“Talking About the Character and Glory of God” (Ps. 86:8-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/12/2012 8:48:31 AM

 

My Worship Time                                  Focus: “Talking About the Character and Glory of God”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Psalm 86:8-17

 

            Message of the verses:  We learned in the last SD that Psalm 86 is a psalm of David, and it is the only psalm of David that is found in the third book of Psalms, which runs from 73-91.  We also read in the last part of the introduction by Warren Wiersbe these words “David found three encouragements in the Lord, and so may we today.”  We will look at the last two encouragements that David found in the Lord in today’s SD.

 

            God’s Character Is Unchanging (vv. 8-13):  “8 There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works like Yours. 9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name. 10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God. 11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. 13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”

 

            To begin with let us look at Exodus 15:11 “"Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?”  Of course we know that the answer to this question is that there is no one like the Lord God who made the heavens and the earth. 

 

            In verse 9 David is looking forward to the Messianic kingdom when all of the nations would praise the Lord.  God made the nations and assigns their boundaries and determines their destinies and we can see that from Acts 17:22-28 “22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ’TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ’For we also are His children.’”

 

            Isaiah 2:1-4 teaches us this too:  “1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3 And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.”  Isaiah also speaks of the nations coming to the Lord in the Messianic kingdom in Isa. 9:6-7; 11:1-16.

 

            Verse tens speaks of the greatness of God who performs wondrous deeds, for God never changes and what He does is always good. 

 

            Now we see in verses 11-13 that David now focuses in on his walk with the Lord.  We know that in the ten years that David lived in the wilderness hiding from Saul that he learned much about God and how faithful the Lord was to him, for God said that he would be king, and therefore David believed Him and trusted the Lord as he hid from Saul.  It was because of these wilderness wanderings that David now believed that the Lord would protect him from the evil situation that he now found himself in.  David writes that he will praise the Lord and walk with Him to please Him, knowing that God would deliver him from this situation that he finds himself in.  We see at the end of verse 11 these words “Unite my heart to fear Your name.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “unite my heart’ means ‘I want to have an undivided heart, wholly fixed on the Lord.’  A perfect heart is a sincere heart that loves God alone and is true to Him (James 1:8; 4:8; Deut. 6:4-5; 10:12). He promised to praise God forever for delivering him from the grave (Sheol), a hint here of future resurrection. (See 49:15 and 73:23-24.)

 

            God’s Glory Shall Prevail (vv. 14-17):  “14 O God, arrogant men have risen up against me, And a band of violent men have sought my life, And they have not set You before them. 15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. 16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your handmaid. 17 Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.”  (NASB)  “14 O God, insolent people rise up against me; a violent gang is trying to kill me.  You mean nothing to them. 15 But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 16 Look down and have mercy on me.  Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant. 17 Send me a sign of your favor.  Then those who hate me will be put to shame, for you, O LORD, help and comfort me.”  (NLT) 

 

            We said in yesterday’s SD that David had taken some of the verses for this psalm from other psalms that he had written and from other places in the OT.  We must remember that the Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible as He moved in the hearts of the men who wrote the Scriptures, but making sure that it was what He wanted them to write even though their personalities were used in the writing of the Scriptures.  “2Pe 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” In verse 15 we see that David based it on Ex. 34:6 and following.  Exodus 34 is a chapter that finds Moses up on the Mountain of God talking to the Lord and then asking Him to show Himself to Moses.  It is one of the great chapters in all of Scripture and in that Chapter we see Moses praising the Lord telling Him that He is a God who is merciful and gracious and is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.  You see Moses was interceding for the children of Israel who had just made an idol to worship in their camp and God was very upset with their sin and wanted to destroy all of them, but Moses intercedes for them in this chapter.

 

            In verse 14 we see that the men who were trying to harm David were arrogant, men who did not know the Lord, nor knew the power of the Lord.

 

            David writes in verse sixteen that he wants God to save him, and calls himself “the son of Your handmaid.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Children born to servants were considered especially faithful since they were brought up in the master’s household (Gen. 14:14).  Since David was the Lord’s faithful servant, it was his Master’s duty to protect and deliver him.  But David wanted that deliverance to bring glory to the Lord and to demonstrate to the nations that Jehovah alone was God.  It wasn’t just warfare; it was witness, a ‘sign’ of the goodness of the Lord to David.  It was his way of praying ‘Hallowed be Thy name’ (Matt. 6:9).  When our requests are in God’s will and glorify His name, we can be sure He will answer.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  While driving in my car yesterday I was praying to the Lord about my prayer requests and saying that I want my prayer requests to be in the will of the Lord.  We sometimes tack on “In Jesus’ Name, Amen,” to the end of our prayers and we believe that by doing that He is obligated to answer our prayers.  While studying some verses in the 15^th chapter of John’s Gospel last year I learned that Jesus said to His disciples that if they asked anything in Jesus’ name they would receive an answer to their prayers.  What Jesus is talking about here is that our prayer requests must be as if Jesus wanted them to be answered.  Jesus told His disciples that it was better for Him to leave them and go back to heaven for if He did this then greater miracles would be done, and that means greater in number, for when a person accepts the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior then Jesus works in their hearts to do the things that He wants done, and since there are many believers on earth at this time then there should be much done for the kingdom of God as we do things that the Holy Spirit of God leads us to do and when He leads us to do something we pray and ask the Lord to accomplish them in our lives and then our prayers will be answered.  I’m glad that I had this talk with my Lord yesterday in the car.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Pray in Jesus’ name for the glory of Jesus.  Trust the Lord to continue to teach me contentment in my life.

 

5/12/2012 9:54:22 AM

“God’s Covenant is Secure” (Ps. 86:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/11/2012 8:35:26 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  “God’s Covenant is Secure”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 86:1-7

 

            Message of the verses:  We will begin to look at Psalm 86 this morning by looking at several introductions from different Bible commentators in order to get an idea of what this psalm is all about.

 

            “TITLE: — A Prayer of David. We have here one of the five psalms entitled Tephillahs or prayers. This psalm consists of praise as well as prayer, but it is in all parts so directly addressed to God that it is most fitly called "a prayer." A prayer is none the less but all the more a prayer because veins of praise run through it. This psalm would seem to have been specially known as David’s prayer; even as the ninetieth is "the prayer of Moses." David composed it, and no doubt often expressed himself in similar language; both the matter and the wording are suitable to his varied circumstances and expressive of the different characteristics of his mind. In many respects it resembles #Ps 17:1-15, which bears the same title, but in other aspects it is very different; the prayers of a good man have a family likeness, but they vary as much as they agree. We may learn from the present psalm that the great saints of old were accustomed to pray very much in the same fashion as we do; believers in all ages are of one genus. The name of God occurs very frequently in this psalm, sometimes it is Jehovah, but more commonly Adonai, which it is believed by many learned scholars was written by the Jewish transcribers instead of the sublime title, because their superstitious dread led them to do so: we, laboring under no such tormenting fear, rejoice in Jehovah, our God. It is singular that those who were so afraid of their God that they dared not write his name, had yet so little godly fear that they dared to alter his word.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon) 

 

            “This psalm is an individual lament (cf. Ps. 56) in which David expresses his distress and overcomes that distress through praise and worship.  There is a sense of urgency demonstrated by some 14 prayer requests.  Undergirding the requests is the covenant relationship (vv. 2, 5, 13.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

 

            “In the midst of a group of four psalms attributed to the Sons of Korah you find one psalm by David, the only Davidic psalm in the entire third book of Psalms.  When David wrote it, he was facing some formidable enemies whom we cannot identify (v. 14), at a time when he was ‘poor and needy’ (v. 1) and calling for God’s help.  The remarkable thing about the psalm is that it is a mosaic of quotations from other parts of the Old Testament, especially 25-28, 40 and 54-57, and Exodus 34.  Since David wrote these psalms, he had every right to quote from them and adapt them to his present needs. At a time of danger, when he felt inadequate to face the battle, David found three encouragements in the Lord, and so may we today.”  (Dr. Warrant Wiersbe)

 

            God’s Covenant Is Secure (vv. 1-7):  “1 A Prayer of David:  Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me; For I am afflicted and needy. 2 Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And give heed to the voice of my supplications! 7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me.”

 

             We see in verse two from this NASB translation these words, “for I am a godly man,” however this is not an arrogant or egotistical statement made by David.  The word in the Hebrew is “hesed” and is translated 19 times in the KJV as “saints.”  The word means to be set apart by God and for God and this is based on the covenant relationship that David had with the Lord.  The word is related to the Hebrew word “hasid” and that word means “mercy, kindness, steadfast love.  David was pleading with God because of his covenant relationship with God and this is similar to what NT believers do when they pray “in Jesus’ Name,” and this is based on our covenant of grace that we have with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

            We learned from John MacArthur’s introduction that there are fourteen prayer requests that are seen in this short psalm, and this suggests to us that when we pray to the Lord in order to be effective that we should offer specific prayer requests and these prayer requests that we offer can also be promises that we find in the Scriptures.  David knew many promises from the Lord for he had written many of them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

 

            We see in verse one that David begins by asking the Lord to incline His ear to him, and then asks the Lord to answer him.  We have learned that David used (according to Spurgeon) two names of God in this psalm, but Dr. Wiersbe says that he actually used three names of God in this psalm.  Jehovah, Adonai and Elohim were the three names of God used here.  Knowing the names of God and what they mean was a good way for David to pray to the Lord, for these names would have promises in them. Studying the names of God and their meanings is a wonderful study to do.

 

            In verse two David requests the Lord to preserve his soul and to save him, which must be from saving him from a difficult situation.  In verse three David asks the Lord to be gracious to him, something that we as believers have experienced from the Lord Jesus Christ.  “For by grace you have been saved.”  In verse four David asks that the Lord make his soul glad. I see no requests in verse five, but I do see praise to the Lord which is an important part of praying to the Lord.  In verse six David again asks the Lord to answer His prayer and then in verse seven we see that David is confident that the Lord will answer his prayer.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Knowing the names and promises of the Lord are wonderful ways to pray to the Lord.  Whenever I pray to the Lord I first want to praise Him, although there are times when I confess any sin that I may have committed or ask the Lord to search my heart for unknown sin.  After that I know that I am in fellowship with the Lord and can come to Him in praise.  I then think of some of the attributes of the Lord in order to praise Him.  At this point I will bring my requests to the Lord.  Thankfulness is a good way to end my prayer, thankful for the wonderful salvation that He has provided for me and for the Word of God and for the church and many other things.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Seek the Lord in prayer and trust Him for the answer whether it is yes, no or wait so that I can continue to learn contentment.

 

5/11/2012 9:37:20 AM

 

“A Palm About a New Beginning” (Ps. 85:1-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/10/2012 6:58:23 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus: “A Palm About a New Beginning”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Psalm 85:1-13

 

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 85 by looking at several introductions to the psalm by different Bible Commentators in order to help us get a flavor for the psalm.

 

            “The psalmist pledges that God will again demonstrate His covenant love to Israel.  God has been merciful in the past; He is angry presently; but He will restore Israel in the future (cf. Dt. 30; Hos. 3:4, 5).  Though God judges, He is faithful to His promises.  The feelings expressed in this psalm may describe those of the Jews returning from exile in Babylon.  Though they were grateful for restoration to their land, they were disappointed that the conditions did not measure up to the glory of the pre-Exile life there (cf. Ezr. 3:12, 13).”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

“12 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.”  (Ezra 3:12-13)

 

            “This psalm was probably written after the Jewish people returned to their land following their seventy years of captivity in Babylon (Jer. 29).  Note the emphasis on the land (vv. 1, 9 and 12) and on God’s anger against His people (vv. 3-5).  God gave them favor with their captors, raised up leaders like Zerubbable the governor, Joshua the high priest, and Ezra the scribe, and protected the Jewish remnant as they traveled to their war-ravaged land.  When you read Ezra 6 and the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, you learn that life was very difficult for them in the land.  They did not always obey the Lord or show kindness to each other, but they did make a new start.  The Scottish preacher George H. Morrison said, ‘The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings,’ and he is right.  It is a sin to disobey God and fall, but it is also a sin to stay fallen.  We must always make a new beginning and this psalm gives us some instructions that we can follow after times of failure and chastening.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)

 

            Give Thanks to the Lord (vv. 1-3):  “1 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah: O LORD, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah. 3 You withdrew all Your fury; You turned away from Your burning anger.”

 

            1 Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 2  "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.’”  (Isaiah 40:1-2)  We see in these two verses in Isaiah that the Lord is going to comfort Israel after He had taken her into captivity and then returned her to the land.  The psalmist is giving thanks to the Lord because of His goodness of bringing Israel back to the land.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following:  “The Hebrew word shuv basically means ‘to turn or return’ and it is used in verse 1 (brought back), verses 3, and 4, and 8 (turn), and verse 6 (again).  When we turn back to God, repent, and confess our sins, He turns back to us and restores us.”

 

            Ask Him for Renewed Life (vv. 4-7):  “4 Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your indignation toward us to cease. 5 Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? 6 Will You not Yourself revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD, And grant us Your salvation.”

 

            When God brought back the children of Israel to their land as He had promised He would do so seventy years after the first deportation in 605 B. C., it did not mean that they would all of a sudden walk with the Lord like He desired that they do, for they had to desire to walk with the Lord.  Israel had to realize why it was that the Lord had deported them in the first place, confess that sin and then have a desire to walk again with the Lord.  In the prayers of the post exile prophets we see wonderful prayers that they had made to the Lord confessing their sins before the Lord and asking Him for forgiveness.  We read these in both Nehemiah nine and Daniel nine.

 

            We see the word “revive” in verse six and this does not mean what we as modern believer’s think of where a visiting Pastor will come into a church to preach messages that will bring the people back to the Lord so that they can go out and tell others about the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “the word revive simply means ‘to live again, to be renewed in life.’”  He also writes “It has well been said that a change in geography will never overcome a flaw in character.” 

 

            One more quote from Dr. Wiersbe before we move on to the next point:  “New life is not something that we manufacture ourselves; a new life can come only from the Holy Spirit of God, God gave a special message about this to Haggai (Hag. 2:1-9) and also to Zechariah (Zech. 4:6).”

“1 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet saying, 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, 3 ’Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? 4  ’But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ’take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ’and work; for I am with you,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 5  ’As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ’Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 ’I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ’The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 9 ’The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ’and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts." (Haggai 2:1-9)

“Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”  (Zec. 4:6)

 

            Listen for God’s Message to You (vv. 8-13):  “8 I will hear what God the LORD will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11 Truth springs from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, And our land will yield its produce. 13 Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way.”

 

            We see the words “I will hear” in verse eight and perhaps it was time for the people to be silent and to listen to what the Lord has for them as He speaks to them.  When we read from the post exile books and prophets we see that God did speak to them through the prophets and there was one occasion at the “Water Gate” that the people stood out in the rain all day to hear Ezra speak to them and this brought about a great revival.

 

            At the end of verse eight we read “godly ones” but in the KJV we see the word saint and this word means those who are set apart for God. 

 

            At the end of verse eight we see these words “But let them not turn back to folly.”  Israel had a great history of turning back to folly.  When we read the book of Judges we see that seven nations came in and fought against Israel, but when they called out to the Lord He drove the nations out of the Land.  There are other times when this kind of thing happened to Israel and as we read through the OT we will be reminded of them.

 

            We see in verse nine what Israel was suppose to do and that is to fear the Lord and bring glory to Him, and that has not changed to this day for we as believers are to do the same thing.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that the word “dwell” in verse nine is the Hebrew Word Shekinah and this is the glory of the Lord that was in the tabernacle and also the temple, the glory of the Lord.  In the book of Ezekiel we read that he saw the Shekinah glory leave the temple and when the Lord Jesus came to earth we see that glory return.  Look at the verses from Haggai that is in this SD and you will see that the Lord promised that His glory would return in a greater way.  (Haggai 2:6-9)

 

            We see in verses 10-13 that the Lord announced future blessings that He would send if His people would continue to walk with the Lord.  These are surely great and wonderful promises that the Lord promises to give Israel if they walk with Him.  Righteousness and peace would be given to them. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When the Lord Jesus died on the cross He provided salvation for those who would accept this wonderful gift.  Jesus Christ would take our sins upon His own body on the cross and then He would give to those who accept Him His righteousness and His peace which is something we can never earn, but receive by faith.  All people have been at war with the Lord since the fall of man and therefore peace is something that is very precious to us.  Philippians 4:6 states “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  This is the peace of God that is spoken of here and one cannot have the peace of God until one has peace with God. Col 1:20  “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”  This speaks of the having peace with God.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Give myself to the Lord for worship and for service.

 

5/10/2012 8:24:37 AM           

“My Strength & Trust is in the Lord” (Ps. 84:5-12)

 

SPIRIRTUAL DIARY FOR 5/9/2012 6:24:19 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  “My Strength & Trust is in the Lord”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Psalm 84: 5-12

 

            Message of the verses:  In yesterday’s SD we began to look at Psalm 84 and we looked at the first four verses in the psalm.  The first section was entitled “My delight is in the Lord and it covered verses 1-4.  We learned that Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following at the end of his introduction in order to help us better understand the psalm:  “The psalmist’s inability to attend the feast did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the Lord.  All who are true pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he made.”

 

            My Strength Is in the Lord (vv. 5-8):  “5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion.  8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.”

 

            We see in these verses that the psalmist was not able to go up to Jerusalem, but in his mind he had a map of Israel and certainly knew the route that he would have gone if he had been able.  In verse six we see that the psalmist writes about “passing through the valley of Baca” and then he writes about the early rain which covers it with a blessing.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following on this section, something that will bless your hearts.  “The ‘Valley of Baca’ is a name for any difficult and painful place in life, where everything seems hopeless and you feel helpless, like ‘the pit of despair.’  The people who love God expect to pass through this valley and not remain there.  They get a blessing from the experience, and they leave a blessing behind.  Like Abraham and Isaac, they ‘did a well’ and like Samuel and Elijah, they pray down the rain.  It’s wonderful to receive a blessing, but it’s even greater to be a blessing and transform a desert into a garden.  True pilgrims ‘go from strength to strength’ and trust God to enable them to walk a step at a time and work a day at a time.  They are people of prayer who keep in communion with the Lord, not matter what their circumstances may be.  ‘Blessed are those who strength is in you’ (v. 5, NIV).”

 

            My Trust Is in the Lord (vv. 9-12):  “9 Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed. 10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

 

            In verse eight the psalmist is asking God to hear his prayer and in verse nine the psalmist then will lift his prayers to the Lord, and he begins his prayer by praying for the king, for the words “our shield” can mean either the king of Israel or it can also mean the Lord.  "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.’”  David writes this verse in 2 Samuel 1:21 about Saul who had just been killed by the Philistines along with his sons.   Dr. Wiersbe writes “Because the future of the Messianic promise rested with the line of King David. (2 Sam. 7), and the psalmists wanted the Messiah to come.  Believers today should pray faithfully for those in authority (1Tim. 2:1-4).

 

            Verse ten speaks of walking by faith and this is the OT version of two verses in the NT:  “"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  (Matthew 6:33 & Phil. 1:21)

 

            In the last part of verse ten we read about standing at the threshold of the house of God.  In the beginning of the psalm we read that it is a psalm of the sons of Korah, and when you go back to the OT book of Numbers we find that Korah was a Levite and he had rebelled against the Lord and Moses and so the Lord destroyed him, but not all of his family for the sons do not pay for the sins of the fathers.  We read at the end of the verses that the psalmist states that he would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of the Lord than dwell in the tents of wickedness.   We see here that the psalmist did not aspire to a high place, for a gatekeeper is not a high goal.  We also read about the tents of wickedness and that speaks of Korah when he was living in a tent and rebelled against the Lord and Moses. 

 

            Verse eleven speaks of the Lord God being a sun and a shield, and we can learn from this that those who put their total trust in the Lord have all that they need.  The Lord is to them what the sun is to our universe, and we know that we couldn’t get along without it.

 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his commentary these words:  “Do we depend on His strength?  Do we walk and work by faith?  Are we among those who walk uprightly (v.11)?”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The three questions that are written at the end of the commentary are compelling questions, questions that step on my toes.  I know in my heart that all that I need is the Lord, but do I always act that way?

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

 

5/9/2012 7:22:32 PM

 

 

“Delighting in the Lord” (Ps. 84:1-4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/8/2012 10:18:35 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus: “Delighting in the Lord”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Psalm 84:1-4

 

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 84, and we will first look at several introductions from different Bible Commentators in order to help us understand what the author of this Psalm has to say and hopefully be able to apply what has been learned to our walk with the Lord.

 

            “Title and Subject.  To the Chief Musician upon Gittith.  A Psalm for the sons of Korah.  This Psalm well deserved to be committed to the noblest of the sons of song.  No music could be too sweet for its theme, or too exquisite in sound to match the beauty of its language. Sweeter than the joy of the wine press, (for that is said to be the meaning of the word rendered upon Gittith), is the joy of the holy assemblies of the Lord’s house; not even the favored children of grace, who are like the sons of Korah, can have a richer subject for song than Zion’s sacred festivals. It matters little when this Psalm was written, or by whom; for our part it exhales to us a Davidic perfume, it smells of the mountain heather and the lone places of the wilderness, where King David must have often lodged during his many wars.  This sacred ode is one of the choicest of the collection; it has a mild radiance about it, entitling it to be called The Pearl of Psalms. If the twenty-third be the most popular, the one hundred and third the most joyful, the one hundred and nineteenth the most deeply experimental, the fifty-first the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of peace. Pilgrimages to the tabernacle were a grand feature of Jewish life.  In our country, pilgrimages to the shrine of Thomas of Canterbury, and our Lady of Walsingham, were so general as to affect the entire population, cause the formation of roads, the erection and maintenance of hostelries, and the creation of a special literature; this may help us to understand the influence of pilgrimage upon the ancient Israelites. Families journeyed together, making bands which grew at each halting place; they camped in sunny glades, sang in unison along the roads, toiled together over the hill and through the slough, and as they went along, stored up happy memories which would never be forgotten.  One who was debarred the holy company of the pilgrims, and the devout worship of the congregation, would find in this Psalm fit expression for his mournful spirit.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)

 

            “This psalm, like other psalms of ascent (Pss. 120-134), expresses the joy of a pilgrim traveling up to Jerusalem, then up into the temple to celebrate one of the feasts.  The pilgrim focuses his attention especially on the thought of being in the very presence of the Lord God.  The NT believer-priest, in an even greater way, can come into the presence of the Lord (cf. Heb 4:16; 10:19,-22).  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

 

Heb. 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

Heb. 10:19-22 “19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22  let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

 

            “The phrase ‘appears before God in Zion’ was penned by a Jewish man who could not go to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual feasts (Ex. 23:17; 34:23).  For forty years after their exodus from Egypt, the Jews were a wandering people, but even after they had moved into the Promised Lane, the three feasts reminded them that they were still pilgrims on this earth (1Chron. 29:15), as are God’s people today (1Peter 1:1; 2:11).  A vagabond has no home; a fugitive is running from home; a stranger is away from home; a pilgrim is heading home.  The psalmist’s inability to attend the feast did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the Lord.  All who are true pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he made.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

 

            My Delight Is in the Lord (vv. 1-4):  “1 For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah: How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”

 

            In some ways I am reminded of Psalm 42:1-2 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?”  Psalm 42 is also a psalm of Korah and maybe that is why Psalm 84:2 reminds me of Psalm 42:1-2.

 

            We know that things are different for NT believers than they were for the OT believers, yet we worship the same God.  In the OT the temple that was in Jerusalem was the place where God dwelled for when Moses had the tabernacle built while the children of Israel were living near Mt. Sinai we say that the glory of the Lord was in the holy of holies and then when Solomon built the temple of the Lord the ark was moved into the holy of holies that was in the temple.  There was a curtain between the holy place and the holy of holies and when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins that curtain was torn into from the top to the bottom showing all believers that they now can have access with the Living God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

            In the seventh chapter of Acts we hear from Steven just before he was stoned to death by the Jews and Steven gives an historical account of Jewish history to those who would kill him.  In verses 47-50 we read the following, “47 “But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48  "However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: 49  ’HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord, ’OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE? 50 ’WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’”  Steven is saying that God is too “big” to live in any one place for God is omnipresent, He is everywhere.  God now lives in the hearts of the NT believers in the person of the Holy Spirit, for we are the temple of God.

 

            The psalmist is saying how much he enjoys being in the temple of God and is even jealous of the birds who make their nests there and is also envious of the priests who have the privilege of ministering in the temple.  We can just feel the love that the psalmist has for the Lord as we read verse two.  We can be sure that the psalmist was in love with the Lord and wanted to be near Him, but he could not be near Him all of the time.

 

 

            I want to quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary at this point because it helps me to understand more about worshiping the Lord in the day that I now live in.  “Although God doesn’t live today in man-made buildings (See the verses above from Acts 7), we still show special reverence toward edifices dedicated to Him.  We can worship God anytime and anywhere, but special places and stated rituals are important in structuring our worship experience.  The important thing is that we have a heart that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord (42:1-4; Matt. 5:6).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to have a heart that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, and to continue to learn contentment as I walk with the Lord each day.

 

5/8/2012 11:24:04 AM

 

“It is good to Look Back When we are in Need.” (Ps. 83:9-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/7/2012 8:44:58 AM

 

My Worship Time                                  Focus:  “It is good to Look Back When we are in Need.”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Psalm 83:9-18

 

            Message of the verses:  In yesterdays SD we began looking at Psalm 83 by looking at a couple of introductions to the psalm and then looking at the first main point from the psalm in which Dr. Wiersbe called “Lord See What is Happening.”  Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introduction these words, “As he saw the enemy armies surrounding Israel, Asaph lifted three heartfelt requests to the Lord.”  We will begin this SD with the second heartfelt request to the Lord that Asaph made.

 

            “Lord, Do What is Necessary!” (Vv. 9-15):  “9 Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, 10 Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became as dung for the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God." 13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind. 14 Like fire that burns the forest And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, 15 So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm.”

            “9 Do to them as you did to the Midianites and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. 10 They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. 11 Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did.  Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 for they said, “Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!’’  13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! 14 As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, 15 chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest.”  (NLT) 

 

            Asaph is going back to a victory that is found in the book of Judges in his prayer to the Lord, and asks that the Lord do the same to the enemies of Israel at this time.  We read the story of Gibeon’s victory over the Midianites in Judges 6-8 where the Lord defeated the Midianites using just 300 men that were led by Gibeon.  We also read about the victory of Deborah and Barak against Sisera and Jabin in Judges 4-5.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following on who the other names in this section are: “Endor is not mentioned in Judges 4-5, but it was a city near Taanach (Judges 5:19), which was near Endor (Josh. 17:11).”  “Oreb and Zeeb were commanders (princes) of the Midianites army, and Zeba and Zamunna were Midianite kings (Jud. 7:25-8:21). 

 

            The great victory over the Midianites stood out in the history of the Nation of Israel because like other great victories it was brought about by a miracle of the Lord.

 

            We see some disturbing images in this section that may seem a bit harsh, but we must remember that Israel was who the Lord was going to use to bring Messiah into the world, and Israel was also responsible to write the Scriptures, and to tell others about Jehovah.  I am not going to go into the details of what some of these images mean, for one can read them and understand what Asaph is asking the Lord to do to the enemies of Israel.

 

            “Glorify Your Name!” (Vv. 16-18):  “16 Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish, 18 That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.”

            16 Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.  Let them die in disgrace. 18 Then they will learn that you alone are called the LORD, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.”  (NLT)

                                                                                                               

            We see in this section that Asaph prays that the enemies of Israel will be ashamed and dismayed before they were destroyed by the Lord.  That they would know that Jehovah is the Lord of all the earth. 

 

            It seems that nations in the day when the OT was written did realize that Israel’s God, the God over all the earth, was truly God.  They realized this when they were defeated by Israel even though their army was much greater than that of Israel.  That was how it was suppose to work. 

 

            I remember hearing an account of the six day war that was fought in 1967 in Israel.  Many thought that Israel would be defeated, but Israel ended up capturing control of Jerusalem and still has it today.  During the fight for the city of Jerusalem there was a high ranking army official involved in the battle who said that when they were attacking Jerusalem all of a sudden there came a great wind storm that lasted for a while.  This completely stopped the battle.  When the wind storm stopped the officer could see many land mines that the storm had uncovered.  He stated that he did not believe in God until that happened, for this time of the year this kind of thing with the wind never happened in Isarael.  Yes God is still fighting for Israel even today.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Asaph looked back at some of the victories that the Lord had given to Israel and prayed for the same outcome over Israel’s enemies then.  It is good to look back and see what the Lord has done for me, especially looking back to that day in 1974 when the Lord saved me and changed my life forever.  Whenever I am facing troubles I know for sure that I am loved by the Lord and that He is good and can only do good.  I can remember that one day the Lord will come in the clouds to take His church to be with Him forever.  It is good to look back.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to cause me to remember the two sermons that I heard yesterday at Church and apply them to my life by the power of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God.

 

5/7/2012 9:30:19 AM