It is about Him...: 01/22/23

Sunday, January 22, 2023

For Whatever Things Were Written Before Were Written for Our Learning…

I have been reading Exodus in the evenings and have reached the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. As I perused some of the cross-references associated with the Exodus and the Red Sea parting, I was reminded that both the prophets and the psalmists wrote about it. (chapters and verses below) The psalmists enthusiastically praised Him for His mighty works and the prophets used the exodus to encourage the Jewish exiles in their return to their land after the Babylonian captivity. The prophets also wrote about them to motivate the backslidden people to return to the Lord.

Beloved…These Scriptures are also for each of us. As I read through them my heart was amazed and also filled with praise right along with countless others who have read these very same Scriptures and been encouraged.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.—Romans 15:4-6

This morning at church we sang “Be Thou My Vision”, and I was reminded that He truly is our best thought by day or by night…waking or sleeping, His presence is our light.

Beloved…Look to your own life as you read the Scriptures below and began to thank Him for all that he has likewise accomplished in you, through you and for you.

Thank him for all His manifold and wondrous blessings…

Thank Him for…

—For his wonderful works…for they are mighty

—for His faithfulness which is eternal in the heavens

—for His merciful kindness toward those in rebellion,

—for Asaph’s beautiful prayers of restoration and repentance for his countrymen,

—for His forgiveness

—for His enduring mercy

—for His enduring Presence in the lives of those that belong to Him.

—for His deliverances

—for His amazing, never stopping love

—for His warnings, His statutes and His judgments

—for His joy, His protection, and His chastening

—for His sovereignty, His providential care, and His redeeming love

—for His care and His comfort

Praising God for His awesome works.

Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

Sing out the honor of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

Say to God,

"How awesome are Your works!

Through the greatness of Your power

Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.

All the earth shall worship You

And sing praises to You;

They shall sing praises to Your name."

Selah

Come and see the works of God;

He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.

He turned the sea into dry land;

They went through the river on foot.

There we will rejoice in Him.

He rules by His power forever;

His eyes observe the nations;

Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

Oh, bless our God, you peoples!

And make the voice of His praise to be heard,

Who keeps our soul among the living,

And does not allow our feet to be moved.

For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined.

You brought us into the net;

You laid affliction on our backs.

You have caused men to ride over our heads;

We went through fire and through water;

But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;

I will pay You my vows,

Which my lips have uttered

And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.

I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,

With the sweet aroma of rams;

I will offer bulls with goats.

Selah

Come and hear, all you who fear God,

And I will declare what He has done for my soul.

I cried to Him with my mouth,

And He was extolled with my tongue.

If I regard iniquity in my heart,

The Lord will not hear.

But certainly God has heard me;

He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God,

Who has not turned away my prayer,

Nor His mercy from me!—Psalm 66

God's Kindness to Rebellious Israel

A Contemplation of Asaph.

Give ear, O my people, to my law;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old,

Which we have heard and known,

And our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children,

Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,

And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

For He established a testimony in Jacob,

And appointed a law in Israel,

Which He commanded our fathers,

That they should make them known to their children;

That the generation to come might know them,

The children who would be born,

That they may arise and declare them to their children,

That they may set their hope in God,

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments;

And may not be like their fathers,

A stubborn and rebellious generation,

A generation that did not set its heart aright,

And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,

Turned back in the day of battle.

They did not keep the covenant of God;

They refused to walk in His law,

And forgot His works

And His wonders that He had shown them.

Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,

In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;

And He made the waters stand up like a heap.

In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,

And all the night with a light of fire.

He split the rocks in the wilderness,

And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.

He also brought streams out of the rock,

And caused waters to run down like rivers.

But they sinned even more against Him

By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.

And they tested God in their heart

By asking for the food of their fancy.

Yes, they spoke against God:

They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

Behold, He struck the rock,

So that the waters gushed out,

And the streams overflowed.

Can He give bread also?

Can He provide meat for His people?"

Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;

So a fire was kindled against Jacob,

And anger also came up against Israel,

Because they did not believe in God,

And did not trust in His salvation.

Yet He had commanded the clouds above,

And opened the doors of heaven,

Had rained down manna on them to eat,

And given them of the bread of heaven.

Men ate angels' food;

He sent them food to the full.

He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;

And by His power He brought in the south wind.

He also rained meat on them like the dust,

Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;

And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,

All around their dwellings.

So they ate and were well filled,

For He gave them their own desire.

They were not deprived of their craving;

But while their food was still in their mouths,

The wrath of God came against them,

And slew the stoutest of them,

And struck down the choice men of Israel.

In spite of this they still sinned,

And did not believe in His wondrous works.

Therefore their days He consumed in futility,

And their years in fear.

When He slew them, then they sought Him;

And they returned and sought earnestly for God.

Then they remembered that God was their rock,

And the Most High God their Redeemer.

Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,

And they lied to Him with their tongue;

For their heart was not steadfast with Him,

Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,

And did not destroy them.

Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,

And did not stir up all His wrath;

For He remembered that they were but flesh,

A breath that passes away and does not come again.

How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,

And grieved Him in the desert!

Yes, again and again they tempted God,

And limited the Holy One of Israel.

They did not remember His power:

The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,

When He worked His signs in Egypt,

And His wonders in the field of Zoan;

Turned their rivers into blood,

And their streams, that they could not drink.

He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,

And frogs, which destroyed them.

He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,

And their labor to the locust.

He destroyed their vines with hail,

And their sycamore trees with frost.

He also gave up their cattle to the hail,

And their flocks to fiery lightning.

He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,

Wrath, indignation, and trouble,

By sending angels of destruction among them.

He made a path for His anger;

He did not spare their soul from death,

But gave their life over to the plague,

And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,

The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.

But He made His own people go forth like sheep,

And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;

But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

And He brought them to His holy border,

This mountain which His right hand had acquired.

He also drove out the nations before them,

Allotted them an inheritance by survey,

And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,

And did not keep His testimonies,

But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;

They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,

And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

When God heard this, He was furious,

And greatly abhorred Israel,

So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,

The tent He had placed among men,

And delivered His strength into captivity,

And His glory into the enemy's hand.

He also gave His people over to the sword,

And was furious with His inheritance.

The fire consumed their young men,

And their maidens were not given in marriage.

Their priests fell by the sword,

And their widows made no lamentation.

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.

And He beat back His enemies;

He put them to a perpetual reproach.

Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,

And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

But chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion which He loved.

And He built His sanctuary like the heights,

Like the earth which He has established forever.

He also chose David His servant,

And took him from the sheepfolds;

From following the ewes that had young He brought him,

To shepherd Jacob His people,

And Israel His inheritance.

So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,

And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.—Psalm 78

Prayer for Israel's Restoration

To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Lilies." A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

You who lead Joseph like a flock;

You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,

Stir up Your strength,

And come and save us!

Restore us, O God;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

O LORD God of hosts,

How long will You be angry

Against the prayer of Your people?

You have fed them with the bread of tears,

And given them tears to drink in great measure.

You have made us a strife to our neighbors,

And our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

You have brought a vine out of Egypt;

You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

You prepared room for it,

And caused it to take deep root,

And it filled the land.

The hills were covered with its shadow,

And the mighty cedars with its boughs.

She sent out her boughs to the Sea,

And her branches to the River.

Why have You broken down her hedges,

So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

The boar out of the woods uproots it,

And the wild beast of the field devours it.

Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;

Look down from heaven and see,

And visit this vine

And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,

And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,

Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.

Then we will not turn back from You;

Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!—Psalm 80

An Appeal for Israel's Repentance

To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph.

Sing aloud to God our strength;

Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

Raise a song and strike the timbrel,

The pleasant harp with the lute.

Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,

At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.

For this is a statute for Israel,

A law of the God of Jacob.

This He established in Joseph as a testimony,

When He went throughout the land of Egypt,

Where I heard a language I did not understand.

"I removed his shoulder from the burden;

His hands were freed from the baskets.

You called in trouble, and I delivered you;

I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah

"Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you!

O Israel, if you will listen to Me!

There shall be no foreign god among you;

Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

I am the LORD your God,

Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

"But My people would not heed My voice,

And Israel would have none of Me.

So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart,

To walk in their own counsels.

"Oh, that My people would listen to Me,

That Israel would walk in My ways!

I would soon subdue their enemies,

And turn My hand against their adversaries.

The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him,

But their fate would endure forever.

He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat;

And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you."—Psalm 81

The Eternal Faithfulness of the LORD

(Ex. 7:8—11:10; 1 Chr. 16:8–22)

Oh, give thanks to the LORD!

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;

Talk of all His wondrous works!

Glory in His holy name;

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!

Seek the LORD and His strength;

Seek His face evermore!

Remember His marvelous works which He has done,

His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

O seed of Abraham His servant,

You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

He is the LORD our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers His covenant forever,

The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,

The covenant which He made with Abraham,

And His oath to Isaac,

And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,

To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan

As the allotment of your inheritance,"

When they were few in number,

Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

When they went from one nation to another,

From one kingdom to another people,

He permitted no one to do them wrong;

Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,

Saying, "Do not touch My anointed ones,

And do My prophets no harm."

Moreover He called for a famine in the land;

He destroyed all the provision of bread.

He sent a man before them—

Joseph—who was sold as a slave.

They hurt his feet with fetters,

He was laid in irons.

Until the time that his word came to pass,

The word of the LORD tested him.

The king sent and released him,

The ruler of the people let him go free.

He made him lord of his house,

And ruler of all his possessions,

To bind his princes at his pleasure,

And teach his elders wisdom.

Israel also came into Egypt,

And Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.

He increased His people greatly,

And made them stronger than their enemies.

He turned their heart to hate His people,

To deal craftily with His servants.

He sent Moses His servant,

And Aaron whom He had chosen.

They performed His signs among them,

And wonders in the land of Ham.

He sent darkness, and made it dark;

And they did not rebel against His word.

He turned their waters into blood,

And killed their fish.

Their land abounded with frogs,

Even in the chambers of their kings.

He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,

And lice in all their territory.

He gave them hail for rain,

And flaming fire in their land.

He struck their vines also, and their fig trees,

And splintered the trees of their territory.

He spoke, and locusts came,

Young locusts without number,

And ate up all the vegetation in their land,

And devoured the fruit of their ground.

He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land,

The first of all their strength.

He also brought them out with silver and gold,

And there was none feeble among His tribes.

Egypt was glad when they departed,

For the fear of them had fallen upon them.

He spread a cloud for a covering,

And fire to give light in the night.

The people asked, and He brought quail,

And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

It ran in the dry places like a river.

For He remembered His holy promise,

And Abraham His servant.

He brought out His people with joy,

His chosen ones with gladness.

He gave them the lands of the Gentiles,

And they inherited the labor of the nations,

That they might observe His statutes

And keep His laws.

Praise the LORD!—Psalm 105

Joy in Forgiveness of Israel's Sins

Praise the LORD!

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD?

Who can declare all His praise?

Blessed are those who keep justice,

And he who does righteousness at all times!

Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people.

Oh, visit me with Your salvation,

That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,

That I may glory with Your inheritance.

We have sinned with our fathers,

We have committed iniquity,

We have done wickedly.

Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;

They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies,

But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.

Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake,

That He might make His mighty power known.

He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up;

So He led them through the depths,

As through the wilderness.

He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,

And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their enemies;

There was not one of them left.

Then they believed His words;

They sang His praise.

They soon forgot His works;

They did not wait for His counsel,

But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,

And tested God in the desert.

And He gave them their request,

But sent leanness into their soul.

When they envied Moses in the camp,

And Aaron the saint of the LORD,

The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,

And covered the faction of Abiram.

A fire was kindled in their company;

The flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf in Horeb,

And worshiped the molded image.

Thus they changed their glory

Into the image of an ox that eats grass.

They forgot God their Savior,

Who had done great things in Egypt,

Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

Awesome things by the Red Sea.

Therefore He said that He would destroy them,

Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach,

To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.

Then they despised the pleasant land;

They did not believe His word,

But complained in their tents,

And did not heed the voice of the LORD.

Therefore He raised His hand in an oath against them,

To overthrow them in the wilderness,

To overthrow their descendants among the nations,

And to scatter them in the lands.

They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,

And ate sacrifices made to the dead.

Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

And the plague was stopped.

And that was accounted to him for righteousness

To all generations forevermore.

They angered Him also at the waters of strife,

So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;

Because they rebelled against His Spirit,

So that he spoke rashly with his lips.

They did not destroy the peoples,

Concerning whom the LORD had commanded them,

But they mingled with the Gentiles

And learned their works;

They served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

They even sacrificed their sons

And their daughters to demons,

And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with blood.

Thus they were defiled by their own works,

And played the harlot by their own deeds.

Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled against His people,

So that He abhorred His own inheritance.

And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Many times He delivered them;

But they rebelled in their counsel,

And were brought low for their iniquity.

Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,

When He heard their cry;

And for their sake He remembered His covenant,

And relented according to the multitude of His mercies.

He also made them to be pitied

By all those who carried them away captive.

Save us, O LORD our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

To triumph in Your praise.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, "Amen!"

Praise the LORD!—Psalm 106

Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!

For His mercy endures forever.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!

For His mercy endures forever:

To Him who alone does great wonders,