PT-2 Psalm 4 (Ps. 4:2-8)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/19/2011 7:42:29 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  PT-2 Psalm 4

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Psalm 4:2-8

 

            Message of the verses:  We will begin today’s SD with the second point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary:  “Confront the Enemy (vv.2-3).”  “2 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.”

           

            David is speaking of the men who have chosen to follow Absalom when he uses the words “sons of men.”  He contrasts that statement with the “godly man” in verse three.  These sons of men were in fact following a false god when they followed Absalom.  Absalom used flattery to get the people to follow him, for the people knew who it was that God had put on the throne of Israel and when they stopped following David they were in effect not following the plans of God for Israel.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “When you follow vain things and believe falsehood, you can only go astray.  The people weren’t just deposing a king; they were fighting against the Lord Jehovah who placed David on the throne.”

 

            “Encourage Your Friends (vv.4-5)”:  “4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD.”

           

            In this brief section we see David writing about his friends, and his friends were probably not thinking the way that they should be because of their anger towards what Absalom had done to David and so David gave them six instructions. These instructions are just as useful for us today when we find ourselves getting angry.

1.      Tremble before the Lord (4a): When we fear the Lord we need not fear anything else and so David’s men need not fear Absalom.   

2.     Don’t sin (4b):  The Apostle Paul quotes this in Ephesians 4:26 using the Septuagint (Greek version of the Bible) and writes in that verse “Be angry, and do not sin.”  From that we can learn that there is a holy anger that we should be angry about, that is be angry what God is angry about, and then there is an anger in which you will be sinning.  Paul goes on to say “do not let the sun set on your anger,” and so when we experience this unholy anger we must be willing to confess it before the end of the day otherwise we will be in danger of allowing our anger to turn into bitterness, and if that is not taken care of depression is next after bitterness.

3.     Search your own hearts (4c):  David is asking his men to search their own hearts to make sure that there is no sin found in them.  Psalm 139:23-24 give us this instruction.  David did not want his men to be so angry at Absalom and over look any sin in their lives, which is what David did in 2 Samuel 12:1-7.  Jesus speaks of this also in Matthew 7:1-5. When doing this on your bed you will avoid the problems of not sleeping.

4.     Be still (4d):   When we look at the Amplified Bible it is translated “Be sorry for the things you say in your heart.”  Another translation reads “say to your heart,” that is tell your heart “Sin not.” 

5.     Offer right sacrifices (5a):  While these men were in the wilderness they could not offer sacrifices, but they could be like Jonah and promise the Lord that they would do this when they returned to Jerusalem.

6.     Trust the Lord (5b):  In the case of Absalom he was not trusting in the Lord, but his men and his leadership ability, and the popularity that he had, which would not do him any good so his plans were doomed to fail.

David on the other hand, even though he was a great military man, he would put his trust in the Lord and so he would not fail.

 

Praise the Lord (vv. 6-8):  “6 Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?" Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! 7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. 8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

 

            It was because of reports that David received from the ranks that he knew what many of his people were saying, therefore he knew of their discouragement.  We read “who will show us any good,” and the Amp. Version reads “O that we might see some good!” or “Who can get us out of this plight?”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “the tense of the verb indicates that this discouraging statement was repeated again and again by the complainers, and the more they complained the more others took up the strain.  The Jewish Publication Society version reads, ‘O for good days!’  It’s well been said that ‘the good old days’ are a combination of a bad memory and a good imagination.  What kind of ‘good’ were the people looking for—material wealth, peace and security and at any price, a godly king, a successful new king?”

           

            David wanted the right king of goodness for the people as he says at the end of verse six, for he wanted the light of the Lord to come upon his people so that they could see what were the good things that they can have from the Lord.

             

            In verse seven David expands this thought by speaking of the goodness that comes from the Lord that is the gladness that he has in his heart, and this is what comes from the Lord and it is better than having grain and new wine, in other words riches.

           

            David ends this psalm with a verse that I have actually claimed when I had trouble going to sleep and so I would quote this verse to the Lord so He could cause me to go to sleep.  David is saying that even though trouble is surrounding him he would trust the Lord and the Lord would allow him to sleep well in spite of his troubles.  His trust was in the Lord.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been going through a difficult time over things from the past that have come back to me again and I have had to deal with them and again it has been hard on me and so this psalm has been an encouragement to my heart and I am thankful to the Lord for the contents of this psalm.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.     Trust the Lord to give me the right attitude as I think about this old problem again.

2.     Seek the Holy Spirit to search my heart and therefore convict me of any unconfessed sin in my life.

3.     Trust that the Holy Spirit will help me in the area of having a better prayer life.

4.     Continue to learn to be content.

12/19/2011 8:45:08 AM

 

PT-1 Psalm 4 (Psalm 4:1)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/18/2011 8:55:37 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  PT-1 Psalm 4

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                           Reference:  Psalm 4:1

 

            Message of the verse:  “1 For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. 2 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him. 4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD. “6 Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?" Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! 7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. 8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

 

            In the background of this and I would suppose Dr. Wiersbe gives some information that will help understand things about this psalm and even other psalms.  We see “To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.” In the KJV and he explains this by saying that there are fifty-three Psalms that speak of this man who is the chief Musician.  He is the person who is the “minister of worship” and custodian of the sacred psalms at the tabernacle and then at the temple of the Lord.  “The Hebrew word Neginoth means ‘accompanied by stringed instruments and refers to the harp and lyre (1Chronicles 23:5; 25:1, 3, 6).

           

            Dr. Wiersbe believes that this Psalm was written about the same situation that Psalm 3 was written about, and that is when Absalom was trying to take over the kingdom.  He writes “It’s a wonderful thing that David could turn this distressing experience into song, to the glory of God.  His example shows us what our responses ought to be in times of crisis.”

           

            We mentioned in yesterday’s SD of the importance of coming to the Lord in the morning in order to begin your day with the Lord, and that Psalm 3 was a “morning Psalm.”  Psalm 4, according to Dr. Wiersbe is an evening Psalm and we can see here the importance of ending your day with the Lord too.  But this Psalm along with Psalm 3 were distress Psalms and this shows us the importance of coming to the Lord in times of trouble whether morning or evening, night or day. 

 

            We will now look at the first section of this Psalm:  “Look to the Lord (v-1).   We see in verse one that David calls upon the Lord to answer him when he calls, and then he calls God the “God of my Righteousness.”  David knew that his own righteousness was not good enough for as he writes in Psalm 51 he was conceived in sin.  That does not mean that it was a sinful relationship, but the like all people he was born a sinner and so he realizes that if he was to be righteous that God would have to give him His righteousness.  God did do that for David and for everyone who will call upon the Lord in order to receive that righteousness that they do not deserve or can ever earn. 

            David goes on to remind the Lord that He had relieved him in earlier times of distress and so he desires that the Lord will do the same now.  David then ends this first verse by asking God to be gracious to him.  You don’t find that word gracious or grace in the OT too many times.  God’s grace is giving a person what they do not deserve, and God’s mercy is not giving a person what they do deserve.  As believers in Christ we have received both grace and mercy, for God has given us His great salvation, but at the cost of the death of His only son who took what we did deserve while suffering on the cross, and that is mercy.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It was the sin with Bathsheba that has gotten David in the trouble that he is in, and even though he has been forgiven by God there were still consequences for that sin, and yet we see David confidently calling on the Lord for help in his time of need.  This is inspiring to me for I realize that God forgives me of all of my sins, but sometimes there are consequences that go along with them and it is then that I do not feel in my heart that God will answer my prayers and deliver me, and yet I know that He will for He has done it for David.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Cry out to the Lord when I am in need of His help, knowing that I don’t deserve His help, but that it is through His mercy that I can confidently call out to Him.

2.      Trust the Lord to do the best for me in all situations for His glory and for my good.

3.      Continue to learn to be content.

 

12/18/2011 9:33:48 AM

PT2 "Psalm 3:3-8)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/17/2011 1:11:24 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                        Focus: PT-2 “Psalm 3”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Psalm 3:3-8

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. 2 Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. 3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. 4. I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. 5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.”

 

            Confidence:  He Affirms His Trust in the Lord (vv.3-4):  We will begin today’s SD with the second main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s outline on Psalm 3.

           

            I heard a song a long time ago that fits well with this section, I don’t remember the title but a section of the song went something like this, “he didn’t look down, he didn’t look around, he just looked up, up, up.”  That is what David did; he looked up to the Lord in heaven to take care of the problems that were facing him.  David calls the Lord “a shield about me.”  In Genesis 15:1 this is what the Lord told Abraham, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.’”

           

            Even though the trouble was great as far as what Absalom was doing, David knew that promises that the Lord had given to him in 2 Samuel 7 were the answer to the problem that he was in, and in 2 Samuel 15:30 we see the fulfillment of that promise.

           

            The holy mountain that David writes about in verse four may have been the Ark of the Covenant, for that was in Jerusalem and Jerusalem was on a mountain. It may have been God throne in heaven too.

 

            Celebration:  He Anticipates the Victory (vv.5-8):  I can see that in verse five that David had no trouble sleeping for he knew that God would protect him and that the Lord would sustain him.  David knew that because the Lord had protected him and his family throughout the night that He would continue to protect.  We have to remember that this Psalm was written near the end of David’s life and that as David looked back and saw how the Lord had protected him in the past and had promised a dynasty for his family, and I believe by this time in David’s life that the Lord may already have revealed to him that Solomon would be his successor, so as he looked at all of this his faith in the Lord increased. This can be seen from reading the words of verse six.

           

            The faith demonstrated here by David reminds us of how the Lord Jesus was able to sleep in a boat during a great storm, and how Peter was asleep between guards when he was supposed to be executed the next day, for Peter knew that the Lord had promised him that he would die by being crucified and not killed by a sword.  Jesus knew that the only way that He would die would be when He would give up His life after His work was completed.

           

            Another thing we can see from this psalm, and confer with others is that for David the morning was the best time of the day for him.  In the morning is the best time to go to the Lord in prayer and in the reading and studying of His Word, for if we wait then there is a good chance we will forget it.  I write this at nearly 5:00PM, but this is not the normal time for me to do it as I try to do it the first thing after getting out of bed.  I have to tell of a story from a book and actually have seen it demonstrated while in church, and that is the story of having a jar, a kind of large jar, and then to begin to put rocks into it.  I believe the author’s name that wrote about this is Steven Curry.  He begins to put the rocks in jar in a class room setting and after he gets all of the rocks in the jar he asks his class “is the jar full.”  They answer yes so he proceeds to put some small pebbles into the jar and asks again if it is full.  No is the answer this time.  He then puts sand into the jar and then water, and now the jar is full.  He asks the class what this means and the answer he gets is not the one he is looking for.  One of the students says that if we try hard we can cram a lot of things into one day.  The correct answer is that if you don’t put the large rocks into the jar first then you will not get them in at the end.  Make the study of God’s Word to be the first rock into your jar each day.

           

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “God not only rested David but He also rescued him.  David’s prayer in verse 7—‘Arise, O Lord’ takes us back to the years when Israel was in the wilderness, as David was at that time.  When the guiding cloud of glory began to move and the camp set out, Moses would say (or sing) ‘Rise up.  O Lord!  Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.’  (Numbers 10:35 NKJV).  David had sent the ark back to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 15:24-29), but he knew that the presence of a piece of sacred furniture was no guarantee of the presence of the Lord (See 1 Sam. 4)”

           

            David knew that it was what was in his heart, his heart attitude towards the Lord was what was important.  (See Psalm 51)

           

            We see in the book of Jonah chapter two and verse nine that he quotes verse eight.

           

            We also know that in the end Absalom would be defeated for David had confidence that the Lord would bring about victory for David as he promised.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have a book that I bought when I was a young believer that is entitled “All the Promises in the Bible.”  There are a lot of promised in the Bible, I know this because it is a pretty large book.  The point is that God wants us to claim His promises just like David did, knowing that God is in charge, which brings about contentment in our lives.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Believe the promises of God.

2.      Trust the God who has given these great and wonderful promises.

3.      Continue to learn contentment.

 

 

12/17/2011 5:19:33 PM          

             

PT-1 "Psalm 3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/16/2011 10:09:27 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Psalm 3 PT-1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Psalm 3

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. 2 Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. 3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

    “4 I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. 5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.”

 

            Conflict:  He Admits His Troubles (vv.1-2):  I want to begin this SD by quoting Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the word “Sela,” which is a word that we will see many times in the book of Psalms.  “This is the first use of the word ‘Sela’ in Scripture; it is used seventy-one times in the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk 3.  Scholars aren’t agreed whether it comes from words meaning ‘to lift up’ or ‘to be silent.’  If the first, then it might be a signal for louder voices or the lifting, and blowing the trumpets, perhaps even the lifting of hands to the Lord.  If the second, it could signal a pause, a moment of silence and meditation.”

 

            This is also the first time we see the words “A Psalm of David,” even though the second Psalm was written by David.  In the case of the second Psalm we see it attributed to David in the book of Acts. All of the psalms in book one were written by David with the exception of Psalms 1, 10, and 33. 

           

            We also see that this Psalm was written by David when Absalom was trying to take over the country as a result of David being disciplined by the Lord for his sin with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “God in his grace forgave David when he confessed his sins (ps. 32 & ps. 51), but God in his government allowed David to reap the bitter consequences of those sins.”

           

            We can also see that this is a “morning” Psalm as opposed to Psalm 4, which was written about the same circumstances is an “evening” Psalm. 

           

            As this psalm begins we see David crying out to the Lord right away, something like Peter did when he began to sink in the water as seen in Matthew 14:30.  David was in trouble and so he got right to his prayer to the Lord, for he needed help in a hurry.  In verse two we see David saying to the Lord that many people were saying that this situation was without hope, yet David knew that the Lord can take care of any of the things that he was going through.  David knew this from experience as the Lord has saved him many times, and that is why many of the Psalms were written in praise to the Lord for saving David in times just like this.

            The story behind this psalm is found in 2 Samuel starting with the rise of Absalom’s power, for Absalom was a man who had a hard time telling the truth, but loved to sooth the hearts of the people of Israel, thus making him very popular with them.  British statesman James Callaghan said, “A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth has got its boots on.”  Yes for some reason people love to hear lies and they can spread them like wildfire.

           

            Dr. Wiersbe writes this interesting statement, “The word ‘help’ in the Hebrew (yeshua) is translated ‘save’ in verse 7 and ‘salvation’ in verse 8 and gives us the names ‘Jesus’ (Matt. 1:21) and ‘Joshua.’  It’s used 136 times in the Psalms.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: As mentioned above David wrote many of his psalms because of the trouble that he found himself in.  He must have gained much confidence in the Lord from going through the many trials and tribulations that he went through from the beginning of his life when he was tending the sheep right up to the end of his life when people were trying to put the wrong son of his on the throne. 

           

            Paul writes to the Corinthians that they could comfort others because of the comfort that they were receiving from the Lord; they were to pass that comfort on.  All of this greatly encourages me and give me more faith in the Lord.  The Psalms are a wonderful place to read from when troubles have come my way.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Continue to trust the Lord in every situation that I face, knowing that He is on the throne and will guide me and direct me.

2.      Continue to learn contentment through life’s trials that I face.

 

 

12/16/2011 10:56:49 AM   

PT-2 "Psalm 2:4-12"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/15/2011 8:45:17 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus: PT-2 Psalm 2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 2:4-12

 

            Message of the verses:  In yesterday’s SD we learned from the commentary of Dr. Wiersbe that the second psalm can be divided up into four different voices and we looked at the voice of the nations in yesterday’s SD.  Today we will begin with the next voice that is speaking and that is:  Mockery—The Voice of God the Father (vv. 4-6).  “4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.’”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “If we fail to see Jesus Christ in this psalm, we miss its message completely:  His death (vs.-1-3, Acts 4:23-28), resurrection (v.-7, Acts 13:33), ascension and enthronement in glory (v.-6), and His return and righteous rule on earth (vs.-8-9, Rev. 2:9, 27; 12:5).

            Some of you have read what I have begun from the Gospel of Mark and as I have been studying the Gospel of Mark from the first chapter I have seen from it that Mark begins right away with telling about the King who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  We see Jesus as the Servant in the book of Mark, but we also see Him as King in the book of Mark.  Isaiah tells of a suffering Servant that will come to take the judgment that we deserve from God for our sins and all those who receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers because of His death on the cross will not have to face the furry that God will bring about on those who refuse this forgiveness.  The nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, their King, for they said “we don’t want this man to rule over us.”  Jesus Christ now sits upon His throne beside His Father in heaven as King and at this time the Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, yet there will be a time when King Jesus will return to the earth to rule over His Kingdom on earth for 1000 years as promised to the Jews, and seen in the book of Revelations, then King Jesus will rule in the eternal kingdom which is seen later in the book of Revelations.

           

            Verse four shows that there is no worry in heaven over the nations that are spoken of in the first part of this psalm for God the Father laughs at them, verses five and six show the anger of God for those who will not accept the forgiveness that is offered through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

            Victory—the Voice of God the Son (vv. 7-9):  “7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ’You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ’Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ’You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”

 

            Let us take a look at Acts 13:32-33 to understand when it was that verse seven comes into fulfillment:  “32 “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ’YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’”  (NASB)  (The NASB always puts the OT quotes in the NT by using all caps). 

 

            This verse shows that Jesus Christ is King and that we are now in the first part of His Kingdom the Kingdom we are now living in on planet earth as He rules from heaven for this is what God the Father decreed as we see in Psalm 2:7 and fulfilled as seen in Acts 13:33.

           

            When I was a young believer reading this verse I always thought that it referred to the birth of Jesus Christ, but now I see that is not true.  This refers to the resurrection of Christ, when He was “begotten” from the tomb and came forth in glory (See Rom. 1:4 and Hebrews 1:4 and 5:5).

            We see in verse eight that God the Father gives the nations to His Son to rule over.  Satan offered Christ this as seen in Matthew chapter four, but Christ refused it then, but God will give Him rule over all the nations and this will take place in the Millennial Kingdom mentioned above.  We see in verse nine that Christ will rule His Millennial Kingdom with a rod of iron.  There will be no ciaos taking place in the Millennial Kingdom with Jesus Christ as King on earth.

 

            Opportunity—the Voice of the Holy Spirit (vv. 10-12):  “10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11 Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. 12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

 

            We see in the first part of this Psalm that the Father decreed judgment, and also the Son’s victorious enthronement in heaven, so the wise thing for people to do now is to accept the forgiveness that is offered through Jesus Christ, for the Holy Spirit is calling sinners to repent during this period that we are now living in.

           

            We see in verse ten and eleven that the Spirit of God speaks to the kings and rulers, but then in verse twelve He speaks to all, and urges them to trust in the Son.  We see in Romans chapter 13 that the leaders are accountable to God on how they rule and that is why the Spirit speaks to them first.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The people are enraged against God mainly because their leaders have incited them.  They are ignorant because they follow the wisdom of this world and not the wisdom that comes from God (1Cor. 1:18-31).  They are proud of what they think they know, but they really know nothing about eternal truth.  How can they learn?  ‘Be instructed’ (v-10) from the Word of God.  The word also means ‘to be warned.’  How gracious the Lord is to save sinners before His wrath is revealed!”

           

            The Spirit now appeals to the will after He has instructed the mind and calls those rebels to stop serving sin (v-11).  When we become a true believer we understand what it means to both fear the Lord and to Love the Lord.  The fear we have for the Lord is reverence similar to the fear we have of our parents.  John writes in 1 John 4:18 these words, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”  John is speaking of the kind of fear that involves punishment, but the punishment for our sins has been taken out on Christ on the cross as payment for our sins.

           

            The Spirit now appeals to the heart and He calls us to submissive love and devotion to the King.  And then we see the Spirit end with a word of blessing at the end of verse twelve. 

           

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary with these words:  “Psalm 1 opens with ‘blessed’ and Psalm 2 concludes with promised blessing for all who put their trust in the Son of god.  That promise still stands (John 3:16-18; 20:31).

 

3/29/2025 9:40 AM

 

 

 

 

 

           

PT-1 Psalm 2 (Psalm 2:1-3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/14/2011 10:30:44 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                            Focus:  Pt-1 Psalm 2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Psalm 2:1-3

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’”

           

            Psalm 1 is never quoted in the NT, while Psalm 2 is either quoted or referred to at least eighteen times.  Psalm 2 is what is called a Messianic psalm.  Warren Wiersbe writes, “The test of a Messianic psalm is that it is quoted in the New Testament as referring to Jesus (Luke 24:27, 44).  But this is also a royal psalm, referring to the coronation of a Jewish king and the rebellion of some vassal nations that hoped to gain their freedom.”

           

            This is a psalm written by David and could have been written out of the events that are found in 2 Samuel 5:17-25, 8:1-14, 10:1-19.

           

            As we look back at the history of Israel we see that when they first came out of Egypt and conquered the Promised Land that the nation was ruled by the Lord, but when we get to the book of 1 Samuel we see that the leaders of the nation wanted a king to rule over them.  This broke the heart of Samuel, but the Lord told him to anoint Saul as their king.  There are places in the OT before this even took place that show that God knew that this was going to happen and it was actually part of His plan, but as we read the events that happened that surrounded the life of Saul we see that Saul was a man that the people wanted, for he was tall and he was strong, but God wanted a man from the tribe of Judah and a man that was after His own heart, and that man was David.  Later in David’s life he desired to build a temple for the Lord, but the Lord told him that he was going to build a dynasty through the line of David all the way to the coming Messiah whose humanity would come from the line of David and this is seen when we look at the genealogies of both Matthew and Luke.  Genesis 3:15 is the first prophecy about the coming of Messiah and we can see from that verse that the Father of the Messiah will be none other than God and this is seen in the Gospel of Luke.  Luke 1:35 “The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

           

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “Some psalms you see, some psalms you feel, but this one you hear, because it is a record of four voices.”  We will look at the first voice in today’s “Spiritual Diary.”

 

            Conspiracy—The Voice of the Nations (vv. 1-3):  “1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’”  (NASB)

 

            David did not expect an answer to his question that he presents in verse one, but it is a great question to think about and wonder about for God created the earth and all that we see in the heavens, and He created it to bring honor and glory to Himself, but He also created it for man and as we look through the first days of creation it as if we are looking at an Artist who is painting a masterpiece and waits until the last moment to put the finishing touches on the painting to make it complete.  The last day of creation God made the animals and then He made man, the finishing touch to His wonderful creation.  Man chose to sin against God and was thrown out of the beautiful garden that God had made for him, and so sin began to take on its ugly consequences on not only mankind but also the entire creation.  As mentioned above God at once spoke of a coming Redeemer who would be born of the seed of woman in order to provide salvation. 

           

            I want to quote a verse from the Gospel of John that is spoken of by John the Baptist that sums up the division between those who belong to God and those who don’t, and it is those who don’t belong to God that David is speaking about in this section:  “John 3:36 “"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’”  What will be the wrath that comes upon them?  Well the answer is found in the first chapter of Romans and verses eighteen and following:  “18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27  and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28  And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29  being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32  and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

           

            This is a very ugly picture of what happened to mankind and the worst thing that God could do to them is highlighted in this section “God gave them over.”  God just let them go and continue to slide down the slippery slope of sin and the result was the consequences of what they desired to get from their sinfulness.

 

            I just want to make one more point from this section of this Psalm and that is that nations were rebelling against the Holy One of God, the Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ.  It is as if they were all saying what the Jews said about Jesus Christ, “"But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ’We do not want this man to reign over us.’”  (Luke 19:14)  The Psalm is speaking of the Messiah as seen in verse two when is says “His Anointed.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am so thankful to the Lord for the salvation that He has given to me and that I am one of those that are spoken of on the redeemed side of John 3:36.  I do not want to ever be ungrateful for the wonderful gifts that the Lord has given to me, gifts that are given to all mankind such as air to breathe, food to eat, things like that for they are all gifts from God, but some do not see it that way.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Have a thankful heart for the gifts that the Lord has provided for me.

2.      Remember to worship the Giver of the gifts and not the gifts that are given to me.

3.      Continue to learn contentment.

 

12/14/2011 11:32:39 AM