Faith in God-The Hidden Life (Ps. 91:1-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/23/2012 10:35:48 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Faith in God—The Hidden Life

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 91:1-4

            Message of the verses:  Today we will begin to look at Psalm 91 by looking at several introductions from different Bible Commentators.

“This Psalm is without a title, and we have no means of ascertaining either the name of its writer, or the date of its composition, with certainly. The Jewish doctors consider that when the author’s name is not mentioned we may assign the Psalm to the last named writer; and, if so, this is another Psalm of Moses, the man of God. Many expressions here used are similar to those of Moses in Deuteronomy, and the internal evidence, from the peculiar idioms, would point towards him as the composer. The continued lives of Joshua and Caleb, who followed the Lord fully, make remarkably apt illustrations of this Psalm, for they, as a reward for abiding in continued nearness to the Lord, lived on "amongst the dead, amid their graves." For these reasons it is by no means improbable that this Psalm may have been written by Moses, but we dare not dogmatize. If David’s pen was used in giving us this matchless ode, we cannot believe as some do that he this commemorated the plague which devastated Jerusalem on account of his numbering the people. For him, then, to sing of himself as seeing "the reward of the wicked" would be clean contrary to his declaration, "I have sinned, but these sheep, what have they done?"; and the absence of any allusion to the sacrifice upon Zion could not be in any way accounted for, since David’s repentance would inevitably have led him to dwell upon the atoning sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood by the hyssop.

“In the whole collection there is not a more cheering Psalm, its tone is elevated and sustained throughout, faith is at its best, and speaks nobly. A German physician was wont to speak of it as the best preservative in times of cholera, and in truth, it is a heavenly medicine against plague and pest. He who can live in its spirit will be fearless, even if once again London should become a lazar-house, and the grave be gorged with carcasses.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon) 

“This psalm describes God’s ongoing sovereign protection of His people from the ever-present dangers and terrors which surround humanity.  The original setting may be that of an army about to go to battle.  Most of the terrors mentioned in this psalm are left undefined, no doubt intentionally, so that no kind of danger is omitted from application.  Believers in every age can read this psalm to learn that nothing can harm a child of God unless the Lord permits it.  However, in light of the many references in the Psalms to the future messianic kingdom (cf. especially Pss 96-100), this psalm must be read as being literally fulfilled then.  (John MacArthur Study Bible)

“Psalm 90 focuses on dealing with the difficulties of life, but the emphasis in this psalm is on the dangers of life.  The anonymous author (though some think Moses wrote it) warns about hidden traps, deadly plagues, terrors at night and arrows by day, stumbling over rocks, and facing lions and snakes!  However, in view of terrorist attacks, snipers, reckless drivers, exotic new diseases, and Saturday night handgun specials, the contemporary scene may be as dangerous as the one described in the psalm.  The saints who abide in Christ (vv. 1, 9) cannot avoid confronting unknown perils, but they can escape the evil consequences.  Moses, David, and Paul, and a host of other servants of God, faced great danger in accomplishing God’s will, and the Lord saw them through.  However, Hebrews 11:36 cautions us that ‘others’ were tortured and martyred, yet their faith was just as real.  But generally speaking, walking with the Lord does help us to detect and avoid a great deal of trouble, and it is better to suffer in the will of God than to invite trouble by disobeying God’s will (1Peter 2:18-25).  The psalmist described the elements involved in living the life of confidence and victory.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)

Faith in God—the Hidden Life (vv. 1-4):  “1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" 3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

“1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”  (NLT)

The psalmist seems to be speaking about the cherubim that are in the Holy of Holies when he writes about hiding in the shadows of the Almighty.  God will at times hide us in times of trouble in order to teach us while we are hidden so that He can then send us out to do the work that He has for us to do.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The most important part of a believer’s life is the part that only God sees, the ‘hidden life’ of communion and worship that is symbolized by the Holy of Holies in the Jewish sanctuary (Ex. 25:18-22; Heb. 10:19-25). 

The safest place that we can find is in a shadow, if that shadow is the shadow of the Almighty.  Jesus spoke in the book of Matthew and also in Luke about how protected the wings of a mother hen are to her children:  “"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”  “34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!”

            Now let us talk about the different names of God that are written in this section in order to better understand what the author is saying.  In verse one we read:  “1  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”  Most High is the word Elyon and this name is also found in Genesis 14:18-20, “18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." He gave him a tenth of all.” Almighty is the word “Shaddai” and this is speaking of the all-sufficient God and He is adequate for all situations.  Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.  (Genesis 17:1)  In verse two we see the word LORD and this is Jehovah and speaks of God being the covenant keeping One who is always faithful to His promises.   We also see the word “God” in verse two and this is the word “Elohim” meaning the powerful God whose greatness and glory surpass anything we can imagine.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “This is the God who invites us to fellowship with Him in the Holy of Holies.” 

            I want to quote what Dr. Wiersbe has to say about the word “bulwark” or “rampart” that we find in verse four.  “Some translations give ‘bulwark’ or ‘rampart’ instead of ‘buckler.’  The Hebrew Word means ‘to go around’ and would describe a mound of earth around a fortress.  But the message is clear: those who abide in the Lord are safe when they are doing His will.  God’s servants are immortal until their work is done (Romans 8:28-39)”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to take another angle at what Dr. Wiersbe wrote in his commentary “This hidden life of worship and communion makes possible the public life of obedience and service.”  I truly believe that this is true and when I have great hidden communion with my Lord it has a great affect on my public life.  The other angle comes from a statement that I heard a while back from a former Pastor who said that a lady gave him a framed quotation that went something like this:  “When your are alone, what you are doing is who you really are.”  When I am alone I want to be doing things that are pleasing to the Lord and not displeasing to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to fill me and guide me, especially when I am along.

5/23/2012 11:58:59 AM

The Future is the Friend of Believers (Ps. 90:13-17)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/22/2012 9:55:16 AM

My Worship Time                         Focus:  We Are Believes and the Future is Our Friend

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 90:13-17

            Message of the verses:  We will look at the last section of Psalm 90 this morning.

We Are Believes and the Future is Our Friend (vv. 13-17): “13 Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants. 14 O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil. 16 Let Your work appear to Your servants And Your majesty to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.”

            “13 O LORD, come back to us!  How long will you delay?  Take pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. 15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!  Replace the evil years with good. 16 Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. 17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful.  Yes, make our efforts successful!”  (NLT)

            We began looking at this psalm by saying that life was a school, and at times is a difficult school as we are at times disciplined by the Lord in order to make us more like our Lord Jesus Christ.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “in spite of the ‘black border’ around this psalm, the emphasis is on life and not on death.  The past and present experiences of life prepare us for the future, and all of life prepares us for eternity.

            Let’s contrast verses 7-12 with verses 13-17 to see the differences in them.  What we will see is that the closing prayer emphasizes God’s compassion and unfailing love; it will show His desire to give us joy and satisfaction, even in the midst of life’s troubles, and His ability to make life count for eternity.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “When Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord, the future is your friend.”

            7 We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury. 8 You spread out our sins before you- our secret sins-and you see them all. 9 We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan. 10 Seventy years are given to us!  Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. 11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?  Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (NLT)

            13 O LORD, come back to us!  How long will you delay?  Take pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. 15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!  Replace the evil years with good. 16 Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. 17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful.  Yes, make our efforts successful!” (NLT)

            There is a great deal of difference from the psalmist in these two sections of Psalm 90. It is possible that verse fourteen refers to the manna that the Lord gave Israel for forty years as they wondered through the wilderness.  This gave physical satisfaction to them, but Jesus Christ is the bread of life who can spiritually sustain us especially if we feast upon His Word in the mornings so that we will be sustained throughout the day.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that “The nourishment of the Word enables us to be faithful pilgrims and successful learners.” Moses is writing about the sorrows that the children of Israel had as they wondered throughout the wilderness for forty years, but Moses also knew that the glories of heaven will far outweigh the sorrows that we go through on this earth. “16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2Cor. 4:16-18)

            10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. (1Peter 5:10)  Peter is saying that although we suffer here on earth we will be compensated in heaven, and this is what Moses is saying.  24  By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25  choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26  considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”  (Hebrews 11:24-26)  Although the work that Moses did seemed to not be rewarded at the time that he did them, he knew that they would not go unnoticed by God.  Moses gave up a lot in order to get a lot more, as the verses in Hebrews testify.

Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary by saying “Life is brief, so Moses prayed, ‘Teach us.’  Life is difficult, and he prayed, ‘Establish the work of our hands.’  God answered those prayers for Moses, and He will answer them for us.  The future is your friend when Jesus is your Savior and Lord.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to remember that the future is my friend especially when life does not seem too good for me.  Being filled with the Spirit of God to do the work of God will bring me to greater blessings and happiness as I live on this earth.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will work through me this day so that whatever I do will bring honor and glory to my Lord.

5/22/2012 11:35:57 AM

           

Use Your Time Wisely (Ps. 90:3-12)

SPIRIRUAL DIARY FOR 5/21/2012 8:58:39 AM

My Worship Time                                                              Focus:  Use your time Wisely

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 90:3-12

            Message of the verses:  In yesterday’s SD we began to look at Psalm 90 by looking at the first two verses and also looking at several introductions to the Psalm.  In Dr. Wiersbe’s introduction he wrote the following at the end of his introduction: “Life was not easy for Moses, but he triumphed, and in this psalm he shared his insights so that we, too, might have strength for the journey and end well.”

We are Learners and Life Is Our School (vv. 3-12):  “3 You turn man back into dust And say, "Return, O children of men." 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. 5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. 6 In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades and withers away.  7 For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed. 8 You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. 9 For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh. 10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. 11 Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

            According to Acts 7:22 we learn this about Moses, “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.’”  Moses was educated in the best place on earth at that time, and yet he learned much more when he began to walk with the Lord that all he had learned from his education in Egypt.  Dr. Wiersbe points out:  “In the school of life (v. 12), we need to learn two important lessons:  life is brief and passes swiftly (vv. 4-6), so make the most of it; and life is difficult and at times seems futile (vv. 7-11), but this is the only way to mature.  Were there no sin in the world, there would be no suffering and death; but people made of dust defy the God of the universe and try to repeal the inexorable law of sin and death, ‘For dust you are, and to dust you shall return; (Gen. 1:19NKJV).”    He goes on to write, “The school of life is preparation for an eternity with God, and without Him, we cannot learn our lessons, pass our tests, and make progress from kindergarten to graduate school!” 

            We see in verse four something similar that is written in 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”  I have heard many people take this verse and say that the Lord may not return for thousands of years because a thousand years is like a day in the site of the Lord.  I disagree with their logic completely, for what both Moses and Peter are saying is that God is outside of time, for it was God who made time whenever he made the earth and placed the earth in rotation around the sun making one year and the earth’s rotation makes up one day.  God made all of that but He lives outside of time and to Him a day is like a thousand years. 

            I have heard that life is like a roll of toilet paper, for when you get to the end of it, it goes a lot faster, and that is true, for the older you get the faster life seems to pass, but God is in eternity and is eternal and so life never ends for Him for He has been around forever, something that is hard to understand. 

            Moses gives illustrations of how fast life fades by using nature, how fast grass can disappear once it begins to grow.  (Vv. 4-6)  Dr. Wiersbe writes “In the school of life, those students learn the most who realize that the dismissal bell rings when they least expect it!”

            Verses 7-11 are Moses’ writings about what happened at Kadesh Barnea which is found in Numbers chapters thirteen and fourteen, and of course that is when Israel wanted to send out spies to look at the Promised Land and ten of them came back with a bad report and so God made Israel march around in the wilderness for forty years until all those who were over twenty years old died in the wilderness.  If there were two million people who came out of Egypt there would have been 140 funerals a day for forty years.  Joshua and Caleb were the only two people from the older generation who went into the Promised Land, for they were the two spies who believed that God could use Israel to defeat those who lived in the Promised Land.  What Moses was saying is that if the children of Israel marched around the wilderness for forty hears those who were twenty at the time of this great sin would be sixty years old when they would need to conquers the Promised Land and a person is fortunate to live 70 years and perhaps 80 years. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that the timing of this Psalm is great for it was on this day ninety years ago that my mother was born, and so today she celebrates he 90^th birthday.  Ninety years is a long life, but to God it is only a few seconds, and to us who are alive now it does not seem that long.  The important thing is to learn the things that the Lord wants to teach us in our stay on earth so that when eternity begins for us we will have some jewels in our crowns that we can place at the feet of Jesus.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Use my time wisely.

5/21/2012 10:56:26 AM

God is our Home (Ps. 90:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/20/2012 7:19:39 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  God is our home

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 90:1-2

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 90 which is the first psalm of the forth and last book that make up the book of Psalms.  We will look at several introductions from different Bible commentators to aid us in our understanding of Psalm 90.

            “TITLE: A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Many attempts have been made to prove that Moses did not write this Psalm, but we remain unmoved in the conviction that he did so.  The condition of Israel in the wilderness is so preeminently illustrative of each verse, and the turns, expressions, and words are so similar to many in the Pentateuch, that the difficulties suggested are, to our mind, light as air in comparison with the internal evidence in favour of its Mosaic origin. Moses was mighty in word as well as deed, and this Psalm we believe to be one of his weighty utterances, worthy to stand side by side with his glorious oration recorded in Deuteronomy. Moses was peculiarly a man of God and God’s man; chosen of God, inspired of God, honored of God, and faithful to God in all his house, he well deserved the name which is here given him. The Psalm is called a prayer, for the closing petitions enter into its essence, and the preceding verses are a meditation preparatory to the supplication. Men of God are sure to be men of prayer. This was not the only prayer of Moses, indeed it is but a specimen of the manner in which the seer of Horeb was leant to commune with heaven, and intercede for the good of Israel. This is the oldest of the Psalms, and stands between two books of Psalms as a composition unique in its grandeur, and alone in its sublime antiquity.  Many generations of mourners have listened to this Psalm when standing around the open grave, and have been consoled thereby, even when they have not perceived its special application to Israel in the wilderness and have failed to remember the far higher ground upon which believers now stand.

“SUBJECT AND DIVISIONS: — Moses sings of the frailty of man, and the shortness of life, contrasting therewith the eternity of God, and founding thereon earnest appeals for compassion. The only division which will be useful separates the contemplation #Ps 90:1-11 from the #Ps 90:12-17 there is indeed no need to make even this break, for the unity is well preserved throughout.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)

            “The thrust of this magnificent prayer is to ask God to have mercy on frail human beings living in a sin-cursed universe.  Moses begins the psalm with a reflection on God’s eternality, then expresses his somber thoughts about the sorrows and brevity of life in their relationship to God’s anger, and concludes with a plea that God would enable His people to live a significant life.  The psalm seems to have been composed as the older generation of Israelites who had left Egypt were dying off in the wilderness. (Nu. 14)”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

“This is the oldest psalm in The Psalms and it was written by Moses, the man of God (Josh. 14:6; Ezra 3:2).  It deals with themes that began with the fall of our first parents and will continue to be important and puzzling until the return of our Savior:  eternal God and frail humans, a holy God and sinful man, life and death, and the meaning of life in a confused and difficult world.  It’s possible that Moses wrote this psalm after Israel’s failure of faith at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 13-14), when the nation was condemned to journey in the wilderness for forty years until the older generation had died.  That tragedy was followed by the death of Moses’ sister Miriam (Nu. 20:1) and his brother Aaron (Num. 20: 22-29), and between those two deaths, Moses disobeyed the Lord and struck the rock (Num. 20:2-13).  How did Moses manage to become a ‘man of God’ after forty years in pagan Egypt that ended in failure, forty years in Midian and as a humble shepherd, and forty more leading a funeral march through the wilderness?  Life was not easy for Moses, but he triumphed, and in this psalm he shared his insights so that we too, might have strength for the journey and end will.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe “Be Exultant”) 

We Are Travelers and God Is Our Home (vv. 1-2):  “1 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God: Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”   

            I believe it is a wonderful experience to go through the entire Bible in order to study each verse that it contains.  I knew from reading the Psalms on many different occasions that Moses had written one of the psalms, but I did not realize the background in which he had written this psalm.  It truly must have been difficult for Moses to travel those forty years in the wilderness knowing that every person who was above twenty years old would die along the way.  If there were two million Israelites who left Egypt and this would include all the women and the children, there would be around 140 deaths a day over the period of forty years.  “The wages of sin is death.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that in “Numbers 33 names of forty-two different places Israel camped during their journey, but no matter where Moses lived, God was always his home.  He ‘lived in the Lord.’  He knew how to ‘abide in the Lord,’ and find strength, comfort, encouragement and help for each day’s demands.  Moses pitched a special tent outside the camp where he went to meet the Lord (Ex. 33:7-11).  This is the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament admonition, ‘Abide in me’ (see John 15:1-11).  We must all make the Lord ‘our dwelling ‘(Psalm 91:9).”  The Greek word used as “abide” can also mean to “remain.”

            The children of Israel lived in tents as they made their way across the wilderness and when Paul writes to the Corinthians he says, “1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. 4  For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.”

            Moses uses the word “Elohim” for God in these two verses, and that name means “strength and power.”  Moses speaks of God making the mountains, something that the heathens of Moses’ time was a symbol of that which was lasting and dependant, but to the children of Israel the mountains spoke of the everlasting God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Moses was a great man of God, a man that the Jews still look to with high regard.  Moses will bring out in this 90^th psalm things that I as a believer need to be reminded of, and that is the shortness of life.  Tomorrow my mom will turn 90 years old, and that is quite a milestone, but as I look back it doesn’t seem like a very long time compared to eternity.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  That I would be taught by the Lord through our Pastor as He breaks the bread of life today at our church.

5/20/2012 8:13:32 AM

More about God's Faithfulness (Ps. 89:39-52)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/19/2012 8:48:07 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  More on God’s Faithfulness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Psalm 89:39-52

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will continue looking at Psalm 89, remembering that we are looking at this psalm by looking at it through the prism of God’s faithfulness.

God Is Faithful in His Chastening (vv. 39-45):  “39 You have spurned the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken down all his walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin. 41 All who pass along the way plunder him; He has become a reproach to his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice. 43 You also turn back the edge of his sword And have not made him stand in battle. 44 You have made his splendor to cease And cast his throne to the ground. 45 You have shortened the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah. “

            I want to look at these verses in whole by the covenants that the Lord had made with Israel.  We know that the first covenant that the Lord made with Israel was through Abraham and that can be found in two places, Genesis 12:1-3 and also in Genesis 15:18-21.  When Israel was about to cross over the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land we read in Deuteronomy 28 of another covenant that God made with Israel, and this one unlike the other two was a conditional covenant which is at times called the Palestinian Covenant.  In that conditional covenant we find that the Lord told the children of Israel that if they obeyed the Lord and kept His laws that He would bless them, but if they disobeyed God’s law then the covenant stated that the Lord would remove them from His land.  Now we move to 2Samuel 7 where the Lord makes an unconditional covenant with David stating that there would always be one of David’s sons on the throne.  Here we see the problem that Ethan, the author of Psalm 89 saw, and that was that if Israel was defeated then how could there be one of David’s sons on the throne?  What I see here is that God did not supersede His unconditional covenant with His conditional covenant, for it was because of Israel’s sin in breaking the conditional covenant that they were defeated by Babylon.  The two unconditional covenants are still intact for it is because of God’s faithfulness that He will fulfill those covenants, for Jesus Christ is now on the throne in heaven ruling over all the earth and will someday soon return to take up His father David’s throne in Jerusalem and rule all the earth from there for 1000 years, and this will fulfill both of the unconditional covenants that God made with Israel, and David.

            Let’s us look back at verse 37 “"It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful." Selah.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The ‘witness’ in verse 37 is probably the Lord Himself in heaven, but the constancy of the heavenly bodies is also a witness to the faithfulness of the Lord’s promises (Genesis 8:20-22; Jer. 31:35-36; 33:19-26).”

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to say “Ethan told the Lord what He had done to Judah’s anointed king, the descendant of David.  The Lord was angry with the kings because of their sins, especially idolatry (v. 38), so He permitted the Babylonians to come and ravage the land, destroy Jerusalem, and burn the temple, (v. 40-41).  To Ethan, the Lord was actually aiding the enemy!  (vv. 42-43).  But the glory had once more departed from the temple (v. 44; see 1Sam. 4:21-22; Ezek. 8:1-4; 9:3; 10:4, 18; 11:22-23) because the leaders had turned their backs on the Lord and turned to idols.  It appears that verse 45 applied especially to King Jehoiachin, who was but eighteen years old when he became king and reigned for three months and ten days (2Kings 24:8).  He became a captive in Babylon for thirty-seven years.”

God’s Faithfulness Will Never Cease—Wait for Him (vv. 46-52):  “46 How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men! 48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah. 49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord, Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness? 50  Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants; How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, 51  With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed. 52 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.”

            As we begin this last section it is good to note that this is the last section in the third book of the book of Psalms.  Psalms is made up of four books and with this last section we have covered the first three books of Psalms with one more to cover which contains sixty Psalms in it and has the longest chapter in the book, and in the entire Bible, Psalm 119 which has 176 verses and will take many days to discover what gems we will be able to mine there.

            I see a flavor of Job in verses 46-48, and perhaps Ethan had read the book of Job before writing Psalm 89.  We also see in these verses that Ethan asks a question that he probably already knew the answer too and that question is “How Long.”  The answer to that question is found in Jeremiah 25:1-14 and 29:4-14.  How long will Israel be in exile?  Jeremiah writes that it will be for seventy years. 

            In verse forty-nine Ethan looks back and asks the Lord what had happened to His lovingkindness, but the Lord’s lovingkindness had not changed, however Judah’s love for the Lord had waned.  Dr. Wiersbe writes these insightful words, “Like any good parent, God shows His love to His children either by blessing their obedience or chastening them for their disobedience, but in either situation, He is manifesting His love.” 

            We see in verses 50-51 that Ethan looks around and sees the reproach of the enemies.  The nation had been taken into exile and the beloved city of Jerusalem was devastated along with the temple of the Lord, and worst of all the glory of the Lord had departed from the temple and would not return until the Lord Jesus Christ would enter into the temple, but what He saw was displeasing to Him.  Many would think that the god’s of the Babylonians were more powerful than the God of Israel, and that is not and never will be true.

            When will looked at the last verse in Psalm 72, which was the end of book three in the book of Psalms and found out that it was not really a part of Psalm 72 we see that verse 52 is not really a part of Psalm 89.  Dr. Wiersbe writes as he conclude his commentary on this section “no matter how much we suffer because of the sins of others, and no matter how perplexed we may be at the providential workings of the Lord, we should still be able to say by faith, ‘Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah!’ And our fellow sufferers ought to respond with, ‘Amen and amen!  So be it!’

            “That’s the way of trust—faith in the faithfulness of the Lord.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is wonderful to remember the great promises of the Lord, especially when trouble comes, and there are great friends of mine who are going through some deep waters so I will pray that I will be able to comfort them with these great promises from God’s Word.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give me the courage and strength to tell others of the wonderful truth of becoming a born-again believer in Jesus Christ for there are only two kinds of people on this earth, those who believe and those who do not believe:  “"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’”  (John 3:36)

5/19/2012 10:15:06 AM

             

"God is Faithful to His Covenant-Trust Him" (Ps. 89:12-37)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/18/2012 8:20:57 AM

My Worship Time                             Focus: God is Faithful to His Covenant—Trust Him

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 89:19-37

            Message of the verses:  In the last SD we began to look at Psalm 89 by looking at the first main point along with several introductions from different Bible Scholars including Warren Wiersbe who wrote the following at the end of his commentary: “The psalm gives us four assurances about the faithfulness of the Lord.” 

God Is Faithful to His Covenant—Trust Him (vv. 19-37):  “19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, And said, "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20 “I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him. 22 “The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 “But I shall crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him. 24 “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. 25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers. 26 “He will cry to Me, ’You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ 27 “I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. 28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. 29 “So I will establish his descendants forever And his throne as the days of heaven. 30  "If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, 31  If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments, 32  Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with stripes. 33 “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. 34 “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. 35 “Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. 36 “His descendants shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me. 37 “It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful." Selah.”

            God is speaking in this section of the psalm, and He is speaking about David and his reign, and how He chose David to rule over Israel.  I first want to go back to the end of the book of Genesis in order to see what Jacob had to say about his son Judah.  “10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”  (Genesis 49:10)  “Judah was the royal tribe of which the King of Kings would come from and so the description of the king of beasts(Lion) was a good one.  In the book of Revelations John describes Jesus as both a lion and also a lamb.  All of the kings of Judah came from the line of David to which God had given him a covenant that this would happen.”  (I wrote these words on 02/11/2008 in my SD commenting on Genesis 49:8-12)  As the Bible gives a line from the time that sin entered the universe through Adam and Eve to when the Lord Jesus would come to earth we see in Genesis 49:10 that the line goes through the tribe of Judah, and then in 2Samuel 7 that the line then goes through David and will continue through the line of David until Jesus Christ is born.  In the book of Matthew we see the genealogy of Jesus Christ from His birth back to Abraham.  Many scholars believe that this is the line from David through Joseph who is the step father of Jesus Christ.  We also see another genealogy in the book of Luke and this goes all the way back to Adam, and there are many Bible scholars who believe that this is the genealogy from Mary back to another son of David, Nathan.  Matthews goes back to David’s son, Solomon.  There was a great sin committed by one of the kings that came from David through Solomon, and I must confess that I do not remember which one it was, but that sin was so awful that many believe that is why there are the two lines from the two Gospel accounts and Mary’s line comes through Nathan, while Joseph’s line comes through Solomon.

            God tells a short version of David’s calling and his rule in this section of Scripture and I want to briefly comment on some of these verses.  Dr. Wiersbe’s title for this main point is important for the covenant that God made with David was not broken at the time when Babylon captured Judah so they can trust the Lord to fulfill that covenant in spite of Judah being captives in Babylon.

            In verses 19-24 we see that God chose David to rule Israel and that He would be faithfulness will be with David.  I want to put in a note from Charles H. Spurgeon on verse 25 at this point: 

““Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall reach far beyond the little rivers which stand for boundaries in Palestine; he shall by his power embrace all lands from sea to sea. He shall have his hand in the ocean and his right hand in earth’s mightiest streams. As monarchs hold in their hands a globe to set forth their dominion over the earth, he shall grasp the far more unconquerable sea, and be Lord of all. This power is to be given him of the Lord, and is to be abiding; so we understand the words "I will set." The verse has in it a voice of good cheer concerning sailors, and all dwellers on the waters; the hand of Jesus is over them, and as he found his first apostles by the sea, so we trust he still finds earnest disciples there.

“EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.

“Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. That is, he should reign from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates; figuratively expressed by his left hand being extended to the sea, and his right hand to the rivers. A similar expression is used, according to Curtius, by the Scythian ambassadors to Alexander. "If," said they, "the gods had given thee a body as great as thy mind, the whole world would not be able to contain thee.  Thou wouldst reach with one hand to the east, and with the other to the west." —Kitto’s Pictorial Bible.

“Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea and his right hand in the rivers. A certain artist was in the habit of saying that he should represent Alexander in such a manner, that in one hand he should hold a city and from the other pour a river. Christ is represented here as of immense stature, higher than all mountains, with one hand holding the earth, and the other the sea, while from Eastern sea to Western he extends his arms. —Le Blanc.”

            In verse 27 we see that although David was the eight son of Jessie he was the first born of the Lord, the highest king upon the earth.  David reigned from the Mediterranean Sea on the West to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers on the East.  (“"I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.’ (Exodus 23:31”). 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “It was David’s close relationship to the Lord and his desire to exalt the Lord along that made him a success (v. 26).”

            I think that in understanding verses 28-37 we need to understand that it is God who made this covenant with David and it would be up to God to make sure that this covenant was fulfilled.  In the Scriptures we see conditional covenants, and unconditional covenants that God makes.  The covenant that He made with Abraham was unconditional and so was this covenant that He made with David, and even though the offspring of David would sin, God would punish them for their sin, “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. 34 “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What do all of these things have to do with me as I live in the year 2012?  I would say that they have a lot to do with me because it was from the offspring of David that Jesus Christ was born, and it is because of the birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and calling by the Holy Spirit to me that I have become a child of God.  It was all a part of God’s plan.  As I look at Romans 8:28 in view of the covenant that God made with David I can see that God used all things to work together for good in spite of sinful men.  I once heard John MacArthur say that the reason that God works with sinful men is because that is all that He has to chose from.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise the Lord for the unconditional covenant that He made with David.

5/18/2012 9:25:04 AM

God is Faithful in His Chraracter-Praise Him (Ps. 89:1-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/17/2012 8:16:35 AM

My Worship Time                           Focus:  God is Faithful in His Character—Praise Him

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 89:1-18

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at a very long psalm.  Psalm 89 is one of the longer chapters in the Scriptures and we will begin by looking at the introduction of the psalm quoting different Bible commentators so that we will have a better idea of what the psalm is all about and how we can apply some of the things that we learn to our lives so we pray as the psalmist did in the 119^th Psalm, “Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.”

            “Many psalms that begin with complaint and prayer end with joy and praise, but this begins with joy and praise and ends with sad complaints and petitions; for the psalmist first recounts God’s former favours, and then with the consideration of them aggravates the present grievances. It is uncertain when it was penned; only, in general, that it was at a time when the house of David was woefully eclipsed; some think it was at the time of the captivity of Babylon, when king Zedekiah was insulted over, and abused, by Nebuchadnezzar, and then they make the title to signify no more than that the psalm was set to the tune of a song of Ethan the son of Zerah, called Maschil; others suppose it to be penned by Ethan, who is mentioned in the story of Solomon, who, outliving that glorious prince, thus lamented the great disgrace done to the house of David in the next reign by the revolt of the ten tribes.”  (Matthew Henry)

            “We have now reached the majestic Covenant Psalm, which, according to the Jewish arrangement closes the third book of the Psalms. It is the utterance of a believer, in presence of great national disaster, pleading with his God, urging the grand argument of covenant engagements, and expecting deliverance and help, because of the faithfulness of Jehovah.

     “ TITLE: — Maschil. This is most fitly called a Maschil, for it is most instructive. No subject is more important or is so fully the key to all theology as that of the covenant. He who is taught by the Holy Spirit to be clear upon the covenant of grace will be a scribe well instructed in the things of the kingdom; he whose doctrinal theory is a mingle mangle of works and grace is scarcely fit to be teacher of babes. Of Ethan the Ezrahite: perhaps the same person as Jeduthun, who was a musician in David’s reign; was noted for his wisdom in Solomon’s days, and probably survived till the troubles of Rehoboam’s period. If this be the man, he must have written this Psalm in his old age, when troubles were coming thick and heavy upon the dynasty of David and the land of Judah; this is not at all improbable, and there is much in the Psalm which looks that way.

      “DIVISIONS: — The sacred poet commences by affirming his belief in the faithfulness of the Lord to his covenant with the house of David, and makes his first pause at #Ps 89:4. He then praises and magnifies the name of the Lord for his power, justice, and mercy, #Ps 89:5-14. This leads him to sing of the happiness of the people who have such a God to be their glory and defense, #Ps 89:15-18. He rehearses the terms if the covenant at full length with evident delight, #Ps 89:19-37, and then mournfully pours out his complaint and petition, #Ps 89:38-51, closing the whole with a hearty benediction and a double Amen. May the Holy Spirit greatly bless to us the reading of this most precious Psalm of instruction.” (Charles H. Spurgeon) 

            “This psalm describes the author’s attempt to reconcile the seeming contradictions between his theology and the reality of his nations’ conditions.  Through the first 37 verses, he rehearses what he knows to be theologically accurate.  God has sovereignty chosen Israel to be His nation, and David’s descendants to rule.  The last third of the psalm reflects the psalmist’s chagrin that the nation had been ravaged and the Davidic monarchy had apparently come to a disgraceful end.  To his credit, the psalmist refuses to explain away his theology, but instead keeps the tension, hopefully to be resolved at a later time with the promised reestablishment of an earthly kingdom under one of David’s descendants (cf. 110, 132).”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

            “If the author is the wise man Ethan of Solomon’s reign (1Kings 4:31), then verses 39-45 describe the invasion of Shishak and the Egyptian army recorded in 1Chronicles 12, which occurred during the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam.  But this invasion did not mean the end of the Davidic dynasty, which is the major theme of this psalm.  However, the invasion and captivity of Judah by the Babylonians did mean the end of the Davidic dynasty, so this psalm could have been written after the crisis by an unknown ‘Ethan.’  Young King Jehoiachin has already been taken captive to Babylon and Zedekiah his uncle, named king in his place (2Kings 24), and Jeremiah had announced that none of Jehoiachin’s sons would ever sit on David’s throne (Jer. 22:24-29).  What then, becomes of God’s covenant that promised David a throne forever (vv. 3, 28, 34, 29), and see 2Sam. 7)?  Does Jehovah no longer keep His promises?  The faithfulness of the Lord is the major theme of this psalm (vv. 1, 2, 5, 8, 14, 33, 49).  Of course, God’s great promises to David has their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Luke 1:26-38, 68-79).  The psalm gives us four assurances about the faithfulness of the Lord.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)

God Is Faithful in His Character—Praise Him (vv. 1-18):  “1 A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite: I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. 2 For I have said, "Lovingkindness will be built up forever; In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness." 3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations." Selah.

    “5 The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD, 7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him? 8 O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. 9 You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them. 10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. 11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them. 12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name. 13 You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

    “15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance. 16 In Your name they rejoice all the day, And by Your righteousness they are exalted. 17 For You are the glory of their strength, And by Your favor our horn is exalted. 18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.”

            I know that we have looked at the word “Maskil” in different psalms for the word is found in 13 psalms.  I thought it would be good to get a definition for this word although it seems that the meaning of it is not at all truly understood.  “Maschil, (Maskil).  A Heb. Term found in the title of 13 psalms (Ps. 32, 42, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 74, 48, 88, 89, 142), indicating the type of psalm, I,e., a didactic poem.  The same Heb. Word is found in Ps. 47:7 where in the KJV it is translated ‘understanding’ (NASB, ‘a skillful psalm’).  It is probably based on a Heb. Verb meaning ‘to attend, to turn the mind to, to be understood or prudent.’  On the other hand, the term may indicate a special kind of musical performance.”  (Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia)

            After reading the different introductions on Psalm 89 I believe that this psalm was written after the fall of Jerusalem, and was written for the purpose of praising the Lord for His faithfulness even though I don’t see that the author has a total understanding of what God is going to do.  I sometimes have this going on in my mind when I read something in Scripture and don’t totally understand it, but I can say with confidence that the Lord understands it and it is there for a purpose that He may reveal to me or He may not reveal to me.  When we look at the 7^th chapter of 2Samuel we see that it was the desire of David to build a temple for the Lord, but the Lord would not allow him to build that temple because he had shed much blood, but instead the Lord tells David that He would build a dynasty for David, which of course ended with the coming of Messiah, Jesus Christ to earth who reigns in heaven as King of Kings and will return to planet earth to set up a 1000 year kingdom that He will lead from Jerusalem.  The psalmist did not know all of these details because the Lord had not revealed them at that time, yet the psalmist is praising the Lord for His faithfulness for though he doesn’t understand all of what God is going to do he still puts his trust in the Lord and this can be seen in these beginning verses. 

            We see in these verses that the earth praises the Lord, and there are praises going on in heaven to the Lord.  We see a good example of this from Revelations 4-5.  We see in verse 9-13 that the psalmist speaks of things on earth that cause praise to the Lord.  Mt. Hermon is a high mountain where the headwaters of the Jordan River begin. 

            Israel is God’s chosen nation and if any people on earth have a right to praise the Lord it is them.  God had given them the holy land and a dynasty has sprung forth from David which will rule the earth, and they had the light of the holy law that God had given to them.  They had the special feast days to worship the Lord.  Yes God had given a lot to Israel and Israel has given a lot to all mankind, especially the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Word of God. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his commentary on this section these words, “In verse 18, ‘our shield’ (NASB, NIV refers to their king (84:9), now in captivity.  In many Jewish synagogues today, verses 15-18 are recited on their New Year’s Day after the blowing of the shofar.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Praising the Lord is a very important part of worship, and even when times are not what we would want them to be it is still time to praise the Lord, and we can see this from Psalm 89, for indeed the times were not the best, but the psalmist begins this psalm with praise and knows that God is faithful.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Knowing that God is faithful and worthy of my praise to Him teaches me to be content.

5/17/2012 9:55:47 AM