pisgah, is in the land of Moab.

Deu 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
Deu 34:6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
Deu 34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

We can even see where Moses was a type of Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit also names Philistia by name.

Philistia was the land of the Philistines.

This was a very small country from 25 to 30 miles in length with an average width of of about 15 miles.

Just as Gaza is today there were more people than the land could bear that lived there.

Today we hear a lot about Palestine, but in truth this was the land of the Philistines.

There is no such people as Palestinians and never have been such a people!

These were nations that were hostile to Israel and the people in those locations are still the enemies of Israel.

At the victory over these enemies, the soldiers of God would take off their shoes, wash their feet in a washbowl, and then throw their shoes at the defeated enemies and proclaim this victory with great rejoicing.

When the Messiah reigns He will have victory over all God’s enemies!

Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Isa 11:15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
Isa 11:16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Then God asks.

*Psa 108:10 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
Psa 108:11 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?

When David first wrote this Psalm, he asked who would bring him to this strong city of Edom.

Petra was truly a fortress.

Because of its natural location, it was humanly impossible to conquer that city in those days of David.

David asked; is there anyone who could lead his army to Edom?

Then David answers his own question.

It can be none other than God Himself.

We must understand that God will reject Israel “prophetically” for the short time they under the rule of the Antichrist that is, until the Antichrist decides to sit on the throne of David then all Hell will break loose.

David could write this passage because of his faith in God.

It should be clear to all that to overcome the Antichrist, then God would have to stand with Israel once again, and He will!

All those in distress because of the Antichrist during those seven years of tribulation with the last three and a half years being the Great Tribulation when things will be terrible, there will be a remnant who will call out to God and acknowledge their sins of the past and they will be forgiven.

Isa 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

The Antichrist is but a mere man, “the man of sin” and he is no problem for the the Lord God our Creator.

Even in a time of peril for Israel, faith is still the key to their success.

In the Hebrew letter to the Jews, God makes this very clear, but there must be a show of faith!

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Those who fear God can appeal to no one else in their distress but to God alone.

You see, if God brings you to it, then God will lead you through it!

God has led Israel to the distress that they face today, and God will lead them through their distress to the truth!

When we are in distress about our sin and where we will spend eternity, then there is only one place for us to go and it is to our Holy God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Only God knows which way to go!

God has given His Word and God will never break His Word!

*Psa 108:12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
Psa 108:13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

God gave us the gift of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ as His promise of salvation!

Only with Him will God’s people do valiantly!

It is only Jesus the Messiah who can give us the strength and the courage to fight our daily battles.

Some things we should have learned from this passage, this Psalm are:

1) The Bible is still effective in this world today though it was written ages ago.
2) This passage teaches us that we can always turn to Scripture for help.
3) We can see that God is unchanging, He is always the same.
4) That we can pray and use words that we have used before.
5) We can see that we need to be continuous in our Bible study going over the same passage over and over again to gain understanding.
6) We can look to the past for hope for today!

There is never a time that the Bible will not be relevant to this world!

Amen

The God of All Power

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Power and Wisdom of God

Book of Psalms Chapter 97

Today, even in the Bible Belt, you can hardly meet someone on the streets who knows about the Lord Jesus Christ.

People do not know who God is!

They think He is just another god along with many other gods. They are so wrong!

There is not one person except maybe infants and young children who God has not revealed Himself.

Before a person dies, God will have revealed Himself to them so that no one at the White Throne of judgment can use that as an excuse

We know that God even speaks to babies while they are in the womb.

Jer 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Even John the Baptist knew the Lord Jesus Christ while He was in the womb of his mother.

Luk 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
Luk 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Luk 1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Luk 1:44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

This proves that some babies have more wisdom than fully grown men and women, even while they are still in the womb of their mother.

This is why I will never accept that there is a right to abortion.

The One major truth in our world is, that there is a God and He is our Creator and our Heavenly Father!

There are not many gods there is only One True God!

Those who reject God also reject the Word of God.

The Word of God is just that, the Holy Ghost-inspired Word of God!

Most people make up their minds about what a God should be like.

They choose to believe some secular theory or something fabricated in their mind as to the origin of our universe and the origin of life.

Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

As you can see God knew all these things would happen.

Many people deny the Holiness of God while declaring good to be evil and evil to be good.

God knew these people before they were born just, as He does everyone else.

Some people believe in God but deny the “judgment” of God.

Our world is so confused today that some men think God made a mistake and they were supposed to be women, and some women think they were supposed to be men, but they reject that God simply does not make mistakes.

Across the globe, countless people are trapped in false religions and those who would change are filled with so much fear they live their lives as best they can all their days afraid to speak up.

This Psalm is an encouragement to all who would truly follow God.

I send a message today that no matter where you are, if you claim the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and even in secret, pray that sinner’s prayer, He will hear you and He will save you.

He knows what conditions you are under, and He will not hold that against you.

My God can save anybody anywhere at any time!

This Psalm is a big help to you.

*Psa 97:1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.

If we take a logical view of our world, we will see the evidence of our earth and all we can see with our eyes or that new telescope that circles.

We see that these things exist.

Because something cannot come from nothing, there must be an original cause that is the reason for the world’s existence.

Because it is evident that these things exist then, there had to be a Creator of these things.

If you have ever witnessed an accident, you will see that accidents are a cause of destruction and not creation.

Every effect must have a cause!

What is the truth? The Lord reigns over all His creations! Jehovah is King, He is the Almighty Ruler of His threefold kingdom.

Psa 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

The earth is in perfect balance. It has just the right amount of water and the right amount of dirt.

In fact, we can say that the entire universe is in perfect harmony so there must be a Creator.

God’s harmony is observed throughout this universe!

The sun is ninety-three million miles from Earth which is exactly where it needs to be for our comfort.

The temperatures vary from location to location so everyone can find a place where they are comfortable.

The moon is two hundred and forty thousand miles from Earth to provide tides at the proper level.

The more we change the moon the more our sea levels will change!

The earth’s tilt provides our four seasons.

None of these things could have happened by accident!

Yes, our Lord reigns as King of this earth!

Psa 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

The naysayers would have you believe that we live in a universe in chaos, but this is not true.

Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psa 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

The alternative is that all these things, plus all the other things we can see are no more possible than a monkey being able to create a work of Shakespeare on a typewriter by haphazard play on the keys.

Yes, the Lord reigns upon this Earth!

The Earth refers to the continents, all the large land masses. In contrast, with the multitude of isles are the small islands that dot the seas.

*Psa 97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
Psa 97:3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
Psa 97:4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
Psa 97:5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Psa 97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

Heaven, where God’s throne is located, veiled in clouds and darkness says to us that God reigns above human sight and understanding.

God must remain in these clouds of darkness because there is a need for God to conceal His radiant glory of His holiness that would destroy us instantly.

God is the “Judge” of this Earth and He always, ALWAYS does what is right!

Fire is a symbol of God’s judgment!

It is a fire that will consume all the enemies of God!

Psa 21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Psa 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

God bears witness to His holiness and justice through the forces of nature!

Lightning, strong storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions with the earth melting like wax, all remind us of God’s tremendous power.

Nature is also a creation of God.

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Everything in God’s creation will bear witness to His holiness.

We are to bear the truth that God reigns over all His creations, regardless of what the world says.

The world is full of lies and liars.

The Lord reigns over all the things that are going on around us.

The Lord reigns over all the unbelief and lawlessness which is in our societies.

The Lord reigns over all things that we are forced to endure.

The Lord reigns and there is nothing this world can do about it, except to turn to Him in repentance!

2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

All those who worship false gods will become perplexed because they have been told a lie!

The Heavens truly do declare the righteousness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah!

*Psa 97:7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

When we mock and reject the Words of the One True God Jehovah then, we think we have become gods ourselves!

We are not so dumb to not know that there are certain people who worship the idol of printed money and the idol of gold who are actually pulling the strings in America and most other countries in this world.

They know which way to go to get more money printed which makes them richer and which way to go to get gold more valuable to make them richer and this little game they play is done over and over again.

There is no regard for the people who work who actually pay the taxes.

This little game will break out into war when those who are not so rich but are considered to be rich have to keep paying more and more of the taxes and they will rebel.

It is the same for climate change. There are fifty-seven companies in this world that cause eighty percent of the pollution in this world and no one will talk to them about pollution and the carbon monoxide that is emitted by their companies.

It is not even mentioned, or it would make them mad and governments just keep allowing it to take place.

To these companies, money and gold are their gods!

They may boast about their riches, but one day soon they will see their gods destroyed and they will be confounded.

They are not the gods they think of themselves, but are only sinners in need of a Savior yet, they will never call on Him.

They are like that Egyptian Pharaoh who thought he could defeat God but only perished in the Red Sea.

Their idols are worthless!

Isa 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

The Lord always knows what is going on!

Isa 52:5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
Isa 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
Isa 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

It is not long before these who have made themselves gods will meet the only true God.

Isa 52:10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

God will judge this world, and this judgment is not that far off!

*Psa 97:8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.
Psa 97:9 For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.

When the Lord returns to this earth the Rapture of the Church will have already taken place and the Church will return with the Lord in glorified bodies following the King of Zion, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is at this time that the daughters of Judah will rejoice because the Antichrist will have been defeated and Israel will have turned to the Lord in shame because it has taken them so long to do so.

There is so much difference between the Divine Power of God and the supposed power of the rich who have followed the Antichrist, that even they will fall in shame recognizing the power of Jehovah the triune God.

All evildoers will be judged this day, but this is not the White Throne judgment, for the Lord Jesus will rule this earth from Zion for one thousand years.

Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Because the Lord humbled Himself in humiliation and obedience to Jehovah, He has been exalted by His Father and given a name which is above every name and made Him King of kings and Lord of lords, superior majesty above every creature.

This wicked world or what is left of it, will bow at the feet of Jesus!

Then the Lord will remake this earth.

The Lord Jesus will continue keeping all His promises to those who love Him.

These will be those who have survived the seven years of the Tribulation years, the last three and one-half years known as the Great Tribulation.

The Church will be with Him, but the Church was not the object of God’s wrath but already glorified!

*Psa 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

How do we know real love?

If I love Jesus Christ, I will love all His people!
If I love Jesus Christ, I will love everything that He loves!
If I love Jesus Christ, I will hate what He hates which is sin!

There is no small sin or large sin, there is only sin!

If we love the Lord, we will hate evil!

Psa 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

It is evil that separates us from our Loving God.

It is because of evil that the wicked will be destroyed.

It is because we do not love the Lord Jesus Christ that we are subject to the assaults of Satan!

God watches tenderly over the souls of His saints at all times and preserves us by keeping us from destruction.

The Lord Jesus Christ will certainly deliver us out of the hands of the wicked!

The Lord Jesus Christ is that Light that outshines the darkness of this wicked world we live in.

*Psa 97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

Light is sown for the righteous!

Psa 112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

That Light is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jhn_8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Jhn_9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

People just love darkness far too much!

Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Because the Lord loves us, He will deliver us from evil!
Because the Lord loves us, He will preserve our souls on this earth till He finally takes us home where we are preserved forever and ever.
Because the Lord loves us, He will deliver us out of the hands of the wicked!

*Psa 97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Psa 97:12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

We know that the Light of Jesus is the Word of God!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

It is the Word of God that lights our path to righteousness!

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Lord Jesus is that true Light who leads us to that path of salvation.

Mat 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

There is no other pathway to Heaven!

Amen

The Prayer of Moses

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Prayer of Moses in the Wilderness
 
Book of Psalms Chapter 90
 
 We all know that as we grow older, we become weaker, and life becomes more real!
 
We look back on our lives and wonder where all those years have gone.
 
Time does seem to fly away!
 
Some of us have things we have wanted to do all our lives, but we have gotten too old to do them now.
 
Psalm number ninety tells us how Moses felt, as he too felt he was getting too old to do the tasks God wanted him to do.
 
Moses forgot that it is from God that we get our strength and most of us do the same thing.
 
We forget any power we have comes from the Lord Jesus.
 
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
 
Many of us will shed tears of regret over words that were not spoken or words that were spoken.
Many of us will shed tears over things we have done or things we did not do.
 
In fact, these may be the tears that the Lord will wipe away when we see Him face to face.
 
This is the only Psalm that was written by Moses!
 
Since this Psalm was written by Moses, it makes it the oldest Psalm in the Book of Psalms.
 
It is believed that Moses wrote this Psalm when Israel was wandering aimlessly in the wilderness.
 
We must acknowledge God’s care and God’s love for us.
We must recognize the problems of human mortality.
We must appeal to God for His mercy and God’s help.
 
Psa 90:1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
 
Moses assures us that God existed before the world, which is His creation.
 
God will not lie to us.
 
Heb_6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
 
We must never put much faith in those who say our world is billions of years old.
 
Moses uses the word earth to distinguish it from the heavens.
 
Only Earth is an inhabited, fruitful land, a land fitted for habitation.
 
There has not been another place found that is like this earth!
 
As the Children of Israel traveled in circles in the wilderness, Moses realized how little our earthly home matters.
 
Israel was a nation of nomads, wanderers, travelers, people on a journey.
 
Every mile they had traveled, they had been cared for and protected by God Himself.
 
That forty-year travel came because of their unbelief, but at the end of those forty years, most of them were made aware of the truth of God.
 
Those who refused to believe after witnessing marvelous miracles in Egypt and as they traveled, had now died off.
 
In that forty years, they became a nation.
 
Jehovah God had become their dwelling place in those forty years.
 
They were truly strangers and pilgrims upon this earth.
 
It is the same for the Church today!
 
We are not citizens of this world!
 
God is our home because God is our everything!
 
It is this same God, Jehovah, who gave birth to this universe we see today.
 
God is our home now and throughout eternity, which means forever and ever.
 
For the saint of God, He has always been our dwelling place.
 
This being true and it is, we can understand that the miseries that we have had in our lifetime were not of God but was of ourselves.
 
God can only do good to His saints!
God can only do righteousness.
 
God is our refuge.
God is our security.
God is our shelter.
 
We can abide safely and peacefully in Him all the days of our lives if we have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!
 
Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
 
Because of the sin of Adam the things of our bodies that we are so proud of, our strength and our beauty will be trned into the dust it came from.
 
We must understand that our life is but for a day, compared to God who lives in eternity.
 
We must also understand that it is our God who is the giver of the life that we have!
 
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
 
Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
 
The sentence of death is just as a wage or a payment for our sins.
 
Every one of us is going to die!
 
We will die and return to the dust we are made from, or we will be Born Again and live with the Lord forever.
 
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
 
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Each of us has an inescapable appointment with death!
 
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
 
We just do not know the day this thing will take place.
 
This is the very reason we must prepare in advance for our day of death and also for the judgment that follows after death!
 
If we were to live for one thousand years it would still be less than one day to God.
 
Some say Moses was eighty years old when he wrote this Psalm, but he lived to be one hundred twenty years old before God took charge of his death.
 
No doubt that we should look back over our years from time to time and if you are a saint of God, you will not see anything in those years that will make you want to go back to that life.
 
The Israelites divided the night into three watches.
 
Jdg 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp “in the beginning of the middle watch”; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
 
The middle watch shows us there were only three watches.
 
It was the Romans who had four watches.
 
To God there is no before and after; no past and future; all is present.
 
Psa 90:5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
Psa 90:6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
 
Moses compared death to being swept away in a flood.
 
A flash flood comes suddenly, and it will carry away almost everything that it touches.
 
When we are asleep, in a sense, time has stopped for us until we wake up in the morning, but if that morning does not come, we will wake up in Hell or Heaven.
 
Jer 51:39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
 
Jer 51:57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
 
These were the enemies of God’s people which makes them the enemies of God.
 
I do not ever want to be an enemy of God again!
 
We are like the dreams we have, that come to us in our sleep and fade away into the night.
 
We are like the grasses that grow. Here today and withered away by tomorrow.
 
Psa 90:7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Psa 90:8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
 
Human life is brief and uncertain, and we do things that make our life even shorter.
 
Death is the wages of sin. What did God tell Adam?
 
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
 
Adam had disobeyed God by partaking in the fruit that Eve had given to him.
 
Adam was so taken up with Eve, that he would rather die with her than be left alone again, not thinking that God would supply his needs.
 
Even Moses knew that man was not a victim of his circumstances.
 
We do not deserve compassion, but a penalty, when we go against any part of the Word of God.
 
A swift life and a swift death are not by accident in most cases, not at all, it is God’s wrath against sin.
 
All the Israelites that had rebelled against God in refusing to go into Canaan land were made to stay in the wilderness for forty years until the last one died off, and their children went into Canaan without their parents and grandparents.
 
Even secret sins are known by God! They may be secret to all others, but not to our Holy God!
 
Even the angels that sinned know the power of God’s anger.
 
Everyone in Hell today is a believer, but it is too late for them.
 
Those in the world today who mock God do not know the power of God’s wrath!
 
When the Apostle Paul reflected on the time of Moses and the children of Israel, he could come to but one conclusion.
 
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
 
And from the time of Adam, we get the whole truth.
 
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
 
The truth is, nothing changes with God’s wrath until we have a Savior!
 
Psa 90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
Psa 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
 
It does not take us long to figure out that human life is short and uncertain and that we need a Savior.
 
The lives of the Israelites are still under the cloud of God’s Wrath because they rejected Him, but it will not be long before this wrath turns to blessing.
 
We know that Moses lived to be one hundred and twenty years old, so when he says three score and ten it seems strange.
 
Aaron lived to be one hundred and three years old.
 
Miriam was probably older than Moses when she died.
 
Those that perished in the wilderness were all those over twenty years old and most of them did perish around seventy years old and a few of them made it to eighty, but they truly struggled with life every day.
 
Many of us in this class can say that we do not really enjoy these days when we have so much pain and misery, but we can also say we will serve the Lord all the days He allows us to live.
 
Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
 
The Lord knows what we all are going through young and old.
 
One thing is certain, if we have a personal relationship with the Lord, then one day will truly fly away!
 
There is not much pleasure in this life in those years past seventy.
 
In fact, my greatest pleasure in this life is now my great-grandchildren and trying to put a lesson together for every Sunday.
 
Psa 90:11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
 
There is no one upon this earth or in Heaven, who can know the “power of God’s anger”!
 
It is not so important how long we live, but at the end of our life at our death, will be the result of God’s “wrath” or God’s “grace”?
 
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
 
No matter who we are, we should have great fear of God’s power!
 
God is perfect and He will execute His wrath in perfection!
 
God will exercise His justice against sinners according to His fierce anger against sin!
 
We see all these problems that come to the sinner, but God the Holy Spirit gives us the good news that comes in the same Bible.
 
Jesus Christ solved all these issues of sin, “for us”!
 
Jesus removed the sting of death to us, and He also conquered death!
 
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
 
The Lord Jesus will destroy the Devil who had the power of death over God’s people!
 
Heb_2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
 
The generation that is living upon this earth at the return of Christ will never die and will join with all those who have gone on before us.
 
Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
 
Those words “caught up” give us the meaning of the word Rapture.
 
We will be yanked out of this world before anyone realizes what is taking place.
 
We need for God to teach us to make what time we have left to be useful in the work He has given us to do.
 
Psa 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
 
We should understand that human life is uncertain.
 
Even those with enough money to buy a hospital and the best doctors are still subject to God’s timing of their death and there is nothing they can do about it.
 
Israel’s life today is still under the wrath of God, and this will not change until the Rapture of the Church.
 
We need a heart of wisdom to cope with this wicked world and still be useful to God!
 
Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
 
Deu 32:29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
 
There is a right way to use our time and there is a wrong way to use the time that the Lord has given to us.
 
One thing is certain as we grow older, we look back on our lives and see all the time we wasted doing trivial things that were truly a waste of time.
 
It is the things that we cannot see that become important to us.
 
Even as we grow old and having experienced a good life by our standard, we need to pray for God to teach us how to use our time better.
 
The only remedy we can have in this life is “faith”! Faith in the Word of God and this is not blind faith but faith in the truth of God!
 
What are the facts?
 
1) Life is short.
2) Death comes speedily.
 
We would be far better off to devote our time to true wisdom!
 
Hear some of the wisdom from Job:
 
Job 32:7 I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
Job 32:9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
 
Job 12:12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
 
The next thing on the Lord’s calendar is the Rapture and then the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth.
 
We will meet the Lord in the clouds!
 
This is wisdom!
 
Psa 90:13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
Psa 90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psa 90:15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
 
We find in the Bible three things about repentance:
 
1) A complete change of mind.
2) A complete change of purpose.
3) A change in the way we live.
 
In the military, the term “about face” gives us an idea of repentance.
 
We have to have a sense of guilt and our sinfulness.
We must understand God’s mercy is in Jesus Christ.
We must have an absolute hatred of sin.
 
It seems today that we have the attitude some sins are not that bad and others are terrible, but this is not the way of God.
 
We must have the same hatred that God has toward all sin or any sin!
 
Does God ever repent?
 
We must understand that only those who have sinned can repent.
 
God has never sinned therefore He has nothing to be repentant of.
 
God commands all sinners to repent, and this would include all mankind from the time of Adam till the very last soul that is sent to Hell.
 
The time to repent is that time we are alive.
 
The evidence of repentance is faith, humility, prayer, and obedience.
 
Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
 
We should know that there is nothing that bothers God.
There is never any uneasiness with God.
God is never sitting around wondering what He is going to do.
Nothing upon this earth can a create disturbance in the mind of God!
 
God has a just and holy displeasure against sin and sinners.
 
The reason we can be saved is that God has more “mercy” than He has “hatred” and He loves to show all sinners His “grace” which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
God does not hate mankind, or it would go against what He teaches us.
 
We are to hate the sin but not the sinner!
 
For us to learn true wisdom we must pray for Divine intervention, and we must beg to be taught by the Holy Spirit.
 
We should also pray for the “mercy” of God because God has more “mercy” than He does wrath.
 
Instead of going about our days wasting precious time, we need to pray for the forgiveness of our sins and seek an inheritance in Heaven that is gained by telling those who are lost about the Messiah, the Savior.
 
Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psa 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
 
God will never fail us because His love will never fail!
 
*Psa 90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
Psa 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
 
In this passage, the word beauty means favor, grace, and pleasantness.
 
As long as God’s favor is upon us, we will be successful in this life that we have now and gain an inheritance in Heaven.
 
When we confess our sins and repent of our sin, God “promises” to forgive us and cleanse us of any unrighteousness.
 
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
 
We must be careful and not call God a liar.
 
Oftentimes when we say we do not believe in some passage God has given to us, we are in fact, calling God a liar when it is impossible for God to lie.
 
When we sin, we should immediately appeal to God for His “mercy” and His “grace” and His help, and it always helps our own forgiveness by praying for all others who have done the same thing.
 
Compassion and forgiveness are two of the greatest traits of our God.
 
The Lord Jesus expressed these two traits many times in that little time He was upon this earth.
 
Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
 
We can see that along with the many things we know of Moses we also know that He was a prayer warrior.
 
I love you, Lord Jesus.
 
Amen

Praise God for Meeting with Us

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God for His Communion with Us

Book of Psalms Chapter 84

We should ask ourselves, are we longing to go to the House of the Lord, or do we see it as a burden?

This Psalm begins with added words that say, “My soul longs for the courts of the Lord”.

Psa 122:1 A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

We may not know who wrote this Psalm, but we can be sure that it was the Holy Ghost that led that person!

We should all strongly desire to be in the house of God at the appointed times.

1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

How terrible it will be for those who use the House of God to promote their lies and falsehood!

We know that there is a great falling away of the Gospel in America and much of this can be blamed on the false messages coming from the pulpits.

We all need to find a place of worship where the truth of God is preached.

We go to the House of God to hear what God has to say and not what someone who is a child of the devil has to say.

Assembling in the House of God is a commandment of God!

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

If we love the Lord, we will go to see Him and hear what He has to say regularly.

There are so many other places in this world where people would love to go to the House of God but cannot because of the politics in their country.

Our souls are craving to be with the Lord Jesus and Prayer and Worship are what we have until He comes to take us home.

Because we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, we will always have the desire to go home to Heaven!

*Psa 84:1 To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

Here again, we see the instructions to the Head Musician to accompany this Psalm with a Harp. There was probably more than one of them.

Who was Korah? Korah was the son of Izbar the brother of Amram. Amram was the father of Moses.

It was this Korah who rebelled against the leadership of Moses.

Two hundred and fifty princes who were men of renown joined with Korah and God sent down fire from Heaven and destroyed them.

Two more, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in rebellion at the door of their tents and God opened the earth and dropped them straight into Hell with their wives, their children, and all their possessions.

These sons of Korah mentioned here became the leaders of the music provided at the worship service.

The sons of Korah never rebelled again and remained close to the Lord and were the choir at every worship service.

The word “amiable” is a term of affection used in romantic poetry.

Whoever this Psalmist was, guided by the Holy Spirit, loved to worship the Lord in any place where people gathered to do so.

Psa 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

This psalmist just loved to be in the presence of God, and we should all be able to say this!

*Psa 84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

It is not a beautiful building. It is not the beauty of the sanctuary or the color of the carpet that we are to acknowledge when we come to the house of the Lord.

If we are not seeking the Living God, we are coming to the House of God for the wrong reason!

This Psalmist ached to be at the House of God.

The place we go should be a place where people go to experience God’s glorious presence, seeking a movement of God.

Soul, heart, and flesh mean every part of our being should want to get closer to God.

Most of this world refuses to accept that there are three parts in our nature.

The soul.
The heart.
The flesh.

This psalmist knew the truth!

It is a privilege to be able to go to the House of God!

Many places do not allow a place to worship Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In every House of God, there must be an altar where we can offer up our prayers and give ourselves to the Lord.

*Psa 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

This psalmist says that every animal in God’s creation seeks a place to build a home because it is in their nature.

It is no different for humanity!

We desire a place we can call home, and it is the House of God where we can learn about our true home and be with others, who are seeking the same thing.

He says even the birds loved to build their nests close to the house of God.

In the Tabernacle and the Temple, there were three altars.

1) There was the altar of the burnt offerings in the outer courtyard, where sacrifices were offered.
2)There was the altar of incense in the inner courtyard which is a picture of offering our prayers.
Note how the smoke of the incense altar rose toward Heaven.
3) Then there was the “Mercy Seat”, the Ark of the Covenant.
This is the altar upon which the blood of the atoning sacrifice was sprinkled, where God’s presence was centered.

Sparrows and swallows were abundant in ancient Israel, and they were considered a worthless nuisance, but not to this Psalmist because they were a creation of God.

If they found a place to lay their eggs at God’s house, then maybe they represent any stranger who might be trying to get into the House of God.

We are all strangers in this foreign land, “the world” but we can find refuge in the House of God.

When I first stepped into this Church, I knew I had found what I was missing in my life, praise the Lord it felt like home.

We should all love to be in the presence of God!

The Jews could not go into the Holy of Holies, but the Lord Jesus Christ removed the obstacles that keep us from going right into the Throne Room of God.

Today God’s presence is within us, but we are still to gather with all those who love the Lord as we do, we also need to set aside some time daily to be with the Lord.

If we truly love the Lord, we will want to be close to Him and we do this through worship and prayer.

Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

We can get many blessings by being in the house of the Lord.

*Psa 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
Psa 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

For those descendants of Korah, they would spend their lives taking care of the House of God, and they loved it.

What a job!

It is a blessing to go to the House of God!

It is a blessing to be in the presence of God!

We are made whole when the Holy Ghost comes to live within us!

This is also when we can feel the joy of the Lord!

This is when we can continuously give God the praise He deserves!

We can never give the Lord too much praise because we know greater rewards still lie in our future.

We find that our strength surely comes from the Lord God of all creation.

With Jesus in our hearts, we are just as determined to get to our home in Heaven as those Jews who were determined to be in the presence of God as they traveled to Jerusalem to worship a Living Savior.

We will one day certainly be in the actual presence of God, but the closest we can come to this today is to worship in the House of God.

For those who do not like to worship in the House of God, they will certainly not like Heaven!

Many Jews traveled many miles to worship at the Temple of God and today, Christians struggle to get out of bed on Sunday and get in their car and drive to the House of God.

I admit I have laid out also, but I missed a blessing on those occasions when I said to myself, I just do not feel well enough to go today.

I do not think I ever came into this church feeling bad that I did not leave feeling better!

This has not happened very often.

We must not ever lose our longing to worship!

*Psa 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

The valley of Baca would be the “Valley of Weeping” and maybe like the “Valley of Death” and not a real place.

These are places of grief that we feel in our hearts for some reason.

I think we all have visited both these places on many occasions.

It is the rain of “God’s Grace” that can get us through these times of grief.

If our heart is filled with the Lord, then the blessings of the Lord can come from even these places and can cause an increase in righteousness and even true holiness.

This Baca represents the troubles and trials of this life, the painful experiences we all suffer.

Being in God’s presence we will forget these trials and look forward to blessings, even the “Showers of Blessings”.

Ezk_34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

The Holy Spirit is teaching us that we can make pools of refreshment out of life’s deserts if we gather in the House of God where we can find the presence of God!

What happens to us when we are obedient to God?

*Psa 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

Our relationship with God gets stronger and stronger.

This is added to the blessing we can get on our journey to Heaven’s gates.

The journey of the Jews to worship in the Temple is a picture of our journey in life.

We will face many obstacles, but there is no reason we cannot enjoy the trip.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth”.

We do not have to fear death as it is like pouring grease on a walkway, we just slide on into Heaven a little bit quicker.

We should remember if we die in our service to the Lord, then this was His plan to bring us home.

This is when we will spend eternity with the Lord.

Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Heb 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

There are certainly many dangers as we travel home, both trials and temptations yet, we are blessed on our journey because the Lord is traveling with us, all the way.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

We will get stronger as we travel as we grow in the “grace” of the Lord.

2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Our hope is in the Lord so our hope will sustain us at every step of the way!

*Psa 84:8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

There is nothing wrong in asking God to hear our prayers.

If we are one of His children in good favor with the Holy Spirit who abides within us, God will certainly hear our prayers and if He hears our prayers He will answer our prayers.

We must live our lives in such a way that the Lord will always hear our prayers.

That way is to live according to the Word of God!

Who are we speaking of? We are speaking of The Lord God Jehovah, Yahweh, the God of all of Heaven’s angelic forces.

Here again, we see that the angels have a Commander, and this Commander knows every move His angels make, and they will not go against Him at any time without His knowledge and He will stop them before they do anything against His Sovereignty.

God has never lost control of His created beings.

The angels have only one time to make a mistake against the Lord, but we as His created humans know that He is the God of the second chance.

God has pledged His “Mercy” and His “Grace” to all those who call upon Him!

God is our shield, and we can hide ourselves in Him.

*Psa 84:9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

To assemble in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is a blessed thing to do!

This is what the Church of the Living God must do!

He is still the God of Hosts because He is still the God that fights our battles for us!

God’s anointed is not David, God’s anointed is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

At his best David was a “type of Christ”!

God the Father proclaims this of His Son.

God the Holy Spirit makes sure it is written for all the world to see.

God the Son is the fulfillment of the written Word of God!

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Mat_3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mat_17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Mrk_1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Luk_3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

The Lord Jesus Christ is Israel’s protector just as He is for the Church!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah who came from the line of King David.

Remember the Lord Jesus Christ was one hundred percent God and He was one hundred percent man while He was upon this earth.

Do not be fooled by this.

If the Lord Jesus came down in all His glory all humans would have died.

It was the glory of God that was laid aside so He could come with His message of salvation.

2Sa 7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
2Sa 7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
2Sa 7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
2Sa 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

It is the Messiah who is our guide, our shield, and our protector as we go through this thing called life!

It is the Messiah who will gather us up and take us home to our place in Heaven.

*Psa 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psa 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who opened my mind to the truth of the Gospel!

Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

There are so many blessings that come from a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus that we cannot even know them all.

A personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ brings complete satisfaction.

I will be like this Psalmist and say that one day in the courts of the Lord Jesus is far better than a thousand of the best days life has to offer.

When we get to Heaven, we will begin a never-ending day!

The worst job in Heaven, if there is such a thing, is also far better than to dwell in the home of the richest man upon this earth.

We just cannot compare apples to mansions!

We cannot compare a meal on earth to a meal at the Lord’s Table!

There is total satisfaction in the Lord!

1Co_10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

Whatever task I have in Heaven I will be satisfied with it!

*Psa 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

It is only our Lord Jesus Christ who could make such a promise as this!

It will be a pleasure to serve in God’s presence!

The Lord Jesus Christ is my sun while I complete my days on this earth!

Jhn_8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Why is the Light of Jesus Christ needed?

Act_26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the light of my life!

Isa 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
Isa 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

The Lord Jesus Christ is also my “shield”.

Psa 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psa 3:4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

The pure fact is that the Lord will never leave us unprotected or uncomforted!

We should just read about how blessed we are.

We should know how blessed we are to have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!

We freely get all these things if, we have faith in the One True God!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

There should not be a day go by where we have not prayed for God’s help through that day.

The world is simply this wicked!

Why would we not accept these blessings when there is nothing in this world to compare them to?

The one thing we must remember is that there is no work that we have to do to receive these blessings of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ has completed all the work for our salvation and all we need to do is believe that these things are true and accept His gift.

It must be complete faith.

God is all good, there is no good without the Lord!

There is no good that He will not show us in due time.

After meeting Jesus, we must walk in truth and holiness and these things are not that hard!

Amen

Praise God for His Deliverance

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God for His Deliverance
 
Book of Psalms 81
 
 
It is believed by many that this Psalm was chosen and sung at the dedication of the second Temple.
 
It is also believed by many that the word “Gittith” means a Harp that King David brought from the city of Gath.
 
It is also believed by many that this Psalm was the same one used at great Hebrew festivals, especially during the Passover.
 
Most people believe this Psalm was sung at the Feast of the Tabernacles also called the Feast of Booths.
 
We must not forget the true meaning of the Passover where our Savior was sacrificed but the Feast of Booths is a celebration of our deliverance.

We must never forget we are a delivered people!
 
It was love that has rescued us from our sins!
 
We should understand that the main reason the Passover was observed every year was so that the next generation would know the truth about this festival.
 
This is the same reason for all the festivals.
 
Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 
Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 
 
We know that the Lord Jesus is our Passover and the true reason we celebrate Easter.
 
This Psalm would remind the Hebrews of the goodness of God in the past and this same God would always be the same because He never changes.
 
The Atheists would never agree, but by nature, man is a worshiper.
 
Mankind will render homage to something or someone!
 
Atheists worship lies and they make up almost all of them.
 
God is a person and not some abstract of the mind or some mental concept such as evolution!
 
God is a person, a Divine person, related to us. God is our strength!
 
God is greatly to be feared!
 
Psa_89:7  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
 
Holy Holy Holy is our God!
 
Sing with a joyful sound to the Lord.
 
Psa 81:1  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
 
God has ordained congregational worship!
 
Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 
Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 
 
Sometimes worship is to be solemn such as the Lord’s Supper, but on this day the worship was to be loud and joyful.
 
We serve a great big God and we are to make a joyful noise to Him. To shout joyfully!
 
Yes, He is the God of Jacob.
 
Jacob was the fulfillment of the prophecy.
 
His conception is stated to have been supernatural.
 
Gen 25:21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 
Gen 25:22  And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 
Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 
 
Jacob’s mother Rebekah felt that she had to deceive her husband Isaac to make sure this prophecy was fulfilled.
 
Jacob’s name means the supplanter.
 
The name Jacob recalls the weakness of God’s people to trust God to deliver them from the bondage of Egypt.
 
Through the power of God, they were delivered.
 
It is the same for every child of God who has been delivered from the bondage of sin.
 
We must never forget the God who has done this miracle for us to have everlasting life and not everlasting death.
 
God can fulfill His prophecies without our help, but Rebekah was right, her son Esau was not the person needed to lead any new nation.
 
Psa 81:2  Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 
Psa 81:3  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 
Psa 81:4  For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 
 
The Festivals of Israel were marked upon a calendar and they were to be kept because they all pointed to the Messiah though Israel did not figure this out and those that did kept silent.
 
This call to a joyous celebration was addressed to the whole congregation!
 
To the Levites as the appointed leaders of the music.
To the Priests whose duty it was to blow the trumpets.
To the congregation who were to worship the Lord with joy and happiness for what God had already done for them.
 
Num 10:8  And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.
 
2Ch 5:11  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: 
2Ch 5:12  Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) 
 
It was at the Tabernacle and later the Temple where God would meet with the children of Jacob.
 
It is the trumpet, the shofar, a ram’s horn, that calls for the singing of praise to begin, and it also calls for the humbling of God’s people.

We can be bold in going to God but we need to be humble when we get there.
 
It is the God of Jacob who is the Deliverer of Israel!
 
Psa 20:1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; 
Psa 20:2  Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; 
 
God has commanded the Church to assemble to worship Him just as He commanded the people of Israel.
 
The deliverance of Israel from Egypt is a clear picture of our salvation, our deliverance from the bondage of Satan.
 
The new moon represents the beginning of Israel’s restoration.
 
God reminds Israel that when He had redeemed them, they still rebelled afterward.
 
This is our warning not to fall into the same trap, but today we know this holds true for many of the places of worship who are rebelling against the truth of God.
 
it would not hurt for us to look back at the early Church which made many mistakes but were corrected by the Apostles.
 
We should also understand that those who do not attend Church regularly are living in disobedience to the command of God.
 
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 
 
Psa 81:5  This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
 
The children of Israel became slaves in the land of Egypt.
 
It is hard enough being a slave, but the children of Israel did not understand the language of Egypt and the taskmaster used the whip to speak a language that they would understand.
 
The writer of this Psalm, probably Asaph, was reminding all of Israel of their deliverance out of Egypt.
 
Those, that were alive that day were many generations from those who were delivered and they needed to be reminded of how great our God is.
 
They needed to be reminded of the power of God to divide the waters of the Red Sea.
 
They needed to be reminded of the manna that kept them alive for forty years.
 
They needed to be reminded of the water that flowed out the Rock.
 
They needed to be reminded of the rebellion of some of the people and the judgment of God.
 
We sometimes forget the many things that God has already done for us!
 
God removed Israel from that great burden!
 
Psa 81:6  “I” removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
 
In this verse we see the Lord speaking.
 
The children of Israel were the lowest form of life to that Pharaoh of Egypt, but God gave them liberty and deliverance.
 
It was by God alone that the nation of Israel escaped from Egypt.
 
Things may have been done differently in the many other nations, but Israel received this great gift by the hands of God!
 
They no longer had to make bricks to build the great monuments of Egypt.
 
We must understand that it is through faith in the Word of God, that the burden of sin that we were under, slid into the grave of our Savior, where He took that sin to Hell where it belongs!
 
We can call upon God at any time of the day and He is ready to listen to us.
 
*Psa 81:7  Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 
 
God heard the children of Israel as they cried out in sorrow from Egypt which is known to them as the Iron Furnace.
 
Jer_11:4  Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the “iron furnace”, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

Those who say that the children of Israel were no slaves in Egypt are calling God a liar.

They were not known as the children of Israel while they were there but only by the name Hebrew or a name assigned to them by Egypt.
 
The children of Israel needed to be reminded of this many times.
 
Though our sins are forgiven, as the children of God, we need to look back sometimes to see what God has saved us from.
 
God had led them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night, to keep them from going astray.

Once we start down that road of deliverance we need to stay on it!
 
It was these same things that brought fear to the Egyptians!
 
These things remind us of the Holy Spirit who has the same power of God and will lead us all the days of our life and be with us even in Heaven.
 
God has done so many things for us and for them, then why will we not worship Him?
 
*Psa 81:8  Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; 
Psa 81:9  There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. 
 
God is still speaking here in these verses.
 
It breaks God’s heart when we do not listen to what He has to say.

All He asks is for us to listen and then, we can compare it to what the world says and we will see that our God speaks the truth and the world speaks in lies.
 
Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 
Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 
 
Israel’s duty of allegiance was to God alone. This was the main principle of the covenant God made with them.
 
It is the same for the Church. We owe nothing to this world.

We are not even citizens of this world once we conceded our ownership to the Lord Jesus Christ
 
Our allegiance is to our Savior!
 
What more can we ask of God? He sent His Son to pay our sin debt we could have never paid.

This is the meaning of the word propitiation!

He claims us as His children and promises to care for us throughout eternity.
 
There is not another God like Jehovah though there are many false gods in this world.
 
Our own nation believes there may even be a god somewhere in outer space other than Heaven.
 
God brought Israel through all the trials they faced in the wilderness.
 
I spent my forty years in the wilderness and I can assure you I never want to go back to it.
 
All Israel had to do was to listen to what God had to say and God expected a measure of devotion from them.
 
Deu 5:6  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 
Deu 5:7  Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 
 
Anything we put before God becomes the god in our lives.
 
God alone can save us from our sins!
 
Our God Jehovah is the One who wants a personal relationship with Him!
 
It is this same God who has blessed us so many times and we deserved none of those blessings.
 
*Psa 81:10  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 
 
“God simply says open up your mouth and I will fill it” which means:

Jas_4:2  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
 
Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 
 
God is always ready to supply all our needs.
 
Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 
Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
 
God said to either pray for mercies or just accept the mercies He will give us!
 
God should not have to remind us of all these things continuously as He does.
 
How many more miracles would the world have seen in the days that the Lord Jesus was upon this earth, but He could not because of a lack of faith?
 
How many blessings have we missed out on because of a lack of faith?
 
We could say we live the life we live today according to the amount of faith we show to the Lord.
 
We should really think about that one!
 
A wise man said: God cannot give lavishly unless we desire largely.
 
Everything we have from God depends upon our faith!
 
The greatest gift the Lord can give us is the Holy Spirit, and we need a refilling every day.
 
The only thing God desires from us is our faith!
 
Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
 
Israel just refused to listen to what the Prophets of God had to say.
 
*Psa 81:11  But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. 
Psa 81:12  So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. 
 
Our own self-will can cause us to be disobedient to the truth.
 
Why does God give us commandments instead of suggestions?
 
Because we are a stubborn and rebellious people just like Israel.
 
God gave us the example of one group of people to show us how we are all like them.
 
No nation has seen the power of God as have the Israelites.
 
Because every nation and every country is made up of people, God now deals with us as individuals.
 
The same characteristics of rebellious people exist today so the same commandments apply.
 
This world will never reach a point where the Ten Commandments are not needed as a reminder of what righteousness looks like.
 
God will not force His will upon any person, He just gives us the truth.
 
We live in a world where the “THEORY” of evolution dominates the minds of almost all scientists and the nations listen more to scientists who teach a false science with useless theories than the truth of God.
 
God will judge us according to His Word, and according to our disobedience to it.
 
It is the word “judge” that people do not like. No one wants somebody else telling them what to do!
 
This begins with childhood and never leaves us.
 
This why it is so important to raise our children, teaching them that none can live according to our own will.
 
Pro_22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
 
This is the most important thing we can do as parents.
 
Pro_20:11  Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
 
You see, we become “judges” of our own children so we can get them in the right direction in life.
 
You can bet that those who want to influence our children to a certain doctrine clearly understand this and we have allowed it to happen far too long.
 
I say all this because we are God’s children so, why would we think He should be different?
 
There is a right way and a wrong way to raise children and God’s way is the right way.
 
Job 8:4  If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression; 
Job 8:5  If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; 
Job 8:6  If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. 
Job 8:7  Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. 
 
We all want our children to grow up and do better than we did and Jehovah God is no different and this is another reason God sent His only Son to this world as an example of and a teacher of righteousness.
 
We can only push God so far and He will allow us to go the way of the world if we insist on doing it, but we must understand that our ending will not be pleasant which is putting it very lightly.
 
Most people reject the idea that we have a soul that cannot die because it was made by God Himself and they only concern themselves with their body that will only live to be seventy or weighty years old for most of them.
 
It is the soul that gives “life” to the body!
 
Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 
 
We are only a lifeless bundle of dirt without our soul!

We all know what happens when we are put in a grave, we change back to the dirt we are made of.
 
We need to listen to what God has to say!
 
Most people are beginning to see that this world has a doctrine that is only good for the elite and bad for everyone else, and this is what the Bible teaches us, if “IF”, we have the right Bible and not a world-altered Bible.

This world and our own nation may take away our freedoms but God will never take away our freedom to choose.

He just only wants us to know there are consequences to every choice we make.
 
God pleads with us to not listen to the world.
 
*Psa 81:13  Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! 
Psa 81:14  I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. 

God may give us up to our own decisions, but for most of us, until the day we die, we can still turn to God and repent.

Sadly there are some who find it is too late to do so.

We here nations talk about some imaginary red line, but God has a real red line that must not ever be crossed.

Gen_6:3  And the LORD said, “My spirit shall not always strive with man”, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

God gave the world that existed in the time of Noah one hundred and twenty years to change and only Noah repented to righteousness, and the Lord allowed Noah’s family to go with him.

The entire world of humanity and all land based animals died in a world-wide flood that could have been avoided and it was not because some angels came down to be with the women on this earth.

Those who believe in such a thing make my God to be powerless against His angels and He is not.

He tossed Satan out of Heaven so hard that he appeared as lightning.

God uses Satan for His purpose, but God does not tolerate the foolishness of other angels and they cannot impregnate a female from this world. They are not made as we are!

God does not reject His people forever.

We know this because we read from the history of Israel and this lesson is for all believers.

If God was through with Israel, there would be no New Testament which means a New Covenant.

You see God does not ever give up on His children, but He will surrender them into the hands of their enemies where they want to be, as He did Israel many times.

Today, we see this thing in reverse for a short time where “those who hate the Lord” will pretend obedience to God as if God does not know this.

Mat_13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat_13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat_13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat_13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat_13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

*Psa 81:15  The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
Psa 81:16  He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

The enemies of God are the enemies of God’s people.

If Israel had submitted themselves to the Lord their happy time would have lasted forever.

Israel would have had the finest things in this world.

Famine would have been an unknown word in Israel.

These things are also happening in America today.

America was far more prosperous than it is today because the elite has decided to kick God out of every portion of our lives and we now see America on a slide to Hell that may be irreversable.

They will find out that their riches do not buy them everything they seek and those actors who get paid to be something they are not, need to be what they are. Just people with a good job.

We do not need to hear about their politics. I respect their ability for free speech so, they need to respect mine!

There is no doubt in my mind that to be a Democrat you have to be a demoncrat or you cannot be accepted in that party.

God provides the necessities of life to every Christian!

A satisfied life usually has no complaints!

God offers abundant life but few there be that realize it!

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

As Christians, we are to gather in the name of the Lord!

We are to exalt the Lord in worship and prayer.
We are to hear what the Lord has to say from His Word.
We are to respond positively to what God has to say to us.

We are to act like we are God’s children and not the children of the world!

God always thrives to provide the best for us.

When we do these things we will be spared the consequences of our sin.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 
1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 

This is the only answer this world will ever get!

It is really very simple!

Amen

Praise God for His Greatness

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Psalms Chapter 76
 
Praise God for His Greatness
 
This Psalm was written by Asaph who was the head musician of the choir established by King David.
 
We know that God has a unique relationship with Israel.
 
God also has a unique relationship with the Church but not with any other nation than Israel.
 
No other nation has a relationship as Israel does with God.
 
This is important to know if we want to study the Bible properly.
 
God’s name is great in Israel because He has proved Himself to be great, the Great One.

So, it is important to know just how powerful is our God.

There is no limit to God’s power!

We can accept the Word of God as the truth when it describes the power of God, but we must know God is far more powerful than these pages show.

The only thing that limits the power of God is His love for humanity, but God also cannot be unrighteous

It is because of His righteousness that He must destroy sin.

Psa 76:1 To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.
 
We may not know what historical event this Psalm refers to, but it will apply to any nation or group that tries to eliminate God’s people.
 
God is great in Israel and showed Himself great by breaking the power of Assyria and many other nations.
 
Isa 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
 
You see God had made a promise to Israel.
 
2Ki 19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.
2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
2Ki 19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
 
God had made a promise to Israel and God does not break His promises.
 
God made a promise to the Church, the Body of Christ and He will honor that promise as well.
 
It is just after this that Israel gave God a new name:
 
That name is Yahweh Shammah which means “The Lord is There”.
 
God did this to show us all that God will rescue His people in the future from hostile nations who circle Israel which may be happening today.
 
Israel has to defend itself from terrorists daily.
 
I can just imagine what America would do if a bordering nation began to take daily potshots into our country.
 
God will break the power of any nation whose intent is to destroy Israel because “Shammah” is still with Israel.
 
God is known in Judah!
 
Psa 76:2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
 
The word “Salem” means “unharmed” or “at peace” and we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem because Salem is another name for Jerusalem, the City of Peace.
 
It should also remind us of our Savior who is the King of Peace and we know He will one day soon sit as King of Israel and in fact King of this entire world.
 
God had told Moses to build a Tabernacle and God made Himself known when the Tabernacle was first completed.
 
There was no Tabernacle in Jerusalem until King David had retrieved the Ark of the Covenant.
 
2Sa_6:17 And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
 
The true meaning of the word tabernacle is “a house or a dwelling place”.
 
Job 5:24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
 
We just assume that when we see the word tabernacle it is talking about the Tabernacle of the Congregation, but it can mean other things sometimes.
 
The word tabernacle can also mean our human body.
 
2Co 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
 
2Co 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
 
And God gave us His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of His truth.
 
2Co 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
 
The word Zion can mean some other things but in truth it means the city of Jerusalem.
 
It can also mean the City of David.
 
Psa 87:5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
 
The truth of Jerusalem still lies in the future when the Lord Jesus Christ will sit as King in Jerusalem.
 
The Church is looking forward to the Heavenly Jerusalem!
 
Heb_12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
 
The war called Armageddon will be settled in Jerusalem.
 
Psa 76:3 There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
 
The Lord Jesus will put an end to war when He sits on the throne of David.
 
The war of Armageddon will not be won due to skillful militaries it will be won due to the actions of God.
 
God will deprive the enemies of Israel of the effectiveness of all their mighty weapons.
 
The Lord will render those weapons useless against God’s people!
 
As an example, the great Assyrian army lay in siege of Jerusalem and God sent one angel to end that siege.
 
With one pass over those one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers, they never woke from their sleep and not one arrow was fired into Jerusalem.
 
Nothing that army had that day could defend them from that one angel.
 
It will be the same in the War called Armageddon.
 
Isa_54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
 
The Lord is perfect in His Holiness.
 
The Lord is also perfect in His power!
 
Psa 76:4 Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.
 
The powerful armies of Assyria had burned and pillaged many nations until they felt that no nation could stand against them. They had gotten rich off of the things they had plundered from other nations but at Jerusalem, God said no more.
 
The glory of the Lord is brighter than our sun!
 
2Pe 1:19 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:
 
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
 
No matter how powerful the militaries of this world get, they are no match for the glory of God!
 
The mountains of Jerusalem are where God’s presence dwells among His people Israel.
 
Those who dare to invade His territory in hopes of preying on God’s people will quickly become God’s prey and He will destroy them.
 
The Lord despises such nations that brag of their power such as North Korea, Iran, and some others, who have such little power that the Lord can just display His glory, and they will not exist.
 
In the Lord excellence and power become perfection.
 
*Psa 76:5 The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
Psa 76:6  At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. 
 
This verse describes what happened to the Assyrian army that had sieged Jerusalem.
 
2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
 
One hundred eighty-five thousand soldiers went to sleep that terrible night and one hundred and eighty five thousand soldiers woke up in Hell, a place they did not believe in.
 
Even Sennacherib the commander of this army died at the hands of his own two sons.
 
This happened on the day after Isaiah told King Hezekiah that Israel would be delivered from this mighty army.
 
My Father when He is angry does not fool around.
 
This was the power of one angel. God has an innumerable number of angels but even they cannot match the power God has Himself.
 
Psa_147:15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
 
God’s rebuke can destroy any political power.
God’s rebuke can destroy any military power.
God’s rebuke can destroy any power that goes against God’s people, and He has already said that day was coming.
 
Chariots and horses are examples of the vehicles used by powerful militaries.
 
Any time we win a victory over an enemy, we need to recognize God as the source of that victory and offer Him praise!
 
Who are our enemies? The world, our flesh, and the devil are all our known enemies, and we can include all the things associated with those things.
 
Satan and his forces are far more powerful than we are, but they are no match for God!
 
What do we need? The Whole Armor of God
 
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
 
We cannot even overcome our flesh without the help of God!
 
Our sinful nature will overwhelm us without the Holy Spirit abiding within us!
 
Gal 5:16 This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
 
If we walk in the Spirit, we can be conquerors.
 
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
We have no reason to be afraid of what this world can do to us.

Psa 76:7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
 
The Israelites witnessed the greatness of God more than any other people. Those alive would have a fear of God, but the next generation would move away from the truth of God.
 
God alone should indeed be feared!
 
God is the only one who can settle wars with His tongue.
 
God just speaks and things take place as He speaks.
 
God stands ready to destroy all who dare to revolt against Him!
God stands ready to destroy all those who revolt against His purpose!
God stands ready to destroy all who revolt against His people.
 
No one can overcome the power of God!
 
God is to be feared but God is also to be loved!
 
The truth: Only perfect love can cast away fear!
 
If you genuinely love the Lord God, then you need have a reverent fear of God, but you need only to know the power of God for He will never use that power to destroy you or against you.
 
It is those who hate God who God will destroy!
 
God’s “judgment” is absolute!
 
Psa 76:8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
Psa 76:9 When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
 
The great Prophet Isaiah had told King Hezekiah that God would show His power:
 
2Ki 19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.
2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
2Ki 19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
 
God was not about to allow the enemies of Israel to destroy them because God had already promised the Messiah to come by way of David’s royal descendants.
 
God still speaks through His prophets, or today we would say His preachers.
 
In the coming “judgment” upon this world God will speak with His voice.
 
That voice is called the sword of His mouth.
 
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
 
We had better know that from His throne in Heaven God governs this universe.
 
One day soon every mouth of all those who remain after the Rapture of the Church will be closed.
 
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God”.
 
There are those today who say that a true God would not kill people or allow them to be killed.
 
God says: (my words) “all you need do is to repent and acknowledge the truth of God”, so they that perish have the opportunity to live forever”, but they had defied God and the penalty for defying God, is death.
 
God will arise in “judgment” to save the meek and the oppressed on this earth. Those would be all those who claim the Lord is their Savior and the world oppresses them.
 
God will arise in “judgement” to stir those people up to praise Him.
 
Psa 76:10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
 
We should understand that “all” actions and feelings of humanity are under God’s control.
 
It is soon coming a day that even those who hate God will praise Him!
 
God will make sure that all those who oppose Him know exactly what is going to happen to them, if they continue down that road of sin that they travel on.
 
Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
 
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
 
All those who seek a new path to Heaven need to realize there is no new path to Heaven.
 
Jer 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
 
God has shown Himself to be the Victor over wickedness and evilness!
 
God does not do evil, but God will utilize those who do, to further His plans for this world.
 
Some proof to this can be seen with a certain Pharaoh:
 
Exo 9:15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
 
What does God say to all those who oppose Him?
 
Isa 33:11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
 
In the end, Israel has been delivered from all those who have threatened them over and over again, yet the world continues to hate Israel and continue to assist the terrorists that are no more than thieves and robbers.
 
We may live in a world where there is no fear of God, but it does not mean that the Word of God is not true, and it does not mean that Jehovah God has gotten old and weak.
 
Mat 10:26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
Mat 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
 
We need to vow our allegiance to the Lord!
 
Psa 76:11 Vow and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
Psa 76:12 He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.
 
There will be some alive after God’s “judgment” during the Tribulation period and before the Lord Jesus restores this earth for one thousand years and what did they see?
 
Zep 3:6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
 
Until Satan is locked up in Hell for good, he will have allies in this world.
 
As Christians, we will have to contend against this world and the Devil, but we are never alone and we will come out as victors.
 
We have seen enough answers to prayers to know some of the power of God and we know He is far more powerful than Satan that nasty serpent.
 
Every victory we have after our salvation came by the Lord.
 
At times, some of us need to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.
 
We must not only praise the Lord with our lips we must also praise Him with our service to Him.
 
We are not to neglect to always do good out of grateful hearts.
 
We must be grateful for God saving our souls from a Devil’s Hell, and we can best show that gratefulness buys keeping any vows we have made and praising His Holy Name.
 
The greatest victory we can celebrate is the Lord Jesus’s victory on that terrible cross because this is our victory also.
 
As Jesus sacrifice of “mercy” deserves the greatest sacrifice we can offer, which is the sacrifice of our own lives to Him!
 
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
 
It is only then that God will reveal His complete message to us.
 
The sweetest words God ever said was “I forgive”! He did not have to!
 
There is no greater gift we can give to the Lord, but ourselves!
 
God will be terrible to the kings and princes of this earth, and they know it is coming, and they have only one chance to avoid it, but they reject it believing that Satan is their savior.
 
Such foolish men and women!
 
Amen

When The Lord Jesus is King

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Reign of the Messiah

Book of Psalms Chapter 72

No doubt that Psalm 72 was written about Solomon the son of David but in reality, the Holy Spirit caused it to be written of Israel’s last and greatest King, which is the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

David becomes a prophet in this Psalm.

What do we know about the reign of the Messiah? It has not happened yet.

During the early centuries of the Church there were many groups that denied the humanity of Jesus Christ.

Today, it is in the reverse, the man Jesus is recognized, but there is a denial of His deity.

People believe that Christ was either a liar, or a lunatic, or He is LORD like He says He is.

Jesus Christ is God and not simply God-Like!

Jesus Christ is absolutely equal with God the Father in His person and in His work.

The Lord Jesus Christ is all that God is, to possess the whole fullness of the attributes which make God, God!

Any attack on the deity of Jesus Christ is an attack on the bedrock of Christianity.

I am tired of seeing my Savior mocked in this world.

Heb 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 

It is a fundamental truth of Scripture that only God is to be worshiped.

Even Satan knows this is the truth!

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

It is the Trinity of God that is the Lord Jesus Christ:

2Co 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Prophecy says that the Messiah would be King.

Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

There will be a people ready to be ruled by the Messiah.

2Sa 7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 

God the Father announced the making of His Son to be King.

Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

The Lord Jesus Christ will be the government of this world!

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

The three offices of the Messiah which are, Prophet, Priest, and King will be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ!

As a Prophet, the Lord Jesus was involved with revealing the salvation message of God.

As a Priest, His work was as an Intercessor, and His saving work.

As King, He fulfill the promises to Israel and He will rule the entire earth.

*****Psa 72:1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. 

As King David lay on his death bed, he had this prayer for his son by asking God to make him a righteous ruler.

One of the king’s most important duties was to judge disputes and then administer justice.

If Solomon would govern according to the Word of God, the Lord would bless him and his nation’s people.

This same prayer holds true to every ruler, every king, and every president of every nation even today!

God is the source of all “judgment”!

It should be noted that Solomon prayed this same prayer for himself.

1Ki 3:9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 

We know that a society cannot exist without laws and these laws are to be expressed and enforced and whoever does this is the ruler but this is just a part of what is needed to govern any people.

*****Psa 72:2  He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 

Psa 72:3  The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 

Psa 72:4  He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

It is obvious that the courts and prosecutors of today are not interested with righteousness!

It is obvious today that our courts are not fair and impartial but yield to the politics of today!

We should also understand that the children of Israel belong to God just as the Church belongs to God.

The Church is bought and paid for with the Blood of Jesus Christ.

We should also understand that peace will never come to this world because leaders seek their own fortunes rather than seeking the good will of those they were elected to serve.

In old times most of the poor were not that way because of laziness or would not work.

We know this has changed today.

There are still some who are poor for many reasons but there are also many who refuse to work and would rather live off the taxpayer.

In the day of the Kings the poor were powerless to defend themselves and were taken advantage of by greedy and wicked people.

These same greedy and wicked people are going after the middle class today and the middle class is becoming powerless to defend themselves.

It is easy to see that it is the rich who are the cause of the oppression of the poor and they want to keep it that way.

It is a fact that in the day the Jesus Christ rules this earth from Jerusalem the oppression of the poor will end.

It is uncalled for today, but the greedy rich just cannot get enough riches to satisfy them!

Peace can be said to be the absence of fear of the threat of harm along with a sense of security.

We do not have this in America today and it is because of greedy politicians, who always seem to have a better way, but it never turns out that way!

When King Jesus sits upon the throne of David there will be great changes.

*****Psa 72:5  They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

It is this passage where we begin to see that this Psalm was not just about King Solomon because his life would be similar to the life expectancy we have today.

It is King Jesus in whom we should have a godly fear of throughout time as it we see it today.

The sun and the moon will endure until God brings them to an end and it is only God who can live through all the generations of mankind and forever.

Only God can do these things. It was Solomon’s job to make sure all the people of his kingdom understood this, just as it is the job of every national leader to do today.

We see where this world is failing!

You see, for as long as the course of nature last, we are to fear the Lord.

God promised eternal dominion to the house of David.

Since the Lord Jesus as a man was a descendant of the House of David, and because He is God then these things apply to the Messiah.

Since we are in the family of the Messiah then these things apply to the Body of Christ.

King Solomon was to provide security for God’s people.

King Jesus will also provide security in His Kingdom. He will rule with a rod of iron.

He would rescue the needy.

He would rescue the poor and those who are afflicted, and their children.

These are the ones that the world takes advantage of.

These are the same ones that this government we have now, have taken advantage of.

They have tried to keep the poor, poor so that they will always need the government to help them.

This is why the gates of America have been thrown open for the world to enter so even more people will become dependent upon the government to support them.

This is the way a certain party is trying to stay in power.

The Messiah came to this earth to put a stop to these things.

The Messiah came to rescue the needy and the poor, all those who are Spiritually poor.

David prayed that his son would crush all those who are so cruel in this world.

*****Psa 72:6  He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 

We already know there is a great famine for the Word of God today.

2Ti_4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2Ti_4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 

Eze 34:24  And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 

Eze 34:25  And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 

Eze 34:26  And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 

Deu 32:3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

David called on his son to be true to Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus will enforce righteousness upon this earth when He sits as King of the World!

*****Psa 72:7  In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 

Does anyone here know how long the moon that we see nightly is going to flourish? I do not either because only God knows.

Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 

Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

All those who are with Christ during His Millennial Reign upon this earth will enjoy lives that are full, and free of fear and oppression.

If the Lord Jesus Christ is going to save us from all these things, then these are the things that are going to get worse especially during the time of the Antichrist.

Keep in mind this is after the Rapture of the Church and the Church will come down again to this earth during the time Christ sits as King of this world and remain the God of all creation.

*****Psa 72:8  He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 

Psa 72:9  They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 

What was the Kingdom of Solomon?

1Ki 4:21  And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. 

Notice Solomon ruled over the land of the Philistines also at this time.

As we apply this to King Jesus:

Isa 60:4  Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 

Isa 60:5  Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 

Isa 60:6  The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. 

Isa 60:7  All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 

Isa 60:8  Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 

Isa 60:9  Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 

Isa 60:10  And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 

*****Psa 72:10  The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 

Psa 72:11  Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 

David prayed that Solomon would be recognized as the world’s leader the sovereign ruler over all the earth.

He asked that God would cause all rulers to pay tribute to Solomon.

As David prayed for his son, he also prophesied of the Messiah.

Solomon did establish an extensive kingdom but he did not rule to the ends of the earth.

Solomon was not King of all kings.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ will fully answer this prayer of David!

Only the Lord Jesus Christ will reign forever over all the earth!

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

Zec 9:10  And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 

Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 

Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

King Jesus will rule this world just as He rules everything that we see and know about. He will rule all His creation.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

David then prays that Solomon will be compassionate toward the people.

*****Psa 72:12  For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 

Psa 72:13  He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 

Psa 72:14  He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 

When is the last time we have seen our leaders be compassionate to all the people?

This is when we know we have a true leader.

Did you know being compassionate to the people is not one of the things that our President is to do.

An American President is to keep our nation safe and make sure the Constitution is being implemented and is the guide to our laws.

If our leaders would show compassion to all the people of our great nation instead of picking out certain groups to show compassion, if you can call it that, to certain groups and cause division in all the rest, our nation would be a better place.

A true leader will deliver all who cry to him who are in need.

These would be those who are poor, oppressed, and helpless beyond their fault.

He is to deliver those who suffer due to circumstances beyond their control.

Most of the problems where people suffer today is because our leaders have made laws that cause friction in the people.

A good leader would deliver those who are oppressed who are law abiding people.

A good leaders would not take away our freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

A good leader would save the people from oppression and stop their adversaries who only deceive and defraud the people.

An unrighteous leader would view the needy with contempt, seeing them as a burden to society and worthless.

Why is our nation faltering? It is because no one wants a righteous leader!

Even Solomon was not a righteous leader many of his days because he taxed the people so he could live an extravagant life.

God told Israel these things about a king:

Deu 17:15  Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 

Deu 17:16  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 

Deu 17:17  Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 

Deu 17:18  And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 

Deu 17:19  And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 

Deu 17:20  That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. 

Solomon ignored all these laws of God just as most all kings have done even presidents.

But the Lord Jesus Christ was innocent of any wrong doing!

Israel became a rich nation but it was just like today.

The rich got richer and the poor renamed poor and the middle class paid most of the taxes.

David prophesied of King Jesus as no one else could meet the qualifications that God had set in His Laws.

The Jews had six hundred and thirteen laws besides these things that God added to kings.

The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly portrayed the compassionate, sacrificial heart of our Savior because He cannot be different from what He is!

He is still this same Savior today with these same characteristics!

Because of Jesus our souls can be saved from a Spiritual death which means an eternal separation from God in Hell.

The Lord Jesus is soon returning to claim our bodies as well!

Solomon did become the richest man in the world, but a lot of it was wasted when He could have done more for Israel such as tax relief.

*****Psa 72:15  And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 

Psa 72:16  There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 

Psa 72:17  His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 

Verse 15 is hard to understand but it could mean “God save the King”.

People could not only greet him in the customary way, but bring gifts to him and they would pray for him.

Besides the gifts, we still do this for our own leaders.

The gift we can give is to be obedient to the laws of the land that do not go against the Word of God.

A good king would be the source of happiness and prosperity and there will never be but one good king and that is King Jesus.

Another prayer would be for the fertility of the land.

“May there be an abundance of corn in the land upon the top of the mountains?”

“May the fruit rustle like Lebanon”.

“May men flourish out of the city like the grass of the earth.”

This would be praying for the prosperity for the people of the kingdom.

These would be the things that the Lord Jesus will do after He has destroyed the earth. He will make all things new and the earth will again be like it was in the Garden of Eden.

Hos 14:5  I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 

Hos 14:6  His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 

Hos 14:7  They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

Isa 27:6  He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. 

There will also be a conversion of the Jews.

Psa 92:12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 

Psa 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 

Psa 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 

Psa 92:15  To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. 

Only the Lord Jesus fits the picture painted by verse seventeen:

Psa 45:17  I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. 

Eph 3:13  Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 

Eph 3:14  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Eph 3:15  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 

Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 

And blessed be the Lord God:

*****Psa 72:18  Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. 

Psa 72:19  And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 

Psa 72:20  The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. 

When the Messiah sits on the throne of David during the Millennial Kingdom the whole earth will be filled with God’s glory.

Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 

Isa 11:10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The Lord did wondrous things as the God of Israel by delivering them from bondage.

The Lord did wondrous things for the Church as he delivered us all from the bondage of Satan.

He did these things because His mercy endures forever!

It is our duty to praise God for what He has done for us and Israel will soon find this same thing out.

It is our honor to praise God.

It is our honor to meet each week in the House of our God to offer to Him our praise.

We will do this in Heaven, we just as well get in the practice here on earth!

It is our duty and our pleasure to honor our God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is only the lord who can do these wondrous things and does them because He loves us!

Me and my brother Mike used to talk about being saved and we would refer to this passage in the Book of James.

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. 

Our sins, as terrible as they were now are all blotted out in God’s records in Heaven!

Mike is in Heaven now and I owe it to the Lord to spend the rest of my days serving Him!

This was David’s dying prayer for his son Solomon, but the Holy Spirit used this same prayer to prophecy of the Messiah, King Jesus.

Amen