LADIES BIBLE STUDY

Biblical ABC’s: O is for – O, Oh, O!

by Mrs. Rick Jackson

 

 

Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” As I look around the room this evening, knowing of each one and your testimony of having placed your trust in the Lord, that means that we are all blessed.  Therefore, the goal tonight is, “O taste and see that the LORD is good!”

 

 

Everyone is familiar with the hymn, Trust and Obey, right?  I was thinking about the words of that hymn when I was reflecting on these verses, and I thought it would be the perfect vessel to organize the themes of these verses into a unified message. Jeremiah 22:29 says, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.” Let’s “hear the Word of the LORD!”

 

I.            Trust & Obey

 

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey!

 

We sing this week after week, don’t we?  To find our “happiness,” our joy in serving Christ requires what? Well, according to the song, it requires trust and obedience.  Now, let’s read this same theme, but I am limiting our thoughts to verses that begin with, O, Oh!  And, just so you understand that I have done this for a reason, there are well over a thousand verses in our Bible with the words O or Oh within them, so I had to limit our choices in some way!

 

Deuteronomy 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

Psalm 25:2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 25:20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.

Psalm 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalm 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Psalm 115:9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psalm 115:10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

II.            Bible

 

Back to our song, verse one says:

 

When we walk with the Lord, In the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

          While we do His good-will, He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

 

Once again we are reminded of the importance of being in the Word! Once again, we cannot get away from our responsibility of reading, learning, being faithful to knowing the Lord, by knowing His Word.  Let’s see if we can find this truth in our “O” verses:

 

Psalm 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Psalm 71:17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Psalm 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

Psalm 119:97 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Isaiah 48:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

Micah 2:7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

III.            Praise      

 

Verse two of our song says:

                                               

Not a shadow can rise, Not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

          Not a doubt or a fear, Not a sigh nor a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

 

Now, our “O” verses do not specifically yield themselves to preventing doubts or fears in so many words, but as I was prayerfully considering them, I asked myself, what is it that enables us to know what the song writer is saying here?  How do we “trust and obey”?  How can we more faithfully trust that the Lord can take away those difficult hours that we all face?  By praising the great God that we have and thanking Him for what He has done for us!  So read with me ---

1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

Psalm 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 47:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

Psalm 51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Psalm 53:6 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Psalm 66:8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:

Psalm 67:4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

 

Psalm 74:21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

Psalm 90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Psalm 96:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

Psalm 98:1 A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

 

Psalm 105:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
Psalm 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

 

Psalm 108:1 A Song [or] Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

Psalm 117:1 O Praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
Psalm 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 118:29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

IV.            Service

 

We move on to verse three of our song:

Not a burden we bear, Not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

          Not a grief nor a loss, Not a frown or a cross,

But is blest if we trust and obey.

 

 

Here our hymnist discusses the joy and blessings of trusting the Lord in our service to Him.  Unfortunately, in our “O” verses, not a lot is said about our service, but much is said about the mighty works of our great God!  It stands to reason, though, that if we understand the strength of our great God, we will understand the thoughts of the songwriter, that if we “trust and obey,” He will RICHLY REPAY!

 

 

Deuteronomy 3:24 O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

1 Chronicles 17:19 O LORD, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

1 Chronicles 17:20 O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

 

Psalm 86:16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

Psalm 89:8 O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

Psalm 92:5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

Psalm 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Psalm 137:8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Psalm 140:7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

V.            Sacrifice 

 

Verse 4 of our song goes:

But we never can prove, The delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

          For the favor He shows, And the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

 

This verse speaks to sacrifice in service and the joy that follows.  This is a theme that is often spoken of by the psalmists.

Psalm 30:2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
Psalm 31:23 O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

Psalm 34:9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

Psalm 68:35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

Even the prophet Isaiah had this to say, in Isaiah 38:16: “O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.”

 

 

VI.            Fellowship

 

The last verse of our hymn speaks to continued fellowship with the Lord –

 

Then in fellowship sweet, We will sit at His feet,

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;

          What He says we will do, Where He sends we will go, ---

Never fear, only trust and obey.

 

Psalm 36:10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

Psalm 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Psalm 65:2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

Psalm 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psalm 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

 

This is our goal, isn’t it?  To be in obedience to His will, so that we can be in sweet harmony with the Lord and pleasing to Him?  Here are some interesting thoughts from Jeremiah and Lamentations ----

 

Jeremiah 10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Lamentations 3:59 O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

 

Here is what we need in order to gain sweet fellowship.  It brings my thoughts back to 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  We look into God’s Word, our beginning point this evening, where God judges and corrects our wrongdoings, we confess our sins, we can then have that sweet fellowship of which the hymnist speaks here, and then we can be available to accept God’s will, and go and do whatever that may be! Then we can say, as Paul did in Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”