Saturday, February 28, 2009

Compassion

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness,
He will not always strive with us;
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:8-14

"The Scripture says a great deal of the mercy of God, and we all have experienced it.
The father pities his children that are weak in knowledge, and teaches them;
pities them when they are froward, and bears with them;
pities them when they are sick, and comforts them;
pities them when they are fallen, and helps them to rise;
pities them when they have offended, and, upon their submission, forgives them;
pities them when wronged, and rights them:
thus the Lord pities those that fear him."
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Bible


Finish Psalm 103 for more encouragement on, as Henry says, "the constancy of His mercy."

(art credit to hmiracle @Etsy, A Mother Love Magnet)
(forgive the mom art- I know that this passage clearly refers to God the Father, and Henry to a father's love for his children, but since most of the GiantFaith readers are moms... :-) )

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Dark sayings of old

Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should teach them to their children,
That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
That they many arise and tell them to their children,
That they should put their confidence in God'
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments,
And not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not prepare its heart,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Psalm 78:1-8

Look at those imperaties:
tell
teach
arise
not forget
keep

Those are our marching orders.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Tell of His Greatness

I will extol Thee, my God, O King;
And I will bless Thy name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless Thee,
And I will praise Thy name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Thy works to another,
And shall declare Thy mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty,
And on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate.
And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts;
And I will tell of Thy greatness.
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Thine abundant goodness,
And shall shout joyfully of Thy righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee, O Lord,
And Thy godly ones shall bless Thee.
They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom,
And talk of Thy power;
To make known to the sons of men Thy mighty acts,
And the glory of the majesty of Thy kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Thy dominion endures throughout all generations.

Psalm 145:1-13

(photo credit to JamesWatkins)