Song: A Christmas Alleluia, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Songs: Kind, Lord Have Mercy, Trust In You; A Few More Thoughts on Trust; Psalms 51, 54

In some very real capacity, trust is also a choice. And even as much as I have fully trusted in Christ, He's yet bringing me to a conscious submission...in the midst of life, unfolding.

So, regardless the inconsistencies in my heart, I do and will choose to trust Him. Regardless. And, furthermore, I will trust Him to bring my heart into further and more complete submission to the truth of who He is, unto a full, conscious, abiding and unwavering and unreserved trust in Him. Period.

He can do this, and as much as it very likely is a lifelong work (as with all of sanctification, apparently), then still...ever having experienced the one moment of abject, total surrender, abject obeisance, and wholehearted giving over to the truth of who He is...He has yet been working that out in me, from the inside, out.

That moment was something else--an eternity in an instant.

But still to be walked into life. Still to bring thoughts into subjection. Still to bring the temptations of the flesh into subjection. Still to bring my heart of flesh into awareness, awakening to His love increasingly. Even unto loving others more truly, as in the light of awareness of truth.

So, I have trusted Him, I do trust Him, and even as much as He's allowed me to see the reticence that's yet lurking, I have and will and do give Him my heart completely, to fashion as He will.

And when doubts and fears arise, I trust He will bring them into continually more total defeat in the light of the truth of who He is. And unto all, as He would have it. In all spheres.

Because the work's not mine, even as much as He's called me to participate. Same as with us all.

So I do and will choose to trust, even being assailed and plagued by doubts and distresses and scoffing and fears and chaos and horrors and tragedies on all sides. Doubts, fears, distresses, persecutions, horrors will be what they may, but they will come into subjection to the truth of God's sovereignty and His good will toward those who love Him--by His Spirit, by His will, by His power overcome.

Increasingly.

For He is good and His mercies endure forever.

...

Psalm 51English Standard Version (ESV)

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy on me,[a] O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 56English Standard Version (ESV)

In God I Trust

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam[a] of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

5 All day long they injure my cause;[b]
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

8 You have kept count of my tossings;[c]
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that[d] God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Contemplating Isaiah 54: Isaiah 62 and Isaiah 40

1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
            And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
            Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
            And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

      2The nations will see your righteousness,
            And all kings your glory;
            And you will be called by a new name
            Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.

      3You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
            And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

      4It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
            Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
            But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
            And your land, “Married”;
            For the LORD delights in you,
            And to Him your land will be married.

      5For as a young man marries a virgin,
            So your sons will marry you;
            And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
            So your God will rejoice over you.

      6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
            All day and all night they will never keep silent.
            You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;

      7And give Him no rest until He establishes
            And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

      8The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm,
            “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies;
            Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”

      9But those who garner it will eat it and praise the LORD;
            And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

      10Go through, go through the gates,
            Clear the way for the people;
            Build up, build up the highway,
            Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.

      11Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
            Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes;
            Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”

      12And they will call them, “The holy people,
            The redeemed of the LORD”;
            And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

...also, much a counterpoint to Isaiah 40, which thought culminates:

  28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
            The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
            Does not become weary or tired.
            His understanding is inscrutable.

      29He gives strength to the weary,
            And to him who lacks might He increases power.

      30Though youths grow weary and tired,
            And vigorous young men stumble badly,

      31Yet those who wait for the LORD
            Will gain new strength;
            They will mount up with wings like eagles,
            They will run and not get tired,
            They will walk and not become weary.

Things He Has Said About Waiting, Salvation, and His Faithfulness...and a Song: Everlasting God

Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

Isaiah 50:7
For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.
Isaiah 51:7
"Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings.
Isaiah 54:14
"In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; And from terror, for it will not come near you.
Isaiah 61:7
Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs.


Psalm 25:21
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.
Psalm 31:17
Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
Psalm 34:5
They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed.
Psalm 37:9
For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 71:1
In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed.


Isaiah 25:9
And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."
Isaiah 26:8
Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.
Isaiah 29:22
Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;

Isaiah 49:22
Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
Isaiah 49:23
"Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.
Isaiah 49:25
Surely, thus says the LORD, "Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons.

Romans 9:33
as it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame."


Romans 10:10
For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

Romans 10:11
It is just as the Scripture says: "Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame."

1 Peter 2:6
For it stands in Scripture: "See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame."

Isaiah 41:9-14

 9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
            And called from its remotest parts
            And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
            I have chosen you and not rejected you.

      10‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
            Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
            I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
            Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

      11“Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
            Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

      12“You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
            Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

      13“For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
            Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

      14“Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
            I will help you,” declares the LORD, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 54

1“Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;
            Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;
            For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
            Than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD.

      2“Enlarge the place of your tent;
            Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;
            Lengthen your cords
            And strengthen your pegs.

      3“For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.
            And your descendants will possess nations
            And will resettle the desolate cities.

      4“Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
            And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
            But you will forget the shame of your youth,
            And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

      5“For your husband is your Maker,
            Whose name is the LORD of hosts;
            And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
            Who is called the God of all the earth.

      6“For the LORD has called you,
            Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
            Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
            Says your God.

      7“For a brief moment I forsook you,
            But with great compassion I will gather you.

      8“In an outburst of anger
            I hid My face from you for a moment,
            But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”
            Says the LORD your Redeemer.

      9“For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
            When I swore that the waters of Noah
            Would not flood the earth again;
            So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
            Nor will I rebuke you.

      10“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
            But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
            And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
            Says the LORD who has compassion on you.

      11“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
            Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
            And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.

      12“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
            And your gates of crystal,
            And your entire wall of precious stones.

      13“All your sons will be taught of the LORD;
            And the well-being of your sons will be great.

      14“In righteousness you will be established;
            You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
            And from terror, for it will not come near you.

      15“If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.
            Whoever assails you will fall because of you.

      16“Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals
            And brings out a weapon for its work;
            And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

      17“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
            And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
            This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
            And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.