SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/18/2012 9:07:32 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Application, Praise and Fear
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
75:6-10
Message
of the verses: In today’s SD we will
look at the remaining verses in Psalm 75.
Dr. Wiersbe writes that Psalm 75 is a picture of a worship service.
We
Apply God’s Message Personally (vv. 6-8): “6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation; 7
But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another. 8 For a cup
is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours
out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its
dregs.”
“6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a
cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he
pours out from it, and all the wicked of
the earth shall drain it down to the
dregs.”
In the book of James we read these words: “22 But prove yourselves doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of
the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a
mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately
forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the
perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a
forgetful hearer but an
effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” We can go into our church service and hear
the Word of God preached and are convicted of something knowing that we should
change a pattern in our life and then come out of the service and not change a
thing and this would be wrong, the service would do us little good in our walk
with the Lord.
Dr. Wiersbe writes about the word
“exaltation” which in some translations is translated “lifting up” or
“promotion” and the word speaks of God delivering His people from trouble and
setting them free. We have read in the
previous of the arrogant people lifting themselves up and this will bring judgment
from the Lord. Peter writes the
following: “Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time (1Peter
5:6).”
As the Jewish people read this psalm
they would understand that they could not find anyone from the directions given
in verse six that would do what God does.
The north is not mentioned because the enemies of Israel are to the
north.
We know that there are some examples
in the Scriptures of God delivering different people and then exalting
them. Joseph was humbled and then exalted
in Egypt. Daniel was humbled and exalted
in Babylon, and David was humbled and exalted in Israel. What about our Lord? Was He not humbled while
here on earth and is now exalted on High in heaven. “5
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him,
and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name
of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)
We read in verse eight about a cup
and this is also mentioned in other parts of the Bible and it speaks of the
wrath of God. One thing to take away
from this is that when Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane He asked
His Father to remove the “cup” from Him if it were possible, but then said not
His will be done but the will of His Father be done. The “cup” was the cup of the wrath of God’s
wrath that Jesus drank for all who believe in Him, but those who do not accept
the truth that Jesus drank that cup for them will then have to drink their own
cup of God’s wrath and that will be terrible to drink.
We
close with Praise and the Fear of the Lord (vv. 9-10): “9 But as for me, I will declare it
forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 And all the horns of the
wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
“9 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked I will
cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.” (ESV)
Asaph has made a decision to obey
the Lord and tell others about Him. We
see this in verse nine when he writes “as for me.” I remember when I first became a believer in
Jesus Christ and how everything was so new to me and what a joy I had and the
first thing that I wanted to do was to tell others about what I had
received. My wife and I began a Bible
Study in that first year and although I did not know much about the Bible I
wanted to tell others what I did know.
We used a series of tapes to help in our teaching. I remember that the Lord blessed us with over
a hundred different people who attended that Bible study over the few years we
had it going. I still have the desire to
tell others about the Lord and what the Lord had done for me in saving me and
in leading me for the last 38 years.
When you have something good you want to share it with others so they
too can have something good.
God is called the God of Jacob in
this psalm and in eight other times in the psalms. If one realizes anything about the man Jacob
they may wonder why God would be desired to be called “The God of Jacob.” God changed Jacobs’s life so much that in the
last part of Jacob’s life he was a true man of God and so God receives all the
glory in the changes that took place in the life of Jacob and deigns to be
called “The God of Jacob.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I have
been reminded not only to learn the wonderful things from the Scriptures but to
put them into practice and then when the Lord gives me the opportunity to tell
others I am to do that with great job.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
To be a hearer of the Word of God and also to be a doer of the Word of
God. To continue to learn contentment.
4/18/2012
10:10:52 AM
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