SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/8/2012 10:18:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Delighting in the Lord
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 84:1-4
Message of the verses: In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm
84, and we will first look at several introductions from different Bible
Commentators in order to help us understand what the author of this Psalm has
to say and hopefully be able to apply what has been learned to our walk with
the Lord.
“Title and
Subject. To the Chief Musician upon
Gittith. A Psalm for the sons of
Korah. This Psalm well deserved to be
committed to the noblest of the sons of song.
No music could be too sweet for its theme, or too exquisite in sound to
match the beauty of its language. Sweeter than the joy of the wine press, (for
that is said to be the meaning of the word rendered upon Gittith), is the joy
of the holy assemblies of the Lord’s house; not even the favored children of
grace, who are like the sons of Korah, can have a richer subject for song than
Zion’s sacred festivals. It matters little when this Psalm was written, or by
whom; for our part it exhales to us a Davidic perfume, it smells of the
mountain heather and the lone places of the wilderness, where King David must
have often lodged during his many wars.
This sacred ode is one of the choicest of the collection; it has a mild
radiance about it, entitling it to be called The Pearl of Psalms. If the
twenty-third be the most popular, the one hundred and third the most joyful,
the one hundred and nineteenth the most deeply experimental, the fifty-first
the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of peace.
Pilgrimages to the tabernacle were a grand feature of Jewish life. In our country, pilgrimages to the shrine of
Thomas of Canterbury, and our Lady of Walsingham, were so general as to affect
the entire population, cause the formation of roads, the erection and maintenance
of hostelries, and the creation of a special literature; this may help us to
understand the influence of pilgrimage upon the ancient Israelites. Families
journeyed together, making bands which grew at each halting place; they camped
in sunny glades, sang in unison along the roads, toiled together over the hill
and through the slough, and as they went along, stored up happy memories which
would never be forgotten. One who was
debarred the holy company of the pilgrims, and the devout worship of the congregation,
would find in this Psalm fit expression for his mournful spirit.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“This
psalm, like other psalms of ascent (Pss. 120-134), expresses the joy of a
pilgrim traveling up to Jerusalem, then up into the temple to celebrate one of
the feasts. The pilgrim focuses his attention
especially on the thought of being in the very presence of the Lord God. The NT believer-priest, in an even greater
way, can come into the presence of the Lord (cf. Heb 4:16; 10:19,-22). (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
Heb. 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Heb. 10:19-22 “19 Therefore, brethren, since we have
confidence to enter the
holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He
inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a
great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a
sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
“The phrase
‘appears before God in Zion’ was penned by a Jewish man who could not go to
Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual feasts (Ex. 23:17; 34:23). For forty years after their exodus from Egypt,
the Jews were a wandering people, but even after they had moved into the
Promised Lane, the three feasts reminded them that they were still pilgrims on
this earth (1Chron. 29:15), as are God’s people today (1Peter 1:1; 2:11). A vagabond has no home; a fugitive is running
from home; a stranger is away from home; a pilgrim is heading home. The psalmist’s inability to attend the feast
did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the Lord. All who are true pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he
made.” (Warren Wiersbe)
My Delight Is in the Lord (vv. 1-4): “1 For the choir director; on the Gittith.
A Psalm of the sons of Korah: How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of
hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart
and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your
altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who dwell
in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”
In some
ways I am reminded of Psalm 42:1-2 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So
my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?”
Psalm 42 is also a psalm of Korah and maybe that is why Psalm 84:2
reminds me of Psalm 42:1-2.
We know
that things are different for NT believers than they were for the OT believers,
yet we worship the same God. In the OT
the temple that was in Jerusalem was the place where God dwelled for when Moses
had the tabernacle built while the children of Israel were living near Mt.
Sinai we say that the glory of the Lord was in the holy of holies and then when
Solomon built the temple of the Lord the ark was moved into the holy of holies
that was in the temple. There was a
curtain between the holy place and the holy of holies and when the Lord Jesus
Christ died on the cross for our sins that curtain was torn into from the top
to the bottom showing all believers that they now can have access with the
Living God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In the
seventh chapter of Acts we hear from Steven just before he was stoned to death
by the Jews and Steven gives an historical account of Jewish history to those
who would kill him. In verses 47-50 we
read the following, “47 “But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 "However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human
hands; as the prophet says: 49
’HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND
OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord, ’OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY
REPOSE? 50 ’WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’” Steven is saying that God is too “big” to
live in any one place for God is omnipresent, He is everywhere. God now lives in the hearts of the NT
believers in the person of the Holy Spirit, for we are the temple of God.
The
psalmist is saying how much he enjoys being in the temple of God and is even
jealous of the birds who make their nests there and is also envious of the
priests who have the privilege of ministering in the temple. We can just feel the love that the psalmist
has for the Lord as we read verse two.
We can be sure that the psalmist was in love with the Lord and wanted to
be near Him, but he could not be near Him all of the time.
I want to
quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary at this point because it helps me to
understand more about worshiping the Lord in the day that I now live in. “Although God doesn’t live today in man-made
buildings (See the verses above from Acts 7), we still show special reverence
toward edifices dedicated to Him. We can
worship God anytime and anywhere, but special places and stated rituals are
important in structuring our worship experience. The important thing is that we have a heart
that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord (42:1-4; Matt. 5:6).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I desire to have a heart that cries out for
nourishing fellowship with the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: To worship the Lord in Spirit
and in truth, and to continue to learn contentment as I walk with the Lord each
day.
5/8/2012 11:24:04 AM
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