Encouragement for Your Heart from the Bible ~ How Firm A Foundation!

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? 

"Fear not, I am with you, o be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

E'en down to old age all my people shall prove my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn, like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake!"

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Psalm 37:28  "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off."

I wanted to share something beautiful that thrills my heart every day, and hope you find encouragement in it as well. :) This hymn, "How Firm a Foundation," is one of my favorites and one I have sung many times. But I recently learned something that gives this song a greater depth of meaning. The final words of the last verse, "I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake!" come from the last half of Hebrews 13:5: "...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." If you count the negations in the song, there are 5. Never, no, never, no never. However, in the Scripture verse, there are only 2 negations: never and nor. This is where the interesting part comes in. 😊 I'm learning koine Greek, the language the New Testament was written in, and this is what Hebrews 13:5 actually says in Greek: οὐ μή σε ἀνω, οὐδ' οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω. "I never, ever would detach you from me, nor would I ever, ever abandon you." There are actually 5 negations in this text: οὐ, μή, οὐδ', οὐ, μή. Isn't that so neat?! This is such a comforting and lovely thought, that God will never temporarily walk away from us nor will he ever permanently abandon us.  

 "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;"  ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, oh, leave me not alone, still support and comfort me. 
All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing. 

Thou, O Christ, art all I want; more than all in thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick and lead the blind. 
Just and holy is thy name, I am all unrighteousness; 
Vile and full of sin I am, thou art full of truth and grace. 

Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within. 
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of thee; 
Spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity. 

~~ from hymn "Jesus, Lover of my Soul"

I hope you have an awesomely wonderful week, and happy valentine's day! 😀

love in Christ,

Ashley

 "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of they wings." ~ Psalm 36:7

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." ~ 1 John 4:9