As the Shadow of a Great Rock in a Weary Land…

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

And princes will rule with justice.

A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,

And a cover from the tempest,

As rivers of water in a dry place,

As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.—Isaiah 32:1-2

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,

And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

The work of righteousness will be peace,

And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,

In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,

Though hail comes down on the forest,

And the city is brought low in humiliation.—Isaiah 32:16-19

The historical context of this passage refers to Hezekiah and to other good kings who were the means of great blessings to kingdom of Judah as it declined. But Isaiah also speaks here of a time in the future…the 1000 year reign of Christ which will occur after the great tribulation, when the Messiah will rule in righteousness. Every person who enters this kingdom will be a believer. Every person who enters will be indwelt by the Spirit of God. Each one will be to the other as a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place and as the shadow of a rock in a weary land.  This age will be marked by righteousness.  God’s people will dwell peacefully and securely.

Beloved…Today these words of Isaiah brought joy to my heart. I am in Christ. My future is secure.  Heaven awaits. Jesus has by His death on the cross imputed to me His righteousness.  Therefore, through Him I not only have peace with God, I also have the peace of God. Today, the Man, Jesus, is my hiding place from the wind, and my covering from the tempest. He is to me as rivers of water in a dry place and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.  In Him, I live and move and have my being. In Him, I dwell securely. Nothing can separate me from His love. He is my peaceful habitation to which I can continually resort. 

Behold, This is Our God…

 O LORD, You are my God.

I will exalt You,

I will praise Your name,

For You have done wonderful things;

Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

For You have made a city a ruin,

A fortified city a ruin,

A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;

It will never be rebuilt.

Therefore the strong people will glorify You;

The city of the terrible nations will fear You.

For You have been a strength to the poor,

A strength to the needy in his distress,

A refuge from the storm,

A shade from the heat;

For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

You will reduce the noise of aliens,

As heat in a dry place;

As heat in the shadow of a cloud,

The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.

And in this mountain

The LORD of hosts will make for all people

A feast of choice pieces,

A feast of wines on the lees,

Of fat things full of marrow,

Of well-refined wines on the lees.

And He will destroy on this mountain

The surface of the covering cast over all people,

And the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever,

And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces;

The rebuke of His people

He will take away from all the earth;

For the LORD has spoken.

And it will be said in that day:

"Behold, this is our God;

We have waited for Him, and He will save us.

This is the LORD;

We have waited for Him;

We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."

For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest,

And Moab shall be trampled down under Him,

As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.

And He will spread out His hands in their midst

As a swimmer reaches out to swim,

And He will bring down their pride

Together with the trickery of their hands.

The fortress of the high fort of your walls

He will bring down, lay low,

And bring to the ground, down to the dust.—Isaiah 25

Walvoord says this about Isaiah Chapter 25:

Isaiah was speaking of a future time when (after God’s worldwide judgment) His people in Israel and other nations will feast together in peace and prosperity. This is the 1,000-year reign of Christ.—Walvoord

The prophet here addresses God instead of the people. Isaiah has the knowledge of the truth of God and it causes him to lift His voice in praise and worship for who God is and what He has done and what He will do. Specifically, here His future victory over all enemies and the final deliverance of Israel in the Day of the Lord. This chapter for me and every believer is our reality both now and forever. When I read Isaiah 25, the eyes of my heart see Jesus in every verse. 

So this morning I lift up my voice with Isaiah and worship Him who is and was and is to come! 

O LORD, You are my God.

I will exalt You,

I will praise Your name,

For You have done wonderful things;

Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.—Isaiah 25:1

My Jesus is my strength, my song and has become my salvation.  He is my refuge…my ever present help in times of trouble. He is a shade for me in the heat of my trials. He silences the noise of my enemies and brings me peace. Psalm 23:5 is perfect here…

For You have been a strength to the poor,

A strength to the needy in his distress,

A refuge from the storm,

A shade from the heat;

For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

You will reduce the noise of aliens,

As heat in a dry place;

As heat in the shadow of a cloud,

The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.—Isaiah 25:4-5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.—Psalm 23:5

The verses below as I read them brought to mind the provisions found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Read them and praise Him along with me for His gracious lovingkindness. 

And in this mountain

The LORD of hosts will make for all people

A feast of choice pieces,

A feast of wines on the lees,

Of fat things full of marrow,

Of well-refined wines on the lees.

And He will destroy on this mountain

The surface of the covering cast over all people,

And the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever,

And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces;

The rebuke of His people

He will take away from all the earth;

For the LORD has spoken.

And it will be said in that day:

"Behold, this is our God;

We have waited for Him, and He will save us.

This is the LORD;

We have waited for Him;

We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."

For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest—Isaiah 25:6-10

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.—John 3:16-17

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.—Ephesians 2:4-7

Life IS Hard and Very Often Filled with Sorrow…

I have been reading and rereading Psalm 146 over the past couple of days. This morning I was going to write on it but found that I already had. It was a blessing for me to read and by God’s grace I pray it is to you as well.  

Ps 146 begins and ends in the same way...Praise the LORD!  Verses 1 and 2 speak to the psalmist commitment to praise. What stopped me here...as silly as it might sound...were the words, “O my soul”.   You hear that a lot in the Psalms.  Sometimes I can read a phrase again and again and really not think about its meaning.  This was NOT one of those times.  The Psalmist is exhorting himself to practice what he preached!  Sometimes that is soooo hard.  My soul this morning was not in a place that lends itself easily to praise...a place of sorrow and grief.

Truth be told there IS much ongoing heartache and sorrow in my life that I am powerless to remedy.  The underlying song and background melody of my heart is joyful gratitude for all my God has done, but often my immediate presenting emotion is grief. In the past I have fought hard against this grief allowing myself to be deceived into thinking it wasn’t a big deal...that my grief wasn’t really that hard or even that sad...that I was just being a baby.  Condemnation is from the enemy.  Life IS hard and very often filled with sorrow.   There are and will be seasons where“Sorrow and Suffering” will be constant companions.   We ALL will face sorrows here on this earth...the difference is whether we face them with Him or without Him. I am so grateful that by His grace, I face my sorrows with Him!   AND THAT is where I began praising my God this morning. 

Beloved...Sing praises to God!  Sing praises to JAH...JEHOVAH!  He is the self existent One, who derives His being from none, but gives life to all.  Beloved, we serve an all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present God who is so great that He rides on the clouds, but also so very very kind that He condescends to help the weakest among us.  REJOICE!  Our God is the One described in Psalm 146.  

—He keeps truth forever,

—He executes justice for the oppressed,

—He gives food to the hungry.

—He gives freedom to the prisoners.

—He opens the eyes of the blind;

—He raises those who are bowed down;

—He loves the righteous.

—He watches over the strangers;

—He relieves the fatherless and widow;

—He turns upside down the way of the wicked.

The God of Israel is He who gives comfort, strength and power to His people.  Blessed be God!

Therefore, We Do Not Lose Heart…

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.—2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The older I get the harder it becomes to ignore all my sufferings, because they are my constant companions and become more diversified and numerous as time marches on.  Age also increases the likelihood that we have become intimately acquainted with not only physical trials, but also with difficult emotional ones as well.  It is HARD in our flesh NOT to lose heart!  

Day in and day out, here in our bodies, we ARE growing old.  But as our outward man perishes, our spirit - our inward man - is being renewed and transformed daily into His likeness.  Paul calls our time here in our bodies short, light and temporary affliction which cannot be compared with the weight of what is to come.  Beloved, our earthly eyes oftentimes see life here on earth as tedious, long, grievous and heavy.  It is only by faith that we can see and judge them as Paul does...as lightness itself and but for a moment because the glory that is to be revealed is weighty and lasting.  

Paul did not fear this heavy, long and often grievous life, nor did he fear death. His faith gave him the victory over fear...He focused on the eternal rather than the temporal.  Like Paul, we know that Jesus’ resurrection is an assurance of our own. Death for believers means that we are now absent from our body and present with the Lord.  Knowing this brings us comfort in our time of trial and keeps us from fear.  We can say with David:

I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the LORD always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope.

10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

11 You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:7-11

Beloved, we walk by faith and not by sight.  Choose to look at the heavenly, and not the earthly.  Abide and allow God’s eternal truth to wash over you every morning.  Look to Jesus in whom consolations abound.  

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?—1 John 5:4

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.—Hebrews 12: 1-2

Don’t Fall For it…

 4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’ 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”  12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”  13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

A quick read thru of chapter 36 tells me that Satan has not changed his tactics.  Fear was his weapon then and is the same one he still uses today.  He wields it with much skill and authority. His goal is to make you question where you are placing your faith. 

Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? —Isaiah 36:4

Beloved…fear is not of God.  Do not surrender to it.  Honor your God by placing your trust moment by moment in Him. Our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth. 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.—2 Timothy 1:7

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.—1 John 4:18

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”—Isaiah 41:3

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.—John 14:27

In your distress call on your God. He is faithful. He is among those who help you.

5 I called on the LORD in distress;

The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.

6 The LORD is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

7 The LORD is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.

8 It is better to trust in the LORD

Than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to trust in the LORD

Than to put confidence in princes.—Psalm 118:5-9

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.—Psalm 121

Once Friends Now Enemies Continually...

1 Samuel 18 is the turning point for David and Saul's relationship...once fast friends, here in 18 we read they became enemies continually.  God had surrounded Saul, the Bible tells us, with valiant men whose hearts He had touched.  God had also brought David into Saul's life.  David was a man after God's own heart.  David loved Saul....and the word tells us that Saul had loved David greatly.  What happened to cause the change of heart on Saul's part?  We read this in Chapter 18:

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.† And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.--1 Samuel 18:5-9

David was getting lots of attention...Saul did not like it.  From this point on there were continuous attempts by Saul on David's life.  Further down in Chapter 18 we read:

And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.  But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. --1 Samuel 18:12-16

and by the end of the chapter we read this:

And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him.  And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually. Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.--1 Samuel 18:28-30

David who at one time was a beloved, faithful and loyal servant to Saul had now become his enemy continually. WHY...because Saul knew that the Lord was with David.   How sad!  Saul's turning away from David says much about where Saul's own relationship was with his Lord.   David's godly obedience must have pierced him to the heart causing Saul to see what could have been in his own life if he had obeyed God.  His sin and failure must have loomed large when David was in view.

The same is true for us when we turn away from the godly people God has placed in our own lives and instead begin to surround ourselves with the world.  Sure, we will have lots of reasons for doing what we do, but whatever the reason,  the overruling reason is that their godliness confronts us with the sin in our life that we do not want to see.  Our downhill slide has begun.  Turning away from our godly friends, however, was not the first step in this slide.  The first steps were those taken in the opposite direction of our Father in Heaven.

This passage should serve as a warning to each of us.  Examine your heart...keep it with all diligence.  If you have drifted off course, draw near once again to your God, confess your sin and do an about face. Ask Him to show you what you are running from...what are you loving more than him?

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.--Hebrews 2:1

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”--Isaiah 30:15

Addendum...a word to those who are the David’s in this passage...

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.—Matthew 5:10-12

Is the Spirit of the Lord Restricted?

You who are named the house of Jacob:

"Is the Spirit of the LORD restricted?

Are these His doings?

Do not My words do good

To him who walks uprightly?—Micah 2:7

Sometimes I feel restricted by me. Hemmed in by my flesh. I give in to my emotions allowing them to rule rather than the Spirit of God. I cling to things that are seen rather than rising on eagles wings into the heavenlies with Christ.  I focus on my problems rather than meditate on scripture.  I have a pity party instead of counting my endless blessings.  

Beloved…The Spirit of the Lord is not restricted. Where the Spirit of God is there is power and as believers that power dwells in us!  He alone can release us from the prison of our flesh and help us to walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called. In us nothing good dwells. But in Him is life, strength, wisdom, goodness and peace. God’s arm is not shortened. There is nothing too hard for Him. When you feel yourself sinking..turn and cry out to the Spirit of God to revive your heart and sanctify your walk.

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,

And revive me in Your way.

Establish Your word to Your servant,

Who is devoted to fearing You.—Psalm 119:37-38

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.—Ephesian 5:17-21

I sought the LORD, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!—Psalm 34:1-7

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.—Psalm 84:11