Category: Zion

Believing that Christ is Alive

Romans 9 New International Version

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,have not attained their goal. ³²Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.³³As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[m]

Our Father everlasting
The all creating One
God Almighty

Through Your Holy Spirit
Conceiving Christ the Son
Jesus our Savior

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

Our Judge and our Defender
Suffered and crucified
Forgiveness is in You

Descended into darkness
You rose in glorious life
Forever seated high

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

I believe in You
I believe You rose again
I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord
I believe

And I believe in You
I believe You rose again
I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

For I believe in the name of Jesus
For I believe in the name of Jesus

We believe in love, Jesus

I believe in life eternal
I believe in the virgin birth
I believe in the saints’ communion
And in Your holy Church
I believe in the resurrection
When Jesus comes again
For I believe, in the name of Jesus

Come on!

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus
For I believe in the name of Jesus

The Desired Dwelling Place

Psalm 132

¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.

¹¹The Lord swore an oath to David,
    a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
    I will place on your throne.
¹²If your sons keep my covenant
    and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
    on your throne for ever and ever.”

¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion,
    he has desired it for his dwelling, saying,
¹⁴“This is my resting place for ever and ever;
    here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.
¹⁵I will bless her with abundant provisions;
    her poor I will satisfy with food.
¹⁶I will clothe her priests with salvation,
    and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.

¹⁷“Here I will make a horn^[b] grow for David
and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.

Lord I have a cry, a burning desire.
To walk and Talk, as my heart turns to you
Endless nights. i stay awake
You satisfy me you anoint me
(Repeat)

But it ain’t all that I need
As long as i live i’ll never sleep
Until i find a place for you
my promise and my creed

This is your house, where i live forever
surround me and praise me and captivate me
In holiness I come and brokenness i bow
you appointed me to carry your Glory
(repeat)

”

God’s support through our lives

Isaiah 46 New International Version

Gods of Babylon

46 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
    their idols are borne by beasts of burden.^[a]
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
    a burden for the weary.
²They stoop and bow down together;
    unable to rescue the burden,
    they themselves go off into captivity.

³“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
    and have carried since you were born.
⁴Even to your old age and Gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

⁵“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
⁶Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.
⁷They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;
    it cannot save them from their troubles.

⁸“Remember this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.
⁹Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹From the east I summon a bird of prey;
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfil my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned, that I will do.
¹²Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
    you who are now far from my righteousness.
¹³I am bringing my righteousness near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,
    my splendour to Israel.

Trusting and not Forsaking

Psalm 9 New International Version

Psalm 9

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

¹I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
²I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

³My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.
⁴For you have upheld my right and my cause,
    sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
⁵You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
⁶Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;
    even the memory of them has perished.

⁷The Lord reigns forever;
    he has established his throne for judgement.
⁸He rules the world in righteousness
    and judges the peoples with equity.
⁹The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
¹²For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

¹³Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
    Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴that I may declare your praises
    in the gates of Daughter Zion,
    and there rejoice in your salvation.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
¹⁶The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.^[c]
¹⁷The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
    all the nations that forget God.
¹⁸But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

¹⁹Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
²⁰Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.

Giving God the Glory

Psalm 126 New International Version

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of^[a] Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.^[b]
²Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

⁴Restore our fortunes,^[c] Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
⁵Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Giving God the Glory

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

Safe in His Arms

Isaiah 40:9-11 New International Version (NIV)

⁹You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[a]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
¹⁰See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

With the title of today’s blog there’s only one song I could think of and that was the old Fanny Crosby favourite.

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast;
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! ’tis the voice of angels
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea.
- Refrain:
  Safe in the arms of Jesus,
  Safe on His gentle breast;
  There by His love o’ershaded,
  Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations;
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears!
Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wait till the night is o’er;
Wait till I see the morning
Break on the golden shore.

Pleasure in God’s sight

Psalm 149 New International Version

Psalm 149

¹Praise the Lord.^[a]

Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

²Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
³Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
⁴For the Lord takes delight in his people;
    he crowns the humble with victory.
⁵Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds.

⁶May the praise of God be in their mouths
    and a double-edged sword in their hands,
⁷to inflict vengeance on the nations
    and punishment on the peoples,
⁸to bind their kings with fetters,
    their nobles with shackles of iron,
⁹to carry out the sentence written against them—
    this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.

1. Praise ye the Lord among His saints,
New songs of gladness sing;
Let Zion’s children praise and bless
Their Maker and their King.

2. Yea, let them praise His blessed Name
With all abounding joy,
The sounding timbrel and the harp
In songs of praise employ.

3. The Lord takes pleasure in His saints,
He is His people’s strength,
And He will glorify the meek
With victory at length.

4. Ye saints, by day and night rejoice,
Exult and joyful stand,
Jehovah’s praises in your mouth,
His sword within your hand.

5. This is the glorious judgment given:
His saints shall rule the earth;
Then bless the Lord, His glory tell,
And celebrate His worth.