SPIRITUAL DIARY
FOR 11/25/2012 8:39:02 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 140
PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 140:1-5
Message of
the verses: Today we will begin to look at the 140th
Psalm by looking at several introductions to the psalm by different Bible
Commentators.
“This Psalm is in its proper place, and so fitly
follows 139 that you might almost read right on, and make no break between the
two. Serious injury would follow to the whole Book of Psalms if the order
should be interfered with as certain wiseacres propose. It is The Cry Of A
Hunted Soul the supplication of a believer incessantly persecuted and beset by
cunning enemies, who hungered for his destruction. David was hunted like a
partridge upon the mountains, and seldom obtained a moment’s rest. This is his
pathetic appeal to Jehovah for protection, an appeal which gradually
intensifies into a denunciation of his bitter foes. With this sacrifice of
prayer he offers the salt of faith; for in a very marked and emphatic manner he
expresses his personal confidence in the Lord as the Protector of the
oppressed, and as his own God and Defender. Few short Psalms are so rich in the
jewellery of precious faith.
“To the Chief Musician: The writer wished this
experimental hymn to be under the care of the chief master of song, that it
might neither be left unsung, nor chanted in a slovenly manner. Such trials and
such rescues deserved to be had in remembrance, and to be set up among the
choicest memorials of the Lord’s goodness. We, too, have our songs which are of
no ordinary kind, and these must be sung with our best powers of heart and
tongue. We will offer them to the Lord by no other hand than that of ‘the Chief
Musician.’
“A Psalm of David: The life of David wherein he comes in
contact with Saul and Doeg is the best explanation of this Psalm; and surely
there can be no reasonable doubt that David wrote it, and wrote it in the time
of his exile and peril. The tremendous outburst at the end has in it the warmth
which was so natural to David, who was never lukewarm in anything; yet it is to
be noticed that concerning his enemies he was often hot in language through
indignation, and yet he was cool in action, for he was not revengeful. His was no petty
malice, but a righteous anger: he foresaw, foretold, and even desired the just vengeance of God upon
the proud and wicked, and yet he would not avail himself of opportunities to revenge himself upon
those who had done him wrong. It may be that his appeals to the great
King cooled his anger, and enabled him to leave his wrongs unredressed by any
personal act of violence. ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord’;
and David when most
wounded by undeserved persecution and wicked falsehood was glad to leave his
matters at the foot of the throne, where they would be safe with the King of
kings.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“It seems likely that the circumstances behind this psalm
occurred during David’s years as a member of King Saul’s official staff, when
Saul’s envy and paranoia were developing.
In their attempt to please the king some of Saul’s officers spread lies
about young David and even tried to set traps to make him look bad. God’s people face similar situations today,
for Satan is a murderer (John 8:44), a slanderer and accuser (Rev. 12:10), and
a deceiver (2Cor. 11:3). We learn four
lessons from this psalm that encourage us to trust God and be faithful when
Satan’s servants oppose us.” (Dr. Warren
Wiersbe)
What Sinners Do to God’s People (vv. 1-5): “1 For
the choir director. A Psalm of David: Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve
me from violent men 2 Who devise evil things in their hearts; They continually
stir up wars. 3 They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is
under their lips. Selah. 4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men Who have purposed to trip up my feet. 5 The proud
have hidden a trap for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set snares for me. Selah.”
David was living in the house of Saul, and David was a
godly man, but the men who surrounded Saul were evil as verse one states. Light is something those who live in the
darkness do not want anything to do with unless they allow the light to
penetrate into their darkness so that they hear the truth and become a believer
in the Lord. I cannot say if Saul was a
believer or not, there are some who think that he was, and others who do not
think that he was. At best he was a
back-sliding believer. After all we
would not know about Lot being a believer if Peter had not written about it in
his letter.
David was living in the midst of evil men who would have
like nothing better than to have him killed.
David is asking the Lord for wisdom to deal with the situation that he
found himself in and it would not be too long before he would be on the run
from Saul for ten years, and yet David when he had two opportunities to kill
Saul would not raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed.
David describes the wickedness of these men and Paul
takes up part of verse three in the third chapter of Romans. Paul is teaching that all men without the
Lord do wrong and in that third chapter of Romans Paul uses quotes from the OT
kind of like a machine gun shooting many bullets to prove his point, and then
at the end of that chapter states that all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. Paul is describing the depravity
of man, which means that man is not necessarily as bad as he can be, but all
mankind is as bad off as then can be.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on this section with
these words: “As God’s people in an evil
world, we must expect the opposition of the enemy and trust the Lord to enable
us to overcome (John 16:33) ‘”These
things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Just as David
needed wisdom to live in an evil world I need that same wisdom. I am not living with the threat of death over
me like David was at the time of this psalm, but I still need God’s wisdom to
live out my Christian life in order to bring honor and glory to the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue
to learn contentment and to continue to be transformed by the renewing of my
mind through the Word of God.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 130:1-6
1 Out of the
debts I cried to You, O LORD. 2 Lord
hear my voice! Let your ears be
attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If You, Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You
may be feared.
5 I wait for the
Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the
watchman for the morning; Indeed more than the watchman of the morning.
11/25/2012 9:45:17 AM
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