SPIRITUAL DIARY
FOR 12/1/2012 8:32:38 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 142
PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 142:3-7
Message of
the verses: We will continue to look at the 142nd
Psalm in Today’s SD. Dr. Wiersbe wrote
the following at the end of his introductory commentary, “He (David) knew very
little about Saul and his plans, but he did know about Jehovah and His great
promises, and because of his faith in these assurances, he triumphed over his
feelings and his foes.”
The
Lord Knows Our Circumstances (vv. 3-4): “3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path. In the way where I walk They have hidden a trap for me. 4
Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me; There is no
escape for me; No one cares for my soul.”
It is believed that David was being
hunted by Saul so that Saul might kill him, and that is the background for
Psalm 142. David was down, but not out
for David had great faith in the Lord.
In verse one David uses the pronoun Him, but now in verse three he
speaks of the Lord in a more personal way by calling Him “You” and states that
God knew his path. I wrote about this
truth in yesterday’s SD, as I know that God knows me intimately, and He knows
my circumstances, and will care for me by using my circumstances for His glory,
and for my good (Romans 8:28). Dr.
Wiersbe writes “what life does to us depend on what life finds in us, and David
was a man with faith in his heart.” That
statement means a lot for what life finds in us depends on our relationship
with the Lord. Memorizing the Word of
God along with listening to it, and reading it and meditating on it helps us to
be ready for the things in life that our difficult. This is what Paul writes about to the Romans
in the 12th chapter when he writes about giving ourselves to the
Lord as a living sacrifice and then having our minds transformed by the Word of
God so that we will be ready to face what life brings to us. Dr. Wiersbe concludes this section with this
statement “No matter the circumstances around us or the feelings within us, God
cares for us.” “casting all your anxiety
on Him, because He cares for you (1Pe. 5:7).”
The Lord Meets Our Needs (vv. 5-7): “5 I
cried out to You, O LORD; I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the
living. 6 "Give heed to my cry, For
I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong
for me. 7 "Bring my soul out of
prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me,
For You will deal bountifully with me.’”
After the terrorist attacks that
came to America on September 11, 2001 the churches were filled in our country
and one of the main themes that was used for the text of many sermons was the
following, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the
earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah (Psalm 46:1-3).” Now we see in verse five of Psalm 142 that
David is calling God His refuge.
The
following is the commentary that Charles H. Spurgeon offers on the first verse
of Psalm 46: “Ver. 1. God is our refuge
and strength. Not our armies, or our
fortresses. Israel’s boast is in
Jehovah, the only living and true God.
Others vaunt their impregnable castles, placed on inaccessible rocks,
and secured with gates of iron, but God is a far better refuge from distress
than all these: and when the time comes to carry the war into the enemy’s
territories, the Lord stands his people in better stead than all the valor of
legions or the boasted strength of chariot and horse. Soldiers of the cross, remember this, and
count yourselves safe, and make yourselves strong in God. Forget not the personal possessive word
our; make sure each one of your portion
in God, that you may say, "He is my refuge and strength." Neither
forget the fact that God is our refuge just now, in the immediate present, as
truly as when David penned the word. God
alone is our all in all. All other
refuges are refuges of lies, all other strength is weakness, for power
belongeth unto God: but as God is all sufficient, our defense and might are
equal to all emergencies.” I believe
that this statement will help us better understand how important it is to have
God as our refuge.
The
Lord had provided a cave for David to live in so that he would be protected by
it, but David knew that the Lord was meeting his need by being David’s
refuge.
David
trusted the Lord to deliver him from the problems that he was in and would one
day give praise to the Lord for delivering him from the terrible situation that
he found himself in. David looked
forward to the day when the people of Israel would surround him when he became
king, and so he could praise the Lord along with the people.
Spiritual meaning for my life
today: To realize that the
Lord has a plan and a purpose for my life gives comfort to me. My purpose in life is not what God had for
David’s life, but it is important to me because it is what God has chosen for
me to do and I can learn from the life of David how faithfulness to the Lord no
matter what circumstance I find myself in is something I can hold on to. I believe that when we look at Ephesians 2:10
we see that God has a plan for my life and all believer’s lives that was
ordained by Him in eternity past, and so this give me confidence in the Lord to
use me to accomplish the things He has planned for me through the power of the
Holy Spirit and trusting in the Word that He uses to guide me through the plans
He has for me.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to
learn contentment and to continue to read and study the Word of God so that the
Word will transform me into the image of Jesus Christ.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 130:1-6
1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O
LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplications. 3 If You, LORD should
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.
5 I
wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His Word do I hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than the
watchman for the morning; Indeed more than the watchman for the morning.
12/1/2012 9:33:23 AM
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