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, 130.” (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
“In the midst o 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 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 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 be yes, know or wait so that I can continue to learn contentment.
5/11/2012 9:37:20 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment