Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Thy sea is great, our boats are small

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When I was a teen-ager, I saw a plaque or poster with a stylized painting of a boat on the sea with the saying, “O Lord, Thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.” That saying resonated with me on many levels. Last week my pastor quoted part of a poem with a similar saying as a recurring line. I searched online for it and found it was a hymn from Henry J. van Dyke in 1922.

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O Maker of the mighty deep
Whereon our vessels fare,
Above our life’s adventure keep
Thy faithful watch and care.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

We know not where the secret tides
Will help us or delay,
Nor where the lurking tempest hides,
Nor where the fogs are gray.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

When outward bound we boldly sail
And leave the friendly shore,
Let not our heart of courage fail
Until the voyage is o’er.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

When homeward bound we gladly turn,
O bring us safely there,
Where harbor lights of friendship burn
And peace is in the air.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

Beyond the circle of the sea,
When voyaging is past,
We seek our final port in Thee;
O bring us home at last.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

(Photo courtesy of the stock.xchng.) 

An exercise in Daily Light

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I’ve mentioned Daily Light on the Daily Path a number of times — even this week on my blogiversary post. 🙂 I first saw reference to it in missionary biographies, Amy Carmichael’s and others.

An entry the other day was such an excellent example that I wanted to share it here.

The July 26 morning entry contains these verses:

By faith Abraham, . . . called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. Heb. 11:8.

He shall choose our inheritance for us. Ps. 47:4–He led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. Deut. 32:10-12.

I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. Isa. 48:17. –Who teacheth like him? Job 36:22.

We walk by faith, not by sight. II Cor. 5:7. –Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Heb. 13:14. –Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. I Peter 2:11. –Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. Micah 2:10.

Now, at first glance or after just a cursory read, I might end up thinking, “Yes, we’re supposed to trust the Lord’s leading” and go on my merry way. But after reading through these verses thoughtfully, I began to see different aspects of the Lord’s leading. When He calls, we need to obey by faith. He cares intimately about us and doesn’t just send us on our way, but He bears us. There is no other teacher like Him. The ultimate destination of His leading is heaven. Since we’re just sojourning here, we shouldn’t get distracted with or caught up in fleshly lusts which war against the soul or make camp and seek rest where we’re not supposed to. That was a blessing to me.

I have to admit my husband and oldest son don’t really like this layout. They would rather read verses in context. I agree this doesn’t take the place of reading the Bible through or studying a passage in context, and you do have to be careful about stringing different verses together. But overall I have found the verses to be compiled with much thought and care. If you think of it as a mini and not exhaustive Bible study on a certain topic each day, perhaps that helps. As I’ve said, I use this usually to begin my devotional time, to mentally change gears from whatever else I was thinking about to begin meditating on God’s Word. Sundays and very busy days, like when we have company in town, this may be all I do. Many are the days that this little devotional has given me much food for thought for the rest of the day.

One of my favorite listings is for the morning of April 10, and for this one I am going to leave the references on the bottom as it is arranged in my book plus the web site.

B EHOLD, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.–Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

I am a sinful man, O Lord.–Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair.

I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.–Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

When I would do good, evil is present with me.–Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.–Ye are complete in him.–Perfect in Christ Jesus.

Ye are washed, . . . ye are sanctified, . . . ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.–That ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

CANT. 1. 5. Ps. 51. 5.–Eze. 16. 14.
Lu. 5. 8.–Ca. 4. 1. Job 42. 6.–Ca. 4. 7.
Ro. 7. 21. Mat. 9. 2. Ro. 7. 18.–
Col. 2. 10; 1. 28. 1 Co. 6. 11. 1 Pe. 2. 9.

Faith isn’t arrogance

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I was reading an online news article about the death of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, and someone in the comments section called it the height of arrogance that she said she was going straight to heaven.

I can’t speak for Tammy Faye — I don’t know much about her other than general knowledge from the news over the years. But it isn’t arrogance to confidently declare that one is going to heaven if one’s confidence is in Christ.

I John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (emphasis mine).

How miserable it would be to go through life not knowing that!

Of course, if someone believed that getting to heaven was based on one’s good works outweighing the bad or trying to “do the best I can,” then it might indeed sound arrogant to say confidently that one is going to heaven, because that confidence would be based on thinking he or she was a pretty good person. But it would be worse than arrogant: it would dead wrong.

Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Salvation is based in dependence on what Christ did.

I Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

I John 5:11-12: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

Does He know you?

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I like to start off my devotional reading in the morning with Daily Light on the Daily Path. The verses for this morning had to do with the blessing of being known by the Lord.

He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. John 10:3.

The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. II Timothy 2:19.

The LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1:6.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:16.

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. Nahum 1:7.

But He doesn’t know everyone in that sense.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

Does He know you?

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3.

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Philippians 3:8-10.

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. I John 5:20.

Scriptural reasons for suffering

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One of the most perplexing and troubling questions people deal with is “Why is there suffering in the world?” — or, more often, “Why am I suffering right now?” There have been whole books written on the subject. Among the best I have found are When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada, Rose From Brier by Amy Carmichael, and A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot.

In the back Elisabeth Elliot’s book she has an appendix titled “A Summary of Reasons for Suffering” which I want to reproduce here. These verses do not deal so much with how to respond Scripturally to suffering, though some touch on that: that will have to be the subject of another post. These are just several of the reasons we find in Scripture for why God allows suffering. I wish I could print out all the related passages here, but it would make this post exceptionally long. I did try to link to most of them so you could just click on the reference to read the passage.

For the LORD will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. Lamentations 3:31-33

We may group God’s reasons [for allowing suffering] into four categories. The list of references is by no means exhaustive.

1) We suffer for our own sake:

That we may learn who God is — Ps. 46:1, 10; Dan. 4:24-37; Job
That we may learn to trust — II Cor. 1:8-9
That we may learn to obey — Ps. 119: 67, 71
Discipline is a proof of the Father’s love and of the validity of our sonship — Heb. 12: 5-11
It is the condition of our discipleship — Acts 14:22; Luke 14:26-27, 33
It is required of soldiers — II Tim. 2:3-4
We are being “pruned” that we may bear fruit — John 15:2
That we may be shaped into the image of Christ — Rom. 8:29
To qualify us to be fellow-heirs with Christ — Romans 8:17 (I don’t know if I would have used the word “qualify” there — it is certainly not meant in a salvation-obtaining way.)
To qualify us for the kingdom of God — II Thess. 1:4-5 (Same herewith the word “qualify.” These verses isn’t saying that once we’ve suffered then we can go to heaven)
To qualify us to reign with Christ — II Tim. 2:12
That our faith may be strengthened — James 1:3; II Thess. 1:4-5; Acts 14:22
That our faith may be tested and refined — Isaiah 43:2; Dn. 11:35; Mal. 3:2; I Cor. 3:13; I Pet. 1:7
That we may reach spiritual maturity — James 1:4
Power comes to its full strength in weakness — II Cor. 12:9
To produce in us endurance character, hope — Romans 5:3-4
To produce in us joy and generosity — II Cor. 8:2

2) We suffer for the sake of God’s people:

That they may obtain salvation — II Tim. 2:10
To give them courage — Phil. 1:14
That because of death working in us, life may work in them — II Cor. 4:12; Gal. 4:13; I John 3:16
That grace may extend to more — II Cor.4:15
That our generosity may bless others — II Cor. 8:2

3) We suffer for the world’s sake:

That it may be shown what love and obedience mean — Job; Jn. 14:31; Mt. 27:40-43
That the life of Jesus may be visible in our ordinary human flesh — II Cor. 4:10

4) We suffer for Christ’s sake:

That we may be identified with Him in His crucifixion — Ga. 2:20
Suffering is the corollary of faith — Ps. 44:22; Acts 9:16 and 14:22; II Tim. 3:12; Jn. 15: 18-21; I Thess. 1:6 and 3:4
That we may share His suffering — I Pt. 4:12-13; Phil. 1:29, 2:17, and 3:8, 10; Col. 1:24; II Tim. 1:8; Heb. 13:13
That we may share His glory — Romans 8:17-18; Heb. 2:9-10; II Cor. 4:17.

There are a few I didn’t see in her list:

Deut. 8:2-3: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

To comfort others: II Cor 1: 3-7.

That we might know His grace is sufficient in our weakness: II Cor 12:7-10.

To spare us from a greater trial He knows would be too much for us: Exodus 13:17-18.

For our own foolishness.  There are many verses in Proverbs about the results of foolish behavior.

To show people that what they’re trusting in is not sufficient. One of the reasons God caused the events in Exodus was to get people’s attention and to show that their gods were no gods, that He alone was God. He did get their attention, and there are signs some believed. Exodus 18:5-11; Exodus 14:18; 14:31; 11:9.

To bring to repentance: In some of the calamities God will cause in the time frame Revelation tells us of are designed to get people’s attention, for He says often in that book, “Though I sent this and did that, yet you still did not repent,” indicating that that was His purpose, or at least one purpose, behind the events.

There are instances of natural disaster as judgment in Scripture (being without rain 3 years in Elijah’s time), but not every natural event is judgmental (just as sometimes individual illnesses are judgmental — Asa being diseased in his feet, Miriam being turned leprous, but not every illness is judgmental for that person [i.e., the man born blind in John 9] except in the sense that evil happens because sin is in the world).

That God’s work may be shown: John 9:1-7

“When all you have is Christ you find that Christ is all you need.” I don’t remember who said that or something like it, but I do know that times in my life where I have felt the rug pulled out from under me, so to speak, are times when I came to know by experience that Christ truly was sufficient for every need. Spurgeon has a wonderful devotional here on Hebrews 12:27: “that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”

Sorrow teaches our hearts things that could not be learned otherwise. Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 says: “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.  Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

We live in a world affected by sin: Though I can’t think of one single passage that states this, there are several places that indicate that suffering came into the world when sin did and sin, sorrow, sickness, etc., will be eliminated for believers when they get to heaven. Rev. 21:4

Another thought is that God does not view death as we do. This was one thing that helped my son when he was troubled about why God let natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina happen. Death is in God’s hands, whether it is the death of an individual or hundreds of people, whether it happens in a car crash or an illness or a natural disaster. And, for the Christian, God looks at death differently than we do. On His side of it, He is ushering us into His Presence, and nothing could be better. To the lost and to the saved as well, these things can be a wake-up call — we all have a time limit, it is not guaranteed that we will live a certain number of years, and we need to be ready to meet eternity at any moment.

We have to accept, though, that we may never know why God allows certain particular things to happen. There’s no record that Job ever knew of the conversations between God and Satan about him during his lifetime. But as I mentioned earlier, we can cling to what we do know of God’s goodness and character, rest in the fact that He will bring good out of it, and trust that He will provide grace and strength.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Shadow(s)

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Theme: Shadow(s) | Become a Photo Hunter | View Blogroll

Wow, this was a hard one! I didn’t have time to look, but I couldn’t think of any pictures we had that had shadows, and the time I thought about taking a picture outside at home, it was overcast or the sun was too far down. I tried taking some of Jesse doing hand shadows. At first I was disappointed because I couldn’t get the right balance of focus and light. but when I downloaded them and experimented a little bit, some of them came out at least well enough to make out. 🙂

Gorilla:

Gorilla shadow puppet

Bird:

Bird hand shadow

Rabbit:

Bunny shadow puppet

For this one, I set up some of Jesse’s Heroscape figures. The picture didn’t look like it came out at all until I fiddled with the light settings after I downloaded them, and voila, there they were! It’s a little grainy, but it’s kinda cool.

Tiny warriors' shadow

Visit TNChick’s place here for more photos on this theme.

Updated to add:

I was thinking of this poem earlier in connection with this theme, but then forgot about it when posting at first. Amy Carmichael was a missionary in India for most of her adult life. The inspiration for this poem came as a result of the heat in India and the refreshing coolness to be found in the shadow, plus the story of the Israelites being led by the pillow of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day in the book of Exodus. This poem would look nice with a picture of a nice shady place, which I don’t have. 🙂 But there are several pictures of such shade on other photo hunters’ entries for today.

I Follow Thee

Shadow and coolness, Lord,
Art Thou to me;
Cloud of my soul, lead on,
I follow Thee.
What though the hot winds blow,
Fierce heat beats up below?
Fountains of water flow —
Praise, praise to Thee.

Clearness and glory, Lord,
Art Thou to me;
Light of my soul, lead on,
I follow Thee.
All through the moonless night,
Making its darkness bright,
Thou art my heavenly Light —
Praise, praise to Thee.

Shadow and shine art Thou,
Dear Lord, to me;
Pillar of cloud and fire,
I follow Thee.
What though the way be long,
In Thee my heart is strong,
Thou art my joy, my song —
Praise, praise to Thee.

Why I love Jesus

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Irene at The Green Greek tagged me for a meme to list 5 reasons why I love Jesus. Thanks, Irene!

1. I love Jesus because He loves me.

I John 4:19: We love him, because he first loved us.

2. I love Him because He has answered my prayers.

Psalm 116:1: I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

3. I love Him because He gave His life to save me.

Romans 5:8-9: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

4. I love Him because He is God.

Colossians 2:9: For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

5. I love Him because, even though He is fully God, because He became a man He understands and sympathizes with my weakness and temptations.

Hebrews 2: 17-18: Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour [aid, help]them that are tempted.

Can I add a few more? 🙂

6. I love Him because in Him we have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

I Corinthians 1:30: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

7. I love Him because in Him I have redemption.

Romans 3: 24-25: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God…

8. I love Him because He is the way, the truth, and the life, and through Him we can come to the Father.

John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

9. I love Him because there is no condemnation to those who are in Him.

Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

10. I love Him because nothing can separate us from His love.

Romans 8:38-39: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

11. I love Him because He causes us to triumph.
II Corinthians 2:14: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

12. I love Him because in Him all things are made new.

II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

13. I love Him because through Him we are reconciled to God.

II Corinthians 5:18: And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.

Ephesians 2:13: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

14. I love Him because he is my peace.

Ephesians 2:14: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.

15. I love Him because by faith in Him I became a child of God.

Galatians 3:26: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

There are multitudes more reasons, but I think I’ll stop there. And since I have thirteen plus listed here, I think I’ll make a Thursday Thirteen of this post. 🙂

If you’d like to do this meme, too, let me know in the comments.

Though everything goes wrong…

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Sometimes life throws people for a loop. Even Christians. And I think maybe for Christians the hardest part is that we thought we had figured out how God was going to handle it. We pray, sure that we know what would best glorify the Lord in a certain situation — and then nothing happens like we planned. And, worse, not only is the prayer seemingly unanswered, but disaster strikes, resulting in confusion, pain, and loss.

A couple I once knew were on deputation for the mission field when their young son was stricken with leukemia. Not only did they have to deal with the heartbreak of a seriously ill child, but when there was no miraculous healing, no improvement from the treatments, and trial upon trial rolled in on them, they had to rethink their whole life’s work, wondering if they had been mistaken to think God wanted them on the mission field in the first place. One of the things they said that stayed with me was, “God isn’t who we thought He was.” They were shaken, not just in their circumstances, but to the core of their faith.

These folks hung on in faith, though shaken. But I have known people who, when wounded or dismayed by the events of life, turn on the Lord like a wounded animal might snap at the hand of one trying to help.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the little book of Habakkuk, only 3 chapters long tucked in the minor prophets. He starts out his prayer by saying, “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” Then he registers his complaint with the Lord about how things are going. The answer he gets certainly wasn’t what he was expecting: not only is the Lord not going to relieve Habakkuk’s (and Israel’s) problems just yet, but He reveals something worse is about to happen. The Chaldeans are coming as a judgment upon Israel. Habakkuk argues back to the Lord, that, no, this can’t be! One of the things God says in response to Habakkuk is, “the righteous shall live by his faith” (2:4b). All of chapter 3 is a prayer of Habakkuk in response to what God has told him, and he ends it this way:

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Though everything is going wrong, I will take joy in the God of my salvation, He is my strength.

Now, those who know me, don’t worry — I am not facing any disasters or faith-shaking situations at the moment. I have in the past, and I am sure I likely will again in the future. Anyone who lives for any length of time will. It would take too long and be too tedious to trace the train of thought that led to this post, but I’ll just say that I know several people going through various degrees of trials right now, and I have seen various responses. The last thing anyone needs is one of the miserable comforters like Job had. There have been whole books written on the subject of the trials of life that I’m sure I can’t add to or condense down to a single blog post. Grief, confusion, pain — those are all normal responses. In many of the Psalms David pour out all of those things to the Lord. But it is just on my heart to encourage anyone reading this who is going through one of life’s trying times in this way: cling to the Lord. Cling to what you know of Him. Encourage yourself in His Word. Hang on for dear life. Charles Spurgeon in the June 22 entry of Morning and Evening puts it like this:

“That those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
Hebrews 12:27

We have many things in our possession at the present moment which can be shaken, and it ill becomes a Christian man to set much store by them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things. Yet, we have certain “things which cannot be shaken,” and I invite you this evening to think of them, that if the things which can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken, which will remain. Whatever your losses have been, or may be, you enjoy present salvation. You are standing at the foot of his cross, trusting alone in the merit of Jesus’ precious blood, and no rise or fall of the markets can interfere with your salvation in him; no breaking of banks, no failures and bankruptcies can touch that. Then you are a child of God this evening. God is your Father. No change of circumstances can ever rob you of that. Although by losses brought to poverty, and stripped bare, you can say, “He is my Father still. In my Father’s house are many mansions; therefore will I not be troubled.” You have another permanent blessing, namely, the love of Jesus Christ. He who is God and Man loves you with all the strength of his affectionate nature—nothing can affect that. The fig tree may not blossom, and the flocks may cease from the field, it matters not to the man who can sing, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.” Our best portion and richest heritage we cannot lose. Whatever troubles come, let us play the man; let us show that we are not such little children as to be cast down by what may happen in this poor fleeting state of time. Our country is Immanuel’s land, our hope is above the sky, and therefore, calm as the summer’s ocean; we will see the wreck of everything earthborn, and yet rejoice in the God of our salvation.