1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised:
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about:
the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,
and cried unto my God: HE heard my voice out of His temple,
and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
the foundations also of the hills moved
and were shaken, because HE was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of His nostrils,
and fire out of His mouth devoured:
coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down:
and darkness was under His feet.
10 And HE rode upon a cherub, and did fly:
yea, HE did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him
were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before Him His thick clouds passed,
hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Highest gave His voice;
hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, He sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
and He shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen,
and the foundations of the world were discovered
at Thy rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from them which hated me:for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity:
but the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
and I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before Him,
and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful;
with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure;
and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people;
but wilt bring down high looks.
28 For Thou wilt light my candle:
the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by Thee I have run through a troop;
and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect:
the word of the Lord is tried:
He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him.
31 For who is God save the Lord?
or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength,
and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds 'feet,
and setteth me upon my high places.
34 He teacheth my hands to war,
so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation:
and thy right hand hath holden me up,
and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them:
neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise:
they are fallen under my feet.
39 For Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:
Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies;
that I might destroy them that hate me.
41 They cried, but there was none to save them:
even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind:
I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;
and thou hast made me the head of the heathen:
a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me:
the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away,
and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock;
and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me,
and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies:
yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me:
Thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen,
and sing praises unto Thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth He to his king;
and sheweth mercy to His anointed,
to David, and to His seed for evermore.
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Comments by Joan Boney
Psalm 18 ... 1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
I have a cousin that I haven't called in about 2 years and she hasn't called me either. She is difficult to deal with. Everyone always said she was so "sensitive" that you had to be very careful in talking to her for she would become offended so easily. Finally, I just stopped trying for I knew it wouldn't work. And I had a dream from God showing me she would accuse me even when I hadn't been there to do the harm of which she accused me of doing.
Recently her husband died and she called me. She mentioned we had drifted out of touch. I felt guilty by her words. I told her I would do better in future. (But she could have called me during past two years and didn't, but I am the one who felt guilty.) But then after telling her this, I felt trapped, like I would have to call her now.
I took this to God. And I realized God is my strength. I need to depend on God. If HE gives me something to say to her or puts something into my heart, I can speak in confidence. Otherwise I can just leave her alone. (She does not live in city where I live.)
The morning after she called me, I awoke thinking of her. I realized she has all the help she needs. I did write her and tell her I was glad she has such good help. I also mentioned several people I know who have chosen to go to nice assisted living homes and the report is they like it there. They have people to be around. The facility plans games and social events for them. (I would hate this but my cousin wants to be around people constantly so it would probably work for her.) In the letter I asked her to let me know new address if she moved.
I felt this letter took care of the situation and freed me. The knowledge that she has all the help she needs was from God. This was very freeing for me.
God is my strength and helps me in difficult situations such as speaking with this cousin.
It is important not to be led by guilt. If we commit everything to God and depend on HIM, we will be led by joy rather than driven by guilt.
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God is my wisdom.
The house I live in is stucco. A year or so ago someone threw eggs at the front of the house and did considerable damage. I had the front painted. Then recently someone threw eggs at the north side and garage area and again did damage. I was planning to have the house painted so if it is put on the market it would be fixed from the damage. I had even asked my contractor to paint the entire house and I had the money to pay for the work. But I was a little nervous about this plan. What if I had the house painted and the egg throwers struck again? Another plan came into my mind and I believe this plan is from God and frees me. I can have contractor touch up the damaged areas of the property and wait until the time the house might be put up for sale and then have the entire house painted before the new owner would move into the property.
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Psalm 18 ... 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me,
and I did not put away his statutes from me.
==========
Comments by Pam Padgett
My parents live in another state in the same small town where my niece
and her husband live. Last summer I received a call from my niece
letting me know they had taken my mom to the hospital and that she was
quite ill. My niece was obviously very concerned. Thoughts came that I
should go there. To my flesh it seemed this is what I "should" do. But
when I turned to God, I kept hearing that there was nothing I could do
that wasn't already being taken care of. And I also had the thought that to go there would be like stepping
into an ant hill of fire ants. I tried these thoughts and believed they were from the Holy Spirit. So I stayed at my home.
The
hospital is in a large city 3-4 hours from where my parents live. One
of my sisters and her grown and married children live near this city.
My other sister lives just 2 hours away. For many years my
parents lived near this city as well and have friends who still live
there. There was a small hotel in the hospital complex and my dad was
able to get a room there. He could go from his hotel room to my mom's
hospital room without even going outside. In addition to my niece, a
friend of my
parents was available to help my dad. Everything was taken care of, and
after a week in the hospital, my mom was well enough to return home.
My mom and I spoke on the telephone after she returned home. During the conversation she spoke of being
well cared for at the hospital and also told me that the nurses at the
hospital had commented
about how many visitors had come to visit her. She told me some of
the people who had come to visit her.
Just as the Holy Spirit told me, there was nothing needed for me to do there. My mom
was well cared for by the hospital staff and there were people to help my dad. And many of
the people who were there (including my parents) have troubled me in the
past by what they do and
say. One of my sisters has even been hostile to me in the past. (When this sister divorced her first husband, I warned her that she
would commit adultery if she married another man and shared scripture
with her about this. Amazingly, a few years later she called to tell me
she was marrying someone else and invited me to her wedding! I again
warned her that she would commit adultery, and also told her that I
would not attend this wedding. She became hostile and has wanted
nothing to do with me since.)
I
have
no doubt I would have been "stung" by their words and actions, just as
if I stepped
into a hill of fire ants.
The word given me by the Holy Spirit gave me wisdom in what to do in this matter (to stay home) and gave me the strength to do this.
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Psalm 18 ... I will love Thee, O Lord, (THE WORD) my strength.
2 The Lord (the Word) is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
my fortress: strong place
my deliverer: rescue, set free from, save from
==========
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised:
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about:
the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,
and cried unto my God:He heard my voice out of His temple,
and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.
God sends HIS Word (HIS ideas/HIS thoughts) to us by HIS Spirit and by that Word we know what to do and that Word causes us to go forth in a way of peace opposite to the emotional way of our flesh.
==========
When a "froward" (stubbornly unruly) person is shown a
scripture, often that person views the scripture as being wrong. It is
like the scripture is a mirror reflecting themselves. Thus with the
froward, God shows Himself froward.
That merciful person sees the scripture as being merciful.
The upright man sees the scriptures as being upright.
==========
Psalm 18 ... 28 For Thou wilt light my candle:
the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by Thee I have run through a troop;
and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
Paul says: I can do all things through Christ (through the Word) that strengthens me. Phil. 4:13
We, too, can do "all things" when God gives us HIS Word by HIS Spirit. We cling to that Word, doing as instructed by that Word, knowing it is the will of God delivered to us by the Spirit of God.
==========
30 As for God, His way is perfect:
the word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him.
31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds 'feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
... Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation:
and Thy right hand hath holden me up,
and Thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
==========
... 39 For Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
... 41 They cried, but there was none to save them:
even unto the Lord, but HE answered them not.
Some of the religious people strike out against us. Jesus told His disciples the following: Jn.
16 ...1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be
offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues:yea, the time
cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known
the Father, nor me.
There are many church
leaders and church people who are not born of the Spirit of God and they
think the real people of God to be wrong and they strike out against
the real people of God. All this is because they are not of God though
they say "Jesus is Lord." Jesus is not their Lord. Their own works
which they often do in the name of the Lord bear witness against them.
Therefore
they cry out to "the Lord", but HE answers them not for they are not of
God and are even against God for they are against the Word of God when
the Word is spoken to them. They see by their own understanding and not
by the Spirit, having not the Spirit, though they are often very
religious. They "kill" the prophets and kill those sent to them. They
"kill" the Word of God, reasoning it away with their minds.
Jesus warned us about them.
Mt.
14 ... And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto
Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what
shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I (Jesus) am Christ; and shall deceive many.
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Psalm 18 ... 46 The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock;
and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
... 48 He delivereth me from mine enemies:
yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me:
Thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
God defined the word "violent" for me as follows:
"Those persons who do their own will without regard for what it does to other people."
In Genesis 6, we see that the violence of man was one major reason God destroyed the earth at the time of Noah.
5
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the
earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man,
and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it
repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord.
... 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was
filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it
was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And
God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Paul
warned us that in the end times man would be very self-seeking,
concerning about himself without concern for others ... Again we see the
"violence" of man which brings the end.
II Tim.
3... This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without
natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers
of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof:from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are
they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with
sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to
come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres
withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth:men of corrupt minds,
reprobate concerning the faith.
This describes
what would happen in the churches for these would have "a form of
godliness" but end up denying the power of the Word itself. And they
change the real doctrine of the apostle and prophets and set up another
doctrine which actually denies the real doctrine of Christ.
To prove this, consider the following doctrine of Christ concerning divorce and remarriage.
Mt.
5 ... Jesus says ... 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put
away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to
commit adultery:and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.
I have never heard this
doctrine taught in any church. I've never heard a pastor say "the man
who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." This is simply
eliminated... not spoken.
This is just one doctrine of Christ in the Bible that has been removed.
This
is antichrist in the churches. Antichrist is a spirit who removes
doctrine and sets himself up as God in the church, setting up his own
doctrine which opposes the real doctrine of Christ.
The falling away is churches falling away from the real doctrine to follow the false doctrine. We see that over and over today.
II
Thess. 2 ... 3 Let no man deceive you by any means:for that day shall
not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his
time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:only he who now
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall
that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:12 That
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure
in unrighteousness.
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Jude
... 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of
the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there
should be mockers (imitators of the people of God) in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God,
looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.