OUR FATHER WHO HIDES US IN THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS
This song is taken from Psalm 17 which is one of the prayers that the Lord Jesus prayed while agonizing at the Garden of Gethsemene before being arrested.
HEAR ME LORD TURN YOUR EAR TO ME AND HEAR MY PRAYER
SHOW ME LORD THE WONDERS OF YOUR LOVE AND FAITHFUL CARE - (x2) (x1)
KEEP ME AS THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE
AND HIDE ME IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS - (x1) - (X2)
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OUR FATHER
Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verses 4 - 5 says this;
Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.
This passage contrasts the conditions of the living and the dead.
It starts with the axiom that as long as we are alive, we can have hope.
The spiritual implication is that when we are alive, we can change the equations that determine how our spiritual condition will end up once we die.
When we are alive, we are conscious of our mortality and as such, we can continue following the will of God which results in the storage of treasures in heaven.
Once we die however, our spiritual fates are locked in and our eternal lives will be shaped by what we did when we were alive.
If we do things that continue to bless people even after we are gone, these can acrue to our spiritual standing but with time, even these dwindle and cease when our names are eventually forgotten by the living.
Let us lead our lives with intentional awareness of the eternal life we will enter into for which the Lord Jesus Christ paid so great a price to qualify us for.
Amen.
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OUR FATHER WHO SECURED OUR REDEMTION BY HIS OWN STRENGTH
The book of Isaiah chapter 63 verses 4- 5 says this;
It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come.
I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.
In this passage, the Lord moves in anger and to redeem His people.
He looked to see if there were any who could help Him but there were none who could give Him support.
The Lord undertook our salvation single handedly.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES REBELLION
The book if Ezekiel chapter 12 verse 13 says this;
I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.
The prince in Jerusalem was under judgement to be taken captive and go to Babylon.
He and the others in Israel were to suffer this fate because they were rebellious and the refused to see and refused to hear.
And thus the judgement of exile came upon them.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WARNS THOSE WHO PRACTICED BLOODSHED OF IMPENDING JUDGEMENT
Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 9 says this;
I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.
In a vision seen by Ezekiel the prophet, the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem were devising their strategies in the face of foreign invasion and had decided that because their had recently built their houses in the city, they would entrench themselves therein and be, as it were, the meat in the pot.
Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 3 says it this way;
They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’
Ezekiel was instructed by the Lord to prophecy against these leaders to inform them that their plan to remain in the city would fail and instead, would be driven out of Jerusalem and that they would meet their punishment at the hands of foreigners at the borders of Israel.
Because they had not followed the law of God and they had caused bloodshed in the land, they would denied the option to fortify themselves in the city of Jerusalem and they would be cast into open country and there, they would meet what they feared most: the sword of judgement.
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OUR FATHER WHO IS AWESOME
Psalm chapter 1 verse 4 says this;
Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
This verse advises God's people to live in the fear and reverrence of the Lord. We are not to sin in view of the glory of our God that must not bring to shame.
The verse continues to counsel us to practice introspection when we repose on our beds.
In silence, we should examine our own hearts and consider our position in light of the awesome glory of the Lord.
As Psalm 46 verse 10 says;
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Amen.
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