As you begin reading this journal entry, I hope you take the time to worship and praise, by playing the video links. The second song is based on a text out of Job and also contains a short excerpt of a sermon on suffering that I have always found especially encouraging and comforting.
March 26, 2016
Worship:
VERSE 1
Prepare our hearts, O God
Help us to receive
Break the hard and stony ground
Help our unbelief
Plant Your Word down deep in us
Cause it to bear fruit
Open up our ears to hear
Lead us in Your truth
CHORUS
Show us Christ, show us Christ
O God, reveal Your glory
Through the preaching of Your Word
Until every heart confesses Christ is Lord
VERSE 2
Your Word is living light
Upon our darkened eyes
Guards us through temptations
Makes the simple wise
Your Word is food for famished ones
Freedom for the slave
Riches for the needy soul
Come speak to us today
BRIDGE
Where else can we go, Lord
Where else can we go
You have the words of eternal life
© 2011 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
Prepare our hearts, O God
Help us to receive
Break the hard and stony ground
Help our unbelief
Plant Your Word down deep in us
Cause it to bear fruit
Open up our ears to hear
Lead us in Your truth
CHORUS
Show us Christ, show us Christ
O God, reveal Your glory
Through the preaching of Your Word
Until every heart confesses Christ is Lord
VERSE 2
Your Word is living light
Upon our darkened eyes
Guards us through temptations
Makes the simple wise
Your Word is food for famished ones
Freedom for the slave
Riches for the needy soul
Come speak to us today
BRIDGE
Where else can we go, Lord
Where else can we go
You have the words of eternal life
© 2011 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
Video: https://youtu.be/uLIi5SAVMRw
I come, God, I come
Return to the Lord
The one who's broken
The one who's torn me apart
You strike down to bind me up
You say You do it all in love
That I might know You in Your suffering
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
My heart and flesh may fail
The earth below give way
But with my eyes, with my eyes I'll see the Lord
Lifted high on that day
Behold, the Lamb that was slain
And I'll know every tear was worth it all
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
Though tonight I'm crying out
Let this cup pass from me now
You're still all that I need
You're enough for me
You're enough for me
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
Return to the Lord
The one who's broken
The one who's torn me apart
You strike down to bind me up
You say You do it all in love
That I might know You in Your suffering
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
My heart and flesh may fail
The earth below give way
But with my eyes, with my eyes I'll see the Lord
Lifted high on that day
Behold, the Lamb that was slain
And I'll know every tear was worth it all
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
Though tonight I'm crying out
Let this cup pass from me now
You're still all that I need
You're enough for me
You're enough for me
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
Sing a song to the One who's all I need
It’s Saturday and my spirit waits in hope for resurrection morn. I haven’t gotten the sleep I have needed all this week. My body is weary and aches. My spirit is down today in spite of the highs of earlier this week. I call it the Elijah syndrome. One day defeating the prophets of Baal and running and hiding in a cave the next. I knelt by my bed and listened to “Let Your Kingdom Come “and allowed the song be a prayer to the Lord from me. However, my soul was still down and I cried to the Lord to help my feelings of despair and unbelief. I stood up trusting the Lord heard me. I felt the Lord telling me to listen to and worship with the song about to play on my computer. When I began to sing along I knew why. The song is a prayer and I sang the line
"Break the hard and stony ground"
Then the next line came and the truth that God had heard and answered came crashing in on my conscience.
“Help our unbelief”
The very prayer I just prayed. Praise God my Sovereign and Loving Lord, Who hears our prayers and comforts His sheep.
.
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Ps 25:1-3
25 Toa you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
NIV
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Ps 25:1-3
25 To you, O LORD, Io lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you Ip trust;
q let me not be put to shame;
r let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed,s none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who aret wantonlyu treacherous.
ESV
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Ps 25:1-3
25 1 O LORD, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Ps 25:1-3
25 To You, O LORD, I alift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You aI trust,
Do not let me bbe ashamed;
Do not let my cenemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, anone of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
1Those who bdeal treacherously without cause will be ashamed
NASU
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I concluded that this was a promise and not a prayer in verse 3. David is not asking the Lord to honor those who “hope’ or “wait’ or “trust in Him by not bringing them to shame. Rather, he is describing the outcome of those who do wait on Him. This verse is to be seen telescopically and not microscopically. We must take a long view or the words “wait” are meaningless. We do not lose heart as we maintain a waiting, expecting, hoping, and trusting attitude. Verse 2 is a prayer asking that the promise in general, will break forth into the present situation he is experiencing. Verse 3 is the confident expectation that God will protect His people and punish the wicked. That in the end the “treacherous” will not prosper but be brought to shame. This too is an act of either grace or judgment on the unbelieving enemy who is bringing a particular stress in our lives. Grace to those whose hearts are smitten with guilt by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and empowered by God’s sovereign grace to repent and believe. Judgment towards those whom God extends His righteous wrath because of their ungodly and sinful deeds towards His elect.
I believe that verse 3 begins in the emphatic; a point possibly missed if you read the NIV or NLT. It’s because they leave a small but powerful word untranslated from the original. It is the word “gam”. Of this word the TWOT says:
gam
Again, alike, as, but, even, likewise, in like manner, so much as, then, though, with, yea. A particle occurring over 750 times, gam denotes addition. It is often repeated in a sentence, in which case the most frequent translations are both... and; either... or; nay... neither; so... and. Sometimes in English translations gam is completely ignored.
(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)
The reason it is dropped here by some translations is found in the UBS Old Testament Handbook
Psalms 25:3
Yea translates the initial word of the verse; here, however, its main function is to fit the acrostic scheme. TEV therefore omits it for reasons of style.
(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)
Here I disagree with their assessment that its main function was to “fit the acrostic scheme”. Certainly, it could have another function as well considering the nature of the subject being expressed here. I go with the NASB and the ESV here and like when they use the word “Indeed” because it expresses well the emphatic nature of the promise here. So when reading the NIV I will use an emphatic tone to reflect that.
Praise be to God Who is faithful to His followers, who gives us good hope and will deliver us from all evil that assails us. We enter into the blessing given by Paul to the Thessalonians and true for all believers in all ages:
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2 Thess 2:16-17
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
NIV
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