Isaiah 25:1-5New International Version – UK (NIVUK)
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. 2 You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples will honour you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
I’ve had many tears and sorrows, I’ve had questions for tomorrow, There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong: But in every situation God gave blessed consolation That my trials come To only make me strong.
Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God; Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
I’ve been to lots of places, And I’ve seen a lot of faces, There’ve been times I felt so all alone; But in my lonely hours, Yes, those precious lonely hours, Jesus let me know that I was His own.
Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God; Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
I thank God for the mountains, And I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms He brought me through; For if I’d never had a problem I wouldn’t know That He could solve them, I’d never know what faith In God could do.
Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God; Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
When God says no, He has a plan. Keep trusting Him!
For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. 2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. 4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; 6 you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest. 7 But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.
8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me. 9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies. 10 Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
1 Savior, lead me lest I, stray, Gently lead me all the way; I am safe when by thy side, I would in thy love abide.
Refrain: Lead me, lead me. Savior, lead me lest I stray; Gently down the stream of time, Lead me, Savior, all the way.
2 Thou the refuge of my soul, When life’s stormy billows roll; I am safe when thou art nigh, All my hopes on thee rely. [Refrain]
3 Savior, lead me, then at last, When the storm of life is past; To the land of endless day, Where all tears are wiped away. [Refrain]
29 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelite’s in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.
2 Moses summoned all the Israelite’s and said to them:
Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders.4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.5 Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”
7 When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
9 Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.10 All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel,11 together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water.12 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath,13 to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.14 I am making this covenant,with its oath, not only with you15 who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.
2 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
MIGHTY TO SAVE
VERSE 1:
Everyone needs compassion
Love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour
The Hope of nations
CHORUS:
Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is Mighty to save
He is Mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave
VERSE 2:
So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King… Jesus
CHORUS
2 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion’s never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
No doubt you like I have had many times where we have had cause to doubt our faith and this can sometimes make us feel quite down.
What we have to remember in situations like these is that the Lord is with us ‘though we may not think or feel his presence at the time’ guiding us.
If we loose faith in God especially, in order to get it back we have to come to him in prayer, because our God is a faithful God. This is only one of the hymns I turn to at times like these as I think the words are just beautiful.
Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee Thou changes not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be
Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth And Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow Blessings all amine, with ten thousand beside
Great is Thy Faithfulness Great is Thy Faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised,19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
O what a wonderful, wonderful day – day I will never forget;
After I’d wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Saviour I met.
O what a tender, compassionate friend – He met the need of my heart;
Shadows dispelling, With joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart.
Chorus: Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;
My sins were washed away –
And my night was turned to day –
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!
Born of the Spirit with life from above into God’s fam’ly divine,
Justified fully thru Calvary’s love, O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made when as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer of grace He did proffer – He saved me, O praise His dear name!
Now I’ve a hope that will surely endure after the passing of time;
I have a future in heaven for sure, there in those mansions sublime.
And it’s because of that wonderful day when at the cross I believed;
Riches eternal and blessings supernal from His precious hand I received.
The words to the above song ‘Heaven came down’ is a brilliant and fitting song for someone who has just been converted. Below is a video of Salvation Army timbrelists doing a display to the march ‘Heaven Came Down’
I think that the tune Deep Harmony adds the necessary sonority and depth to the reflection – especially when we consider Faber’s original words:
“O come and mourn with me awhile;
O come ye to the Saviour’s side;
O come, together et us mourn:
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.”
The latest S.A. songbook suggests Warrington or Hursley as appropriate tunes, but I think Deep Harmony adds the necessary sonority and depth to the reflection.
(Image: The Isenheim Altarpiece: sculpted/painted by Germans Nikolaus of Haguenau / Matthias Grünewald in 1512–1516. On display at Unterlinden Museum, Colmar, Alsace, France.
7
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Most of us have Busy lives and it can be quite easy to set aside that quiet time in the day for our time with God, and before you know it the day is over. I have to admit I’ve done that several times, which in a sense is one of the reasons for starting the blogs.
We must remember to spend time with God each day.
The words associated with this tune are below: which is an arrangement of the American folk tune Shenandoah.
‘Mid all the traffic of the ways,
Turmoils without, within,
Make in thy heart a quiet place,
And come and dwell therein
A little shrine of quietness,
All sacred to Thyself,
Where Thou shalt all my soul possess,
And I may find myself.
Come, occupy my silent place,
And make thy dwelling there!
More gracious is wrought in quietness
Than any is aware
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
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