Thoughts of Grace

Good Morning,

Psalm 130
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice:
let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If thou, LORD,
shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand?
But there is forgiveness with thee,
that thou mayest be feared.
I wait for the LORD,
my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning:
I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
Let Israel hope in the LORD:
for with the LORD there is mercy,
and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Waiting for the Lord. . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Inside a Tulip

Good Morning

Psalm 147:1-12

Praise ye the LORD:
for it is good to sing praises unto our God;
for it is pleasant;
and praise is comely.
The LORD doth build up Jerusalem:
he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth the broken in heart,
and bindeth up their wounds.
He telleth the number of the stars;
he calleth them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and of great power:
his understanding is infinite.
The LORD lifteth up the meek:
he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds,
who prepareth rain for the earth,
who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
He giveth to the beast his food,
and to the young ravens which cry.
He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:
he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
in those that hope in his mercy.
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise thy God, O Zion.

Praise God. . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Psalm 123:1-2
Unto thee lift I up mine eyes,
O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants
look unto the hand of their masters,
and as the eyes of a maiden
unto the hand of her mistress;
so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God,
until that he have mercy upon us.

Unto thee lift I up mine eyes –
We have no hope but in thee; our eyes look upward;
we have expectation from thy mercy alone.
As the eyes of servants –
We now wait for thy commands,
feeling the utmost readiness
to obey them when made known to us.
The words may be understood
as the language of dependence also.
As slaves expect their support
from their masters and mistresses, s
o do we ours from thee, O Lord!
Or, As servants look to their masters and mistresses,
to see how they do their work,
that they may do it in the same way;
so do we, O Lord, that we may learn of thee,
and do thy work in thy own Spirit,
and after thy own method. Clarke’s Commentary

Lift up your eyes . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Lenten rose

Good afternoon,

Then said his wife unto him,
Dost thou still retain thine integrity?
curse God, and die.
But he said unto her,
Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.
What? shall we receive good at the hand of God,
and shall we not receive evil?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 2:9-10

Then said his wife – To this verse the Septuagint adds the following words:
“Much time having elapsed, his wife said unto him,
How long dost thou stand steadfast, saying,
‘Behold, I wait yet a little longer looking
for the hope of my Salvation?’
Behold thy memorial is already blotted out from the earth,
together with thy sons and thy daughters,
the fruits of my pains and labors,
for whom with anxiety I have labored in vain.
Thyself also sittest in the rottenness of worms night and day,
while I am a wanderer from place to place,
and from house to house,
waiting for the setting of the sun,
that I may rest from my labors,
and from the griefs which oppress me.
Speak therefore some word against God, and die.”

(From such  heavy grief came those words.)

Here it seems to be a strong irony.
Job was exceedingly afflicted,
and apparently dying through sore disease;
yet his soul was filled with gratitude to God.
His wife, destitute of the salvation which her husband possessed,
gave him this ironical reproof.
Bless God, and die –
What! bless him for his goodness,
while he is destroying all that thou hast!
bless him for his support,
while he is casting thee down and destroying thee!
Bless on, and die.

Thou speakest as one of the foolish –
Thou speakest like an infidel;
like one who has no knowledge of God, of religion, or of a future state.

Shall we receive good –
This we have received in great abundance for many years:

And shall we not receive evil? –
Shall we murmur when He afflicts us for a day,
who has given us health for so many years?
Shall we blaspheme his name for momentary privations,
who has given us such a long succession or enjoyments?
His blessings are his own:
he never gave them to us;
they were only lent.
We have had the long, the free, the unmerited use of them;
and shall we be offended at the Owner,
when he comes to reclaim his own property?
This would be foolish, ungrateful, and wicked.
So may every one reason who is suffering from adversity.
But who, besides Job, reasons thus?
Man is naturally discontented and ungrateful.

In all this did not Job sin with his lips –
The Chaldee adds, But in his heart he thought words.
He had surmisings of heart, though he let nothing escape from his lips.
Clarke’s Commentary

Rose pruning almost finished, just bush left to do.

Good Morning

John 16:19
Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him,
and said unto them,
Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said,
A little while, and ye shall not see me:
and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
That ye shall weep and lament,
but the world shall rejoice:
and ye shall be sorrowful,
but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow,
because her hour is come:
but as soon as she is delivered of the child,
she remembereth no more the anguish,
for joy that a man is born into the world.
And ye now therefore have sorrow:
but I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice,
and your joy no man taketh from you.
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing.
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he will give it you.
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name:
ask, and ye shall receive,
that your joy may be full.

These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.

Ask the Father in Christ’s name. . .Today
With my prayers,desiring yours, Leslie

I read this Saturday morning before going to Mother-in-law’s 100th birthday party.

Psalm 39:1-5 

A Psalm of David.
I said, I will take heed to my ways,
that I sin not with my tongue:
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
while the wicked is before me.
I was dumb with silence,
held my peace, even from good;
and my sorrow was stirred.
My heart was hot within me,
while I was musing the fire burned:
then spake I with my tongue,
LORD, make me to know mine end,
the measure of my days, what it is;
I may know how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;
and mine age is as nothing before thee:
every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

Acts 17:24-28
God that made the world and all things therein,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Neither is worshipped with men’s hands,
as though he needed any thing,
seeing he giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things;
And hath made of one blood all nations of men
for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed,
and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the Lord,
if haply they might feel after him,
and find him,
though he be not far from every one of us:
For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
as certain also of your own poets have said,
For we are also his offspring.

That they should seek the Lord – God, who is infinitely great and self-sufficient, has manifested himself as the maker of the world, the creator, preserver, and governor of men. He has assigned them their portion, and dispensed to them their habitations, and the various blessings of his providence, to the end that they should seek him in all his works. Clarke’s Commentary

Good Morning

Psalm 124

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
now may Israel say;
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
when men rose up against us:
Then they had swallowed us up quick,
when their wrath was kindled against us:
Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
the stream had gone over our soul:
Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Blessed be the LORD,
who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
the snare is broken,
and we are escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Violets, of course

Good Morning

Exodus 35:4-5
And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it,

Exodus 35:20-29
And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Be willing in your heart to the Lord . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

It’s time to go to church.

Exodus 15:1-11

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying,
I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously:
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation:
he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea:
his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power:
thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
And in the greatness of thine excellency
thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee:
thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together,
the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?
who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Remembering my favorite cat, Seymore Toes

Psalms 4:1-8
A Psalm of David.
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness:
thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress;
have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?
how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
in awe, and sin not:
commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There be many that say,
Who will shew us any good? LORD,
lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart,
more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep:
for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

A Psalm of David.
ANSWER ME when I call, O God of my righteousness
(uprightness, justice, and right standing with You)!
You have freed me when I was hemmed in
and enlarged me when I was in distress;
have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.
Psalms 4:1 Amplified Bible

Trust God for your day. . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie