SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 2/5/2012 8:13:28 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2
Psalm 38
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Psalm
38:9-22
Message
of the verses: In yesterday’s SD we
found out that Psalm 38 is a penitent psalm and that perhaps it was written
because of the sin that was committed by David with Bathsheba. We also quoted the following from Dr. Wiersbe
as he made this statement at the end of his introductory commentary, “When
God’s people suffer the consequences of sin and feel the chastening hand of
God, they must choose one of three responses.”
We will begin today’s SD with the second response.
We Can Focus on Others and Experience Sin’s
Loneliness (vv. 9-14): “9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing
is not hidden from You. 10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me; And the light
of my eyes, even that has gone from me. 11 My loved ones and my friends stand
aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand afar off. 12 Those who seek my life
lay snares for me; And those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction,
And they devise treachery all day long. 13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute man who does
not open his mouth. 14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, And in
whose mouth are no arguments.”
Just a reminder that when we see
the word “LORD” that is in all caps
then it is the word Jehovah, and when it is written the way it is in verse nine
“Lord” we know that it is another
name for God, and in the case of verse nine that word is “Adonai—Master.”
David thinks of himself for a brief
moment and turns to the Lord who knows all of our needs. Why pray if we know that God already knows
all of our needs? Well the first answer
is found in James 4:2d, “You do not have
because you do not ask.” Dr. Wiersbe
writes “furthermore, as we pray, God works in hearts to give us a clearer
understanding of ourselves and of His will for us. Prayer isn’t a theological concept to analyze and explain; it’s a
privilege to cherish and a blessing to claim.”
We see now that David’s focus, which
had been on himself, and then was for a brief moment on the Lord, now turns to
others around him, people who he felt had abandoned him in his time of need and
he felt abandoned and lonely. We see in
verse 12 that David expected his enemies to plot against him, to gloat over his
fall (v. 16), hate him, slander him, and then return evil for the good that he
had done to them (vv. 19-20). We see in
verse eleven that David’s family and friends were treating him as if he were a
leper for they were keeping their distance.
According to two examples in Scriptures we should not do as David’s
friends and family were doing, “1 Brethren,
even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a
one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too
will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law
of Christ.”
“5
But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some
degree-in order not to say too much-to all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a one
is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7 so that on the
contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might
be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your
love for him. 9 For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the
test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 But one whom you forgive
anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven
anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by
Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”
(Gal. 6:1-2 & 2Cor. 2:5-11)
David realized that the best thing
that he could do was to keep quiet and not speak to others, but to talk to the
Lord and that is what we will see in the next section.
We Can Focus on the Lord and Experience
Sin’s Forgiveness (vv. 15-22): “15 For I hope in You, O LORD; You will
answer, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, "May they not rejoice over me, Who,
when my foot slips, would magnify themselves against me." 17 For I am
ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I confess my iniquity;
I am full of anxiety because of my sin. 19 But my enemies are vigorous and
strong, And many are those who hate me wrongfully. 20 And those who repay evil
for good, They oppose me, because I follow what is good. 21 Do not forsake me,
O LORD; O my God, do not be far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”
In verses 15 and 21 we see both
Jehovah and Adonai in them.
We see the third time that David
addresses the Lord, but this time he was going to deal with what had caused the
discipline and the pain, that is his sin and in verse 18 we see that David
confesses his sin to the Lord. David was
not just praying for his own needs but he was also praying that his enemy
couldn’t use him as an excuse for sinning (vv. 16, 19-20, 25:2; 35:19). Because David was God’s anointed when they
slandered his name they were slandering God.
In 2 Samuel 2:14 Nathan speaks these words to David: “"However,
because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to
blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.’”
We see in verse 17 that David
actually felt that he was ready to die and then he confessed his sins to the
Lord.
In verse 19 we see that David spoke
of his enemies as vigorous and strong, and I believe that he may have been
contrasting them with the physical condition that he was in at that time, for
he was sick because of his sin.
Dr. Wiersbe ends his commentary of
Psalm 38 with these words, “Confident that the Lord had forgiven him, he closed
his prayer with three requests. Be with me (v.21) is answered by
Deuteronomy 4:31 and 31:6, 8, and Hebrews 13:5.
Be near me (v. 21) finds its
answer in 16:8, 34:18 and James 4:8. Be for me and help me (v. 22) leads us
to 28:7, Isaiah 41:10 and Romans 8:33-39.
These three
requests cover just about everything!”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I began
to think of a question when I looked at 2 Samuel 12:14, wondering if all
leaders of governments are anointed by God in the same way the king of Israel
was. I read in Isaiah 44-45 that Cyrus
was anointed by God to bring His children out of captivity, but that still does
not answer the question. I believe that
God has a purpose for all those who are leading a country, but as far as being
anointed by God I don’t know. I read in
Daniel 2:21 that God chooses all leaders, but that still doesn’t answer my
question. Pharaoh was wicked to the
nation of Israel, but God used him for His purposes. In Ezekiel 38-39 we see that God will use
leaders to attack Israel as He says that “I
will put hooks in their jaws and bring them down,” and then He goes on to
say that by them doing this it will bring glory to the Lord as He destroys
them. This still does not answer the
question.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Trust the Lord to work out His
plan for me and for the world.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
2/5/2012
9:11:58 AM
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