SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 8/21/2012 11:47:18 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm
116 PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Psalm 116:5-19
Message
of the verses: We began to look at
the 116th Psalm in yesterday’s SD, and will continue looking at it
today. Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following
at the end of his introduction to this psalm: “As the psalmist reflected on his
life-threatening experience, he discovered several reasons why the Lord God delivers
people from danger and death.”
God
Is Merciful and Gracious (vv. 5-11): “5
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. 6 The LORD
preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7 Return to your
rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For You have
rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. 9 I
shall walk before the LORD In the land of the living. 10 I believed when I
said, "I am greatly afflicted." 11 I said in my alarm, ‘All men are
liars.’”
When we think about God’s name, and
there are many names of God that are found in the pages of Scripture, we must
think that His name represents God’s character, and we see that God is
gracious, righteous, compassionate, and powerful. We see these characteristics or attributes in
this section of Psalm 116. When we think
of God’s character and attributes we will find many of those in the book of
Psalms, and when we look at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ while He was on
planet earth we will see many of those attributes and characteristics in
action. John MacArthur once said that
all of the attributes of God can be seen at the cross.
We can see that the Lord loved the
psalmist and after the Lord saved his life the psalmist loved the Lord even
more. In verse six we see the word
:simple” and this means to those who are childlike, and we can see this in the
gospels when Jesus takes a child and then put the child on His lap and then
told His audience that people must be childlike in order to come to Him.
We see in verse seven that the Lord
dealt bountifully with the psalmist and how this was done is described in
verses eight and nine. Dr. Wiersbe
writes “In the pressure of danger and pain we often say things we really do not
mean, but the Lord sees our hearts and knows what we really believe. The psalmist held to his faith even though he
said what he did, and the Lord ignored what he said with his lips and responded
to what he was saying in his heart.”
God
Holds His children Precious (vv. 12-15):
“12 What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me? 13
I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the LORD. 14 I
shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people. 15
Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.”
I first remember seeing verse
fifteen at a funeral of a man who was probably the first man that died who was
a believer since I had become a believer.
I was 26 years old when I came to know Christ as my Savior and Lord and
after joining a local church I got to know this man who died in an accident at
work, and while going to his funeral this verse was written on a little card
that all received who attended his funeral.
This is a very precious verse to me especially since the very recent
loss of my mother who knew the Lord as her Savior and Lord.
The psalmist wanted to express his
gratitude to the Lord after the Lord had delivered him from death and he did it
in four ways.
1.
He
brought a thank offering to the Lord (v. 17).
2.
Part
of this sacrifice, the priest would pour out a portion of wine on the altar as
a symbol of the worshiper’s life poured out to serve the Lord. (“Cup of Salvation)
3.
The
priest kept back part of the offering for a feast held after the sacrifice, and
there the worshiper shared his food and his joy with his family and friends. It
was at this feast that the psalmist would publicly thank the Lord.
4.
The
psalmist would begin to keep the promises that he had made to the Lord during
his time of suffering and danger (vv.14 & 18) Dr. Wiersbe states that “we must not consider
these vows to be ‘holy bribes’ given in payment for God’s help, for the
psalmist surely knew that God’s will cannot be influenced by man’s gifts. (See
Job 41:11, quoted in Romans 11:35).”
Dr.
Wiersbe writes these very important words in conjunction with verse
fifteen: “For
believers,
death is not an accident but an appointment (Ps. 139:16, and see 39:4-6 and
92:12). If the Father pays attention to
the death of every sparrow, surely He will be concerned about the death of His
saints (Matt. 10:29-31; John 11:1-16).
Just as the blood of Christ is precious (1Peter 1:19), so our blood is precious
to God (72:12-14). God’s servants are immortal until their work on earth is done. They can be foolish and hasten the day of
their death, but they cannot go beyond their appointed time. That is in God’s hands. (48:14; Job 14:5,
NIV; Luke 2:26).”
God
Is Faithful to His Covenant (vv. 16-19): “16 O LORD, surely I am Your
servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds.
17 To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of
the LORD. 18 I shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be in the presence of
all His people, 19 In the courts of the LORD’S house, In the midst of you, O
Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!”
Dr. Wiersbe points out that when we
read “I am Your servant” this can mean that “I am a son of the covenant.” The parents of the psalmist brought their son
to the priest eight days after he was born to be circumcised and this makes him
a son of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, and all the sons of
Israel. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Believers
today belong to God’s new covenant family in Christ, but this does not
guarantee protection from pain and trials.
However, it does mean that God is in control and will work all thing for
our good and His glory, even our death (Romans 8:28; John 21:17-19; 2Peter
1:12-15). Even our Lord lived on a
divine timetable and they could not crucify Him until the chosen hour had come
(John. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1).
May the Lord help us to end well and be faithful to Him (2 Timothy
4:6-8).”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: This
section has reminded me again of the fact that God is in control of all things,
including the time when I go to be with Him, whether through death or when the
Rapture comes and I am transformed in the air on the way to meet the Lord.
(1Cor. 15:51-58; 1Thes. 4:13-18).
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Continue to abide or remain in the Vine to understand what it is that
the Lord desires me to do in His service
Memory
verses for the week: 2Peter 1:8-11
8 For if these qualities are yours and are
increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfaithful in the true
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind
or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling
and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never
stumble, 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
8/21/2012
1:08:36 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment