pressing on

  • Though beyond all measure I be pressed ~ "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials"

    II Peter 2:9a
    the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials...
    The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations...     (KJV)

    By worldly wickedness oppressed
    Be my stronghold in my distress
    No other rescue or defense
    But Christ, Zion's Sabbath rest

    Though beyond all measure I be pressed
    I look to Your sure deliverance
    O, God of Jacob, my sole fortress
    Be zealous, arise, ride through the desert!

    In the midst of rising corruption
    Vexed by taunts of ruthless nations
    Flood down from Your holy habitation
    Anchor me to preach Gospel salvation

    Though beyond all measure I be pressed
    I look to Your sure deliverance
    O, God of Jacob, my sole fortress
    Be zealous, arise, ride through the desert!

    Everlasting strength in the clouds
    Fill up my heart, may grace abound
    O light and truth, descend, rush down
    Silence the enemy's dark sound

    Though beyond all measure I be pressed
    I look to Your sure deliverance
    O, God of Jacob, my sole fortress
    Be zealous, arise, ride through the desert!

    O, mighty God of Jeshurun
    Revive me through Your risen Son
    In every trial and temptation
    Ride to me upon the heavens

    Though beyond all measure I be pressed
    I look to Your sure deliverance
    O, God of Jacob, my sole fortress
    Be zealous, arise, ride through the desert!

    My only hope, though Your face You hide
    My exceeding joy, the true vine
    Kiss my lips with Your richest wine
    Rejoice my soul, ease my wav'ring mind

    Though beyond all measure I be pressed
    I look to Your sure deliverance
    O, God of Jacob, my sole fortress
    Be zealous, arise, ride through the desert!

    The song of the ruthless put down
    For Your glorious name and renown
    Rescue me from the lion's mouth
    Songs of deliverance will ring out

    Though beyond all measure I be pressed
    I look to Your sure deliverance
    O, God of Jacob, my sole fortress
    Be zealous, arise, ride through the desert!

    Psalm 43
    1  Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people,
    from the deceitful and unjust man
    deliver me!
    2  For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
    Why do I go about mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?
    3  Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
    let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
    4  Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
    and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.
    5  Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
    Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

    II Peter 2:4  For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5  if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6  if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7  and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8  (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9  then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10  and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

    II Timothy 4:16  At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17  But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 18  The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

    II Corinthians 1:8  For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11  You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

    Psalm 68
    1  God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
    2  As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
    3  But the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!
    4  Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
    his name is the LORD;
    exult before him!

    Isaiah 25
    1  O LORD, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
    for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
    2  For you have made the city a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
    the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
    3  Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
    4  For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
    for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
    5  like heat in a dry place.
    You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.
    6  On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
    7  And he will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
    8  He will swallow up death forever;
    and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the LORD has spoken.
    9  It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
    10  For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain,
    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.
    11  And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
    but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands.
    12  And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

    Related:

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated 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.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lion_baring_teeth.jpg byWouter van Vliet / CC BY-SA 2.0

  • Beauty


    Beautiful, beautiful, art thou above the sons of man; grace is poured into thy lips; therefore God hath blessed thee to eternity. The first word in Hebrew is a reduplicated form, expressing the idea with intensity and emphasis. He is not praised as the fairest or most beautiful of men, but as fair or beautiful beyond all human standard or comparison. This general ascription of all loveliness is followed by the specification of a single charm, that of delightful captivating speech. Grace, in Hebrew as in English, denotes both a cause and an effect; in this case, grace or beauty of expression, produced by the divine grace or favour, and reciprocally tending to increase it. On any hypothesis, except the Messianic one, this verse is unintelligible. If the first clause were intended to describe a mere corporeal beauty, how could this be followed up by commending the grace of the lips, or either be recognized as the ground; of an eternal blessing. It is only by supposing that the person here meant is the chief among ten thousand and altogether lovely, that the beauty predicated of him includes every moral and spiritual attraction, and that the grace of his lips has reference to, his prophetic character and office, that the sentence can be made to seem coherent, and the promise at its close appropriate. The type, in this allegorical description, may have been furnished by him, of whom the queen of Sheba said (I Kings x. 8), "Happy thy men, happy these thy servants who stand before thee always, who hear thy wisdom." But the glorious antitype was He, to whom "all bare witness, and wondered at the Words Of Grace proceeding out of his mouth." (Luke iv. 22.)

    ~ from J.A. Alexander's rendering of Psalm 45:2
    in "The Psalms Translated and Explained by J. A. Alexander, Volume 1, 1852, New York:Charles Scribner"


    Isaiah 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

    Beauty
    laid aside His royal throne
    to be rejected by all, even His own

    Beauty
    unesteemed and despised
    uncomely and undesired

    Beauty
    the gentle, lowly and quiet spirit
    proclaimed good news though few heard it

    Beauty
    a root out of dry ground
    Lamb to slaughter without a sound

    Beauty
    did not seek His own will or glory
    offered Himself a whole burnt offering

    Beauty
    to His Father's care committing
    through men's mocking and spitting

    Beauty
    betrayed, denied and ignored
    hung on the cross, our crucified Lord

    Beauty
    faithfully endured, suffered affliction
    kept His eyes on joyous resurrection

    Beauty
    was made a curse, He died a criminal's death
    for the redemption and joy of the elect

    Beauty
    obedience complete, unblemished
    left none of His Father's will unfinished

    Beauty
    in God's holy will delighting
    hell's schemes always fighting

    Beauty
    offered up fervent cries and tears
    was heard because of His godly fear

    Beauty
    poured out His soul even unto death
    worshiped His God through His final breath

    Beauty
    judges righteously with all His might
    yet in showing mercy He delights

    Beauty
    the truth with loving zeal speaking
    each wayward sheep always seeking

    Beauty
    is His the beauty that you seek:
    to bow, wash and wipe another's feet?

    Beauty
    carries the lame soul to dinner
    intercedes for the vilest sinner

    Beauty
    is His the beauty you embrace:
    humility that seeks the lowest place?

    Beauty
    unadorned with the treasures of this world
    having found certain riches in the Pearl

    Beauty
    though by synagogue authorities cast outside
    never an orphan, trusting Comfort to come beside

    Beauty
    assured your Father's eye is on the sparrow
    immovable, steadfast through the devil's arrows

    Beauty
    bearing His reproach, going outside the camp
    remaining radiant through the Light and the Lamp

    Beauty
    in the sight of our God so precious
    in His yoke no longer weary or restless

    Beauty
    beyond outward appearances – deep in the heart
    everlasting Beauty only the Beautiful One can impart

    Beauty
    earth's deceptive beauty like fading flowers
    true Beauty nourished with heaven's showers

    Beauty
    undying Beauty the living Christ alone can sustain
    refreshed, restored and revived by Spirit's rain

    Beauty
    embrace His Beauty, show forth His glorious praise
    hear His wisdom, from world's vanity turn away


    Philippians 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...

    I Samuel 16:7b  for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

    Psalms 90:17  And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

    I Peter 3:1  Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives— 2  when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3  Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing— 4  but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5  For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their husbands, 6  as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (ESV)

    A note on this post: recently @greekphysique wrote a few posts about beauty.

    Related:

    "Ecce Homo" by Domenico Feti found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_Fetti_-_Ecce_Homo_-_WGA7845.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 - PD

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are 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.

  • "Blessed is the Man that endureth Temptation" by Joseph Hart


    James 1:12 (KJV)  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation...

    James 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

    Greetings.

    2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing...

    12  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

    16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18  Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

    Blessed is the Man that endureth Temptation. (by Joseph Hart)

    (Hymn 20 in Joseph Hart's Hymns Composed on Various Subjects. third edition 1811)

    Jam. i. 12.


    1  AND must it, Lord be so?
        And must thy children bear
        Such various kinds of woe,
        Such soul-perplexing fear?
      Are these the blessings we expect?
      Is this the lot of God's elect?

    2  Daily we groan and mourn
        Beneath the weight of sin.
        We pray to be new-born,
        But know not what we mean;
      We think of something very great,
      Something that's undiscover'd yet.

    3  Boast not, ye sons of earth,
        Nor look with scornful eyes:
        Above your highest mirth
        Our saddest hours we prize.
      For though our cup seems fill'd with gall,
      There's something secret sweetens all.

    4  How harsh soe'er the way,
        Dear Saviour, still lead on;
        Nor leave us, 'till we say,
        "Father, thy will be done."
      At most we do but taste the cup;
      For thou alone has drunk it up.

    5  Shall guilty man complain?
        Shall sinful dust repine?
        And what is all our pain,
        How light compar'd with thine?
      Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
      Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    How harsh soe'er the way,
    Dear Saviour, still lead on;

    Nor leave us, 'till we say,
        "Father, thy will be done."

    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Isaiah 40:27  Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
    “My way is hidden from the LORD,
    and my right is disregarded by my God”?
    28  Have you not known? Have you not heard?
    The LORD is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
    He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
    29  He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
    30  Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
    31  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
    they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

    How harsh soe'er the way,
    Dear Saviour, still lead on;

    Nor leave us, 'till we say,
        "Father, thy will be done."

    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Luke 4:1  And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness... 13  And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

    John 12:27  “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

    Matthew 26:36  Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37  And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38  Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39  And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40  And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41  Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42  Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43  And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44  So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

    Hebrews 5:7  In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10  being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

    Hebrews 2:14  Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15  and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16  For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17  Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18  For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Isaiah 40:9  Get you up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, herald of good news;
    lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
    lift it up, fear not;
    say to the cities of Judah,
    “Behold your God!”
    10  Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
    behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
    11  He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms;
    he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.

    12  Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
    enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?
    13  Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD,
    or what man shows him his counsel?
    14  Whom did he consult,
    and who made him understand?
    Who taught him the path of justice,
    and taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?


    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Isaiah 42:10  Sing to the LORD a new song,
    his praise from the end of the earth,
    you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
    the coastlands and their inhabitants.
    11  Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
    the villages that Kedar inhabits;
    let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
    let them shout from the top of the mountains.
    12  Let them give glory to the LORD,
    and declare his praise in the coastlands.
    13  The LORD goes out like a mighty man,
    like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
    he cries out, he shouts aloud,
    he shows himself mighty against his foes.

    14  For a long time I have held my peace;
    I have kept still and restrained myself;
    now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
    I will gasp and pant.
    15  I will lay waste mountains and hills,
    and dry up all their vegetation;
    I will turn the rivers into islands,
    and dry up the pools.
    16  And I will lead the blind
    in a way that they do not know,
    in paths that they have not known
    I will guide them.
    I will turn the darkness before them into light,
    the rough places into level ground.
    These are the things I do,
    and I do not forsake them.
    17  They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
    who trust in carved idols,
    who say to metal images,
    “You are our gods.”

    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Isaiah 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted,
    and the angel of his presence saved them;
    in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

    10  But they rebelled
    and grieved his Holy Spirit;
    therefore he turned to be their enemy,
    and himself fought against them.

    11  Then he remembered the days of old,
    of Moses and his people.
    Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
    with the shepherds of his flock?
    Where is he who put in the midst of them
    his Holy Spirit,
    12  who caused his glorious arm
    to go at the right hand of Moses,
    who divided the waters before them
    to make for himself an everlasting name,
    13  who led them through the depths?
    Like a horse in the desert,
    they did not stumble.
    14  Like livestock that go down into the valley,
    the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
    So you led your people,
    to make for yourself a glorious name.

    How harsh soe'er the way,
    Dear Saviour, still lead on;

    Nor leave us, 'till we say,
        "Father, thy will be done."

    ("Not ours, not mine, but thine be done.")

    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Psalm 138:7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
    you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
    8  The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.


    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    Isaiah 9:7  Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
    on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
    with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
    The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.


    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.

    I Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

    Isaiah 63:7  I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,
    the praises of the LORD,
    according to all that the LORD has granted us,
    and the great goodness to the house of Israel
    that he has granted them according to his compassion,
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

    Hebrews 4:14  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

    Hebrews 12:1  ... let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

    "Nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair. I encourage myself in the Lord my God, and go forward."

    ~ David Livingstone, March 25, 1873.
    Finish, dear Lord, what is begun.
    Choose thou the way; but still lead on.
    Philippians 1:6  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

    Blessed is the man that endureth temptation...
    Related:

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated 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.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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