1 O God, my heart is fixed;
I will sing and give praise,
even with my glory.
2 Awake, psaltery and harp:
I myself will awake early.
3 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people:
and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
4 For thy mercy is great above the heavens:
and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
and thy glory above all the earth;
6 That thy beloved may be delivered:
save with thy right hand, and answer me.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness;
I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem,
and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the strength of mine head;
Judah is my lawgiver;
9 Moab is my washpot;
over Edom will I cast out my shoe;
over Philistia will I triumph.
10 Who will bring me into the strong city?
who will lead me into Edom?
11 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off?
and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
12 Give us help from trouble:
for vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly:
for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
Comments by Joan Boney
my heart is fixed;
Jn. 10 ... Jesus says ... 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Not only are we purposed to be firmly fixed but God has arranged that we will be firmly fixed, that no man nor anything will be able to pluck us out of God's hand. God is stronger than all.
It helps me to remember the children of Israel when they went through the Red Sea. God put them there with their backs to the Red Sea. Pharaoh was charging toward them. God parted the sea and told them to go forward. The sea was on the right hand. The sea was on the left hand. Pharaoh and 600 chariots was storming behind them. There was no way for them to go but forward! God makes it so we have to go in the right direction.
Things will get very difficult in the end times. Jesus explains it will get so bad except the time is shortened no flesh would be saved ... then Jesus says, "but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Mt. 24:22
In the meantime, it is good for us to fix our hearts on God and HIS salvation for us.
If we have any doubt about God keeping us, we can focus on Jn. 10:29 ... none is able to pluck us out of God's hand says Jesus. (Also consider the earth and the sun and moon and stars. Doesn't God keep them in place?)
God will do something to rescue us even when it seems impossible to us.
Ex. 14 ...
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon:before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.
And they did so.
5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled:and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel:and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid:and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. 11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
(The people murmured against Moses)
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which HE will shew to you to day:for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
(Have you ever been in a situation which looked impossible? I certainly have. And it might be impossible if not for God. But because of God the impossible situation is not impossible.)
15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
(Often we just have to set the past aside, set the situation aside, and grit our teeth and go forward ... Phil. 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. There is just no other way.)
16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it:and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them:and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
(This was God's plan. HE sent the children of Israel to the exact spot where there was no escape from Pharaoh. HE hardened Pharaoh's heart and caused Pharaoh to pursue them. God was going to destroy Pharaoh and his men and show the children of Israel HIS power.)
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these:so that the one came not near the other all the night.
(God gives us HIS Word and it is HIS Word that causes us to be different. HIS Word divides us from the people who are not of God.)
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground:and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
(Once they started their journey, there was no way to turn back. Nor could they turn to the right or left. They had to go forward. It was the only way.)
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily:so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians:and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.
(Not only did Israel see this great miracle of salvation of God but we, also, see that miracle of God today by the scriptures and by faith in God)
As we keep such things before us, we have faith in God that we can go forward and overcome.
And remember daily that the sun is out there today. God is faithful even when we begin to waver.
2 Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, yet HE abideth faithful: HE cannot deny himself.
Psalm 108
12 Give us help from trouble:
for vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly:
for HE it is that shall tread down our enemies.