Look to the Lord for help

The entry today reveals a mundane and frustrating day in my life. One concerned over questions of whether I got a good deal on a used dryer. In contrast, my study lead me to remember to take the focus off my problems and look to the Lord for help. That is something that I need to keep on being reminded of every day.

August 10, 2015

Worship: Praise to the Lord the King of Creation Author: Joachim Neander (1680); Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1863) Tune: LOBE DEN HERREN; Highest Praise by Jennifer Crow

1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!

Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,

join me in glad adoration.

2 Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;

sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!

Have you not seen all that is needful has been

sent by his gracious ordaining?

3 Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;

surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,

if with his love he befriends you.

4 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!

All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.

Let the Amen sound from his people again;

gladly forever adore him.

 Video: https://youtu.be/JEh7Vt9sxmc

Highest Praise

I cannot find the lyrics to this song, but they are included in the video. I encourage you to listen to it. It is a great song of worship.

https://youtu.be/ggXiPfm0QIo

Personal:

This was a day of delays and unfruitful searching for dryers and song lyrics. Wasting time and not being a good steward of time. Lord, forgive me. Let me listen to Your Spirit when He tells me to move on and stop wasting time. I heard nothing from either from a friend (who was my best man) or my wife today. Very unusual for my friend. It seems to a pattern lately with my wife. I did find a dryer, and I hope I didn’t get ripped off. I thought it was a new dryer, but it is 10 years old. I believe I spent too much on it, but it looks like it was an expensive one when new. We will see when I hook it up. 

Word:

Prayer:                

LORD,

Open my eyes to see great things of Thee.

Let Your Holy Spirit, 
Who breathed out Your inerrant and infallible Word,
Illumine my mind with wisdom and understanding.

Move me to:
Obey You unreservedly, 
Love You wholeheartedly,
Serve You passionately,
And find my sole satisfaction and joy in You

TO THE PRAISE OF YOUR GLORIOUS NAME,
AMEN

Ps 22:19-21

19 But you, O Lord, be not far off;

O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

20 Deliver my life from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;

save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

NIV

There is an emphatic break felt here in these words.   This is seen in the words “But You.” Here David takes his eyes off his situation and his persecutors and again petitions his God to be near (put in the negative form again for emphasis – “be not far off”). He recognizes that the real source of his strength is an “alien” strength. That is, it’s outside himself. Like all graces, it comes from the Lord Himself. Our love, our goodness, our holiness, our righteousness, and here, our strength; all are “alien” having come from outside ourselves. Blessed gifts from above! Indeed, James declares,

“Every good and perfect gift is from above,

  coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

  who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV

Note here that the phrase “my strength” is used here for the very name of the LORD. The word here in Hebrew means: “the very essence of strength”¹.  So too, we can call on the LORD in our time of need and use an attribute intrinsic to Him as His name to meet a particular situation.

O Lord, be not far off;

 O my Righteousness,

  O my Holiness,

   O my Love

    Come quickly to help me.

     Deliver me

      From dead works,

       From impure thoughts,

        From hating my enemy.

         Amen

¹(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)