Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.
because
(Psalm 34:7)
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
(Psalm 27:3) Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident. because (Psalm 34:7) The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
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A quotation from Andrew Murray (1828-1917), South African pastor, writer, and revivalist:
_____________________________________________ In time of trouble say: First ― He brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that I will rest. Next ― He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child. Then ― He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last ― In His good time He can bring me out again ― how and when He knows. Say: I am here ― 1. By God’s appointment. 2. In His keeping. 3. Under His training. 4. For His time. _____________________________________________ As quoted in Andrew Murray: The Authorized Biography, by Leona Choy (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2004) It's time for a replay of this song. A very beautiful reminder.
(There may be a short ad before the video -- sorry.) * YouTube video "Be Still My Soul" Words by Katharine von Schlegel (1697-c.1768) Music ("Finlandia") by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) Performed here by the wonderful UK boys' choir Libera Story behind the hymn here One night not long ago I decided to take the counter-intuitive approach to some mounting frustration. I sat down with my Bible study notebook and waited for the Lord's direction. One passage He led me to was Psalm 85:
I will hear what God the Lord will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. ... Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, And our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way. Psalm 85:8-9, 12-13 The image in verse 13 strikes me deeply: Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way. His own footsteps become our way -- not the process of following in them, but His own footsteps, because He is the way. But what on earth does this mean in practical terms? I for one don't need a Christianity that only deals in abstractions; apparently neither does God. The other day God added another dimension to the image. Taking Louie Giglio up on his advice at the end of "Fear Must Fall," I began soaking in Psalm 23. It's so familiar, most of us could recite it in our sleep, but I had never noticed that in verse 3b... He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. ...the word "paths" literally means "tracks." This made me think of a reflection I posted here on "tracks" a couple of years ago, concerning Psalm 65. The metaphor is cool enough to bear repeating, so I hope you don't mind if I link to that post ("Wagon tracks," August 2012). In Psalm 23, the image is even more intimate, because the tracks are made by the feet of our Shepherd. How is this practical? It's practical because the Christian life is a process of learning to let Him walk in our feet. And wherever His feet make genuine contact, deep healing begins. In a world where the level of anxiety seems to intensify by the day, what could be more practical? I sang this for the first time several months ago at church and fell in love with it, both with the lyrics and with the wonderful Early American tune composed by Lewis Edson. Most versions of this song use another tune, so every once in a while I check the Internet for a performance of it with Edson's tune. I haven't found one yet, but I did find this audio file of Edson's version from hymnal.net. I hope you enjoy it.
The words are powerful, extremely welcome to me during these puzzling, uncertain days the world has set foot in. I had to think a while about the wording "More happy, but not more secure..." It didn't make sense at first. But of course! We are just as secure now, in Christ, as we will be when we are with Him in heaven. Hymnal.net audio file "A Debtor to Mercy Alone" lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778) (who also wrote "Rock of Ages") music by Lewis Edson (1748-1820) Lyrics * A debtor to mercy alone, Of covenant mercy I sing, Nor fear, with God’s righteousness on, My person and off’rings to bring. The terrors of law and of God With me can have nothing to do; My Savior’s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions from view. The work which His goodness began, The arm of His strength will complete; His promise is Yea and Amen, And never was forfeited yet. Things future, nor things that are now, Not all things below or above, Can make Him His purpose forego, Or sever my soul from His love. My name from the palms of His hands Eternity will not erase; Imprest on His heart, it remains In marks of indelible grace. Yes! I to the end shall endure, As sure as the earnest is giv’n; More happy, but not more secure, When all earthly ties have been riv’n. * source This message couldn't be more pertinent to me today.
"Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious, because He was not out to realise His own ideas; He was out to realise God’s ideas." Oswald Chambers, "One of God's Great Don'ts," My Utmost for His Highest (classic), July 4 |
All thy sins were laid upon Him, Jesus bore them on the tree;
God, who knew them, laid them on Him, and, believing, thou art free. Joseph Denham Smith (c. 1817-1889) Praise reflection archives
May 2020
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...take root downward and bear fruit upward.
2 Kings 19:30 |