SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/1/2012 8:05:17 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 121-PT-1
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 121:1-2
Message of the verses: The 121st Psalm is one of my
favorite psalms as a lot of years ago I put this psalm to memory and am looking
forward to taking a closer look at it at this time.
Let us
begin looking at this psalm by seeing what some different Bible Teachers have
said about it. “This bears no other
title than "A Song of degrees". It is several steps in advance of its
predecessor, for it tells of the peace of God’s house, and the guardian care of
the Lord, while Psalm 120 bemoans the departure of peace from the good man’s
abode, and his exposure to the venomous assaults of slanderous tongues. In the
first instance his eyes looked around with anguish, but here they look up with
hope. From the constant recurrence of the word keep, we are led to name this
song "a Psalm to the keeper of Israel". Were it not placed among the
Pilgrim Psalms we should regard it as a martial hymn, fitted for the evensong
of one who slept upon the tented field. It is a soldier’s song as well as a traveler’s
hymn. There is an ascent in the psalm itself which rises to the greatest elevation
of restful confidence (Charles H. Spurgeon).”
“The author
and circumstances are unknown. This song
strikes a strong not of assurance in 4 stages that God is help and protection
to keep both Israel and individual believers safe from harm.” (John MacArthur)
“This may
have been used as an antiphonal psalm that the pilgrims sang as they journeyed
to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast. The
leader of the company opened with verses 1-2, which are in the first person,
and different people or groups answered him with verses 3-4 and so on, which
are in the second person. The theme is
God’s protection over His people; the world ‘keeps’ (watches over) is used six
times. Safety is something about which
the pilgrims would be especially concerned as they journeyed on the roads
through the hill country. A pilgrim
could stumble and hurt himself, or someone might suffer sunstroke, or a chilly
night of camping out might give somebody a bad cold. There was always the possibility of robbers
swooping down. But the message of the psalm
applies to God’s pilgrims today and gives us the assurances we need as we
journey in this life.” (Warren Wiersbe)
“My Father’s Creation Is Before Me” (vv.
1-2): “1 ¶ «A Song of Ascents.» I will lift up my eyes
to the mountains; From where shall my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven
and earth.”
“1 ¶ A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. I
look up to the mountains- does my help
come from there? 2 My help comes from
the LORD, who made heaven and earth!” (NLT)
We may have
a better translation in the first part of verse one from the NLT as it says “I
look up to the mountains” where the NASB and the KJV adds the word will as it
states “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains.” The pilgrims were probably coming from
Jericho which lies about 2700 feet below Jerusalem and it is all uphill to get
there and so they had to be looking up as they traveled this long road to
Jerusalem. As they looked up they would
be reminded that the God of creation dwelled at Jerusalem in the temple. This had to give confidence to them knowing
that if God created the world that He also had the power to care for them, to
give them the help that they needed to go through life. As believers we sometimes forget that are
help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth and we trust in our own
efforts of trust in governments to give us help, but God is greater than
anything and is compassionate and desires to help us.
This
portion of Psalm 121 reminds me of a song “This Is My Father’s World.”
1. This
is my Father's world,
and
to my listening ears
all
nature sings, and round me rings
the
music of the spheres.
This
is my Father's world:
I
rest me in the thought
of
rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his
hand the wonders wrought.
2. This
is my Father's world,
the
birds their carols raise,
the
morning light, the lily white,
declare
their maker's praise.
This
is my Father's world:
he
shines in all that's fair;
in
the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he
speaks to me everywhere.
3. This
is my Father's world.
O
let me ne'er forget
that
though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God
is the ruler yet.
This
is my Father's world:
why
should my heart be sad?
The
Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God
reigns; let the earth be glad!
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: As I look
at the words of the first two verses of Psalm 121 and then look at the verses
in the song above I am again reminded that God is in control of this world, God
is the ruler yet, the Lord is King; let heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth
be glad! The world we live in does not
seem to have God in control at this time, but that does not matter for God is
truly in control and although the government and most of the media think that
they are in control, one day soon they will realize that they are not. The people of Jerusalem who handed Jesus over
to be crucified thought that they were in control learned later that it was all
a part of God marvelous plan to bring about salvation to those who would accept
the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, however they will still have
to answer to the Lord for what they did and so will the politicians today have
to answer to the Lord even though what is going on is a part of God’s plan.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Remember that God is totally
in control and I am to trust Him and live for Him.
Memory verses for the week:
1Corinthians 13:1-8
1 If I
speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have
become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have
love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all
my possessions to feed the poor, and surrender my body to be burned, but do not
have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is
patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag, and is not arrogant,
5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does
not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness,
but rejoices with the truth, 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
8 Love
never fails, but if there are gifs of prophecy, they will be done away; if
there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge it will be done away.
10/1/2012 9:13:33 AM
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