The Temple and the Glory of God

 The Temple the Ark the Glory of God

 Book of 2 Chronicles Chapter 5

After seven long years, the Temple and all its furnishings were completed.

 1Ki 6:38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

Solomon gathered the entire nation and its leaders and its priests to the dedication of the Temple.

 This gathering was no longer to Gibeon the site of the Tabernacle, but to Jerusalem the place God had chosen Himself.

 Even today the Jews are looking forward to the day they can reestablish their worship of the Lord God Jehovah in a Temple dedicated to Him.

 We certainly need a place to worship to honor God.

 Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

 God Himself says it is more important to gather together today than it was back in the day of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple.

 If we do not dedicate our places of worship to be used for the worship of the Lord, then they will be used for anything other than that.

 Dedicate means to set apart for sacred use.

 Sacred means consecrated; dedicated; or devoted to.

 We also need to dedicate ourselves to the Lord for His use!

 Most every nation at this time had a temple dedicated to some false god, and some had many.

 This was the drive that moved King David. He wanted a magnificent temple dedicated to Jehovah the One True God.

 Most people do not realize that God is about worship, and not about buildings!

 Pagans built temples for gods who could not see, who could hear, and who could not speak to them.

 2Co_6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the "temple of the living God"; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 There is only one "Living God"!

 Jhn_6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, "the Son of the living God".

 Psa_84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the "living God".

 How can anyone serve a dead god or a god that does not exist?

 The Living God is the God we need to have reverent fear of, and even actual fear.

 Heb_10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 2 Chronicles Chapter 5 verse 1

 *****2Ch 5:1 Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

 The Temple was King Solomon's greatest work.

 It was the Temple of Solomon that made the greatest impression on the known world at that time.

 People would come far and wide to see this Temple of God.

 The importance of the Temple was to ensure a central place of worship and more important a central place to offer sacrifices for sin.

 The object of the Temple was to bring about a unity of faith and national unity among the people of Israel.

 The object of the Temple was to fulfill the commandment of God to Moses.

 Moses said, when you shall obtain possession of the land and have become established, then you shall have one place in which to appear before the Lord.

 Deu_16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God "in the place which he shall choose"; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

 The Temple did provide a fixed habitation for Jehovah.

 The Temple did provide a central place of worship where all the tribes of Israel might assemble at the three annual feasts.

 It is these things that would preserve the unity of Israel.

 According to the Book of Leviticus, there must be:

 1) A place to meet Jehovah on the throne of "Grace".

2) Sacrifices made for sin.

3) Priests as intermediaries between Jehovah and the people.

4) Times in which they could approach Jehovah with daily, weekly, monthly, and annual offerings.

5) A ritual telling how to approach God.

 The Temple was in fact, a type of the most glorious building which is the individual believer!

 1Co_3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

 King David had not only provided the plunder he had taken for his conquest for the building of the Temple, but he also provided his riches to be dedicated to the upkeep of this Temple and to pay the priests.

 David had also dedicated all the musical instruments he had to the Temple. Some he had made himself.

 These instruments are listed in First Chronicles chapter 15.

 1Ch 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

 1Ch 15:24 And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

 1Ch 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

 So, we know of psalteries, harps, and cymbals, trumpets, and cornets.

 A psaltery is a lyre or another type of harp just as a cornet is another type of trumpet.

 Solomon next brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple according to the instructions of God.

 The Ark was placed in the new Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place in the Temple.

 *****2Ch 5:2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2Ch 5:3 Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.

2Ch 5:4 And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

2Ch 5:5 And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

 Many of these things from the time of Moses and those remade after the destruction of the Tabernacle by the Philistines were no longer usable for the new Temple and were stored at the Temple and preserved as relics.

 Things such as the tent and a great many of the old-time utensils, including the Brazen Serpent.

 The Feast of the Seventh month is the Feast of Tabernacles, sometimes called Booths, and also known as the Feast of the Ingathering.

 It was to last seven days but for the dedication of the Temple, it lasted fourteen days.

 1Ki 8:65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

1Ki 8:66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

 This is the feast that commemorates the forty-year wilderness journey.

 It is also called Sukkot.

 It is a celebration of the fall harvest and a time to build booths which are temporary shelters of branches to remember how the Hebrew people lived under God's care during those forty years in the wilderness.

 These things were repeated when the Hebrews returned from Babylon.

 Neh 8:14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

Neh 8:15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

Neh 8:16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

Neh 8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua (which is Joshua) the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

Neh 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

 This celebration is a reminder of God's faithfulness and protection.

 All Jewish males were required to go to Jerusalem to appear before the Lord and their families usually went with them.

 Many Jewish people still celebrate Sukkot today, by building and dwelling in temporary booths for eight days.

 There are four special plants used to cover the booths, and they are the citron, the myrtle, the palm, and the willow.

 Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. 

Lev 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

 Then, the elders came and took up the Ark out of the Tabernacle of David.

 It was necessary to put a new lid on the Ark. It was about five hundred years old and when opened, nothing remained but the two tablets of stone from the time of Moses.

 It originally contained two tablets that contained the Ten Commandments and Aaron's rod that budded and a pot of manna.

 Blame was put on the Philistines for the missing items.

 So, the steps to the dedication included:

 1) Placing in the treasury all the things dedicated by David. Solomon could have kept these riches of his father, and no one would have known but God, but Solomon honored the wishes of His father David.

 2) Placing all the sacred vessels and furniture in their proper position.

 3) The offering of the many sacrifices.

 4) The priests carrying into the Most Holy Place the Ark of the Covenant.

 5) As the priests came from the Most Holy Place and one hundred and twenty other priests standing east of the Altar blew their trumpets, the Levite choir burst into a song of praise and thanksgiving with cymbals and other musical instruments saying "For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever.

 6) Then the cloud, a symbol of the Divine Presence and the Glory of God filled the house.

 Let's read the Scriptures.

 *****2Ch 5:6 Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

2Ch 5:7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:

2Ch 5:8 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

2Ch 5:9 And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.

2Ch 5:10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

 We now know what happened in the dedication of the Temple so, let's look at some other things.

 Many today are concerned about the location of the Ark of the Covenant today.

 We do not know for sure if the Ark remained at the Temple when Nebuchadnezzar plundered the Temple but what we do know when the vessels were brought back from Babylonian captivity the Ark of the Covenant was not mentioned.

 Ezr 1:9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,

Ezr 1:10 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.

Ezr 1:11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.

 The staves of the Ark were at least fifteen feet long, which was about the size of the Most Holy Place.

 The staves were that long to give room for those men who carried the Ark leaving room to stay clear of the Ark.

 The staves were withdrawn as far as they could to the back wall so they would not protrude in sight at the front.

 The Ark had only the tablets of stone written by the finger of God at this time.

 Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

 Remember it was Moses who had broken these two tablets.

 Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

 Deu_10:2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.

 There was something else that was with or in the Ark.

 Deu_31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

 Probably the very same book, which (after having been some way misplaced) was found in the house of the Lord, in the days of Josiah, and publicly read by the king himself, for a witness against a people, who were then almost ripe for ruin.

 On the side or On the inside, Some say there was a little chest fixed to the Ark for such things but it is not mentioned. Some say that this book was just placed inside the Ark. There was nothing but the stone tablets that were contained in the Ark.

 This book was found later.

 2Ch 34:14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.

2Ch 34:15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

2Ch 34:16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.

 The Shekinah Glory of the Lord

 *****2Ch 5:11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:

2Ch 5:12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

2Ch 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, "For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever": that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;

 Once the Ark was in place God gave His stamp of approval!

 So, it had been when Moses finished the Tabernacle, and so it was at Pentecost after the Lord Jesus began His Church, that the Holy Spirit came down in His mighty power.

 God's glory has to be the most wonderful sight we will ever see!

 Notice all the priests were in white linen robes. Does this not make us think about the white robes in Heaven?

 Rev_7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 King Solomon now had all things in place and a platform had been erected about seven feet squared somewhat like a pulpit, so he was lifted up above the people to be seen as well as heard and it seems King Solomon acted as King and High Priest.

 We see some typology here.

 In reality, only King Jesus can be the true King and High priest when He returns to take us home and then sits upon His throne in Jerusalem.

 Immediately after the priests had performed and withdrawn and the doors of the Temple were closed, the cloud of God's Holy Presence and God's Majestic Glory filled the Temple just as He had done when the Tabernacle of Moses was completed.

 King Solomon was stunned:

 1Ki 8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

1Ki 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

1Ki 8:12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

 Our true Holy God manifested His presence showing the public that he had accepted their labor of love in building this Temple.

 *****2Ch 5:14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

 A man of God said this beautified this Temple much more than all the gold which it was overlaid and all the precious stones that adorned it. Yet even that glory in comparison does not match the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 God had not allowed King David to build this Temple but told him that his son Solomon would have the honor of building this Temple.

 Then King Solomon began to pray.

2Ch 6:12  And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: 

2Ch 6:13  For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, 

2Ch 6:14  And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: 

2Ch 6:15  Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

And he continued therefore:

 Amen

Solomon's Temple

 Solomon Built the Temple

 Book of 1 Kings 5 and 6

 One of the most important things we need to complete any building project successfully is to be committed to it.

 We can accept the fact that King Solomon had little if any construction skills, but he now had great wisdom in all things.

 What Solomon had was a humble spirit and he sought the Lord for His help.

 The next thing that is needed is preparation.

 Site preparation must be properly taken care of, and it begins with following the Word of God.

Then you must own the property you are building upon.

David first bought the threshing floor of Araunah:

2Sa_24:18  And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.

2Sa_24:21  And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

2Sa_24:24  And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Then David bought the entire area around the threshing floor.

1Ch 21:24  And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. 

1Ch 21:25  So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 

There should be no doubt who the Temple Mount belongs to.

 Remember it was God who gave the dimensions and the details of this Temple to David mphasizing a solid foundation.

 Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Luk 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

Luk 6:48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Luk 6:49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

 King Solomon needed to be obedient to the Lord just as we all should be today!

 This new Temple was to be a House of the Lord for the Lord's people to worship Him.

 This had been a dream of his father David for many years, and Solomon was committed to seeing it succeed.

 Solomon's most important task was to seek the Lord!

 *****1Ki 5:2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

1Ki 5:3 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.

1Ki 5:4 But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

 King Hiram and King David had been great friends, and his son Huram wanted the same relationship with King Solomon.

In fact, this King Hiram had told his own son about the great God of Israel even though he was pagan and worshipped his own gods.

 We should understand that God would not allow David to build this Temple of Worship because it would have sent the wrong message.

 It would be like religions such as the Muslim who are forced to seek Mohammed and can never leave that religion with the threat of death if they do.

 There is no personal relationship because there is no Allah.

 Just as important, because David was protecting the cause of Israel in great battles with the enemies that surrounded Israel and he certainly did not have time to make such a commitment as Solomon was saying to Huram.

 Israel was at peace all the time of King Solomon and he maintained a strong military presence in the regions.

 To David God said: 22:8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

 This king of Tyre understood these things Solomon was saying.

 When the Lord forbids us to do something He is serious about it!

 King David had made this entire area to be at peace because of his conquest.

 We could say that Israel was the honcho nation during the time of King Solomon.

 Solomon said he had no adversaries nor was there any occurrence of rebellion to his rule.

 In fact, the nation of Israel was very prosperous in the days of King Solomon.

 We know that David spent time training Solomon.

 It was Solomon who wrote the Book of Proverbs so we can see what he wrote about his father.

 Pro 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

Pro 4:2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Pro 4:3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

Pro 4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

Pro 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Pro 4:6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

Pro 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

 David did everything in his power to smooth the way of Solomon.

 David drew up the plans for the Temple according to the plans God had given to him:

 1Ch 28:11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,

1Ch 28:12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:

 David gave Solomon the funds to build the Temple:

 1Ch 28:14 He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service:

 David told Solomon that the plans for the Temple came from Jehovah:

 1Ch 28:19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

 And again, David encouraged his son:

 1Ch 28:20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

 We can see that Solomon was a good student!

 Solomon began to understand what his father was saying.

 *****1Ki 5:5 And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

1Ki 5:6 Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

 Solomon was committed to building the Temple his father David desired.

 Solomon sought to honor the Lord by building a house of worship for the people of Israel.

 If we do not learn anything else, we need to know that there needs to be a place to worship the Lord!

 There needs to be set times so we can all gather together to encourage one another.

 We will need to deal with this lost world.

 Solomon renewed the relationship between Israel and Tyre which was Phoenicia and Solomon sought to establish a trade agreement between the two nations, and he did.

 Solomon sought workers with skills that Israel did not know at this time.

 Notice Solomon did not open the borders of Israel to just anybody, but Israel had a need for skilled laborers.

 This should be a lesson for our nation.

 Solomon knew he had no excuse to delay this work for the Lord and Israel.

 When God calls us for a task it is time to say yes and get busy!

 We need to yield to the call of God without hesitation.

 The Bible explains this request to Huram from Solomon better in Second Chronicles:

 2Ch 2:4 Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

2Ch 2:5 And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.

2Ch 2:6 But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?

2Ch 2:7 Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

2Ch 2:8 Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

2Ch 2:9 Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.

2Ch 2:10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

2Ch 2:11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.

 We must realize that God cannot be contained in any nation but that God is bigger than our little world but He is also small enough to come into our hearts.

 God has a purpose for each of us and God is still building upon His Church!

 King Hiram agreed with Solomon and a pact was made between the two nations.

 *****1Ki 5:10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.

1Ki 5:11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

 We see that Hiram gave this timber to Solomon and Solomon provided the food to feed these men while the work was taking place.

 We can better understand that Solomon asked for cedar trees, fir trees which means cypress, and other timber that was long-lasting.

 Solomon also needed an architect.

 Hiram was glad to provide the things that Solomon requested.

 We should not be confused the Phoenicians were Pagans.

 These cities existed before Israel came into the Promised Land in most cases they worshipped Baal.

 Baal means lord but he is identified with the false god Molech where children were sacrificed on his blazing arms.

 Baal was also known as the Sun god and there are Pyramids and High places all around the world where Baal the Sun god was worshipped along with the Moon god, and they are still worshipped today under different names.

 This is the reason most of these nations no longer exist today.

 Hiram’s servants would cut the timber from the forest in Lebanon. Transport it to the Mediterranean Sea, form it into rafts, and guide it through the waters to the Sea Port of Joppa.

 Tyre was over fifty miles from Joppa and Joppa was around thirty miles from Jerusalem.

 This was no easy task we know because we have the problems our own military had in the Mediterranian Sea.

The Phoenicians were the masters of the sea in that day.

 2Ch 2:8 Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

2Ch 2:9 Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.

2Ch 2:10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

 Both men kept their agreements, and Solomon paid the wages of all these workers to make it worth their while.

 Our lesson here is that we must do everything we can to seek peace and preserve peace throughout society without compromising the Word of God.

 We need to make peace in our homes.

We need to make peace in our schools.

We need to make peace in our workplaces.

We need to treat everyone fair as we know our Lord Jesus did.

We should have peace in our Churches, we have the same Word of God. We do not need opinions, likes, dislikes, complaints, or murmurers among our members. Again, we have the same Word of God.

We should have peace in our government whose goal should be to take care of its people and protect our nation.

 The word peace is used 429 times in the KJV Bible so peace is important to God, but may not always be possible.

 Rom_12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

 There were also workers with stone at this same time.

 1Ki 5:18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

 This stone cutting was started before the death of King David, and it was time consuming.

 David also began gathering many of the supplies needed for the Temple.

 1Ch 22:2 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

1Ch 22:3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;

1Ch 22:4 Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

1Ch 22:5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

 The Splendor of what is called Solomon's Temple began to come to life.

 Work began in the fourth year of Solomon's reign.

 We can see this was a major undertaking with the tools that were available on that day.

 In fact, many of those large stones and the cutting of them is not really understood today how they were able to do such things with just manual labor.

 These stones were cut, squared, shaped, and dressed to fit together perfectly without mortar.

 Our lesson is no matter what we do for the Lord, do it right while also making a contribution to society.

  *****1Ki 6:12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

1Ki 6:13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

1Ki 6:14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

 It had been four hundred and eighty years since a group of slaves led by Moses, had left Egypt searching for the land promised to Abraham.

 This would have been around 966 BC, so the Hebrews left Egypt around 1446 BC.

 All the materials were assembled in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount without the use of construction hand tools axes and hammers and such tool made of iron.

 1Ki 6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

 1Ki 6:9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

 Then God gave Solomon a challenge and a promise.

 It appears to me as I read this that the stonework was first completed and then the Temple was covered with lumber and this lumber was gold plated.

 1Ki 6:22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.

 In the end, God said this was a worldly sanctuary and cannot compare to our Heavenly sanctuary.

 Heb 9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.

 Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

 Any place of worship today simply means God is identifying with His people so it becomes a House of God.

 God is certainly "gracious" but this does not mean it is a light thing to come into the presence of the Lord.

 We should be reverent in the House of God and God will show up.

 Today the body of each believer becomes the House of God and we are to honor the name of the Lord who dwells within us at all times and not just while we are in His House of worship.

 Those large stones teach us of a solid foundation which is in Christ Jesus.

 If our lives are not built upon Jesus Christ we are doomed to destruction.

 Without Jesus Christ, we are separated from God and doomed!

 Without God, there is no hope, not in this world or the next!

 We should also understand that just being in a Church building is not enough. God only looks upon those with a pure heart as we saw in last week's lesson.

 A wicked person entering a church building is still a person with a wicked heart and will remain that way until they claim the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of their old life.

 Many today do not want to repent but maintain their sinful ways and sin is according to the Word of God and not public opinion.

 God created us to have fellowship with Him, but He cannot look upon sin and, in His wisdom, He sent the Lord Jesus to pay our sin debt and if we accept this fact then God will deal with us His own children!

 God gave us free will to decide this on our own!

 Amen

There is Hope in the True God, the Lord Jesus Christ

 Hope for the Persecuted Soul

 Book of Psalms Psalm 143

 The phrase it "came to pass" is used 457 times in the Bible which teaches us these things that we are so afraid of may come, but they will not stay, they come, and they will pass on out of our lives.

 Most of us can say that every obstacle we have faced in our lives has come to pass on out of our lives.

Some of them may leave scars, but they cannot keep us out of Heaven!

 We must completely understand that the faithfulness of God makes it impossible for God to go against the covenant He has made with us.

 God has revealed Himself as the God of mercy and forgiveness, and He can never go against these things.

 So, we can boldly plead for mercy and if we are living a righteous life, then that mercy will come.

 What is the truth?

 1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

 The prayers of every saint today are just as important to God as those prayers David prayed in his day.

 *****Psa 143:1  A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. 

Psa 143:2  And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 

 We see David in another crisis because his life was filled with danger.

 We cannot link this Psalm to any one particular thing that happened in David's life.

 David knew at this point in his life, that if he did not get God's help he might die, or some terrible thing might happen to him.

 I believe every one of us have had this same feeling.

 1) David appealed to God to hear his prayer.

2) David appealed to the faithfulness of God.

3) David appealed to the righteousness of God.

 David knew he needed a quick answer from God.

 It seems that we need to know more about the characteristics of God, and we must never ask God to go against His own characteristics.

 We cannot know these things unless we study the Bible!

 We should shape our prayers according to God's characteristics, as did David.

 We must never ask God to be unfaithful to His Word!

 We can plead to God for His help and sometimes we need to pray and fast, to show God that we are serious.

 When we are in a real crisis God already knows this.

 Prayer is not merely a self-improvement exercise that is good for us, whether God hears our prayers or not.

 Prayer is a real plea made to a real God!

 God is always faithful to do just as He has written down in His recorded Word.

 Our faith in Him, is the key to every answer we get from Him.

 We must remember that if we ask for forgiveness of our sins, then there is no record of our sins in Heaven.

 Psa 103:12  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

 1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

 We will pay for our sins, but God has already forgiven us of our sin, and He will not remember them.

 These are the only things God forgets.

 God does this because He chooses to do so because our sins are under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ

 God's memory is perfect, but He just chooses to forget our sins!

 Because God has chosen to forget our sins we have missed out on the judgment for our sin.

 Gal 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. 

 David was in the same shape as we are, but sometimes we have a lack of faith, and we will think that God still has something that He will punish us for.

 Faith is still the key to a perfect relationship with our Heavenly Father and His Son because they are both the same!

 *****Psa 143:3  For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. 

Psa 143:4  Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. 

 We must understand that our enemy is vicious!

 Our enemy wants the worst possible evil to happen to us!

 Our enemy wants us to die in some evil situation that will make us an embarrassment to God!

 David felt like he was just thrown out onto the street to be trampled alive.

 We must understand that our adversaries, who are led by Satan, want us dead and useless in the work the Lord has given us to do.

 Satan will do everything he possibly can to cause us to lose our testimony!

 Satan would kill us in a split second if the Lord allowed him to have access to us.

 We may feal like Satan is about to take over our lives, but our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will always save us, as long as it is true faith.

 We know from the Book of Job that Satan needs God's permission to attack us and if we think we are in the class of Job, then we are not, but God loves as much as He loved Job.

 Certainly, we will face persecution, and certainly, we will call upon the Lord for help, but most of the problems we will face in our lifetime are of our own making and we may need the Lord's to help us in those situations also.

 We must understand that our enemy is powerful, and we cannot face him alone, we need the Lord to fight all our battles, and He will, if we remain faithful.

 If the Lord permits us to dwell in the darkness of the dead, then He will surely bring us into His Light and cause us to dwell with those who are enjoying eternal life in Heaven.

 We should understand that we are already in that realm of eternal life now as we exist here on earth.

 We are already on our journey to Heaven because we can never die even though we will shed this useless flesh that we live in today.

 Lam 3:24  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

 We know that King Saul had banished David from Judah, and it was felt by David, and when he thought about these things it broke the heart of David.

 We are wrong to sit and mull over our circumstances, when the Lord has shed His light on our future!

 We have a marvelous future ahead of us and nothing in this world can change that fact.

 God cares too much for us to allow those things that are pressing heavily on us to remain on us.

 God does not want us to suffer stress in these crises that come into our lives.

 We must remember God has a job for us to do and He wants us to be busy doing this job.

 When our burdens are too heavy for us to bear God knows, and He will take those burdens away from us if we ask Him in faith.

 Psa 55:22  Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 

 1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 

1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 

 God is our Father, and we are his sons and daughters, He will not allow His children to suffer very long.

 Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

 God has enough "grace" to see us through every obstacle in our path!

 2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

 We sometimes wait until we are deep in trouble before we call upon the Lord, but we should call upon the Lord when we first see trouble coming our way!

 In fact, we need to be in constant communication with the Lord God!

 God has a plan that cannot be altered and if we have a part in that plan, and we do, then we cannot fail and the trouble we are in will cease to exist.

 *****Psa 143:5  I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. 

Psa 143:6  I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

 I love those worship services when it seems like I can just reach us and touch God.

 So, sometimes we just need to think back on what God has already done and know that He is still All Powerful.

 God will do whatever it takes to fulfill the glorious plan He has for us!

 God had anointed David to be the King of Israel and David would soon be the next King of Israel.

 1Sa 16:11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 

1Sa 16:12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 

1Sa 16:13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 

 This is God's plan not David's plan and God's plans never fail!

 David had a burning desire to know that God would answer his prayer.

 Nothing would satisfy David, but the presence of the Lord!

 We must keep in mind that there is nothing too hard for God.

 Jer 32:27  Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 

 There is nothing that God cannot do but go against His character.

 God rescued Israel once long ago and God's plan for Israel is not yet complete.

 God had called Abraham and made a covenant with Him.

God had placed Joseph into Egypt so Israel could be fed during a drought.

God had raised up Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt.

God had caused a great miracle at the Red Sea.

God had brought Israel through the wilderness.

God had led Israel into the Promised Land.

 For David, God had already given Him victory over Goliath.

God had anointed David to be the next King of Israel.

 We can see that God's plans simply do not fail!

 We can be sure that God will rescue Israel again so, His plan can be completed as He has it written down.

 David had said that His soul was thirsting after God as a thirsty land.

 David's distressing situation had drained every last drop of life out of Him.

 His soul was parched and cracked like dry earth that was in a drought.

 We simply need to get our mind off of our own circumstances and remember God's power and God's faithfulness to obey His promises.

 What God has already done for us is nothing compared to what God is going to do for us!

 When we dwell upon things that seem to be impossible, we must know that the word "impossible" is not a word that God uses because nothing is impossible for God!

 Isa 40:25  To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 

Isa 40:26  Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 

Isa 40:27  Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 

Isa 40:28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 

 There is nothing that God cannot do, if He so chooses.

 God did not give us the Bible to show His failures because there are no failures of God in it!

 David kept praying:

 *****Psa 143:7  Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 

Psa 143:8  Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. 

 After expressing his thirst for God David resumed praying about his crisis.

 David had pressed the Lord to answer quickly, and David was becoming more desperate because David was afraid God would be too late answering his prayer.

 God will not fail when our spirits fail!

 God does not know how to fail; failure is not part of God's agenda!

 The truth is, if we have God's countenance we live, but if God turns His back on us, we will die!

 When the Lord looks with favor upon our efforts we prosper, but if God refuses to look upon them, we labor in vain.

 God will not look upon sin!

 We cannot cause God to rush because God always knows what is going on in our lives and the Holy Spirit has already told Him, He just knows.

 Psa 139:4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 

Psa 139:5  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 

Psa 139:6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 

Psa 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 

 We should understand that Divine loving kindness is the root of which all other blessings come.

 We could say that God's love is the fountain from which all blessings flow!

We all desire to walk in the way that the Lord has chosen for us.

 Psa 5:8  Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. 

 David would worship Jehovah daily but in the morning hours and many times God spoke with David in that time and here David desires that the Lord would speak to him as He did in those morning worship services.

 David was desperate to hear from God, but we cannot make demands of God.

 Why was David so desperate? Look again at verse three.

 "For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead"

 David felt like he could lose his life at any time!

 We know that it is God that knows when our life will end, no one else.

What was the best thing David could do?

*****Psa 143:9  Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. 

Psa 143:10  Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 

Psa 143:11  Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. 

Psa 143:12  And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant. 

At the first sign of trouble, we need to flee unto God to hide us from our enemy.

**Psa_17:8  Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Psa_27:5  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psa_64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

All these Psalms were attributed to David, so we see David had prayed for Jehovah's help many times.

What does God teach us? God teaches us that sometimes we need to sort of pester Him to get an answer from Him.

God wants to know how sincere we are.

Luk 11:5  And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 

Luk 11:6  For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 

Luk 11:7  And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 

Luk 11:8  I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Importunity means persistence, especially to the point of annoyance.

David prayed that God would keep him out of the hands of his enemies.

What prayers will God surely answer?

God will teach us His will for us!

God will also deliver us for His namesake!

The Lord is glorified when it is proved that He is true to His Holy Name!

One of the reasons people are powerless in prayer is because they do not pray specifically.

When we pray in general terms and not specific terms, we are thoughtless and effortless.

God already knows why we are praying we need to be specific.

God already knows our needs we need to be specific, describing them to God.

God knows how desperate we are to evade our enemies, and He will answer in time, but He knows exactly what the right time is!

We know that in David's early life King Saul was trying his best to kill David or have him killed and we know David needed the Lord to rescue him and He did.

Again, we need to make specific requests in our prayers!

Most of the time in our prayers we just need God to show us His love!

We cannot be fervent in our prayer life if our requests are general and not our specific needs.

If we put ourselves in David's shoes, we would have panicked far more than David did.

When we desire God's help, we need to cry out passionately to Him.

We must clearly understand that God wants to answer our prayers!

We would like to think that God would only answer those prayer that are good for us but I believe He will allow us to get some things that are bad for us so we can learn some valuable lesson.

His will for us is for us to do His will for us and most all of it is written down and all we have to do is study the Bible to know His will.

In the end God wants us to be obedient to His Word, live godly lives, and spread the Gospel and enjoy the life He has given us.

Amen

The King is Coming

 The Reign of the Messiah

Book of Psalms Chapter 72

 No doubt that Psalm 72 was written about Solomon the son of David but in reality, the Holy Spirit caused it to be written of Israel's last and greatest King, which is the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 David becomes a prophet in this Psalm.

 What do we know about the reign of the Messiah? It has not happened yet.

 During the early centuries of the Church there were many groups that denied the humanity of Jesus Christ.

 Today, it is in the reverse, the man Jesus is recognized, but there is a denial of His deity.

 People believe that Christ was either a liar, or a lunatic, or He is LORD like He says He is.

 Jesus Christ is God and not simply God-Like!

 Jesus Christ is absolutely equal with God the Father in His person and in His work.

 The Lord Jesus Christ is all that God is, to possess the whole fullness of the attributes which make God, God!

 Any attack on the deity of Jesus Christ is an attack on the bedrock of Christianity.

 I am tired of seeing my Savior mocked in this world.

 Heb 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 

 It is a fundamental truth of Scripture that only God is to be worshiped.

 Even Satan knows this is the truth!

 Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

 It is the Trinity of God that is the Lord Jesus Christ:

 2Co 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

 Prophecy says that the Messiah would be King.

 Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

 There will be a people ready to be ruled by the Messiah.

 2Sa 7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 

 God the Father announced the making of His Son to be King.

 Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

 The Lord Jesus Christ will be the government of this world!

 Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

 The three offices of the Messiah which are, Prophet, Priest, and King will be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ!

 As a Prophet, the Lord Jesus was involved with revealing the salvation message of God.

As a Priest, His work was as an Intercessor, and His saving work.

As King, He fulfill the promises to Israel and He will rule the entire earth.

 \*****Psa 72:1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. 

 As King David lay on his death bed, he had this prayer for his son by asking God to make him a righteous ruler.

 One of the king's most important duties was to judge disputes and then administer justice.

 If Solomon would govern according to the Word of God, the Lord would bless him and his nation's people.

 This same prayer holds true to every ruler, every king, and every president of every nation even today!

 God is the source of all "judgment"!

 It should be noted that Solomon prayed this same prayer for himself.

 1Ki 3:9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 

 We know that a society cannot exist without laws and these laws are to be expressed and enforced and whoever does this is the ruler but this is just a part of what is needed to govern any people.

 *****Psa 72:2  He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 

Psa 72:3  The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 

Psa 72:4  He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

 It is obvious that the courts and prosecutors of today are not interested with righteousness!

 It is obvious today that our courts are not fair and impartial but yield to the politics of today!

 We should also understand that the children of Israel belong to God just as the Church belongs to God.

 The Church is bought and paid for with the Blood of Jesus Christ.

 We should also understand that peace will never come to this world because leaders seek their own fortunes rather than seeking the good will of those they were elected to serve.

 In old times most of the poor were not that way because of laziness or would not work.

 We know this has changed today.

 There are still some who are poor for many reasons but there are also many who refuse to work and would rather live off the taxpayer.

 In the day of the Kings the poor were powerless to defend themselves and were taken advantage of by greedy and wicked people.

 These same greedy and wicked people are going after the middle class today and the middle class is becoming powerless to defend themselves.

 It is easy to see that it is the rich who are the cause of the oppression of the poor and they want to keep it that way.

 It is a fact that in the day the Jesus Christ rules this earth from Jerusalem the oppression of the poor will end.

 It is uncalled for today, but the greedy rich just cannot get enough riches to satisfy them!

 Peace can be said to be the absence of fear of the threat of harm along with a sense of security.

 We do not have this in America today and it is because of greedy politicians, who always seem to have a better way, but it never turns out that way!

 When King Jesus sits upon the throne of David there will be great changes.

 *****Psa 72:5  They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

 It is this passage where we begin to see that this Psalm was not just about King Solomon because his life would be similar to the life expectancy we have today.

 It is King Jesus in whom we should have a godly fear of throughout time as it we see it today.

 The sun and the moon will endure until God brings them to an end and it is only God who can live through all the generations of mankind and forever.

 Only God can do these things. It was Solomon's job to make sure all the people of his kingdom understood this, just as it is the job of every national leader to do today.

 We see where this world is failing!

 You see, for as long as the course of nature last, we are to fear the Lord.

 God promised eternal dominion to the house of David.

 Since the Lord Jesus as a man was a descendant of the House of David, and because He is God then these things apply to the Messiah.

 Since we are in the family of the Messiah then these things apply to the Body of Christ.

 King Solomon was to provide security for God's people.

 King Jesus will also provide security in His Kingdom. He will rule with a rod of iron.

 He would rescue the needy.

He would rescue the poor and those who are afflicted, and their children.

 These are the ones that the world takes advantage of.

 These are the same ones that this government we have now, have taken advantage of.

 They have tried to keep the poor, poor so that they will always need the government to help them.

 This is why the gates of America have been thrown open for the world to enter so even more people will become dependent upon the government to support them.

 This is the way a certain party is trying to stay in power.

 The Messiah came to this earth to put a stop to these things.

 The Messiah came to rescue the needy and the poor, all those who are Spiritually poor.

 David prayed that his son would crush all those who are so cruel in this world.

 *****Psa 72:6  He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 

 We already know there is a great famine for the Word of God today.

 2Ti_4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2Ti_4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

 Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 

Eze 34:24  And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 

Eze 34:25  And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 

Eze 34:26  And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

 Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 

Deu 32:3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

 David called on his son to be true to Jesus Christ.

 The Lord Jesus will enforce righteousness upon this earth when He sits as King of the World!

 *****Psa 72:7  In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 

 Does anyone here know how long the moon that we see nightly is going to flourish? I do not either because only God knows.

 Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 

Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

 All those who are with Christ during His Millennial Reign upon this earth will enjoy lives that are full, and free of fear and oppression.

 If the Lord Jesus Christ is going to save us from all these things, then these are the things that are going to get worse especially during the time of the Antichrist.

 Keep in mind this is after the Rapture of the Church and the Church will come down again to this earth during the time Christ sits as King of this world and remain the God of all creation.

 *****Psa 72:8  He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 

Psa 72:9  They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 

 What was the Kingdom of Solomon?

 1Ki 4:21  And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. 

 Notice Solomon ruled over the land of the Philistines also at this time.

 As we apply this to King Jesus:

 Isa 60:4  Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 

Isa 60:5  Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 

Isa 60:6  The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. 

Isa 60:7  All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 

Isa 60:8  Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 

Isa 60:9  Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 

Isa 60:10  And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 

 *****Psa 72:10  The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 

Psa 72:11  Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 

 David prayed that Solomon would be recognized as the world's leader the sovereign ruler over all the earth.

 He asked that God would cause all rulers to pay tribute to Solomon.

 As David prayed for his son, he also prophesied of the Messiah.

 Solomon did establish an extensive kingdom but he did not rule to the ends of the earth.

 Solomon was not King of all kings.

 Only the Lord Jesus Christ will fully answer this prayer of David!

 Only the Lord Jesus Christ will reign forever over all the earth!

 Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

Zec 9:10  And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 

 Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 

Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 

 Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 

 Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

 King Jesus will rule this world just as He rules everything that we see and know about. He will rule all His creation.

 Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 David then prays that Solomon will be compassionate toward the people.

 *****Psa 72:12  For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 

Psa 72:13  He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 

Psa 72:14  He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 

 When is the last time we have seen our leaders be compassionate to all the people?

 This is when we know we have a true leader.

 Did you know being compassionate to the people is not one of the things that our President is to do.

 An American President is to keep our nation safe and make sure the Constitution is being implemented and is the guide to our laws.

 If our leaders would show compassion to all the people of our great nation instead of picking out certain groups to show compassion, if you can call it that, to certain groups and cause division in all the rest, our nation would be a better place.

 A true leader will deliver all who cry to him who are in need.

 These would be those who are poor, oppressed, and helpless beyond their fault.

 He is to deliver those who suffer due to circumstances beyond their control.

 Most of the problems where people suffer today is because our leaders have made laws that cause friction in the people.

 A good leader would deliver those who are oppressed who are law abiding people.

 A good leaders would not take away our freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

 A good leader would save the people from oppression and stop their adversaries who only deceive and defraud the people.

 An unrighteous leader would view the needy with contempt, seeing them as a burden to society and worthless.

 Why is our nation faltering? It is because no one wants a righteous leader!

 Even Solomon was not a righteous leader many of his days because he taxed the people so he could live an extravagant life.

 God told Israel these things about a king:

 Deu 17:15  Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 

Deu 17:16  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 

Deu 17:17  Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 

Deu 17:18  And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 

Deu 17:19  And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 

Deu 17:20  That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. 

 Solomon ignored all these laws of God just as most all kings have done even presidents.

 But the Lord Jesus Christ was innocent of any wrong doing!

 Israel became a rich nation but it was just like today.

 The rich got richer and the poor remained poor and the middle class paid most of the taxes.

 David prophesied of King Jesus as no one else could meet the qualifications that God had set in His Laws.

 The Jews had six hundred and thirteen laws besides these things that God added to kings.

 The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly portrayed the compassionate, sacrificial heart of our Savior because He cannot be different from what He is!

 He is still this same Savior today with these same characteristics!

 Because of Jesus our souls can be saved from a Spiritual death which means an eternal separation from God in Hell.

 The Lord Jesus is soon returning to claim our bodies as well!

 Solomon did become the richest man in the world, but a lot of it was wasted when He could have done more for Israel such as tax relief.

 *****Psa 72:15  And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 

Psa 72:16  There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 

Psa 72:17  His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 

 Verse 15 is hard to understand but it could mean "God save the King".

 People could not only greet him in the customary way, but bring gifts to him and they would pray for him.

 Besides the gifts, we still do this for our own leaders.

 The gift we can give is to be obedient to the laws of the land that do not go against the Word of God.

 A good king would be the source of happiness and prosperity and there will never be but one good king and that is King Jesus.

 Another prayer would be for the fertility of the land.

 "May there be an abundance of corn in the land upon the top of the mountains?"

"May the fruit rustle like Lebanon".

"May men flourish out of the city like the grass of the earth."

 This would be praying for the prosperity for the people of the kingdom.

 These would be the things that the Lord Jesus will do after He has destroyed the earth. He will make all things new and the earth will again be like it was in the Garden of Eden.

 Hos 14:5  I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 

Hos 14:6  His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 

Hos 14:7  They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

 Isa 27:6  He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. 

 There will also be a conversion of the Jews.

 Psa 92:12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 

Psa 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 

Psa 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 

Psa 92:15  To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. 

 Only the Lord Jesus fits the picture painted by verse seventeen:

 Psa 45:17  I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. 

 Eph 3:13  Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 

Eph 3:14  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Eph 3:15  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 

Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 

 And blessed be the Lord God:

 *****Psa 72:18  Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. 

Psa 72:19  And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 

Psa 72:20  The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. 

 When the Messiah sits on the throne of David during the Millennial Kingdom the whole earth will be filled with God's glory.

 Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 

Isa 11:10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 

 Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

 The Lord did wondrous things as the God of Israel by delivering them from bondage.

 The Lord did wondrous things for the Church as he delivered us all from the bondage of Satan.

 He did these things because His mercy endures forever!

 It is our duty to praise God for what He has done for us and Israel will soon find this same thing out.

 It is our honor to praise God.

 It is our honor to meet each week in the House of our God to offer to Him our praise.

 We will do this in Heaven, we just as well get in the practice here on earth!

 It is our duty and our pleasure to honor our God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

 It is only the lord who can do these wondrous things and does them because He loves us!

 Me and my brother Mike used to talk about being saved and we would refer to this passage in the Book of James.

 Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. 

 Our sins, as terrible as they were now are all blotted out in God's records in Heaven!

 Mike is in Heaven now and I owe it to the Lord to spend the rest of my days serving Him!

 This was David's dying prayer for his son Solomon, but the Holy Spirit used this same prayer to prophecy of the Messiah, King Jesus.

 Amen

What Are We Afraid Of

 Fear in the Midst of Trials

Book of Psalms 56

We must remember we live in a cursed world because of sin.

We must remember sin is everything that goes against the Word of God.

The greatest sin of all is to not believe in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has completed for our salvation.

When do we have the most fear? When we are in the midst of our daily trials.

Things that devastate us can come to us at any moment. 

The death of a loved one.

A terrible sickness, such as cancer or a heart attack.

Today it seems like half the world is trying scam us out of the things we have no one really cares as they say they do.

A car wreck can set us backwards financially and I could go on because there are so many problems that come upon us, just unexpectedly.

In the Book of Job we see these words: Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

This still describes our world today. This still describes humanity today but even worse.

Most of our hardships are the result of trouble finding us.

Many of our hardships are of our own making.

We know the Job was the most upright man on earth in his day and all his children died in one day because of a tornado like wind.

Robbers came and stole many of his animals.

Lightning killed the rest of his animals.

Job got up one morning as usual and was a rich man, at the end of that day Job was heartbroken and a poor man and he had done nothing to cause all these things to happen.

But it is still a fact that many of our problems come from our own actions.

We are still our own worst enemy.

David did this very thing.

When David was on the run from King Saul, who was trying to kill him.

David was innocent of any wrongdoing toward Saul but this did not stop Saul from trying to kill him.

David had gone to the Philistine city of Gath to seek refuge from Saul.

David thought that Saul would never look for him there.

The Philistines were Israel's sworn enemy.

Saul had declared David to be his enemy.

David hoped that the King of Gath would help him because they were both the enemies of King Saul.

Keep in mind that David had been the one to kill Goliath and Goliath had family members who still lived in Gath.

Goliath had four brothers and many family members there.

David was even carrying the sword of Goliath.

We can only imagine his thought process at this time.

The truth is that David's logic was flawed. He went to the world when he should have gone to Jehovah.

After all he was a man after God's own heart.

It is certain that we all make mistakes that can cause us harm!

The advisors of King Achish were convinced that David was still a threat to the Philistines so suddenly David was in grave danger.

We know from previous lessons that David put on a show of being crazy and it saved his life.

1Sa 21:10  And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 

1Sa 21:11  And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 

1Sa 21:12  And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 

1Sa 21:13  And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 

Unwise decisions will most always get us into trouble!

If we are close to God, then we will find it easier to go to Him when trouble comes to us!

*****Psa 56:1  To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.

Psa 56:2  Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. 

We know that trouble is usually accompanied by more trouble and we know we need help, but we forget that we are a child of God and we think the world can solve our problems, when the world is the cause of most of our problems.

This world is a wicked and evil place, and has no intention of solving anybody’s problems, but the rich who simply want more riches.

We should be crying out to the Lord and we should be crying out for His mercy even if we have to beg God for mercy, because we know God is merciful or we would not know anything about Him.

That phrase "would swallow me up" simply means that this world will walk all over us, trample on us, or crush us and we all know this is true because we live it every day and we see it getting worse, especially for the child of God, but we have a merciful God who will remove some of these things or He will go through them with us.

How did God describe Himself to Moses?

Exo_34:6  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Deu_4:31  (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

God does not change, so He is the same God to all those who love Him today.

God will not allow our enemies to swallow us up or walk all over us, if we go to Him in prayer trusting in Him.

David was under daily attacks so much so, that he could not find rest.

David explained these things to the Most High God, Jehovah, and he realized he needed God more than ever and just as we all do.

*****Psa 56:3  What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 

Psa 56:4  In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 

This is the only place in the Bible where we read that David might be afraid of any man.

The way this verse reads is "When the day comes that I feel fear stealing over me, by an act of will, I will put my trust in thee".

We must be more like David and never be afraid of what man can do to us! 

We already know that if we die today, we will wake up in Heaven and will be far better off.

In all danger, in all trouble, whatever happens, whatever we think is going to happen, we can always trust the Lord for the right outcome.

We cannot say we are Christians and then, not trust that God will always do the right thing for us.

This is the only way we will ever overcome our fears.

If we stay close enough to the Lord in our lifestyle and prayers, we will seldom fall into the traps of this world.

David was going to be the next King of Israel and he needed to learn on God's training ground.

God's training ground can be tough most of the time.

God will fulfill every promise He makes to us.

We can be secure in God's plans for our life! There are no human beings who can overrule God's purpose for our life!

*****Psa 56:5  Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 

Psa 56:6  They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

To me this sounds just like our own government today. 

In verse five we see one of the things that happens so much today.

Evil people take our Constitution and twist the words that we have had for many years into another meaning that was never intended by its writers.

In fact, people are listening just to see if we say something that can be twisted into some other meaning, things we never intended to say.

They will use these twisted meanings to plot against us.

This happened to David.

This happens to good politicians today.

These things happen to us.

If you are a Christian, people will try to twist your words to have an evil meaning because this is what they do to the Word of God every day.

These are what can be called a verbal ambush.

Our news sources do this all day long so that we cannot get the real truth but only someone's twisted version of their political views.

It should be alright to have a different point of view from someone else without it causing a war between them.

No matter our circumstances, we can trust the Lord to help us if we love Him and trust Him.

When we cry out to the Lord, He will hear us!

We must understand that no one makes us sin! No one can be the cause of our sin but us!

We have a sin nature that cannot be overcome without the help of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God went to great lengths in order to rescue us from our sin nature!

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

It is true that fear is one of the most powerful emotions we face today, but it should not be that way.

What are we afraid of?

Fear can cause us to act differently than we normally act.

Many just run off and hide when they should just go to the Lord.

God is certainly greater than any force upon this earth.

The way to defeat fear is by faith in the promises of the Word of God!

Heb 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

No one can escape the "judgment" of God especially those who try to use sin to defeat Him.

*****Psa 56:7  Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. 

The problem with most sinners is that they think they can escape the wrath of God.

They do not believe in Hell and they do not think the Bible is a Divine book.

Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 

Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 

Again I can only think of the America of today when I read those words "for we have made lies our refuge and under falsehood have we hid ourselves".

We have the lies of our own government.

We have the lies of Meta and Google and other tech suppliers.

We have the lies of our financial services.

We have the lies of our News Sources.

Isa 28:18  And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 

David was bold enough to ask God to deal with His enemies.

We can be sure that all the enemies of God will see His wrath at a time of His choosing, but sometimes we need God to do something sooner and He promises us His help on a daily basis, after all we have Heavens Angels with us at all times.

Psa 55:23  But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee. 

Another thing David did was to ask God to keep a record of all these things.

We should know that God keeps a record of all our doings!

Psa 139:2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

David certainly did not realize that so many things of his life would be placed in the Bible for us all to read.

I am sure there are many things that he would rather not be made so public.

*****Psa 56:8  Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? 

Psa 56:9  When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

We can be sure that the Lord will not allow His enemies to get by with their evil deeds. His enemies are also our enemies!

There is no one upon the face of this earth that can escape the "judgment" of God!

We can be sure that the Lord is angry at those who cause harm to God's people, but it is a righteous anger.

God does see our pain!

We might ask ourselves, why would God display the life of David before us?

We are not very old before we learn that bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.

Mat_5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Human life is described as a form of wandering and tears.

Life is represented is a scene of unending struggle. 

Life can be more than just wandering and tears!

We know that that are some pleasures in this life, such as a good marriage, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

The knowledge of God and our Savior makes this life a whole lot better and there are no words to describe our future life for eternity.

The same Bible that tells us of the sorrows of this life also tell us of the wonderful things that are going to happen after this life is over.

The Bible does speak of these problems David had in his life, but the Bible also keeps a very accurate record of all those things and I believe that it is true that God puts our tears in a bottle.

These things are told to us to show that our God is a caring God. He cares about us and what we are going through.

God may have placed the life of David in the Bible for us to see, but God keeps complete records of each and every one of us with Him at all times.

God knows what we are going through!

We may not understand why bad things happen to us, but the Lord promises to open our eyes to the truth once we get to Heaven and we will understand the reasons why.

Some of these things are a test of our faith and our patience.

Those who reject the Lord but have their own gods believe that we are supposed to suffer.

We must realize that even today, none of us have suffered as our Savior did to provide our means for salvation.

Almost the entire life of the Lord Jesus was filled with sorrow.

The Lord Jesus also shed tears, but He did not shed tears at His crucifixion! 

He shed tears for us!

The Lord Jesus Christ also sheds tears for those who do not believe Him!

As Christians, we must realize that we have enemies in this world and even enemies that we do not know about.

Our own government has placed us on the terrorist lists.

The white Christian has become the enemy because those true to the Lord will fight against abortion, will fight against the LBGTQ movement, and will fight against immorality of all kind.

The Lord is on our side.

The Lord sees our pain.

The key to success is faith in the truth of God!

The truth is when we suffer the Lord suffers with us.

God will never forget the suffering of His people!

Our tears surely are God's treasures.

Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 

Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 

We have so many things that we need to give God the praise for!

*****Psa 56:10  In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. 

Some say, "just what is so important about the Bible"?

Let us first put it bluntly.

Pro 13:13  Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. 

Those that reject any part of the "Word of God" bring destruction upon themselves!

The unbeliever cannot escape his future tragedy unless they accept the Word of God as the truth of life!

The unbeliever cannot escape the truth of God by ignoring the Word of God or by despising the Word of God.

They will suffer throughout eternity for neglecting the Messiah who came to this earth to save them!

Pro 14:9  Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. 

Those who choose to go their own way will end up in destruction!

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

What we see in this Psalm is that David's faith had conquered any fear that he had.

God gave us His Words so that we could know right from wrong!

As loving and merciful as God is, He will not tolerate disobedience!

The Word of God allows us to see the true meaning of righteousness and points to the fact that God will always be faithful to His Word!

When we give praise to the Word of God we are giving praise to Elohim the triune God.

When we give praise to the LORD we are praising "YAHWEH" (Jehovah) the great "I AM" of the Bible.

We know of many false gods and not a single one of them show the mercy and love that Jehovah shows to those who believe Him.

In this passage we see the government of Jehovah combined with the Elohim of our creation!

Only Elohim does whatever He wants to, anytime He wants to, and in any way that He wants to do it.

But it is only His mercy that brings His "grace" to those that believe Him!

We should be more like David here when he says in the attribute of the "Justice of God", I will praise His Word and in the attribute of the "Mercies of God" will I praise His Word.

It does not matter if we are suffering adversity or living in prosperity, whether we receive evil of good things at the hand of the Lord, we should praise Him because He is the Almighty Living God.

It is the Word of God that denotes the "Grace" and the "Goodness" of the covenant that God makes with us because of Jesus Christ!

*****Psa 56:11  In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. 

David knows his deliverance is forthcoming so he praises God in advance for this deliverance.

Since we know the promises of God, we should all do this!

Sometimes we forget to offer thanksgiving to our God. We take Him for granted.

It is our duty to offer thanksgiving to the Lord!

1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

It is our duty to pray with thanksgiving!

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

It is our duty to offer thanksgiving to God for our victory in Jesus.

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

It is our duty to thank God for His Word!

1Th 2:13  For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

As David was suffering in his misery and pleading with God for help, he was also praising God for the vows God has made to each believer.

The Lord has made certain promises to us about the things that cause us trouble.

Psa 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 

Psa 50:15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 

*****Psa 56:12  Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. 

When the Lord gives us victory then how can we not praise Him?

We must understand that because God is in control the things that happen to us then whatever comes to us must be included in the plan of God for us, and it will be good for us in the end.

This being true and it is, then we have no cause to fear the problems that come before us.

We must rest upon the promises of God and we must trust in God's timing.

We must offer sacrifices of praise to God consistently!

When we make vows to the Lord, we are creating debts that must be paid.

Many times when a serious problem comes before us, we will go to the Lord and make great promises to the Lord, if He will solve that issue before us, but when He has done what we ask Him to do, we forget to keep our promises which is the same as a vow.

David promised God that he would never forget.

David promised to be a vessel of praise especially in the worship services.

Since this thing happened to David while he was young, we can also see in the Book of Psalms and God used David to write so many of them.

We must never forget to give God the glory and the praise for the things we know He has done for us especially since God has delivered our soul from death.

*****Psa 56:13  For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? 

When we have genuine faith, we can certainly thank God even before He acts.

We can consider something done although it has not been done yet.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

For instance we know we are saved and the Lord has already built us a home in glory but He has not placed us in it yet.

We know the rapture is a true event, but it just has not taken place yet.

We know we are saved; we do not have to ask to be saved again.

We know we have been delivered; we do not have to ask God to be delivered again.

We know we are a child of God and we know that God puts His children first, we do not have to ask for the favors of the redeemed, they are already ours.

We are in the family of God.

As far as those vows are concerned, we should never make a promise that we cannot keep or we do not intend to keep.

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 

Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 

Ecc 5:6  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 

God is faithful to us, even when we act foolishly or make unwise decisions.

When we walk in the wisdom of the Word of God which was given to us by God the Holy Spirit, we can avoid these mistakes that our flesh makes.

Even when we fail to follow the Lord, He is still faithful to us and He still keeps His promises to help us.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

When that path to escape comes, we need to take it simply because God provided it!

2Ti 2:13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 

God can only be God, He cannot be something He is not like we humans do.

It is simply not in His character and the more we learn about Him from the Book we call the Bible, which is actually the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the better we will know Him.

Joh_14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Amen