SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
7/23/2012 10:01:59 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm
107 PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
107:1-16
Message
of the verses: I am trying to make a
practice of beginning my Spiritual Diaries while in the Psalms to look at
different Bible Commentators at the beginning of the psalm that I am studying
in order to get a good idea on what the psalm is all about. I have access to several different Bible
Commentators from recourses that I have at home along with some on the Bible
Program that I use.
“SUBJECT: etc. This is a choice song
for the redeemed of the Lord (#Ps 107:2). Although it celebrates providential
deliverances, and therefore may be sung by any man whose life has been
preserved in time of danger; yet under cover of this, it mainly magnifies the
Lord for spiritual blessings, of which temporal favours are but types arid
shadows. The theme is thanksgiving, and the motives for it. The construction of
the psalm is highly poetical, and merely as a composition it would be hard to
find its compeer among human productions.
The bards of the Bible hold no second place among the sons of song.
“DIVISION:
The psalmist commences by dedicating his poem to the redeemed who have been
gathered from captivity, #Ps 107:1-3; he then likens their history to that of
travellers lost in the desert, #Ps 107:4-9; to that of prisoners in iron
bondage, #Ps 107:10-16; to that of sick men, #Ps 107:17-22; and to that of
mariners tossed with tempest, #Ps 107:23-32. In the closing verses the judgment
of God on the rebellious, and the mercies of God to his own afflicted people
are made the burden of the song, #Ps 107:33-42; and then the psalm closes with
a sort of summing up, in #Ps 107:43, which declares that those who study the
works and ways of the Lord shall be sure to see and praise his goodness.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“The
opening line of Pss. 105-107, ‘Oh give thanks to the Lord,’ links together this
trilogy of songs which praise God for His goodness, and mercy to Israel. Most likely this psalm has a post-Exilic
origin (cf. 107:3). The psalm develops two main themes: 1) praising God for His
continual deliverance (107:4-32), and 2) remembering God’s response to man’s
obedience/disobedience (1-7:33-42).”
(The John MacArthur Study Bible)
“The
emphasis in 105 is on Israel’s exodus from Egypt and in 106 on God’s
longsuffering care of His people. This
psalm focuses on the Lord’s redemption of the nation from captivity in Babylon
(vv. 2-3). While the circumstances
described in the psalm could be experienced by almost anyone, they especially
apply to what Israel had to endure while in captivity. The word ‘redeemed’ is often used in Isaiah
to describe this great deliverance (Isa. 35:9; 43:1; 44:22-23; 48:20;
62:12). Note the words describing their
plight: adversity (v.2), trouble and
distress (vv. 6, 13, 19, 28), misery (vv. 10, 26, 39), labor (v. 12),
oppression (v. 39), and sorrow (v.39).
The psalmist begins by urging us to give thanks to the Lord for His
goodness and mercy (lovingkindness), and he closes by exhorting us to be wise
and learn from the mistakes of other people (v. 47). The people described in this psalm needed
God’s help, either because of their own folly or because of circumstances
beyond their control, and they called on the Lord and He delivered them. Five specific situations are described involving people who lose
something valuable.” (Warren
Wiersbe)
When You Lose Your
Way (vv. 4-9) “1
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is
everlasting. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from
the hand of the adversary 3 And gathered from the lands, From the east and from
the west, From the north and from the south. 4 They wandered in the wilderness
in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city. 5 They were
hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried out to
the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 He led
them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city. 8 Let them give thanks
to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! 9
For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with
what is good.”
Dr.
Wiersbe did not include the first three verses in his commentary, but I have
decided to include them. We see that
verse one begins the same way that the last two psalms did, giving thanks to
the LORD for His goodness, for one of the attributes of God is that He is good,
and He is love as the psalmist includes in verse one. We see in verses 2-3 that this psalm focuses
on the Lord’s redemption of the nation from captivity in Babylon as Dr. Wiersbe
wrote in his introduction.
Now
we will look at verses 4-9: In our world
today as seen in the first gulf war it only took minutes for Iran to send a
missile into Israel, but when Cyrus decided to send the Jews back to their land
after 70 years of captivity it was a long and dangerous trip as we see from the
writings of Ezra and also Nehemiah. Ezra
did not even ask the king for support, since his trust was in the Lord, and
this was an example of great trust for he was carrying a lot of gold and silver
articles to worship the Lord in the temple that would be built. Verses 4-9 speak of the perils that these
people went through in their return to Israel from Babylon. In their need the would cry out to the Lord
for His help as they traveled through the wilderness to get to their new home
in Jerusalem, although some of the older people who returned were born in
Israel and returning to it in this exodus from Babylon. It was because God provided for their needs
when they were in need that we read in verses 8-9 that they gave thanks to the
Lord. Verses eight and nine are verses
that I memorized a long time ago, probably over thirty years ago and they are
very meaningful to me.
When You Lose Your
Freedom (vv. 10-16): “10 There were those who dwelt in
darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains, 11 Because
they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most
High. 12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there
was none to help. 13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved
them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow
of death And broke their bands apart. 15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for
His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! 16 For He has
shattered gates of bronze And cut bars of iron asunder.”
We
can see from verses 10, 14, and 17 that these people were in prisons and it was
because of their rebellion against the Lord, and this is a good description of
those who went into exile in Babylon from Judah as we can see in 2 Chronicles
36:15-23, “15 The LORD, the God of their
fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had
compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; 16 but they continually mocked the messengers of
God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the
LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17 Therefore He
brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with
the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man
or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. 18 All the
articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house
of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them
all to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of
Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all
its valuable articles. 20 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away
to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the
kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah,
until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept
sabbath until seventy years were complete.
“22
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia-in order to fulfill the
word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah-the LORD stirred up the spirit of
Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom,
and also put it in writing, saying, 23
"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ’The LORD, the God of heaven, has
given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a
house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His
people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!’’”
Dr.
Wiersbe writes “Anyone who rejects God’s message of life in Christ is
imprisoned in sin, and only Jesus can set him or her free (Luke 1:79; 4:18ff).”
Spiritual meaning for my life
today: The psalmist writes that it is good to give
thanks to the Lord, and for His loving kindnesses. I have to admit that this is one of the
things that I need to be better at. I
have little trouble praying that the Lord would help me in certain situations,
but neglect at time to praise Him for His lovingkindness in answering my
prayers.
I
want to add in this section a quote from a man who once ran for President of
the United States, who is a former governor of the state of Arkansas, and most
importantly is a believer. After the
tragic killing of many people in Colorado last week former Governor Huckabee
made the following statement on his TV
show that he has on the Fox News Network :
““Ultimately,” Huckabee concluded, “We don't
have a crime problem or a gun problem – or even a violence problem. What we
have is a sin problem. And since we ordered God out of our schools and
communities, the military and public conversations, you know, we really
shouldn't act so surprised when all hell breaks loose.” I agree with this statement whole heartily!
My
Steps of Faith for Today: 8
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to
the sons of men! 9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul
He has filled with what is good.”
Memory verses for the week:
2Peter 1:1-7
1.
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by
the righteousness of our
God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to
you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3. seeing that His divine
power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through
the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4. For by these He has granted to us His
precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
5. Now for this
reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and
in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6. and in your knowledge self-control, and
in your self-control perseverance, and in your perseverance godliness, 7. and
in your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
7/23/2012 11:21:44 AM
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