Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Abba Father,
Most Excellent Majesty,
Magnified and Sanctified is Your Most
Holy and Wonderful Name.
How Glorious and How Marvelous are Your Works,
Of which only now we are starting to glimpse only a tiny portion.
You are Eternal,
Immortal,
Everlasting,
And Unchanging,
Yesterday,
Today,
and Forever.

Let all that has been Concealed
 Be Revealed.

  Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
 According To Your Will and Promise.
 We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins of Our Own Nation,
 and Lead us all to Godly Repentance
 Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
 and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us.

  This we Pray Together,
 As We Await Your Messiah,
 Blessed Be He,
 To Set Up His Kingdom,
 And Make All Things Right.

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Isaiah 40

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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If you're feeling discouraged this morning, I recommend Psalm 73. It came up in my own regular daily reading, and it greatly comforted me.

In 2024, we started the New Year with Handel's Messiah, one of my favorite pieces of Classical Music.

Christmas is around 50 days away, and, there are about 50 "pieces" in Handel's Messiah, so I would like to welcome the Christmas Season with this Beautiful Work. Rather than analyze the music, though, we can look at the Scriptures that were used to provide the Lyrics.

Unlike other adaptations of Scripture that comprise Hymns, Handel's Messiah seems to lift them verbatim from the Bible.

Speakers on? Great. Let's get started. We are going to look at the Scriptures that were chosen for one of the most beloved pieces of Classical Music, Handel's "Messiah".. This towering work was written, not for Church, but for the Concert Stage. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto, and like many great songwriting teams, turned the lyrics over to Handel to have the music aligned with the lyrics. (As many songrwriters will attest, it is easier to put words to music than the other way around, but it is usually done this way.)

Jennens was not entirely delighted with the "handeling" of his libretto, and was quite blunt about it. Here is what he said:

"I shalled show you a collection I gave Handel, call'd Messiah, which I value highly, & he has made a fine entertainment of it, tho' not near so good as he might and ought to have done" (Letter of Charles Jennens to Edward Holdsworth, 30 August 1745)

Although that is not exactly a Five Star Review, Handel's work has endured for nearly 300 years. Jennens' work has lasted even longer, since his lyrics are from the Bible itself.

Like an Opera, "Messiah" opens with a short Overture .

Then a Lone Tenor, like a Voice crying in the Wilderness, Sings, Comfort Ye My People from Isaiah 40:1-5. Enjoy.

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Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

Psalm 97

1 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshippers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns* of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgements, O God.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10 The Lord loves those who hate* evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns* for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 73
A psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.[a]
5 They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity[b];
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.[c]

11 They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.

16 When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

Footnotes:

Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

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🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem🇮🇱 (11/4/26)[Prayer]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem