SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/12/2012 8:00:14 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Prayer
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 57:1-5
Message of the verses: I will begin with the short introductory
commentary from the John MacArthur Study Bible on Psalm 57: “This is another lament expressing supreme
confidence in the Lord in the midst of calamitous circumstances. Though David finds himself hiding from Saul
(see Title), he knows that his real refuge is not in the walls of the cave (cf.
1Sam. 22:1; 24:3), but in the shadow of God’s wings.”
Dr. Wiersbe
writes the following in his introduction:
“After his deliverance from Gath, recorded in 56, David fled for
protection to the cave of Adullam (1Sam. 22:1ff), and later he would move to a
cave in Engedi (1Sam. 24; see Ps. 142).
Better to be in the will of God in a cave than out of His will in a
king’s palace. The melody ‘Destroy not’
was also assigned to 58, 59, and 75.
This psalm covers one day in David’s life as a fugitive, for verse 4
records his lying down and verse 8 his walking up to greet the dawn. God quieted his heart and gave him the sleep
he needed (see 4:8 and 5:3). Note the
repetition of mercy and refuge (v. 1), sends (v. 3), steadfast (v. 7) and awake
(v. 8), and refrain in verses 5 and 11. From his difficult experience in Gath, David
shares with us some responsibilities (and privileges) believers have every
day.”
The
following is the commentary that I wrote on July 1, 2010 from 1Samuel
22:1-2: “The cave of Adullam was not too
far from Bethlehem and so David’s family came to him there because they also
feared for their lives because of Saul.
“Psalms 57
& 142 were written while David was in this cave and show that this cave
became a sanctuary for those who were in distress, those who owed money and
those who knew that the Lord had appointed David to be king over Israel. Here in this cave, with all of these people
coming to David he continued to display good leadership as his group would grow
from 400 to 600 as more people would join him.
It is evident that David grew closer to the Lord while in this cave as
he wrote the Psalms and relied upon the Lord.
He may have been thinking of Joseph and how long that it took the Lord
to bring him to power in Egypt after having the dreams while just a young man,
as David was just a young man when the Lord sent Samuel to anoint him as king.”
“Each Day Is a Day of Prayer” (vv. 1-5): “1
For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when he fled
from Saul in the cave. Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul
takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until
destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes
all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him
who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His
truth. 4 My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp
sword. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the
earth.”
Like Psalm 56 David asks the
Lord for mercy at the beginning of his prayer to the Lord, for David knew that
is what he needed from the Lord. David
takes refuge in the Lord while he is in this cave and makes this cave like the
Holy of Holies that is in the tabernacle which is where the two cherubim are
seated on the mercy seat. You can find
this in Exodus 25:17-20.
David cries
out to “God most High” for he knows that God will help him for it was God who
had Samuel anoint David to be the king of Israel, but David had to first get
his “schooling in the wilderness” before he would ascend to the throne. The wilderness is mentioned on different
occasions in the Scriptures speaking of a time when God deals with His people
in order to give them the “education” they
need. The children of Israel marched
around in the wilderness for forty years before going into the Promised
Land. We also see that the Lord Jesus
Christ spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying and also being
tempted by Satan. See Mark chapter 1 and
Matthew and Luke chapter 4.
We see in
verse three that David says that God will send from Heaven and save David and
this is speaking of being saved from Saul and his men which David describes in
verse 4. David uses animals to describe
the men of Saul.
Dr. Wiersbe
writes the following to describe verse five:
“David included a song of praise in his evening prayer (v. 5) and then laid
down and went to sleep. David didn’t
pray only at bedtime, as too many people do, but all day long; however, he
closed the day with a special time of worship and commitment.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I will have to admit that most of my praying
comes before I go to bed, but I do have a time on a lot of days just talking to
my heavenly Father about things that are going on in my life. It seems that I have steadily grown closer to
God as I grow older and older in my walk with the Lord. I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is my
Savior and Lord, but He is also my friend.
Jesus spoke about this in the later portions of John’s Gospel. The apostle Paul calls God “Aba Father” in
the book of Romans.
My Steps of Faith for
Today:
1.
I desire to continue to grow closer to my
Lord each day as I walk with Him, knowing that He is able to see me through the
difficult times of life and bring joy to my heart.
2.
Have a more consistent prayer life, speaking
to the Lord more throughout the day.
3.
Continue to learn contentment through the
experiences of the day.
3/12/2012 8:51:44 AM
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