Tag Archives: The LORD

04/3/13

Psalm 34 NIV

Psalm 34

 

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

 

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.

 

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

 

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.

 

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

 

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

 

Footnotes:

 

Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 34:1 In Hebrew texts 34:1-22 is numbered 34:2-23.

 

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

02/4/13

Psalm 18: David: A Song of Deliverance

Psalm 18

 

 

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

 

 

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

 

 

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

 

 

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been 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 enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, 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.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

 

 

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.

 

 

30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.

 

 

  37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.

 

 

46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.

 

 

50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.

 

 

  Footnotes:

 

 

Psalm 18:1 In Hebrew texts 18:1-50 is numbered 18:2-51.
Psalm 18:2 Or sovereign
Psalm 18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength.
Psalm 18:13 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Samuel 22:14); most Hebrew manuscripts resounded, / amid hailstones and bolts of lightning
Psalm 18:29 Or can run through a barricade
Psalm 18:42 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Targum (see also 2 Samuel 22:43); Masoretic Text I poured them out

 

 

New International Version (NIV)

 

 

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

02/28/12

120228 There Is Abundance In Store For Us All–A Vision From The LORD

 As I sit here at my computer, I am racing to get a vision down in writing that The LORD gave to me early this morning.

As I was lying in bed this morning talking to GOD to start my day, I suddenly saw a vision of several keyboards lined up on a vast wall. I was seeing them as if I were hovering in the air above them. They ranged starting from the left as a miniature model with few keys and no special accessories to a giant model that was the fanciest keyboard of them all. It had all the stops and whistles,and was without a doubt the fanciest, most capable keyboard that could be bought.

I have to ask myself, “Why is GOD showing me this vision at this point in my life”? I am watching newer, younger musicians come over the horizon, and I am questioning my own music strengths. It does no harm to examine your abilities in Christ–sometimes they need a poke or a prod to step up to the plate.

As I am growing older I am becoming aware of limitations placed upon my ability to minister. To say that these limitations are more in the physical than the spriritual is a given. I am sure that there are others who face this same crisis, and the zeal is even stronger in the Spirit to perform the work. I can think of many ways to try to slow the aging process: lose weight–that’s a good one, watch my diet; and get more stretches and exercises in than I presently do. The benefit would be to prolong my days, if GOD sees fit, in an effort to make any difference great or small in the work of the Kingdom. The Body does have parts, and I would truly enjoy fufilling what I consider to be my “reasonable service”.

As I sit and pray on the vision of the keyboards, I am led to remember instructions that GOD gave me many years ago to write songs and to play instruments. I have always loved music, and my first instrument was a piano. As a child in school I was introduced to a wind flute that looked like a fat cigar. It was called a Tonette, and I graduated from that to an autoharp, and then to an organ. I come from the Bible Belt and the piano and organ were the most prevalent of instruments played in church. Today, keyboards, electronic adaptations of the basic piano and organ predominate. The instruments may change but the methods remain the same.

Over the years, my abilities on the piano and keyboards have waxed and waned simply due to having two pianists in my household. There has been no pressure to play. Christina and Elizabeth both play well, and their understanding of music is a reflection of my own investment into them as children. Time is going to change their proximity to me, however, and it is crucial for me to reinvest in my own musical abilities. GOD is my judge, and I rely on Him to guide me and strengthen my hands to the task.

The LORD gave my family two scriptures recently–Deuteronomy 30:19 and Jeremiah 29:11. The former scripture expresses choice between cursing and blessing in order to live abundant life; the latter literally states, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD– Plans to prosper you and not to harm, plans to give you hope and a future”.

I am to direct and retrain my paths toward music ministry and teaching ministry. Music is the language of GOD, and The Word is also the language of GOD. The spoken word exhorts upon the strength of GOD’s music.

Is music simply notes? Can music be words or expressions? I believe that it can be, so this is what I believe GOD is speaking to me in this vision: “Train your eyes, ears, tongue, larnyx, heart, and spirit to seek the ways of the LORD”. Whether physical music or spiritual music–it is all applicable to the Kingdom of Heaven.  I am to minister in word and music. Where to minister is GOD’s choice. I am simply to follow His leading.

 

Psalm 114

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 114

 1 When Israel came out of Egypt,
   Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,
   Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled,
   the Jordan turned back;
4 the mountains leaped like rams,
   the hills like lambs.

 5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?
   Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
   you hills, like lambs?

 7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
   at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool,
   the hard rock into springs of water.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica