SPIRITIUAL
DIARY FOR4/7/2012 9:06:47 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: “He Never Fails”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
71:1-4
Message
of the verses: We will begin to look
at Psalm 71 this morning by first looking at several introductions.
“David penned this psalm in his old
age, as appears by several passages in it, which makes many think that it was
penned at the time of Absalom’s rebellion; for that was the great trouble of
his later days. It might be occasioned by Sheba’s insurrection, or some trouble
that happened to him in that part of his life of which it was foretold that the
sword should not depart from his house. But he is not over-particular in
representing his case, because he intended it for the general use of God’s
people in their afflictions, especially those they meet with in their declining
years; for this psalm, above any other, is fitted for the use of the old
disciples of Jesus Christ.
“One of the features of the psalms
is that they meet the circumstances of life.
This psalm to God expresses
the concerns of old age. At a
time in his life when he thinks he should be exempt from certain kinds of
troubles, he once again is personally attacked.
Though his enemies conclude that God has abandoned him, the psalmist is
confident that God will remain faithful.”
(From The John MacArthur Study Bible)
“The psalm is anonymous, written by
a believer who had enemies and needed the Lord’s help and protection (vv. 4,
10, 13, 24). He was probably past middle
age and was greatly concerned about the burdens of old age (vv. 9, 18). He wanted to end well.
From birth he had been sustained by the Lord (v.6), and in his youth he
had been taught by the Lord (v. 17). He
may have been one of the many temple musicians assigned to praise God in the
sanctuary day and night (vv. 22024; 134:1).
Whoever he was, he made four affirmations about the Lord and the help He
gives to those who call on him and trust him.”
(Warren Wiersbe)
As you can see there are different
opinions on who wrote this psalm, and it seems to me that many of the older
commentators seem to credit David for some of the psalms that are not
identified as to who wrote them. Since
at this time of my life I am considered older then this psalm will be good for
me to study with great interest.
“The Lord Helps Me Now” (vv. 1-4): “1 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let
me never be ashamed. 2 In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; Incline
Your ear to me and save me. 3 Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may
continually come; You have given commandment to save me, For You are my rock
and my fortress. 4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of
the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man.”
In the first part of his
commentary on Psalm 71 Dr. Wiersbe states that “the first three verses are
adapted from 31:1-3” and then states that this was a perfectly legitimate
practice among those who have written the psalms. It must be remembered that the Holy Spirit of
God is the author of all Scripture, using men whom He moves to write the words
that He wants them to write, and we find in many portions of the Bible things
repeated, especially from the OT to the NT.
The point here is that the Holy Spirit is in charge of what was put down
in the Word of God. If perhaps the author of Psalm 71 was indeed a singer in
the Lord’s house then he would be familiar with the words of many of the psalms
that had been already written.
It was the desire of the psalmist to remain true to the Lord,
to finish well, and so he asks for protection from the Lord in verse one
so that he would not be ashamed. (“Now, little children, abide in Him, so
that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in
shame at His coming.”) (1John 2:28) It is good to know that the writer did not
run from his troubles but trusted the Lord in the midst of the troubles he
found himself in.
The psalmist uses the word
“righteousness” five times in Psalm 71 (2, 15, 16, 19, and 24), and Dr. Wiersbe
points out that this not only refers to one of God’s attributes but it also
refers to the faithfulness of God in keeping His Word. He goes on to write “A righteous God is active in helping His people
in their times of need. He issues the
command and the deed is done (v. 3; 33:9; 44:4; 68:28). His people can always come to Him (v. 3; Heb.
10:19-25), always praise Him (vv. 6, 8, 15, 24), and always hope in Him (v.
14). HE NEVER FAILS!”
If this man was a Levite who severed
the Lord in the temple there may have been a time in his life when Judah had
gone astray that he was asked to compromise his faith because of evil people
were taking over the temple. As one
reads through the OT they can find that this happened on different
occasions. The reading of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles
show this happened more than once. Verse
four could be referring to this kind of thing happening.
As far as the old age reference that
seems to be in this psalm we could explain it by the fact that if this man did
work in the temple according to OT law he would begin at age twenty-five and
then retire at age fifty. He may have
been troubled by how he would live after that.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I can
surely concur with the troubles of old age and retirement and also living on
much less than when I was working, but I can also praise and thank the Lord for
providing for my needs in very timely matters.
God is faithful and God never fails.
7/22/2025
10:04 AM If you look at this date and the date that I wrote this SD you can see
that I am now 13 years older.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue
to learn contentment in my older age, trusting the Lord to care for my
needs. Like this psalmist my desire is
to finish well, and that means I must continue to stay in the Word of God every
day. Trust the Lord to give me the strength to never run from my troubles
unless I believe He is leading me in that direction.
4/7/2012
9:53:38 AM
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