Psalm 80
English Standard Version (ESV)
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead (C)Joseph like (D)a flock.
You who are (E)enthroned upon the cherubim, (F)shine forth.
2 Before (G)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
(H)stir up your might
and (I)come to save us!
you who lead (C)Joseph like (D)a flock.
You who are (E)enthroned upon the cherubim, (F)shine forth.
2 Before (G)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
(H)stir up your might
and (I)come to save us!
4 O (L)Lord God
of hosts,
(M)how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with (N)the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 (O)You make us an object of contention for our (P)neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
(M)how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with (N)the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 (O)You make us an object of contention for our (P)neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 (Q)Restore us, O God of
hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8 You brought (R)a vine out of Egypt;
you (S)drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You (T)cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to (U)the sea
and its shoots to (V)the River.[b]
12 Why then have you (W)broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 (X)The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
you (S)drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You (T)cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to (U)the sea
and its shoots to (V)the River.[b]
12 Why then have you (W)broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 (X)The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
(Y)Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16 They have (Z)burned it with fire; they have (AA)cut it down;
may they perish at (AB)the rebuke of your face!
17 But (AC)let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
(AD)give us life, and we will call upon your name!
(Y)Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16 They have (Z)burned it with fire; they have (AA)cut it down;
may they perish at (AB)the rebuke of your face!
17 But (AC)let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
(AD)give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19 (AE)Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Hebrews 7:23-28
English Standard Version (ESV)
23 The former priests were many in number,
because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood
permanently, because he continues (A)forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to
save to the uttermost[a] (B)those who draw near to God (C)through him, since he always
lives (D)to make intercession for
them.
26 For it was indeed fitting
that we should have such a high priest, (E)holy, innocent, unstained, (F)separated from sinners, and(G)exalted
above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those
high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, (H)first for his own sins and
then for those of the people, since he did this (I)once for all when he offered
up himself. 28 For the law appoints men (J)in their weakness as high
priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a
Son who has been made(K)perfect
forever.
Romans 8:26-28
English Standard Version (ESV)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. For (A)we do not know what to
pray for as we ought, but (B)the Spirit himself
intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And (C)he who searches hearts
knows what is (D)the mind of the Spirit,
because[a] the Spirit (E)intercedes for the saints(F)according
to the will of God. 28 And we know that for
those who love God all things work together(G)for
good,[b] for (H)those who are called
according to his purpose.
There is a lot of scripture here
so I want to be brief in my comments. As
I read Psalm 80 today what stood out to me was verse 4 where the Psalmists asked
“How long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?” and I thought, “oh my, is He angry with my
prayers?” At that I remembered the other
two scriptures that I have placed in this blog.
At the time of the Psalms prayers were offered up by the priests who
were sinners just like the people so even their prayers could make God
angry. What is so wonderful is that now
we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and Jesus to be our high priest. We don’t need to have a human being as our
priest because we have the perfect priest in Jesus Christ our Lord. Wow!
My prayers no matter how self-centered, boring, or off base, Christ can
take that prayer and interrupt it to mean what I really mean and present it to
God. So when our words don’t match our
heart Christ can take that prayer and make it understandable to God. And you know what is even better? God takes those prayers and works things out
for our best! It may not be what we
think we want but it is His perfect plan that prevails.
Next time you pray, and say “In
Jesus Name” remember that He is the One
that takes that prayer and makes it the perfect prayer for God to hear. When you pray out-loud and worry that your
prayer isn’t perfect remember that you are not praying to the people around
you, you are praying to the Father through Jesus Christ and your prayer is
perfect to the ears of God because Jesus makes those words perfect. As well, don’t criticize the prayers of the
saints because it is Jesus who interrupts not us. Remember too that when it is too painful to
pray, you can call upon Jesus and He let the Father know even your groaning’s.
Seek Him and know that He is God
and He is in Control.
Seeking Him with all my heart
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment