Psalm 18 ~ the Word of the Lord proves true

Psalm 18

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—

32 the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.

36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you rescued me from the man of violence.

49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.

George Carlin used to say, in the seventies, "God can throw a boat right over a hedge."

God would agree.

20 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.





Excavations to Jericho ~ 
At the north end, a portion of the mud brick wall atop the stone retaining wall survived, demonstrating  the city wall did not fall in this area. Nothing remains of the mud brick city wall at other points investigated, showing that it had collapsed everywhere else.


Remnants of the collapsed city wall were actually found still in place in three places at Jericho. According to the Bible, Rahab’s house was incorporated into the fortification system (Jos 2:15). If the walls fell, how was her house spared? As you recall, the spies instructed Rahab to bring her family into her house and they would be rescued. When the Israelites stormed the city, Rahab and her family were saved as promised (Jos 6:17, 22–23). At the north end of the tell of Jericho, archaeologists made some astounding discoveries that seem to relate to Rahab. A portion of that mudbrick wall was still standing to a height of 8 ft. What is more, there were houses built against the wall! It is quite possible that this is where Rahab’s house was located.

 


We have learned of battles in the middle of the night where troops turned on themselves and went home. We know of Biblical prophecies fulfilled. Mostly this is people hearing in faith and walking in faith. Like Moses with his hands held up high for the battle. 2 Samuel 5 has David listening to the wind to hear when God is with him.

 


Eliat Miazar found David's Palace by looking for the Biblical directions. She found the clue, David built outside of the city walls - trusting God to protect him more than walls a troop can climb. 







Amazing Miracles During Time of War -

by Perry Stone
  
Astonishing miracles  have occurred in previous warsIsrael has fought. 

Many of the incidents are equal to the miracles we read about in the Bible. 

 Edmund “The Bull” Allenby
In 1917, the Egyptian Expeditionary Forces were moving across the Sinai Desert, headed toward Israel and Jerusalem. Edmund “The Bull” Allenby was the Christian General directing the army.

After arriving in Israel, Allenby was concerned about bloodshed in the Holy City of Jerusalem. After prayer, he read in his Bible the following passage:

“For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

“As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.”
- Isaiah 31:4-5

Allenby noticed the prophecy alluded to a lion. Being from England, the General knew the emblem of the British Empire was a lion. Isaiah predicted God would fight for Zion (Jerusalem) as a lion. 

He then observed how the battle would be won... by birds flying.
Allenby decided to fly small scout planes over Jerusalem and drop notes in the Turkish language instructing the Turks to surrender Jerusalem. Having never seen an airplane, many of the Turks became fearful. After reading the pieces of paper dropping from the planes, the demand was to surrender Jerusalem. It was signed Allenby. In Arabic, the phrase Allah Nebi (similar to Allenby) means God’s Prophet. Needless to say, the Turks gave up Jerusalem without firing a shot and the British took control of the Holy City in 1917, where they occupied it until 1948.



The Battle of Netanyahu in 1948
When Israel was restored as a nation on May 15th, 1948, they were virtually unarmed. As a nation they owned five machine guns with about fifteen rounds of ammunition. They owned one mortar shell, and one tank. The surrounding Arab nations gave Israel one week to exist.

Between Tel-Aviv and Haifa the battle of Netanyahu occurred. The attack was planned by the Arabs to begin eight days after Israel’s proclaimed independence. However the Israelis’ had an idea that would be a trick, but it might work. On May 23rd, 1948, at midnight, the men, women and children lined cars, trucks, taxis, and anything they could find with an engine, side by side along the beach. They removed the exhaust pipes from all the vehicles.

At the same time another group took a number of large oil drums, put rocks in them and placed them at the top of the hill. At a given signal the engines were started and the drums were rolled down the hills. Early in the morning, the Arabs were awakened in the distance by a loud blasting and rumbling sound that filled the entire area. They were unable to see where the noise was coming from. The Arabs thought America had brought in Sherman Tanks. The entire Arab army of men fled, leaving behind a large chase of artillery.

 


The Battle of Bethshean
The Jews had no weapons to fight with. Then someone had an idea to trick the Arabs into giving up the city. A truck carrying metal pipes had wrecked. There were also a number of old wagons in the area. The Jewish men took the wagon wheels, and laid the metal pipes between them, forming what appeared to be cannons. In all, twenty fake cannons were created from the pipes and wheels.

That night they set the fake cannons around the city. In their possession they had two mortars. The next morning they called into the city demanding the Arabs to give up the city or suffer destruction. The Arab leader laughed and the Jews shot a mortar into the city. The Jewish leader then told the Arab leader that he was surrounded by new cannons. A second mortar was fired from the opposite side and the Arabs, fearing the consequences the Arabs surrendered the city.



God has said that the righteous are protected, when the wicked want wickedness and will believe delusion.  God protects His believers Psalm 116.


2 Thessalonians 2
11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Romans 1:28
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

Proverbs 1:7,22,29
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge






After the Battle of Monongahela, George Washington wrote from Fort Cumberland to his younger brother, John Augustine Washington, July 18, 1755:

“But by the All-Powerful Dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!”


The United States and President Washington had another miraculous escape:


Marching all night long, Red Coats made a surprise attack on the Continental Army from behind on Aug. 27, 1776. An estimated 3,000 Americans were killed or wounded compared to only 392 British casualties.

General Washington watched 400 soldiers of the First Maryland Regiment charge six times directly into the British lines, allowing the rest of the Continental Army to find cover, he exclaimed: “Good God, what brave fellows I have lost this day.”

British General Howe trapped the American troops on Brooklyn Heights with their backs against the sea. That night, Washington made the desperate decision to evacuate his entire army by ferrying it across the East River to Manhattan Island.

The sea was tumultuous where the British ships were, but with amazing good fortune, calm in the East River allowing Washington’s boats to transport troops, horses and cannons. The next morning, as the sun began to rise, half of the America troops were still in danger, but a “miraculously” thick fog lingered, blocking the evacuation from being seen by the British.

Major Ben Tallmadge, Washington’s Chief of Intelligence, wrote: “As the dawn of the next day approached, those of us who remained in the trenches became very anxious for our own safety, and when the dawn appeared there were several regiments still on duty. At this time a very dense fog began to rise off the river, and it seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments. I recollect this peculiar providential occurrence perfectly well, and so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance. … We tarried until the sun had risen, but the fog remained as dense as ever.”

General Washington was on the last boat that left. Had the Americans not been hidden, they would have been captured and Washington would have been hung.



The Ship with Paper Missiles
The year was 1956. Israel had been a modern nation for eight years, surrounded by hostile enemies who were planning wars to destroy the Jewish state. The navy of Israel was for all purposes, almost non existent. The main enemy of Israel was the Egyptians, under the leadership of President Nasser. The Egyptians had several battleships and Nasser gave orders to move one of the large ships toward Haifa, in Israel.

The Israelis had one beat-up hull of a ship. They immediately painted it and put huge paper Mache missiles on the deck. When the Egyptian ship arrived, the Israeli’s sent a smaller boat out to meet it and warned them they had a new ship with very large missiles pointed at the Egyptians. The orders were given for the Egyptians to surrender immediately, or be destroyed. Oddly enough, the Egyptians surrendered their battleship, to a hull with fake missiles!

The Miracle of the 67 War
Numerous miracles were reported during the famous 1967 war. One such story involved a Catholic journalist who was reporting on the front lines during the war. Ernie Miller had personally met this man in Baton Rouge, LA. The journalist was reporting from the Sinai Desert during the 1967 war. The battle had become very intense and there were numerous casualties. At one point an Israeli soldier was rushed into the medical tent, where the journalist was wiring front line information.

The journalist observed that the soldier was severely wounded. In fact he had been shot in the intestinal area, and his intestines were hanging from his body. He knew it was only a matter of time until the man would die. Yet, the man, who was fully conscience, began praying and saying the various names of God in the Hebrew language. As he prayed he began to talk about God’s ability to heal him and to defeat the enemy armies. To the journalist amazement, the man suddenly screamed, and jumped up from the cot. His intestines were back inside his body and the entire area was healed! The man was jumping and screaming, and ran out of the tent praising God.

The journalist told Ernie, “I am a Catholic and I am suppose to believe in miracles but had never seen one. That day, I saw one with my own eyes that was a true miracle!”
These amazing stories clearly demonstrate that the “Battle belongs to the Lord!”

As America fights a war on terrorism around the world, we should be in prayer that God will demonstrate his supernatural power to protect, and defend our young men and women who are risking their lives for the sake of our freedom.

The God of the Bible is a God of miracles and He still manifests His power today!
Remember, your greatest secret weapon is faith in God and prayer, and your greatest gift is the ability to use wisdom to your advantage. Many of the battles won by Israel have been a result of outwitting the enemy.

Note: One of the most important Psalms in the Bible is the 91st Psalm. It would be well to copy this Psalm and place it somewhere in a pocket or in an area where it would be on you at all times. Remember, hundreds of thousands of Americans and Jews and Christians from around the world are praying for your safety and your safe return! A thousand shall fall by your side and ten thousands at your right hand, but it will not come near to you (Psalms 91).

God bless us - having eyes of faith toward HIM.

Philippians 2:13
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him




Out of the Depths: A WWII Vet's Miracle of Survival
09-08-2014
Mark Martin

And that brings us to July 30, 1945.
A Japanese submarine spotted the Indianapolis in the Philippine sea and fired a spread of torpedoes.

Two hit their mark and in less than 15 minutes, the ship went down.

Around 900 of the nearly 1,200-man crew who survived the initial attack found themselves oil-soaked, many with injuries, and clinging to kapok life jackets in the shark-infested waters.

"I thought of mom and dad back home; I thought of six younger brothers, an older sister and a younger sister, and I thought of this certain brunette that said that she would wait for me," Harrell recalled. "And I told the Lord, 'I don't want to die; I want to live!'"

Harrell, who was 20 at the time, said he began to think of scriptures.

"'I'll never leave you nor forsake you,'" Harrell quoted from the Bible. "Seemingly that came to mind, no audible voice, but I knew that the Lord was speaking to me. 'Lord, You're speaking to my heart. I'm going to make it.' Well, I didn't know I'm [sic] going to be out there four and a half days."

Four and a half days of unbelievable horror. No food; no water; and yet surrounded by water in all directions, along with sharks.

He said shipmates, who not in their right mind either because they were injured or because they drank salt water, began to hallucinate.

"He leaves the group," Harrell said, referencing a shipmate. "And he gets out 50 to 75 yards, and you hear a blood curdling scream, and you see that kapok go under. And then like a fish cork, then that kapok brings that body back up. But by now all the blood and more, more sharks, more fins, and they are kind of fighting over what was there."

Despite witnessing scenes like that, Harrell refused to give up hope.

He believes God directed him and several of his buddies to a crate of rotten potatoes. The "hearts" of the potatoes were still edible.

He also believes God sent a small rain cloud one day to provide desperately needed water.

"So what do you do? 'Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord! Thank You!' And that little rain cloud comes over; you get a few drops, maybe a few tablespoons full of water," Harrell explained.

Miraculous 'Angel'

The brutal conditions took their toll. The number of sailors and Marines dwindled down to a little more than 300.

Finally, a plane flew over the area low to the water -- a miracle because the pilot, Lt. Wilbur Gwinn, wasn't looking for the survivors. He didn't even know they were missing -- no one did.

"Lt. Gwinn goes aft; he opens the Bombay door, and in just a flash, he looks down at the ocean below, and what he saw was an oil slick," Harrell said.

Flying even lower, Gwinn, who they called "Angel," saw debris, sharks, and sharks attacking survivors.

He radioed for help, and eventually, 317 crew members of the USS Indianapolis were pulled from the water.

Harrell spent months in hospitals, recovering. After everything he went through, it's easy to see why Harrell is a decorated Marine. He was even awarded The Purple Heart.

A letter dated August 13, 1945, reads: "The Purple Heart is awarded by the medical officer in command to Edgar Alvin Harrell for wounds received in action against an enemy of the United States on July 30, 1945."

Out of the Depths

Harrell went on to marry Ola, the brunette who waited for him.

Only 36 survivors of the worst Navy disaster in the history of the United States, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, are still alive.

Harrell shares his story of God's providence at schools and churches. He calls it a ministry.

He and his son, David, also chronicled the unforgettable story in a new book, Out of the Depths.

"There's not a day that goes by, many, many times a day, I just look up and say, 'Thank, You Lord!'" Harrell exclaimed. 



Today St. Patrick is remembered for volunteering to return to Ireland after escaping slavery. To know he understood the Irish and will bring Jesus Christ to the people he had come to love. To drive out the snakes, the druids,  who poisoned the people with false doctrines of  human sacrifice. Bringing the hope and freedom of the knowledge and love of Father God.





Father God,
You are with us all daily.

You answer prayers. Jesus was told in the Garden of Gethsemane - God's Plan would continue.

In faith we see, You answer prayers, "Yes, wait, no, later." Let Your Good Will be accomplished. For Your Plan is for a Hope and a Future - with faith, hope and Love. Joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Encouragement, justice with mercy, humility to Father God.

We lift all our cares to You, praying with Jesus as our Savior and asking in His Name. Your will be done for us, our loved ones, the People You give us and this Nation. Your plan is to save the world through Jesus Christ. Your mercy and Love are unfailing. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †