Psalm 1

12/11/2011 7:34:43 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  Psalm 1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Psalm 1

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

    “4 ¶  The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6  For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

            Psalm one is a very special Psalm to me as the memory of this Psalm goes back to the early years of my walk with the Lord.  My wife and I attended a seminar in October of 1980, which was almost seven years after I became a believer and one of the things that were taught there was the value of memorizing Scripture.  We were told that if you begin to memorize Scripture and continue to go over it in your mind that the Lord would give you a song from the verses that you memorized.  I chose Psalm one to memorize and as was taught there the Lord did give me a song to which I gave it to a lady from the church I was attending who actually composed it to be played on an organ and it was played one evening in church, much to my surprise.  I wish I could say that I still memorize a lot of Scripture, but sadly that is not the case as it does get more difficult with the passing of time, but Psalm one is still in my memory and I do love this wonderful Psalm.

 

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that this is a wisdom Psalm as it speaks of blessings and also cursing, blessings for those who believe and cursing for those who don’t.  It is a contrast between two different people going in two different directions.  He goes on to say that the Psalm also reminds its readers of different places in the Scriptures.  For instance in the book of Genesis we find people who were walking with God (Gen. 5:21,24; 6:9; 17:1), and we also see the life giving river in Genesis 2:10-14 along with the trees and fruit found in Genesis 2:8-10. 

            Next we see the Law of the Lord as seen in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy.  In Joshua 1:8 we see success through the meditation on God’s law:  “"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.’”

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that the Bible seems to build history on “two men.”  We see the “first Adam” and the “last Adam.”  Romans chapter five also it is seen in 1Cor. 15:45, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”  Cain and Able are the next example of  “two men,”  Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, and David and Saul.  The culmination is with Christ and Antichrist.  Two men, two ways, two destinies, and we can see this concept in Psalm one.

 

            We will begin this study of Psalm with the first two verses as we follow the outline from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Psalm 1, “Be Worshipful.”  He writes, “While this psalm depicts two ways, it actually describes three different persons and how they relate to the blessing of the Lord.” 

            The Person Who Receives a Blessing from God (vv. 1-2):  “1 ¶  How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

            I first want to point out that the word “man” is generic and speaks of both men and women.  Next the word for blessing is asher which is the name of one of Jacob’s sons and it is plural. We see here that the person who is blessed has met the conditions and therefore God is blessing him.  Now if we too want God’s blessings we must meet God’s conditions.

           

            We must be directed by God’s Word (v.-1):  1 ¶ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”  (KJV)  Dr. Wiersbe uses the KJV of the Bible and I like the NASB, but sometimes it is easier to understand his commentary if I too use the KJV, which is why I used it here.

            Verse one speaks of a man falling deeper into sinful ways by beginning to walk with the “ungodly or wicked” and then stands in the path of sinners, and then the person is sitting with the scoffers or the scornful.  He goes from casually walking with these ungodly people to stopping and conversing with them to sitting down with them to listen and chat with them.  This is a slippery path that leads to much trouble.

            In order to understand this a bit better let us look at two men from the Scriptures and the ironic thing about looking at these two men is that one will actually write about the other.  I am speaking Lot and Peter.  Lot was the nephew of Abram and he came to the promised land with Abram and between the two of them they began to have so much livestock that the place where they were was not big enough to sustain their animals so they had to separate.  Abram told lot to chose where he wanted to go and then Lot looked at Sodom and decided to go towards Sodom, and then he moved into Sodom and it seems like some of Sodom moved into him and therefore when the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorra lot lost everything.  Lot even lost his testimony and if it were not for Peter’s writings we would not realize that Lot was a true believer. 

            Not we look at Peter who was told by Christ to leave after the soldiers had taken Jesus to go to trial and eventually to be crucified.  Peter did not go away, but followed Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard.  He stood there with the enemy, and then ultimately sat with them.  The result was denying Christ three times.  In John chapter twenty-one we see Peter wanting to leave the ministry but returning to fishing, but after a night on the water and catching nothing he sees Jesus on the shore waiting for him and serves him breakfast.  Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him and three times Peter says yes.  Jesus very kindly brings Peter back into fellowship with Him for denying Him three times, and so Peter’s fishing days are now over, for he follows the Lord once again.

            We delight in the Word (v.-2):  “2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  We have just seen a negative verse and now we look at a positive verse.  I heard that people do not realize what meditation is and therefore do not know how to meditate on Scripture.  It is kind of like a cow after eating grass sits down and begins the process of chewing the grass again, chewing its cud.  Another way to think about it is to ask yourself if you worry about something, well everyone does that and meditation on the Word of God is kind of like worrying, for when you worry about something you think about it and think it over to get the right solution.  We must remember that if we delight in something like the Word of God we can then meditate on it.  Take the time before we get to Psalm 119 to read all 176 verses of that Psalm and you will find that the author of that Psalm really delights in the Word of God, for he mentions the Word in all but (I think) three verses.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the wonderful words about meditation, “If we speak to the Lord about the Word, the Word will speak to us about the Lord.  This is what is meant by ‘abiding in the Word’ (1John 2:14, 24).”  How we treat the Word of God is how we treat the God of the Word.

            We are to desire it more than food (Ps. 119:103), sleep (Ps. 119:55), wealth (Ps.110:23) and I know at times that is hard to accomplish in life.

            One more quote from Dr. Wiersbe because it helps to understand Psalm one better:  “The verbs in verse one are in the perfect tense and speak of a settled way of life, while verse two ‘meditate’ is the imperfect tense and speaks of constant practice.  ‘He is meditation.’”  There is also a footnote or endnote that goes along with this:  “Verse one can be translated ‘has not walked…has not stood… has not sat.’  The only person who ever lived that way on earth was Jesus Christ, and in Him we have the righteousness of God (2Cor. 5:21).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think of three words from this section that have spoken to my heart today.  Three things that I desire to do better.  Memorize, Meditate, and Delight are these three words, and three things that I have a desire to do better.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Memorize, Meditate, and Delight in the Word of God.

2.      Continue to learn contentment.

 

12/11/2011 9:18:52 AM

Introduction to the Book of Pslams

12/10/2011 10:44:44 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  Introduction to the Book of Psalms

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Various Psalms

 

            Message of the verses:  Today’s SD will be a bit different that the normal SD’s that I do.  The reason is that today we begin a long journey through the book of Psalms and I believe that it is important to take the time to make an introduction to this important section of God’s Word because there are many different types of Psalms and also different types of Hebrew poetry that is seen in the book of Psalms which must be understood when reading the different Psalms.  Therefore it will be important to turn back at times to this introduction in order to understand the different types and different types of Hebrew poetry that a particular Psalm is written in.

 

            I truly look forward to going through the book of Psalms, and for one reason Psalms has always been the book one reaches for when different types of emotions are felt, for there are Psalms that encourage a believer, that show us how we are truly to confess our sins, Psalms that look forward to the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are Psalms of judgment, and there are Psalms that tells us about the Word of God, there are Psalms that speak of creation, and Psalms that speak of the wilderness walk of the children of Israel.  Many of the Psalms were put to music and played with musical interments. 

 

            There are different writers of the Psalms including David, Solomon, Moses, The sons of Korah, and Ethan who wrote one Psalm. 

 

            The Book of Psalms is organized into five books and some think the reason for this is to go along with the five books of Moses.  Book one 1-41, book two 42-72, book three 73-89, book for 90-106, and book five 107-150.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that each of the first three books end with a double “amen,” and the forth ends with and ‘amen’ and a ‘hallelujah,’ and the last book closes the entire collection with a ‘hallelujah.’  The book of Psalms grew over the years as the Holy Spirit directed different writers and directors to compose and compile these songs and poems.”

 

            Now we will look at what Dr. Wiersbe writes about Hebrew poetry and I will try to give an example of each from the Psalms.

            “Hebrew poetry is based on ‘thought lines’ and not rhymes.  If the second line repeats the first line in different words, as in Psalm 24:1-3 (“The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?”)  If the second line contrasts with the first, as in Psalm 1:6 (“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”) and also Psalm 37:9, it is antithetic parallelism.  Psalm 19:7-9 (“7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple  8  The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.  9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.”) But when the second line completes the first, it is climatic parallelism (Psalm 29:1 “Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.”).  With iterative parallelism, the second line repeats the thought of the first as seen in Psalm 93, and in alternate parallelism, the lines carry the same thought as in (Psalm 103:8-13 “8  The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9  He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10  He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12  As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13  Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”).  You don’t bring these technical terms into the pulpit, but knowing what they mean can give you great help when you study.  To interpret Psalm 103:3 “3  Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;” as God’s promise to heal every sickness is to ignore the synonymous parallelism of the verse:  the forgiveness of sins is like the healing of disease (see Psalm 41:4). “4  As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.’”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe then points out this very important fact that will help us understand the great importance of the book of Psalms, and that is “there are over four hundred quotations or allusions to the Psalms in the New Testament.  Jesus quoted form the book of Psalms (Matt. 5:5/Ps. 37:11; 5:36/Ps.48:3; 6:26/ Ps. 147:9; 7:23/Ps. 6:8; 27:46/Ps. 22:1; John 15:25/Ps. 69:4).  The Lord gave guidance from the book of Psalms when the church in Jerusalem chose a new apostle (Acts 1:5ff; Pss. 69:25; 109:8).

            At this time I want to make one last point that goes along with when the OT is quoted or allotted to in the NT.  There are times when the NT writer directly quotes the OT quote, and there are times when he changes it a bit, and then there are times when he will interpret the OT quote in the NT.  With this said we have to remember that it is the same Holy Spirit who moved the people to write the OT as He does the NT and so there should be no problem with anyone when they look at this.

 

            With all of this said as far as the introduction to the book of Psalms it is my continued prayer God will be glorified through our study from the book of Psalms, may He use these SD’s to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and my He encourage some to began a systematic study of God’s Word.

 

12/10/2011 11:37:07 AM

The Last Words (Rev. 22:20-21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/17/2005

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  The Last Words

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Revelation 22:20-21

 

            Message of the verse:  “20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.  21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”

            These are the last words in the entire Bible and some of them are right from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The first thing learned from verse twenty is that the Words that John has written in this letter are true, they can be trusted for after all this is the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord Jesus Christ then says that He is coming quickly and John’s response to that is Amen, Come Lord Jesus.  The word quickly seems to mean that when the events are right for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ that it will be done quickly.  The word “Amen” is an interesting word and I will now give a quote as to what this very famous word means:  “The word ‘amen’ is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in human speech. The word is directly related—in fact, almost identical—to the Hebrew word for ‘believe’ (amam), or faithful. Thus, it came to mean ‘sure’ or ‘truly,’ an expression of absolute trust and confidence.” (HMM) 

            The letter and the Bible end with a statement of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and John writes that this grace be with all and ends with the word Amen.  The word grace has this meaning:  “Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Bible ends in a similar way that it begins, and that is people living in a perfect environment in the presence of God Almighty.  The Bible ends speaking of grace, and without grace there would be little need to have a Bible at all, for God’s grace is seen throughout the pages of the Bible, and because of God’s grace I am here to write the things that I have been writing in this journey throughout the New Testament which began a long time ago for me, and also for my wife.  God’s gift of grace to me is such a wonderful blessing that I will praise Him for this throughout all of eternity.

 

The Word of God has been refreshment to my soul as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I have a desire to continue doing these types of devotions for a while longer, and revisit the New Testament again, if that is the will of God for me, praying that God will continue to speak to me through His Word each day. 

 

  

 

Leave It Like He Wrote It (Rev. 22:18-19)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/15/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Leave it like He wrote it

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Revelation 22:18-19

 

            Message of the verse:  “18  I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

            Jesus makes it clear in these two verses at the end of this wonderful letter that He does not want anyone to “mess with the content” of this letter, and if they do, if they add to or subtract from the content of this letter they will face the penalties He speaks of in these two verses, God will add to them the plagues that are described in this letter, or God will take away their part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are described in this letter.

           

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are some people in the Church today that will not look at this letter, and say that the things written in it are all symbolism, and do not even believe in the rapture of the Church or in the tribulation period which is described in this letter.  I am not sure if that qualifies for the things that Jesus describes in these two verses, but it just does not seem to me that they are living the kind of life that God desires them to live.  Prophecy is a very important part of God’s Word, and even though we cannot understand all about the timing of these prophecies, we certainly can draw closer to the Lord because of these things written here and we can also use the prophetic Word to draw others to a saving knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I know because that is what the Lord used to draw me to Himself.

 

The Word of God was a challenge to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord to see me through the drive down to meet Tim with Roy that He will keep me from the problems that I face with IBS.  Trust that the Lord to use this dinner meeting as He would see fit, and I would pray that if it is in His will that He would give Tim enough work to use Roy in his company, and that by doing this it would bring honor and glory to the Lord.

Come Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:17)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/14/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Come Lord Jesus

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelation 22:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “17. The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

            The hope of all true believer in the Church age is for the Lord Jesus Christ to come again to earth as He has promised so many times in the New Testament.  In this verse the Holy Spirit and also the bride say “Come.”  These are the Spirit’s and the Churches answer to the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ coming to earth again. 

            There are two invitations in this verse, one of them is for the Lord Jesus Christ to come back to the earth, and the other is for the people of the earth who are reading and hearing this letter to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  The verse speaks of the ones who are thirsty to come and they will one day drink of the water of life without cost.  The lost come to Jesus because they are thirsty for something that is missing in their life, just as the women at the well drank of the water of life that Jesus offered her so others over the century’s have come to that well that has satisfied them, the well of the water of life.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The promise of the Lord Jesus Christ returning to earth is something that was used to call me to believe in Him for salvation, it is one of the major themes of the entire Bible, which is made clear in the New Testament, and is my hope as written to Titus by Paul.  This promise gives me hope to live out my life on planet earth each day, because I know that even though it is tough sometimes here I can look forward to spending eternity with my Lord someday, hopefully soon, as it seems that the time is right for His coming to get His bride.  Paul writes in the book of Galatians:  “4  But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,  5  so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”  Paul is saying that when the time was right God sent His Son to save us, and Jesus spoke of when the time was right that He would return to earth, and as I said before it seems that the time is right for His return so I can repeat what John says at the end of the book of Revelation, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

 

The Word of God was refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  In the hope that I live in, the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ to take me away at the Rapture, I will continue to trust Him to see me through to the other side of the lake as He did for His disciples so long ago.

Jesus, Root of David and the Bright Morning Star (Rev. 22:14-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/12/2005

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Root of David, and Morning Star

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Revelation 22:14-16

 

            Message of the verse:  14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.  15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.  16 ‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’”

            If you read different translations of the Bible for these verses you can find that some of them have a different beginning to verse 14, where it would read “Blessed are those who keep His Commandments.”  Dr. Macarthur writes in his study Bible that the most correct one is “those who was wash their robes.”  In Dr. Wiersbe’s book he does not mention this, but because he uses the KJV he gives his commentary on it, which speaks of the Commandments and not the robe. I am not sure about the reason why there is a difference in these, but my guess would be that there are different manuscripts used for these translations.

            John is giving a contrast between those who are believers and will enter into the eternal city, and those who are not believers, and the contrast is quite vivid.  This is like the difference between heaven and hell.  It is good to remember that this letter was written to the seven churches in Asia Minor, and these people were being tested for the faith, and as one reads through this letter he can see that there is much that has to do with prophecy, and the end times.  This letter was written to give encouragement to those seven churches, and not only them but countless people throughout the Church age, including those who are alive today in the 21^st century.  It is not just all about prophecy, but about things that can give a person hope and cause them to grow as he reads and studies this wonderful letter.

            Jesus identifies Himself in verse sixteen as the root and the descendant of David, which speaks of both His Deity and also His humanity.  A root is under the ground and cannot be seen, yet is most important to the plant or tree to which it is a part of, for without it there would be no life in the tree.  Jesus is the One who is the root of the line of David, which shows His Deity, and He is of the line of David, showing His humanity.  Jesus goes on to say that He is the bright morning star, and that is the brightest star as dawn is beginning, and right now sin has caused darkness to be prevalent on planet earth, but soon the Morning Star will come and bring light to this earth like it has never seen since the Lord Jesus came the first time, and had a bright star over Him in Bethlehem.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:   Verse sixteen reminds me of some of the verses in John’s Gospel, where Jesus spoke of being light and life and I think that after studying these verses I understand this much better, for light produces life in the plant world, and it also produces true life in the spiritual realm.  It is only Jesus Christ who can shine His light on a dead sinner and produce life in him, and when a person is saved His light continues to shine on him to show Him the way, and most of the time it is through His Word that this light shines.  “Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Jesus uses His Word to guide our paths.

 

The Word of God has brought a challenge to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to be a Lamp to my feet and a Light to my path as he guides me through these storms of life one day at a time.

Serving the Lord (Rev. 22:12-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/09/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Serving the Lord

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelation 22:12-13

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 ‘Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.  13 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’”

            Verse 12 speaks of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, for Jesus says in this verse that He is coming quickly, which I think means that when He comes to claim His bride that it will be a very fast event as spelled out in 1Thes. 4:13-18 where it says in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.  Jesus goes on to say that His reward will be with Him and He will give a reward to every man according to what He has done, and this reminds me of one of His parables that is about a person giving a sum of money to three different people and two of them invested that money and got a big return and one of them hid it and got nothing.  Jesus goes on to explain in verse 13 that He is the beginning and the end, and so He is the One who knows all things and will give help to His children to complete the task that He is giving them to do in order for them to receive His reward that He has for them.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Yesterday I received a phone call from Tim F. who said that there was a pretty good possibility of getting a job in Hawaii, because the man has gotten his loan and can now proceed with the project.  As I look at this in light of verse thirteen I have confidence that God’s perfect will, will be accomplished in this, and I am praying that His will, will be that Tim does receive this job, but if he does not then I also have confidence that the Lord Jesus Christ, for reasons only known to Him at this time, does not want us to have it at this time.

 

The Word of God was a challenge to my heart and also refreshment as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to trust the Lord as I go through the different trials He has led me into, that His perfect will, will be accomplished in my life that will conform me more and more to the image of His dear Son, and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.