Psalm 9
A Psalm of David.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
Psalm Nine reminds me the day of judgement comes for all of us. The Book of Revelation is not all about the end of the world - rather the beginning of the next stage to eternity. This last verse of Joel 3 reminds us a far different life awaits us - no stranger in a large city.
Joel 3:14-17
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.
17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.
Matthew Henry's quote about the Psalms is "This is a Warm Place in which to Dwell." The Psalms are written about life. As are all the Scriptures, but David so richly lived all aspects of life. The Psalms will comfort you, when comfort is scarce. Will give you words of praise when the glories of His blessings, life and world give you joy and gratitude. Freely acknowledge no one is universally loved. We tend to live in cellophane wrappers, and hope evil stays well away, the Scriptures remind us to name evil. To avoid the pit denial can be.
You really should find your Daily Psalm. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and the Psalms find us recognizing the beginning of this - today. Read the Psalms!!! They were written for you!!!! How can you tell - your heart will grow warm with the recognition. This is written in Jesus meeting the disciples upon the road and In Joshua 2 Rahab knew the men who were spies were sent from the Lord.
Matthew 12:14-21
14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah [42:1-3]:
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
I'd been a Christian for more than two decades when it was pointed out to me how many times the Scriptures said, "He healed them all." I remembered a lot of healings, the ones written about in more than a few sentences. Yet that small phrase "healed them all." Sometimes Scripture says they sought to touch Him & not just Jesus reaching out. Sometimes He physically touched them, and it also says merely, "He healed them all."
Psalm Nine blends into this well with He wipes away every tear.
Surely in the day of Jesus walking our lives on this earth, a lot of people were ill. When you think about the age: slavery, war, destruction, highway robbery, people born blind & the parable of the Good Samaritan - this was a difficult time. Not just the people who were deaf, blind, ill, but the sorrow of the people who had seen difficult things happen to loved ones. Children who died, loved ones who died in child birth, people who were well and suddenly died of fever. There are a lot of stipulations in the Bible for the fatherless and the widow.
What does it mean, "He healed them all?" The Word of God, proclaimed in love. The hopeless, the fearful, the lonely & the cut to the quick. The ones who had heard the Word of God in their youth - life had stamped on their seed of hope. The fruit of circumstance and the weed of bitterness, the joy found in life, had robbed them of their greatest need - the need of God.
These people who found Jesus had put aside the every day of life, they sought Him. Jesus didn't stay to quarrel, debate the Pharisees, shock, anger, and create a stir - Jesus wasn't a sidewalk hack or a temperamental star.
No, Jesus repaired the bruised reed. Jesus rekindled the flickering flame, the light became a torch. Jesus gave hope & mercy to the word - justice. Jesus didn't select a few, the light of Jesus Christ is for all. Not just to the eyes blessed to see Him, but those who look to Him in faith, after He died, and today.
“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
Matthew 18:21-19:2 ~ forgive your brother from your heart
Matthew 18:21-19:2
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.[a monetary unit worth 20 years' salary] 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii,[a day wage] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,[torturers] until he should pay all his debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
And He healed them there
The true feeling of forgiveness is exactly the same as the one we all experienced as a child, when we would swim underwater and come up gasping for air.
Even thinking of forgiveness has aspects of renewal. Jesus said we will be with Him in Paradise. He renews and heals us, sometimes in this life, but His promises are for us.
Thank You, Father God.
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Today has three passages, this appears to be Trinity Sunday.
Clark said people think Christians are crazy to believe in the Trinity. Three people in one. I, personally, have no problem with the concept of the Trinity. God created the Universe with His Word and if HE feels like being three aspects, or people, then I don't see the problem.
I once heard the Trinity explained as this: God the Father sent out His Holy Spirit to move people along in His Plan. And sent His Word incarnate, as His Son, accomplishing His promises for us. That to me is an analogy Jesus used explaining His Father as King. A King is needed to sit upon His mercy seat, throne. However a King needs to be among the people to ascertain the condition of His people. He sends out someone He implicitly trusts. Later, when His Heir arrives, the King sends His Son.
Mark 12:6
He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
God comforts us by telling us how closely the Trinity is part of HIM.
Matthew 3:17
and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."
With all aspects of Father God showing up for the Transfiguration.
Mark 12
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
This is the tandem in which the Holy Trinity of God works.
Matthew 19:17
"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good."
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