A FAVORITE PSALMS!

This morning doing my Bible readings this Psalm spoke to me in a special way and I want to share it with you and trust you enjoy it too!

Psalm 98  (KJV)
98 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Looking at Psalm 100!

Purpose of the Psalm:  To call the whole earth to worship Jehovah.

” Barnes writes,” The idea of praise does not pertain to one nation only; that it was not appropriate for one people merely; that it should not be confined to the Hebrew people; but there was proper ground of praise for all, there was that in which all nations, of all languages and conditions could unite. The ground of that was that was they had one creator”.  [ verse three ]

In the five short verses of this Psalm we are told that worship is simple. This Psalm is one of thanksgiving and praise, one with a pattern.

Call to worship.  Verses 1,2.

Why God should be worshiped.  Verse 3.

Call to worship.  Verse 4.

Why God should be worshiped.  Verse 5.

In this short psalm, we find 7 elements of worship suggested:

Verse one.   Using our voices to make a joyful noise.

Verse 2a.  Serve the Lord with gladness.

Verse 2b. Come before Him with singing.

Verse 4a.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving.

Verse 4b.  Enter His courts with praise.

Verse 4c. Have a thankful heart.

Verse 4d.  Bless His name.

This Psalm tells us why we should praise Him for who He is:

Verse 3a.  He is God.

3b.  He is creator.

3c.  He is owner.

3d. He is Shepherd.

We are to praise Him because of His attributes:

Verse 5. He is good; His mercy endures forever; His truth endures forever.

All people on earth do dwell,

Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;

Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell!

Come before Him and rejoice,

Know that the Lord is God indeed.

Without our aid, He us did make;

We are His flock, He doth we feed,

And for His sheep, He doth us take.

Oh, enter His gates with praise

approach with joy His courts unto;

Praise, loud, and bless His name always

for it is seemly to do so.

For why? The Lord our God is good,

His mercy is forever sure;

His truth at all times firmly stood,

and shall from age to age endure.

~Scottish Psalter

[ blog prepared by Winston Staples ]

THE CLOUDS

THE CLOUDS
Our lives are like the clouds,
little vapors in the sky,
we hang around awhile,
then we say goodbye.
Our lives are like the clouds,
sometimes all fluffy and white,
some times we have our trials,
like the black clouds at night.
Our lives are like the clouds,
being driven by the wind,
sometimes we are tossed to and fro,
as we fall into sin.
Our lives are like the clouds,
that are controlled by God’s hand,
when we put our trust in Him,
He will guide us across this land.
Our lives are like the clouds,
all beautiful and bright,
floating around the sun,
as it sets at night.
Our lives are like the clouds,
little vapors in the sky,
we hang around awhile,
then we say goodbye.

~ Winston Staples

EXPLORING GOD”S WORD 92

via EXPLORING GOD”S WORD 92

EXPLORING GOD’S WORD 92

THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER OF THE LAW:

1/ 1 Samuel 16:²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let [David,] I pray thee, stand before me; for he [hath found favour in my sight.]

2/ Psalms 51:¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. [ God loves a sincere and loving heart.]

3/ Hosea 6:⁶ For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. [There are things that can not be provided by the law]

4/ Matthew 23:²³ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Matthew 23:23 Amplified Bible (AMP)

²³ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier[more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

5/ Mark 12: ²⁵ For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels who are in Heaven.

²⁶ And concerning the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke unto him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Ye therefore do greatly err.”

²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

²⁹ And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;’ this is the first commandment.

³¹ And the second is like, namely this: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

6/ Galatians 2:¹⁶ knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 3: ² This only would I learn of you: Did ye receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

³ Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

⁴ Have ye suffered so many things in vain — if it be yet in vain?

⁵ He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among you, doeth He it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 6:² Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

[ prepared by Winston Staples ]

CREATED!

CREATED
While strolling through the woods today,
I was awed by the beauty of creation,
I was seeing along the way,
it encircled my being.
The baby blue sky,
the multitude of brightly colored leaves,
red, orange, yellow and gold,
their beauty, breath taking to behold.
The sparkling water of the beaver dam,
reflecting all the beauty around about,
caused my heart to want to shout.
Praise God! Praise God!
To God, our Creator there is no doubt.
Yes, all these things seen,
were created by the voice of God,
the creator of everything.
The only exception was man,
we were created by God’s mighty hand.

~ Winston Staples

SPECIAL THOUGHTS!

I got out,

for a short walk today,

beautiful flowers bloom along the way.

A little bird,

chirped a song,

in the branches above;

singing praises to their Creator;;

the Creator of everything,

all around, below and above.

My brother went home,

his Heavenly home the other day,

he loved his Heavenly Father,

all along his life’s way,

and now he is with his Master,

with his Master to stay.

No matter whether I look ,

look up or down,

and on every side,

God can be found;

so let’s enjoy His love,

peace and joy as we walk,

with faith walk along life’s way;

with a song in our heart,

and a smile on our face,

showing God’s love,

in our earthly space.

~ Winston Staples