January 27, 2012
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By Babylon's river ... Upon my harp, my God, I will praise Thee!
Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
By Babylon's river, my weeping soul
Over me His waves and billows rollSinking fast in despair and doubt
Powerless to lift myself outIn the darkness and the gloom
Dry bones motionless in the tombWhile enemy taunts came like a flood
The Spirit lifted a standard aboveOn my downcast soul in blustery hour
God's light and life and truth did showerGod heard my groans, He regarded my cries
A broken, contrite heart He does not despiseLooked down from His throne, holy height
Christ heard this poor man, He did ariseStirred up His strength, girded with might
Glory descended – He came besideComforter's embrace, set me as a seal
The clouds parted, His smile revealedDelivered out, lifted up in dead of night
To Mount Zion, wholly safe with ChristSun of righteousness rose with healing strong
Into my mouth He planted a new songAbove the tumult, divine translation
On His holy hill, celestial celebrationFor my faint spirit, the garment of praise
My bonds You loosed, my voice I raise
O! Exceeding Joy, I taste and see
Upon my harp, my God, I will praise Thee!
Psalm 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. 4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
Isaiah 61 (ESV)
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.Psalm 102 (ESV)
16 For the LORD builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psalterion_001.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0 - PD
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Comments (3)
"from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,"
He also looked at those of His who were already set free, but had made a new prison for themselves in their own minds - sinful thoughts and distractions that isolated them from fellowship.
We are His children, yet we so often are too busy or preoccupied with other things. Let's gather together to praise His name and show our love.
@quest4god@revelife - "He also looked at those of His who were
already set free, but had made a new prison for themselves in their own
minds - sinful thoughts and distractions that isolated them from
fellowship." - Yes, and that was the place from where I was writing this and have found myself there since, having allowed the devil get a foothold. Like Whitefield, I was and am grieved as I found myself "sinning against so much light and love..."
Return, O holy Dove, return!
Sweet messenger of rest:
I HATE the sins that made thee mourn,
And drove thee from my breast.
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to TEAR IT from thy throne,
And worship only thee.
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame:
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
(from William Cowper's "OH! for a closer walk with God")
As Christians, we are in a continuing battle, first off with our own sinful selves. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. However, we know that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world, and Christ MUST win the battle, but we must not be passive, but continue to be vigilant, to guard our own souls, to purify ourselves as He is pure, to mortify sin by the Spirit and to keep ourselves from idols.
@naphtali_deer - Yes, to the last part of your reply also! We are never so strong in ourselves that we don't need to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. New idols seem to materialize everywhere we look except when looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.