All Discussion PAGE 211

Ps.122 "Set Thrones of judgment"-2

"To give thanks unto the name of theLord./For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

Jerusalem was formerly a Canaanite city and in the time of David he drove the original inhabitants out of the city and since then Zion has remained a shadow of heavenly realities. As analogous to it our soul serves as an altar; so our living sacrifices are about the tabernacle of heart where prayers are before the throne of grace. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty./I will say of theLord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."(91:1-2)

'Thrones of judgment' as a spiritual term is the word of God, which is to warn us, exhort comfort as well as testimony. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."(119:11) Soul and Spirit serve a child of God. It is said, those who forget their history shall repeat the same mistakes. It is true in spiritual life as well. It is this we need approach the parable of Asaph in Ps.78. Soul needs to be taught fresh so indwelling Spirit is literally a Helper that the risen Christ has sent to us. "Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:/But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved./And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.:(78:67-69)

The word of God is to expose our innermost recesses so we may be aware of where are we heading. We are not like the Israelites who perished in the wilderness for their disbelief.

vv.6-12

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee./Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces./For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee./Because of the house of theLordour God I will seek thy good."

Ps.122 "Set thrones of judgment"

"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together." (v.3)

Jerusalem as a city of peace was never a city of brotherly love or in peace. Where the priestly class had established a status 'holier-than-thou' the name was a misnomer. Peace that can only be found in unswerving bond of peace between God and man eluded the city of Jerusalem then as now.

In rejecting the prince of peace we have instead a more realistic picture of the city and it came from the Man in whom God sent his gospel. . "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!/Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." The desolation of the house explained their nation which reflected their times and the world. Equally brutalized was their heart to reject the fear of God.

How would they fear what they have not believed? Truth in their inward parts they never looked at because the observance of sacrifices and traditions of their fathers made them complacent. In rejecting faith and relying on works they invited catastrophe. Going into exiles under Assyria and Babylon they had a illusion of Jerusalem as city of peace. It was a lie since they found no peace in their own soul. Is it not the case even now? "O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:" (Is.48:18). It is to this Jesus referred,"For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matt.23:37-39)

This psalm composed by David can be approached literally as well as spiritually which is more to the point than indulging in a make-believe piety. "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Ti.3:5)

Ps.121 "For evermore"

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.My help cometh from theLord, which made heaven and earth." The Holy Spirit gives us a symbol for God in terms of his Will. He is the Rock and the Son in terms of its fulfillment, the stone ("a stone was cut out without hands,"-Dan.2: 34). Besides we have the rock delineated in spiritual terms. With regards to the Israelites who were led forth from Egypt the Spirit gives a marginal note, "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."(1 Co.10:4). When Jesus walked on the earth on one occasion he declared, "Jesus said to them,"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was,I am."/Sothey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple."( John 8:58-59-ESV). What made the nation of Israel blind so they could not see Jesus for what he was? He was the fulfillment of the law and Israel could not deem him as such. The same error is in our times as well that man has not insight, an understanding as to what his soul signifies. 'for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."(139:14)

In Ps.90 we have a wonderful description as to our dwelling place even before the mountains were formed. "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations./Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (90:1-2) We were foreknown by our Lord God and He is compared to the rock of Ages to whom we can run for refuge because of his Son. God placing Moses in the cleft of a rock illustrates what He is.

'The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand', where the Spirit means Jesus Christ. Similarly forever more also refers to Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever' (He.13:8). The Word concerning His children is 'peace'.

Good morning brother Spencer, Amen!

Joyce and I were just listening to a wedding service across the country, a young man and a young woman side by side, hand in hand making vows to be faithful for as long as their lives continue in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity. The couple answered affirmatively as they were married. Both the man and the woman were first married in the Lord before this day occurred. Now a three fold cord has made them whole for the rest of their lives together. She is bone of his bone and he will cleave to her. The Christian vow to Christ at the Cross is similar, only unto Him.

So, God shows marriage as what He means as well. Since the beginning, with a Promise.

I hope all is well your way!

God bless our walk.

Part 29 and final.

The Islamic Threat to Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt.

Beginning with Britain's mandate over "Palestine," during which they gave most of it to the Arabs, and continuing on to U.N. Resolution 181, November 29, 1947, partitioning "Palestine"--and as part of every peace plan since--in fulfillment of this prophecy, not just one enemy but the nations of the world have divided God's land ( Lev 25:23). They will be punished for that defiance of God and His Word. Bush ought to tremble. The whole basis of the Roadmap to Peace is a further division of Israel.

Behind it all is Islam, the chief enemy of Israel. The battle over Israel is a battle for survival on Satan's part and a battle for the souls and destiny of mankind. If Islam and the nations siding with her should win, then we are all eternally lost. If God, whose integrity is tied to Israel's ultimate restoration and blessing, has not told the truth about His chosen people and their destiny, then how could we believe His promises that Christ paid the penalty for our sins and His offer of forgiveness and eternal life for those who believe in Him? Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

If God, whose integrity is tied to Israel's ultimate restoration and blessing, has not told the truth about His chosen people and their destiny, then how could we believe His promises that Christ paid the penalty for our sins and His offer of forgiveness and eternal life for those who believe in Him? Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord for his faithfulness!

Ezekiel 36:17-28. " Verses 23-28 is yet future!!

God bless.

God bless my brother Jon with your healing grace and mercy and your divine guidance and inspiration so that he can overcome all of his health problems and be restored to good health in mind and body again.

Does it mean fishes and all other creatures that reside in the water were not destroyed by the flood? because I can't see where it was mentioned. But God destroyed man and every living creature by the flood, both on land and the birds of the air.

Love of God: Salvation (concluding thoughts)

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ( Ephesians 2:5-7).

This verse shows how God is rich in mercy; and goes beyond just a one time experience and puts his people on display for the Millennium and throughout eternity all because of what Christ accomplished on our behalf on the cross. In the present He is working out our salvation through fear and trembling (stating that we are to work it out but implying of course that it is His strength and surrender to the Spirit that accomplishes this: Philippians 2:12-13). This is known as "sanctification" followed by glorification after death or at the time of the Rapture/Resurrection of the saints.

I brought out before in the last post and many times in other posts that God chastises all those He loves. This isn't a popular concept especially among the "prosperity gospel" crowd. Indeed the KJV says we are bastards if we aren't being disciplined in this way ( Heb. 12:8). A human child through the love of the parents is disciplined as the famous "spare the rod and spoil the child" and many like sentiments in scripture indicate ( Prov. 13:24). Ephesians 4:22 says to put off the old man; and Galatians states that we are crucified with Christ (chapter 2; verse 20).

God has also expressed His love in honoring His covenants; both with national Israel and the new covenant with His church.

This would be my response to comments on difficulty conceiving of the value of what happened in the Old Testament. Indeed all scripture is good for instruction and all other tenets as stated in 2 Tim. 3:16. There is much to learn from mistakes of others as well as worthy acts of saints of all ages in scripture.

Part 28.

The Islamic Threat to Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt.

There is a generic word for God and it is Ilah, found all through the Qur'an such as in Surah 4:171: "Allah is only one Ilah." The confession one must make or die declares that there is "No Ilah but Allah" " (5:73): "La ilaha i' Allah, Muhammadan Rasoulu Allah."

Of Allah the Qur'an says, "Far is it removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son (Sur 4:171); Certainly they disbelieve who say: Allah is the third of the three. Then how can the Arabic Bible call Jesus the "Son of Allah"? That Allah has a Son is denied 16 times in the Qur'an. How absurd, then, to use Allah for God in the Arabic Bible! What could, "For Allah so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," possibly mean?

A Cup of Trembling

Israel only wants to be left in peace. It makes no threats against its neighbors. Yet Muslim nations have spent billions of dollars since the Yom Kippur War for the latest military equipment, with top priority for missiles carrying a variety of deadly warheads. The whole world knows these are not defensive weapons. They exist for only one purpose: to rain death and destruction upon Israel, bringing an end to its existence and taking possession for the Muslim world of all of the land God promised His chosen people.

The world, in taking the side of Islam, is joining this pagan and violent religion in its open defiance of the God of the Bible. He has warned that He will punish all the nations of the world for two things they have done to His chosen people, the Jews: "whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land" ( Joel 3:2). This is a remarkable prophecy. Israel has been conquered by many enemies who have occupied it, but never divided it. Not even the Muslims did that.

See Part 29, (And final)

Part 27.

The Islamic Threat to Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt.

Graham's long-time friend Robert Schuller recently basked in the acclaim of Muslims at a Villa Park, Illinois mosque where he declared that he had come to realize that "asking people to change their faith was utterly ridiculous." Coming to the defense of history's most cruel and violent religion, Robert Schuller insists: "This is a time to guard against attacking religion.... It has been my honor to become acquainted with the power leaders of positive Islam. And there is and has been a strong anti-Islam propaganda loose in this world."

Positive Islam? Muhammad never heard of it! "Anti-Islam propaganda"? No one could give Islam a worse name than Muhammad, the Qur'an, and centuries of slaughter have done from the beginning!

In contrast, Jerry Falwell on 60 Minutes declared that Muhammad was a terrorist, and, as Franklin Graham has said, that Islam is "very evil and wicked." For those remarks Christianity Today rebuked them, saying that "Islam would not have become the second largest world religion if it were...as thoroughly evil as these comments suggest." Jesus said something about the "broad road," and Solomon about "a way that seems right unto a man."

In an article titled "Allah Does Not Belong to Islam," the Christian Research Journal has declared: "Allah is the God Arab-speaking Christians worship. The Arabic Bible is replete with the word Allah, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Jesus Christ is even called the son of Allah in the Arabic Scriptures.... Allah is simply the word or term for God in another language [Arabic].... equivalent to...English God...French Dieu... Spanish Dios.. We can join our Arab brothers and sisters in Christ who often say, 'Allah be praised!'"

This is not true.

See Part 28.

Part 26.

The Islamic Threat To Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt

While visiting Jerusalem in 1998, the Vatican's foreign minister called the Israeli presence in East Jerusalem "illegal occupation." In March 1999, Israel was notified again that the European Union "does not recognize Israel's sovereignty" over Jerusalem. In a papal bull on the year 2000 jubilee, John Paul II again rejected Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. In mid-February 2000, the Vatican signed an agreement with the PLO calling for "international guarantees" to preserve "the proper identity and sacred character" of Jerusalem under international control. Wakf director Adnan Husseini, in charge of Muslim sites on the Temple Mount, declared: "Israel needs to remember that Jerusalem is not an Israeli city but it is a Palestinian city and we decide what happens here" (Jerusalem Post, 11/4/04).

From a religious point of view, Islam is pure paganism almost unchanged from what had been practiced by pagan Arab tribes for centuries before Muhammad was born. Ramadan and the hajj have remained almost exactly the same in Islam. The only changes Muhammad made were to promote Allah from chief god to only god--and to force submission to Allah under threat of death. Yet Christian leaders, among them some evangelicals, insist upon saying that Allah is the God of the Bible and that Islam is not so far removed from Christianity as is imagined.

Billy Graham has naively said, "Islam is misunderstood.... Muhammad had a great respect for Jesus, called Jesus the greatest of the prophets except himself. I think we're closer to Islam than we really think we are...." Yes, as close as the distance between hell and heaven! The Qur'an denies that Jesus is God or the Son of God or that He died on the cross for our sins. There is no salvation in Islam, and it is thoroughly anti-Christian.

See Part 27.

Part 25.

The Islamic Threat To Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt

A number of such diatribes were put together on a video by then Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee Ben Gilman, who offered to show them in a press conference September 21, 1995. No one from the press was interested! Even more disturbing, Israel's Ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, pleaded with Gilman not to air the tapes--it might hinder the "peace process"!

Netanyahu writes, "...my party and I were virtually isolated in our warning that Arafat would not keep his word.... We were widely castigated as enemies of peace.... Our argument was that handing Gaza over to Arafat would immediately create a lush terrorist haven...." Of course, he was right.

Islam exercises incredible clout through the possession of the major oil deposits by Muslim nations. In view of that fact, the European Union continues to remind Israel that it "does not recognize Israel's sovereignty" over Jerusalem. The Vatican for its own reasons (numerous official documents declare that the church has replaced Israel as the "people of God") has opposed Israel consistently, refusing even to recognize its existence until 1994, 46 years after its declaration of independence. The PLO are in control of Temple Mount, the very heart and soul of Jerusalem. The nations of the world refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

We are witnessing the continuing fulfillment of Christ's remarkable prophecy: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" ( Lk 21:24).

We are witnessing the continuing fulfillment of Christ's remarkable prophecy: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" ( Lk 21:24).

Note: By the way, this is the Jerusalem here on earth! Not the one comes down from Heaven in Revelation!

Isaiah 24:21-23.

See Part 26.

Part 24.

The Islamic Threat to Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

Yet President Bush insists, "The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself." If that is true, then Muhammad "hijacked" Islam 13 centuries ago at its very start. But how could the founder and his immediate successors practice an extreme form of Islam? Who knew Islam better than Muhammad himself?

By any standard, Muhammad was a terrorist, and so were his followers. In the Qur'an, Allah declares that he will strike terror into the enemies of Islam.

In the Wall Street Journal, Eliot Cohen of John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies reminded any world leaders who would listen that "an hour spent surfing the Web will give...the kind of insights [into Islam]...found during World War II by reading Mein Kampf or the writings of Lenin, Stalin or Mao. Nobody would like to think that a major world religion has a deeply aggressive and dangerous strain in it...but uttering uncomfortable and unpleasant truths... defines leadership." The major threat to Israel today is not from a few fanatics, as we pointed out, but from devout Muslims. Indeed, from Islam itself!

A number of available videos document the blatant deceit with footage of Arafat and his spokesmen and Islamic clerics over the last 20 years stating clearly to Muslim audiences that all of the "peace" negotiations are aimed at one thing: the ultimate destruction of Israel. Repeatedly, they speak of a "Palestinian state" from the Mediterranean to the Jordan with its capital in Jerusalem. But the world, including its media and leaders, close their eyes and ears to the obvious truth.

See Part 25.

Part 23.

The Islamic Threat To Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt

On May 4, 1994, in Cairo, Arafat and Rabin signed the "Jericho First" Peace Accord implementing Oslo. The afternoon of the historic handshake with Yitzak Rabin on the White House lawn, Arafat's name appeared near the top in a list of "world terrorists released by a congressional committee." He is one of the most evil mass murderers in history. Yet he was given the Nobel Prize for Peace, and Clinton and Gore received him repeatedly as an honored statesman in the White House. Thankfully, President Bush refused to deal with Arafat at all. What the world (including Bush) won't admit, however, is that Arafat's bloody, terrorist career was based on Islam!

Following 9/11/01, Prime Minister Tony Blair declared: "This terrorist act has nothing to do with Islam." Colin Powell, likewise, said, "Leave Islam out of this. Islam is peace." In fact, evidence gathered by the FBI shows that the Twin Towers were brought down to the glory of Allah in pursuit of world conquest and to obtain Islam's promised Paradise for the hijackers.

In a speech at the Islamic Center at Washington D.C., President Bush reiterated: "The face of terror is not the true face of Islam. Islam is peace." He reassured a joint session of Congress and the Senate and the people of the United States, "Terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim clerics [and] perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam Its teachings are good and peaceful."

In fact, the very morning of September 11, in a time zone six hours to the east, an editorial in Arafat's controlled newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadida, stated: "The suicide bombers of today are the noble successors of the Lebanese suicide bombers who taught the U.S. Marines a tough lesson in Lebanon 243 were killed. These suicide bombers are the salt of the earth, the engines of history the most honorable people among us." Then, down came the Twin Towers!

See Part 24.

Ps.120 "False tongue"

"In my distress I cried unto theLord, and he heard me./Deliver my soul, OLord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue."

how we are made. "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." (139:14) There is nothing here that we have added to it. It is 'thy works' and only these shall endure.

The word eternally settled in the heavens attest to it. It only needed a little madness to convince King Nebuchadnezzar that his magnificence was only a make believe. "The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?/While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee."(Dan.4:30-31) The king spoke being a man spoke with 'a false tongue.'

God formed man of the ground and his breath made him a living soul which Psalmist David affirms as knowing right well. God a Spirit also formed all hearts alike so we are worlds exactly as His Sovereign power and glory created heaven and the earth. In short His will has set everything needful for our life and godliness so inner world and exterior world precisely hold relationship correspondingly. Despite of what is ordained where man says,'There is no God' he is holding truth in unrighteousness. He is a fool.

According to the will of the Father the man was given authority so obedience of the soul is compared to the Father Son relationship in heaven. Thus Adam was the son of God.( Luke 3:38).

In this psalm when soul laments.'woe is me' that I sojourn in Mesech, we can appreciate how a Christian abiding in Christ would feel with all the activism of the ungodly going about among the congregation. In vv.3-7 we have the dilemma of being unequally yoked with sons of Belial despite of what they might profess.

Part 22.

The Islamic Threat to Israel (Part 5) (Conclusion)

By Dave Hunt.

A False Peace

The whole "peace process" was an Islamic ploy by Arafat, and will be no different under his successors, whoever they may be. Oslo required Arafat to remove from the PLO Charter the call for Israel's annihilation. In grand style he announced that the clause had been revoked. Yet in the same speech he praised terrorists and terrorist countries. It was a bald "hoax" as London's Daily Telegraph (5/2/96) declared. The clause had not and has not been removed. And even if it were, that would change nothing. It is not the PLO Charter that defines Israel's extermination, but Islam itself.

Blind to the obvious truth, Rabin's widow proclaimed in confident but misplaced trust, "Tonight I can tell you that the Palestinian National Council has revoked the clauses in its covenant that called for the destruction of Israel." Rabin's successor, Prime Minister Shimon Peres, hailed this "most important historical development in our region in 100 years." Peres exulted on Voice of Israel Radio, "Today we have ended the Israeli--Arab conflict--Utopia is coming!" What madness!

He willfully was closing his eyes and ears to the frequent calls for an end to Israel, repeated throughout the "peace negotiations" many times by Arafat and other PLO leaders, such as this by Arafat's deputy, Abu Iyad: "It is our right that we should have...an independent Palestinian state that will function as a base from which to liberate Jaffa, Akko and all of Palestine." Another aide, echoing Nasser and many others, had earlier said, "The struggle with the Zionist enemy is not a struggle about Israel's borders, but about Israel's existence." This is Islam.

Oslo only brought increased violence against Israel. In the ten years prior to Oslo, about 200 Israelis had been killed by terrorists, while in the ten years following about 1,200 were killed and more than 5,000 wounded.

See Part 23.

Amen Carleton!

A child that is drawn to the faith and repentance in Jesus Christ, this child needs no teaching of the history of God's people for this born-again experience.

God uses Israel to show the world that he means what he says and says what he means!

All these things are for our learning.

God bless.

Hi Giannis,

Part one.

First, I would like to say Revelation is not in any kind of chronological order, and we agree there are only two resurrections. The rapture, many believe this is just for the Church before Jesus's second coming. By saying this in my understanding is what makes 1 Thess. 4:13-19 look like a different event from the first resurrection at Jesus's second coming. Matt. 24:31 Mark 13:27 1 Cor. 15:51-58 1 Thess. 4:16-17 Rev. 11:15 Rev. 19:11-16 At the last trump the second coming of Jesus, all these describe the first resurrection. Rev. 20:6.

There are only two resurrections, and we see the first resurrection at Jesus's second coming at the seventh and last Trump. After the battle, we see those in this first resurrection at the judgment seat of Christ, the thrones set up Rev. 20:4. Jesus and His chosen then set up the kingdom and the thousand years start. The rest saved and lost will not be resurrected until after 1,000 years Rev.20:5 Rev.20 the last verse 27 tells us this is not just for the lost there are those found in the Book of Life.

See part two.

Giannis,

Part two

The Bride and the Marriage Supper, many say the Church is the Bride but nowhere in Scripture is the Church called the Bride. There are analogies of how Jesus loves and treats the Church as a man should his wife. In the first verse of 2 Cor. 11 Paul asked them to bear with his folly this suggests what he was to say is allegorical.

If we look at Matt. 26:29 Mark 14:25 Jesus is telling the disciples he will not drink of this fruit of the vine until He drinks it new with you in my Father's kingdom, the keyword is new. The Bride of Christ is the New Jerusalem: Rev 21:9-11 She was arrayed in fine linen, the righteousness of saints, the garments clean and spotless of the saints is what she is arrayed in.

Christians are sons of God, Romans 8:14 1 John 3:2 we are joint-heirs with Christ Romans 8:17 Gal. 3:29 we are the body of Christ 1 Cor. 12:27 we are in the body of His flesh Col. 1:22. We are who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb Rev.19:9. Like Jesus said at the Last Supper He will not drink until all is new. The marriage supper is when there is a new heaven and new earth and the New Jerusalem comes out of heaven down to the new earth and all saints from old to the new are the "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"

What a glorious site that will be.

This is my understanding different as it may be.

God bless,

RLW

Ps.119:161-168 "Shin"

The penultimate psalm leads the last section which is a recap of all other psalms gone before. Firstly what strikes is its heading 'Shin' or sin, the Hebrew letter to signify Shaddai, a name for God, This is coupled with the last, having equally a very apt title 'Tau' for Truth. The Holy Spirit thus rounds off the Psalm with the focus on the Word which in the beginning was with God. In these psalms the Spirit for our spiritual instruction set the word become flesh in terms of the heart where he dwelt by faith. Jesus Christ, (I am the truth")serves as the author and finisher of our faith.

One possible meaning of Shaddai is of God being associated with Mountain. "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help!/My help cometh from theLord, who made heaven and earth."(121:1-2) Shaddai comes from the Akkadian word Shaddu for mountain.. From the similitude of rock cut not with hands in the vision of Daniel to the mighty angel hurling down a rock like a millstone throwing into the sea the mountain has great spiritual significance. All these psalms we have been looking at are not some dry as dogma but a great movement which can only explain the relationship of the Lord Almighty and His creation. They know the terror of the Power and glory of God. "The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled." (Ps.77:16-ESV) God leading the Israelites through the Red sea for example cause terror which is no less than what mountains shall feel. "O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?/Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob," (114:6-7) This movement ultimately leads to the day of Judgment, which the psalmist confess 'thy righteous judgments'.

This being the case how do we handle our life in the flesh? "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."(v.165). They are like mount Zion. ( Ps. 125:1-2)

Ps.119:17-24 "Gimel"

"I will not forget thy word." from the previous unit leads us to meditate on the reward of having the Lord as our shepherd. "I shall not want: (23:1)

"Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." 65:4)"For a day in thy courtsisbetter than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."(84:10)

The word is the testimony set in the heart so the psalmist prays for grace not to forget His word but also keep his commandments. "Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word./Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

Wisdom of the word is to choose life than death. "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me./Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness./My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver./I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:/That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures."(Pr.8:17-21) This is the reward the Hebrew letter Gimel indicates.

The last line is a statement that serves as the end. Each division holds 4 such units of eight lines. The command number Four signifies the Word become flesh,

To sum: the psalm 119 is made up of 5 major divisions as in the case of canto an Italian term, with the last two units serving as a recap, an envoi.

Ps.119:169-176 "Tau"

"For all my ways are before thee"(v. 168b) links to the last section under the last Hebrew letter 'Tau'* which means Truth. This validates 'the word' ('Thy word is truth'- John 17:18) which forms the focus of the entire psalm. "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."(v.160)

Here is a penitent psalm where the psalmist confesses that all his ways are before God. "And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."(He. 4:13). "Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering."( Job 26:6-ESV)

"Let my cry come near before thee, OLord: give me understanding according to thy word./Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word./My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes."

"My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness./Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts./I have longed for thy salvation, OLord; and thy law is my delight./Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me."

The penitent man rests his case: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments."(v.176)

*Note:Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew word emet, which means'truth'. The midrash explains that emet is made up of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Psalm119:1-8 "Aleph"

Aleph is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. As a sign the upper yud represents the revealed word pointing toward the earth; on the other the lower yud represents the word in its return, thereby it encapsulates the verse,"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."(Is.55:11) In a general sense the vav, the diagonal stroke signifies the Spirit, the third office in Trinity.

This is merely marginalia, a marginal note to the word of God with which the Spirit in order to instruct man in righteousness. has set the will of God in terms of the statutes, commandments and testimonies. Which ought not be any strange to him given that the truth in his inward parts. and it is what his heart enshrines. When the psalmist says,"I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, LORD,/proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds."(26:6-7-NIV) He not only creates a proper atmosphere for devotion,- by washing his hands clean but also declares the loving kindness of God. Faith with works involves confession, restitution, obedience to the revealed word (statutes) and declaration.

This first section we have a colloquy between the exterior world with its analogous interior world.

What does truth tell the psalmist? "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of theLord./Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart."

How does the soul respond? "They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways./Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. The soul is addressing Christ the word become flesh, 'Thou hast commanded'

The v.8 serves as a bridge to the next section: "I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly."

Psalm 119 "The letter Beth"

This psalm is long in comparison and is arranged in sections and also hold an acrostic pattern. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and this psalm contains 22 units of 8 verses each. Each of the 22 sections is given a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section begins with that letter.We shall examine the second letter Beth. Beth literally means house, for example Beth-el would mean house of God.

In this section the Holy Spirit has organized a running exchange between the psalmist and his inner man: parallelism where the soul 'a tabernacle' the man affirms 'I will keep thy statutes', the truth written in his interior world' to which the soul asks a rhetorical question,'Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? The spirit moderates their colloquy: By taking heed thereto according to thy word." It is thus the indwelling Spirit helps us pray and pay attention to the word of God according to the will of God. "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God./And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.(Ro.8:26-28)

Now the entire section:

I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly./Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

10With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments./Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

12Blessed art thou, OLord: teach me thy statutes./With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

14I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches./I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

Ez.20:44-49 "All flesh shall see it" (2 of 2)

And ye shall know that I am theLordwhen I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the LordGod.

45Moreover the word of theLordcame unto me, saying,

46Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

'There is an emphasis on the 'south' in the Hebrew brought out by the use of different Hebrew words (the Negeb also indicated south of the hills of Judah), and we can see Ezekiel turning towards the south from Babylon in the sight of his listeners. Today the Negeb is waterless desert except where it is watered by man made irrigation, but it is clear that in Ezekiel's time the land somewhat more fruitful and sufficiently watered to produce a 'forest' of trees. It was from the south that Egypt was expected to come with its useless aid.

But 'the south' in the first two cases may have reference simply to the southern kingdom, to Jerusalem(Ez.21:2a) and the land of Israel (21:2-3) .(Ack:commentary/Peterpett)

Here we haven alternate redering:

"And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of theLord; Thus saith the LordGod; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. (v.46)

This fire shall not be quenched meaning that we need look beyond the circumstances of Israel and to the end times. v.49 gives us the clue.

" Set thy face toward the south" Ezekiel positioned ('As the Lord have spoken it) which is about judgment. "And all flesh shall see that I theLordhave kindled it: it shall not be quenched."

49Then said I, Ah LordGod! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

Please remember my daughter Jessica and her family today in your prayers , please remember me and my family.

Ez.20:27-29 "All flesh shall see it" (1 of 2)

"....O house of Israel? As I live, saith the LordGod, I will not be enquired of by you./"And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone".

"And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all,"Here we have from the Spirit and it is for our instruction. When the Lord God set Prophet Ezekiel as the watchman for the nation of Israel it has its specific purpose. Therein also are God-inspired lessons for all ages and man. The lesson could be set in few words. Man proposes God disposes. Why history of man always go awry? It shall never be according to how he plans, whether in his own mind or as part of a group as was the case in the Versailles,1919 but it does not work. Pure and simple. A chicken in every pot' President Hoover promised in 1928.

Wall Street crash of 29 was the unkindest cut. Who is to blame. The nation let loose their commitment to God. Two examples of 21 Tulsa race massacre and close in heels against Osage nation all but forgotten from news media but God sees it all. Multiply such hatred among citizenry upset all calculations of a decent and able man. Hoover was defeated by forces he could not name. Similarly Israel would be defeated by an unseen enemy of their own making.

It is not laws of nation that is under discussion but the law of the Spirit by which God fashioned all hearts alike(Ps.33:15)" When we speak of vision we need look for the saying of Jesus,"But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how greatisthat darkness!(Matt.6:23)" If thine eye be evil' is conditional and because of which have we not seen law is made a mockery? Benefit of doubt is a state as much as finding a legal loophole. Man escapes but how long?

Ez.20:1-26 "State of the Union" (2 of 2)

' Because of their persistent disobedience their hearts were hardened a condition which we read that Pharaoh developed. It is prior to judgment of God and it is a phase where the laws and statutes become unenforceable.

God allows their reprobate hearts to devise mischief, but God does not tempt any with anything patently false. The reprobate minds have to learn by own consequences. "And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am theLord."(v.26) For example the slavery question and dispossessing the native Americans of their lands by law would become imponderable issues in course of time.

From the above quote we can understand our present situation. It was inevitable that wrath of God shall descend on the rebellious house of Israel.''Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols./Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;And I polluted them in their own gifts,...' This last line is very clear.

Without God what nations choose as their best feature shall be their very weakness. Law was for Israel their pride of joy and if it had become their shame are we to wonder? Under capitalism wealth is all-in all. If pandemic, a series of them were to descend on nations who crowed over their possessions their own gifts have become polluted, a poisoned chalice.

Ez.20:1-26 "State of the Union" (1 of 2)

Here Prophet Ezekiel is delivering his State of the Union address on behalf of God.

When the elders came with apparent show of deference to the prophet how does the Lord respond to it? 'As I live, saith the LordGod, I will not be enquired of by you'. He has a good reason not to be taken in by their hypocrisy."Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nearmewith their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:(Is.29:13)." The only way these elders could have done was to make a clean break with the past. It is why God begins with this" 'cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:(v.4)." St Paul also speaks of outing what has remained unaddressed and not got rid of. Before taking Holy Communion the believer has to examine if he is approaching the Lord's Table unworthily or not. The elder's show of piety was nothing without addressing it first."For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged./But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world(1 Co.11:31-32)".

We shall enumerate some of the highlights from this Union address:

It was God who would lead them according to all His promises to Abraham. 'In the day when I chose Israel'

2. 'Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am theLordyour God(v.7)'.

3. in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty Hand God showed the heathen what Israel was to Him(v.9).

4. 'And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them(v.11)'.

5. 'Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols./Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness(vv.16-17).'

Ez.18 :1-4 A Proverb

The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,/What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

The proverb concerning Israel has no more use since in his Son it has been settled. "Ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel."

God sent his Son to the world in the fulness of time and he was the word become flesh. For this reason the Spirit qualifies him as the only begotten Son. He set an example for example, faith a facet of His holiness. He set the standard for which we do not resort to riddle or any proverb. Eating sour grapes has consequence. Living by faith as his Son constitute the same quality of his Son. The just shall live by faith.

Physical act of eating sour grapes has consequences only as far our bodies are concerned."Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die". The just shall live by faith. Anything that is not done in faith is sin and it is what the Spirit instructs.