Psalm 18 ~ I love you, O Lord, my strength

Lent is Preparation.

Overcoming Doubts.

Living the Promises of God with Peace.

Psalm 18

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God, I cried for help.
From his temple, he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—

32 the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.

36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you rescued me from the man of violence.

49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.




1250 B.C.

The site of ancient Jericho is visible today and covers 10 acres. (c 1250 B.C.)
{Reference - The Torah contains the number of (adult, male) Hebrews freed from Egypt, the descendants of the seventy sons and grandsons of Jacob who took up their residence in that country. Altogether, including Levites, the number given is 611,730.}
(Reference - The Temple of Jerusalem was 36 acres at the time of Jesus 30 A.D.)

The Canaanite population has been estimated at up to 3,000.
By Professor Kathleen Mary Kenyon, Oxford Don and Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford from 1962 to 1973. Leading Archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. Best known for her excavations of Jericho, called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century.

Excavations to Jericho ~
At the north end, a portion of the mud brick wall atop the stone retaining wall survived, demonstrating the city wall did not fall in this area. Nothing remains of the mud brick city wall at other points investigated, showing that it had collapsed everywhere else.

Remnants of the collapsed city wall were actually found still in place in three places at Jericho. According to the Bible, Rahab’s house was incorporated into the fortification system (Joshua 2:15). If the walls fell, how was her house spared? As you recall, the spies instructed Rahab to bring her family into her house and they would be rescued. When the Israelites stormed the city, Rahab and her family were saved as promised (Joshua 6:17, 22–23). At the north end of the tell of Jericho, archaeologists made some astounding discoveries that seem to relate to Rahab. A portion of that mud-brick wall was still standing to a height of 8 ft. What is more, there were houses built against the wall! It is quite possible that this is where Rahab’s house was located.





1000 B.C.

David had "Fellowship" with the Lord.

See the Shape of Jerusalem.

The First Fruits of David's Efforts.

The Census of David is said to have recorded 1,300,000 Israel males over twenty years of age, which would imply a population of over 5,000,000 of Israel. David attended to the Lord as his First Effort. David gave the Lord First Fruit of His Heart.


We have learned of battles in the middle of the night where troops turned on themselves and went home. We know of Biblical prophecies fulfilled. Mostly this is people hearing in faith and walking in faith. Like Moses with his hands held up high for the battle. 2 Samuel 5 has David listening to the wind to hear when God is with him. David built outside of the city walls - trusting God to protect him more than walls a troop can climb.







470 B.C.

Nehemiah's population was about 40,000 people willing to return from Babylon slavery after 70 years. 1.1 million perished as Jerusalem fell. This return effort was not first fruits and covered two different kings of Babylon encouraging the return - the Babylonian Kings wanted to rebuild God's Jerusalem Temple.

This is the Good King Darius Mosaic. The slaves are the Jews being returned to Judah, Jerusalem. Emperor Xerxes was also working on the return. Ezra writes of the supreme effort to make the people move as a team to build the Temple and the city wall.

Philippians 2:13
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him




Out of the Depths: A WWII Vet's Miracle of Survival
09-08-2014
Mark Martin

And that brings us to July 30, 1945.
A Japanese submarine spotted the Indianapolis in the Philippine sea and fired a spread of torpedoes.

Two hit their mark and in less than 15 minutes, the ship went down.

Around 900 of the nearly 1,200-man crew who survived the initial attack found themselves oil-soaked, many with injuries, and clinging to kapok life jackets in the shark-infested waters.

"I thought of mom and dad back home; I thought of six younger brothers, an older sister and a younger sister, and I thought of this certain brunette that said that she would wait for me," Harrell recalled. "And I told the Lord, 'I don't want to die; I want to live!'"

Harrell, who was 20 at the time, said he began to think of scriptures.

"'I'll never leave you nor forsake you,'" Harrell quoted from the Bible. "Seemingly that came to mind, no audible voice, but I knew that the Lord was speaking to me. 'Lord, You're speaking to my heart. I'm going to make it.' Well, I didn't know I'm going to be out there four and a half days."

Four and a half days of unbelievable horror. No food; no water; and yet surrounded by water in all directions, along with sharks.

He said shipmates, who not in their right mind either because they were injured or because they drank salt water, began to hallucinate.

"He leaves the group," Harrell said, referencing a shipmate. "And he gets out 50 to 75 yards, and you hear a blood-curdling scream, and you see that kapok go under. And then like a fish cork, then that kapok brings that body back up. But by now all the blood and more, more sharks, more fins, and they are kind of fighting over what was there."

Despite witnessing scenes like that, Harrell refused to give up hope.

He believes God directed him and several of his buddies to a crate of rotten potatoes. The "hearts" of the potatoes were still edible.

He also believes God sent a small rain cloud one day to provide desperately needed water.

"So what do you do? 'Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord! Thank You!' And that little rain cloud comes over; you get a few drops, maybe a few tablespoons full of water," Harrell explained.

Miraculous 'Angel'

The brutal conditions took their toll. The number of sailors and Marines dwindled down to a little more than 300.

Finally, a plane flew over the area low to the water -- a miracle because the pilot, Lt. Wilbur Gwinn, wasn't looking for the survivors. He didn't even know they were missing -- no one did.

"Lt. Gwinn goes aft; he opens the Bombay door, and in just a flash, he looks down at the ocean below, and what he saw was an oil slick," Harrell said.

Flying even lower, Gwinn, who they called "Angel," saw debris, sharks, and sharks attacking survivors.

He radioed for help, and eventually, 317 crew members of the USS Indianapolis were pulled from the water.

Harrell spent months in hospitals, recovering. After everything he went through, it's easy to see why Harrell is a decorated Marine. He was even awarded The Purple Heart.

A letter dated August 13, 1945, reads: "The Purple Heart is awarded by the medical officer in command to Edgar Alvin Harrell for wounds received in action against an enemy of the United States on July 30, 1945."

Out of the Depths

Harrell went on to marry Ola, the brunette who waited for him.

Only 36 survivors of the worst Navy disaster in the history of the United States, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, are still alive.

Harrell shares his story of God's providence at schools and churches. He calls it a ministry.

He and his son, David, also chronicled the unforgettable story in a new book, Out of the Depths.





"There's not a day that goes by, many, many times a day, I just look up and say, 'Thank, You Lord!'" Harrell exclaimed.