Isaiah 49:13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Oh Friends, do the wonders and promises of our Most Holy Lord ever cease? No! Never! Here, He’s promising that Israel will be restored to Zion. ‘Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because the Lord is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee…In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.’ (Is.49:7-8) Though Israel be wicked and disobedient, and though He destroys Jerusalem and scatter them to the ends of the earth, yet His faithfulness is such, that having made a covenant with them, chosen them for His people, one day, at a time acceptable to Him, He’ll redeem them, provide salvation, and bring them all back from whence they were scattered. Now isn’t that a wonderful God? His heart is so full of unconditional LOVE for us that though we be utterly sinful and insist on marching to the beat of our own drum, He will not wholly destroy us, will even provide salvation in the form of His Son, Jesus, so that we go not down into the endless pit of eternal darkness that sinners rightfully deserve. Oh people, it’s such a magnanimous act on God’s part; redeeming and saving us from everlasting death that Isaiah decreed it worthy of monumental action: ‘Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.’ And all God’s people sang: ‘Praise Him that’s worthy to be praised! Glory Hallelujah!’ Yes my Friends, as I keep repeating, that’s the magnificent kind of God we worship, where though He punishes for continual disobedience, yet will He apply mercy to His decisions of justice, using the same attributes He wants us to adopt and develop; attributes of LOVE, Forgiveness, Kindness, Patience and Long-suffering. Note people, He doesn’t ask us to do anything that He does not practice himself. The sole idea behind all His machinations is simply to bring us into conformity with Him; to mould us as closely as humanly possible to His outstanding character, where we’re not afraid to walk this wicked earth in peace, LOVE and understanding, glorifying Him and treating each other with respect and brotherly affection. But judging from the current state of our world, that seems like an incredibly difficult thing to do. What with all the strife that’s presently taking place, between families, neighbours and nations, it appears that peace and brotherly affection no longer exist in our vocabulary, or you’re considered old fashioned or crazy when you advocate a more peaceful and affectionate world. But Friends, this crazy path of destruction on which we seem hell bent is no way to live. It’s insane and stupid when we have all the natural wonders that God’s provided, and enough of everything to go around if a few of us weren’t so greedy and ‘gravelicious’ and want much more than we can ever use. And the sad part is that we can’t take any of it with us. So why the greed, the hoarding, the accumulating of worldly possessions eh? If our Great God, Jehovah can be merciful, forgiving and kind to us worthless sinners, to the point of sending His one Son, Jesus, to die for us, why can’t we be kind and forgiving to each other eh? Instead of being literally at each other’s throats, walking in fear and trepidation, not knowing if our next breath will be our last because of all the senseless violence that’s currently been perpetrated, where you’re not even safe behind your gated compounds and iron barred windows. Friends, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change it if we really want to. I’m not sure if it has to start at the top with the leaders, the wealthy and the power brokers making wiser decisions, for the benefit of all, rather than for a small greedy, deceitful group; or if it needs to come from the bottom, with the people rising up like a groundswell, demanding better. It’s most likely though some combination of the two, for it takes both hands to clap. I just know that we can’t continue down the negative path of self-destruction we’re currently treading. My brethren, our only hope is to reconnect with the Lord, and strengthen that connection so that nothing in Lucifer’s arsenal can break it. Let’s remember that our God is faithful, and this promise to Israel long ago, still holds true for all who believe in His Son Jesus. ‘I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. To open blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.’ (Is.42:6-7) Yes Friends, that’s exactly what we’re called to do; open the eyes of those in darkness, to the light of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. He’s depending on us to bring all of His children to salvation. We can’t afford to let Him down after all He’s done for us. And the best way to start is if we all ‘Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea and all that is therein: the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice…let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.’ (Is.42:10-12) Oh my people, immense strength, power, guidance and direction overflow our spirits when we all raise our voices to God in praise and glory. Let’s reenergize our walk with God by doing that today nuh. Much LOVE!…to walk with God…is to walk in everlasting light…
Oh Friends, do the wonders and promises of our Most Holy Lord ever cease? No! Never! Here, He’s promising that Israel will be restored to Zion. ‘Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because the Lord is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee…In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.’ (Is.49:7-8) Though Israel be wicked and disobedient, and though He destroys Jerusalem and scatter them to the ends of the earth, yet His faithfulness is such, that having made a covenant with them, chosen them for His people, one day, at a time acceptable to Him, He’ll redeem them, provide salvation, and bring them all back from whence they were scattered. Now isn’t that a wonderful God? His heart is so full of unconditional LOVE for us that though we be utterly sinful and insist on marching to the beat of our own drum, He will not wholly destroy us, will even provide salvation in the form of His Son, Jesus, so that we go not down into the endless pit of eternal darkness that sinners rightfully deserve. Oh people, it’s such a magnanimous act on God’s part; redeeming and saving us from everlasting death that Isaiah decreed it worthy of monumental action: ‘Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.’ And all God’s people sang: ‘Praise Him that’s worthy to be praised! Glory Hallelujah!’ Yes my Friends, as I keep repeating, that’s the magnificent kind of God we worship, where though He punishes for continual disobedience, yet will He apply mercy to His decisions of justice, using the same attributes He wants us to adopt and develop; attributes of LOVE, Forgiveness, Kindness, Patience and Long-suffering. Note people, He doesn’t ask us to do anything that He does not practice himself. The sole idea behind all His machinations is simply to bring us into conformity with Him; to mould us as closely as humanly possible to His outstanding character, where we’re not afraid to walk this wicked earth in peace, LOVE and understanding, glorifying Him and treating each other with respect and brotherly affection. But judging from the current state of our world, that seems like an incredibly difficult thing to do. What with all the strife that’s presently taking place, between families, neighbours and nations, it appears that peace and brotherly affection no longer exist in our vocabulary, or you’re considered old fashioned or crazy when you advocate a more peaceful and affectionate world. But Friends, this crazy path of destruction on which we seem hell bent is no way to live. It’s insane and stupid when we have all the natural wonders that God’s provided, and enough of everything to go around if a few of us weren’t so greedy and ‘gravelicious’ and want much more than we can ever use. And the sad part is that we can’t take any of it with us. So why the greed, the hoarding, the accumulating of worldly possessions eh? If our Great God, Jehovah can be merciful, forgiving and kind to us worthless sinners, to the point of sending His one Son, Jesus, to die for us, why can’t we be kind and forgiving to each other eh? Instead of being literally at each other’s throats, walking in fear and trepidation, not knowing if our next breath will be our last because of all the senseless violence that’s currently been perpetrated, where you’re not even safe behind your gated compounds and iron barred windows. Friends, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change it if we really want to. I’m not sure if it has to start at the top with the leaders, the wealthy and the power brokers making wiser decisions, for the benefit of all, rather than for a small greedy, deceitful group; or if it needs to come from the bottom, with the people rising up like a groundswell, demanding better. It’s most likely though some combination of the two, for it takes both hands to clap. I just know that we can’t continue down the negative path of self-destruction we’re currently treading. My brethren, our only hope is to reconnect with the Lord, and strengthen that connection so that nothing in Lucifer’s arsenal can break it. Let’s remember that our God is faithful, and this promise to Israel long ago, still holds true for all who believe in His Son Jesus. ‘I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. To open blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.’ (Is.42:6-7) Yes Friends, that’s exactly what we’re called to do; open the eyes of those in darkness, to the light of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. He’s depending on us to bring all of His children to salvation. We can’t afford to let Him down after all He’s done for us. And the best way to start is if we all ‘Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea and all that is therein: the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice…let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.’ (Is.42:10-12) Oh my people, immense strength, power, guidance and direction overflow our spirits when we all raise our voices to God in praise and glory. Let’s reenergize our walk with God by doing that today nuh. Much LOVE!…to walk with God…is to walk in everlasting light…
SCRIP-BITS 