Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 December 2020 Psalm 121:2.

Psalm 121:2.     ​My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.

Oh friends, the ole fella’s in a bit of a quandary this morning; he doesn’t know what to talk about, he has no coherent subject to comment on, like my well has run dry. (smile) These things do happen to the best of us at times. However, as I was leafing through the Good Book, the Psalms in particular, I came upon some verses that seemed to be just made for today. They’re all from different psalms, but something about them just touched me and I got the great idea to put them forward for our understanding and knowledge today. And I hope that all of them, or even just one touches our hearts this Monday morning and gives us thought for pause and ‘ponderation.’ (smile) 

So here goes. The first verse comes from Psalm 109 – A prayer for the punishment of the wicked – from the pen of Bruh David. After wishing divine retribution on his enemies, he boldly declares (yeahh!): ‘I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn (are judging) his soul.’ (Ps. 109:30-31) 

My question is, are we praising the Lord greatly amongst the multitude of the heathen, among the numerous evildoers in our world? And do we believe that the Lord will fight for the poor and downtrodden against the rich and mighty? If our hearts are right, the answer to both questions ought to be a loud and proud: ‘YES!’ 

The next verse comes from Psalm 111, where the psalmist proclaims with certainty: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.’ (Ps. 111:10) Now that’s the very essence of life my people! 

And to show it’s oh so true, Job made that declaration in Job 28:28, and Cousin Sol makes the same declaration, not once, but three times; in Prov. 1:7, Prov. 9:10, and Eccl. 12:13. So there must be a whole lot of truth to it. That leads to the question, do we fear the Lord? Do we possess that awe-filled reverence toward the Lord God Almighty; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Hopefully we will all shout out another loud and proud: ‘YES!’ 

And then we move on to that great Psalm 119, where the author desires of the Lord: ‘Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works….Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.’ (Ps. 119:27, 33-34) 

Wow mih bredrin! Those are the kinds of things we ask of the Lord when we have wisdom, when we reverence Him with our whole hearts, soul and being, because those are the things that keep us on the right track in this wicked and perverse world. And yuh know what’s next, (smile) the question of whether we desire those right-living things of the Lord? And I hear another loud and proud shout of: ‘YES, WE DO!’ 

Glory be mih people! That’s why we can conclude with these awesome words of the psalmist, as he talks of God’s sustaining power in Psalm 121: ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.’ (Ps. 121:1-2) Yes friends, our help comes from nowhere or No One else but the Lord God Jehovah! 

And as the psalmist continues: ‘He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps. 121:1-8) And do we believe all of that? ‘YES!’ 

Good! Then in awe-filled reverence and wisdom, let’s look to the Lord for the help that we desperately need today nuh. Let’s cry out to Him for succour and sustenance through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for we desperately need His assistance. So altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. 

We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance, and direction to bring our problems under control. 

And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

Now please remember, the state of our hearts, if they are filled with true repentance, will decide the Lord’s answer. And who would have ‘thunked’ it eh – I didn’t have anything to say. (smile) Our God surely does move in mysterious ways. That’s why He’s such a great and wonderful God! Much LOVE!

…only when we look up…will help come from above… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 August 2015 Psalm 119:27

Psalm 119:27.    Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.

And then it was Friday; a short workweek for many of us after the Caribana weekend. And yuh better believe many of us are truly thankful as we tiredly shout: ’TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday yes! Mama yo! Though the week’s been short, it’s been truly rough. So hard to catch yuhself after all the Caribana partying. Thank God for true that is Friday oui!! Definitely going to rest this weekend away.’ Hn, hn!
 
Yes Friends, when we abuse our body it does come back to haunt us. But remember the weekend is not solely for rest, but also for participation in godly fellowship, so to help us keep the right perspective, let’s chant our Friday Chant with whatever verve and gusto we can muster. (smile)
 
As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
 
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
 
Yes my people, it’s ever so important that our souls, bodies and minds be renewed and refreshed so that we can go back out with a spring in our step, hungry hope and expectant faith in our souls, to continue putting up a good fight for Jesus against the godless infidel.
 
Yes, because our mission is to be salt and light to a dark and flavourless world, as well as to spread the good news of Jesus all around the globe! Jesus delegated that awesome job to a handful of men before He ascended into heaven, and look at the wonderful work they’ve wrought.
 
Two thousand years later, it is now our turn to spread the Word, to bring Jesus and His wonderful salvation to the masses. And no generation has ever had the ability to really spread the gospel of Jesus all over the world, like we now have, with the many forms of almost immediate communication at our command.
 
So please let’s get a move on with it nuh. No excuses will be tolerated. (smile) Do we want to be labeled the generation who could, but didn’t? Obviously not!
 
Therefore let’s get on our horses and ride; tell others about Jesus, and above all, live a life that’s pleasing and obedient to Him, so that those we talk to will see the genuine LOVE and desire working and reflecting in us. That’s the only way to do it my brethren.
 
That brings us to our most appropriate Bit. ‘Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.’
 
Yes my people, we can’t talk sensibly about what we don’t understand, therefore we need the Lord’s help to bring us to a true understanding of His Word. Like at work, we need a supervisor to explain the instructions, the duties of the job, otherwise we’d just make a mess of things.
 
The psalmist says earlier in this section of Psalm 119, under the heading – Make me to understand thy way: ‘My soul cleaveth unto (clings to) the dust: quicken (revive) thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest (answered) me: teach me thy statutes.’ (Ps.119:25-26)
 
Ah Friends, we desperately need to know God’s Word, but unfortunately too many of us are either too lazy, too busy, or simply not interested in making the effort it requires to do so. However we are quite ready, willing and able make the effort to acquire and learn about the things of the world though!
 
I’m sorry Friends, but that’s not the way it ought to be. Remember Jesus said that our first requirement is to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and then all the things of the world that we need would be granted to us. (Matt.6:33)
 
If we unwisely choose to do it the other way, then we’ll just have to suffer the consequences. For remember too that there ARE consequences for disobedience.
 
My people, we need to be able to talk about our God as sincerely as Bruh David does in Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious. ‘Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable (beyond our understanding). One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
 
I will speak of (meditate on) the glorious honour (splendour) of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible (awesome) acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly (eagerly) utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.’ (Ps.145:3-7)
 
Oh Friends, are we that passionate about our God, about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? I don’t think so. At least not sufficient of us supposed believers. But then again, we can’t be passionate about Jesus when we don’t spend sufficient serious time in His Word.
 
We ought to be able to sincerely shout out like Isaiah: ‘For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit (grave) cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.’ (Is.38:18-19)
 
Yes Friends, we are the living, and we are the fathers to the children, so please let’s praise and make known our magnificent and magnanimous God, for therein lies the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!
 
…only as we diligently learn…and deeply immerse ourselves in the things of  God…can we talk wisely and sincerely about Him…