OUR FATHER WHO RESCUES US IN TIMES DIRE NEED

Psalm 17 18 verse 19 4 says this;

The cords of death entangled me;  the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

This verse is a detail excerpted out of Psalm 18 by King David which records the narration that the Lord Jesus recounts from the time He was dying on the cross and as He began to descend into hell.

The phrase "cords of death entangling Him ",  evokes the image of a net that had entrapped Him and rendered Him helpless as the cords wrap tighter around Him and His life ebbed away.

As His body began to fail due to the accumulation of physical trauma that He had been subjected to, He could sense that the forcefull flowing water in the spiritual realm was aimed at Him as His condition worsened and He was dislodged as the pressure overcame His ability to hold onto life.

In the end, the Father intercedes and rescues the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus praises the Father with exuberation as it says in Psalm verse 46.

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock  Exalted be God my Savior!

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOM WE CALL UPON IN TIMES OF TROUBLE

Psalm 74 verse 9 says this;

We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.

This verse captures God's people in a catastrophic situation.

They have no indication that their God is with them because no signs are being detected in their midst and no prophets remain and there are none among them who is able to give guidance on the duration of their circumstance.

The psalmist calls to God to save them from the ruination that surrounded them.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO RESCUED HIS SERVANTS WHEN THEY CALLED TO HIM

The book of Obadiah Jonah chapter 2 2 verses 1 - 2 says this;

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry..

This passage, catches up with the prophet Jonah when he had been given a mission by God to go to Nineveh to warn them. He attempted to escape God's calling and fled by ship only to have a storm rise up against the ship and when all was but lost, Jonah was tossed over the side of the ship into the water and he was engulfed by a large fish.

While in the belly of the large fish, Jonah prayed to God and God heard him.

Closely looking at the prayer that Jonah uttered, one can see that there is a switch of realms from the natural sea into which Jonah was thrown to the realm of the dead and this prayer now becomes a proxy for the prayer that the Lord Jesus called out after He had died on the cross and was descending into hell. As Jonah's prayer continued in verses 5 - 6;

The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.

This reference details the descent into the depths and sinking down to the roots of the mountains which is a permanent prison for all who go there.

But the prayer was answered by the Lord who retrieved Jonah (  and by extension the Lord Jesus )  after three days and three nights from the pit.

This scenario and topography is echoed in Psalm chapter 18 verses 15 - 16  where, speaking of God rescuing the Lord Jesus,  it says;

The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

The definitive validation that the prayer in Jonah was a pre-iteration of the prayer that the Lord Jesus Himself prayed is found in Mathew chapter 12 verses 38 - 41 where Jonah's 3 day and 3 night ordeal in the belly of the fish is explicitly linked to the Lord's 3 day and 3 night ordeal in the heart of the earth.

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO BRINGS JUDGEMENT TO PURIFY

The book of Ezekiel chapter 24 verse 10 says this;

So heap on the wood and kindle the fire.

Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred.

This verse depicts a metaphor of meat being cooked in fire till the bones are charred. Later, thepot was super-heated till the metal glowed.

This image is of the judgement of Jerusalem that was spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel.  He described the scenario to the people so that they could visualize the cooking the meat and the burning of the bones and the pot and hear him explain how their city would be judged.

The judgement of a pot on the fire was aimed at cleaning Jerusalem of its impurity which was its lewdness but as verse 13 says,  the cleansing effort was not immefiately effective;

 “‘Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.

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OUR FATHER WHO FAVORS THE HUMBLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 66 verses 1 - 2 says this;

 This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.

This passage, capturing the words of the Lord, establishes that the Lord does not need anything made by the efforts of human beings.

Being the maker of all things, there is no dwelling place that can be made for God by any created being.

The Lord does not seek anyone with aspirations of building anything for Him but rather, His favor is towards people who are  humble before Him and who are contrite in spirit and who highly revere the word of the Lord.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GIVES SILENT GUIDANCE FROM THE HEAVENS

Psalm chapter 19 verse 14 says this;

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The psalmist David, having systematically thought through the nature of the revealed knowledge and understanding from the heavens, concludes with this verse that offers up to God his words and thoughts in the hope that they are pleasing and acceptable to Him who is His steadfast Lord and saviour.

Starting with the understanding that the heavens declare the glory of God, David marvels at the silent transmissions of knowledge from the heavens that reveal the Lord's directives and guidance for His people. 

David examines the different types of knowledge and understanding that are transmitted and what value they bring to the receivers;

• Law of the Lord - Refreshes the soul
• Statutes of the Lord - Makes wise the simple
• Precepts of the Lord - Bring joy to the heart
• Commands of the Lord - Bring light to the eyes
• Fear of the Lord - Teaches an eternal wisdom
• Decrees of the Lord - Guide in righteousness

David evaluates the totality of this knowledge and declares that it is highly valuable ( precious ) and sweet and abiding by it exposes hidden danger  and yields great reward.

May the words of our mouths and meditations of our hearts be pleasing and acceptable in the Lord's sight.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO RESCUED OUR LORD JESUS FROM HELL

Psalm 18 verse 5, recording the testimony of the Lord Jesus, says this;

The cords of the grave coiled around me;  the snares of death confronted me.

This verse, excerpted out of Psalm 18, prefigures the events that surrounded the Lord Jesus when He died on the cross.

As the Lord Jesus gave up His spirit and breathed His last, the protocols of death began their activities to subsume their target into the realm of the dead. The cords of the grave wrapped around Him to pull him down into the valleys of the seas and down into the foundations of the earth.

The next two verses ( 6 - 7 ) capture the moment when the Lord Jesus, finding Himself being engulfed in darkness, cried out to His Father and His Father heard Him and descended from heaven in great power to rescue His Son who had suffered death even though He was perfectly innocent.

In my distress I called to the Lord;  I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook;  they trembled because he was angry.

The Father traversed from the highest heights down to the lowest depths as verse 16 says;

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

Amen.

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