PT-2 of Psalm 19

SPIRITIUAL DIARY 1/7/2012 10:16:35 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  Part 2 of Psalm 19

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Psalm 19:7-14

 

            Message of the verses:  “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. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

 

            The Word Before Us—God the Instructor (vv. 7-11).

As mentioned before David used the name Elohim for God when he was talking about the universe that God created, but now when David begins to write about the God of the Word he uses His covenant name Jehovah.  The God of creation is also the God of personal revelation to His people. 

            When we look at the revelation of God in creation it is wonderful, however it is limited when it comes to manifesting the attributes of God and also His purposes for His creation.  We have to see that in His Word.  It was the Word of God that caused the creation to come into existence but we know that the creation has been changed by sin.  “19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21  that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now (Romans 8:19-22).”

            The Word of God was entrusted to the nation of Israel, for we know that the entire Bible was written by those who are from the children of Israel.  “3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen (Romans 9:3-5).”

            In his introduction to this section Dr. Wiersbe writes the following:  “David recorded six different names for God’s Word, six attributes of the Word, and six ministries of the Word in the lives of those who receive it and obey it.”

 

            Law of the Lord (v. 7a):  “7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul.”

            It is interesting that the word translated “law” is the Hebrew word torah and that word means instruction, direction, and teaching.  We see that this main section we are in is named “God the Instructor,” and this is from Dr. Wiersbe’s outline on Psalm 19.  We know that languages change thus making it necessary for different translations of the Bible to be made, but the Word of God does not change.  The Word of God is inerrant in its original autograph.

            Paul writes these words to Timothy, “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”  (2Ti. 3:16-17)  The writer to the Hebrews writes these words about the Word of God, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12)  Peter writes this about the Word of God, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”  (1Pe. 1:23)  The 119^th Psalm is the longest chapter in all of Scripture and if memory serves me correct there are 176 verses divided by thirteen verses in a section each beginning with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet and there are only three verses that do not have some form of a name for the Word of God.  We see in the following verses from this psalm that the word of God sustains life (119:25, 37, 40, 88, 107, 149, 156, and 159).

 

            Testimony of the Lord (v. 7b): “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes in this section the following, “The Ten Commandments were know by this name (Testimony) (Ex. 25:21), and they are the basis for God’s law.  But all of the Scriptures are God’s witness to us of who He is, what He has said and done, and what He wants us to be and to do.  The witness God bears of Himself in the written Word is sure and reliable.”

            The verses here speak of the greatest of the commandments as spoken of by the Lord Jesus Christ:  34  But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And He said to him, "’YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ’YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."  (Matthew 22:34-40)  Out of these two verses flows the explanation of the Ten Commandments and out of the rest of the Law flows the explanation of the Ten Commandments.  We see in the two commandments that Jesus quoted, which are the greatest that we are to love the Lord and we are to love our neighbor.  Now remember that Jesus explained who are neighbor is in the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Now look at the cross and we will see that we have a vertical piece and a horizontal piece that makes up the cross.  This is a picture of these two commandments, the vertical (loving the Lord) the horizontal (loving your neighbor).

 

            Statues of the Lord (v. 8a):  “8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;”

            These are God’s detail for the practical matters of everyday life.  When we look at the OT we see some of the Laws that God gave them were about practical everyday things, what they were to eat, and what they were to wear, and how they are to keep themselves clean.  We must remember that one of the reasons for the Jews having these laws was so that they would be distinct from the nations around them so that those nations would wonder why they were this way and then ask them why, which would give them an opportunity to share with them about the One True God.

            God laid down certain basic laws and commandments, and the statutes applied them to specific situations.  We see in the NT that nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated for believers today.  In our nations today there are laws passed that are a burden to us but God’s laws and commandments bring us joy.  We will see more about this when looking at the 119^th Psalm later on.

 

            Commandment of the Lord (v. 8b):  “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

            15 "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17  "But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.’”  (Deu. 30:15-20)  We see in this section of Scripture that the commandment (that which is appointed) and how we respond to them is a matter of life and death.  This is as true today as when this was written around 1500 B.C.

            Psalm 19:8b says that the commandments of the Lord are pure, and they enlighten the eyes.  The commandments that the Lord gives to us will help us live a pure life before the Lord, and His commandments will open our eyes to see the wonderful truths that are in God’s law so that the life we live will bring glory to the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “We are strangers on this earth, and the Word of God is the road map to guide us (Ps. 119:19).  Like a traveler on the highway, if we deliberately make a wrong turn, we go on a detour and fail to reach our destination.”

 

            Fear the Lord (v. 9a):  “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever.”

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that this is an unusual word of the Word of God, and yet this reminds us that we cannot learn the Word of God unless we show reverence and respect for the God of the Word.  “Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  I think that a person has to have a fear of God before he can come to salvation through Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.  Once we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord our fear of Him is reverence, like it is suppose to be of a child with a parent.

 

            Judgments of the Lord (v. 9b):  “The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.”

            This word translated “judgments” is a word that can mean the decision of a judge; it can mean ordinances or verdicts. We can see in the OT that the way that the Lord judged the nations and on peoples and also the rewards that He gave to these nations and peoples will help us to understand what it is that pleases the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “Believers today are not under the Old Testament law, but how those laws were applied helps us understand the righteousness of God and our need for His grace.

            “The way we treat the Bible is the way we treat the Lord, so it isn’t difficult to determine if we are rightly related to God.  Do we desire His Word because it’s precious to us (v.12), even more than wealth (v.10) or tasty food (119:103) (1Pe. 2:2)?  Do we find satisfaction in ‘feeding on’ God’s Word?  (Matthew 4:4)  Would we skip a meal to spend time meditating on the Scriptures?  Do we attend church dinners but not church Bible studies?  Furthermore, do we accept the warning of the Word and act upon them?  To know the warning and not heed it is sin (James 4:17).  Do we enjoy the blessings of the Lord because we’ve obeyed His will?  To have an appetite for God’s Word is a mark of a healthy Christian whose priorities are straight.  The Lord has sent the Holy Spirit to teach us His Word, and if we walk in the Spirit, we will learn and live the truth (John 14:26; 16:12-15; 1Cor. 2:9-10; 1John 2:20-29).

 

11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”  I believe that David is saying in this verse that we will not only be rewarded in this life by keeping the Word of God, but also in the next life.  There is nothing wrong with desiring rewards to be given to us at the Judgment Seat of Christ, for having that desire means that we desire to do the work that God has given us to do and has determined that word for us to do in eternity past:  “10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to make sure that the Word of God is something that I desire to understand and apply to my life so that I can do the works that the Lord has called me to do each day of my life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Stay in the Word each day.

2.      Continue to have the Word of God affect my life.

3.      Continue to learn contentment.

 

1/7/2012 12:22:13 PM 

           

 

PT-1 God's Creation and His Word (Psalm 19:1-6)

SPIRITIUAL DIARY FOR 1/6/2012 5:13:30 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  God’s Creation And His Word

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Psalm 19

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David:  The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

    “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. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

 

            Psalm 19 is one of the favorite psalms in the entire book of Psalms.  I suppose that Psalm 23 is the favorite of most people, but Psalm 19 is also a favorite of many.  We see two names of God that are used in this psalm and this makes some believe that it was not all written at the same time by the same author, however the Bible has had many critics in different eras of man and it is still here for us to read so we must believe that this psalm was written by David just as the beginning verse says. John MacArthur writes in his study Bible these words to help us understand why this is only one psalm by one writer:  “Because of its two distinct parts and two different names for God, some have tried to argue that Ps. 19 was really two compositions, one ancient and one more recent.  However, the shorter form of the name ‘God’ (cf. the longer form in Ge. 1:1) speaks of His power, especially power exhibited as Creator, while ‘Lord’ fits the relational focus.  Consequently, David depicted the Lord God as author of both His world and Word in a unified hymn.  God has revealed Himself to mankind through these two avenues.  The human race stands accountable to Him because of His non-verbal and verbal communications.  In the light of these intentions, Ps. 19 eloquently summarizes two prominent vehicles of God’s self-disclosure.”

            C. S. Lewis writes the following about Psalm 19:  “I take this [Ps. 19] to be the greatest poem in the Psalms and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”

            John MacArthur gives the following outline for Psalm 19:

I.                     “ God’s General Self-Disclosure in the World (19:1-6)

A.       The Publication of the Skies (19:1-4b)

B.      The Prominence of the Sun (19:4c-6)

II.                   God’s Special Self-Disclosure in the Word (19:7-14)

A.       The Attributes of the Word (19:7-14)

B.      An Appreciation for the Word (19:10,11)

C.      The Application of the Word (19:12-14)”

 

Warren Wiersbe writes the following in his introduction to this psalm:  “The emphasis in the

Psalm is on God’s revelations of Himself in creation, Scripture, and the human heart.”

            There is one more thing that I want to write before moving on to the first point in Dr. Wiersbe’s outline and that is something that came up in an earlier SD which speaks of how some of the authors of the Bible describe God.  We know that God is Spirit and therefore does not have a body like the one He has created for humans, but there are times in the Scriptures that God is seeing as having hands, feet, eyes, ears in order to help us understand God better.  We see in verse one of Psalm 19 these words, “their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”  We see in Psalm 8:3 these words “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers.”  These are called anthropomorphisms and whenever you are reading the Scriptures and see this type of description of God that is what it is called.

 

            The World Around Us—God the Creator (vv. 1-6):  “1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

            I mentioned in an earlier SD that I am involved in a Bible Study about creation and we see in the first part of Psalm 19 an answer to the question as to why the Lord created so much in the universe and I believe we get the answer in verse one of this psalm:  “The heavens are telling of the glory of God.”  God is glorified in His creation, and not only is He glorified in His creation, but His creation is a witness to everyone that there is a God who created all we see.  Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “So complex a universe demands a Creator who can do anything, who knows everything, and who is present everywhere.  But even more, David knew that God was speaking to the inhabitants of the earth by means of His creation. Creation is a ‘wordless book’ that everybody can read because it needs no translation.  God speaks through creation day after day and night after night; His speech ‘pours out’ silently, abundantly, universally.”  The evolutionists are trying to rob people of this by stating that all we see was just some kind of a cosmic accident and therefore they are robbing God of His glory and will have to answer to that someday when they stand before God, for they too can look and see what God created and therefore are accountable to God.  Evolutionists are causing mankind to “be off the hook” when it comes to God for if creation was all an accident then we are accountable to no One.  I have stated before and will state again here “Evolution is impossible!” 

            I want to talk about verses two and three in that we see in verse two that the heavens pours forth speech and then in verse three we see “there is no speech, nor are there words, their voice is not heard.”  John MacArthur writes:  “This is not a contradiction, but shows that the constant communication of the heavens is not words of a literal nature.” 

            I found an interesting story in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary that states that “Philips Brooks gave the first instructions about God to Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, and she replied that she had always known there was a God but didn’t know what His name was.”  Acts 4:12 says, “’And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.’”  Of course that name is Jesus Christ and it is up to believers to tell others about Him. 

            We know that many so called religions worship the creation, like the sun and the stars, but the Bible teaches us that we are not to worship anything but God.  Part of the Ten Commandments states this:  “4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.”  “13  "You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.  14 “Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before!”  (Isaiah 47:13-14)

            Before we move into the next section I want to look at verses 4c-6 where David writes about the sun and how it is like a bridegroom, but it is also like a vigorous athlete that is running a race.  This picture of the sun as a bridegroom shows that the bridegroom was in a hurry to leave the marriage pavilion in order to claim his bride.  Dr. Wiersbe has an endnote that gives another possible interpretation to this:  “Some interpret the picture as the bridegroom leaving the marriage pavilion after consummating the marriage, rejoicing that now ‘two had become one.’ Either way David saw the sunrise as a time of joy as he faced the day, and also as a time of determination to reach the goals set for the day.”

            I think that Psalm 19 will answer a question that many have asked and that is “Are people lost who have never heard about Jesus?”  Dr. Wiersbe writes that there are two answers to this question:  “1. Yes, they are lost, because God speaks to them all day long, and they refuse to listen; 2. What are you doing about getting the message to these people?”  

            Lord willing I will continue with the rest of Psalm 19 tomorrow as there is still much to cover in the last portion of this wonderful psalm.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I see a constant need to be ready to tell others of the hope that I have through my relationship with Jesus Christ.  The heavens declare the glory of God as verse one says, and perhaps that will be the way to open up a conversation to someone that the Holy Spirit will make a divine appointment with sometime soon.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.       Be ready at all times to be led by the Spirit of God to talk to some poor soul who needs to hear the Word of Truth in order to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

2.       Continue to learn contentment in my life knowing that God is in control of all things even though at times it is hard to see.  I must remember that “Faith comes by hearing the Word of God,” and the more I read and study the Word the more faith I can get, the more contentment I can learn.

 

1/6/2012 7:03:27 AM   

 

 

 

David's Victory Psalm (Psalm 18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/5/2012 9:09:28 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  David’s Victory Psalm

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Psalm 18:1-50

 

            Message of the verses:  Psalm 18 is a fairly long psalm with fifty verses in it and so I will not put the psalm at the beginning of this SD as I have been doing, but will insert it into the different reference points from the outline. 

            The psalm can also be seen in 2Samuel chapter twenty-two.  This psalm was written after David had been named king over all of Israel.  After the death of Saul David was named king over Judah and Benjamin and then seven years later he was named king over all of Israel and it was at that time of his life that he wrote Psalm 18.  This psalm is a worship and witness psalm in that David worships the Lord in parts of it and also wittiness about the goodness of the Lord in other parts.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his introduction to this psalm these words:  “The focus of the psalm is on the Lord and what He graciously did for His servant, but it also tells us what He can do for us today if we will trust and obey.”

 

            God Delivers When We Call on Him (vv. 1-18):  “1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, "I love You, O LORD, my strength." 2  The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. 5  The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. 7 Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. 8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. 10 He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. 12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. 15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my stay.”

 

            David begins this psalm with love in verse one, then faith in verse two, and hope in verse three.  Paul wrote in 1Cor. 13, which is the “love chapter” these words, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  The word love that is described in this Hebrew word that is translated love in verse one means to love deeply, to have compassion.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that this word is related to the Hebrew word for “womb” (Jer. 21:7) and this word describes the kind of love a mother has for her baby (Isa. 49:15), a father has for his children (Psalm 103:13) and the Lord has for His chosen people Israel (Psalm 102:13; Hos. 1:7; Deut. 13:17).  It is a deep and fervent love, the kind of love all of us should have for the Lord (Ps. 31:23):  “O love the LORD, all you His godly ones! The LORD preserves the faithful And fully recompenses the proud doer.”

            As we look at the remaining verses in this section we see seven metaphors and all of them are from of a man who loved the great outdoors, and that is where David had lived most of his life up to that point.  He was a shepherd, and he was a soldier and then he ran from Saul and lived in caves, so it is understandable that David would use these kinds of metaphors.  “Rock” is used for the Lord on many occasions in the Scriptures and is seen in verses 2 and 31.  This word speaks of the strength of the Lord and stability, and also a place of refuge.  Next we see “fortress” and this pictures God as a stronghold much like the city of Jerusalem.  “Shield” speaks of the protection of God and David was Israel’s shield, but the Lord was David’s shield.  “Horn” refers to strength and it also has Messianic connotations (Luke 1:69).  When we look at all of these words that describe God we come to the conclusion that God is worthy of our prayers. 

            In verses 4-6 we see David’s distress and this comes after writing of his devotion to the Lord.  We see a picture of a man who was trapped, hemmed in on all sides, and David uses other words to describe how he was in great trouble.  Perhaps we can say that the Lord had David right where he wanted him, as it was at this point that David cried out for help from the Lord.  These kind of situations that we can be in will cause us to go one way or the another way, we can do as David did and call on the Lord or we can do like those that Jesus spoke about in the parable of the seeds and in that parable we see only one kind of seed that produced fruit and the rest produced nothing, for those described as that kind of seed did not call upon the Lord when trouble came.

            David is describing how God, who had been longsuffering to Saul, now takes action against him and in the end Saul will be killed and David will be king.  Saul was the king that the people wanted while David was the king that God wanted Israel to have.  David was in exile for ten years, but now he was the king over Israel as God had promised him when he was just a youth.

 

            God Rewards When We Obey (vv. 19-27):  “19 He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.  20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. 23 I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes. 25  With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; 26  With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute. 27 For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.”  (Humiliate)

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that “God enlarged David’s trials and used them to enlarge David!”  God called David a man after God’s own heart and God said that when David was a young man.  This does not mean that David was perfect, as we discussed that in the last SD, but we saw that David was blameless and we see that again in this psalm.  When you look at the life of Saul and the sins that he committed and compare them with the sins that David committed we see that David’s sins were in fact worse sins than Saul’s. David knew much more about the Lord than Saul did and I have said earlier that Saul was man’s choice and so he acted like it when he sinned, while David was God’s man and David acted like that when he sinned, for David knew God much better than Saul did and that was the difference. 

            We see in verse nineteen that the Lord had set David on a broad place, where he had been in a tight place full of trouble before.  David then speaks of his righteousness and how he had kept the Law of God even in difficult situations. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “The way we relate to the Lord determines how the Lord relates to us (vv. 25-27).  David was merciful to Saul, and God was merciful to David (Matt. 5:9).  David was loyal (blameless), and God was faithful to him and kept His promises to bless him David wasn’t sinless, but he was blameless in his motives.  The ‘pure in heart’ (Matt. 5:8) and those hearts are wholly dedicated to God.”  As mentioned above Saul was just the opposite, for he was man’s choice to be king.

 

            God Equips When We Submit to Him (vv. 28-45):  “28 For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.  29 For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall. 30 As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, 32 The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless? 33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me upon my high places. 34 He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great. 36 You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped. 37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed. 38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; They fell under my feet. 39 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. 40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me. 41 They cried for help, but there was none to save, Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them. 42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me. 44 As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners submit to me. 45 Foreigners fade away, And come trembling out of their fortresses.  

            What was God doing in those years that David was in exile, running from Saul?  God was disciplining His people for they were going ahead of God in asking for a king.  God spoke about Israel having a king in the Law and gave laws on how a king was to rule.  You can look at the things that Solomon did when he was king and if he would have done the opposite of what he did then he would have been keeping the laws God set up for his kings.

            As mentioned above God was also being longsuffering in the life of Saul, but Saul did not take advantage of God’s longsuffering for him as on the day before his death Saul actually contacted a witch to find out what was going to happen to him.  That is how far he sunk.

            God was also preparing David to be king and this took ten years to prepare him, and yet it took thirteen years to prepare Joseph, and forty years to prepare Moses and Joshua for the rolls that God had planned for them. 

            We see the image of a lamp in verse 28 and this speaks of the grace that God gave to David to keep him alive while in exile all of those years.  It also speaks of David’s family for through his family the Lord Jesus Christ would come through who is the Light as He spoke of in John’s Gospel.

            We also see that God protected him and enabled him to fight the battles of the Lord by giving him strength and the ability to be a great warrior for the Lord’s battles.  David did not fight other nations just to gain land for Israel, but he fought against those nations that fought against Israel and the result was gaining territory for Israel.  David speaks about his ability to do this in this section (verses 29, 32-34, 37-45).  In verse thirty-two we see David describing his feet to be like hinds’ feet.  There is a book entitled “Hinds’ feet in High Places.”  I remember the title because the author spoke of the animals (mostly sheep that live in the mountains) having the ability to put their back feet in the exact same places as their front feet have stepped.  This gives these animals the ability to climb in very difficult places in safety.  David is saying that God had given him the ability, (through His grace) to move in difficult places.

            David was not only a warrior, but he also learned to be gentle, and this surely is a characteristic of God that He had given to David, and that is another reason that David was a man after God’s own heart.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “God condescended to look down and call David (1Sam. 16), bend down and mold David (v-35), and reach down and save David (v-16); and then He lifted him up to the throne (vv.39-45).  This reminds us of what Jesus, the Son of David, did when He ‘stepped down’ to come to earth as a servant and die for our sins (Phil. 2:1-11; see John 8:1-11 and 13:1-11).  Because David was submitted to the Lord, God could trust Him with the authority and glory of the throne.  Only those who are under authority should exercise authority.”

 

            God is Glorified When We Worship Him (vv. 46-50):  “46  The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation, 47  The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me. 48  He delivers me from my enemies; Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O LORD, And I will sing praises to Your name. 50 He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.”

46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. (AV)

This section is similar to what John the Baptist said in John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  David is praising the Lord for the good things that He has done through David and how God has lifted David up to the throne of Israel, but David knows it was all of the Lord and therefore David breaks out in praise to the Lord.  We see that Paul quoted verse 49 in Romans 15:9 and Paul use it there to apply it to the Jews praising God among the Gentiles and then in verses 10-11 Paul writes that the Jews and the Gentiles will rejoice together which was a result of Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles.  Then we see in verse twelve these words:  “Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.’”

David ends this psalm by exalting the Lord for His covenant to him and to his descendents (v-50).  David seems to always end his psalms with praise to the Lord no matter what circumstance in his life he is writing about.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  David praised the Lord for making him king over Israel even though he had to go through ten years of difficulties.  This encourages me to continue to praise the Lord in all circumstances, knowing that He is in control of my life and even when things get tough God still has a plan and is working out that plan for my life to bring glory to Him.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Continue to trust the Lord each and every day of my life to guide me on the path He wants me on.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

2.      Continue to learn contentment in the Lord.

3.      Romans 12:1-2.

4.      Psalm 139:23-24.

5.      Ephesians 6:10-18.

 

1/5/2012 11:12:56 AM

              

           

A Prayer of David (Psalm 17)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/4/2012 10:12:44 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                     Focus:  A prayer of David

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                               Reference:  Psalm 17

 

          Message of the verses:  “1 A Prayer of David: Hear a just cause, O LORD, give heed to my cry; Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my judgment come forth from Your presence; Let Your eyes look with equity. 3 You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tested me and You find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 4 As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips I have kept from the paths of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped. 6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. 7 Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand From those who rise up against them.

    “8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings 9 From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They have closed their unfeeling heart, With their mouth they speak proudly. 11 They have now surrounded us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground. 12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in hiding places. 13 Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him low; Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword, 14 From men with Your hand, O LORD, From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And leave their abundance to their babes. 15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.”

 

          From the introduction of the commentary on this psalm Dr. Wiersbe reports that this is one of five psalms that are “prayer psalms,” (17, 86, 90,142), and three of them were written by David.  We see that David is in some kind of trouble in Psalm 17 and thus he is crying out to the Lord for help and vindication.  Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his introduction these words:  “In this prayer, David deals with three pressing concerns and makes three major requests to the Lord.  Each section opens with David addressing the Lord.”

 

          Vindication—“Examine Me” (vv. 1-5):   “1 A Prayer of David: Hear a just cause, O LORD, give heed to my cry; Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my judgment come forth from Your presence; Let Your eyes look with equity. 3 You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tested me and You find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 4 As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips I have kept from the paths of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped.”

          We know that David was a sinner, for he even writes in Psalm 51 that he was conceived in sin, and this does not mean that there was sinfulness going on with his parents, but that everyone born is conceived in sin because of the sin nature that is passed on by the man.  However David knew that he was blameless before God and this is not a statement in which he was bragging about, but a humble statement knowing that God had tested him and he came out as gold.  Paul writes a similar statement in Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, ‘Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.’”

          We have written earlier about times in David’s life while he was being chased by Saul that he had two opportunities to kill Saul, yet David knew that Saul was the Lord’s anointed and therefore it would be a great sin if he killed Saul so he did not, and this shows that David was blameless before the Lord concerning Saul and this psalm is probably written about those days when David was on the run hiding out from Saul.  Saul and his men were spreading lies about David and so David asks vindication before the Lord for David and the Lord knew that David was blameless.

 

          Protection—“Keep Me” (vv. 6-12):  “6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. 7 Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand From those who rise up against them.  8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings 9  From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They have closed their unfeeling heart, With their mouth they speak proudly. 11 They have now surrounded us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground. 12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.”

          David uses the word “El” when calling upon the Lord for God is “the Mighty God,” and David knew that even though God had given him gifts to be a masterful military tactician, he also knew that he could not win a battle without help from the Lord.  There are similarities in the prayer that David is praying to when Moses was praying to God found in Exodus 15:1-19 and perhaps David had read this prayer of Moses and that is why he is praying like he is now because he knew that if God could lead His children out of Egypt he could get David out of the fix he was in.

          Two images are found in verse 8 “eye” and “wing” and these remind God how precious that David is to Him.  We know from other passages that Israel is the “apple of God’s eye.”  “10 “He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.”  (Deu. 32:10)  As for the wings image David may have been thinking of the wings of the cherubim that is in the Holy of Holies which is in the tabernacle.  David may have been asking the Lord to make his hiding place like the Holy of Holies, the place of God’s throne and God’s glory protected by the angels of God. 

          It is because of the heavenly intercession of Jesus Christ, that the people of the Lord can enter into the Holy of Holies and have fellowship with the Lord. (Heb. 10:1-25)

          David speaks of his enemies in verses 10-12 and David’s enemies were people who cared little about spiritual things as they were spiritually insensitive to what was right and it did not upset them when they did wrong.  Paul writes about this in his letter to the Romans, “and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”  (Rom. 1:32)

          Salvation—“Rescue Me” (vv. 13-15):  13 Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him low; Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword, 14 From men with Your hand, O LORD, From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And leave their abundance to their babes. 15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.”

          “13 Up, GOD: beard them! break them! By your sword, free me from their clutches; 14 Barehanded, GOD, break these mortals, these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today. I’d like to see their bellies swollen with famine food, The weeds they’ve sown harvested and baked into famine bread, With second helpings for their children and crusts for their babies to chew on. 15 And me? I plan on looking you full in the face. When I get up, I’ll see your full stature and live heaven on earth.”  (Message)

          I have inserted this portion of the psalm from the “Message” in order to get a flavor of what David was saying about these men.  We see a contrast between men of God and men of the world in this section.

         

          Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The thing that spoke to me from this psalm was the way that David had spoken to the Lord with confidence that He knew that he was blameless before the Lord, not sinless, but blameless.  I desire to be blameless before the Lord too.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.     To be blameless before the Lord.  To listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit guiding me into the paths or righteousness.

2.     To continue to learn contentment.

 

1/4/2012 11:14:55 AM