Sacrifice of Thanksgiving - "Todah"

 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but by Thy right hand and Thine arm and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst favor unto them. - Psalm 44:3

21st Century King James Version  (KJ21)

 The Message version of the same has it thus :

We didn't fight for this land;
      we didn't work for it—it was a gift!
   You gave it, smiling as you gave it,
      delighting as you gave it.

Lord God, my Abba, thank You for showing such favour upon us . How sweet of You to smile and delight in seeing us receiving Your favour. There is none like You my God. I come to You with a thankful heart, for You prefer as sacrifice a thank offering . In Psalm 50 : 14, it is written : 

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
    and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

and 50 :23 

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who orders his way rightly
    I will show the salvation of God!”

Lord, I promise to make this sacrifice of thanksgiving to You . I trust in You Lord. You take control of every situation I find myself in. I need not fear any danger or mishap, because Your Right Hand shelters me and mine whom You have given me.

Thank You Father, Thank You Jesus, thank You Holy Spirit,

I praise You Abba, I adore You Dad, I love You with my whole heart.

Come Holy Spirit, and dwell within our beings. 

Your Grace is sufficient for us, Lord.

Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. - Heb 13 :15.

...the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD: “‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the LORD.-  Jeremiah 33:11

Today's word -   " Todah" 

It is Hebrew for "thanksgiving," although it also connotes a confession of praise in addition to gratitude.

  Todah's Greek version is "eucharistia"

When someone's life was delivered from great danger or disease , it was Hebrew custom to offer a todah sacrifice.

For instance, David had the Levites lead the people in todah hymns, that is, psalms of thanksgiving  in1 Chron. 16:8-36.

At the todah celebration that brought the ark into Jerusalem, David gave the Levites a new mandate — their primary job was to "invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord" (1 Chron. 16:4).

One of the most important purposes of a todah meal was to remember the saving deeds of the Lord. Indeed, this is one of the functions of the todah psalms: to recount the mighty deeds of God (cf. Ps. 22:28). In the Eucharist, Christians give thanks for God's deliverance and remember how Jesus brought about the new exodus with His death and Resurrection. For Jesus had told them, "Do this in  remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). This act of remembrance is what the todah is all about — recalling in gratitude God's saving deeds. This leads us to one of the key fruits of a todah — or Eucharistic — spirituality: A deep sense of thankfulness leads to worship. Worship flows from gratitude; cut off from gratitude the will to worship withers.
The todah teaches us to trust God with a grateful heart. By "remembering" Jesus' gift of Himself upon the Cross our love for God is rekindled. Such "remembrance," which is the purpose of todah, leads to deeper trust. As the psalmist says, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God" (Ps. 20:7). (6)

Ref : http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0124.html

God's hesed and emet - A hendiadys

Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 106 : 1 

 Dear God Almighty, my loving Father, I thank You for Your great Mercy that You shower upon us Your children. Thank You for the great Favours You give us, thus making us Your favourites. Your Mercy endures forever, this I believe. Your Faithfulness knows no bounds. I love to sing to You dear Abba, the song

     The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

      His Mercies never come to an end

      They are new every morning

      Great is Your faithfulness.... 

I trust in You Lord, I trust in Your covenant Love, I trust Your Mercy, because You alone are the Holy One, You alone are God, only You can stand by me when in the chaos of the world, I stand confused and weary. You hold my hand and help me trudge this desert sands in my sojourn  in this transient world. You understand my helplessness, You care for me when I stagger desperately . Yes Lord, in my desperation , I trust in You, in my desolation, I trust in Your Mercy which gives me the Hope I need. Thank You Lord for loving me, though I 'm a sinner. 

 Your unfailing Hesed is my  strength, Abba! Jeremiah 31 :3 says the truth about Your Hesed:

³ The LORD appeared to us in the past,saying:

   “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
   I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. 

Today's word  : "hendiadys". 

This means that  two words are put together together to express a single idea.It is a figure of speech used for emphasis. The basic idea is to use two words linked by a conjunction to express a single complex idea.
 For instance , Hesed is found together with the word emet, which is often translated as "truth" or "faithfulness".

 So, in the phrase  "faithful love" or "steadfast love", the two words are put together in a parallel construction as in 

     For great is his steadfast love toward us,
     and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Psa 117:2.

                 Or

   You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
    as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.

 Mica 7: 20

Dear Abba, Show Favor to Your people

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14).

For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory. - 2 Cor. 1:20

Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In Him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting His Yes within us. By His Spirit He has stamped us with His eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what He is destined to complete.( The Message)

My prayer for today : Psalm 106 :4

Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them.
  The Message version:
^4-5 Remember me, God, when you enjoy your people;
      include me when you save them;
   I want to see your chosen succeed,
      celebrate with your celebrating nation,
      join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!

Hesed

A wonderful serendipity occurred yesterday as I read the Bible Passage in Isaiah 63 :7 - 9 .

"I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

 ⁸For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.

 ⁹In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old."

King James version

 The Message version interprets the verse 7 like this :

" I'll make a list of God's gracious dealings,
   all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
   his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
   love extravagant.

And the Lectio Divina edition of "The Catholic Prayer Bible" has mentioned about "the most notable the great gift expressed in the profound Hebrew word hesed ( divine faithfulness)" as fitting comment to these verses.

There is so much to ponder about this word hesed. I'll write about that later. Today let me make my affirmation:

      I cover myself with the shield of hesed around me

        I have the abundance of hesed

     I invoke the hesed of God El Shaddai over me

His faithfulness(hesed) is a shield and buckler for me (Psalm 91)

Praise the Lord for His hesed

We are God's children

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Lord, I thank You that Your favor surrounds me like a shield as You have promised in Psalm 5  : 12

Today I make this affirmation:

God s favor goes before me; `

God s favor opens doors for me that no man can shut;

God s favor overtakes me wherever I go!

And here is St.Patric's Lorica :

The Breastplate of Saint Patrick

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism,
through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial,
through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.
I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim
in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels,
in hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets,
in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors,
in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through the strength of Heaven:
light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire,
speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea,
stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.
I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me,
God's host to secure me:
against snares of devils, against temptations of vices,
against inclinations of nature, against everyone who
shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.
I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils):
against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of heathenry,
against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry,
against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul.
Christ to protect me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.