Psalm 107. God to the rescue. It is a telling of four “saysos” as the Southerners used to say as they called for testimonials in their revival meetings: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so“. The Israelites kept getting in trouble and finally cried out to the LORD, and He saved them out of their distresses. This is a remarkably positive Psalm.
Jeremiah 17. Judah’s sin was deep and worthy of punishment. Jeremiah gave a profound confession and delivered a beautiful prayer for deliverance. Then he reminded the people to keep the sabbath holy.
Psalm 106 is a follow-on of Psalm 105. While Psalm 105 tells of the story of God’s people from Abraham to Moses, Psalm 106 continues from the crossing of the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) to the sins committed ,even to the child sacrifices to the gods of Canaan. The psalmist prayed for deliverance from the heathens and return and restoration of the promised land. The Psalm begins and ends with a Hallelujah (praise the LORD).
Jeremiah 16 tells of the Day of Disaster and ends with the promise that God will restore Israel.
In between the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and his first letter to Timothy we read two Psalms.
September 14: Psalm 104, Psalm 105 (click on the chapter to begin reading).
Psalm 104. God is Lord of all creation. He is worthy of all praise. Let us count the ways.
Psalm 105. God is faithful to His Covenant people, and retells the account of what He did for the Hebrews from Abraham to the wanderings in the wilderness.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1)
The original location where the iron cross was found.
For Muslims, atheists and humanists the cross is an offense since it is to them the stench of death. But to us who believe it is the symbol of redemption and new and eternal life in Christ. If they were not pricked in their hearts when they see the cross they would not be offended.
He died on the cross at Ground Zero.
We have only one risen hero.
But the fools reject grace,
stay condemned, cannot face
The truth in The Cross at Ground Zero.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (St. John 3:16-17)
An intermediate location for the cross
The final place for the Iron cross near the 9/11 museum.
These were the final words of Governor Sarah Palin after a successful week anchoring “On Point” with the One America News.
Governor Palin is a true servant. Her parents, Chuck and Sally Heath, worked at the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, New York in January and February 2002 as part of a federal Department of Agriculture program.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Heath said he and his wife had worked to keep sea gulls and rats from scavenging the human remains in the debris. Mr. Heath, then 70, a retired science teacher, and Mrs. Heath, then 68, a retired secretary, had worked for the Agriculture Department for 15 years. They travel around the world dealing with “nuisance” animals like rats and bears.
“A lot of people just didn’t like the job, it was kind of a morbid thing,” he said of the work at the landfill. “But I thought it was part of history.”
This is the attitude of a servant.
On April 16 2019 at the church of Notre Dame in Paris there was a fire. Much was lost.
“Art and architecture have a unique ability to help us connect across our differences and bring people together in important ways,” posted U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. “Thinking of the people of Paris and praying for every first responder trying to save this wonder.”
No, Ms Omar, it is much more than that, rather
What nearly destroyed Notre Dame;
historical artworks for some.
Not the fall of the steeple,
God’s church is the people
the Cross stands for all who will come.
Yes, the fire was spectacular.
Yes, the cross still stands as it did when, as U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar so famously quoted “Somebody did something at 9/11”
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 53:1)
In between the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and his first letter to Timothy we read one Psalm and the first two chapters of Jeremiah.
Psalm 103, of David. There are many songs of praise in the Bible. This is probably the purest of them all. It combines God’s mercifulness and our shortcomings, His healing power and our frailty and above all our very limited life here on earth and the eternity of God.
Jeremiah 1, the call of Jeremiah. The key word in Jeremiah’s call is “before“. Here God confirmed His call with two visions, the branch of an almond tree and a boiling pot tilting away from the north. These were promises of the fulfillment of God’s word and of an impending disaster. God finally assured Jeremiah He will be with him, so don’t worry.
Jeremiah 2. Israel had forsaken the LORD, and God presented His case against Israel.
Psalm 101, of David. A song of praise and a vow that reads like a new year’s resolution.
Psalm 102. A penitential psalm. It recalls the great deeds and miracles God did for His people in the wilderness, and how they disobeyed and turned to idols, even to the point of child sacrifice. In spite of this God is still merciful and there is still hope. It ends with a Hallelujah!
Isaiah 66 speaks of judgement and hope, and true and false worship. Yet, the LORD will vindicate Zion; “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream“. Finally, God via Isaiah wraps up the scroll with a description of the Day of the LORD and its sobering aftermath.
Psalm 95 is a song of praise to God, but also a warning that they should not harden their hearts as they did in the wilderness and thus were not allowed to enter God’s rest.
Psalm 96 is to “declare His glory among the nations“, and ends up with “Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,he comes to judge the earth.”
Psalm 97 tells what it means to rejoice “for the LORD reigneth” and “For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.”
Psalm 92. A Song for the Sabbath day. Give thanks to the LORD. God judges His enemies, and He makes His people flourish.
Psalm 93. A Psalm of only five verses: The LORD reigns!
Psalm 94. This time the Psalmist prayed for the LORD to execute vengeance on all who disobey Him, and bring comfort to all who follow Him.
Isaiah 56. Salvation will be open to all. In Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial will be remembered “Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” Yet, Israel still have wicked leaders.
Psalm 90, a Prayer of Moses, the Man of God. This is his prayer in the wilderness, and is the only song of Moses in the Psalms, but there are two others in the Pentateuch (Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32-33).
Psalm 91. The author is anonymous. Charles Spurgeon commented: “In the whole collection there is not a more cheering Psalm, its tone is elevated and sustained throughout, faith is at its best, and speaks nobly.” He also quoted (in English) Siméon Marotte deMuis: “It is one of the most excellent works of this kind which has ever appeared. It is impossible to imagine anything more solid, more beautiful, more profound, or more ornamented.”
Isaiah 45. Cyrus was God’s instrument. God gave him “the treasures of darkness”, though he did not acknowledge Him. The Lord is the only savior, there is none else. God said: “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 
