I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
2 The works of the Lord are great,
sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
3 His work is honourable and glorious:
and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered:
the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him:
he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works,
that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.
7 The works of his hands are verity (truth) and judgment;
all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever,
and are done in truth and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption unto his people:
he hath commanded his covenant for ever:
holy and reverend is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:
his praise endureth for ever.
Comments by Joan Boney
A "revelation" from the Holy Spirit was given to me concerning the faithfulness of God.
This concept seems so simple at first you might sluff it off thinking "everybody knows that." ... missing the entire revelation ...
But it was a "revelation" showing faithfulness ... Every day the sun testifies to the faithfulness of God.
So we have a sure anchor for our soul as to God's faithfulness.
A member of the body of Christ sent me a copy of the words to the hymn: Great is Thy Faithfulness
The person who wrote the words to this hymn is long dead ... generations before us ... but the same concept was given to this hymn writer who is now dead ...
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
When God's faithfulness is challenged by the events of life, we can awaken and see that sun (or daylight) and know God's faithfulness ... when you really grasp the revelation ...
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I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
It is hard to do this with the world. The world does not want to hear of God nor the works of God. The world does not want to exalt God in HIS works. The world wants to exalt man, thus their desire for newspaper and TV news to see the things man does. But in the congregation of the upright it is their great desire to have God exalted.
The world wants to exalt man, not God. So when we speak to the unbeliever and tell the things of God, I've often seen that unbeliever shudder and want to escape me and my words which show God. Even people who attend churches and profess to be Christian often react against God as we show HIM by telling what HE has done in our lives and in the lives of others.
Their church is their God. You can exalt their specific church and the people love it, but to tell of the works of God is far beyond them and they hate hearing you.
The unbelievers of this world want to exalt man and they love hearing the accomplishments of humans.
Those who are really of God love to hear what God has done in the Bible and love to hear what God is doing now in our lives.
I Jn. 4 ... 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5 They are of the world:therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6 We are of God:he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.
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4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered:
We who are of God love to hear the story of the parting of the Red Sea. We love to hear the story of David's faith in God when he went up against Goliath. We remember these stories and delight. No matter how many times we hear these stories we delight for they show God.
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7 The works of His hands are verity (truth) and judgment;
all His commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever,
and are done in truth and uprightness.
Judges 4 ... 1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. 3 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord:for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim:and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go:but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee:notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet:and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand:is not the Lord gone out before thee?
So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles:and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite:for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.
And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground:for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
When we are of God, we delight in the judgment of God. When I read this account, I increase. It is as if I feel expanded inside my body, stronger, more aware nothing can overcome God and nothing can overcome the people of God when we turn to God.
Certainly we have problems on this earth. But we turn to God for wisdom and help and the enemy ends up fleeing, not able to withstand our words nor the wisdom given us by God in the issue at hand.
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10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
a good understanding have all they that do His commandments:
His praise endureth for ever.
Most people seek the praise of men. That praise is very temporary. Most people fear man, not God. They see the power of man.
When we see the great power of God shown us in these scriptures and in the heaven and earth itself, we should see man diminish in our sight, what is man that we take account of him? says Isaiah the prophet ...
Isaiah 2 ... 22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils:
for wherein is he to be accounted of?
God's praise endures forever. Seek the praise of God, not man. Do that which is right in the sight of God. Learn to seek God's will and God's way in the issues of this present life. That is what really matters for now and even for all eternity. God's praise continues forever. Man might praise you briefly only to remove that praise. But when you please God HIS praise is everlasting.