PT-1 "God Never Sleeps and More" (Psalm 134:1-3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/6/2012 9:25:39 AM

 

My Worship Time                                         Focus: PT-1  God Never Sleeps and More

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Psalm 134:1-3

 

            Message of the verses:  We will begin today’s SD by looking at several introductions to Psalm 134 by different Bible Commentators.

 

            “An exhortation to bless the Lord:  We must stir up ourselves to give glory to God, and encourage ourselves to hope for mercy and grace from him. It is an excellent plan to fill up all our spare minutes with pious meditations, and prayers and praises. No time would then be a burden, nor should we murder our hours by trifling conversation and vain amusements, or by carnal indulgences. We need desire no more to make us happy, than to be blessed of the Lord. We ought to beg spiritual blessings, not only for ourselves, but for others; not only, The Lord bless me, but, The Lord bless thee; thus testifying our belief that there is enough for others as well as for us, and showing our good will to others.”  (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary) 

 

            “We have now reached the last of the Gradual Psalms. The Pilgrims are going home, and are singing the last song in their Psalter. They leave early in the morning, before the day has fully commenced, for the journey is long for many of them.  While yet the night lingers they are on the move. As soon as they are outside the gates they see the guards upon the temple wall, and the lamps shining from the windows of the chambers which surround the sanctuary; therefore, moved by the sight, they chant a farewell to the perpetual attendants upon the holy shrine. Their parting exhortation arouses the priests to pronounce upon them a blessing out of the holy place: this benediction is contained in the third verse. The priests as good as say, ‘You have desired us to bless the Lord, and now we pray the Lord to bless you.’”  

“The Psalm teaches us to pray for those who are continually ministering before the Lord, and it invites all ministers to pronounce benedictions upon their loving and prayerful people.”

 

“The last of the ‘Songs of Ascents’ series is quite brief, but it deals with a vast subject:  worshiping the Lord and sharing His blessings with others.  It is a short psalm –-117 is the shortest—but it deals with a subject that could fill volumes.  The psalm closes the collection with a benediction and leads into a series of psalm that emphasize praising the Lord.  The inferences we draw from this psalm ought to encourage us in our own pilgrim journey and make us a blessing to others.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe).

 

A God Who Never Sleeps (v.1):  “1 A Song of Ascents:  Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD, Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!”

 

            This is the last of the “Ascent Psalms,” and it could be seen as the weary travelers are finally entering the city of Jerusalem from their long journey or it could be seen as they are about to leave and return to their homes and have a desire to look around the city one last time, and as they do they see that there are even choirs singing in the night at the temple, and that the watchman are guarding the gates of the city.  The story of Elijah gives us some insight into the fact that our Lord never sleeps or rests, for while Elijah was confronting the prophets of Baal he teases them by stating that perhaps Baal was tired and needed a nap.  Psalm 121:3-4 states, “3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”  This is so good to know for there are times when we awake in the middle of the night and then have trouble going back to sleep and it is during this time that we can talk to our Lord.  It seems that in my life I have had the best conversations with the Lord in the wee hours of the morning.  I have gotten to the point to where if I awake and cannot go back to sleep that I will ask the Lord what it is that He wants me to hear from Him, and take the time to listen to that still small voice.

 

A Worship That Never Ends (v.2):  “2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD.”

 

            When we look back at the life of David we see that he had set up choirs in the temple to continually worship the Lord. “Now these are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free from other service; for they were engaged in their work day and night.” (1Chron. 9:33)  “They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening.”  (1Chron.23:30)  “It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night.”  (Psalm 92:1-2)  Some examples of this happening to people can be seen in the Scriptures.  “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”  (Acts 16:25)  This verse speaks of true worship in my way of describing it.  Let me try to explain.  Worship is 24/7/365 and not just when we are doing devotions or attending a Bible Study, or attending a church or Sunday school service.  We are worshiping the Lord in everything we do so we must remember to be doing things that please the Lord all of the time, even when we are asleep.  There are times when we are asleep that we have bad dreams, and when this happens we are to remember before we go to bed to ask the Lord to even be with us when we dream so it will glorify the Lord.  Paul and Silas were able to sing songs in worship to the Lord even after being beaten and put into a jail because of how they had continually been worshiping the Lord, for what was in them was coming out of them in this difficult time.

            Dr. Wiersbe has written a book entitled “Real Worship,” a book that is a great read to help us understand more about worship.  He writes the following from his section here by stating, “The greatest responsibility and highest privilege of individual believers and of churches is to worship God, for everything we are and do flows out of worship.  Yet today, worship is often trivialized into cheap, clever entertainment, and the sanctuary has become a theater… True worshipers lift ‘clean hands and a pure heart’ to the Lord (24:4; James 4:8), for the Lord looks on the heart.  We will worship God for all eternity (Rev. 4-5), so we had better start learning now.”

 

A Blessing That Never Stops (V.3):  May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.

 

            Let’s begin this section by looking at Numbers 6:22-27, “22 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23  "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ’Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24  The LORD bless you, and keep you; 25  The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26  The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ 27 “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.’”  It is important to know that the pronoun “you” is singular.  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “For blessings of God is for each of us personally.”  It is singular in this passage in Numbers and also in verse three of Psalm 134.  I think that this is a very important point to remember for in it we see that God desires to bless each of us individually, think about the God who created all things that have been created, who desires to bless us, each of us.

            When we realize that God desires to bless us we have the responsibility to bless others, to pass the blessings on to others.  God told Abraham that in him all the world would be blessed, and it truly has been when we look at the nation of Israel, for that is where the Word of God came through, and also where the Lord Jesus Christ was born into and through Him all the world has been blessed.  It all started with a 100 year old man and his 90 year old wife. 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary from this psalm:  “If God never sleeps and our worship never ends, then the blessing will not stop.  Like the precious gift that Mary of Bethany gave to Jesus, the fragrance of the blessing will reach around the world (Mark. 14:1-9).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There is a hymn that goes like this that goes along with this SD. 

 

Make Me a Blessing

(1) Out in the high-ways and by-ways of life,

Many are weary and sad;

Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,

Making the sorrowing glad.

CHORUS:

Make me a blessing, Make me a blessing --

Out of my life May Jesus shine;

Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,

Make me a blessing to someone today.

(2) Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,

Tell of His power to forgive;

Others will trust Him if only you prove

True, every moment you live.

(3) Give as 'twas given to you in your need,

Love as the Master loved you;

Be to the helpless a helper indeed,

Unto your mission be true.”

      The story behind this song is as follows:  “Make Me A Blessing

George Shuler and Ira Wilson were roommates at Moody Bible Institute in 1924.

At the Institute, they combined their talents and gave the world a beautiful song of consecration, “Make Me A Blessing.” Wilson wrote the lyrics and Shuler the music.

At first the song was rejected by music publishers, so Shuler had one thousand copies printed to distribute on his own.

One fell into the hands of George Dibble, an outstanding singer who was at that time music director for the International Sunday School Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Dibble asked for permission to use the song and it was granted. Soon people everywhere were singing the song, and publishers wanted to distribute copies.

Between the time Ira Wilson wrote the lyrics and the time the song began to be so well known, Wilson apparently forgot that he was the author!

Until he died, he never remembered that he had written these famous words.

—Adapted from Lindsay Terry

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Being a blessing to others is my step of faith for today.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-3

            1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD.  2 Lord, hear my voice!  Let you ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

11/6/2012 10:48:01 AM

 

 

 

Pt. 3 Psalm 133 (Ps. 133:3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/3/2012 9:36:00 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Psalm 133 PT-3

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Psalm 133:3

 

            Message of the verses:  We want to conclude the 133^rd Psalm in Today’s SD by looking at the last aspect of the Holy Spirit that is described in this short three verse psalm.  We recently looked at being born of the Spirit and then being anointed by the Spirit and today we will look at being refreshed by the Spirit.

 

            We Are Refreshed by the Spirit (v. 3):  “3 It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-life forever.”

 

            "Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the herb.  (Deut. 32:2)

 

            It is because the nation of Israel was primarily an agricultural people that we see many stories about agricultural that reveal spiritual truth in the pages of the Bible, and this is one of them.  When we see from Deuteronomy 32:2 the phrase “My speech distill as the dew” we can see that dew symbolizes the life-giving Word of God.

 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “How often we need the refreshment of the Holy Spirit that comes silently but bountifully, like the dew upon the grass!  When things are ‘dry,’ they begin to wither and fall apart, but when the dew comes, it brings new life and things hold together.”  It has been said of travelers that the dew in the Holy Land is at times like a hard rain, and this brings much refreshment to the dry land, refreshment not unlike the Holy Spirit brings to believers today and all throughout the age of the Church. 

 

            Psalm 133:3b has the word “there” in it as the psalmist says “From there the LORD commanded the blessing-life forever.”  Dr. Wiersbe states that the “there” probably refers to two things.  “(1) Zion and Jerusalem, for it is there God commanded His Blessing (132:13-18; Lev. 25:21; Deut. 28:8), for ‘salvation is of the Jews’ (John 4:22); and (2) where there is unity among His people (v.1).  The Holy Spirit is grieved by the sins that bring division (Eph. 5:25-32).  Both images—the oil and the dew—remind us that unity is not something that we ‘work up’ but that God sends down.  When we get to the heavenly Zion (Heb. 12:18-29), there we will enjoy perfect unity ‘life forevermore.’”   This is what we are to strive for while on planet earth, for that is what pleases the Lord.  “Will You not Yourself revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?”  (Psalm 85:6) 

 

            When I was a very young believer I heard a statement that went something like this, “To live above with the saints we love, Oh that will be glory, but to live below with the saints we know, well that’s another story.”  As believers in Jesus Christ we must remember that we have been born of the Spirit, have been anointed by the Spirit and we can be refreshed by the Spirit. 

 

“I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.”  (Hosea 14:5)  “’For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.”  (Zech. 8:12)

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Is it not just like God to bring me to a passage that I was in great need to study because of things that have been going on in my life.  I certainly need the refreshment of the Holy Spirit like the plants need the refreshment from the dew and the Spirit of God is the Person in the trinity to bring that about in my life.  I praise the Lord for this.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to learn contentment.  To continue to have the desire to have my life transformed by the renewing of my mind through the power of the Word of God (Heb. 4:12).  To pray that the Holy Spirit will bring refreshment to my soul as the dew refreshes the plants and the grass in a dry land.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-2

 

            1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD.  2 Lord, hear my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to my supplications.

 

11/3/2012 10:34:59 AM

PT-2 "Ps. 133:2"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/2/2012 10:46:56 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Psalm 133 PT-2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Psalm 133:2

 

            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will continue looking at Psalm 133, a psalm of only three verses.  Dr. Wiersbe breaks this psalm into three parts that all have something to do with the Holy Spirit.

 

            We Are anointed by the Spirit (v.2):  “2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.”

 

            Let us begin with looking at some verses that will show us that oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

 

            “1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”  (Isaiah 61:1-3) (This is repeated in Luke 4:17-19)

 

The fourth chapter of the book of Zechariah speaks of oil and anointing of God’s Spirit.

 

When the high priest was being anointed to that position there was special oil that was prepared for this anointing as seen in the book of Exodus 30:22-33)   In his commentary on the book of Exodus Dr. Wiersbe writes the following about these verses in Exodus:  “This special oil (Ex. 30:22-33) was used only to anoint the priests and the tabernacle and it furnishings.  In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed; it was a symbol that God had granted them the Holy Spirit for power and service (Luke 4:17-19; Isa. 61:1-3).  Moses poured the oil on his brother’s head, which meant it ran down his beard and therefore bathed all the stones on the breastplate.  What a beautiful picture of unity in the Lord (Psalm 133:2) ‘Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!’ (Numbers 11:29)

“Those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have received an anointing of the Spirit of God (1John 2:20; 27; 2Cor. 1:21-22).  John’s emphasis is on the teaching ministry of the Spirit in guiding the believer into the truth of the Word of God.  Paul’s emphasis is on encouragement and stability: we have been anointed and sealed by the Spirit, and the Spirit is the ‘down payment’ of future glory.  If God has anointed us, sealed us, and given us a foretaste of heaven, then why should we despair of reel that He will ever desert us?”

 

Let us look at those verses mentioned above that speak of all true believers being anointed with the Holy Spirit.  “21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge (2Cor. 1:21-22).”  “27  As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him (1John 2:20, 27).”

When we as God’s people walk in the Holy Spirit we forget about all the externals, things like gender, wealth, appearance, ethnic prejudices, or social or political standings, and we focus on the internal things that have true and real meaning like loving people, and caring for them, and the worship of our Lord, the study of the Scriptures.  Paul gives a list of things people do when they are filled with the Holy Spirit.  “22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”  (Gal. 5:22-26)  When we read this passage we should think of the fruit of the Spirit as one fruit, like an orange or grapefruit that has sections in, sections like love, joy, peace, and the rest of the things written in verses 22-23.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Unity is something that I believe all of us need to work on and I put myself in that category in a big way.  The key to all of this is the Word of God, and having the Spirit of God transform my life into a life that pleases Him through the Word of God.  “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Contentment and being transformed by the renewing of my mind.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-2

 

            1 Out of the depts I cried to You O LORD.  2 Lord hear my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

 

11/2/2012 11:56:19 AM

PT-1 Psalm 133 (Ps. 133:1)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/1/2012 11:12:49 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Psalm 133 PT-1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Psalm 133:1

 

            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 133 by looking at several introductions from different Bible commentators.

 

The Excellency of Brotherly Love

 

“We cannot say too much, it were well if enough could be said, to persuade people to live together in peace. It is good for us, for our honour and comfort; and brings constant delight to those who live in unity. The pleasantness of this is likened to the holy anointing oil. This is the fruit of the Spirit, the proof of our union with Christ, and adorns his gospel. It is profitable as well as pleasing; it brings blessings numerous as the drops of dew. It cools the scorching heat of men’s passions, as the dews cool the air and refresh the earth. It moistens the heart, and makes it fit to receive the good seed of the word, and to make it fruitful. See the proof of the excellency of brotherly love: where brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord commands the blessing. God commands the blessing; man can but beg a blessing. Believers that live in love and peace, shall have the God of love and peace with them now, and they shall shortly be with him forever, in the world of endless love and peace. May all who love the Lord forbear and forgive one another, as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven them.”  (Matthew Henry)

 

“We see no reason for depriving David of the authorship of this sparkling sonnet. He knew by experience the bitterness occasioned by divisions in families, and was well prepared to celebrate in choicest Psalmody the blessing of unity for which he sighed. Among the "songs of degrees," this hymn has certainly attained unto a good degree, and even in common literature it is frequently quoted for its perfume and dew.  In this Psalm there is no wry word, all is "sweetness and light," — a notable ascent from Psalm 110 with which the Pilgrims set out. That is full of war and lamentation, but this sings of peace and pleasantness. The visitors to Zion were about to return, and this may have been their hymn of joy because they had seen such union among the tribes who had gathered at the common altar. The previous Psalm, which sings oh for the covenant, had also revealed the centre of Israel’s unity in the Lord’s anointed and the promises made to him. No wonder that brethren dwell in unity when God dwells among them, and finds his rest in them.  Our translators have given to this Psalm an admirable explanatory heading, "The benefit of the communion of saints." These good men often hit off the meaning of a passage in a few words.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)

 

“David was king of Judah and Benjamin and ruled in Hebron for seven-and-a-half years.  He inherited a divided nation and almost a civil war, but then the Lord gave him a united kingdom (2Sam. 5; 1Chron. 12:38-40).  He could well have written this psalm when he began his reign in Jerusalem.  The people usually journeyed to Jerusalem in family groups (see Luke 2:42-52), so this psalm perfectly suited the situation.  It applies to individual believers and churches today, for we also have our ‘family quarrels’ and need to learn to walk together in love.  Maintaining the spiritual unity of God’s people is the work of every believer, with the help of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:1-6), and three ministries of the Spirit are illustrated in this psalm.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)

 

            We Are Born of the Spirit (v.1):  “1 A Song of Ascents, of David: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

 

            David states that it is good and it is pleasant for brothers to live together in unity, but as we look through the Scriptures we see that this is a difficult and probably an impossible thing to do without the help of the Holy Spirit of God, and even then when sin raises its ugly head it makes it difficult. I have heard before that the middle letter of sin is the letter “I” and that speaks of selfishness.  We always want our own ways because of being selfish, and wanting to have our own needs met.  Cain killed Able because of being jealous of him, Abraham and Lot had their arguments, Joseph’s brothers hated him and they could not get along with each other.  Aaron and Miriam fought with Moses over leadership, David had troubles with his own children, and then when we look at the New Testament we see that the disciples of Jesus would argue about who was the greatest, and then from the book of Acts we see a problem arose between Paul and Barnabas about John Mark, and they split up and went their separate ways.  We see in the letters to the Corinthians that they were divided over who was the best teachers, and the story goes on and on.

            The Jewish people had common ground in that they were all children of Abraham, and they all worshiped the same God, and they were all brothers and sisters.  New Testament believers all have the Holy Spirit in them, have the same Savior and Lord, they are all going to the same heavenly city, and there are other different things we have in common, like having spiritual oneness in Christ, “1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:1-6)  “26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

           

            The world we live in today is much different than the world of even 100 years ago, and one of the things that has made it change is technology.  People don’t have to go far for all the answers that they think that they need for everything is right at their fingertips with the invention of the “smart phone.”  We can charge things using them, we can pay bills using them, and we can look up address and even have them direct us to the place we want to go.  Many people have Bibles on their smart phones, and so they can look for answers to questions they have about spiritual things using their smart phones.  What we may be missing in this day of the smart phone is being with people in the way that the New Testament Church is designed to be, and thus we miss the unity that is so beneficial to have.  Another thing that these smart phones have done is to help make the older generation useless.  Let me explain what I see is happening to the younger generation because of this great technology.  In the older generations people use to look up to the older people for knowledge, and the Bible teaches this, but in today’s generations all the knowledge is on the smart phones and so the knowledge is not needed from the older generation and this makes them in a sense useless.  In a sermon I heard early last year the Pastor said that all ages of people are beneficial in the church.  He went on to talk about each age group and when he got to the older age group he stated that we need them to tell the younger age groups of the mistakes that they have made so that they would not make them.  Some people laughed at this which upset the Pastor and he then said that he was very serious about this.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I think about a wonderful “full communion” service that is to happen in the church I attend this coming Sunday I desire to prepare myself for this service by looking back on what my Lord did for me on the cross to provide for me salvation.  He did this for all who will call upon His name for salvation and for unity.  “11 ¶  "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 

20  "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21  that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22  "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”  (John 17:11; 20-23)

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Unity along with contentment and also being transformed by the renewing of my mind are my steps of faith for today.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-2

 

            1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD.  2 Lord, hear my voice!  Let Your ear be attentive the voice of my supplications.

 

11/1/2012 12:20:56 PM

 

PT-3 Psalm 132 (Psalm 132:13-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/30/2012 10:01:30 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Psalm 132 PT-3

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                        Reference:  Psalm 132:13-18

 

            Message of the verses:  We will look at the last section from Psalm 132 in Today’s Spiritual Diary.  We will be looking at the last responsibility that the children of Israel had to the Lord that is spoken of in this psalm.

 

Trust God for His Bountiful Blessings (vv. 13-18) 

 

            “13  For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. 14 “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 “I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy with bread. 16 “Her priests also I will clothe with salvation, And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy. 17 “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. 18 “His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon himself his crown shall shine.’”

 

            We see some more evidence that God had chosen David’s line to bring forth God’s Anointed one in this section and we also see that God had chosen Zion or Jerusalem for the place where His throne (ark) would dwell.  We have already spoken about the fact that God would not allow David to build the temple, but there were two sinful acts that David did that had to do with the building of this temple, and through these two sinful acts we can see the grace of God along with the plan of God for the building of the temple.  David was a man who confessed his sin when confronted by God that he had sinned, and the two most famous sins that are recorded in the Scriptures the murder of Uriah and the adultery with Bathsheba which would eventfully produce Solomon who would be the next king after David and it was he who would build the temple.  Next the numbering of the people would cause the death of many innocent people in Israel but when God was about to move His discretion into Jerusalem He stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.  “David bought the threshing floor from Araunah the Jebusite and he offered a sacrifice to the Lord on that place and the Lord consumed the sacrifice with fire.  “Then David built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the LORD and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.”  (1Chron. 21:26)  “2 Ch. 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”  We see here that the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite was on Mt. Moriah and this is where the temple was built by Solomon.  “Ge 22:2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’”  So we see in this verse from Genesis 22:2 that the Lord had chosen this mountain to have Abraham offer Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord, but we know that because of the faith that Abraham had God provided a lamb to be offered in his place on Mt. Moriah.  Years later the temple was built there, and years after that on this same mountain, the mountain where the city of Jerusalem is, God offered His Son for our sins, for He was the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world.

            We see in verses 14-18 of Psalm 132 that God is reaffirming His covenant with the children of Israel that He made with them in Lev. 26 and also in Deut 27-30.  If the people and the kings of Israel wanted to be blessed by God that means they must obey him, “12 ‘If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I will teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.’”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that “two special images are seen here—the lamp and the sprouting horn (v. 17) –and both refer to David and to the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.  The burning lamp symbolized the king (2Sam. 21:17), the preservation of life (Psalm 18:28-30), and the perpetuation of the royal dynasty (1Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2Kings 8:19; 2Chron. 21:7).  The sins of some of David’s successors deserved radical punishment, but for David’s sake, the Lord allowed them to reign from David’s throne.  A horn is a symbol of power and strength, and the sprouting of the horn of David is a picture of the coming of the promised Messiah.  The Hebrew word for ‘sprout’ is translated ‘branch’ in Isaiah 4:2, Jeremiah 23:5 and 33:15, and Zechariah 3:18 and 6:12, and refers to Messiah, ‘the Branch.’  The word translated ‘flourish’ or ‘shine’ in verse 18 can also mean ‘to blossom,’ and is used that way in Numbers 17:8, the blossoming of Aaron’s rod.  This, too, is a Messianic image.  So, the psalm ends by pointing to Jesus Christ.” 

Dr. Wiersbe also points out that this psalm points to David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ, and also His covenant with the Church.  The Ark of the Covenant points to Jesus Christ for the Ark was made of wood, and I learned from a book that I was reading that the word for wood that was used to build the Ark was a word for carpenter.  We see the wood of the Ark as the humanity of Jesus Christ, and then we see the gold that the Ark was overlaid with as His deity.  We have already spoken of the rod of Aaron that budded, and there was also inside the Ark the Ten Commandments along with a jar of manna speaking of Christ as the “Bread of Life.”  So there is much that pictures Christ in this psalm.  We know that at this time Jesus Christ is sitting on the Throne of God next to His Father in the Holy of Holies in heaven, so we see that this psalm pictures the heavenly Zion “22  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is so wonderful to live on the side of the cross that I am living on knowing what the Bible teaches about it.  My Lord is now in heaven after His triumphal defeat over the world, the flesh, and the devil.  He has conquered death and is the first fruit of all who believe in Him as their personal Lord and Savior. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to work on being content and to having my mind transformed by the Word of God from the inside out.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-2

 

            1 Out of the debts I have cried to You, O Lord.  2 Lord, here my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

 

10/30/2012 11:40:56 AM