SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/4/2012 9:41:31 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 122 PT-1
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 122:1-2
Message of the verses: In Today’s Spiritual Diary we will begin to
look at the 122nd Psalm by looking at several introductions to the
psalm by different Bible commentators.
“This psalm
seems to have been penned by David for the use of the people of Israel, when
they came up to Jerusalem to worship at the three solemn feasts. It was in
David’s time that Jerusalem was first chosen to be the city where God would
record his name. It being a new thing, this, among other means, was used to
bring the people to be in love with Jerusalem, as the holy city, though it was
but the other day in the hands of the Jebusites.” (Matthew Henry)
“This brief
but spirited Psalm is entitled "A Song of Degrees of David," and thus
we are informed as go its author, and the occasion for which it was designed:
David wrote it for the people to sing at the time of their goings up to the
holy feasts at Jerusalem. It comes third in the series, and appears to be
suitable to be sung when the people had entered the gates, and their feet stood
within the city. It was most natural that they should sing of Jerusalem itself,
and invoke peace and prosperity upon the Holy City, for it was the centre of
their worship, and the place where the Lord revealed himself above the mercy
seat. Possibly the city was not all built in David’s day, but he wrote under
the spirit of prophecy, and spoke of it as it would be in the age of Solomon; a
poet has license to speak of things, not only as they are, but as they will be
when they come to their perfection. Jerusalem, or the Habitation of Peace, is
used as the key word of this Psalm, wherein we have in the original many happy
allusions to the salem, or peace, which they implored upon Jerusalem. When they stood within the triple walls, all
things around the pilgrims helped to explain the words which they sang within
her ramparts of strength. One voice led the Psalm with its personal
"I," but ten thousand brethren and companions united with the first
musician and swelled the chorus of the strain.(Charles H. Spurgeon)
“David
expressed his great joy over Jerusalem, which he had settled by defeating the
Jebusites and bringing the tabernacle and ark for permanent residency. David’s desire/prayer was temporarily
fulfilled in Solomon’s reign. It is
ironic that Jerusalem, which means ‘city of peace’, has been fought over
through history more than any other city in the world. Prophetically, David’s desire will not be
experienced in its fullness until the Prince of Peace comes to rule permanently
as the promised Davidic King.” (John
MacArthur Study Bible)
The
following is from the introductory commentary of Warren Wiersbe: “Believers today need not make long
pilgrimages to ‘holy places’ in order to worship God, for the Lord does not
dwell in man-made buildings (Acts 7:48-50).
Nor do we need the kind of ‘religious entertainment’ that draws people
to some meetings. The key thing is the
heart. From David’s words in this psalm,
we can easily discern the kind of heart believers need if we are to please God
in our worship.”
A Heart for God (vv. 1-2): “ 1 ¶ «A
Song of Ascents, of David.» I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to
the house of the LORD." 2 Our feet
are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem,”
It was a fairly long time ago when
our family went to “Founder’s Week” at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago,
Illinois that I became familiar with a CD that is entitled “Shalom Jerusalem.” The CD was made in the city of Jerusalem
sometime in the 1990’s and many of the songs on it were right out of Scripture
that were put to music and the first verse of Psalm 122 was used in this
CD. I also have this presentation in VHS
and it is now on DVD. I suppose that it
could be said that this is one of my all time favorite musical pieces and it is
because it is from Jerusalem and also because it is from the Scriptures.
There are some who think that David
did not write this psalm because the temple had not been built yet, but the
tent that David had set up could be what he is writing about here or David
could have been looking forward to the time when Solomon would build the
temple, which was actually in the heart of David to build, but God would not
allow him to do it. However David did
help in the plans of the temple along with supplying much of the gold and other
things that would be used in the building of the temple, so it does not seem
like a problem to believe that David wrote this psalm.
Dr. Wiersbe states that the phrase “let
us go to the house of the LORD” would be better translated as “we will go to
the house of the LORD.” He says that the
first sounds like an invitation to a tea while the second states what people
were going to do. The second statement sounds
more like the statement of expressed determination and dedication.
I am not sure how this psalm was
put into the ascent psalms, but for that matter I don’t have any idea as to how
any of the psalms were put into the order that they are in except that the Holy
Spirit, who is the author of the Scriptures led the people to arrange them in
the way that He wanted them to be in.
With this said as we look at this psalm, and David as the author we know
that David did not have to travel to Jerusalem for all of the feasts, but lived
in Jerusalem and it was David who put up the tent and brought the Ark of the
Covenant to place it into the tent that was in Jerusalem. We also know that the Bible states that David
was a man after God’s own heart, and David had a great love for the Lord, as
can be seen in the many psalms that he wrote and also from the different books
of the Bible that David is seen in. We
know that David also loved the city of Jerusalem and that God foretold that one
day He would choose a city to have His name in, and that city was
Jerusalem. There is coming a day when
the Lord Jesus Christ will reign from the rebuilt city of Jerusalem for 1000
years and then there is also coming a day when the Lord Jesus Christ will rule
from the New Jerusalem which is described in the book of Revelations. As we
study these ascent psalms we can picture in our minds what it must have been
like for the pilgrims to ascend to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, but then we
can also be thankful that we, as NT believers can worship the Lord right where
we are because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: When our
son was born we named him David Paul because David is my favorite character
from the OT and Paul is my favorite character from the NT. I believe that the reason that David is my
favorite character from the OT is that he was a man after God’s own heart, and
this is something that I desire to be. I
truly enjoy reading the psalms that David wrote and also reading about him
because of his great love for the Lord is seen in these writings and they
inspire me. He loved the city of
Jerusalem and this psalm is about Jerusalem, and one day all believers will be
able to go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Contentment is something that
I am still being taught by the Lord, and also how to remain in the Vine. Another thing He is teaching me is humility
and also to learn to have my mind transformed by His Word as I put His Word in
my heart that I may not sin against Him.
Memory verse for the week:
1Cor. 13:8
Love never
fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy they will be done away; if there are
tongues; they will cease; if there is knowledge it will be done away.
10/4/2012 10:37:51 AM
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