OUR FATHER WHO DELIGHTS IN US

From Psalm 149;

Zion be glad 

In your  King

Sing and dance

For He delights 

In His faithful ones

He crowns the humble

With victory

And they rejoice in Him

May the praise of the Lord

Always  rise from them

OUR FATHER WHO SURROUNDS US WITH FAVOUR AS WITH A SHIELD

Psalm 5 says this;

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament.

Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies.

The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make your way straight before me.

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice.

Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO WILL JUDGE

Psalm 35 verse 9 says this;

May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.

May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise—may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation.

This passage captures the grief and betrayal that was felt by the Lord  Jesus when He was plotted against, betrayed, put on trial and sentenced to death.

Those in power plotted to kill Jesus and their efforts were going to lead them to be put to shame.

Because they engaged in scheming against an innocent man to kill  Him without cause, they were doomed to be driven away by the angel of the Lord and be caught by the net they set for the Lord Jesus and fall into the pit that they had dug.

The Lord did pray for the forgiveness of the ordinary soldiers who had crucified Him with the prayer  in the book of Luke chapter 23 verse 34 that reads;

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

This, however, only applied to those who were carrying out the sentence and did not know who they were killing. The religious leaders who plottered against Jesus along with Judas Iscariot were not exempt from the judgement that would reciprocate what they had intended for the Lord.

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 OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE CALL FOR HELP

Psalm 79 verses 3 - 4 says this;

They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem,  and there is no one to bury the dead.

We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

This passage captures a time of death and mayhem in the nation of Israel. Hatred and scorn towards the children of Jacob is amplified among their neighbours.

In the shock of the attack against them, the people ask God to relent from His anger. They call on the Lord to intervene to save them in their time of desperation so that His name would be glorified.

The psalm ends with a request to the Lord to save the captives condemned to death at the hands of their captors. 

May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.

Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.

Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE LIGHT WILL FILL THE WHOLE EARTH

The book of Isaiah chapter 60 verses 1 - 3 says this;

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

This passage is the beginning of the prophetic declaration by the prophet Isaiah of the coming global revelation of the kingdom of Zion.

In an epoch of darkness that will engulf the whole earth, the day of the appearance of Zion will suddenly dawn and the light of the Lord will shine through the people of His kingdom to such an extent that the nations of the world will be drawn to the brightness that they will carry from the Lord our God.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS GLORIFIED WHEN WE YIELD THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

The book of Phillipians chapter 1 verse 9 says this;

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

The apostle Paul, writing a letter with Timothy to the church at Philippi,  tells them that he has a particular prayer for them.

He prays that they would grow abundantly in love and that this love would gain a deeper knowledge and insight because, as he follows up in the next two verses, they would gain the ability to discern the best path and thus would be holy and blameless on the day of the Lord.

As well, they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through the Lord Jesus Christ and which brings glory to God.

Phillipians chapter 1 verses 10 - 11 read this way;

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLE BUT PROTECTS THEM NONETHELESS

The book of Isaiah chapter 17 verse 9 says this;

In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.

In this verse, the prophet Isaiah foretells of a time when Syria, a rival nation to Israel and also a buffer nation against the Assyrians, would be laid waste and their cities abandoned and left desolate.

At that time, Israel, facing judgment of her own,  would be but a remnant in the land and vulnerable to invaders but in this weakened condition and with Israel's buffer kingdom,  Syria,  destroyed, the Assyrian kingdom would take the opportunity to invade Israel but the Lord intervenes to protects them.

As Isaiah chapter 17 verse 14 says;

At evening time, now look, sudden terror! Before morning the Assyrians are no more. This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who pillage us.

This prophecy was fulfilled when Senacherib's Assyrian army of 185,000 men was destroyed overnight by the Lord recorded in Isaiah chapter 37 verse 36;

Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 

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OUR FATHER WHO DEFENDS HIS PEOPLE

From Psalm 7;

Lord my God, in You I take refuge

Save me from all who pursue

You are enthroned as the Judge

Over those assembled around You

Vindicate me according to Your  righteousness

You are my shield, the One who saves

I will give You thanks for my defence

To you alone I sing praise

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