Unless otherwise indicated, the collection of scriptures found in Food for Thought are quoted from the Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (The Old Testament) pub. by, the Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1988; and the Jewish New Testament, translated by David H. Stern, pub. by Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD, 1994.

~ Meditations ~
~ From the Word of God ~
(Meditations are meant to be
pondered carefully.)

"Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who follow the teaching of the LORD (YHVH).
(Psalms 119:1)

For:
"...If you banish the yoke (lawlessness) from your midst,
The menacing hand (Extending the finger), and evil speech,
And you offer your compassion (bread) to the hungry
And satisfy the famished creature--
Then shall your light shine in darkness,
And your gloom shall be like noonday.
The LORD (YHVH) will guide you always;
He will slake your thirst in parched places
And give strength to your bones.
You shall be like a watered garden,
Like a spring whose waters do not fail.
(Isaiah 58:9-11)

So:
"Seek the LORD (YHVH) while He can be found,
Call to Him while He is near.
Let the wicked give up his ways.
The sinful man his plans:
Let him turn back to the LORD (YHVH),
And He will pardon him;
To our God,
For he freely forgives.
For My plans are not your plans
Nor are my ways your ways - declares the LORD (YHVH).
But as the heavens are high above the earth.
So are My ways high above your ways
And My plans above your plans.
For as the rain or snow drops from heaven
And returns not there,
But soaks the earth
And makes it bring forth vegetation,
Yielding seed for sowing and bread for eating,
(Lit. "seed for the sower and bread for the eater")
So is the word that issues from My mouth:
It does not come back to Me unfulfilled,
But performs what I purpose,
Achieves what I sent it to do."
(Isaiah 55:6-11)

Now:
"...Hearken, and you shall be revived.
And I will make with you an ever lasting covenant.
The enduring loyalty promised to David."
(Isaiah 55:3)

"For behold! I am creating
A new heaven and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered
They shall never come to mind.
Be glad, then, and rejoice forever
In what I am creating.
For I shall create Jerusalem as a joy,
And her people as a delight;
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem
And delight in her people.
Never again shall be heard there
The sounds of weeping and wailing.
No more shall there be an infant or graybeard
Who does not live out his days...
They shall build houses and dwell in them.
They shall plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit...
For the days of My people shall be
As long as the days of a tree,
My chosen ones shall outlive (Lit. wear out)
The work of their hands. ...they shall be a people blessed by the LORD (YHVH),
And their offspring shall remain with them.
Before they pray, I will answer;
While they are still speaking, I will respond."
(Isaiah 65:17-24)

For:
"Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD:
My servants shall eat...
My servants shall drink...
My servants shall rejoice...
My servants shall shout in gladness..."
(And they) "...shall be given a different name
(i.e., a name to be used in blessing).
For whoever blesses himself in the land
Shall bless himself by the true God..."
(Isaiah 65.13-16)

"For as the new heaven and the new earth
Which I will make
Shall endure by My will - declares the LORD (YHVH)--
So shall your seed and your name endure.
And new moon after new moon.
And sabbath after sabbath,
All flesh shall come to worship Me
--said the LORD (YHVH)
(Isaiah 66:22-23)

And:
"When the LORD restores the fortunes of Zion...
our mouths shall be filled with laughter,
our tongues, with songs of joy.
Then shall they say among the nations.
‘The LORD (YHVH) has done great things for them!’
The LORD (YHVH) will do great things for us
and we shall rejoice."
(Psalms 126:1-3)

Yes:
"the LORD (YHVH) loves the righteous;
The LORD (YHVH) watches over the stranger"
And: "He gives courage to the orphan and widow..."
(Psalms 146:8-9)

So, let us:
"Sing to the LORD (YHVH) a song of praise.
chant a hymn (of praise) to our God.
who covers the heavens with clouds.
provides rain for the earth,
makes mountains put forth grass;
who gives the beasts their food,
to the raven’s brood what they cry for."

For:
"He does not prize the strength of horses,
nor value the fleetness of man;
but the LORD (YHVH) values those who fear Him,
those who depend on His faithful care."
(Psalms 147:7-1 1)

"All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD.
for they have heard the words You spoke."
(Psalms 138:4-5)

That:
"Those who trust in Me (You) shall inherit the land
And possess My (Your) sacred mount."
(Isaiah 57:13)

For You YHVH are:
"...gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness."
(Psalms 145:8)

Therefore:
"Let not the foreigner say,
Who has attached himself to the LORD (YHVH),
‘The LORD (YHVH) will keep me apart from His people’;
And let not the eunuch say,
‘I am a withered tree.’
For thus said the LORD (YHVH).
‘As for the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,
Who have chosen what I desire
And hold fast to My covenant-
I will give them, in My House
And within My walls,
A monument and a name
Better than sons or daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name
Which shall not perish.
As for the foreigners
Who attach themselves to the LORD (YHVH).
To minister to Him,
And to love the name of the LORD (YHVH),
To be His servants--
All who keep the sabbath and do not profane it,
And who hold fast to My covenant--
I will bring them to My sacred mount
And let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
...For My House shall be called
A house of prayer for all peoples.’"
And:
"...‘I will gather still more to those already gathered.’"
(Isaiah 56:3-8)

For:
"If you refrain from trampling the sabbath.
From pursuing your affairs on My holy day;
If you call the sabbath ‘delight,’
The LORD’s (YHVH’s) holy day ‘honored’;
And if you honor it and go not your ways
Nor look to your affairs, nor strike bargains--
Then you can seek the favor of the LORD (YHVH).
I will set you astride the heights of the earth,
And let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob--
For the mouth of the LORD (YHVH) has spoken."
(Isaiah 58:13-14)

And:
    "When ... you return to the LORD (YHVH) your God, and you and your children heed His command with all your heart and soul, just as I enjoin upon you this day, then the LORD (YHVH) your God will restore your fortunes and take you back in love. He will bring you together again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the LORD (YHVH) your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the LORD (YHVH) your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and lie will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.
    "Then the LORD (YHVH) your God will open up your heart and the hearts of your offspring to love the LORD (YHVH) your God with all your heart and soul, in order that you may live.
    "And the LORD (YHVH) your God will grant you abounding prosperity in all your undertakings, in the issue of your womb, the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the LORD (YHVH) will again delight in your well-being, as He did in that of your fathers, since you will be heeding the LORD (YHVH) your God and keeping His commandments and laws that are recorded in this book of the Teaching--once you return to the LORD (YHVH) your God with all your heart and soul."
(Deut. 30:1-6, 9-10)

So:
    "...Choose life.. by loving the LORD your God, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the LORD swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them."
(Deut. 30:19-20)

For:
"Happy is the man who does this.
The man who holds fast to it:
Who keeps the sabbath and does not profane it,
and stays his hand from doing any evil."
(Isaiah 56:2)

Now:
"May the LORD bless you from Zion;
    may you share the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life,
    and live to see your children’s children.
May all be well with Israel!"
(Psalms 128:1-6)

Shalom,

SAW