Psalms 98, 114 and 139

There are many example of different types of Psalms. Here are three.

Psalm 114:
A Psalm of remembrance. It is good for us to remember the amazing things that God has done in the past. This Psalm depicts the time God rescued the Israelites by parting the Red Sea. God wants us to remember these biblical stories, but also to remember the times God has been there for us. Stop right now and think of when God protected you, comforted you and made a way for you. It is good to just stop and remember these things because it grows our faith and it draws us nearer to the Provider, Comforter and Protector.

                                                        Psalm 114:1-4
          When the Israelites escaped from Egypt, when the family of Jacob left that 
          foreign land, the land of Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel His kingdom.
         The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The water of the
         Jordan River turned away. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like sheep.


Psalm 98:
A Psalm of praise. Did you ever hear the birds singing? did you ever thing that their song is a song of praise to God? If the little birdies can sing praises to the Lord, what should prevent us from doing the same. Psalm 22 says that "God inhabits the praises of His people". Which means God lives in our praise! If you want to be closer to God.... praise Him.... sing to Him. He loves it!

                                                       Psalm 98:4-8
          Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.
          Make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing.
          With trumpets and the blast of a ram's horn, Shout for joy to the Lord, the King.
          Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all that live in it.

Psalm 139:
A Psalm of thanksgiving. Nothing in this life is guaranteed. God is the provider of everything, including our next breath. God was there at the beginning. (While we were still in our mom's tummy) He created us with a purpose. He knows everything about us... and He STILL loves us! There is so much to thank God for. We can use the thanksgiving Psalms to show our gratiude for His love, His provision, His protection etc....

                                                       Psalm 139:13-18
                        You made all the delicate , inner parts of my body and 
                        knit me together in my mother's womb.
                        Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
                        Your workmanship is marvelous. How well I know it.
                        You watched me as I was being formed in seclusion,
                        as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
                        You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life
                        was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid
                        out before a single day had passed.
 

       

God Uses Moses to Part the Red Sea Exodus14

Last time we saw that the Hebrews left Egypt in a bit of a hurry. It was the middle of the night when the king’s son died and he finally let the Hebrew slaves go. Moses led the people out into the wilderness. Now what? God appeared as a pillar of fire to lead the Hebrews at night. When it got light out, God led the people as a cloud. This way the Hebrews could see God at night and during the day!  God led the people to the shore of the Red Sea.

Back in Egypt, the king and all the Egyptians had a change of heart.
“Wait a minute!” Said the king. “Now we don’t have anyone to do all the work!”

So he told his army to get 600 of his best chariots ready and bring back the slaves. The Egyptians set out with the 600 chariots, plus a lot more to bring back the Hebrews to Egypt. The Egyptians finally caught up with the Hebrews while they were camped along the Red Sea. The king happily thought to himself, “Hmmmm that Moses is not too smart! He has the Hebrews pinned in along the sea! They have no where to run!”

 One of the Hebrews saw the lights of the Egyptian army coming over the horizon. “Oh no!” The Hebrews shouted in horror! They were upset at Moses. “Weren’t there enough Cemeteries in Egypt? You had to lead us out here to the desert to die! We were better off as slaves in Egypt, than dead bodies out here in the wilderness!”

“Don’t be afraid.” Said Moses. “What what God will do. See all those Egyptians.... Take a good look at them because you’ll never see them again! God will fight the battle.... Now keep your mouths shut!”
Moses went to God and cried out and prayed. God told Moses to stop crying out and to cut his prayer short. “Get moving.” God told Moses. “Stretch out your staff toward the Red Sea. The water will separate and for a wall on two sides. You and all the people will be able to walk across on dry land”

Meanwhile, the God cloud that had been leading the Hebrews through the desert, was now between them and the Egyptians. God made it so dark for the Egyptians, that they couldn’t see anything. So they had to stay put. God lit the way for the Hebrews so they could see where they were going.

Moses stretched out his staff over the water, and the water began to part. The Hebrews had been witnesses to a lot of amazing things that God had done, and this was near the top[ of the list! The water parted and the land became dry as a bone! All 2 million Hebrews walked across the Red Sea on dry ground that night as God’s light guided them and his cloud held off the Egyptians!

Did God help the Hebrews because they were moaning and complaining? No, He already had a plan for them to escape. God doesn’t like complaining as you will see as the Hebrews go through the wilderness. They do a lot of complaining. Complaining all the time just gives us a bad attitude and makes us miserable. In Proverbs, the Bible says that the complainer’s days are hard, but the content (which means happy with what we have) person’s days are like a feast!  Next time you feel like complaining.... think of ALL the wonderful things that God has given you. (The Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes from God.) ... and thank Him. You’ll be amazed how much better your day is!  Besides, complaining doesn’t do any good anyway :o)