Notified at Ninety-Nine

“He believed in the LORD...When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God… thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.  Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old?... And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed” (Genesis 15:6, 17:1-19).  “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my Help and my Deliverer” (Psalm 70:5).  “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians  12:9). 

When Abram’s age was ninety-nine,

God changed his name to Abraham,
For Christ, descending from his line,
Would bless the nations as God’s Lamb. 

As Abraham was on his face,

He laughed with worship, not with doubt.
Since God declared this was the case,
He trusted God to work it out.

He knew that God could not be wrong,

For Abraham had been assured,
Though he was weak, the Lord was strong,
And He would thus fulfill His Word. 

The Lord instructs us by this story

To trust whatever He has said
And in our weakness give Him glory
To magnify His strength instead.

The grace of God has met our need

To fit us for eternity,
And thus we may be sure indeed
That Christ is our Sufficiency.

O Lord, our Help and our Defender,

Our hope is found in You alone. 
The more You teach us to surrender,
The more You make Your power known. 

Though Abraham was very old,

His faith in You, Lord, didn’t waver.
He trusted all that You foretold,
And rested in Your proven favor.

Lord, thank You for this confidence

That prompts us now to go and tell
That You will be the strong Defense
Of all who trust in You as well.