And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

Psalm 29

A psalm of David.

¹ Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his ^[a] holiness.
³ The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
⁴ The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
⁵ The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion ^[b] like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
⁸ The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the LORD twists the oaks ^[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
¹⁰ The LORD sits ^[d] enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
¹¹ The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

154. All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Text: Edward Perronet; alt. by John Rippon
Music: Oliver Holden
Tune: CORONATION, Meter: CM

---

1. All hail the power of Jesus' name!
 Let angels prostrate fall;
 bring forth the royal diadem,
 and crown him Lord of all.
 Bring forth the royal diadem,
 and crown him Lord of all.  

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
 ye ransomed from the fall,
 hail him who saves you by his grace,
 and crown him Lord of all.
 Hail him who saves you by his grace,
 and crown him Lord of all.

3. Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget
 the wormwood and the gall,
 go spread your trophies at his feet,
 and crown him Lord of all.
 Go spread your trophies at his feet,
 and crown him Lord of all.  

4. Let every kindred, every tribe
 on this terrestrial ball,
 to him all majesty ascribe,
 and crown him Lord of all.
 To him all majesty ascribe,
 and crown him Lord of all.  

5. Crown him, ye martyrs of your God,
 who from his altar call;
 extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
 and crown him Lord of all.
 Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
 and crown him Lord of all.  

6. O that with yonder sacred throng
 we at his feet may fall!
 We'll join the everlasting song,
 and crown him Lord of all.
 We'll join the everlasting song,
 and crown him Lord of all.

http://ingeb.org/spiritua/coronati.mid

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: AN OPPRESSED AND DEPRESSED CHRISTIAN

The more Jack asks the Holy Spirit for guidance so that he could know God more and understand the reason why Christians live like the yo-yo (up and down, wandering and wondering in the wilderness of life,) are often weak, sick and powerless, the more the Holy Spirit responds and reveals to him from the Word of God, the Bible, which is life and Spirit.

For quite sometime he was led to read psalms and detected how the psalmist suffered from oppression and depression too! King David was one example. As he read, he saw a pattern emerging from the confessions of King David. Today he read Psalm 13 and summarized below what he has learned:

Psalm 13

1 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart daily?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?



3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God;

Enlighten my eyes,

Lest I sleep the sleep of death;

4 Lest my enemy say,

“I have prevailed against him”;

Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.



5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

The psalmist was deeply depressed. He was oppressed by the spirits of death, rejection, and darkness. These are revealed in the following verses:

Verse 2: The adverse situation affected his emotion and mental state. He was sorrowful daily. “Having sorrow in my heart daily”. His mind was affected. He suffered mental agony. He could not help thinking about his problems over and over again. “Take counsel in my soul”.

Verse 3: The situation affected his sleep. He slept like a dead man. “Lest I sleep the sleep of death.”

Verse 4: The situation affected him spiritually. “I am moved (fallen)”.

In fact he had suffered this sickness for quite sometime. He used the word “long” to describe his inability to tolerate anymore. Verse 1-2, he asked God “how long” three times and strong word like “forever”!

The cause of his sickness can be summarized as follows:

1. The psalmist looked at God in a negative way (he suffered from unbelief). In verse 1-3 he was blaming God for his condition. He accused God for forgetting him, ignoring his plead (not answering his prayer), not seeing him and talking to him. The truth was, the psalmist could not feel God’s presence, see God, or hear God. Instead of acknowledging his own distance from God, he projected his problems to God, “You forget me”, “You hide Your face from me”, “consider and hear me”, “enlighten my eyes”. (Verse 1, 3)

2. The psalmist was obsessed with his enemy. He felt oppressed. In verse 2 and 4 he complained that his enemy might win over him. “Exalted over me” and “prevailed against me”. He was worried and indignant that his enemy would “rejoice” at his fall. He was oppressed by the thought of his enemy winning, laughing at him and saying things that hurt him!

However, as he persevered and prayed with honesty, the Holy Spirit revealed the solutions to his depression, in verse 5-6. He remembered the goodness of God, which God had given him in the past: mercy, salvation and abundant life! “Your mercy”, “Your salvation”, “has dealt bountifully with me”.

Then the faith that God has given to him rises. He “trusted” God afresh, his “heart rejoices”, and he “sings to the Lord”. Indeed, he worshipped and praised God despite his depression illness. His focus was on Jesus, the salvation of Jesus on the cross.

Thus, the depressed psalmist was healed!

2009-11-22

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE INNER EYE

It had been a month since Jack started this quest of seeking God. He had learned to look at things from an inner eye - spiritual perspective. He realized that God is asking him, “Are you controlled by the spiritual realm or the physical realm?” So far he had done two important things: seek God through worship and prayers, and listen to God through reading the words of God and meditating. Both endeavors had produced results.

The following is his Journal record.
____________________________________________________

Journal Day 19: No One Can Serve Two Masters. Who is in control? The Physical or the spiritual?

Further to what I found out yesterday, that Jesus is more concerned with where I place my heart, on earth/the worldly system or on heaven/the godly system, I realized that Jesus is also concerned with what I put in my heart.

The things of the world are all subject to the natural law of aging, decay, corruption, depreciation of worth and usefulness, loss of attraction…etc. Even when the things (or even your wife, your husband, your best friend, your best pastor or other human support etc.) are new and fresh and interesting and useful, they are subject to uncertainties like theft, accident, destruction, sudden losses, and are here today and gone tomorrow. The circumstances, the devil, man-made errors or even a simple swing of mood could cause the losses overnight.

The only safe place is heaven. The safe treasure is Jesus. No natural disaster. No man-made mishaps. No depreciation of value. No losses. The treasure is guaranteed by God. Heaven is not subject to the world’s system. No wonder God keeps telling us to be separate. Come out.

Matthew 6:22-23 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness.”

Here Jesus wants me to analyze my locus of control. Who or what controls my body? My physical senses? By what is seen, heard, smelled, touched and thought of? If this is the case, then I am subject to the worldly trend of perspective. All that I can see is dictated by the whims and fancies of the world. Someone has pressed the panic button and every body panics. Someone has pressed the commercial button and every body buys. Someone has invented a new toy and everybody plays. Someone has pressed the stress button and everybody is stressed out.

Jesus wants me to see with my inner eye, the eye of the spirit. The spirit sees into the spiritual realm and knows about the truth. The spirit draws wisdom and insight from the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ). Despite the physical darkness outside, the spirit sees the light inside, the Light of God. With His light I can see better and more accurately and form the right decision and make the right move.

Matthew 6:24 “no one can serve two masters…you cannot serve God and mammon.”

This verse gave me headache previously. I thought it meant not to love money or have anything to do with money. On the other hand I have been given the resources and am expected to be a good steward of God so how can I not handle money? Reading this today I saw that it relates to all that Jesus has said in the context. He is asking me, “Are you controlled by the spiritual realm or the physical realm?”

Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Jesus also said that eternal life is to know God and Jesus. For this purpose, God has put in me (and every believer of Jesus) the Holy Spirit so that I could relate to the spiritual realm and connect to Him through the spirit.

Matthew 6:25-31 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.” “Look at the birds of the air…are you not of more value than they?” “Consider the lilies of the field…will God not much more clothe you?” “Therefore do not worry.”

6:27-28 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” “So why do you worry about?”

Do not worry about my physical life. Accept the fact that I cannot control it completely. I am not in complete charge. Stop worrying in vain!

So who is in complete control? The answer here is God. In verse 32, Jesus reminded me that God is the One Who created and sustained life. Surly He knows our needs.
How do we let the Spirit take charge? Jesus has given us the one essential key. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) In short, seek first Jesus. How do we seek Jesus?

Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63) Yes, read His words.
Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow.” Jesus thus assured us. The physical body has its limitations. It can only take care of the present moment. It cannot go beyond its present senses. Why waste energy and ruin health? The uncertain future lies in the realm of the spirit.

Yet, future is important to everybody. That explains why everybody worries about the future. It is frightening to think that no one takes charge. On the other hand, as Christian, I believe that God takes charge. I believe in what Jesus has said. I would also like to know as much as my spirit knows.

The Lord says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

My application: continue to rise early, spend time worshipping God, reading His words, meditating on His words, praying, and waiting in His presence. I am still not good at worshipping God and singing praise songs. I need to practice more. The waiting part needs improvement too. I am too easily distracted. Today I slept late and did not get up early. However, as I drove I sang praise and worship songs, and prayed in tongues (a habit while driving). I managed to read ten psalms aloud at night. I look forward to tomorrow’s early morning session.

AAA Jack
2009-03-14

chapter eleven: seeing God, hearing His words

After the first breakthrough Jack began to see pictures/visions often when he sought God in the early morning on his own. He often woke before the alarm rang. He sometimes woke way before, an hour or two, the alarm was supposed to ring! He tried to interpret such pictures at times. When he though he got the clear message, he would pray over it. For example, when he saw his loved ones in an unusual situation, he would pray for the situation to clear and the problem resolved. He also became quite excited as it was like the Bible coming to life and he could now ask God to show him things to come. He got up every morning with eagerness to see or receive personal messages from God.

He recorded the following visions in his journal on March 10, 2009.

Hearing from God –golden field with one worker
Everyday I spent time before God and asked Him to show me what to pray for or what to attend to. So far I have seen a number of pictures, some of which reminded me of verses I have read before. I could understand some as the meaning was clear and supported by immediate recall of verses. But I could not figure out some. So I have decided to record down all or as many as I recall the pictures that I saw daily when waiting upon the Lord in the early morning. This morning I woke around 3am and worshipped God. I saw the following vision:

1. Jesus put His hand into muddy water. I could not see whether the water was in a river but I thought it was.

2. A living spring or brook with clear, clean water. I could see the pebbles underneath the water in the river bed.

3. Fruit trees bearing fruits by the river side. I did not exactly see them clearly but in my mind I was reminded of the trees which bear fruits and leaves with healing faculties.

4. Jesus holding a bowl which He had emptied (through a pouring motion), green shoots in the ground, followed by grown wheat plants in the midst of thorns and thistles. I was reminded of the verses about the enemy sowing bad seeds at night among the good seeds that God had planted. On harvest day the bad plants (weeds, thorns etc.) will be gathered and burned by the angel of God. The good ones will be gathered unto God.

5. A vast field of golden wheat and only one man/worker stooping down cutting the wheat. I was reminded of Jesus saying the harvest is plenty and workers are few, and that we are to pray for God to send more workers to harvest the ready field.

Praying for the nation
While praying for the nation, he was led by the Holy Spirit to see and read the following words from the Book of Psalms (reading from 53-57):

55: 9-23: “Destroy, o Lord, and divide their tongues” Next to this, he wrote: ‘_________’(the name of the ruling party) – NIMROD? “For I have seen violence and strife in the city”, iniquity and trouble, destruction, oppression and deceit, broken covenant, smooth words with war at heart (drawn swords), bloodthirsty and deceitful men. Jack saw that the verses aptly described the situation of the country.

He did not know its spiritual link yet. Months later when he attended a series of spiritual lessons given by a master who had spent nearly two decades studying the spiritual matters and the history of the land, Jack discovered that what the Holy Spirit had prompted him to pray for were indeed the situation as reflected in the verses and they were linked to the blood shade, violence, gangsters, piracy, and secret societies background of the founding masters of the land!

However, he was positive in his one line summary of Psalm 57, “As David saw the troubles he was in, he exalted God. Caught in between two types of dangers, direct attacks by weapons and secret snarls, David praised God. Clue to success!”

Jack also saw another truth, the reason why people could not see or hear God was because of their rebellious and defiant hearts against God. Even a donkey could see the angel with drawn sword by the road side, but the prophet Balaam who loved money more than God could not see.

DAY 101: SONGS, SIGNS AND WONDERS

We (four generations of us, one of each) continue to have family worship twice a day on most week days, and also attend the twice weekly prayer house worship. The youngest of us is six years and ten months old. She has acquired the habit of worship and has become the self-appointed organizer of worship. Every morning she will get the sitting room ready complete with a cushion for each person to kneel, exercise mats in two rolls, hymn books, Bibles, notebook (for us to write down spirit songs, if any), and ball pens.
The four of us love to sing. We each sing in our own ways. The master of the house used to be the worst singer. The mistress of the house can sing reasonably well. The guest is a spirit-filled intercessor who sings very high pitch songs (mostly spirit songs). The little one sings softly in her own childish way. All cannot read music notes.
Our meeting has four parts: songs, prayer in the Spirit, Bible reading, and more songs.
Initially only the Spirit-filled intercessor visitor could sing spirit song or see visions. The two other grown-ups and the young child had not displayed such gifts. After seeking God for sometime, the master of the house had developed the gift of seeing a bit of visions (in words and in pictures). Lately he developed the gift of singing (followed by interpreting and writing songs) in the spirit.
When the little one joined us for holiday she soon learned to hum songs in the spirit and pray in the spirit. She loves the worship sessions and has participated in and stayed throughout every meeting without fail. Of course she fell asleep (like any normal little child) while prostrating on the floor during late night prayer house meetings. Yesterday morning she participated in the whole Bible reading session in the prayer house. Three of us grown-ups were given the book of Isaiah to read (all sixty-six chapters). The little one helped us to read two chapters. Then she read five chapters in the Gospel of Mark. We finished reading aloud the book of Isaiah in two hours.
The little one is so used to such meetings that yesterday afternoon she voluntarily joined a group of adult ladies’ fellowship and knelt and bowed down with them and prayed in tongue when they were interceding in a home fellowship in this house. The prayer meeting was the first ever since its inception so Spirit-filled and charged up. The usually quiet and subdued ladies were loudly praying in the Spirit and extended the meeting by one hour!
The mistress of the house has been a committed Christian for over twenty years, actively serving God for a long time, recently seeking God in the spirit after attending a course on waiting upon God. She felt disappointed as she saw others heard from God, saw visions, and could sing spirit songs, whereas she could not. She felt she wanted to know God more and was hindered by the lack. She told God her feeling. During the last few days she progressed to seeing visions and yesterday she began to sing in tune as in spirit songs.
All we can say is that we cannot limit God. All we can do is to seek Him with thirst and hunger in our spirits and wait upon Him regardless of our feelings or experiences.
This morning I prayed for my own career and ministry, if any. As I worshipped and prayed in the spirit, I saw myself in two consecutive scenes. First I was playing a guitar to the audience of trees, as in a forest. There seemed to be flowing streams as well. The second scene was I playing a violin, to the open field with green grass, flowers and butterflies. The land could be hilly but I am not sure. In my mind I had words like spread, disburse, and grow.
I do not play both musical instruments. I do not consider myself having any talent to learn either. So far I only managed to sing and write in crude numerical symbols of the music I had created. Rationally I cannot imagine myself pursuing a musical direction in my career or in ministry. This vision is not a result of my wish fulfillment.
The spiritual development has led me and others to know God as a limitless God. Yes, He performs songs, signs and wonders in our lives.
AAA Jack
June 13 2009

DAY 99-100: MANY SONGS BURST FORTH

It is amazing how God reveals Himself. Spirit songs burst forth as I worshipped God. So far I managed to write down a few, some in tunes only, some with lyrics (incomplete and complete). Today I sang the new song “My utmost for His highest” again but in a different tune, much lighter and with full lyrics. I managed to write it down as I sang it a number of times. To clarify, I do not write the proper music scores. I write the tune in numerical symbols (numbers) (as I was taught to read the numbers in primary school).
After I wrote two songs in English I was led to sing a spirit song in a tune which is definitely oriental. So I put in Chinese words and they sounded well-fitted. As I did that in a car, I did not manage to write down that song. The following day, I sang another Chinese spirit song with lyrics as well. Again, I was in the car and did nt manage to record it down.
When I analyze the songs, I find that they are all worship songs about God. As I sang them I felt lifted up, peaceful and happy.
Today I interceded for the churches of this land. I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what to pray for. Then I began to sing. The song was all about asking the God’s glory to fall on this land, His living water to rain down, and the blood of the Lamb to flow and give life, healing and nourishing this land.
Last two nights before I slept I asked the Spirit inside to intercede for me as I slept. The first night the whole night I could sense the singing of two songs, both of which are about the blood Jesus has shed on the cross. The cleansing work has started! The second night I sensed the singing of another two songs, both about the Holy Spirit having come and like fire sweeping over the land.
I could not sing as I wish. Many times I tried to sing but managed to speak in tongue instead. Like wind I did not know its coming or going. But the songs are really nice and many I just cannot write down or interpret. I now realize a bit how David the psalmist had felt. As he sought God, he burst forth with many songs/psalms. What was his secret? One obvious clue is: he seeks God a lot of time.
AAA Jack