Reading with New Eyes
I have read Psalm 71 with new eyes, recently, and wanted to share with you the insight I received from the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.
It has been a while since I have posted anything, and I am so grateful for those who have continued to come here to see what the Lord is speaking.
On a personal note, I have faced some physical and memory challenges, for which I hope you will pray that God will completely heal me, and restore me to full capability once more.
I pray also that those who have faced these challenges as well, will also be completely healed and all that was lost, restored fully, in the name of Jesus.
There were times, in these last many months, when it was difficult to even put a coherent statement together, so I was reluctant to post anything, out of fear that I would not remember His Word correctly, or mis-quote anything, much less remember where I read it.
I despaired even of my calling, and whether it was still valid, or if I was done, and God had found someone else to carry on the work He began in me.
I share these things to encourage you, the reader, and perhaps one who has walked in my shoes at some point in your life, and wondered why it took so long....whatever you were waiting for.
And yet...
The Lord has repeatedly told me that there is nothing wrong with me. There is nothing wrong with my memory. I have a great memory! I can comprehend, and I can speak coherently, and share profound insight whenever He gives it, as I am anointed to speak and declare His Word, even prophetically when needed.
It is, however, very easy to get into fear and doubt when one so often hears the lies of the enemy of our souls. One must focus on the promises of God with even greater tenacious faith in those circumstances.
He has often reminded me that when it is time to speak on His behalf, like He did with Ezekiel whose tongue He loosened when it was time to speak and he was released to do so -- so He will do with me.
When I remember this promise, I can have faith that there is nothing wrong with me, but that God is holding me in His loving arms, and keeping His Word to me.
This is not an easy journey, but it is well worth it! I fix my eyes on Jesus the Author and the Finisher of my faith, Who will speak through me what needs to be declared, in His Name, just when it is time to do so.
God is so Faithful
In the last couple of days I have recognized that something needs to be spoken over the nation of Israel, for its restoration and blessing, according to the Covenant God has made with her.
I have been interceding for Israel during this past year more than ever before. There have been many occasions where time spent in the Court of Heaven, and in Heaven's War Room, has yielded miraculous results for Israel. Many things spoken in agreement with God, have occurred in the same day, for God's glory, and Israel's victory.
We are, of course, seated in Heavenly places with Christ, and have access to speak boldly before God, about the needs of earth.
I am not the only one praying, I know, however I am so grateful to be a part of what God is doing in the earth in these days.
The visions I received which confirmed this during times of prayer are priceless, and I cherish these moments, however, as Peter said, We have this more sure Word of God -- even when He had seen Jesus transfigured before His own eyes, and then seen the result of the need for the transfiguration -- that the demonic realm would listen to Jesus at the occasion of the setting free of a child who was tormented by the devil -- whose covenant was made on that very mountain millennia ago, to thwart everything God was going to do through humanity.
God breaks the Cycle
If my own challenges are a prophetic indication of what Israel is experiencing, even as David and Ezekiel experienced, then God's beloved people, wherever they live, and whoever they are, need to be reminded of Who God is, and how much He still loves them.
Many of course in Israel know this, and live by it religiously, however, it is my desire that they live it experientially.
Knowing the Word of God is the first step to knowing the Heart of God, by His Holy Spirit Who reveals it to us. I pray that many more will get to know His heart, His intent, and His ways, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The Back-Story
In Isaiah 54, God calls Himself an Husband to Israel. He speaks of her, this ancient people group, as His beloved wife whom He will bless with comfort, protection, and beauty, wealth and prosperity, etc. He will even make her His Own weapon against the enemies of God.
He is married to the land, and in Him, in Jesus, Son of David, we also as her sons and daughters are married to His Land that He loves, as described by Isaiah.
I know also that the Apostle Paul taught us that the Church is our Mother, and yet, both are true -- it is not either, or.
Here in this Psalm, David, King of Israel, is carrying the very anguish that Israel is bearing.
In Psalm 22 David carried the cross, and in Psalm 23, he experienced the Shepherd, Present with Him through all things.
David is sharing his heart's cry with us, and yet also the heart cry of the entire nation.
As you read this Psalm, I invite you to see how David speaks of his own experiences, and also as "Israel" personified in him -- going through what is spoken: Israel, longing for the promises of God, and God's faithfulness to love and protect her, as promised.
Then please read Psalm 72, and be further encouraged by the Presence of God who comes to the rescue, and the blessing which sustains, of all who ask Him.
The Word of God in these two chapters is just as relevant in our day as when it was first penned. As we pray for peaceful solutions globally, in times of hardship of all kinds, let us be reminded of these promises which, when God sends His word, will come back to Him fully filled.
And sometimes, when peaceful solutions include the forceful removal of all evil, so that there can be peace, let us pray that divine strategies will be given: for the weapons of our spiritual warfare are not physical, but mighty to the pulling down of heavenly strongholds, just as Jesus did on the Mount of Transfiguration.
And let us pray that the weapons of physical warfare, for the removal of those who are against God's goodness to all humanity, will be given just as God gave them to ancient Israel, who occupied the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership, removing all evil in their way to obtaining the promises of God -- ultimately, Jesus standing on the Mount of Olives, as King of kings, and Lord of lords, once again.
Most often, the intent to obey God brought about a miraculous victory which caused no loss of life to Israel. God caused the His enemy to take out their own fighters, who naturally did not get along with anyone.
God's promises are spoken by God with a Yes, and Amen!
Like Psalm 22 and 23 go together hand in hand, so do Psalm 71 and 72.
Psalm 72, the quintessential expression of God's promises to the Messiah, which David spoke over his earthly son Solomon, is an eternal word of encouragement to us, that seals the blessing with God's infinite love because of His Higher Ways.
I will begin with inserting "Israel" so you can see what I mean, and let this be our prayer:
Psalm 71
1 In You, O Lord, do I [Israel] put my trust and confidently take refuge; let me [Israel] never be put to shame or confusion!
2 Deliver me [Israel] in Your righteousness and cause me to escape; bow down Your ear to me and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of refuge in which to dwell, and a sheltering stronghold to which I may continually resort, which You have appointed to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the unrighteous and ruthless man.
5 For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my trust from my youth and the source of my confidence. [See: Ezekiel 16]
6 Upon You have I leaned and relied from birth; You are He Who took me from my mother’s womb and You have been my benefactor from that day. My praise is continually of You.
7 I am as a wonder and surprise to many, but You are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth shall be filled with Your praise and with Your honor all the day.
9 Cast me not off nor send me away in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent and my powers fail.
[Note: This heart cry was particularly amazing to me (in light of how I felt physically recently, as I have mentioned above), as now I am much older than when my journey with God began. I not only have several children, but now also several grandchildren, and I truly felt these words!
And yet God reminded me of Moses' words -- Moses who died at 120 -- when God spoke through Moses, of a 70 or 80 year life-span, I have seen today that He was not speaking about human years, but a time when Israel was 70-80 years old, and God would do amazing things, in her, just as He did for Moses at age 80!
I take that as a promise that will set so many more people free than were set free in Egypt under the Pharaoh of that time period. Just like 3,000 evil ones were killed at the foot of Mount Sinai, and 3,000 were saved and given eternal life on the Day of Pentecost, so it shall be once again.
Just like one young man was set free at the foot of a mountain, when no human was capable of setting him free, millions shall be set free at the foot of Mount Zion, where all the nations shall stream to hear the Word of God. A term known to us only recently through Streaming technologies, I realize, but God knew. Hallelujah!]
10 For my enemies talk against me [Israel - Psalm 2]; those who watch for my life consult together,
11 Saying, God has forsaken him; pursue and persecute and take him, for there is none to deliver him.
12 O God, be not far from me! O my God, make haste to help me [Israel]!
13 Let them be put to shame and consumed who are adversaries to my life; let them be covered with reproach, scorn, and dishonor who seek and require my hurt.
14 But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.
15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteous acts and of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is more than I know.
16 I will come in the strength and with the mighty acts of the Lord God; I will mention and praise Your righteousness, even Yours alone.
[And we say, with the Apostle John, Come, Lord Jesus.]
17 O God, You have taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared Your wondrous works.
18 Yes, even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, [but keep me alive] until I have declared Your mighty strength to [this] generation, and Your might and power to all that are to come.
[Note: Here again, I reiterate, the feeling of age, and the feeling of abandonment because of age, that David felt, and I even felt -- that he/ I/Israel, was beyond usefulness any longer in the plan of God, and yet, a nation of such age, as 70-80, who perhaps is battle wearied to the point of faithlessness, and doubts in God's continued providence, is ripe for God's miraculous intervention to the feeding of the nations the fruit mentioned in Ezekiel 47, where even monthly, just as a woman's womb is cleansed monthly to give birth to something new, God will do yet a new thing every month, for His glory and the sustaining of national and global well-being.]
19 Your righteousness also, O God, is very high [reaching to the heavens], You Who have done great things; O God, who is like You, or who is Your equal?
20 You Who have shown us [all] troubles great and sore will quicken us again and will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
21 Increase my greatness (my honor) and turn and comfort me. [............]
[And let this be our constant prayer of thankful thanksgiving to God Most High, Creator, Possessor and Protector of His Possession, Israel, and indeed the whole earth.
She has been bought, and paid for with His Own Blood, set apart, still today, for His Glory, and to show the nations that He is God.]
22 I will also praise You with the harp, even Your truth and faithfulness, O my God; unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed.
24 My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are put to shame, for they are confounded, who seek and demand my hurt.
Psalm 72 [AMPC]
[A Psalm] for Solomon.
1 Give the king [knowledge of] Your [way of] judging, O God, and [the spirit of] Your righteousness to the king’s son [to control all his actions].
2 Let him judge and govern Your people with righteousness, and Your poor and afflicted ones with judgment and justice.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the hills, through [the general establishment of] righteousness.
4 May he judge and defend the poor of the people, deliver the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor,
5 So that they may revere and fear You while the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
6 May he [Solomon as a type of King David’s greater Son] be like rain that comes down upon the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
7 In [b]His [Christ’s] days shall the [uncompromisingly] righteous flourish and peace abound till there is a moon no longer.
8 He [Christ] shall have dominion also from sea to sea and from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.
[The AMPC inserts the Earthly river's name here, yet, I believe the verse can also refer to the River of Living Water, because the heaven's will be opened, and full access restored once more, according to Revelation 21 and 22, and Ezekiel 47]
9 Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him and His enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the coasts shall bring offerings; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him.
12 For He delivers the needy when he calls out, the poor also and him who has no helper.
13 He will have pity on the poor and weak and needy and will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will redeem their lives from oppression and fraud and violence, and precious and costly shall their blood be in His sight.
15 And He shall live; and to Him shall be given gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for Him and through Him continually, and they shall bless and praise Him all the day long.
[Note: The event of the coming of the kings, who came to visit Jesus as a child, are herein prophesied. Specifically, those who brought the gold came from ancient Sheba, once ruled by a Queen, and brought to Mary and her Son, the King of kings.]
16 There shall be abundance of grain in the soil upon the top of the mountains [the least fruitful places in the land]; the fruit of it shall wave like [the forests of] Lebanon, and [the inhabitants of] the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun [indeed, His name continues before the sun]. And men shall be blessed and bless themselves by Him; all nations shall call Him blessed!
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone does wondrous things!
19 Blessed be His glorious name forever; let the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Ancient Words
It is perhaps also a good time to re-read Genesis 18, where God Himself comes to Abraham to speak with Him regarding the removal of all evil in the region over which he had jurisdiction.
All nations were to be blessed through Abraham, and His faithfulness. Blessing, in this case, came through the utter destruction of five abhorrently immoral cities. Everything these cities believed in was diametrically opposite to the Words of Jesus, recorded in Matthew 25, whereupon all nations will be judged.
It was not just for their sexual immorality that they were destroyed, but for their lifestyle of hatred, unkindness, and utterly evil practices; the torturing of the traveller, and the theft of their belongings, starvation of outsiders, and the disobedient to their ridiculous rules, which caused many to die needlessly, etc., as recorded in the Midrash.
There was no love in these cities for humankind, much less God. Sounds like some modern societies, which will also ultimately be destroyed, at the consummation of all things, when the heavens and the earth will be made new, according to the revelation given to the Apostle Peter.
[The Sefer HaYahshar, in English, The Ancient Book of Jasher, also known as the Book of the Upright, is an ancient writing contained within the Midrash, and quoted from by Joshua 10:13, with regard to the miracle of the standing still of the sun so that the battle could be won in a day, and by Samuel, regarding the Song of the Bow in the Book of Samuel 1:18. 2Timothy 3:8 is also from the the Ancient Book of Jasher.]
Later, as the nation of Israel was being established, and God established His Word as pre-eminent, nations were removed, and replaced with His chosen people.
David experienced God's rescue, as recorded in Psalms 18, and 118. Israel experienced God's rescue countless times throughout their history, even when they walked away from Him as their God.
Then Grace came and Truth prevailed, and Jesus stood between time and held up His hands to God His Father, and dedicated frail men and women to go into all the world and -- not to destroy, but to disciple all nations.
Let us pray that once again, God will show Himself strong for those whose heart cry He recognizes as a familiar word, spoken long ago by His Beloved in the words of these Psalms, and indeed in the words of Jesus Himself, who wept over their cities.
God knows those who love Him, and sustains them, and brings them all out victoriously to proclaim His goodness.
In Jesus' Name.
