1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy name give glory,
for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
2 Wherefore should the heathen say,
Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens:
he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not:
eyes have they, but they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not:
noses have they, but they smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not:
feet have they, but they walk not:neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them are like unto them;
so is every one that trusteth in them.
9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord:
he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord:
he is their help and their shield.
11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord:
he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us:
he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear the Lord,
both small and great.
14 The Lord shall increase you more and more,
you and your children.
15 Ye are blessed of the Lord
which made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord 's:
but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17 The dead praise not the Lord,
neither any that go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.
Comments by Joan Boney
3 But our God is in the heavens:
he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
God creates some to salvation and other to destruction, says Paul. Romans 9
God is God and does as HE pleases.
Pharaoh was created for purpose of destruction while Paul was created to salvation.
Concerning Paul ... Acts 9 ... 1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man:but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus:for, behold, he prayeth, 12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way:for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales:and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
Concerning Pharaoh being formed to destruction ... Many humans cannot stand this concept but this is what the Bible teaches.
Romans 9 ... 6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God:but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
(God created Pharaoh for the purpose of being destroyed ... )
18 Therefore hath HE mercy on whom HE will have mercy, and whom HE will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
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Who is our God?
Our God is the creator of heaven and earth. Our God is the God of Abraham. Our God is the Father of our LORD, Jesus Christ.
Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead? We who believe in the God of Abraham believe Jesus Christ was raised by God from the dead.
The people who have other gods do not believe Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. But their gods have no power to raise from the dead so it is little wonder they do not believe Jesus could be raised from the dead.
But our God can and did raise Jesus Christ from the dead and HE will raise all from the dead, some to salvation and others to eternal damnation. That is the power of our God who made heavens and earth and all that is therein, the God of Abraham and Jesus Christ.
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Mt. 16 ... 13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist:some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
God revealed to Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. No flesh, no man revealed this to Peter. God HIMSELF revealed this to Peter. That is exactly the same as it is with us today. God put it into our hearts to believe HIS WORD, to believe on Jesus Christ, HIS WORD.
And the church is built on the rock of that word God reveals ... and the gates of hell cannot stand against that word God gives us on the subject at hand.
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4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands.
There is a give away connected to golf ... if you register with a loan company and a PGA golfer makes a hole in one and they draw your name, you get a year of mortgage payments. "Imagine that," I thought. A year of mortgage payments on your house! Then I realized ... I don't have a mortgage. I've never had a mortgage. God just saw to it that the houses I have lived in were all paid for before the construction started!
Something came on TV about a man getting over a million-dollars. I thought about how great that would be. Then I remembered that I have plenty of money and I don't want to leave my house and certainly would not want to go out of town. I don't want clothing or cars and certainly not jewelry. I have everything I want. There is no lack of any kind. What would I want more money for? But our flesh can get all caught up for a few minutes until we come back to our senses!
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9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord:
he is their help and their shield.
We have a magnificent shield when we choose to live by Bible. For example: Bible in NT shows men the only reason to divorce wife is if she is unfaithful. So if she doesn't cook to suit you or look to suit you or suit you, that is no reason to divorce her. It is very simple. Has she been sexually faithful? If so, it is over. Nothing else to consider.
In Bible, woman was not granted "right" to divorce. So there was no question of divorcing husband. If you live that way, you just do not divorce husband. You might choose to leave him and remain unmarried, but you do not divorce. Nothing else to consider ... It makes it very simple.
I Cor. 7 ... 10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband:and let not the husband put away his wife.
It is sort of like going through the Red Sea. The wall of water was on right hand. The wall of water was on left hand. The Egyptians were behind them pursuing them ... so there was only one way to go. Simple.
The people of this world wrestle with all manner of considerations on this matter. But we, of God, do not. It is made simple for us when we live according to Bible.
HE is our shield ... we are shielded by living by Bible.
And we are continually helped by God as we try to do HIS will and live by HIS word.