SPIRITURAL DIARY FOR 2/12/2012 7:26:53
AM
My
Worship Time Focus: “Trusting God”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 42-43
Message
of the verses: In today’s SD we
begin book two in the book of Psalms, as there are five different books
totaling 150 Psalms in all. In book one
we saw most of the psalms written by David, but that is not the case in some of
the other books as they have different authors as is the case of Psalms 42
& 43. In his introduction to these
two Psalms Dr. Wiersbe points out that he believes that these two psalms were
at one time just one psalm, but does not know why they were separated.
Korah was a grandson of Kohath and
he was killed in a rebellion against the Lord which is found in Numbers chapter
16. His sons escaped the judgment
(Numbers 16:11) and became worship leaders in the sanctuary as seen in 1 Chronicles
9:19 and following; and also 26:1-19. We
see them also named in the titles of Psalms 44-49, 84 and 87-88, and they were
also mentioned in the introduction to Psalm 39.
John MacArthur writes in his
introductory commentary these words, “These people are probably better regarded
as the Levitical performers, rather than the authors of these psalm (i.e., ‘For
the sons of Korah’).” Some commentators
that I have read believe that David was the author of this psalm and the
background was again when Absalom was rebelling against David. In Dr. Wiersbe introduction he writes, “Some
associate these psalms with Absalom’s rebellion, but the geography in verse 6
seems to put the setting too far north for that, since David camped over the
Jordan at Mahanaim. The author was
evidently a Levite exiled among Gentiles (43:1) who oppressed him and
questioned his faith (42:3, 10; 43:2).
He was a worship leader who had led groups of pilgrims to Jerusalem for
the assigned festivals (84:7; Ex. 23:14-17; 34:18-26; Deu. 16:1-17). It was time for such a journey but he wasn’t
able to go, and this grieved his heart because he felt that the Lord had
forgotten him (42:9; 43:2).
I
want to also look at what Charles H. Spurgeon wrote in his introduction to
Psalm 42: “Subject. It is the cry of a
man far removed from the outward ordinances and worship of God, sighing for the
long loved house of his God; and at the same time it is the voice of a
spiritual believer, under depressions, longing for the renewal of the divine
presence, struggling with doubts and fears, but yet holding his ground by faith
in the living God. Most of the Lord’s family have
sailed on the sea which is here so graphically described. It is probable that David’s flight from
Absalom may have been the occasion for composing this Maschil.”
There
is a wonderful song that was written from verse one of Psalm 42 that I want to
put into this SD since it is one of my favorite songs and the reason for that
is that it is a song from Scripture:
|
Lyrics: |
|
As
the deer panteth for the water |
At the
end of his introduction to these Psalm’s 42-43 Dr. Wiersbe writes “The psalms
are intensely personal, containing over fifty personal pronouns; and the writer
fluctuated between faith and despair as he wrestled with the Lord. He questions the Lord eleven times as he
wonders why God doesn’t do something for him.
We see him passing through three stages before he comes to victory and
peace.”
Longing
for God (42:1-5): “1 For the choir director. A Maskil of the
sons of Korah: As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for
You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come
and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they
say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 4 These things I
remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the
throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy
and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. 5 Why are you in despair, O my
soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall
again praise Him For the help of His presence.”
As I
read the different commentaries and found out the disagreement with who they
believe authored this psalm and when in the history of Israel that it was
written I have come to no conclusions of my own at this time, but perhaps after
studying these psalms I will have formed an opinion of my own, however I know
that this was inspired by God’s Holy Spirit as he inspired all Scripture, and
because it is part of God’s Word I can learn from it and hopefully grow in my
faith because of the study from these two psalms.
One of
the things that I have always remembered about Psalm 42 was the first verse and
how I see a person longing for the Lord and describe it as he may have seen a
deer panting for water because it could not find any. The writer describes his longing for the
living Lord, the Lord he desires to serve, and yet he is in a place where he
cannot fulfill that desire. He is in a
place where he is being treated badly because of his faith, perhaps living in a
Gentile nation. The writer is thirsting
for the Lord and asks the Lord when will He appear to him, for his prayers are
not being answered. He remembers the
times when he led people up to Jerusalem for the feasts and longs to do that
again, and yet he cannot do it because of the circumstances that he finds
himself in.
His
mood changes as seen in verse five when he remembers that there is no reason to
be in despair because God is on the throne and because of that He is always in
control so we see that his faith in the Lord is increased by remembering the
Lord is in control.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I have
been in the place where the author of this psalm was and there are times when
troubles come into my life that I too forget that the Lord has a plan for my
life and that God is still on His throne.
Life is sometimes hard, but I remember that as Dr. Wiersbe has written
that life is full of tests and it is how we handle those tests that can help to
build our character, or they can drag us down and cause us to have our
circumstances overwhelm us and that is why we need to remember another thing
that Dr. Wiersbe has written in many of his books: “The successful Christian life is a series of
new beginnings.”
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1.
Continue to trust the Lord knowing that
He is always on His throne and in control of all things.
2.
Continue to seed the Lord’s help and
direction as I go through the circumstances of life seeking to learn
contentment.
2/12/2012
8:29:59 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment