He Has Performed His Words

Psalm 103:1 - Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 

There was a prayer spoken to all of Jerusalem in the Book of Nehemiah after the people had rebuilt the crumbling walls and fortified itself against its enemies. The rebuilding was God's plan and it was accomplished successfully, as anything God chooses to do is. This was and still is God's city. This is where the heart of God's people will always be. We can lay claim to a stake in that inheritance if we are in agreement with Israel. In order to do that we must be in agreement with God.

This prayer was all about God. It glorified His name for all the great things He did for His people, Israel. It showed God's love and protection and deliverance of His people. It showed how God was their God and there was to be no other. This is the same God we are to worship today.

This prayer showed where all praise is due. It showed who they deemed highly exalted and glorious, whose name was to be praised. Not surprisingly, our God asks us to do the same today but somewhere along the way, a great majority of people have decided not to. God's name is still to be praised, not spoken of lightly or misspoken. He has not changed. If we are looking to anyone or anything else, we've got it all wrong.

The prayer shows the men He chose to be His leaders and who He covenanted with. He still does the same today when He chooses us and covenants with us. How He longs to perform His words for and through us. How He longs to see people look to Him for their strength, provision, comfort, wisdom and knowledge. It all begins with that relationship with Him. Without that relationship, none of these can be attained through the Lord.

The prayer showed the power of God over the enemies of the apple of His eye. If we know Jesus the way these people knew their God, He will do the same. They saw the living God perform these miracles. His presence was seen through cloud and fire. He has not changed. We can still see miracles today. We can still recognize where protection in our lives has come from...if we know this Jesus/God intimately.

We are shown in this same prayer that there was a certain land designed to be Israel's...and if God covenanted with them back then for this land, it still is theirs. Haven't you noticed how Israel or His people are constantly under attack? It's not a battle of flesh and blood but of the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, Ephesians 6:12 tells us. God will win this battle for this land, no matter what we might think we see happening, and Jesus Christ will return to this very place some day, to be with His people in His land. This can include all who choose to be part of His kingdom.

Here's a sampling of this amazing prayer. See how often praise is due Him. Notice verses 16-17. Could be many today. But God... We need to get back to this heart of worship.

"Stand up and bless the LORD your God 

        Forever and ever! 

        "Blessed be Your glorious name, 

        Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! 

        6You alone are the LORD; 

        You have made heaven, 

        The heaven of heavens, with all their host, 

        The earth and everything on it, 

        The seas and all that is in them, 

        And You preserve them all. 

        The host of heaven worships You. 

        7"You are the LORD God, 

        Who chose Abram, 

        And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, 

        And gave him the name Abraham; 

        8You found his heart faithful before You, 

        And made a covenant with him 

        To give the land of the Canaanites, 

        The Hittites, the Amorites, 

        The Perizzites, the Jebusites, 

        And the Girgashites-- 

        To give it to his descendants. 

        You have performed Your words, 

        For You are righteous. 

        9"You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, 

        And heard their cry by the Red Sea. 

        10You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, 

        Against all his servants, 

        And against all the people of his land. 

        For You knew that they acted proudly against them. 

        So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day. 

        11And You divided the sea before them, 

        So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; 

        And their persecutors You threw into the deep, 

        As a stone into the mighty waters. 

        12Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, 

        And by night with a pillar of fire, 

        To give them light on the road 

        Which they should travel. 

        13"You came down also on Mount Sinai, 

        And spoke with them from heaven, 

        And gave them just ordinances and true laws, 

        Good statutes and commandments. 

        14You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, 

        And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, 

        By the hand of Moses Your servant. 

        15You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, 

        And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, 

        And told them to go in to possess the land 

        Which You had sworn to give them. 

        16"But they and our fathers acted proudly, 

        Hardened their necks, 

        And did not heed Your commandments. 

        17They refused to obey, 

        And they were not mindful of Your wonders 

        That You did among them. 

        But they hardened their necks, 

        And in their rebellion 

        They appointed a leader 

        To return to their bondage. 

        But You are God, 

        Ready to pardon, 

        Gracious and merciful, 

        Slow to anger, 

        Abundant in kindness, 

        And did not forsake them. 

        18"Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, 

        And said, "This is your god 

        That brought you up out of Egypt,' 

        And worked great provocations, 

        19Yet in Your manifold mercies 

        You did not forsake them in the wilderness. 

        The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, 

        To lead them on the road; 

        Nor the pillar of fire by night, 

        To show them light, 

        And the way they should go. 

        20You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, 

        And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, 

        And gave them water for their thirst. 

        21Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; 

        They lacked nothing; 

        Their clothes did not wear out 

        And their feet did not swell. 

This IS our God. This IS what He longs to continue to do for us. But when we harden our hearts and choose to worship other things, He lets us do so. When we get to a point where we realize we have returned to our own bondage, our self-centered lives without God, when things get to the point of total helplessness, there might be a true crying out to the Lord once again...and He will be gracious and merciful to those whose hearts have returned or finally turn to Him.

Let us praise the name of the Lord.

Psalm 148:13 - Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.