Shalom,

Psalm 77 is another one where the psalmist is tempted to despair over what is happening to the nation and the people, but he chooses to remember past victories and times of deliverance from God. Verses 11-12:

¹¹I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.

¹²I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.

That causes faith to rise and enables him to say this in verses 13-14:

¹³Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?

¹⁴You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.

Remember that HIS way is in the "sanctuary", the Hebrew word, qodesh", which means: holiness, separateness, set-apartness. That means that the way of God's deliverance is usually not going to be the way the world thinks it will be! That doesn't mean he won't use natural means, it simply means that God has a higher and better way of escape than the way that man can come up with. And God's ways ALWAYS point people to Jesus!

Romans 5:1-2 in the Amplified Bible is so powerful:

¹THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

²Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

I love that we are "justified", given the right to stand in the presence of God as though we had never done anything wrong, BECAUSE of our faith in what Jesus accomplished FOR US through His death, burial and resurrection! We CAN'T work for it, it is the free gift of God! (We'll see that tomorrow in Romans 6!) We ARE now in God's favor because of Jesus! Thank You, Jesus! Then we are told what our attitude "IN", not "for" tests, trials and tribulations should be in verses 3-8:

³Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

⁴And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

⁵Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

⁶While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly.

⁷Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.

⁸But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

We can rejoice in the midst of trials because we know that the God Who loves us so much that He gave His life for us "while we were still sinners" will He be even more inclined to deliver us now that we are His own. Of course He will! Count on it! Keep reading the rest of this chapter in different translations and you will begin to get a very clear picture of just what is involved in our salvation!

In Leviticus 24 we see more instructions from the Lord to Moses for the Israelites to observe. A key verse for why He had them do so many things in such an exact and continual way is verse 8:

⁸Every Sabbath day Aaron shall set the showbread in order before the Lord continually; it is on behalf of the Israelites, an everlasting covenant.

It was to remind them continually of the covenant that they had with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! If they would have reminded themselves DAILY of the covenant they had, they would not have turned on Moses and Aaron as often as they did. They also wouldn't have doubted that God would deliver them out of any and every situation! They didn't do it and continually fell! The same is true for us. Stay in the Word of God every day and remind yourself continually of all that He has provided for you in this Better Covenant, based on Better Promises! (Hebrews 8:6)

Leviticus 25 is very interesting! Do you think that if God's people under the New Covenant would have taken such care of their land and of other people the way He lays it out here, we might have seen more prosperity and blessings in THIS land? I think so! God's way and God's Word ALWAYS works!

Shalom in Him!