The Lifter Of My Head Psalms 3:3-4 Psalms 7:10 Psalms 18:1-2 Psalms 84:11-12 Psalms 46:1-3 Exodus 34:5-6 Psalms 86:15 James 4:10 Psalms 33:20-22 03.05.18

THE LIFTER OF MY HEAD

BREAD

³ But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.  Selah  Psalm 3:3-4 (NIV)

¹⁰ My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.  Psalm 7:10 (NIV)

¹ I love you, O LORD, my strength. ² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.   Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. ¹² O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.  Psalm 84:11-12 (NIV)

¹ God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  Selah  Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)

⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.  Exodus 34:5-6 (NIV)

¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.   Psalm 86:15 (NIV)

¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.  James 4:10 (NIV)  

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. ²¹ In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. ²² May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.   Psalm 33:20-22 (NIV)

BUTTER

“While I regarded God as a tyrant I thought my sin a trifle; But when I knew Him to be my Father, then I mourned that I could ever have kicked against Him.  When I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin; but when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion, I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against One who loved me so, and sought my good.”  C.H. Spurgeon

“Jesus, Thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love Thou art.”  Charles Wesley

“Though our Savior’s passion is over, His compassion is not.”  William Penn

“It is rare that Christians earnestly seek the Lord’s face when things are going swimmingly, when material blessings abound and we seem to be protected from the vicissitudes faced by others.  But in the blackness of discouragement, when we are harassed and downcast, we may indeed turn to the Lord and acknowledge our helplessness apart from his grace; we may do so knowing that God is a compassionate God and that Jesus’ compassion was particularly directed toward the harassed and the helpless.”  D A Carson

“Lord, I trust in You. I trust in Your mercy because You are merciful, I trust in Your grace, for You are gracious, I trust in Your goodness for You are good. I trust in Your strength for You are almighty, I trust in Your council for You are wise, I trust in Your compassion for You are love. I trust in the shelter of Your wings, in the shield of Your protection, in the safety of Your surrounding presence. Lord, I trust in You at all times, in all ways, and for all reasons. I trust in You, because what happens to me matters to You, and because my needs are Your concern. Lord, I trust in You, You are my heavenly Father, and I know that You would never do anything unkind or unloving to one of Your children.”     Roy Lessin 

“It is His love for man, His compassion for the human race, that prompts God to hate sin with such a vengeance.  He gave Heaven’s finest that we might have the best; and He loathes with a holy abhorrence anything that would hinder our being reconciled to Him.”  Billy Graham

“I love Him because He first loved me.  His goodness and mercy and compassion to me are new every day.  And my assurance is lodged in these aspects of His character.  My trust is in His love for me as His own.  My serenity has as its basis an implicit, unshakable reliance on His ability to do the right thing, the best thing in any given situation.  This to me is the supreme portrait of my Shepherd.  Continually there flows out to me His goodness and His mercy, which even though I do not deserve them, come unremittingly from their source of supply – His own great heart of love.”   Phillip Keller

“Every act of compassion done by anyone for his fellow Christian is done by Christ working in him.”   Julian of Norwich

“The Christian’s compassion must be like God’s – unceasing.”   William Barclay

“I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me:  God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak to me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me, From snares of devils, From temptations of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a multitude.”  St. Patrick

“Would you follow Christ?  Then follow Him in self-denial, in humility, in patience, and in readiness for every good work.  Follow Him with a daily cross upon your back, and look to His cross to make your burden light.  Follow Him as your Guide and Guard, and learn to see with His eyes, and to trust in His arm for defense.  Follow Him as the Friend of sinners, who healeth the broken in heart, and giveth rest to the weary souls, and casteth out none that come unto Him.   Follow Him with faith, resting your whole acceptance with God, and your title to heaven, on His meritorious blood and righteousness.  Lastly, follow Him with much prayer.  For, though He is full of compassion, He loves to be much entreated; and when He is determined to give a blessing, you must yet wrestle with Him for it.  Thus follow Jesus, and He will lead you to glory.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky