SPIRITUAL DIARY
FOR 10/15/2012 8:40:36 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: Psalm 127
PT-3
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 127:2-5
Message of the verses: Today we
will look at our third lesson from the 127th Psalm remembering what
Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introductory commentary “But the psalm also
speaks to us today and reminds us of some privileges we have as the people of God in a dangerous
and demanding world.”
Enjoying
(v.2)
“2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To
eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his
sleep.”2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at
night, anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
(NLT)
Whenever
we looked at different introductions to this psalm we found that John MacArthur
wrote that this psalm was written by Solomon and then he proceeded to give
different verses in the book of Ecclesiastes that seemed to compare with verses
in this psalm. In Warren Wiersbe’s
commentary on this section he also sites different verses from Ecclesiastes
that go along with verse two: (2:24;
3:12-15, 22; 5:18-20; 8:15; 9:7-10; 11:9-10).
The
psalmist is talking about work and he is also talking about sleep. Both work and sleep were things that were
done before the fall, however the toil of work is a part of the curse from the
fall, “Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of
your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying,
’You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All
the days of your life (Genesis 3:17).”
However even in our work we can bring glory to the Lord, for God has
given all His children gifts and talents that they can use in their work. When we read John 4:34 we find out that
Jesus’ work was to do the will of Him who sent Him, and Jesus’ work at that
junction was speaking to the woman at the well, to tell her that He was Messiah
and that by believing on Him she would be saved.
Dr.
Wiersbe writes “The last line of verse 2 is translated and interpreted several
different ways, but the thrust of it seems clear. We get tired in God’s work but we do not get
tired of God’s work, because the Lord who gives us the strength to work also
gives us the rest we need. ‘The sleep of
a laboring man is sweet’ (Eccl. 5:12). I
think what this verse is saying is that we are to keep things in balance for we
are not to work so much that we have little time for other things that are
enjoyable, and we are not to sleep too much where we don’t get our work done.
Conserving
(vv. 3-5)
“3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of
the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the
children of one’s youth. 5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.”
It was
just last night that I was listening to a sermon by John MacArthur on abortion,
which seems to be the opposite of what this verse is talking about. He stated that there are 50 million abortions
that happen each year around the world.
This means that at the end of World War Two there were some 55 million
people killed and now we almost kill that many innocent children in this world
each year.
As I look
at the six grandchildren that I have, as I look at their different
personalities that they have I am amazed at how blessed that I am to have these
six little children, for they surely are a blessing to me.
When the
children of Israel came back to the city of Jerusalem from their captivity in
Babylon there was a great need to raise families because their numbers were
very small and we know that children to the Jewish people was very important to
them and still is to this day for they knew and still know that children are a
gift from the Lord.
Dr. Wiersbe writes the following at the conclusion to this
section, “Not everyone is supposed to get married, nor are all married couples
able to have children. But all adults
can value the children, pray for them, be good examples to them, and see that
they are protected and cared for and encouraged in their spiritual
upbringing. Remember what Jesus said about
this in Matthew 18:5-6.” “5 "And
whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes
one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for
him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the
depth of the sea.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I look at this last section in Psalm 127
and then look around at the world that I am living in it makes me pray more and
harder for another great awakening to be given to us by God’s Holy Spirit to
wake up the Church in our country.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to learn contentment, and continue
to pray for revival in our land.
Memory verses for the week:
1Cor. 13:8-11
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy,
they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is
knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For
we know in part and we prophecy in part,
10 but when the perfect comes the partial will be done away. 11 When I
was a child, I use to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a
child; when I became a man I did away with childish things.
10/15/2012 9:31:50 AM
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