BLESSINGS FROM ZION

PSALM 133
Blessed Unity of the People of God
A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

EXODUS 29:1-9
1“And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 
2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 
3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.
4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. 
5 Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. 
6 You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 
7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 
8 Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them.
9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

JOHN 17:20-21
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

PSALM 134
Praising the LORD In His House at Night
A Song of Ascents.

1 Behold, bless the LORD,
All you servants of the LORD,
Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the LORD.
3 The LORD who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!

A PASSION FOR GOD'S PRESENCE

PSALM 132:1-10
1 LORD, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the LORD,
aAnd vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the LORD,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it gin the fields of the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.

EXODUS 25:21-22
21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and nin the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
22 And othere I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

1 SAMUEL 7:1
1 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and cconsecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

2 SAMUEL 6:1-15
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 
2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. 
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.
5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 
8 And David became angry because of the LORD’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?”
10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

2 SAMUEL 6:1-15 cont…
12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.
13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 
14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

1 CHRONICLES 15:11-15
11 And David called for Zadok and hAbiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
12 He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.
13 For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him 3about the proper order.”
14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. 
15 And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.

PSALM 132:12
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”

PSALM 132:17-18
17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
tI will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will uclothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”

MY HOPE IS IN THE LORD

Psalm 130
1 A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.
3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

COLOSSIANS 2:13-15
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

PROTECTOR OF THE OPPRESSED

Psalm 129
1 A Song of Ascents. “Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up,” Let Israel now say,
2 “Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 “The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The LORD is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward;
6 Let them be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Or the binder of sheaves his bosom;
8 Nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD.”

Psalm 5:8-12
8 O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me.
9 There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Exodus 23:4-5
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

Leviticus 19:16-18
16 ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Proverbs 24:17-18
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

A FRUITFUL VINE

ECCLESIATES 1:2
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

PSALM 127:1-2
1 A Song of Ascents, of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

JOHN 5:17
17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

JOHN 15:4-5
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

LUKE 11:27-28
27 While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

JOHN 13:14-17
14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

ROMANS 10:12
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

MATTHEW 5:4
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

PSALM 128:1-4
1 A Song of Ascents. How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.
2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.
3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.
4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD.

PSALM 128:6
6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

GENESIS 1:27-28
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

GENESIS 15:5
5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

GENESIS 17:6
6 “I have made you exceedingly fruitful,
will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

Matthew 28:19
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 ,“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

John 15:16
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.