Hem Me In LORD!

Psalm 139:5
You hem me in—behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me.

I was desperately seeking the Lord’s guidance yesterday, the Lord’s hand to lead me and show me the way that I should go. So I was praying:

Lord hem me in, thank You that You go before and behind me to prepare the way. Lord lay Your hand upon me, guide me, HEM ME IN!

I was then prompted to look up Psalm 139:5, the verse this prayer comes from. The Lord really encouraged me! Maybe if you need encouragement or hope today this will lift you up also. Here is where I was led.

To be hemmed in means to be enclosed, encircled, surrounded on all sides.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and for evermore. –Ps 125:2

Who does the Lord hem in, enclose and surround?
–His people, those who trust and abide in Him. The righteous, the upright.

Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. –Ps 125:1

But you will not go out in haste, nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. –Isa 52:12

Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. –Isa 58:8

Righteousness goes before the redeemed
When the Lord moves His people forward
The Lord and His glory follow behind as a rear guard.

It’s Lord’s glory cloud, His presence that separates, distinguishes His people. -Ex 33:16

How do we bring the glory of the Lord in behind us hemming us in?

O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. … (then) … angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. –Ps 34:3, 7

Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him! –Ps 64:10

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Psalm 125
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 forever.

3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.

5 As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways,
The LORD shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel!

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The Lord is moving His people forward
To move forward His people must move with His glory cloud.
It’s His glory, His presence
… that will be the dividing line between the wheat and the tares.
This will be done by His mighty hand,
… for He has laid His mighty hand upon His people
… His praising people
… a dwelling place, a home for His presence.

Isaiah 57:15    For this is what the high and lofty One says—
He who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

 

 

 

 

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http://www.capitalcommunity.ca/pdf/The%20Rearguard%20Of%20The%20Redeemed.pdf

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/ka.holland?p=148

Tags: hem me in, Psalm 125, Psalm 139:5, rear guard