Our Father’s Love
King David’s song of praise
103 With my whole heart, with my whole life,
and with my innermost being,
I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God!
2 Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration.
How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness
you’ve done for me?
3 You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done.
You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease.
4 You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life.
You’ve crowned me with love and mercy.
5 You satisfy my every desire with good things.
You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again
like a flying eagle in the sky!
6 You’re a God who makes things right,
giving justice to the defenseless.
7 You unveiled to Moses your plans
and showed Israel’s sons what you could do.
8 Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted
and so patient with people who fail you!
Your love is like a flooding river
overflowing its banks with kindness.
9 You don’t look at us only to find our faults,
just so that you can hold a grudge against us.
10 You may discipline us for our many sins,
but never as much as we really deserve.
Nor do you get even with us for what we’ve done.
11 Higher than the highest heavens—
that’s how high your tender mercy extends!
Greater than the grandeur of heaven above
is the greatness of your loyal love, towering over all
who fear you and bow down before you!
12 Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset—
that’s how far you’ve removed our guilt from us.
13 The same way a loving father feels toward his children—
that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us,
your beloved children, who live in awe of you.
14 You know all about us, inside and out.
You are mindful that we’re made from dust.
15 Our days are so few, and our momentary beauty
so swiftly fades away!
16 Then all of a sudden we’re gone,
like grass clippings blown away in a gust of wind,
taken away to our appointment with death,
leaving nothing to show that we were here.
17 But Lord, your endless love stretches
from one eternity to the other,
unbroken and unrelenting toward those who fear you
and those who bow facedown in awe before you.
Your faithfulness to keep every gracious promise you’ve made
passes from parents, to children, to grandchildren, and beyond.
18 You are faithful to all those who follow your ways
and keep your word.
19 Yahweh has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom rules the entire universe.
20 So bless the Lord, all his messengers of power,
for you are his mighty heroes who listen intently
to the voice of his word to do it.
21 Bless and praise the Lord, you mighty warriors,
ministers who serve him well and fulfill his desires.
22 I will bless and praise the Lord with my whole heart!
Let all his works throughout the earth,
wherever his dominion stretches—
let everything bless the Lord!
Also,
I don’t think it’s happenstance or “by chance”
that I downloaded this image to use for the journal entry today…
…the page that I photographed
just happens to be today’s date.
And I know that you probably cannot read the small text in this low res image, so here is what it says:
Response to God’s Glory
August 16th
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.”
—Psalm 29:2
“God’s glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy and good and lovely in God that He must be glorious. The actions that flow from His character are also glorious; but while He intends that they should display to His creatures His goodness and mercy and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be given only to Himself. Not that there is anything in ourselves in which we may glory; for who makes us different from another? And what do we have that we did not receive from the God of all grace? Then how careful we ought to be to walk humbly before the Lord!
The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall an insect that’s been around for only an hour glorify itself against the sun that warmed it into life? Shall the clay pot exalt itself above the man who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of the ocean struggle with the storm? Give to the Lord, all you righteous, give to the Lord glory and strength; give to Him the honor that is due His name.
It is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the Christian life to learn this sentence—“Not to us, O LORD, not unto us, but to your name give glory.” It is a lesson that God is always teaching us, and teaching us sometimes by the most painful discipline. Let a Christian begin to boast, “I can do all things,” without adding “through Christ who strengthens me,” and before long he will have to groan, “I can do nothing” and bemoan himself in the dust. When we do anything for the Lord, and He is pleased to accept our doings, let us lay our crown at His feet and exclaim, “Not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Thank You, Father. 💝☀️ “I will bless and praise the Lord with my whole heart! Let all his works throughout the earth, wherever his dominion stretches—let everything bless the Lord!”
-Heather 🌺