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We Preach at the Command of God!
Ezekiel 33:8-9: When I say unto the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Listen up, today, I take as my subject, that fine old hymn, Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.The first thing you will notice is the position of the commas; you are not asking The Almighty to praise your soul, you are telling your soul to praise Him!
Here we see which aspect of the Trinity the hymn addresses. The Lord does not require “Tribute” by way of a sacrifice (although He did do in The Old Testament. Realizing that it was a bad PR move to have the best of your flock bled to death on an altar, Jesus changed that.) so we are looking at God The Father here.
I hope this is a rhetorical question as the answer is “Everyone.” Jesus was ransomed by God to heal our souls, to restore us to a faith and then forgive us. The only thing (so very small) He asked was blind, unwavering obedience to Every Word of The Bible (KJV1611). What a deal!
Yes, we must never forget that God killed our fathers’ enemies because God knows that they were His Enemies too. Men, women, children suckling infants and the unborn souls; He ensured that their untimely death by His Hosts of War were not around to distress our fathers. Obviously, not everyone’s father was saved, shipwrecks, war, rough justice, earthquakes, volcanoes, disease, injury, pain, blindness, collapsing mines and buildings, wild animals, tidal waves, meteorites, drought, famine, flooding, etc., are all caused by Him to rid the world of those who sin or simply as an example to others
Yes, The Bible says God does not change, and despite liberal Christianity (a faith of the devil that does not deserve the name “Christianity”) God still hates numerous sinners. The “slow to chide” and “swift to bless” parts are a bit of a puzzle. We can only think that the former refers to plagues dealt our by a Merciful God that took a long time to kill people off and that the latter refers to a few Patriarchs, for whom God could not do enough. (Who knows, some True Christian somewhere could be the next Patriarch!) Again He also does not rescue all of us, but then He never has and, as this hymn says, He is “Glorious in His faithfulness!” (People like consistency!) so we should not expect this.
Who here cannot think of Job, who was spared? OK, God did kill off his children (who were probably sinners anyway) destroy his cattle and allow the greatest suffering on Job’s “feeble frame” but in the end, He bore Job in “His gentle hands.”
Here we see the reflection of the earlier reference to the unchanging Lord, He Who damns homersexyurls both in the Old and New Testament. The writer knows that death awaits us all and relies heavily on this to get that most important message across – “This world (though perfectly made by God) is rubbish and that Heaven (perfectly made by God) is the Paradise that awaits us." This is no 'pie in the sky'; here is a Christian’s faith, for in the Bible there is no detail about Heaven… although there’s plenty about Hell.
You see, we are simply unworthy – No, I mean it – big time unworthy; only the angels can help us praise Him – our greatest efforts are not enough. He wants more.
Now, I’m not at all sure what this bit means. Obviously neither the sun nor the moon is animate but the rest of it is clear enough: Everyone should praise Him!
Now, Listen up again! Are there any amongst you sinners, you vile worms, you unwashed and unworthy who would not accept the Love of Christ and become a True Christian™?
Ezekiel 33:8-9: When I say unto the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Listen up, today, I take as my subject, that fine old hymn, Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.The first thing you will notice is the position of the commas; you are not asking The Almighty to praise your soul, you are telling your soul to praise Him!
Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven;
To His feet Thy tribute bring!
To His feet Thy tribute bring!
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like me His praise should sing?
Who like me His praise should sing?
Praise Him! praise Him!
Praise the everlasting King!
Praise Him for His grace and favour,
To our fathers in distress!
Praise the everlasting King!
Praise Him for His grace and favour,
To our fathers in distress!
Praise Him still the same for ever,
Slow to chide, and swift to bless!
Praise Him! praise Him!
Glorious in His faithfulness!
Slow to chide, and swift to bless!
Praise Him! praise Him!
Glorious in His faithfulness!
Father-like, He tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame He knows.
In His hands He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes,
Well our feeble frame He knows.
In His hands He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes,
Praise Him! praise Him!
Widely as His mercy flows!
Frail as summer's flower we flourish:
Blows the wind, and it is gone.
But while mortals rise and perish,
God endures unchanging on.
Praise Him, Praise Him,
Praise the high eternal One!
Widely as His mercy flows!
Frail as summer's flower we flourish:
Blows the wind, and it is gone.
But while mortals rise and perish,
God endures unchanging on.
Praise Him, Praise Him,
Praise the high eternal One!
Angels, help us to adore Him;
Ye behold Him face to face:
Ye behold Him face to face:
Sun and moon, bow down before Him;
Dwellers all in time and space,
Praise Him! praise Him!
Praise with us the God of grace!
Dwellers all in time and space,
Praise Him! praise Him!
Praise with us the God of grace!
Now, Listen up again! Are there any amongst you sinners, you vile worms, you unwashed and unworthy who would not accept the Love of Christ and become a True Christian™?