Category Archives: Bible Study

Ever the studious one, I absolutely love to STUDY God’s Word. I will never sate my hunger for this spiritual food!

Saved by the Blood

crucifix

 

The True Ground of Peace.

“When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Ex. 12: 13.

by C. H. Mackintosh.

The blood on the lintel secured Israel’s peace. There was nothing more required in order to enjoy settled peace, in reference to the destroying angel, than the application of the blood of sprinkling. God did not add anything to the blood, because nothing more was necessary to obtain salvation from the sword of judgment. He did not say, “When I see the blood and the unleavened bread or bitter herbs, I will pass over.” By no means. These things had their proper place and their proper value, but they never could be regarded as the ground of peace in the presence of God.

It is most needful to be simple and clear as to what it is which constitutes the groundwork of peace. So many things are mixed up with the work of Christ, that souls are plunged in darkness and uncertainty as to their acceptance. They know that there is no other way of being saved but by the blood of Christ; but the devils know this, and it avails them naught. What is needed is to know that we are saved — absolutely, perfectly, eternally saved. There is no such thing as being partly saved and partly lost, partly justified and partly guilty, partly alive and partly dead, partly born of God and partly not. There are but the two states, and we must be in either the one or the other.

The Israelite was not partly sheltered by the blood, and partly exposed to the sword of the destroyer. He knew he was safe. He did not hope so; he was not praying to be so he was perfectly safe. And Why? Because God had said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” He simply rested upon God’s testimony about the shed blood. He set to his seal that God was true. He believed that God meant what He said, and that gave him peace. He was able to take his place at the paschal feast in confidence, quietness, and assurance, knowing that the destroyer could not touch him, when a spotless victim had died in his stead.

If an Israelite had been asked as to his enjoyment of peace, what would he have said? Would he have said, “I know there is no other way of escape but by the blood of the lamb; and I know that that is a divinely perfect way; and moreover, I know that that blood has been shed and sprinkled on my doorpost; but, somehow, I do not feel quite comfortable. I am not quite sure if I am safe. I fear I do not value the blood as I ought, nor love the God of my fathers as I ought”? Would such have been his answer? Assuredly not. And yet hundreds of professing Christians speak thus, when asked if they have peace. They put their thoughts about the blood in the place of the blood itself, and thus in result make salvation as much dependent upon themselves as if they were to be saved by works.

Now the Israelite was saved by the blood alone, and not by his thoughts about it. His thoughts might be deep or they might be shallow, but deep or shallow, they had nothing to do with his safety. He was not saved by his thoughts or feelings, but by the blood. God did not say, “When you see the blood, I will pass over you.” No; but “When I see.” What gave an Israelite peace was the fact that Jehovah’s eye rested on the blood. This tranquillized his heart. The blood was outside and the Israelite inside, so that he could not possibly see it; but God saw it, and that was quite enough.

The application of this to the question of a sinner’s peace is very plain. Christ, having shed His blood as a perfect atonement for sin, has taken it into the presence of God and sprinkled it there; and God’s testimony assures the believer that everything is settled on his behalf.

All the claims of justice have been fully answered; sin has been perfectly put away, so that the full tide of redeeming love may roll down from the heart of God, along the channel which the sacrifice of Christ has opened for it.

To this truth the Holy Ghost bears witness. He ever sets forth the fact of God’s estimate of the blood of Christ. He points the sinner’s eye to the accomplished work of the cross. He declares that all is done; that sin has been put far away, and righteousness brought nigh — so nigh, that it is “to all them that believe.” Believe what? Believe what God says, believe because He says it, not because you feel it.

Now, we are constantly prone to look at something in ourselves as necessary to form the ground of peace. We are apt to regard the work of the Spirit in us, rather than the work of Christ for us, as the foundation of our peace. This is a mistake. We know that the operations of the Spirit of God have their proper place in Christianity, but His work is never set forth as that on which our peace depends. The Holy Ghost did not make peace; but Christ did. The Holy Ghost is not said to be our peace; but Christ is. God did not send “preaching peace” by the Holy Ghost, but by “Jesus Christ.” (Comp, Acts 10: 36; Eph. 2: 14, 17, Col. 1: 20)

The Holy Ghost reveals Christ; He makes us to know, enjoy, and feed upon Christ. He bears witness to Christ; takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. He is the power of communion, the seal, the witness, the earnest, the unction. In short, His operations are essential. Without Him, we can neither see, hear, know, feel, experience, enjoy, nor exhibit aught of Christ. This is plain, and is understood and admitted by every true and rightly-instructed Christian.

Yet, notwithstanding all this the work of the Spirit is not the ground of peace, though He enables us to enjoy the peace. He is not our title, though He reveals our title and enables us to enjoy it. The Holy Ghost is still carrying on His work in the soul of the believer. He “maketh intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered.” He labours to bring us into more entire conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. His aim is “to present every man perfect in Christ.” He is the Author of every right desire, every holy aspiration, every pure and heavenly affection, every divine experience; but His work in and with us will not be complete until we have left this present scene, and taken our place with Christ in the glory. Just as, in the case of Abraham’s servant, his work was not complete until he presented Rebekah to Isaac.

Not so the work of Christ for us. That is absolutely and eternally complete. He could say, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17: 4.) And, again, “It is finished.” The blessed Spirit cannot yet say He has finished the work. He has been patiently and faithfully working for the last eighteen hundred years as the true, the divine Vicar of Christ on earth. He still works amid the various hostile influences which surround the sphere of His operations. He still works in the hearts of the people of God, in order to bring them up, practically and experimentally, to the divinely-appointed standard. But He never teaches a soul to lean on His work for peace in the presence of divine holiness. His office is to speak of Jesus. He does not speak of Himself. “He,” says Christ, “shall take of mine and shall show it unto you.” He can only present Christ’s work as the solid basis on which the soul must rest for ever. Yea, it is on the ground of Christ’s perfect atonement that He takes up His abode and carries on His operations in the believer. “In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” No power or energy of the Holy Ghost could cancel sin. The blood has done that. “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

It is of the utmost importance to distinguish between the Spirit’s work in us, and Christ’s work for us. Where they are confounded, one rarely finds settled peace as to the question of sin. The type of the passover illustrates the distinction very simply. The Israelite’s peace was not founded upon the unleavened bread or the bitter herbs, but upon the blood. Nor was it, by any means, a question of what he thought about the blood, but what God thought about it. This gives immense relief and comfort to the heart. God has found a ransom, and He reveals that ransom to us sinners, in order that we might rest therein, on the authority of His word, and by the grace of His Spirit. And albeit our thoughts and feelings must ever fall far short of the infinite preciousness of that ransom, yet inasmuch as God tells us that He is perfectly satisfied about our sins, we may be satisfied also. Our conscience may well find settled rest where God’s holiness finds rest.

Beloved reader, if you have not as yet found peace in Jesus, we pray you to ponder this deeply. See the simplicity of the ground on which your peace is to rest. God is well pleased in the finished work of Christ — “well pleased for his righteousness’ sake.” That righteousness is not founded upon your feelings or experience, but upon the shed blood of the Lamb of God; and hence your peace is not dependent upon your feelings or experience, but upon the same precious blood which is of changeless efficacy and changeless value in the judgment of God.

What, then, remains for the believer? To what is he called? To keep the feast of unleavened bread, by putting away everything contrary to the hallowed purity of his elevated position. It is his privilege to feed upon that precious Christ whose blood has cancelled all his guilt. Being assured that the sword of the destroyer cannot touch him, because it has fallen on Christ instead, it is for him to feast in holy repose within the blood-stricken door, under the perfect shelter which God’s own love has provided in the blood of the cross.

May God the Holy Ghost lead every doubting, wavering heart to find rest in the divine testimony contained in those words, “WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD I WILL PASS OVER YOU.”

Amen!

You WERE There!

mynamewasnotthere

© 2013 Jeanne E Webster.   All rights reserved

Breathless and panic-stricken from the recent Gethsemane fracas, he followed the crowd into the palace courtyard. He could scarcely glimpse his Master amongst the incensed flock of scribes and elders. “Just a little closer,” he muttered, “I must see Him!” He was horrified at the intonations of hatred, death and lies emanating from the agitated throng.

“Who will testify that this man is guilty of blasphemy?” roared the voice of the high priest. “Will someone bear witness to this truth?”

After a hushed pause, two timid voices clamored through the din, “This man said he could destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. We heard him say that with our own ears!”

“Aha,” salivated the high priest, circling the accused victim, “will you respond to this accusation? Is it true that you said this?”

Silence hung like sodden drapes over the perturbed assembly.

“I demand that you tell us by the living God if you are the Christ, the Son of God!” bellowed the high priest, pithily erupting nose-to-nose with the defendant.

Edging cautiously towards the perimeter, the disciple tried to blend in with the crowd. He couldn’t hear his Master’s reply, but seeing the animated reaction of the high priest, it hadn’t been well received.

“He has spoken blasphemy; you all heard it! He said he was the SON OF MAN!” Renting his clothes with utter disgust the high priest asked for a verdict from the frenzied assembly.

“He is guilty of death!” they shouted in modulating rhythm. “KILL HIM! KILL HIM!” Swarming over the Master like angry bees, they spat in his face and vehemently beat him, while others clouted him with open hands. “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who just hit you? Who spit in your face?”

Scurrying toward the palace outskirts, he knew it was time to dissociate himself from the bedlam at hand. He was quickly singled out by a bystander while trying to blend in with the agitated mass.

“Hey, Guard! This man was with Jesus of Galilee.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the disciple stuttered, casually trying to evade the allegation.

An onlooker blurted out a similar charge, “You WERE one of them.”

“NO! I never heard of him. Leave me alone!” he spouted, grabbing his robe closer around his face.

“Wait a minute!” another shouted, “This man really WAS with him; he even talks like a Galilean!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying! Dammit, I DO NOT KNOW THAT MAN!”

Off in the distance the eerie sound of a cock crowing dropped him to his knees as he recalled the words of Jesus, “Before the cock crows, you will deny knowing me three times.”

“No! Oh, No! No! My Lord! Forgive me!” Weeping bitterly, Peter dragged himself out into the darkness, never to be the same again.

(Paraphrased from Matthew 26:57-75 KJV)

[JEW]

All and All is ALL

 

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©Jeanne E Webster

 

Job 1:13-22 KJV And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house and there came a messenger unto Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the asses were feeding beside them.  And the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”

While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, “The fire of God is fallen from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them; and I only am escaped to tell thee.”

While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, “The Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”

While he was yet speaking there came also another and said, “Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men and they are dead, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”

Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return thither.  The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; and blessed be the name of the Lord.  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

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Just thinking…

What a blessed life we live.  Regard the comforts at our disposal:  homes, food, transportation, jobs, health, safety and more.  What would we do if one day, while we were yet speaking, yet breathing, yet eating, yet texting on our cell phones, yet watching our favorite TV shows…

A phone call, a knock at the door, a messenger comes, and… our whole world collapses. So sudden, so horrendous, so devastating… as did the world of Job’s.

We’d tear our clothes, pull out our hair and say, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  Or would we?  Would we have the grit within us to say this, much less believe it?  Or would our first words be, “Oh, my God, why me?!”

Folks, we could lose all that we have, in one day.  With the world situation as it is, with extreme weather patterns, with close proximity to living on the cusp of imminent dangers, all could be gone in a matter of minutes.  Ask survivors of the recent tornadoes that came through the south and Midwest, survivors of ravenous forest fires, mudslides, and floods scattered from the north to the south.  All is gone for these people.  They have to start over.  Like Job, most of them are, frankly, just thankful to be alive.

Yes, and we pray for them and beg God’s blessings upon their dire situations, to return to them some semblance of normalcy.  Even a scrap of an old photograph found under the pile of debris is treasured, and God is thanked profusely.

My thoughts are…why does it take horrific events to remind us of the truly wondrous gifts from God who delivers to us life and all that entails each and every single day?  Does God have to shout to get our attention?

Do you hear Him now?

I am going to try to be a much better listener.  Why?  My heart demands it.

Shalom

Fools Rush In

© Jeanne E Webster

Proverbs 1:20-33 KJV

20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:   21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,   22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?   23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.   24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;   25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:   26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;   27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.   28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:   29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:   30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.   31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.   32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.   33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

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My mother used to say, “Straighten up and act like somebody!”  By that I knew she hadn’t approved of my latest behavior and was rebuking me in her own gentle way.  Those she has passed on through this life, I still hear her words of wisdom in the still night air as I chide myself for my faults of the day.   “Jeanne, straighten up!”  Ok, Mom.

Pray for those folks who are playing the fool.  It’s easy being a fool in life; it’s harder to listen to well-meaning advice.

There is a story on this topic that illustrates Solomon’s point here:

“On a mango tree in a jungle, there lived many birds. They were happy in their small nests. Before the onset of the rainy season, all the animal of the jungle repaired their homes. The birds also made their homes more secure.

Many birds brought twigs and leaves and others wove their nests. “We should also store some food for our children,” chirped one of the birds. And they collected food until they had enough to see them through the rainy season. They kept themselves busy preparing for the tough times.

Soon the rains came. It was followed by thunder and lighting. All the animals and birds stayed in their homes.   It continued raining for many days.

One day a wet monkey in the rain came into the forest. He sat on a branch, shivering with cold, water dripping from its body.

The poor monkey tried his best to get shelter, but in vain. The leaves were not enough to save him from the rains. “Brrr! It is so cold!” said the monkey.

The birds were watching all this. They felt sorry for the monkey but there was little they could do for him. One of them said, “Brother! Our small nests are not enough to give you shelter.”

Another bird said, “All of us prepared for the rainy season. If you had, you would not be in this piteous situation.”

“How dare you tell me what to do?” said the monkey, growling at the bird. The monkey angrily pounced on the bird’s nest, tore it and threw it on the ground. The bird and her chicks were helpless.

The poor bird thought, “Fools never value good advice. It is better not to advise them.”

Good story.

Shalom

Run Away!

© Jeanne E Webster

Proverbs 1:10-19

“10My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:12Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:15My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. 18And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 19So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.”

These verses deal with the wiles of immorality, a freebie 101 class for the young.  I think back to when I was a newbie in this world, and being blessed with a heap of smarts, I know I should have seen red flags all over this, except I wasn’t into the Bible that much.  Sure, I was a good person, tried to be honest, wanted only the best reputation, but in all reality was among wolves and deceivers– fodder for their charms.

Gullibility was my middle name.  I married early out of high school, had grand hopes and dreams but down-to-earth simplicity.   My earnest endeavor to be the best mother and wife in the world held up for eight years.  I was proud of being called old-fashioned.  But good intentions didn’t save my marriage or my honor; they beat me over the head and kicked my pants so thoroughly my soul could find no peace.  My once proud spirit was muddied to the point of utter disgust for all I once held high.   Integrity… love… trust…?  What good had they done for me?

Sixty years later and many of them reflective, my life has revealed the rhyme and reason for them.  God had blended them into my character; I just hadn’t read the manual–The Bible!  If only… I think I had a million of those “if only s.”  I finally learned how to use them and continue to refine them as the days and experiences race by.

God has been so good to me, folks.  He really has.  The thought that gets me out of bed every morning is “I owe Him today… and tomorrow and the next day and the next and on and on.”  I owe Him my life, my all.  What joys await us when we depend on Him and learn of Him.  When I first felt that tug on my spirit, that soft, tender genuine love for me, a wrecked soul slipping away down that sewer called despair, I froze; I cringed, waiting for the other brick to fall.  It didn’t.  Never has.  Never will.  And…I will never be the same.  Amen.

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O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

~George Matheson

Shalom

Warning

© Jeanne E Webster

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Proverbs 1: 7-9

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck.”

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Fearing God, believing and knowing He is the ALLmighty, is The place to begin in achieving growth in wisdom and grace.  He has the “whole world in His hands,” as the song goes.  If you are in this world, my friend, you are in His hands.  Learn of God; don’t be as fools.   Let the jewels of wisdom shine from your being yet warn you of your attempts at folly.

“Always distinguish between warning and threatening.  God never threatens; the devil never warns.  A warning is a great arresting statement of God’s, inspired by His love and patience.  This throws a flood of light on the vivid statements of Jesus Christ, such as “How can ye escape the damnation of hell?”  There is no element of personal vindictiveness.  Be careful how you picture our Lord when you read His terrible utterances.  Read His denunciations with Calvary in your mind.”  –Taken from Oswald Chambers’ Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.

Shalom

Occupied

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© Jeanne E Webster

2 Chronicles 5

Temple Preparation
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Solomon ordered the elders of Israel to place all David’s treasures of silver, gold, and musical instruments in the house of God, for these were committed to the Lord. Later all the men of Israel gathered before King Solomon as the priests and Levites sacrificed multitudes of animals for the feast. Afterwards the priests carried the ark into the house of the Lord, into the Holy of Holies.

The ark contained only the two stones on which were the laws of the covenant. When they came out of the Holy place, the priests and Levites sang and played musical tributes of praise to their God, thanking Him in one voice: “He is good, His mercy endures forever.” Suddenly the temple was veiled as His glory occupied His house!

When we covenant with God, our bodies become His temple. Having dedicated all our treasures (all we have and all we are), we lay them at the feet of Jesus, the ultimate, supreme Sacrifice. God can then enter our hearts and fill us with His glory. We must remember…this is the living God!

Does He occupy our houses?

May we praise and thank Him in voice and heart for His covenant with us! Amen

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul;
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation, so full and free!

Be Blessed

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Psalm 103–Bless the Lord

Worship the Lord, O my soul
And all that is within me
Praise His holy name.
Exalt the Lord, O my soul,
Never forget all His provisions:

He forgives all your sins
He heals all your diseases
He saved you from obliteration
He surrounds you with gentle love and tender mercies
He indulges you with your every need
So your spirit can soar like the eagle.

The Lord ensures fair justice for the tormented.
He revealed Himself to Moses,
His capabilities to the Israelites.

The Lord is full of mercy and compassion,
Composed and abounding in leniency.

He will not always dispute with us in anger.
He has dealt kindly with us and not exacted due punishments.

His mercy for those who trust in Him is higher than the heavens.
He has wiped out our sins completely, as far as the east is from the west.

As our earthly fathers have compassion on us, so does the Lord have mercy.
He knows our makeup and remembers we are made of dust.

The days of mankind are as the grass and flowers of the field,
Flourishing well until the storms pass over and they are no more;
They will not even be remembered.

But God’s compassion is eternal towards those who worship Him
And it also carries forth to their children’s children
Because they keep their promise to Him always.

The Lord’s throne is in heaven and He rules His whole creation.

Angels, worship the Lord with your endowed strength;
Do His will and listen closely to His voice.

Heavenly hosts, worship the Lord, all you ministers that do His will.

All creation, worship the Lord wherever you stand.

Worship and praise the Lord, O my entire being!

“Everything is from the Lord and is therefore… a blessing!” Shalom.

© Jeanne E Webster

Dear Nick:

©Jeanne E Webster

Dear Nicodemus

Nicodemus, teacher
Order of the Pharisees
Sanhedrin member
Rabbi (master of Israel)

Dear Nicodemus:

This letter confirms our conversation last night regarding eternal life. You questioned my statement that a person cannot enter heaven without being born again. You wanted evidence that a person can be born again after he’s grown. As a Pharisee, a rabbi and teacher, you don’t comprehend this?

I explained to you that one must be born of the Spirit, not a rebirth from the womb. Being born of the flesh is a physical birth; being born of the Spirit is a spiritual birth. There is a touch from God framing the spiritual birth which is granted to anyone who believes in the Son of man. He descended from heaven and will return to heaven, evidence for the passage of regeneration for everyone who believes in Him.

You have heard me preach of earthly things yet you don’t believe them. How will you have faith in what I tell you of heavenly things? Moses lifted up the brass serpent that represented the sins of Israel; everyone who looked on it was healed. So will the Son of man be lifted up for everyone to see and believe in, and they shall have eternal life. God loved everyone so much that He put upon the Son of Man the sins of the world. He was lifted up on Calvary for all to see and believe. Those who have faith in Him will not perish but have everlasting life in heaven.

You see, Nicodemus, God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn everyone but to save them. They condemn themselves if they do not believe in the name of the only Son of God. In all reality, this is the truth:  light has come into the world to save the souls of everyone. But people love the darkness, as it covers the evil deeds they don’t want discovered. Those that live good lives are drawn to the light because their deeds will be shown to be of God.

The wind blows where it wishes, Nicodemus. Even though you can’t tell where the sound comes from, listen to it, as it is from the Spirit. Believe in it and be born again, this time of the Spirit, and you will have eternal life.

Love,
Jesus

(Paraphrased from John 3:1-21) (jew)

Bundled up in Love

PSALM 25

©Jeanne E Webster

I bundle up my entire being and offer it to You, my loving God.

I trust in You for everything, Father.
Don’t let me down; don’t let sin win out over me.
I know You won’t fail anyone who clings close to You.

The wicked ones will hang their heads in shame for the evil things they do.

Let me see your character, Father; teach me more of You.

Gently surround me as You disclose the reality of Your being,
for You’re the One and only God. I linger always for Your presence.

Father, remember me with Your gentle mercies of love, for they go way back to my beginnings.

Wipe away the foolish evil things I did when I was young, and with a loving heart, break bread with me, for You are all good and righteous.

Almighty God is upstanding and the mighty One; He will show people their sinful ways.

He will show mercy to those who are sorry for their wrongs.
He will instill in them the good things of life. God is loving, kind and steadfast to those who live righteously.

For Your sake, Father, forgive my sins, for they are numerous.

Who doesn’t stand in awe of God? He knows how to lead everyone in His ways to instill in them a peaceful spirit.

His heirs will be blessed with the land. God remains with those who honor him. He will let them know what he expects of them.

My focus lies on my God, for He will rescue me from the pit.

Look on me and have mercy, for I am desolate and ill at heart.

My problems are getting worse. Oh, save my life!

See how sinful I am. Forgive my sins!

Many people seek to harm me; see how they despise me and are cruel.

Protect me and rescue my life. Don’t forsake me, for I trust You.

Wrap me in Your integrity and uprightness, for I wait for You.

Ransom Your people Israel, Lord, and free them of their burdens.

Shalom