Protection 8 ~ Hem ~ Surround

Hello Everyone!

This is our last post for the series on Protection that we started on January 1

with "Wings".

Others include:

• Shadow of His Wings
• Hedge
• Watches
• Shield
• Refuge
• Shelter

Now today, we finish with "Hem or Surround".

Here are 3 Scriptures:

"For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield."
–Psalm 5:12

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Selah
–Psalm 32:7

"You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me."
Psalm 139:5

Our wonderful Creator starts "hemming" us in, surrounding us with His

protection,the moment we are created in our mother's womb.

Psalm 139 is one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible regarding God

being All-Knowing and Ever-Present and may I add All-Protecting.

Verse 13 says:

" For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb."

"You so guide me with your hand, that I can turn no way, but where you appoint me. "
–The 1599 Geneva Study Bible

"God has set us where we be, and beset (to be covered with) us wherever we be. Behind us there is God recording our sins, or in grace blotting out the remembrance of them; and before us there is God foreknowing all our deeds, and providing for all our wants. We cannot turn back and so escape him, for he is behind; we cannot go forward and out-march him, for he is before. He not only beholds us, but he besets us." (definition in parenthesis is mine)
–Charles Spurgeon

How would it feel to be "hemmed" in with God?

To be surrounded...

To be covered on all sides...

To be enveloped...

in His protection and love?

Would you feel loved?

Would you feel cared for?

Would you feel like you mattered to Him?


At this point, I would like to talk about another type of Protection.

This may seem not to fit....

but stay with me and hopefully you will see that is does.

I read Psalm 23 this last week.

I would like to have a dollar bill

for every time I have read that Psalm...

Now, I am not into prosperity preaching,

I am just using a figure of speech...

But this last week, verse 5 was for me.

I love, love, love it when the Lord does that...

He made me "hover" over that verse and I could not leave it until I knew all that

there was for me to know at this time.

Here it is:

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

My mind first went to the word picture of the Old West (really, it did!)

I can see the Indians high up on the tops of the hills or cliffs.

They are sitting there with their war paint on their faces and they are

holding those real long spears with feathers streaming off of them.

They are looking down to the valley below where a caravan of Conestoga

wagons are parked.

The wagons are in a circle and the families are busily.....

preparing their supper in plain view of their enemies!!

They are setting a long wooden table with dishes and dishes of food.

They are watching the fires under the kettles, so they stay hot enough to cook

what is in those great big pots.

They are not looking up to the top of the cliff or hill.

They are at peace, carrying on with their daily tasks at hand.

They are not cowering under the wagons and shaking with fear.

They are not thinking that their world is coming to an end.

They know that they are being protected by an unseen Hand.

They are being covered, surrounded with His care when everything around

them goes wrong.


Here is another different slant on this verse.

Have any of you ever read "A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23"

by W. Phillip Keller?

It was written in 1970.

I highly recommend his books, especially this one.

For verse 5 he says:

"In thinking about this statement, it is well to bear in mind that

(in the summer) the sheep are approaching the high mountain country.

These are known as alplands or tablelands.

So it may be seen that what David referred to as a table was actually the entire

high summer range.

Though these (ranges are) remote and hard to reach, the energetic and aggressive

sheep owner takes the time and trouble to ready them for the arrival of his flocks.

He takes along a supply of salt and minerals to be distributed over the range at

strategic spots for the benefits of the sheep during the summer.

The intelligent, careful manager will also decide well ahead of time where his

camps will be located so the sheep have the best bed grounds.

He will check to see if there are poisonous weeds appearing, and if so,

he will plan his grazing program to avoid them, or take drastic steps to

eradicate them.

The parallel in the Christian life is clear.

To forestall our getting into (deadly) grief of this sort, we need to remember

our Master has been there ahead of us, coping with every situation which

would otherwise undo us."

Our Protector.

He "hems" us in and surrounds us with His care and His love.

Yes, we will have trials and troubles,

but as I said in the last post,

"He shall give us the best of shelter in the worst of danger."

Thank You, Lord for Your hedge of Protection.
Thank You that You care enough about us to watch over us
and to go ahead in our pathway and be our Shield.
You hide us under Your wings,
even in the Shadow of Your wings.
You are our Refuge, our Rock in shaky times.
You are our Shelter in the storm when the "strong
furious sea winds" try to push us down.
Without You we would be "doing life on our own",
standing alone.
Call on Him today to be your Protector and your Provider.
He is able.

Amen.

Debbie G.

Protection 7 ~ Shelter

Hello Everyone!

Please allow me to thank those that reply to this blog.

Some do through the comment link at the bottom of the post.

Some through Facebook or in a card sent to us,

or family members or friends telling us over the phone....

thank you so much.

I appreciate the feedback!

≥≥This post is about "Shelter", the 7th topic in our Protection series.

The word "Shelter" occurs 24 times in 23 verses in the

in the New International Version.

Here are the 6 verses that I wanted to use:

"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."
–Psalm 27:5

"In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues."
–Psalm 31:20

"I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm."
–Psalm 55:8

"I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah"
–Psalm 61:4

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
–Psalm 91:1

"Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor."
–Ecclesiastes 7:12

Of all of these gr8t Scriptures, the one that "stuck" out to me was the first one.

(The last one I thought was very interesting, though...)

Here is Psalm 27:5 in the King James Version:

"For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." (all italics ~ mine)

The King James Version uses the word "Pavilion" for shelter.

Pavilion comes from the Latin word "Papilio" which means "butterfly; tent."

Can you see the picture of a tent looking like a butterfly?

Maybe like this one:

(i can see it!!)

Hmmmmmm.......

Reminds me of our first post on January 1 for this Protection series.

"Wings"

• Psalm 17:8-9 in The Message Bible:

"Keep Your eye on me; hide me under Your cool wing feathers
from the wicked who are out to get me, from mortal enemies closing in."

Now where I come from...the shelters look kinda like this:

I have had some great memories in shelters like this and

one awful one.

Last year, my husband and I were meeting some families with their

children for a picnic at our local park.

Well...everything was fine when we were driving there.

All of a sudden the sky turned dark and it began to rain.

We thought...we're OK, we are under this shelter house.

Well...those rain drops started coming down harder

and harder

and harder...

Next thing we knew they were coming at us in horizontal lines (Yikes!)

In a flash, we were soaked to our skin!!

The children started crying.

The adults weren't too far from it.

Because we looked out the parking lot a stone's throw away

and we could barely see our cars!!

It was raining that hard!!

That is one event in a shelter house that I will never forget!!

So much for our picnic!!


While doing a search for shelter, I came upon this shelter in

England...

A Majestic Fish Tail Shelter!

Located in England at Blackpool’s newly regenerated South Shore Promenade, the “Rotating Shelter” by Ian McChesney is an 8-meter-tall wind vane that will counter the strong sea winds and shelter the inhabitants sitting at the base. The shelter is finished with resilient “Duplex” stainless steel and stands tall at eight meters. Sitting on a turntable (4-meter diameter) with a built-in damper to control the speed of rotation, the shelter is designed to rotate according to the prevailing wind direction. The radical shelter works around two key elements - the vane, which rotates the structure - and a baffle that protects the occupants from the furious sea wind. The shelter is not just functional in use, but also boasts an artistic design, which bestowed it with the prestigious Civic Trust Award.

"Sitting on a turntable (4-meter diameter) with a built-in damper to control the speed of rotation, the shelter is designed to rotate according to the prevailing wind direction."

God is our shelter.

We live in a rotating, turning, sometimes Tilt-a-World – World.

God is still our shelter when our world experiences some "strong furious sea

wind".

Sometimes we are bent against that strong wind.

Sometimes we fall down when the we can't stand up anymore.

Praise God that He is our "vane and baffle" to get between us and that

wind!!

We may be pushing against that wind, trying for all our might to stand up.

We may be pushed down to the ground...

But God...

But God is our shelter from the storm.

But God is our "hand up" when we are down.

He helps us brush ourselves off and binds our wounds.

He helps us learn from those falls.

We may experience trials and storms in our lives,

But God is our Protector.

Charles Spurgeon says it this way:

"For in the time of trouble, that needy time, that time when others forsake me, he shall hide me in his pavilion: he shall give me the best of shelter in the worst of danger. The royal pavilion was erected in the centre of the army, and around it all the mighty men kept guard at all hours; thus in that divine sovereignty which almighty power is sworn to maintain, the believer peacefully is hidden, hidden not by himself furtively, but by the king, who hospitably entertains him."

He shall give me the best of shelter in the worst of danger.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,

'Til Next Post,

Debbie G.

Protection 6 ~ Refuge

Hello Everyone!

This post on our series about "Protection" is about refuge.

What are the first things that pop into your mind

when you hear the word "refuge"?...

• shelter
• sanctuary
• hide-a-way
• rock
• safe haven
• escape
• stronghold
• retreat
• security

During this snowy season, (I read in online news today, that all 49

states have had snow or a dusting of snow this winter ~ WOW!)

we may have felt as though our home was our refuge.

We snuggled down in our blankets and kept toasty warm.

I've been on Google Images again...

Here is what I found when I typed in "refuge" or "refuge in the storm">>>

(if you look real close...that is a fortress/castle on top of the waterfall...
...interesting...)

(beautiful colors, don't you think?)

(i like the light shining through the windows and the fact that the church...
has no destruction...)

Another form of a refuge could be the enfolding of a loved one's arms around

you in the form of a shelter ~ a comforting hug:

Sometimes I have felt that my car was a refuge, when it was pouring down

rain...

and I was safe and dry inside.

Sometimes our umbrellas could be a kinda-sorta of a form of

a refuge or

a protection:

(the one lone guy doesn't seem to be having fun...)

I had to include this picture.

Have you ever been caught in a down-pour during a picnic?

These poor people are trying to find a refuge:


On a little more serious note,

Susannah Wesley

who lived from 1669 to 1742,

had 19 children, but 9 died as infants. (how horrible that would be to live through.)

She was a very successful mother, with 2 of her children being

Charles and John Wesley.

Charles wrote over 9,000. hymns. He and his brother, John, are largely credited

with the founding of the English Methodist church.

I found a blog which lists the TOP 10 reasons why we should study Susannah's life.

Click here to view the list.

Susannah made her own refuge.

Here is reason #9:

9. Susannah made time to pray.

Susannah Wesley prayed two hours a day. She organized her children so this could be accomplished. She had a system by which they would take care of each other, and this was the root of Methodism. (In the beginning, what distinguished Methodists was their system). John and Charles, as little boys, just watched their mom. If she couldn’t find a room to retreat to, they watched her flip her apron up over her head and pray.

She made her own refuge in amongst the 10 children!

What mentoring...what modeling!

This reminded of something that Andrea, a dear sister-in-the-Lord told me

about the talith or prayer shawl that the Jewish men use as their refuge.




Prayer Closet
TALITH contains two Hebrew words; TAL meaning tent and ITH meaning little. Thus, you have LITTLE TENT. Each man had his own little tent. Six million Jews could not fit into the tent of meeting that was set up in the Old Testament. Therefore, what was given to them was their own private sanctuary where they could meet with God. Each man had one! His Prayer Shawl or Talith. They would pull it up over their head, forming a tent, where they would begin to chant and sing their Hebrew songs, and call upon God. It was intimate, private, and set apart from anyone else -- enabling them to totally focus upon God. This was their prayer closet!

Here is the link for more information regarding the talith.



All of this leads us to the FACT that God is our refuge, a very present help in time of

trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

The word "refuge" appears 93 times in 90 verses in the New International Version!!

W.O.W. ~ that should tell us something!

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." – Psalm 5:11

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." – Psalm 9:9

"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 18:2

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." – Psalm 18:30

"Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you." Psalm 25:20

"Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me." Psalm 31:2

"My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge." Psalm 62:7

You may see that the words rock and refuge go together quite often.

Why do you think this is?

The Hebrew word for rock is "tsuwr".

Two of its meanings are strength and strong.

When you need a refuge, you want something or Someone Who is strong.

You don't want some mammy pamby person who will not fight for you,

who will not defend you, who will not stand up for you.

You want a Rock to lean on...somewhere you feel safe.

(this would be a refuge/prayer closet!)

I invite your ideas on the rock/refuge connection.


I know that Jesus is portrayed as our Rock in the Old Testament,

especially in Exodus 17:6 ~


"'I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.' So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel."

This was the foreshadowing of Jesus being struck and beaten before his death

on the cross...

Any other ideas of why refuge and rock are so closely related?


Until the next post,


God is our refuge and God is our strength; a very present help in trouble,


Debbie G.

Protection 5 ~ Shield

Hello Everyone!

Our topic for our series on "Protection" this time, is....

*********SHIELD*********

Here is another Brooklyn Tabernacle video.

Yes, I know that we just had one last posting,

but as the famous baseball manager, Yogi Berra once said

"It's like deja-vu, all over again." (hehehe! :D )

The song is entitled "Thou Oh Lord".

It is based on Psalm 3:1-4, which has our beautiful word in it..."shield"...

Here are the words to view as you watch, if you want to.

^"1Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

²Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

³But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

⁴I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah." (Psalm 3:1-4, King James Version)

This word in the Bible, means a lot to me.

The Lord started to urge me in November 1991 to get into His Word

every day...

Up until then, I read my Bible, but I did not make it my

"first-thing-in-the-morning-focused-effort...what-would-I-miss-for-that-day?-

feeling..."

I KNEW without a shadow of doubt that God wanted me to commune with Him

as never before.

And sure enough, that next February 1992, my life was never the same.

God was protecting and preparing me.

What a Savior You Are! (as the song in my sidebar sings about)

During that time of living with the Bible...actually on occasions,

sleeping with the Bible by my side...

the word "Shield" "popped" out at me it seemed,

everywhere I read.

Duh...I finally got clued in (this was all new to me)

that God was trying to tell me something.

A puzzle, if you will, that I needed to meditate on.

Over the years, I have had the meaning of that word "unlayered"

to me. Unlayered, as you would cut open an onion.

This would happen to me, just when I needed that new knowledge.

Here are some of the things I have learned:

• The Lord is our Shield. He is holding up this shield when we are in battle to extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy when he is attacking. Darts of bitterness, darts of unforgiveness, darts of anger. -Ephesians 6:16

• The Lord is our Shield. He goes before us in our pathway of life. Whatever comes to us...goes through Him first!

• The Lord is our Shield. He is our Protector, our Armor-Bearer!

• The Lord is our Shield. He is very close to us, to be able to protect us.
  
  

The word "shield" occurs 51 times in 49 verses in the New International Version.

To view them all click on this link.

The verses start out with:

"After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.'" Genesis 15:1

And they end with:

"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
Ephesians 6:16

I encourage you to do a Bible Study on this wonderful word.

Take one Scripture per day, or however God leads you;

write it out, look up a commentary and then write down what it means

to you in your own words.

This is a suggestion; there are many different ways to study the Bible.

For more examples, please email me and I would be happy to talk

in more detail.

Here is a picture of a shield and a buckler:




Shields come in all shapes and sizes.

The above picture is the most common.

The round shield is a buckler.

It was used in hand-to-hand combat to ward off the blows of

an opponent's sword. It could also be used to hit the enemy as you would

use a club.

Below is a picture I found on the Web of a painting that a lady did

from a vision from the Lord.

I included her website address below, if you would like to see more of

her work.

Psalms 91:4

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” -Psalm 91:4

http://anointedcanvases.com

Also, in my research, I found that some versions of the Bible use the word

"rampart" instead of buckler in Psalm 91:4.

A rampart is a defensive wall of a castle or a walled city.

So you see, the same idea...a defensive wall between you and your enemy.

Here is a picture of a rampart:

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” -Psalm 91:4

The image suggests not only the thought of protection but those of fostering, downy warmth, peaceful proximity to a heart that throbs with parental love.

(author unknown)

From the perspective of the protected, God is warm and tender; from the vantage point of the attacker, God is as strong as steel.

From:

http://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-91-psalm-safety

W.O.W.....

I like that last statement...strong as steel!

That's what I am talkin' about!!

Please enjoy another wonderful CBN video of God's Divine Protection:

Dear Lord,

How can we even begin to thank You

for being our Protector?

Only in heaven will we know the full

extent of Your protection.

Yes, we have troubles and trials,

but You go in the pathway before us...

You are our Armor-Bearer,

You are our Shield!

Thanking Him today,

Debbie G.