“God the Deliverer” (Ps. 59:1-9)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/16/2012 7:09:31 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                 Focus: “God the Deliverer”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 59:1-9

 

            Message of the verses:  We will begin looking at Psalm 59 this morning beginning with the introduction of the psalm.

 

            “This psalm is of the same nature and scope with six or seven foregoing psalms; they are all filled with David’s complaints of the malice of his enemies and of their cursed and cruel designs against him, his prayers and prophecies against them, and his comfort and confidence in God as his God. The first is the language of nature, and may be allowed; the second of a prophetical spirit, looking forward to Christ and the enemies of his kingdom, and therefore not to be drawn into a precedent; the third of grace and a most holy faith, which ought to be imitated by every one of us.”  (Matthew Henry)

 

            “This is another in a series of laments in which the psalmist pleads for God to defend him against his oppressors.  The psalm is a mixture of prayer, unfavorable descriptions of the adversary, imprecations, and praise to God.  Though written when David was king of Israel, the psalm recalls an earlier time of anguish when Saul sought to kill David (1 Sam. 19:1).  Ultimately David’s strong confidence in God’s sovereignty transforms the lament into a son of assurance.”  (John MacArthur Study Bible)

 

            “King Saul’s fear and hatred of David became so compulsive that he finally gave orders to kill his son-in-law, and twice Saul tried to do it himself (1Sam. 19:1-10), but his wife helped David escape by letting him out a window (see Acts 9:23-25).  Before this attempt, Saul sent out search parties to spy on David (vv. 6, 14), and David wrote this psalm to ask God for the help he needed.  The focus of the psalm is on God—Deliverer (vv. 1-9) and Judge (vv. 10-17).  Note David’s repeated ‘statement of faith’ in verses 9 and 17.  David waited and watched for God to work, and then he sang praises to the Lord for His mercies.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

 

            It was on June 20, 2010 that I wrote the following words in my Spiritual Diary concerning 1 Samuel 19:1-10:  “Today’s SD begins the second stage of opposition to David by Saul and Dr. Wiersbe has entitled it “Saul looks for opportunities to have David killed.”  Today I will look at the first ten verses of chapter nineteen of 1 Samuel which speaks of Jonathan interceding for David to his father Saul who wants to kill David.

           

            “I like this statement that comes from the pen of Warren Wiersbe about this section of Scripture.  “It’s remarkable that such a magnificent son could belong to such a wicked father!”  Of course he was writing about Jonathan and his father Saul.  Jonathan was the person who could have been the next king but since he was a godly man and since he was such a good friend to David and since he knew that the Lord had chosen David to be the next king he told David that Saul wanted to kill him and to watch out for him.  This worked out for a while but then the evil spirit came upon Saul again and he tries to kill David again. 

            “Dr. Wiersbe writes that Satan was a liar and he was the one controlling Saul at this time so that is why he broke his vow not to try and kill David.  David realizes that it was time to get out of town, but first he wanted to go and see his wife before he left.”

           

            On June 22, 2010 I wrote the following on the verses from 1 Sam. 19:11-17:  “Even though Michal had David’s best interest at heart she kind of went about helping him and scheming to her father in a bad way.  Michal was the first wife of David, a man after God’s heart and here she was with an idol in her room similar to Rachel who also had idols that she stole from her father.  David on the other hand trusted the Lord to make sure that Saul would not kill him.  David wrote Psalm 59 out of this experience. 

 

“1 For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. 3 For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, 4 For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! 5 You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. 6 They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 7 Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, ‘Who hears?’”  This is only the first part of this 59^th Psalm as in total there are 17 verses, but the point is made here that David was trusting in the Lord to save him from Saul’s men.  God uses humans to work out his plan and Michal was used to accomplish His plan for David’s escape even though she schemed to allow David to escape. 

 

“Michal will turn up again when David is dancing before the Lord while the Ark of God is being brought to Jerusalem and that situation if far different than this one.”

 

            “God the Deliverer” (vv. 1-9):  “1 For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. 3 For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, 4 For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! 5 You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. 6 They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 7 Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, "Who hears?"  8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. 9 Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold.”

 

            As I wrote in the earlier SD on 1 Samuel 19, we see from these verses that David’s trust was in the Lord, and it was the Lord who would use David’s wife to help David escape and begin his ten years of wondering in the wilderness hiding out from Saul.  If David would not have had this “wilderness experience” then Israel and the Church would have missed out on many of the psalms that David wrote about that time in his life.

 

            I was wondering when it was that David began to write his songs and psalms, for it seems that the first time we see David in Scripture God is having him anointed to be king over Israel, and then comes the killing of the giant Philistine.  While he was meeting with Saul before killing the giant David mentioned that he had killed both a lion and a bear while tending his father’s sheep.  This must have been the time in David’s life that he penned the famous 23^rd Psalm, so it seems to me that David had been depending upon the Lord for a long time in his life before he began to write all of the psalms that we see in the Bible.  I think that if we can know the background of why David writes the different psalms it will help us understand more about the psalm.

           

            We see at the beginning of Psalm 59 in verses 1-2 that David knows that God hears his prayers and this is very important to David and for that matter to all of us who have troubles and we know confidently that God hears our prayers.  David also knew that his prayer to the Lord was not a substitute for doing something for “faith without works is dead.”  (James 2:26) 

           

            We know that the Lord knows the hearts of everyone and therefore He knew the heart of David, knowing that David was innocent, and that Saul trying to kill him was wrong for David had done nothing to provoke Saul into trying to kill him. 

           

            As we look at verses 3-7 we see that the Lord knows the hearts of David’s enemies, and for that matter our enemies.  David uses the covenant name for God in verse five and calls Him the God of Hosts and the God of Israel. 

           

            David’s immediate enemy was Saul who was trying to kill him, but because of Saul’s mismanagement of Israel the enemies of Israel were also trying to defeat Israel.  It is no different today as many nations want to destroy the little nation of Israel, and is surrounded by enemies, but just as back then when David was king God will defeat the enemies of Israel and will someday (hopefully soon) bring the Lord Jesus Christ back to earth to rule all the nations from His throne in Israel for 1000 years.  Just as in the days of David when he was the anointed king, but was not recognized, today there are few who recognize that Jesus is the rightful King.

           

            We see some graphic descriptions of David’s enemies and this show how much disdain he had for them.  I like what David writes in verses 8-9 about how the Lord feels about His enemies, and that He laughs at them.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the reasons that I admire the life of David so much is his great faith that he had in God.  His faith in God to take care of his enemies and to lead the nation of Israel is inspiring to me and hopefully as I read more about his faith that it will increase my faith for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”  Hearing and reading God’s Word will increase my faith.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to read and hear the Word of God so that the God of the Word can speak to my heart and increase my faith in Him.  As I continue to read the Word of God I desire for it to cause me to be content.

 

3/16/2012 8:19:10 AM     

 

 

“Lawlessness Punished & Righteousness Praised” (Ps. 58:6-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/15/2012 9:45:53 AM

 

My Worship Time                                Focus:  “Lawlessness Punished & Righteousness Praised”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Psalm 58:6-11

 

            Message of the verses:  In today’s Spiritual Diary we will look at the rest of Psalm 58 beginning with the second main point.

 

            “Condemnation—Lawlessness Punished: (vv. 6-8):  “6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. 7 Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. 8 Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.”

           

            David is very upset with the unjust judges and therefore He asks the Lord to do the things that are described in these verses, for David knew that according to Deuteronomy 32:35 “’Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’”  David knew that there would come a time when the wrongs of these unjust judges would be taken care of by the Lord for as we mentioned in yesterday’s SD part of the character and attributes of the Lord is Justice.  Here is how the Bible teaches that justice will be taken care of by the Lord:  At the cross of Jesus Christ, God the Father punished His Son for our sins and what this is called is propitiation and this word was used by the heathens in the days of the Romans and Greeks to mean “the satisfaction of an angry God.” God is angry with sin, but when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins God was satisfied with this payment and thus His justice was satisfied.  Those who will not accept the payment that Jesus Christ paid on the cross will have to pay for their own sins, and that means they will die in their sins and be sentenced to hell for they did not receive the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

           

            What David is describing in these verse is that he wants the weapons that they are using against the righteous to become useless, for water loses its power when it is dried up in the ground and a lion without teeth is not too powerful, and a snail looks like it is melting away as it travels over a rock because of the slime it leaves.  What David is saying is “let those unjust leaders be gone.”

 

            “Vindication—Righteousness Praised” (vv. 9-11):  “9  Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. 10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!’”

“9 God will sweep them away, both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. 10 The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.  They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Then at last everyone will say, “There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.’’”  (NLT)

                                                                                                              

Understand that David is saying in verse nine that these unjust leaders were only a “flash in the pan.”  When you try to cook a meal using thorns the fire will be very hot very fast, but will go out just as fast because there is no substance to the thorns.

 

The picture in verse ten is of a victorious soldier with blood on his feet walking around picking up the spoils of their victory and that is what David is saying will happen to those who are godly.  According to Job 29:6 walking in cream and oil was a picture of wealth which contrasts with the blood on the soldier’s feet.

 

Dr. Wiersbe writes “The fact that the righteous rejoice at this is no more sinful than that prisoners of war rejoices at the fall of Babylon (Rev. 18:20-19:6).  God vindicates Himself, His law, and His people, and He does it justly.  So effective is His judgment that outsiders will say, ‘Surely there is a God who judges on earth’ (v. 11 NASB).”

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the justice of the Lord for I know that His justice will be perfect.  I am most thankful for His justice at the cross and the willingness of my Lord in taking my punishment and then exchanging it for His righteousness.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Live a life that is steadfast before the Lord.  Trust the Lord to guide my steps along the path He will lead me today.  Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.  Put on the spiritual armor.  I want to continue to learn contentment.

 

3/15/2012 10:29:08 AM

“God’s Justice” (Ps. 58:1-5)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/14/2012 8:38:43 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                       Focus:  “God’s Justice”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 58:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  Today we begin looking at Psalm 58 and I will first of all look at several introductions and decide which of them I will use on this Spiritual Diary.  

 

            “As a lament against tyranny, the first half of the psalm rehearses a series of charges against wicked leaders and judges; and the second half is an imprecatory prayer that they be obliterated.  In the end, the psalmist is certain that God will act with ultimate justice.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

 

            “During David’s exile years, Saul led the nation down a path of political and spiritual ruin as he disobeyed God’s law and opposed God’s anointed king.  Saul was surrounded by a group of fawning flatterers who fed his ego and catered to his foolish whims (1Sam. 22:6ff), and he put into places of authority people who used their offices for personal gain and not for the national good.  They wanted to get as much as they could before the kingdom collapsed.  David himself had been treated illegally, and it’s likely that many of his men lost all they had because they followed David.  (1Sam.22:1-2).  This psalm was probably written late in David’s exile, or very early in his reign in Hebron, and may have grown out of his pondering the mess he had inherited from his father-in-law.  (See Psalm 82 for a parallel psalm by Asaph.)  The prophets often preached against the lawlessness of the leaders in Israel (Isa. 1:23-28; 5:22-25; 10:1-4; Amos 5:7-13; Mic. 3:1-4, 9-12; 7:1-6).  Certainly nations, corporations, and even churches today need to take this kind of leadership crisis seriously.  This is an imprecatory psalm (see Psalm 6).”  (Warren Wiersbe)

 

            “Accusation—Lawlessness Practiced” (vv. 1-5): “1.TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID:” Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?  Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.”  (ESV)

           

            As I look at this psalm and then look around me today I can see similar things and the need for similar actions that David prayed for.  There is indeed lawlessness practiced in our nation today and many other nations around the world especially pertaining to how people now view the Gospel.  I am reading the autobiography of Billy Graham, a book that is very long in length and starts at the birth of Billy Graham and continues through his celebrated life of preaching the Gospel to more people than any other person in the history of mankind.  It was early in his preaching that he spent time in Europe speaking to millions of souls who were ripe to hear the gospel.  People around the world were ripe to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, but it seems today that people do not want to hear the good news of Jesus Christ in the same way that they did when Billy Graham began his preaching.  There has been a turn in the lives of the people around the world.  Many people today are being killed for their faith as I read on “The Voice of the Martyrs” that as many as 1000 people everyday around the world will die for their faith.  I am not a date setter as far as when I believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return for His Church, but it seems to me that the times are being made ready for His return.  It was my fear of the end of the world that the Lord used to call me to Himself and since 1974 I have studied eschatology (study of the end times) with great interest as many others have and it seems to me from what I have learned that many believe the time is near for the return of Jesus Christ.

 

            It is the lawless leaders that these verses from Psalm 58:1-5 that David is addressing and he asks if their words were just, if their decisions were legal, and also if their sentences were fair and honest.  Were these leaders upholding the law or making up their own laws to their benefit and the benefit of the wicked.  David knew the answer and it was that these men were evil and going against the things that God had made clear to them to do but didn’t do them.  We know that the Bible teaches that all are born sinful do to the fall that is spoken of in Genesis chapter three,  and David has also pointed this out in Psalm 51:5 where he wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”  We have already discovered that this did not mean that there was adultery involved, but David was speaking of his sin nature, something Paul goes into detail about in Romans 7.  These men seemed to enjoy sinning and did not look to do things according to the Law of the Lord.  The very fact that men are sinners is the reason that God established government and law, for without law society would be in chaos.  Evil comes from the heart of man as Jesus spoke of when the Pharisees were trying to impose their tradition on Him to ceremonially wash before eating, which was their man made rule.

           

            Dr Wiersbe writes about these unjust judges when he calls them liars, “Their words were like venom that poisoned society instead of like medicine that brought health.  David compared them to snakes in verses 4-5 and lions in verse six, both of which are images of the Devil (Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1Peter 5:8).  Like the cobra, they obeyed the charmer only when they got something out of it, but they had a mind of their own.  Snakes have not visible ears or internal eardrums, but they do have small bones in the head that conduct sound vibrations.  The cobra responds more to the movements of the charmer than to the tune he plays.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at Psalm 58, and part of this psalm is an imprecatory psalm, which many people have trouble with, I see the justice of God being spoken of.  Many people today only want to see God’s love and God is love, but God is also just, and David knew a lot about the justice of God along with the mercy and grace of God, so David was getting the whole picture of God. 

            I look around the country that I live in and the country that I love and see many unjust things happening that I desire to have the Lord do something about.  I believe the verse that says vengeance is mine saith the Lord, and I believe that all of the wrongs that are done to believers today will be dealt with, but like others, I sometimes want it to happen right away, but as I continue to learn contentment I believe that it will happen when the Lord wants it to happen, and that will be the perfect time for it to happen.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to be steadfast like I learned yesterday, and I want to continue to learn contentment.  I want to trust the Lord to lead my life as Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks of.  I need the spiritual armor on as Eph. 6:10-18 speaks of.  I give myself to the Lord for worship and service as Romans 12:1-2 talk about.

 

3/14/2012 10:04:27 AM

 

           

              

“Exalting the Lord” (Ps. 57:6-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/13/2012 10:01:47 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  “Exalting the Lord”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Psalm 57:6-11

 

            Message of the verses:  We began Psalm 57 yesterday and covered the introduction and also the first section, verses 1-5 and today we want to look at the remaining two sections.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following at the end of his introduction:  “From his difficult experience in Gath, David shares with us some responsibilities (and privileges) believers have every day.”

 

            “Each Day is a Day of Praise” (vv. 6-11):  “6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah.  7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. 10 For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds. 11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

           

            One of the hymns that I like so well is a part of this psalm and is entitled “Be Exalted,” and you can see that it comes from verse eleven. 

 

“I will give thanks to Thee
O Lord among the people
I will sing praises to Thee
among the nations
For Thy steadfast love is great
It is great to the heavens
And Thy faithfulness,
Thy faithfulness to the clouds


“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens
Let Thy glory be over all the earth
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens
Let Thy glory be over all the earth


“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens
Let Thy glory be over all the earth
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens
Let Thy glory, let Thy glory
Let Thy glory be over all the earth.”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes this about the order of this psalm:  “In verses 1-5, the order is prayer (v.1), witness (vv. 2-3) and a description of the enemy (v.4), followed by the refrain, but in this section the order is the enemy (v. 6), witness to the Lord (vv. 7-8), and praise (vv. 9-11), with praise as the emphasis.”

           

            Now that we know the order we will look at these verses and tie them in with praise.  We can see in verse six that David is comparing his enemies with hunters who were hunting him as their prey.  Then, because of his confidence and faith in the Lord David has great reason to praise the Lord in verses 7-11.  David had been through many difficult situations and his confidence and faith in the Lord had grown and so he knew that he could praise the Lord even while in this difficult situation.  When you read about David’s experiences in 1 Samuel, experiences of being on the run we do not get all of what was going on inside of David’s heart.  When we read the psalms that go along with this ten year period of being on the run we can better understand how much David learned and leaned upon the Lord during this difficult time in his life.  We see this time of testing that turns into trusting not only in David’s life, but also in Abraham’s life and Moses’ life and also in the life of Joseph.  We can even see a wilderness testing for our Lord Jesus Christ from Mark1 and also the 4^th chapters of Matthew and Luke.

             

             Let us talk about “My heart is steadfast” and the word steadfast.  Dr. Wiersbe states “that a steadfast heart is a heart that is fixed on the Lord’s promises and not wavering between doubt and faith (Ps. 51:10; 108:1; 112:7; 119:5).  This same word is used to describe the constancy of the heavenly bodies (Ps. 8:3; 74:16).”

           

            The prayer is a prayer that seems to last throughout the day as it begins by David actually praising the Lord at dawn.  I know that there is a verse in 1Thess. that tells us to “pray without ceasing” which in theory is probably what David was doing.  I believe that this verse means to have an attitude of prayer all of the time which is what David was doing at this time.  In describing this Dr. Wiersbe says that he keeps the phone off the hook, the phone line to heaven.

           

            “Each Day Is a Day of Exalting the Lord” (vv. 5 & 11):  “5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.  11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

           

            These two verses are the refrain of Psalm 57 and “they call upon the Lord to manifest His greatness in such a way that people had to say, ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.’”

           

            Dr. Wiersbe writes these concluding words at the end of his commentary, “If we are praying, trusting, and praising the Lord, we should have no problem exalting His name in all that we say, do, and suffer.”   “The elements of prayer, praise, and a desire for God to be magnified will transform any cave into a Holy of Holies to the glory of God.”

           

            As I look at the life of David I am able to see why David is called a man after God’s own heart, and a man that I have great admiration for.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to focus in on “a steadfast heart” in this section.  This has spoken to my heart because I believe that a person who has a desire to have contentment must have a heart that is steadfast in the Lord, believing all of the promises that are found in the Word of God, and not being what James calls as a double minded man. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      I desire to have a steadfast heart in the Lord.

2.      I desire to continue to learn contentment.

 

3/13/2012 11:23:03 AM

 

11/13/2018 12:08 PM

 

MICHAEL CARD

In The Wilderness Lyrics

In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness

In the wilderness we wander
In the wilderness we weep
In the wasteland of our wanting
Where the darkness seems so deep

We search for the beginning
For an exodus to hold
We find that those who follow Him
Must often walk alone

In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness

In the wilderness we're wondering
For a way to understand
In the wilderness there's not a way
For the ways become a man

And the man's become the exodus
The way to holy ground
Wandering in the wilderness
Is the best way to be found

In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
In the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness

Groaning and growing
Amidst the desert days
The windy winter wilderness
Can blow the self away

In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness

And that's the painful promise
Of the wilderness

 

"Prayer" (Ps. 57:1-5)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/12/2012 8:00:14 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                                  Focus:  “Prayer”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 57:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  I will begin with the short introductory commentary from the John MacArthur Study Bible on Psalm 57:  “This is another lament expressing supreme confidence in the Lord in the midst of calamitous circumstances.  Though David finds himself hiding from Saul (see Title), he knows that his real refuge is not in the walls of the cave (cf. 1 Sam. 22:1; 24:3), but in the shadow of God’s wings.”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following in his introduction:  “After his deliverance from Gath, recorded in 56, David fled for protection to the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1ff), and later he would move to a cave in Engedi (1 Sam. 24; see Ps. 142).  Better to be in the will of God in a cave than out of His will in a king’s palace.  The melody ‘Destroy not’ was also assigned to 58, 59, and 75.  This psalm covers one day in David’s life as a fugitive, for verse 4 records his lying down and verse 8 his walking up to greet the dawn.  God quieted his heart and gave him the sleep he needed (see 4:8 and 5:3).  Note the repetition of mercy and refuge (v. 1), sends (v. 3), steadfast (v. 7) and awake (v. 8), and refrain in verses 5 and 11.  From his difficult experience in Gath, David shares with us some responsibilities (and privileges) believers have every day.”

 

            The following is the commentary that I wrote on July 1, 2010 from 1Samuel 22:1-2:  “The cave of Adullam was not too far from Bethlehem and so David’s family came to him there because they also feared for their lives because of Saul.

           

            “Psalms 57 & 142 were written while David was in this cave and show that this cave became a sanctuary for those who were in distress, those who owed money and those who knew that the Lord had appointed David to be king over Israel.  Here in this cave, with all of these people coming to David he continued to display good leadership as his group would grow from 400 to 600 as more people would join him.  It is evident that David grew closer to the Lord while in this cave as he wrote the Psalms and relied upon the Lord.  He may have been thinking of Joseph and how long that it took the Lord to bring him to power in Egypt after having the dreams while just a young man, as David was just a young man when the Lord sent Samuel to anoint him as king.”

 

            “Each Day Is a Day of Prayer” (vv. 1-5): “1 For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth. 4 My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

            Like Psalm 56 David asks the Lord for mercy at the beginning of his prayer to the Lord, for David knew that is what he needed from the Lord.  David takes refuge in the Lord while he is in this cave and makes this cave like the Holy of Holies that is in the tabernacle which is where the two cherubim are seated on the mercy seat.  You can find this in Exodus 25:17-20. 

           

            David cries out to “God most High” for he knows that God will help him for it was God who had Samuel anoint David to be the king of Israel, but David had to first get his “schooling in the wilderness” before he would ascend to the throne.  The wilderness is mentioned on different occasions in the Scriptures speaking of a time when God deals with His people in order to give them the “education” they need.  The children of Israel marched around in the wilderness for forty years before going into the Promised Land.  We also see that the Lord Jesus Christ spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying and also being tempted by Satan.  See Mark chapter 1 and Matthew and Luke chapter 4. 

           

            We see in verse three that David says that God will send from Heaven and save David and this is speaking of being saved from Saul and his men which David describes in verse 4.  David uses animals to describe the men of Saul. 

           

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following to describe verse five:  “David included a song of praise in his evening prayer (v. 5) and then laid down and went to sleep.  David didn’t pray only at bedtime, as too many people do, but all day long; however, he closed the day with a special time of worship and commitment.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I will have to admit that most of my praying comes before I go to bed, but I do have a time on a lot of days just talking to my heavenly Father about things that are going on in my life.  It seems that I have steadily grown closer to God as I grow older and older in my walk with the Lord.  I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord, but He is also my friend.  Jesus spoke about this in the later portions of John’s Gospel.  The apostle Paul calls God “Aba Father” in the book of Romans.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      I desire to continue to grow closer to my Lord each day as I walk with Him, knowing that He is able to see me through the difficult times of life and bring joy to my heart.

2.      Have a more consistent prayer life, speaking to the Lord more throughout the day.

3.      Continue to learn contentment through the experiences of the day.

 

3/12/2012 8:51:44 AM 

 

“Walk by Faith not by Sight” (Ps. 56:5-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/11/2012 8:11:05 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  “Walk by Faith not by Sight”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Psalm 56:5-13

 

            Message of the verses:  In yesterdays SD we began Psalm 56 and I wish to repeat the last sentence of Dr. Wiersbe’s introduction in order to better follow what will be written this morning: “In the midst of peril and fear (vv.3, 4, 11), David lifted three requests to the Lord and the Lord answered.”  We looked at the first request yesterday.

 

            “Deliver Me from Stumbling” (vv. 5-11):  “5 All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life. 7 Because of wickedness, cast them forth, In anger put down the peoples, O God! “8 You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

           

            Just another word of review and that is this psalm was written, along with Psalm 34, when David went to the Philistine town of Gath and actually played crazy in order not to be killed by the Philistines.  1 Samuel 21:10-22:1 gives the story of the background.

           

            We can see in verses 5-7 that David had a target on his back, for his enemies were watching him, making sure that he would not do anything that would cause more suspicion.  David went there because he thought that Saul would not look for him, but he was walking by sight and not by faith.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Faith is living without scheming.”  David was scheming in order to hide from Saul when he should have prayed to the Lord to see where He wanted him to go.

           

            In verses 8-9 we see that David’s prayer to rid the enemies of Israel was a prayer that perhaps David prayed because he was tired of being in exile, which lasted for ten years, but the Lord knew all of David’s wonderings and was preparing him to be the rightful king that He had him anointed four years earlier when he was just a young man, perhaps a teenager.  God was keeping all of David’s tears in a bottle, as sign that the Lord knew all that David was going through and would keep him from harm. 

 

            “Deliver Me so I can Praise You” (vv. 12-13):  “12 Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. 13 For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living.”

           

            Dr. Wiersbe explains the phrase “light of the living” “Light of the living’ can also be translated ‘light of life,’ as the phrase used by Jesus in John 8:12.  As we follow the Lord Jesus today, we enjoy fullness of life and the glorious light of His presence.  We walk in the light.”

            “12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).

           

            It was David’s desire to praise the Lord as seen in this section.  David desired and vowed to make a thank offering to the Lord when his days of exile were over, and part of a thank offering can be shared with his family once it was offered.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is my desire to serve the Lord and to walk in His light, but like David there are times when I walk by sight and not by faith, and then like David I have to talk to the Lord and tell Him the error of my ways, even though I know that He already knows it.  Walking by faith and not by sight is not an easy thing to do for there are times when I think that I can operate on autopilot, know what I think I am to do, when the Lord wants me to go in another direction.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Walk by faith and not by sight.

2.      Trust the Lord to guide my steps.

3.      Give myself to the Lord for worship and for service.

4.      Do better in my prayer life.

5.      Continue to learn contentment.

 

3/11/2012 8:39:29 AM   

"Walk by Faith" (Ps. 56:1-4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/10/2012 10:08:50 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                      Focus:  “Walk by Faith”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 56:1-4

 

            Message of the verses:  We will begin looking at Psalm 56 this morning as for the first time in a long time I did not do a Spiritual Diary yesterday.  I firmly believe that the evil one does not like it when I write my SD’s everyday and is trying to cause trouble for me so that I would not be faithful in doing this each day.

           

            The first commentator that I have chosen to use this morning to help understand this 56^th Psalm is John Gill.

 

“The words "jonathelemrechokim" are by our translators left untranslated. Aben Ezra takes them to be the beginning of a song; and others think they are the name of a musical instrument: but they seem rather to design the subject matter of the psalm, and may be rendered, "concerning the mute dove among them that are afar off" {m}, or "in far places" {n}; and refer to David, who, when he wrote this psalm, was among the Philistines, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, afar off from God and his law, and from righteousness; and when David was there, he was at a distance from his native country, his father’s house, the king’s court, and, what gave him most concern, from the house and worship of God; and here he was as a mute dove. He may be compared to a dove for his innocence in the case of Saul; and to a silly dove, for his acting the part of a fool or madman before Achish king of Gath; and was mute to what the servants of Achish said, and was dumb before the Lord, who had suffered him to fall into their hands, and into this distress he was now in. They are also applicable to Christ, who is comparable to a dove for his harmlessness, innocence, meekness and humility; and was as a mute one before Pontius Pilate the Roman governor, when his enemies accused him, and he answered not a word; and when among the Roman soldiers, who mocked at him and reviled him, and he reviled not again; and when he was led to be crucified, he opened not his mouth either against God or man. They may be also applied to the church of God, which is often called a dove in #So 4:1 5:2 6:9; and is in the wilderness, and among wicked men, that are afar off from God, and is silent under all afflictions and persecutions; see #So 2:14.”

 

“It seems by this, and many other psalms, that even in times of the greatest trouble and distress David never hung his harp upon the willow-trees, never unstrung it or laid it by; but that when his dangers and fears were greatest he was still in tune for singing God’s praises. He was in imminent peril when he penned this psalm, at least when he meditated it; yet even then his meditation of God was sweet.”  (Matthew Henry)

 

“In an hour of deep despair and doubt, David left Judah and fled to Gath, the Philistine city identified with the giant Goliath whom David had slain (1Sam. 17). David was alone and didn’t get a very good reception.  (The second time he went to Gath, he was accompanied by his men and was accepted.  See 1 Samuel 27-30.)  This psalm reveals that his life was in great danger, and history tells us that he had to pretend to be insane in order to escape (1 Sam. 21:10-22:1).  Psalm 34 also came out of this experience in Gath.  The musical inscription is translated variously: ‘the silent dove among those far away,’ ‘the silent dove among the strangers,’ ‘the dove of the distant oaks (or terebinths).’ Some connect this inscription with 55:6-8 and see David as the dove (innocence), silent under attack while far from home.  In the midst of peril and fear (vv. 3, 4, 11), David lifted three requests to the Lord and the Lord answered.”  (Warren Wiersbe) 

 

            On June 30, 2010 I wrote the following in my Spiritual Diary that came from 1Samuel 21:10-15:  “Message of the verses:  As I have been listening to the book of Psalms in the evenings while studying the life of David in my quiet time doing these SD’s each morning the Psalms seem to be more meaningful to me and am thankful that David had this time of ten years in exile to write them for when I go through troubles that the Lord is allowing me to go through, although none of my troubles are life threatening as David’s were, I receive help from these Psalms of David.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that there are two Psalms that David wrote while going through this experience that is recorded in today’s Scripture portion, Psalms 34 & 56.  David was more in fear of Saul than in trust of the Lord and that is probably why he ran to the Philistia city of Gath.

           

            “9 O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. 10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.

   

            “11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.”

           

            “These verses are from Psalm 34:9-16 and point out that David began to know what fearing the Lord was about while he was in that situation in Gath.  I read or heard somewhere recently that David felt badly that he did not trust the Lord while in this city of Gath, and he relied on his own ways to get out of this situation instead of trusting the Lord.

 

            “Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Proverbs tell me that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the 34^th Psalm also speaks wonderful things about fearing the Lord, and I have heard that if I will fear the Lord then I will not have to fear anything else.”

 

            “Deliver Me from Death: (vv. 1-4):  “1 For the choir director; according to Jonathelemrechokim. A Mikhtam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. 2 My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me. 3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?”

           

            What we see in this portion of Psalm 56 is both fear and faith in the life of David.  I don’t believe that David had prayed about going to the Philistines before going there and whether or not there was any physical harm done to David is not clear.  It is probably safe to say that this was not in the will of God for David to go there, something like when Abraham went to Egypt because there was a famine in the land.

           

            Dr. Wiersbe has some important and interesting things to say about fear and faith and we can see that in this Psalm that “David manifested both fear and faith as he cried out to God.”  We can see this same thing happening with the disciples of our Lord when they were in a boat with Jesus who was sleeping, and a powerful storm came upon them so much that the boat began to fill with water.  The disciples were fearful, yet they had enough sense to awaken Jesus who calmed the storm, but chastised them for not having faith. 

           

            Dr. Wiersbe writes these important words, “The refrain in verses 3-4 is repeated in verses 10-11 as David affirms that God alone gives him the power to praise Him and trust Him.  ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17, NKUV).  Faith and praise cannot be ‘manufactured’; they must be received as God’s gift.  ‘Mortal man’ is ‘mere man,’ man who is flesh.’  This phrase is quoted in Ps. 118:6 and Hebrews 13:6.  What Scripture says about fallen human nature is negative (John 6:63; Romans 7:18; Phil. 3:3).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to go back to one of my favorite verses to make a point here:  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  This is Ephesians 2:10 and what it says to me is that back in eternity past the Lord has set aside a “work assignment” for all of those whom He has chosen for salvation (Eph. 1:4).  Once we become believers in Jesus Christ and are born from above (John 3) we are given the Holy Spirit as a down payment (Eph. 1:14) until we are taken to heaven.  It is the Holy Spirit who will be working through us to do the works that God has ordained for us to do in eternity past.  We will do these works by faith, and as Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  When we look at the 7^th chapter of Romans we see a personal testimony of the Apostle Paul who speaks about the different natures that all believers have, one is the new nature given to us who have been born from above, and one is the nature we received when we were born physically called sometimes the Adamic as it comes from Adam.  Believes are in a battle to do right because of these two natures and when we look at what David did on a few occasions we see that on some occasions he did not win the battle.  I know that David did not have the Holy Spirit in the same way that NT believers do, but he did have the Holy Spirit to guide him because he was God’s anointed king over His people. 

           

            With all of this said I want to continue to read God’s Word in order to increase my faith, and to do the works that were planned for me to do in eternity past.  I desire also to not fall into the trap that the “flesh” wants me to fall into for Paul says that there is nothing good in the flesh (old nature).

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Ga 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

2.     Ga 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

3.     Ephesians 4:11b.

4.     Romans 12:1-2.

5.     Proverbs 3:5-6.

6.     Ephesians 6:10-18.

 

3/10/2012 11:18:36 AM