SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/4/2012 8:11:06 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Learn Contentment
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 52:1-9
Message of the verses: We looked at the introduction and background
of Psalm 52 yesterday and today we will look at the psalm. Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his
introduction these words: “There has
always been a certain amount of evil in high places, and God’s people must
learn to handle it in a godly manner.
David paints for us three contrasting scenes.”
“The Sinners Are Boasting (vv. 1-4): “1 For the choir director. A Maskil of David,
when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, "David has come
to the house of Ahimelech." Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The
lovingkindness of God endures all day long. 2 Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. 3 You love evil more than good,
Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah. 4 You love all words that
devour, O deceitful tongue.”
In one of the commentaries that
I read it stated that the actual scoundrel in the story of Doeg the Edomite in
killing all of the priests was actually Saul, and after thinking about it that
makes sense for it was Saul who have the orders and although not one of Saul’s
men would do this evil deed with the exception of Doeg the Edomite the order
still came from Saul. For Saul to order
such a deed make him the one responsible for the killing.
When we
look at the term “mighty man” in verse one it could be stated as “big shot,”
however the term big shot was only in the eyes of men and not in the eyes of
God and when it comes down to it God is the only One who counts. As we look at the deeds that Doeg the Edomite
and Saul did we do not find it hard to find people like this in the 21st
century that we live in. We find people
who have tongues that cause evil to be done, we find people who love evil more
than good.
When we
look at these verses of Psalm 52 and contrast them with Psalm 51 we see the
main difference between David and Saul.
David was responsible for the death of only Uriah in his sin against the
Lord and it caused so much grief and pain in his life. David confessed his sin to the Lord, repented
and then moved on because of the grace that God gave him. We see none of this in Saul and certainly
none in Doeg the Edomite.
“The Saints Are Laughing” (vv. 5-7): “5 But God will break you down forever; He
will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent, And uproot you from the
land of the living. Selah. 6 The
righteous will see and fear, And will laugh at him, saying, 7 “Behold, the man
who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches
And was strong in his evil desire.’”
Dr. Wiersbe writes the following
in his commentary on this section: “What
Saul and Doeg did to the priestly community at Nob (1Sam. 22:6ff), the Lord
would do to them, for sinners ultimately fall into the pits they dig for others
(9:15; Proverbs 26:24-28; 29:6).”
It seems
that people today only want to look at the love of God and forget about the
justice of God. In this country we see
people kill innocent victims only to have others then feel sorry for those who
did the crime and forget about the one’s they have killed. When one looks at the attributes of God both
love and justice are there along with others and all of God’s attributes are
part of who God is and all have to be satisfied. How do we connect the love and justice of
God? We look at the cross of Jesus
Christ and we see God’s love for Isaiah 53 speaks of it was pleasing to the
Lord to kill Him “10 But the LORD was pleased To
crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt
offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good
pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”
(Isaiah 53:10) After making the
movie about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Mel Gibson was asked who it was
that killed Christ and his answer was “we did,” but after listening to a sermon
from a visiting Pastor he said that according to Isaiah 53 it was God who had
the Lord Jesus killed. When we look at
John 3:16 we see that God gave His Son, He gave His Son to be a sacrifice for
our sins and we see both love and justice along with all His other attributes
at the cross and it was all for us!
“The Faithful Are Serving” (vv.8-9): “8 But as for me, I am like a green olive
tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and
ever. 9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will
wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”
We see a contrast between those
who the Lord will uproot, like uprooted trees in verse five and the “green olive
tree in the house of God” in verse eight, for this speaks of David and all
believers while the uprooted ones are speaking of Saul and Doeg along with all
who will reject the love of God. David’s
dynasty would last forever, while Saul’s would end because he did not follow
the Lord wholly. We know that an olive
tree lives for a long time and offers blessing from its fruit and so would the
dynasty of David.
Dr. Wiersbe
points out that the phrase “wait on You name” means “to hope and depend on the
character of God as expressed in His great name.” He goes on to write, “The psalm ends with
David vowing to praise the Lord in the congregation as soon as God established
him in his kingdom. The private
victories God give us should be announced publicly for the encouragement of
God’s people. Meanwhile, through evil
may seem to triumph, we must continue to obey and serve the Lord and not get
discouraged. The ‘last laugh’ belongs to
the Lord’s people.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I look at this psalm and how I should
react and learn from it I find myself going back to the thing that I am trying
to learn, and hope that the Holy Spirit of God will continue to teach me and
that is contentment, for when I look at the evilness around me in a world that
seems to be heading for destruction my hope must remain in the Lord and in the
plans that He has, not only for this world, but for me as His child.
My Steps of Faith for
today:
1.
Continue to learn contentment. 3/4/2012 9:00:45 AM
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