Psalm 48:1. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
Oh Friends, that dreaded day, Monday, has come around again to rudely interrupt our calm, peaceful, relaxing weekend. However, for us believers, it should not be a day to be feared, but one to embrace with wholehearted joy. Hn, hn! I know some of you are pouting and sarcastically mouthing; ‘Yeh, right!’(smile) In fact, each day the Lord grants us here on earth should be greeted as an undeserved blessing and treated as such. And Monday ought to be treasured because it’s when we get to go back out into the evil, ungodly, workday world and fight for our God and His righteousness. Enough talk though, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Oh Friends, I hope that stirred us up enough to make us want to dash into battle on the Lord’s behalf! But in your haste, please don’t forget your spiritual armour. And if it didn’t stir you up, then I’m sure our Bit will: ‘Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.’ Wow! Isn’t that empowering, encouraging, reassuring and comforting? It sure is! Oh mih people, knowing that we worship such a mighty and magnificent God is surely an awe-inspiring phenomenon, since there is NO OTHER like Him in the entire universe! The psalm from which our Bit’s taken is aptly titled; ‘God is our God.’ That certainly deserves another ‘Wow!’ for they are words of wisdom. It’s one of those Songs of Zion, describing the glory of Jerusalem, how God delivered her from her enemies. ‘Beautiful for situation (in elevation or height), the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.’ (Ps.48:2-3) And in Psalm 46, ‘God is our refuge and strength,’ the psalmist proudly proclaims: ‘There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles (dwelling places) of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved (shaken): God shall help her, and that right early (at the break of dawn)…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.’ (Ps.46:4-5,7) Yes Friends, Jerusalem and Mt. Zion, the city and haven of our great God and King, have successfully withstood its enemies during the years through God’s powerful machinations. Even when the city was reduced to ashes and rubble, He rebuilt it, and it will be highly exalted in the new kingdom, therefore His people do praise and worship Him for His LOVING-kindness. And it’s a theme found throughout the Psalms. Psalm 76, ‘The Victorious God,’ says it thus: ‘In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem (Jerusalem) also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.’ (Ps.76:1-3) Meanwhile, Psalm 87 describes the glories of Zion: ‘His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord LOVETH the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.’ (Ps.87:1-3) Now listen to Jesus’ take on the subject in His talk on oaths. ‘But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.’ (Matt.5:34-35)Yes Friends, our God is great! There’s no doubt about that. We’ve seen it from the time of creation. But by the same token Him and His works are so great that they often overwhelm our puny minds and souls, either making us feel very inferior or making us fearful. But there’s really no need for either people because in His unrivalled wisdom and absolute faithfulness, He’s promised that whoever seeks Him, will find Him, and if we continually worship and adore Him, He’ll never leave nor forsake us. And all God’s people joyfully shouted, ‘Thank you Lord!’ because there’s no one else who can make such awesome, truthful claim but our God of grace, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE. And if we sincerely believe, and have surrendered total control of our lives and our destiny to Him, then it’s our bounden duty to get out into the evil, ungodly world in which we now live, and give it our all, to swing the pendulum back in His direction. Oh Friends, this is not really for or about us, but our children, whom we’ve done a great injustice by not imprinting the Word of God sufficiently in their souls, and allowing our world to become so evil that it swallows them up without even a fighting chance. But it’s not too late. We can still turn it around if we seriously want to. So let’s rump up that desire, get out there in our flaming chariots and ride…ride for God! Much LOVE! …while there’s life…there’s always hope…
SCRIP-BITS 