Songs From Scripture: The Song of Zechariah

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited
and provided redemption for His people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
70 just as He spoke by the mouth
of His holy prophets in ancient times;
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the clutches of those who hate us.
72 He has dealt mercifully with our fathers
and remembered His holy covenant—
73 the oath that He swore to our father Abraham.
He has given us the privilege,
74 since we have been rescued
from our enemies’ clutches,
to serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness
in His presence all our days.
76 And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,
77 to give His people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us
79 to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:67-79 (HCSB)

Songs from the Bible #1 - The Song of Moses

 One of the things that I've been trying to do with worship songs at Gospel of Grace Fellowship is to make sure that they are firmly grounded in Scripture, and to set up clear parameters for songs that will be sung at Gospel of Grace.

I've been spending time studying the songs found in Scripture such as the Song of Moses, the Songs of Isaiah, the Song of Zechariah, etc. While I usually post a hymn on Sundays, I will be taking several week to post several of the songs of the Bible in preparation for a post on Biblical worship.

I hope you will take the time to read these. These songs, unlike the hymns, are the authoritative, inerrant, and inspired Word of God.

This first one is the Song of Moses, found in Exodus 15.

The Song of Moses and Israel

15 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said,

“I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
2 “The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
3 “The Lord is a warrior;
The Lord is His name.
4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 “The deeps cover them;
They went down into the depths like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.
8 “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be gratified against them;
I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
10 “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
12 “You stretched out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
13 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
14 “The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 “Terror and dread fall upon them;
By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone;
Until Your people pass over, O Lord,
Until the people pass over whom You have purchased.
17 “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
The place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”

Thankful Thursday 11.8.2012

~One completely uninterrupted night of sleep

~Precious baby babbles

~The security that comes from understanding the sovereignty of God

~The opportunity to study through and memorize the Sermon on the Mount with some wonderful blog friends.

~A warm and sun-shiny fall day

~A very happy baby boy

Jojo's Genesis 1:1

Jojo is learning his first memory verse this week - Genesis 1:1.

He has the first part down fine, but the second part is always interesting. Just now he said:

In the beginning God created.... (thinking)

         ...Alligators.
         ...and bears.
         ...and Grandpa Bob :-)

 

 This boy cracks me up!

Sunday Scriptures 7.22.12

Repost: Comfort

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

-Lamentations 3:22-25

These words were penned by the prophet Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. For forty years he had warned the people of coming judgment and was scorned by those who heard him. That judgment finally came and Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites captive and utterly destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple.

Yet while looking upon the ruins of his beloved city, the prophet was able to say "Great is your faithfulness" and patiently wait upon the Lord.

It seems that there are so many people suffering right now. Health problems, marriage problems, the loss of a job, death of loved ones, the list goes on and on.

In these very difficult times, it is my prayer that all of us will be able to say "Great is Your faithfulness" and patiently wait upon the Lord. His compassions are new every morning and take comfort, the Lord IS good to those whose hope is in Him.

Have a blessed weekend.

Sunday Scriptures

 It is better to take refuge in the LORD

than to trust in man.

-Psalm 118:8

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Healthy Preaching = Healthy Churches

The importance of preaching is God's chosen instrument for doing good to souls. By it sinners are converted, inquirers led on, and saints built up. A preaching ministry is absolutely essential to the health and prosperity of a visible church. The pulpit is the place where the chief victories of the Gospel have always been won, and no Church has ever done much for the advancement of true religion in which the pulpit has been neglected. Would we know whether a minister is a truly apostolical man? If he is, he will give the best of his attention to his sermons. He will labor and pray to make his preaching effective, and he will tell his congregation that he looks to preaching for the chief results on souls.
~ J.C. Ryle

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Sunday Scriptures



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Romans 3:21-31

God's Righteousness through Faith

21 But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed —attested by the Law and the Prophets  22 —that is, God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the  glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 He presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

Boasting Excluded

27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law?  By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. 29 Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

 

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)