SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 5/8/2012 10:18:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Delighting in the Lord”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
84:1-4
Message
of the verses: In today’s SD we will
begin to look at Psalm 84, and we will first look at several introductions from
different Bible Commentators in order to help us understand what the author of
this Psalm has to say and hopefully be able to apply what has been learned to
our walk with the Lord.
“Title and Subject. To the Chief Musician upon Gittith. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. This Psalm well deserved to be committed to
the noblest of the sons of song. No
music could be too sweet for its theme, or too exquisite in sound to match the
beauty of its language. Sweeter than the joy of the wine press, (for that is
said to be the meaning of the word rendered upon Gittith), is the joy of the
holy assemblies of the Lord’s house; not even the favored children of grace, who
are like the sons of Korah, can have a richer subject for song than Zion’s
sacred festivals. It matters little when this Psalm was written, or by whom;
for our part it exhales to us a Davidic perfume, it smells of the mountain
heather and the lone places of the wilderness, where King David must have often
lodged during his many wars. This sacred
ode is one of the choicest of the collection; it has a mild radiance about it,
entitling it to be called The Pearl of Psalms. If the twenty-third be the most
popular, the one hundred and third the most joyful, the one hundred and
nineteenth the most deeply experimental, the fifty-first the most plaintive,
this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of peace. Pilgrimages to the
tabernacle were a grand feature of Jewish life.
In our country, pilgrimages to the shrine of Thomas of Canterbury, and
our Lady of Walsingham, were so general as to affect the entire population,
cause the formation of roads, the erection and maintenance of hostelries, and
the creation of a special literature; this may help us to understand the
influence of pilgrimage upon the ancient Israelites. Families journeyed
together, making bands which grew at each halting place; they camped in sunny
glades, sang in unison along the roads, toiled together over the hill and
through the slough, and as they went along, stored up happy memories which
would never be forgotten. One who was
debarred the holy company of the pilgrims, and the devout worship of the congregation,
would find in this Psalm fit expression for his mournful spirit.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“This psalm, like other psalms of ascent
(Pss. 120-134), expresses the joy of a pilgrim traveling up to Jerusalem, then
up into the temple to celebrate one of the feasts. The pilgrim focuses his attention especially
on the thought of being in the very presence of the Lord God. The NT believer-priest, in an even greater
way, can come into the presence of the Lord (cf. Heb 4:16; 10:19,-22). (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
Heb.
4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of
grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.”
Heb.
10:19-22 “19 Therefore, brethren, since
we have confidence to
enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way
which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since
we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water.”
“The phrase ‘appears before God in Zion’ was penned by a Jewish man who could
not go to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual feasts (Ex. 23:17;
34:23). For forty years after their
exodus from Egypt, the Jews were a wandering people, but even after they had
moved into the Promised Lane, the three feasts reminded them that they were
still pilgrims on this earth (1Chron. 29:15), as are God’s people today (1Peter 1:1; 2:11). A vagabond has no home; a fugitive is running
from home; a stranger is away from home; a pilgrim is heading home. The psalmist’s inability to attend the feast
did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the Lord. All who are true pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he
made.” (Warren Wiersbe)
My Delight Is in the Lord (vv. 1-4): “1 For the choir director; on the Gittith.
A Psalm of the sons of Korah: How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of
hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart
and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your
altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who dwell
in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”
In some ways I am reminded of Psalm
42:1-2 “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?” Psalm 42 is also a psalm of Korah and maybe
that is why Psalm 84:2 reminds me of Psalm 42:1-2.
We know that things are different
for NT believers than they were for the OT believers, yet we worship the same
God. In the OT the temple that was in
Jerusalem was the place where God dwelled for when Moses had the tabernacle
built while the children of Israel were living near Mt. Sinai we say that the
glory of the Lord was in the holy of holies and then when Solomon built the
temple of the Lord the ark was moved into the holy of holies that was in the
temple. There was a curtain between the
holy place and the holy of holies and when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the
cross for our sins that curtain was torn into from the top to the bottom
showing all believers that they now can have access with the Living God through
the blood of Jesus Christ.
In the seventh chapter of Acts we hear
from Steven just before he was stoned to death by the Jews and Steven gives an
historical account of Jewish history to those who would kill him. In verses 47-50 we read the following, “47 “But it was Solomon who built a house
for Him. 48 "However, the Most High does not dwell
in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: 49 ’HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE
FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord,
’OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE? 50 ’WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL
THESE THINGS?’” Steven is saying
that God is too “big” to live in any one place for God is omnipresent, He is
everywhere. God now lives in the hearts
of the NT believers in the person of the Holy Spirit, for we are the temple of God.
The psalmist is saying how much he
enjoys being in the temple of God and is even jealous of the birds who make
their nests there and is also envious of the priests who have the privilege of
ministering in the temple. We can just
feel the love that the psalmist has for the Lord as we read verse two. We can be sure that the psalmist was in love
with the Lord and wanted to be near Him, but he could not be near Him all of
the time.
I want to quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s
commentary at this point because it helps me to understand more about
worshiping the Lord in the day that I now live in. “Although God doesn’t live today in man-made
buildings (See the verses above from Acts 7), we still show special reverence
toward edifices dedicated to Him. We can
worship God anytime and anywhere, but special places and stated rituals are
important in structuring our worship experience. The important thing is that we have a heart
that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord (42:1-4; Matt. 5:6).”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I desire
to have a heart that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
To worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, and to continue to learn
contentment as I walk with the Lord each day.
5/8/2012
11:24:04 AM
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