​Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy a potter's earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, 2 and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.4 Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— 6 therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.7 And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds.9 And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’
10 “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. 12 Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah—all the houses on whose roofs offerings have been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled like the place of Topheth.’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the Lord's house and said to all the people: 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words.”
 
Meditation
God’s grace goes to great lengths for His people to both hear and see His word. Jesus left the throne of Heaven to reveal God’s word made flesh on earth. Those who receive Jesus in faith, believing the Word made flesh, discover the treasure of being children of God (John 1:1-14).
 
God calls Jeremiah to share His word in illustrative and revealing ways. The prophet was commanded to purchase a flask, a large clay jar to carry water or wine, and go to the city trash heap. Grabbing some elders before going, they left from the “potsherd gate,” a path littered with broken pieces of pots. The elders and priests were taken to a place to hear God’s message that symbolized their own destiny (11-12), a place of brokenness and rotting death. The illustrative revelation could not be clearer: Rejecting God’s word leads to ruin.
 
Jeremiah smashed the flask before the elders and priests, a visual message of their future if they continue to forget God and His word (10-13). Jeremiah then goes from the trash heap to the temple to pronounce God’s proclamation: Rejecting God and His word will lead to ruin!
 
Jeremiah’s courage points to Christ who, too, stood in the temple and found trouble. Religious people rejecting God’s word never want to receive God’s revelation. Out of love, Christ went from the temple to trash heap to offer the treasure of his love. Dying on Golgotha to give us grace reveals God’s treasure, the right to be called children of God!
 
 
Richly Dwelling
-Why does God communicate in such illustrative ways? What stands out to you from today’s reading? Why?
 
-Why does God go straight to the temple to take on religious leaders both in the old and new testaments? What does this say about God confronting religion that ultimately rejects Him and His word?
 
-How does this highlight God’s gracious invitation, to make us children of God when we believe? How can you live out of this secure identity as a child of God in Christ?
 
Key Verse
Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy a potter's earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, 2 and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 

As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
The Dedication of the Temple4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry; opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.
7 And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.
8 At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.
If My People Pray11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
19 “But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”
 
Meditation
A powerful example of answered prayer in my life concerned my sister, Katie. At age 16 the doctors told my mom Katie would not live through the night. We were led to pray. Miraculously Katie was better the next day and out of the hospital within days. God hears prayers! And God promises His ears will remain open to the prayers of His people (1 Peter 3:12).
 
God tells Solomon, “I have heard your prayer…” (12). Solomon’s prayer for the dedication of the temple (6:12-42) was answered with fire falling from heaven and glory filling the temple (1-3). God’s intimate love is demonstrated in hearing our prayers and revealing His pleasure. “God is good and His steadfast love endures forever!”
 
God promises to continue to hear the prayers of His people when we humble ourselves, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. “I will hear from Heaven and forgive…” says the Lord (14). God’s infinite rule from Heaven gives hope to our hearts knowing He will not abandon us.
 
God promises to hear our prayers but not always to answer them the way(s) we want Him to. I am grateful my sister lived another 17 years of life before Jesus took her home at age 33, but I hoped she would live longer. The point is not to get all we want from God in prayer! But to cast on Him all our cares, trusting His goodness and experiencing His faithfulness, even in the most painful places. God has heard… and God promises He will hear the prayers of His children.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Where have you experienced God hearing your prayers in the past? How does God’s past faithfulness fuel present faith in prayer?
 
-How does God’s engagement of King Solomon point to our greater King, Jesus, who demonstrates God’s goodness and faithfulness, inviting us to pray to the Father?
 
-What do you need to pray for today, believing God will hear your prayers? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
    on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
    their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
    and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways
    the Lord will lead away with evildoers!
    Peace be upon Israel!
 
Meditation
Mountains surround guests to Yosemite National Park, inspiration to all who see and invitation for adventurers who desire to climb or hike. El Capitan is the most majestic rock face in the company of mountains surrounding visitors. Standing in Yosemite you experience creation still speaks- Majestic is the name of the One who made the mountains!
 
Jerusalem, too, is surrounded by mountains. And pilgrims walking paths to celebrate feasts, festivals, and worship with sacrifices would be both inspired and infuriated by the terrain. Infuriated because the traveler must continue to ascend! But inspired because of how the mountains reveal the majesty of God.
 
Mt Zion cannot be moved- it will abide forever. So it is with those who trust in the Lord (1). As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people in the present, and every step moving forward for eternity (2). The difficult terrain fuels faith in the security provided by God’s majestic name!
 
Different paths are available to pilgrims, a path for wickedness (3) and a path for righteousness (4). The path of the wicked is crooked (5) while the path of the righteous leads to peace (5). Grace is the place the pilgrim’s path begins, experiencing God’s goodness to walk in goodness by trusting His name.
 
Those who trust in the Lord cannot be moved, like mountains speaking of God’s majesty. God’s faithfulness hems in all who trust in Him, behind and before (Psalm 139:5). God’s angels encamp around those who fear Him (Psalm 34:7). Trust in the Lord!
 
Richly Dwelling
-How does the majesty of mountains speak security in God’s steadfast love? Do you see how this would be true for the pilgrims and is true for you, too?
 
-Where is your trust? Are you secure?
 
-How can you trust more in the Lord, walking in His goodness and experiencing His grace?
 
Key Verse
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations,
    Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
    has done a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
    the crags of Sirion?
Do the mountain waters run dry,
    the cold flowing streams?
15 But my people have forgotten me;
    they make offerings to false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
    in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
    not the highway,
16 making their land a horror,
    a thing to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who passes by it is horrified
    and shakes his head.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them
    before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
    in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19 Hear me, O Lord,
    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
    to speak good for them,
    to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore deliver up their children to famine;
    give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless and widowed.
    May their men meet death by pestilence,
    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May a cry be heard from their houses,
    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to take me
    and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet you, O Lord, know
    all their plotting to kill me.
Forgive not their iniquity,
    nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
    deal with them in the time of your anger.
 
Meditation
Grace shapes the saints to trust God’s sovereignty in all of life, even in our greatest struggles. When Stephen was beaten for his faith, he was not frustrated with God. Stephen prayed for God to forgive those killing him (Acts 7:60) as Christ prayed for those who took His life (Luke 23:34). Love leads us to bless those who persecute.
 
Personally, I identify with Jeremiah’s attitude at the end of this chapter. Acknowledging God’s sovereignty, the prophet asks God NOT to forgive the sins of the people plotting to kill him (23). Grace alone covers the gap between bitterness from a burdensome call and blessing others in the midst of persecution, problems, and pain.
 
Jeremiah was taken to the potter’s house (1-4) to see a visual picture of his prophecy: God is the potter and can mold His people as He wishes (5-11). As God molded Adam from mud (Genesis 2:7) so He will shape His saints through His sovereign grace.
 
The point: For Israel to repent and return to Covenant relationship (11). But they followed their own plans (12), forgot their god (15), and made plots against Jeremiah (18). The rebellion of God’s people and their rejection of God’s prophet led Jeremiah to pray for bitter curses (19-23) rather than blessings.
 
When grace returns us to relationship we are awakened to hear Jesus’ teaching, to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-44). Grace was shown to us through Christ’s love, that while we were His enemies He died for us (Romans 5:8-10). God is sovereign and His grace shapes His saints for His service as it sustains us through the struggles.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you identify with Jeremiah’s bitter prayers?
 
-How does the revelation of God’s sovereignty give you strength? How does the reminder of God’s grace shape you and reframe your perspective on those who persecute you?
 
-Where do you need to acknowledge your rebellion, being an enemy of God in your heart and habits, and receive His grace SO THAT you can love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you?
 
Key Verse
 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 2 But I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 3 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 4 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying,5 ‘Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, and I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; 6 but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ 7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’10 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 And there I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits[a]long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, 14 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, 15 who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 16 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’ 17 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.
18 “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! 19 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, 20 that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 21 And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
22 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 23 then hear from heaven and act and judge your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
24 “If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to them and to their fathers.
26 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict[b] them, 27 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way[c] in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
28 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 29 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow and stretching out his hands toward this house, 30 then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,31 that they may fear you and walk in your ways all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.
32 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for the sake of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes and prays toward this house, 33 hear from heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.
34 “If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
36 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, 37 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 38 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,39 then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. 40 Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.
41 “And now arise, O Lord God, and go to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
    and let your saints rejoice in your goodness.
42 O Lord God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one!
    Remember your steadfast love for David your servant.”
 
Meditation
God will do what He promised because God is who He says He is. God’s faithfulness is our strength for today and hope for tomorrow.
 
Solomon celebrated God’s faithfulness after finishing the temple. The Lord “fulfilled what He promised” to David (4, 10). There is no God like our Covenant keeping God (14) who keeps what He declares (15), fulfills what He has spoken (15), and keeps what He has promised (16). God’s faithfulness is proof of His steadfast love and the foundation for our prayers and life in the land.
 
Solomon’s prayer of dedication demonstrates the design of Divine dependency through a series of “if… then” statements. “If people sin… then hear from heaven and act” (22-23). “If your people are defeated… then hear from Heaven” and restore them to the land (24-25). If there is drought …then hear from heaven and bring rain (26-27). If famine and sickness…. then hear from heaven and forgive (28-30). If a foreigner prayer (31-33), or if Israel goes into battle (34-35), and if we sin against you from our hearts (36-37), and if we repent (38), then hear from Heaven and be attentive from the temple (38-42). The pattern of Solomon’s prayer demonstrates the power of God’s proven and promised faithfulness. God hears from Heaven and acts in history.
 
 Jesus is the greater temple through which God restores His presence among us and proves His faithfulness. All of the fullness of God’s promises are “YES!” in Christ. Let us build our life on the foundation of God’s faithfulness in Christ!
 
Richly Dwelling
-Is God’s faithfulness the foundation of your life and labor? Why or why not?
 
-Do you trust God to do what He promises to do because He is who He says He is?
 
-How does the promise of the fullness of God’s faithfulness found in Christ provide strength for today and hope for tomorrow?
 
Key Verse
4 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side--
    let Israel now say--
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
    who has not given us
    as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
    from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.
 
Meditation
Isaac Watts’ classic hymn Our God, our help in ages past cultivates present hope through celebrating His help in storms, floods, and fights of this life. God’s sovereign grace wants to fortify your faith through this corporate song of survival.
 
After David was anointed king, he battled the Philistines. Trusting God’s promise to break enemy strongholds, David led Israel to victory and described God’s role as, “breaking through enemies before me like a breaking flood” (2 Samuel 5:20). God helps His people! And God’s help in the past fuels present hope.
 
Pilgrims sang this psalm ascending to Jerusalem for feasts, festivals, sacrifices, and service of worship. The lyrics shaped the singer to walk from God’s victory, the historic faithfulness of God’s sovereign grace. “If the Lord had not been on our side…” (1, 2) then the monsters would have swallowed us alive (3), floods would have swept us away (4), and the raging waters would have drowned us (5). Blessed be the Lord who has helped us escape (6-7)! “Our help is in the name of the Lord!” (8)
 
True hope comes from looking to the Maker and not things made. Remembering and reflecting on God’s rescue reinforces our faith, knowing our God who helped in ages past is our hope for years to come. “Under the shadow of His throne the saints will dwell secure. Sufficient is His arm alone and our defenses sure.” God has been faithful in the past. God will be faithful in the present. Blessed is the one whose hope is in the Lord.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you have difficulty celebrating how God has been faithful in the past? What is one area of God’s past faithfulness you can ponder?
 
-What aspects of the description of the Lord’s victory stand out to you? Why?
 
-How does celebrating the help of the Lord in the past fuel present hope? Where do you need hope? How can you apply God’s past faithfulness to fortify your faith?
 
Key Verse
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.