To Surround

We started our study of the Hebrew letter Tet this week; which means To Surround. What I found interesting about the letter is how it is used with the letter Bet (a tent or a house) in the word womb. Together, the word picture tells us it is the house that surrounds life. What are you surrounding your life with?

-Raquel

Hebrew Word Pictures
by Dr. Frank T. Seekins

The letter Tet is used in the Hebrew words for: Belly-Womb, Trust, To Go Astray-To Seduce, Satan-Adversary, Good.

Psalm 119:65-72
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O LORD, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease,
But I delight in Your law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

Each of the verses in the ninth stanza of Psalm 119 starts with the letter Tet. Because the letter Tet means to surround, these eight verses tell us that when God teaches us discernment and knowledge we will be able to distinguish the good (verses 66, 67, 71) from the lies (verse 69) that surround us. If we know that God is good and does what is good, we will want to learn His statutes.

Call to Trust
by Olga Savitsky

Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband
does safely trust and confide in her.
-Proverbs 31:10

Call to trust...Call to deeper trust...
Lord, You are trustworthy. Lord, You are so
faithful, so true.
Make us like these sterling qualities in You.
Jesus, my husband of husbands,
with the Heart of Hearts,
True King of Hearts,
You deepen my desire to trust and confide
in You.
Oh, Prime Mover, the remover of carnality,
By strokes of pure originality
You are counseling me to ask that You
Cause me to so hold Your heart,
to so hold Your husband heart
That You no longer have to hide...
Show me Your inside.
I bask, I ask...I bask, I ask...
By Your holding me
You are molding me
Into the shape of things to come.
By grace through faith, lest I should boast,
I am standing under Your waterfall of eternity
I am understanding Your waterfall of co-eternity.
Yes, I glorify...You purify...
I magnify...You clarify.
Oh, miracle-working Lord, heart-changing God...
You, and You alone could change
my greedy, grabby hands
That hurry to pat myself on the back,
Into hands that could hold Your heart
Where You, Lord, can trust and confide.
Oh, heart-holding and beholding God,
Change my heart to pure and hands to clean.
That I may hold the Heart of Hearts.

The Fence (Part 2)

In the Chet stanza, we witness the Psalmist eagerly holding on to God's goodness. But all this was a matter of decision. Have we decided which side of the fence we belong to?

-Raquel

The Treasury of David
by Charles Spurgeon

Psalm 119:57-64
57 You are my portion, O LORD;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
58 I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
59 I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

In this section the Psalmist seems to take firm hold upon God himself; appropriating him ( Psalms 119:57 ), crying out for him ( Psalms 119:58 ), returning to him ( Psalms 119:59 ), solacing himself in him ( Psalms 119:61-62 ), associating with his people ( Psalms 119:63 ), and sighing for personal experience of his goodness ( Psalms 119:64 ). Note how the first verse of this octave is linked to the last of the former one, of which indeed it is an expanded repetition. "This I had because I kept thy precepts. Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words."

The Fence

We started our study of the Hebrew letter Chet this week; which means The Fence. Like a fence, we are surrounded by protection from things that may harm us. God's goodness is what protects us.

-Raquel

Hebrew Word Pictures
by Dr. Frank T. Seekins

The letter Chet is used in the Hebrew words for: Brother, Grace-Favor, Refuge, To Keep Silent, Companion.

Psalm 119:57-64
You are my portion, O LORD;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

Each of the verses in the eighth stanza of Psalm 119 starts with the letter Chet. Because the letter Chet means a fence, these eight verses tell us that God's favor, grace and Word are a fence that keeps us within and keeps our enemies out.

God of the Stand, Withstand, and Endure
by Olga Savitsky

God of the Stand, Withstand, and Endure
I go to You and You alone for spiritual strength
To go the whole length
Spiritual strength to go the whole length

God of the Stand, Withstand, and Endure
I pray that I can be one of those who pray and
faint not
I continue to whisper Your name, Jesus
Only to hear Your heart beat faster...and faster
I bow in the beauty of Your holiness...loving
Lord...merciful Master
As I worship You...my heart core is being
rearranged
I who once worshipped myself...am being
miraculously changed
As I in simplicity do my devotional deeds
I see the celestial solution to all my emotional
needs

God of the Stand, Withstand, and Endure
Cause me to voluntarily step out of the boat...into
Your river
Yes...inspire me to willingly leave the familiar
Yes...to enjoy the unfamiliar
Energize me to excitedly leave the known
Yes...to welcome the unknown
Yes...move me to lovingly leave the seen
And to see with the eye of faith
And to refuse to look back
Teach me to leap-of-faith
Teach me to leap-of-faith higher

Yes I lay down the magnetic pull of my comfort
zone
Forgive me that I love to be stuck

God of the Stand, Withstand, and Endure
Thank You for strength to go the whole length
Thank You that the joy of the Lord is my strength
I praise You God of the Joyful Stand, the Joyful
Withstand, the Joyful Endure
I recieve Your strength to go the whole length