Psalm 9 ~ he Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

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




The Word is important because we cannot know Father GOD without His Word.

Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

2 Timothy 2:13
If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

James 4:5
Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?


Many times when we look to Scripture, we are in difficulty in life. Sometimes we are awake in the middle of the night with things disturbing our peace. We want our lives to change. In HIS path, in His Good Will.

David sounds so sure in Psalm Nine. David is on a journey. We are seeing with David, in faith - He is interested. Events unfold in HIS plan, path, and His Will. David is about to tell us part of our determination and steps to see our lives in faith.

We begin at why we open the Scriptures....

1 Peter 4:12
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you

Acts 14:22
Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God



Do the Scriptures journey, giving us our lives as a road to walk along with Jesus? Will the concept hold up?

Deuteronomy 1:40
But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.

Deuteronomy 2:24
‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle.'

Judges 18:6
And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”

1 Kings 19:4
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

1 Kings 19:7
And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”


We see God does know the Journey is gentle, encouraging, swift, fierce overwhelming and He understands.




And Jesus, did He journey? Did Father God see fit to record a journey?

Luke 2:44
But supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances




God says our prayer life is a journey.

Luke 11:5-10

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.



David is giving us basic steps to Journeying with the Lord. He leans upon the Lord. He trusts God to be his Father God. Whatever situation David comes upon on the run, living in caves, meeting kings, taking work, becoming almost king and being set aside for a concubine's son of Saul's. David is walking the adventure, doing as Paul said, "Seeing how it will go with me."

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart

I will recount (the Lord has not brought me this far to drop me on my head)

I will be glad and exult in You

I will sing praise

The Lord sits enthroned forever

He judges the world with righteousness




Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Acts 17:28
For “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’


John 6:68
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

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Psalm 18:1-20 ~ I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies

Psalm 18:1-20

1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.



This Psalm of David is rejoicing with an overflowing heart in the mercy of God. This passage remembers the deliverance of the children of Israel. Written 1,000 years before Jesus’ death, verses 8 to 14 describe the earthquake & events after Jesus forgave us and dismissed His Spirit. Because Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit, the psalm is about us, individually. In our day of trouble, we call out to Him and He saves us forever.

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1 Peter 4:7-11 ~ Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:7-11

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.


The Scriptures are just like your beloved parent. The advice and lessons continue in a circular pattern, because we are so involved with our own lives - we need Father God to talk to us.


We sometimes wonder, in all different events in our lives, if God is interested. The Deist Theory of God - He gave us all this goodness and explains HE steps back very far. Nothing is farther than the Truth than this. God loves us dearly, and as we keep talking to HIM, our journey is like the song in "Godspell."

Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day

Luke 9:57
As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

As we journey the great adventure, taking disciples in all places, we begin to see HIM more apparently.

Is God interested? Is GOD Interested!!!

Psalm 139
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.


Romans 8:27
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.

Genesis 16:13
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

Psalm 33:11
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Psalm 40:5
Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Ecclesiastes 7:8
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:40
But all things should be done decently and in order.

 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:10
These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

1 Corinthians 12:11
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

1 Corinthians 14:1
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

Elisha asked of the LORD, for more of the Holy Spirit. He did Not say gift to me more blessings. The Lord understanding Elisha wanted more to proclaim HIS Glory, had the Holy Spirit increase. Let Your will be done on earth, asking Father God, please let me bring Heaven here in this life. David did this by going out of his way to let goodness and mercy be what his life brought others. Elisha knew these gifts not to be warm and fuzzy but His Path.

Elisha was willing to go farther. Helping Elijah who was sometimes irritable and overwhelming.

To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 6:17-20 The Message

13-18 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Romans 15:5-6
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 40:1
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God


Luke 4:16-19
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

There are many reasons to let the Word of God live, move and have the holiness dwell within.

Isaiah 66:13
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."

2 Corinthians 7:4
I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

2 Thessalonians 2:14-17
To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
  
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

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Psalm 12 ~ O Lord, you will keep us safe

Psalm 12

1 Help, LORD, for the godly are no more;

the faithful have vanished from among men.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbor;

their flattering lips speak with deception.
3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips

and every boastful tongue
4 that says, "We will triumph with our tongues;

we own our lips —who is our master?"
5 "Because of the oppression of the weak

and the groaning of the needy,

I will now arise," says the LORD.

"I will protect them from those who malign them."

6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,

like silver refined in a furnace of clay,

purified seven times.

7 O LORD, you will keep us safe

and protect us from such people forever.
8 The wicked freely strut about

when what is vile is honored among men.

1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Here are some of the encouraging words:

Matthew 27: 50
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

Flavius Josephus (37 - 100 AD) Jewish general and member of the Jewish priestly aristocracy, turned to the Roman Empire during the destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD. Josephus moved to Rome as historian to three caesars. 1 Antiquities, Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3 (translated from 4th century Arabic manuscript). An even more phenomenal Greek version of this text exists 325 AD, which some scholars declare was doctored. It is the sole portion of Josephus' work to be questioned and the critics also claim Jesus is a myth. "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. "

The text in 93 AD is undisputed, the book Jewish Antiquities by Josephus. It contains at least one reference to "James, the brother of Jesus called the Christ." Josephus records the death of James in this description ~ it is significant that the most reliable and famous historian of world history in this time period writes as an independent historian & is a man raised as aristocracy in the second temple in Jerusalem.

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Psalm 78:1-39 ~ forgot His works and the wonders that He had shown them

Ipuwer Papyrus

Psalm 78:1-39

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God's covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”

21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.


Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not.

Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Galatians 3:6,7
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.

~ 11 They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.

Numbers 1:46 How many people in the Exodus
all those listed were 603,550.

According to the Exodus, the people of faith grumbled during the 10 plagues and doubted Moses, but believed much sooner than the Pharaoh. The Ipuwer Papyrus, the papyrus in the Leiden Museum in Holland, an eyewitness Egyptian angrily saw the 10 plagues as a human failure of government to control the environment.

The Egyptian writing Ipuwer was angry enough to catalog the disasters, perhaps to insure future disasters should be better regulated, and the response more sure. In typical dynastic empowerment, the Pharaoh’s name is obliterated in the Ipuwer, but the events were terrible enough to keep the reminder. Egyptians wanted to remember.

The children of Israel forgot Father God’s power every time trouble came to them. But God tells them He has not forgotten them, many future generations will hear of His help and His love.



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Psalm 91 ~ Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge —

Matthew 17:20
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”



Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge —
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

My grandmother Anita surprised all of us, the trip we took her to Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was about ninety years old, she ran up and down the steep slopes waving her arms and out talking the guide who rode in the car with us. She explained monuments I'd seen for years.

We have several books on Vicksburg. The stunningly manicured yards in the photos show bombardment and death. We also have my great,great grandmother's dining room wallpaper used for the last Vicksburg newspaper produced on dining room wall paper. The Daily Citizen. Thursday, July 2nd, 1863. The title starts out, "No longer will southerns dine on fricasseed kitten and fried mule". The kitten mentioned belonged to great-great grandmother Sarah. (Talk about your lack of forgiveness, my grandmother said she never said the word Yankee without Damn in front if it; swearing you'd have to get her to celebrate July 4th in Heaven before she would celebrate that.)

Psalm 91 conjures up imaginations of emotions evoked. Seeing people around you fall in a hail of lead bullets. Being trapped in fox holes.

The longing for protection. For dawns' early light.

There are many times in life battles like these occurred. We own several Roman early A.D. coins from ebay; soldiers took coins, buried them before battle, there were not banks nearby, and never returned to them.

And because the Scriptures repeat as the Lord explains to us again, we have several times this shield, these promises are repeated.

John 14:12-14
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Psalm 61:3
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

Proverbs 14:26
Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

When daylight comes and life resumes, one would be shocked. And like the Children of Israel, in the Exodus, wonder how they would be continually sustained. The journey is discovering the Lord is not just a physical shield, but a lifter of heads. God is like that. He does not blow His own trumpet. Instead He allows us the joy of discovering the mysteries in life.

The Gospel. The Bible. The Scriptures. Are the Word of God. The unfolding mystery is for us to live in hope, faith and love. His Word is good. His promises are sure. Jesus Christ the LORD saves and redeems us.

The only gift we can return to HIM is gratitude. With goodness, mercy, the willingness to pray when we have a quiet moment or driving down the road. Because in Him  - we live, move and have our being.

Psalm 40

A Psalm of David.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!


Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

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John 17:20-26 ~ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

John 17:20-26

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”


For those who will believe in me through their word.


Matthew 10:32
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven

Luke 15:10
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Revelation 3:5
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Evidently, God thinks our words are important.

1 Corinthians 14:2-4
For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

Hebrews 6:18
so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.



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Psalm 12 ~ Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord

Jerusalem, the City of David, he conquered to reclaim for the Tribe of Judah and Israel

Psalm 12

A Psalm of David.

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

 What our Savior Jesus Christ Saw from the Cross, painted by James Tissot

Isaiah 59:21
 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”


There is Scripture you will lean forward to look upon. Just as Israel looked for the Messiah for over 700 years.

Why did the Lord choose to send the Messiah to such a time? When Israel was broken into Judea, a suburb of Syria. For one thing the Davidic line was being reclaimed by the Herodians, who struck images of themselves, and called themselves King of Israel. Or Judea.

Would the Lord see Psalm 12 as HIS motivation for the birth of His Son?

John 2:24b -25
He knew all people,and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

How did Jesus see this time frame ?  Remember the Messiah was not born to live in Jerusalem or dwell constantly in the Temple.

Matthew 23:37
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"

Luke 23:27
And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him.

Luke 23:28
But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children."


There are a few ideas, in Scripture, of Jesus' emotions upon the Cross and the road to the Cross. Perhaps one of the over looked ideas is of Jesus speaking to the multitudes of women who turned out to weep for Him. They did not have any agenda other than sorrow to see Jesus condemned. No flattering lips. The needy groaned. The people were poor; the government was taking Jesus from them.

Jesus understood the power of His Word very well. How many times did He call the women 'Daughters of Jerusalem'? Only in the Song of Solomon is this recorded. Jesus, I believe, is addressing them not just with prophecy of this day, but in appreciation the daughters of Eve, would try to comfort Him on His road to the cross.

How would this add to this day for Jesus?

Luke 23:34
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.



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Luke 10:1-24 ~ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Luke 10:1-24

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.^{[for so it pleased you well] 22} All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
 
²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”



2 Timothy 3
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

Jesus asks a lot. And in His day, things were easier and more difficult to be a follower of His. Not really. It was more difficult. This verse from the Second Book to Timothy Chapter Three, would be the same for the Temple during the life of Jesus.

Behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Did Jesus ask Judgement of HIS Disciples?

‘Peace be to this house!

Do not go from house to house. Jesus was saying don't let your evangelism look for a better return upon the investment of time, judging we know the person. Seeing the outcome - guessing the outcome - to bless ourselves.

In our kindness to others - we can be glad in this -
‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’




Jesus also recognizes that people tend to think the same in cluster of people. He speaks to two cities, Jesus was known to acknowledge people tend to be like sheep to herd.

“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

If our efforts don't give us a great reward, wipe the dust off the feet and keep going.

Matthew 9:36
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.


Jesus was able to say to Thomas, although you doubt, you must have faith. Jesus wants people, wants you, to have faith. Faith God means what He promises and is able to deliver. Hope the promises are for you. Love that all that can possibly exist loves you as the person God created you to be.

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”




John described Jesus as Love. The goodness of Jesus, we see in this passage, creates currents in the world. Jesus said on the cross, "Forgive them, Father, they do not know what they do." Jesus is telling us to do His Father's work should create in us love and care without so much concern for negative comments.

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”.

Hebrews 12:2
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus has done the hard work for us. We should stretch our faith to believe He is there for us. Working today.




Jesus tells us about Salvation.

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Rejoice in Salvation and allow the mystery of fulfilling salvation to be HIS, in His determination.

Deuteronomy 4:31
For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.



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