Psalm 119:49-72 ~ You have made me hope

2,000 Years Old

 4QPs Dead Sea Scroll Psalm 119 

to First Century A.D.

Doorway is part of Cave 4 Dead Sea Scrolls

Caves 4 and 5 almost combine Dead Sea Scrolls

Map of the Dead Sea Scroll Caves

Interior of Cave 4

Found in Scroll Jars similar to Cave 4, 2017

Psalm 119:49-72

Zayin

49 Remember your word to your servant,

    in which You have made me hope.

50 This is my comfort in my affliction,

    that 

your promise gives me life.

51 The insolent utterly deride me,

    but I do not turn away from your law.

52 When I think of your rules from of old,

    I take comfort, O Lord.

53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,

    who forsake your law.

54 Your statutes have been my songs

    in the house of my sojourning.

55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord,

    and keep your law.

56 This blessing has fallen to me,

    that I have kept your precepts.

Heth

57 The Lord is my portion;

    I promise 

to keep your words.

58 I entreat your favor 

with all my heart;

    be gracious to me 

according to Your promise.

59 When I think on my ways,

    I turn my feet to your testimonies;

60 I hasten and do not delay

    to keep your commandments.

61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

    I do not forget your law.

62 At midnight I rise to praise You,

    because of Your righteous rules.

63 I am a companion of All who fear you,

    of those who keep Your precepts.

64 The earth, O Lord, 

is full 

of Your steadfast Love;

    teach me 

Your statutes!

Teth

65 You have dealt well with your servant,

    O Lord, according to Your Word.

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

    for I believe in Your commandments.

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,

    but now I keep your word.

68 You are good and do good;

    teach me your statutes.

69 The insolent smear me with lies,

    but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;

70 their heart is unfeeling like fat,

    but I delight in your law.

71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,

    that I might learn your statutes.

72 The law of Your mouth is better to me

    than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Psalm 119 uses all the Hebrew Alphabet.

Some sources say this was Solomon teaching his 3 children. Solomon had 700 wives and concubines - - - and 3 children.  Learning the Hebrew Alphabet as assent of the Temple Southern Stairs.

Rehoboam - the first monarch of the Kingdom of Judah after the split of the United Kingdom of Israel. He was a son of and the successor to Solomon and a grandson of David. In the account of I Kings and II Chronicles, Rehoboam saw his rule limited to only the Kingdom of Judah in the south following a rebellion by the ten northern tribes of Israel in 932/931 BC, caused by his stubborn refusal to listen to older advisors with a usurper waiting for Rehoboam to fail, which led to the formation of the independent Kingdom of Israel under the rule of Jeroboam in the north.

Taphath -  (Hebrew טפת, "Drop") was a daughter of Solomon and wife of one of her father's twelve regional administrators, the son of Abinadab (First Kings 4:11)

Basemath  ~ Basemath, the daughter of Solomon; a wife of Ahimaaz. (1 Kings 4:15)

The stairs were used as a tool used in teaching today -  employing a clever teaching method!

Psalms are thoughts on the nature of God. His vast attributes and wonderful qualities.

Psalms are useful in framing our own prayers.

With Psalm 119, we recognize this is a prayer that is good - especially in times of stress.

The Hebrew Name for this Prayer Psalm is in Hebrew, known by its opening words, 

"Ashrei temimei derech" 

"Happy are those whose way is perfect." 

Obviously, this would be God. And because God's ways are not our ways - Forgiven people are covered in the Righteousness of Jesus. Our prayers are heard, we receive comfort. We look to God and do not leave empty.

Hope - God favors me.

Faith - God says He does.

Love - All in the Universe - believing in me, guiding me, comforting me, strengthening me, sustaining me, blessing me. Allowing me to draw from Father God.

Love never fails.

God is the Light within us. Sustaining Him. We can hand over to God our cares and concerns, worries and He will take them. God says in Psalm 139 even what is dark - is Light to Him because He shines that brightly.

That is our Father God!

Psalm 138:8 

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; 

 Your steadfast Love, O Lord,

 endures forever. 

 Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Abba, Father,

Father God, we abide in You. 

Knowing apart from You 

we have no good. 

You are the Vine, we are the branches. 

Father, please, each day grow us to be the people dear to You. 

Each day, provide us the path 

You would have us to travel and journey along. 

You are the Light of the World. 

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

May the Lord God

give us Justice,

Righteousness,

Goodness,

Joy and Love

to sweep the Nation

and those who

want All of God's Blessings

to surround His People.

Bless this Nation with

Truth, Mercy and Justice

that we might shine

as His Light

to the Nations, Again.

May we see Victory of Jesus

Soon

BLESSINGS

for Those mighty ones 

who bring

Goodness and Hope and Prosperity

pleasing the Lord.

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Thank You for Jesus.

Please pray for my phone to be found.

We ask this in the Highest Name You've given us;

Jesus!

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Lord Jesus 

Philippians 4:6,7 ~ everything by prayer

The Wonders of God. Abraham, Abram, was from Ur of the Chaldeans. Genesis 11. When Father God called Abraham to travel to a new Land of Promise - He called Abraham from this, consider Ur, now part of Iran:

Philippians 4:6,7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Considering peace, we might compare Abraham to Mary, Mother of Jesus. Mary had met her dreams, or her father's dreams. She was betrothed to the House of David. Joseph was probably, in Jewish tradition, building her a house. And then... Gabriel, who stands in the Presence of God, arrives.

Abram was living in the cradle of civilization. Chaldeans are Mesopotamia, beautiful land, servants. Beautiful life.

And just as Mary sang in Luke's First Gospel Chapter of the Glory of God revealed, Abram was suddenly in Covenant with the Promises of The Lord. Land, descendants, numerous descendants, fame and God's own Personal Blessing.

Luke 1 

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

   

 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

    and exalted those of humble estate;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and the rich he has sent away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

    in remembrance of his mercy,

55 as he spoke to our fathers,

    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

And both Mary and Abraham, radically changed addresses. God called and both of these Children of God went with God. Mary quickly out of town to see her cousin, Elizabeth. Later loaded pregnant on a Donkey, only still betrothed, giving birth in a barn, and packed off to Egypt. To return to the same Nazareth, who had heard The Story.

Abraham Too. 

Hebron

Vintage 1840

1940

Jesus told us in the Lord's Prayer to pray for more of God's Good Will on earth as it is in Heaven. This is exciting news. And the journey of David began with great expectations.

The Children of Israel crossed on dry land through the Red Sea and then walked for a long, long time. Finding out about wheat and weeds. 

The Peace Passing Understanding must be, at times, blessed to endure to live again.

Abraham didn't rest all his days in Peace. He fought Pharaoh for Sarah, Genesis 12.  Joseph fought a crowd of public opinion for Mary. A Barn was offered in her life, endangering childbirth. Abraham fought local kings to save Lot, the number given was 300 men.  Later, Lot quarreled with Abraham, Abraham demonstrated his peacefulness with a compromise of distance and separate space. Lot was Abraham's heir. Abraham lived then without family and with Sarah. 

Mary was young. And Abraham knew he had all of God's promises and yet grew older.

Both found the strength to find Joy in the Lord. Mary moved back to Nazareth and God does not focus on this part of the Journey. We wonder. Mary told the Wedding of Canna, do what Jesus tells you, this will work out. Evidently, Mary knew something about holding on to Jesus and waiting for the Power of God. Like the woman who wanted to be healed, reaching out for Jesus. Waiting on His Word.

One thing we can say about these lives facing challenges, the faith muscle sees plenty of workouts. Using faith as Hope each day in the Goodness of God.

 Abba, Father,

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

To see

to bring

to be

more daily

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

on earth

as in Heaven.

My brand new phone

Edward got me from a TMobile offer

disappeared from our bedside Saturday Night.

The Apple Password is changed.

The iforgot Apple App said go to the Local 

The Woodlands Mall Apple Store,

so we did and they said the App is currently wrong

and they can't help us.

But we could buy an Apple Watch to recover

the password.

The find it app says it was at our house

until after 2 AM.

Please pray for people to help each other

and the return of my iphone 14

my other phone would get so hot,

the battery ate the phone.

And it couldn't get a connection to 

the local phone connections.

The other item of concern,

at the Mall, 

I'd say 80% of the

shirts available are T-Shirts.

I guess when the ancient Romans went to the Mall,

their suddenly only choice was a toga?

And this was how it's done?

And how will the Mall stay in

business? If the T-shirts are all blank

then why buy at Nordstrom or Macy's

and not go to Sam's?  Or online from $3.99 from China?

What if the Mall only offered

Brown Shirts?

Would we find a way not to wear 

what is prescribed?

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

We pray victory for the officials

who want prosperity for All,

not just dump immigrants in the nation

without care, for education, for housing,

just make homelessness ignored

and a larger workforce without benefits.

This isn't proper care.

We pray for those who want to care

for the citizens with safe schools,

safe cities, reliable trade,

secure Borders.

Thank You for Jesus.

To You, our Father, be the Glory

Amen and Alleluia

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Lord Jesus 

John 9:10 ~ will be saved

John 9:10

I am the gate. 

 If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. 

 He will come in and go out and find pasture.

This is a Saxon Church in England. So people have been going to find

The Gate of Heaven

for Quite Some Time.

450 A.D. England

and some not so long ago too!

And for Good Reason

Isaiah 11:2

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— 

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and of might, 

the Spirit of the knowledge 

and fear of the LORD—

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of most things makes most people mostly stay home. Even just what is uncomfortable causes most people to avoid it. I had a friend in college, Suzanne, she could gather a crowd and make fun happen. She could get people to drive across the state of Texas to bring trucks and equipment so all the people she could gather from our dorm would have a day at Lake Somerville. 

One day, she asked me to come to her dorm room at 2:00 on a Friday and not mention it to anyone. When I arrived, she was so embarrassed and began to tell me she is intelligent. I agreed. She said she wanted to go to church, but when people talked, they seemed to know all of it. What? The people they talk about. I was puzzled. Suzanne explained some more. I was still puzzled. Finally, I had some comprehension. You mean "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?" "Right!" Suzanne replied.

How difficult it is to come to Church and not know what is going on. 

How many people come to Church & leave because it is uncomfortable? Watching the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live is enough to cause anyone to bolt.

What about the phrase "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" ... it sounds medieval.

The first day of the New Covenant - when God decided to create Heaven and abolish death by giving us His Son, Jesus - no one was feeling peaceful. Easter Sunday had a tremendous amount of fear. All of the Saints were acting very humanly. They were hiding, filled with trembling & astonishment. The embalming of Jesus was left to the women (the disciples were so much in hiding they didn't know the body of Jesus already has 75 pounds of spices) because the men were in fear of their lives. None of the children of God had it remotely figured out.

This first day they had more disbelief than hope. And God didn't take the hope from them or punish them for their less than saintly reactions. They didn't know how to react.

What happened next is known throughout the world. This is the fear of the Lord, it is only the beginning of the wisdom. 

 They did recover from their fear. Not because they became more saintly, but through the gift of God. With their belief, with their courage, with the overwhelming help of God's Spirit, Jesus Christ changed the heavens and the earth.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, 

and may your whole spirit and soul and body 

be kept blameless at the coming 

of our Lord Jesus

 Christ.

Ezekiel 34:14

I will feed them in good pasture, 

and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. 

There they will lie down in a good grazing land; 

they will feed in rich pasture

 on the mountains of Israel.

John 10:3

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, 

and the sheep listen for His Voice. 

He calls His Own sheep by name 

and leads them out.

Psalm 95:7, 8

 For He is our God, 

and we are the people of His pasture,

 the sheep under His care. 

Today, if you hear His voice,

Isaiah 60:5

Then you will look and be radiant, 

and your heart will tremble and swell with joy, 

because the riches of the sea will be brought to you, 

and the wealth of the nations will come to you.

Acts 18:8

Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord.

 And many of the Corinthians 

who heard the message

 believed 

and were baptized.

John 16:24

Until now you have asked nothing in My Name. 

Ask, and you will receive, 

that your joy may be full.

 Abba, Father,

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

To see

to bring

to be

more daily

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

on earth

as in Heaven

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Thank You for Jesus.

To You, our Father, be the Glory

Amen and Alleluia

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Lord Jesus