DO 2922Comp.3/94

PERSECUTION PSALMS!

Psalm 39!

1. LET'S CONTINUE with our reading of the Psalms, shall we? (Psalm 39, Verses 1–2:) "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, I held my peace, even from good; & my sorrow was stirred." That was uncharacteristic for David to be so quiet in front of his enemies. It's hard to have the wicked right before you & not yell at them. It's a good thing I don't have to meet my enemies face–to-face—I'd certainly spout off & blast'm for what they are doing to God's children & His Work! (Verse 3:) "My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue." Aha, he finally spoke! I wondered how he could keep quiet when the wicked were before him.

2. (Verse 4:) "Lord, make me to know mine end, & the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am." I'm always wondering about that too, but I don't think I've prayed to know exactly when my end would be. I'm just leaving that up to the Lord. But I have often thought about, "When will I go?" When you get as old as I am, you think a lot about it; especially if you've recently almost died, like I did last year. It's been a miraculous healing & recovery, I was almost raised from the grave.

3. (Verse 5:) "Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; & mine age is as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah." Amen!—How true! (Verses 6-9:) "Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, & knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it." There haven't been too many times when I was so dumb I couldn't open my mouth, so maybe we'll find the answer to King David's silence in the next verse. It sounds like perhaps he was too sick to talk.

4. (Verses 10-11:) "Remove Thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand. When Thou with rebukes dost correct Man for iniquity, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah." It sounds like David is saying here that he is being rebuked by the Lord, & that when this happens, the beauty you thought you had‚ or any goodness or righteousness, all disappears. The picture there must be of a moth flying into the flame of a candle. I remember when I was young we used lots of candles & lamps, & the moths would often fly right into the flame. They were attracted by the flame. Man's beauty is consumed like a moth's, it perisheth; but in the fires of purging, God's beauty appears.

5. (Verse 12:) "Hear my prayer, O Lord, & give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, & a sojourner, as all my fathers were." He's saying, "I'm just here for a little while, but I need Your help while I'm here, like all my fathers." (Verse 13:) "O spare me, that I may recover strength‚ before I go hence, & be no more." Amen! That's exactly what the Lord has done for me. He has spared me that I might recover strength before I leave. That's a short but rich little Psalm. Thank You Lord!

Psalm 40!

6. (Reads Psalm 40, Verses 1-4:) This is a well-known Psalm. It's all pretty clear. (Verse 5:) "Many‚ O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, & Thy thoughts which are to us–ward. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare & speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." In other words‚ they can't even be counted! Lord, You've thought about us so much & done so much for us‚ we can't even count it all.

7. (Verse 6:) "Sacrifice & offering Thou didst not desire; mine ears hast Thou opened: burnt offering & sin offering hast Thou not required." Well‚ He did require it under the Mosaic Law, but what he's saying is that the Lord would rather you would hear Him & obey Him than just go through the motions like the churches do, or offer sacrifices as the Jews did then.

8. (Verses 7-10:) "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Thy Will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo‚ I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, Thou knowest. I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart. I have declared Thy faithfulness & Thy salvation: I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness & Thy Truth from the great congregation." Like David, I have tried to preach the Truth, & it must've been right or I wouldn't have had such good fruit as you!

9. (Verse 11:) "Withhold not Thou Thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let Thy lovingkindness & Thy truth continually preserve me." David is saying, "I haven't withheld Thy Word, Lord, so please don't withhold Your goodness from me." Thank You Lord!

10. (Verse 12:) "For innumerable evils have compassed me about."—They sure did with David, & they still certainly do with us! "Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me." Sometimes we get so discouraged about our failures we almost feel like giving up. All of our troubles & all the evil of our enemies are even more than the numbers of the hair on your head. It's a good thing we don't know how many enemies we have & how much trouble they plan for us, or it might be too much to bear. But when the time comes, God will give us the grace & the victory. We don't have it now, but we will then.

11. (Verses 13-15:) "Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed & confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward & put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha." This sounds just like our enemies! David sure had plenty of enemies, didn't he?

12. (Verses 16-17:) "Let all those that seek Thee rejoice & be glad in Thee: let such as love Thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified. But I am poor & needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: Thou art my help & my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God." We need Him desperately, that's for sure. Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord! That was a Psalm full of praises & promises! And it's significant, because 40 is one of God's special numbers.

Psalm 41!

13. (Psalm 41, Verses 1-2:) "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, & keep him alive; & he shall be blessed upon the Earth: & Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies." Hallelujah! That's me‚ Lord‚ You've preserved me & kept me alive because I've been faithful to consider Thy poor & always tried to help them the best I could! Thank You Jesus! There are lots of good promises here.

14. (Verse 3:) "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." I haven't been languishing very much lately, thank the Lord! Languishing is when you toss & turn & are sick. But I'm not sick any more‚ thank the Lord! My food is going down well & my exercise is better‚ thanks to the Lord's mercy & your prayers.

15. (Verses 4-6:) "I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against Thee. Mine enemies speak evil of me‚ When shall he die, & his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad‚ he telleth it." Ah, that sounds like a spy!—Those who come to see us just to find fault & spread it around.

16. (Verses 7-8:) "All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. An evil disease‚ say they, cleaveth fast unto him: & now that he lieth he shall rise up no more." Well, the Lord fooled them! When I was so sick last year, maybe some people thought I wasn't going to rise up again, but here I am! Thank the Lord! God bless you for praying for me!

17. (Verse 9:) "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." Boy, how many have we had that have done that? We were so good to them & tried to do everything for them & put up with them for so long when they were such a trial & caused so many problems, & then they go out & speak against us. But praise the Lord‚ the Lord will take care of them one of these days. He's used them & all their lying about us to give us notoriety & publicity & to make us come out of our shells & proclaim the Truth! Thank the Lord!

18. (Verses 10-11:) "But Thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, & raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that Thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me." Amen! We have enemies, but they don't triumph over us.

19. (Verse 12:) "And as for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, & settest me before Thy face for ever." That's as good as saying, "Well, Lord, You know me. You know I've been honest, I told them the Truth." People don't like to hear the Truth sometimes or have their sins exposed, but that's my job. According to the third chapter of Ezekiel, it's every righteous person's job to warn the wicked of his wicked way, & if he still doesn't repent & dies in his sins, at least you've delivered your soul. But if you don't warn them, then the Lord says, "His blood will I require at thy hand."—Eze.3:17-19. Boy oh boy, think of all the millions of church people who are not warning the wicked of their wicked ways. Well, we can't warn everybody, but we're warning the most we can, & I would dare say we have warned a lot more than most church people. So praise the Lord!

20. The Lord told us the other day that we're even preaching the Gospel to these birds & animals, & we've got a verse to prove it! "Go ye into all the World & preach the Gospel"—to what? (Family: "Every creature!") That verse always used to kind of stump me. I thought, "Lord‚ what in the World do You mean by 'every creature?'" The dictionary definition of "creature" is, "Something created, a living being, especially an animal; a human being." I'd heard preachers explain that verse away by saying, "'Every creature' means all people everywhere." But what about all the birds & the animals?—They're creatures too. So I said, "Lord, how can we preach the Gospel to them?" And the Lord answered, "That's what you're already doing!" To preach the Gospel is to do what? (Family: To give love, the Love of Jesus.) Yes. "Gospel" literally means "good news." Good news of what?—The Love of God. So we're preaching the Love of God to them. We're even a witness to the creatures—the birds & the animals & all.

21. They say Saint Francis was quite fond of animals & birds. I've always loved animals & birds too‚ except for the time I had that BB gun. That was not good. My folks should never have bought me that BB gun. But because of peer pressure, other kids with BB guns shooting birds & squirrels, I wanted to try it too. But it was terrible! Finally the Lord gave me a nightmare about it. (See LWG Vol.2, pg.98; ML #1409:62.) I never shot another bird after that, & I don't think I've ever shot anything since.—Except there were a few times we shot some varmints at TSC.

22. (Verse 13:) "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, & to everlasting. Amen, & Amen." That was a wonderful chapter, amen? What wonderful promises the Lord has in the Psalms. Thank You Jesus!

Psalm 42!

23. (Psalm 42‚ Verses 1-2:) "As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks‚ so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come & appear before God?" Have you ever been out in the woods & watched a hart come to drink water? It sounds like David is desperate to go home to his reward & to finally be free of the terrible troubles that had come upon him. And that's the way you feel sometimes, when things get so hard to bear. You just wish you could go Home to be with the Lord & be free of the evils of this World. But as long as God has a job for us to do, we have to continue to fight & not give up.

24. (Verse 3:) "My tears have been my meat day & night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" That's the way it was for awhile there. When our folks were being persecuted & incarcerated I could hardly sleep. Sometimes I was praying almost all night for them. (Verse 4:) "When I remember these things‚ I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy & praise, with a multitude that kept holyday." It sounds like that must have been before they turned on him & caused him so much trouble.

25. (Verses 5-8:) "Why art thou cast down‚ O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember Thee from the land of Jordan‚ & of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves & Thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, & in the night His song shall be with me, & my prayer unto the God of my life." Maybe he was on a boat when he wrote this Psalm, in a storm.

26. (Verses 9-11:) "I will say unto God my rock, Why hast Thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, where is thy God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me?" Even David got discouraged once in awhile. He must've been feeling pretty low the day he wrote this Psalm. Well, we all have days like that, but not many of them where we feel that low, thank the Lord! "Hope thou in God: For I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, & my God." Praise the Lord!

Psalm 43!

27. (Psalm 43, Verse 1:) "Judge me, O God, & plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful & unjust man." Deceitful & unjust men—that certainly is a description of our enemies.

28. (Verses 2-4:) "For Thou art the God of my strength: why dost Thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the Enemy? O send out Thy Light & Thy Truth: Let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, & to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise Thee, O God my God." He doesn't forget that he needs to praise the Lord in spite of his problems & enemies.

29. (Verse 5:) "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him‚ Who is the health of my countenance, & my God." So he's saying to himself, "Cheer up, boy!" Is anybody down?—Cheer up! Did he say why you should cheer up? (Family: Because we have hope in God, Who is the health of our countenance!) He can help your countenance, even make it smile in spite of sorrows & difficulties.—Even through your tears! Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord!

Psalm 44!

30. (Psalm 44, Verses 1-2:) "We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work Thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How Thou didst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, & plantedst them; how Thou didst afflict the people, & cast them out." Today the whole World does the opposite: They open their hearts & minds to virtually every evil influence, until they have been overrun & conquered by the Devil.

31. (Verses 3-5:) "For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand, & Thine arm, & the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them. Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. Through Thee will we push down our enemies: through Thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us." It's going to be pretty rough on them when we get around to that at Armageddon. Then the good will overrun the evil.

32. (Verse 6:) "For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me." We're not to trust in our own strength, or even in our lawyers. (Verse 7:) "But Thou hast saved us from our enemies, & hast put them to shame that hated us." Amen! He sure has! That's exactly what's happening. Praise the Lord! (Verse 8:) "In God we boast all the day long, & praise Thy Name for ever. Selah." It's all right to boast in the Lord.

33. (Verse 9:) "But Thou hast cast off, & put us to shame; & goest not forth with our armies." I guess this is referring to the times when it seemed like God had forsaken them & they'd been defeated in battle & were despised by everyone who looked upon them.—Just the way that we have often been—despised & smeared by the news media of the World.—Called evil & pernicious & dangerous. (Verse 10:) "Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: & they which hate us spoil for themselves." In other words, if you don't trust the Lord, that's what happens.

34. (Verse 11:) "Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; & hast scattered us among the heathen." That's what's happened to us when we've had our children taken away & put into evil & corrupting institutions where they've tried to take away their faith. That's what's happened when we've had our adults thrown in prison on false charges. (Verses 12-13:) "Thou sellest Thy people for nought, & dost not increase Thy wealth by their price. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn & a derision to them that are round about us." It seemed like that's what He did, but it is turning out for His glory.

35. (Verse 14:) "Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people." That's for sure! (Verses 15-16:) "My confusion is continually before me‚ & the shame of my face hath covered me. For the voice of him that reproacheth & blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy & avenger."

36. (Verse 17:) "All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten Thee, neither have we dealt falsely in Thy covenant." David was going through great trials then, just as we have been; but through it all we haven't forgotten His Name & we've been faithful to Him & to His Word.

37. (Verse 18:) "Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way." In spite of all these problems & discouragements, we make it anyhow. (Verses 19–21:) "Though Thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons‚ & covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; shall not God search this out? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart."

38. (Verse 22:) "Yea, for Thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter." Boy, David sure had it worse than us! Well, the day may come for us too, but if God's grace was sufficient for him‚ you can be certain that it will be for us also.

39. (Verses 23-26:) "Awake, why sleepest Thou‚ O Lord? Arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest Thou Thy face, & forgettest our affliction & our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help‚ & redeem us for Thy mercies' sake." David was apparently having some pretty serious battles then. Lord bless our Family around the World‚ especially any who are still having great trials. Thank You Jesus! Thank You for this cozy little place You've provided for us, & that You've kept us in peace. Thank You Lord!

Psalm 45!

40. (Psalm 45, Verses 1-2:) "My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." It sounds like somebody else is writing this. At the head of the chapter it says, "To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, a Song of loves." So it sounds like David sent it to the chief musician to be sung.

41. (Verses 3–7:) "Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty, with Thy glory & Thy majesty. And in Thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth & meekness & righteousness; & Thy right hand shall teach Thee [display] terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under Thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever & ever: the sceptre of Thy Kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, & hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows."

42. (Verse 8:) "All Thy garments smell of myrrh, & aloes, & cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made Thee glad." That's where they got that song, "Out of His ivory palaces into a world of woe, Only His great Eternal Love, made my Saviour go."

43. (Verses 9-10:) "Kings' daughters were among Thy honourable women: upon Thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, & consider, & incline thine ear." It's His queen, symbolic of the Church. She was decorated with gold. God made gold for a reason. It makes a beautiful ornament; it's shiny and never gets rusty.

44. (Verses 10-11:) "Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house. So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him." The Church worships the Lord. Praise the Lord!

45. (Verse 12:) "And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour." It sounds like they sent David a lot of women. (Verse 13:) "The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold." Wrought gold, meaning gold worked with jewels & silver & things like that. I remember both Cuba & Key West were famous for their wrought iron balconies, all filigreed (delicate & intricate ornamental work) & beautifully decorated. "Wrought" means it's been worked & fashioned. So she's dressed in wrought gold.

46. (Verses 14-15:) "She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness & rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace."

47. (Verse 16:) "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." In other words, it looks like his house wasn't crowded with old men, & he seemed to have plenty of women around too. They accuse me of being too sexy & having too many women, but I kind of like it. They can accuse me of that all they want to, I don't mind. (Family: You're following a good sample of the patriarchs in the Bible.) Thank the Lord! Hallelujah! I guess they needed women like I do. What would I do without all my queens? My goodness, look what important jobs they have!—Shopping, cooking, secretarial work & childcare, without whom we couldn't survive!—Neither here nor on the field. Look how important they all are to our worldwide Work—as leaders, mothers & witnessers!

48. (Verse 17:) "I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever & ever." That was, of course, originally applied to King David, but it could be applied to what the Lord has done for us, too. Praise the Lord! That was a beautiful passage.

Psalm 46!

49. (Psalm 46, Verses 1–5:) "God is our refuge & strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the Earth be removed, & though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar & be troubled‚ though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her (—The Heavenly City!); she shall not be moved. God shall help her, & that right early."

50. (Verses 6-8:) "The heathen raged‚ the kingdoms were moved: He uttered His voice, the Earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord‚ what desolations He hath made in the Earth." Think of the earthquakes, fires‚ floods & mudslides in California, & the huge fires in Australia, & the big floods in Europe & the U.S.‚ & now a big freeze. The Lord sure is spanking a lot of places‚ making "desolations."

51. (Verse 9:) "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the Earth." That'll come some day. "He breaketh the bow, & cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire." Amen, Lord, do it! (Verses 10–11:) "Be still, & know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the Earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." Praise the Lord! Shall we pray?

52. (Family prays: We thank You so much for Your Words, Jesus, & that You're a refuge & that we can come to You. We thank You for this special time together on the first day of our Fast & how You've made it so beautiful & special. We do continue to commit Mama to You, Lord, & the healing of her eyes.) You know what the trouble is, Lord, & You're able to heal her in Your time. But for now, Lord, please make this affliction as easy as possible for her to bear, & help her to be able to carry on with her important work. Thank You Lord!

53. (Fam: Thank You so much for these days of fasting & prayer that the whole Family worldwide is able to have. We pray that You'll especially be with our brethren who are having to fight these court cases, & we know that You're going to win a victory in them. You've never failed us.) Defeat our enemies, Lord! We know all their lies are not true, but prove it to them, Lord, & the judges.

54. Thank You Jesus for this day & for our home so fair. You helped us‚ Lord, to do some good & kept us in Your care. Bless our loved ones everywhere, in Jesus' name‚ around the Earth. Thank You for giving us peace, quiet & security so we can continue to do Thy service & minister to Thy sheep & feed them‚ in Jesus' name. Amen! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 48!

55. (Psalm 48, Verse 1:) "Great is the Lord, & greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness." Praise the Lord! One reason we chose Psalms to read is because they're so full of praise & thanksgiving & contain so many good promises. Besides, David had so many fights with his enemies, he really knew how to tell them off! Some preachers don't like those parts of the Psalms where David cusses out his enemies & thanks the Lord for giving him a strong arm & sword that he could slay them with.

56. (Verse 2:) "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole Earth‚ is mount Zion, on the sides of the north‚ the city of the great King." Even David didn't realise what he was prophesying then, amen? This is a prophecy about the Holy City to come.

57. (Verses 3–5:) "God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings were assembled‚ they passed by together. They saw it, & so they marvelled; they were troubled, & hasted away." There are going to be kings outside the Heavenly City. The Lord is going to let some of them in, to bring gifts & riches to the City of God (Rev.21:24), but most of them are going to look & marvel & be afraid.

58. (Verses 6–7:) "Fear took hold upon them there, & pain, as of a woman in travail. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind." Some interpret Tarshish as being the Phoenicians, some interpret it as being the British & Western Europe. In our prophecy classes, we've generally said Tarshish represented the British & the Commonwealth. I don't think anybody knows for sure.

59. (Verse 8:) "As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah." Praise the Lord! What was he seeing? He was seeing victories the Lord has won, & we're going to see them too.

60. (Verses 9-10:) "We have thought of Thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple. According to Thy name, O God, so is Thy praise unto the ends of the Earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness." Praise the Lord! That's certainly speaking of the future. Such praise didn't happen then, & hasn't happened yet.

61. (Verses 11-12:) "Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Thy judgements. Walk about Zion, & go round about her: tell (count or declare) the towers thereof." He surely couldn't have been talking about earthly Jerusalem, because it is a squatty dirty little city‚ certainly no great city to be greatly admired. I think this is prophetic!

62. (Verses 13–14:) "Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever & ever: He will be our guide even unto death." Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord! Well‚ maybe it could be Jerusalem, it looked a little better in those days‚ but I'm inclined to feel this is more prophetic.

Psalm 49!

63. (Psalm 49, Verses 1-3:) "Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the World: both low & high, rich & poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; & the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding." Wisdom & understanding has already come for us. (Verse 4:) "I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp." Our vocal chords are also harps.

64. (Verses 5-7:) "Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their wealth, & boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother‚ nor give to God a ransom for him." No matter how rich they are‚ they can't find the way to Heaven or redeem souls like we can by winning souls. The Lord's redeemed them already‚ but they have to hear about it & receive it. Salvation is the most valuable thing you can give anybody.

65. (Verse 8:) "For the redemption of their soul is precious, & it ceaseth for ever." It's priceless. You can't buy it, because no payment is ever enough. (Verse 9:) "That he should still live for ever, & not see corruption." Yes, the soul of the redeemed, the souls we win are going to live forever. Praise the Lord! We're in the best business in the World! It's worth more than money, redeeming everlasting souls forever! You can't take the riches of this World with you, but you can take your souls with you, as well as your children, & all the others you've won to Jesus.

66. (Verse 10:) "For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool & the brutish person perish‚ & leave their wealth to others." Yes, they all die, they can't take it with them. (Verse 11:) "Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, & their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names." They build all those big houses to last forever, but they're passed to the hands of strangers. It's sad that most people only build for this life. What a loss!

67. You've heard the story about the rich lady who died & went to Heaven, & the Angel was leading her through Heaven to her reward. She had been a very rich woman but she hadn't given much to the Lord or to His people. The Lord says that it's better to lay up riches in Heaven than on Earth, where moth doth corrupt & thieves break through & steal.—Mat.6:19-20. Apparently she hadn't been laying up many riches in Heaven, because they came to a very humble little cottage. She said, "Where's my mansion?" And the Angel said, "Well, you didn't send Up enough riches to build a mansion, so this is all we could build from what you sent Up!"

68. (Verse 12:) "Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish." They eventually die, just like the animals. (Verse 13:) "This their way is their folly." In other words, it's foolishness the way Man lives. I used to say about the Christians building churches, that they talk about Heaven but they build mostly for this Earth. They build great big expensive cathedrals & monstrous church buildings as though they were going to live here forever, & waste all that money on buildings instead of spending it on missionaries & lost souls. "Yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah."

69. (Verse 14:) "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; & the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning."—In the morning when we rise from the grave! "Their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling." All they had here is going to be gone. Only what they did for the Lord is going to last.

70. (Verse 15:) "But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave." God will redeem our soul. The unsaved rich will die & be consumed by the grave, but the Lord is going to do what? (Family: "God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me. Selah.") They will die & rot in the grave, but the Lord will redeem our souls, He'll receive us to His Heavenly Kingdom. Thank You Lord! "Selah," think of that!

71. (Verse 16:) "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased." Don't envy the rich. My Mother used to like to drive along Miami Beach to look at all the beautiful homes of the rich, & Doctor Koger used to say, "Don't envy them, they have more trouble than the poor."—Just like that verse in Ecclesiastes that says‚ "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep."—Ecc.5:12. The rich can't sleep for worrying about all their riches, but we just let the Lord do the worrying about things, amen?

72. (Verse 17:) "For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him." He can't take it with him. But we can take the souls we've won with us, thank You Lord! (Verse 18:) "Though while he lived he blessed his soul: & men will praise thee‚ when thou doest well to thyself." Yes, they really praise the rich & give glory to the rich. (Verse 19:) But "He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light." Yes, if they're not saved, that's for sure! He's probably going to be just like his fathers‚ probably in the same way. That's why he was that way‚ because they taught him how to make money, but they didn't teach him how to get saved or win souls.

73. (Verse 20:) "Man that is in honour‚ & understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish." He's making the point again that you just wasted your time & your whole life if you didn't live for the Lord. We have eternal riches which can never perish, the joys of Heaven, the King of glory & all the people that we have saved. That's going to be the greatest joy in Heaven‚ to see the souls that we won & how happy they are that we won them! I think they're going to be the first ones to greet us. We're going to have quite a crowd up There, all the people we won to the Lord! Thank You Lord!

Psalm 50!

74. (Psalm 50, Verses 1-2:) "The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken‚ & called the Earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." That means us, Zion, His people & house. We are very ardent Zionists in that sense!—Not the stinkin' old dirty city of Jerusalem, but the Holy City made of living stones! Amen?—Us! He called the Earth out of Zion, right? That's what He's doing with us right now! Praise the Lord! He's going into all the Earth from His Holy City of Zion—us! Whether they will hear or forbear, at least He's giving them a chance. Praise the Lord! It's about witnessing!

75. (Verse 3:) "Our God shall come, & shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, & it shall be very tempestuous round about Him." Yes, He's giving them a chance now, & the next thing is fire—His judgements on those who have rejected us & persecuted us! (Verse 4:) "He shall call to the heavens from above‚ & to the Earth, that He may judge His people." Amen, His judgements are coming.

76. (Verse 5:) "Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." Hallelujah!—The Rapture! The Lord is really going to start judging the Earth during the Tribulation. The Tribulation is not just for us, it's for the whole World—His judgements. But He says He's going to put a seal on each of us & tell the Angels not to touch us with His judgements.—Rev.9:4. Those big beasts you hear about in the Tribulation are judgements on the wicked, but will be here to protect us! Think of that!

77. (Verse 6:) "And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself. Selah." Signs in the Heavens! God's Word says, "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, & they also which pierced Him; & all kindreds of the Earth shall wail because of Him."—Rev.1:7. Praise the Lord!

78. (Verse 7:) "Hear, O My people, & I will speak; O Israel, & I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God." It sounds a little bit like it's talking about the Jews now. He's going to judge them. … (Verses 8-9:) "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before Me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds." He's not approving of their sacrifices, He's not approving of their works religion. It sounds to me like He's saying a works religion is in vain, whether it's offering up animal sacrifices or self-righteous good works.

79. (Verse 10:) "For every beast of the forest is Mine, & the cattle upon a thousand hills." The Lord is saying, "All your sacrificing is nothing, I own them all!" (Verse 11:) "I know all the fowls of the mountains: & the wild beasts of the field are Mine." The birds & the animals know Him better than Man does, & obey Him better than Man! Like our little birds, they do whatever He tells them to do. They're more obedient than Man. Amen?

80. (Verse 12:) "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the World is Mine‚ & the fullness thereof." Amen. In other words, He doesn't need wicked Man. He's saying‚ "I don't need your sacrifices, it's all Mine!" (Reads verses 13–15.)

81. (Verses 16–17:) "But unto the wicked, God saith‚ What hast thou to do to declare My statutes, or that thou shouldest take My covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, & castest My Words behind thee." Well, they're having to listen to the Word of God now in our court cases, whether they like it or not! (Reads verses 18-21.)

82. (Verse 22:) "Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, & there be none to deliver." God can be pretty fierce sometimes! (Verse 23:) "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me: & to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God." Praise the Lord! Amen, Lord, You certainly have cast our lines in pleasant places & given us the desires of our heart because we delight ourselves in Thee. You've been good to us in so many ways.

83. Bless our Family around the World, especially those fighting in the court cases. We claim great victory & glory for Thee, that which You've promised. You said we are going to have a very great harvest‚ & although the World is going to wax worse & worse‚ it will drive many people to us seeking answers & leadership. And we've got it, Lord, because You're it! Thank You Jesus!

84. We know Thy Word & You lead us, & we're going to be guiding the whole World before we know it. We've already begun to do it, with folks coming to us seeking counsel & answers & asking our young people to help their young people. You want us to be known & understood by the public so they'll know where to go when they need help, therefore You are letting all these prominent people study us & explain us & spread their erudite, sociological, philosophical explanations of us to the System. Help them to see that there's only one answer, Lord, & that's You & Your Word. Make these court cases a testimony & turn the hearts of these judges to Thy people. You promised You could turn the heart of the king.—Pro.21:1. (Sings:)

What a fellowship, what a joy divine‚

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning on Jesus, leaning on Jesus,

Safe & secure from all alarms;

Leaning on Jesus, leaning on Jesus,

Leaning on the everlasting arms!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! We are doing that, Lord!

85. Thank You for the wonderful, glorious, victories You've given us & the lessons You've taught us about how Your children are to put more confidence in their faith, & realise that I must decrease that they may increase. Praise the Lord! They're Thy children now, Lord, & around the World they're carrying the ball & fighting & winning victories. We're so amazed at all the attention the Family is getting from so many sources, studying us & writing books about us & trying to figure us out. Show them that it's just You‚ Jesus.—That it's not us, but You did it. You started our Work & You're going to finish it. The Work that You've begun in us, You're going to finish it to the end.—Phil.1:6. Praise the Lord!

86. Thank You for all Thy young people, our children who are now doing such a tremendous job, & are such a witness‚ the proof of the pudding!—Despite the Enemy trying to destroy them & doing terrible things to them. The Devil has been trying to absolutely destroy our children & poison & pollute them in these terrible raids & incarcerations. But You're getting the victory‚ Lord, & You've promised that the worse things get, the more we're going to prosper & harvest. "For where sin doth abound, grace doth much more abound."—Rom.5:20. It's going to be a bad year for the World, but a very good year for us & for those who will follow us.

87. Thank You for those wonderful prophecies & promises You've given to us that encourage us so, that while things in the World are getting worse‚ we're going to get better & have greater victories over our enemies. Thank You Jesus!—Battles but victories, tests but testimonies! Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord!

—Amen! God bless & keep you ALL! Thanks! We love you!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family