Posted on 03/07/2009 11:13:54 PM PST by Blogger
Jeremiah 2
1Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
4Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.
10For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
11Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
15The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
20For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
22For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
23How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.
27Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
28But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
29Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
35Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them..
We were called out and considered holiness to You in that when our nation was founded it was dedicated to You by men that, while not perfect, had a respect for You. Look where we are today. Just like Israel, we have gone far from You. Though we have shaken off oppression time and again, we have prostituted ourselves and our heritage and have defiled this land.
Our pastors and priests do not follow You. Rather, they have embraced human wisdom and reason and look at the Bible as just a practical book to be put aside all the great practical books. Few and far between are the true people of God.
We have exchanged Your glory for gods of our own making. Money. Choice. Power. Entertainment. Sports. Leisure. Hedonism. For this our nation should take Your advice and be horribly afraid - yet it will not.
Rather, those who have polluted this land will wallow in the filth they have created. They will thumb their noses at You and click their tongues and claim You have no ownership over this nation. They will know only too late how wrong they were - on the day we are judged.
On that day, they will wish for a prayer thread - but there will be none. They will go to a church to pray, but You will not hear. They will cry out for mercy, and there will be none, and they will weep and mourn at the calamity which they have created. Yet, sadly, most will never repent.
Lord, I know that day is coming. I feel it is soon. I shudder for my nation if she does not turn around, if she remains unrepentant. Lord, I do not want to see America destroyed. But as we waste the days waiting on man to fix the problems man himself is creating - probably deliberately - we squander our moment to repent and the avenging angel draws closer and closer.
Will there be another chance for America? Will there be a chance to repent of our bloody crimes of abortion, sexual perversion, and rampant violence? Will there be a chance to grind our gods into dust and turn to the only God of the universe? Will America live to carry forth Your banner of light again? Only You know.
What I know is this, You still have a remnant. There are those who still recognize Your holiness. There are those who recognize our lack of it. There are those who know that You are the only way this nation survives another day. And these people are praying to You about the nation, not only on this thread but around the world.
Hear us, Lord. Forgive our land. Heal it. Remove the stench of sin from its shores. Lift the curse on us, and keep us from falling utterly. Lord, turn the heart of this nation to You, from the White House to the School House and may this nation truly be glad it is once again one nation under God.
For it is in the blessed name of Christ the King that I pray these things, Amen.
prayers needed
Thank you for this prayer... Jeremiah couldn't have said it better. God hear our prayers in Jesus name.
People will see this, and go on about their political business, but Jesus is the only power who can turn the hearts of vandals like 0bama, and stop the damage they are doing.
NATIONAL MORALITY
“Father, I know that the spirit of the world creeps into the Body of Christ almost unawares sometimes, and before we know it, we can so easily be led astray and caught up in worldly actions, at times so subtly we don't even recognize what has happened to us.
“So in the Name of Jesus, we pray that You would raise up a voice in our nation that would rally the Body of Christ and cause us to become the standard bearers to such a degree that we would profoundly affect the morality of our nation.”
Even in the midst of this eclipse of what is pleasing in Your sight, hide not Your face, O Lord, from Your people who cry out day and night. By the Power of the Holy Spirit, You have allowed Your children to see beyond the darkness, and we are frightened at the evil and depravity that is upon us. Pierce the hearts of the unbelieving, for You are our only Hope. Open the eyes of Your beloved Israel and bring peace to Your beloved City, Jerusalem, that all the nations might yet be blessed.
Hear our prayer, O Lord ..
Hear our prayer, O Lord ..
Incline thine ear to us
And grant us thy peace. Amen ..
Amen.
O merciful God, when a prayer or plea is made by any of Your people—each one aware of his afflictions and pains, spreading out his hands toward You—then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since You know his heart (for You alone know the hearts of men), so that they will fear You and walk in Your ways all the time they live in the land You gave our fathers (2Chron 6:29-31) I thank You for the assurance that You will not despise a broken and contrite heart. Indeed, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. (Ps 51:17) In Jesus name, Amen
AMEN
27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors. 32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. 37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. (Lev. 26:30-39)
O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Thy Word is excellent, and Thou art the overflowing fountain of all goodness and truth.
We read these words written for the Old Testament church and are struck in our hearts by their applicability to us. Indeed, we too are chased by the sound of a shaken leaf. Indeed, we are watchful as we read the signs of the times. It is Thy judgment upon this land that we fear.
May we meditate this Lord's Day diligently upon Thy Word and upon the things above, and not concern ourselves with the problems here on earth. We know that Thou dost control the latter, and we desire hearts for Thy Law. O Lord! Grant us the zeal of the Psalmist in Psalm 119, who loves Thy law and meditates upon Thy statues. It is not Thy law that can save, but instead can drive us like a schoolmaster to Thy Gospel, showing us our great need for the precious blood of the Lamb of God, who did keep Thy law perfectly in thought, word, and deed, and who died the death and endured the full penalty for sin - the infinite penalty! - in time and history.
Open our eyes to how we can apply this law in accordance with the summary: Love God, and love thy neighbor. We plead that Thou mayest kindle such a desire and longing for Thy will in the hearts of Thy people. We long for true, Spirit-wrought revival in the land, such as we have not seen in over 200 years, beginning with us and spreading like wildfire.
Forgive us for our sins. Thine eye seest every secret thing, and we have each of us sinned. We who are but as worms in the dust are ashamed of our sins both of commission and omission. We hate our sin and our old fleshly nature, and desire that Thou wouldst root it out. We earnestly desire the Holy Ghost to dwell in us, that we would not grieve Him, but would instead be led of Him.
In Jesus name, Who is our hope, our desire, our only comfort in life and death,
Amen.
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