Psalm 3:3But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
The feeling is that of one in a strange land who would desire, if possible, to keep up constant communications with his home - his family, his friends, his kindred there. On earth, the place of our sojourning - of our pilgrimage - the friend of God desires to have constant contact with heaven, his final home; not to be left to the desolate feeling that he is cut off from all contact with that world where he is forever to dwell. (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. James 1:1 (KJV)
For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:15
Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. Proverbs 10:6, 7
Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you. Proverbs 4:8, 9
Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase;So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Proverbs 3:9, 10
I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people unknown to you before. Ruth 2:11 (AMP)
The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge! Ruth 2:12 (AMP)
Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (AMP)If I want my motivation for doing the right thing to be on target (pleasing and honoring God), then my heart must be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG).
I write to you [perfectly] confident of your obedient compliance, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. Philemon 1:21 (AMP)
Luke the beloved physician and Demas salute you. Give my greetings to the brethren at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the assembly (the church) which meets in her house. Colossians 4:14, 15 (AMP)
Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him). 1 Peter 4:9 (AMP)
And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 (AMP)
Do it all because he requires and commands it, and with a desire to honor him. His authority should be the warrant; his glory the aim of all our actions and words. Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible
There is no act, however little, which Christ does not see and touch; there is no affection, talent, energy on which He does not put His hand and say, “That is mine,” and which may not be transformed into a worship as sincere as that of the communion; no step we can take in life over which He does not watch, and which may not be made a step on the road that brings us nearer Him; no time here or hereafter when it will not be a delightful duty to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” J. Macgregor
Wherever we are called to work we must dedicate the labours of our hands or our brain to God, doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus. H. J. W. Buxton
If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude andelemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as]Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines.Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.] Colossians 2:20-23 (AMP)
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him:A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil,A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 (AMP)
For though I am away from you in body, yet I am with you in spirit, delighted at the sight of your [standing shoulder to shoulder in such] orderly array and the firmness and the solid front and steadfastness of your faith in Christ [that leaning of the entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. Colossians 2:5 (AMP)
and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ;either in the grace of faith, and the exercise of it on Christ, in opposition to doubtings and unbelief; whereby God is honoured, and with which he is well pleased; souls are filled with peace and joy; Satan is resisted and overcome; and the hearts of others, particularly ministers of the Gospel, are comforted: or in the doctrine of faith respecting Christ, in which they stood fast; notwithstanding there was a majority against it, the wise and learned, the rich and mighty, did not receive it; and though it was opposed by false teachers, persecuted by profane men, and loaded with reproach and obloquy; and also in the profession of it, which they held without wavering: now to see a set of Christians, a church of Christ walking together in Gospel order, steady in their faith on Christ, abiding by the doctrine of faith, and maintaining an honourable profession, how beautiful and delightful is it! John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
"For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him." Colossians 1:16 (AMP)
`They have no speech, nor words, nor is their voice heard; yet into all the earth hath gone out their sound, and to the extremity of the world their words.' The Hebrew, kav, rendered, line, like the Greek by which the LXX (who are followed by Paul), render it, no doubt signifies the sound as well as the cord which emits it. The Vulgate, Jerome, and Symmachus, render it to the same purpose. Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
There is no speech, etc. The sunset was one of the most glorious I ever beheld, and the whole earth seemed so still that the voice of neither God nor man was heard. There was not a ripple upon the waters, not the leaf of a tree, nor even of a blade of grass moving, and the rocks upon the opposite shore reflected the sun's "after glow," and were again themselves reflected from or in the river during the brief twilight, in a way I do not remember ever to have beheld before. No! I will not say the voice of God was not heard; it spoke in the very stillness as loud as in roaring thunder, in the placid scene as in rocks and cliffs impassable, and louder still in the heavens and in the firmament, and in the magnificent prospect around me. His wondrous works declared him to be near, and I felt as if the very ground upon which I was treading was holy. John Gadsby
"And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." Even upon us who must not see thy glory in the land of Canaan; it shall suffice us if in our characters the holiness of God is reflected, and if over all our camp the lovely excellences of our God shall cast a sacred beauty. Sanctification should be the daily object of our petitions. The Treasury of David
My responsibility is to first and foremost give God the glory due Him. Secondly, share His love with those around me. And lastly, make sure that I’m willing to do any job that God assigns me—whether or not I “like it”.Each and every job that God assigns me has a specific purpose to accomplish His will and plan. I need to remember that I can’t pick and choose which jobs I want to do and which ones to ignore. Some are more pleasant than others, but each task is required to assure that God’s plan is fulfilled in it’s entirety.
"I will exalt thee, for thou hast exalted me." I would render according to the benefit received. The Psalmist's praise was reasonable. He had a reason to give for the praise that was in his heart. He had been drawn up like a prisoner from a dungeon, like Joseph out of the pit, and therefore he loved his deliverer. Grace has uplifted us from the pit of hell, from the ditch of sin, from the Slough of Despond, from the bed of sickness, from the bondage of doubts and fears: have we no song to offer for all this? How high has our Lord lifted us? Lifted us up into the children's place, to be adopted into the family; lifted us up into union with Christ, "to sit together with him in heavenly places." Lift high the name of our God, for he has lifted us above the stars. The Treasury of David
