SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
6/14/2012 6:54:51 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 94 PT-2
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 94:8-23
Message of the verses: We will continue to look at the 94th
Psalm in today’s SD. I want to repeat
what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introduction so that we will realize
where we are going as we study this psalm:
“When it comes to dealing with injustices in society, the psalm teaches
us that the righteous have four responsibilities.” We looked at the first responsibility in
yesterday’s SD.
Warning the Wicked of Their Danger (vv.
8-11): “8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people; And
when will you understand, stupid ones? 9
He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He
not see? 10 He who chastens the nations,
will He not rebuke, Even He who teaches man knowledge? 11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they
are a mere breath.”
At the end of the last section
of this psalm we learned that those who were doing harm to God’s people thought
that God was sleeping on the job and did not realize that He was watching for
the psalmist is telling them that God is the one who formed the ears of people
and thus He can hear well, God is the One who formed the eyes and thus He can
see. God is in control of all the
nations and will rebuke them when He desires to do so, for God is the One who
teaches man knowledge. God is everywhere
and has all knowledge and thus He knows what a man is thinking, and God knows
that mans time on earth is but a breath.
It is wonderful to see the attributes of God as we read through the book
of Psalms, for by understanding the attributes of God we will begin to know Him
better. Paul wrote to the Philippians
these words, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Paul had been a believer for a long time when
he wrote those words, but his desire after all his time as a believer was to
know God better. We must also realize
that Paul was the man who was the most like Christ before he died than any
other person who has lived since him.
“8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and
ye fools, when will ye be wise?” This is
Psalm 94:8 and we want to look at the word “brutish” which was also in Psalm
49:10 and 92:6. The word means that a
person is acting like an animal. Let’s
look at a couple of NT verses where we will see this too: “But these, like unreasoning animals, born as
creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no
knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,”
(2Peter 2:12). “But these speak evil of
those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute
beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” (Jude 10-AV)
One more
thought before we move on and that is about the word “thought” that is found in
verse eleven. This word means
inventions, schemes or plans and we will see verse eleven in 1Corinthians 3:20
as the Apostle Paul uses it when writing to the Corinthians to show their
church leaders not to use the wisdom of the world in trying to lead the
church.
One of the problems
that I seen in the Church today is that many churches try to use the world’s wisdom
in the church in order to make it grow.
I believe that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is the One who
gifts the church with people to move it in the direction that He wants it to
move. Some of the things that I have seen in different churches
is that they try a plan to bring people into their church and it is somewhat
successful, so then we see another church do the same thing. Now if it was the leading of the Holy Spirit
in the first church to do what it did that does not mean that it was to be done
in the other church. I felt it necessary
to leave a church that I had attended for over 32 years because the leaders
were trying to make the church so worldly in order to attract people out of the
world. The movement is called “Seeker
Churches.” We are salt and light is how
Jesus put it and that makes us different, different so that people can see the
difference in us in order to have a desire for that difference in us, and
worldly wisdom does not make us different.
Accepting God’s Discipline (vv. 12-15): “12 ¶
Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD, And whom You teach out of
Your law; 13 That You may grant him
relief from the days of adversity, Until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not abandon His people, Nor
will He forsake His inheritance. 15 For
judgment will again be righteous, And all the upright in heart will follow it.” “
12 ¶ Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O
LORD, and whom you teach out of your
law, 13 to give him rest from days of
trouble, until a pit is dug for the
wicked. 14 For the LORD will not forsake
his people; he will not abandon his
heritage; 15 for justice will return to
the righteous, and all the upright in
heart will follow it.” (ESV)
The word “tempt” and “Test” are the
same Greek Word and it was up to those who translate the Word of God to put it
in the right way. 1Corinthinans 10:13
says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it.” (KJV) The word temptation could also mean
test. I bring this up because when
trouble comes our way it is either a test from the Lord or a temptation for the
evil one. The psalmist writes that the
one whom the Lord chastens will be taught from His law. God allows us to go through these trials to
build us up in the Lord, to make us stronger, for if we got our way all of the
time we would become spoiled brats.
Satan tempts us for evil reasons while God tests us for our growth, and
sometimes discipline is involved “For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and
whips every son whom he receives.” (Heb. 12:6)
As believers in Jesus Christ we
know that there is coming a time when all those who have done evil and not
repented and turned to Christ will face judgment. God does not judge because He is vindictive,
but because He is holy. “11 ¶ Then I saw a great white throne and Him who
sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was
found for them. 12 And I saw the dead,
the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and
another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged
from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they
were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake
of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in
the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Here we find some sobering thoughts in
Revelations 20:11-15. Ponder on verse
15.
Working with God for Justice (vv. 16-23): “16
Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take his stand for
me against those who do wickedness? 17
If the LORD had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the
abode of silence. 18 If I should say,
"My foot has slipped," Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts multiply
within me, Your consolations delight my soul. 20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with
You, One which devises mischief by decree? 21
They band themselves together against the life of the righteous And
condemn the innocent to death. 22 But
the LORD has been my stronghold, And my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He has brought back their wickedness upon
them And will destroy them in their evil; The LORD our God will destroy them.”
“16
Who will protect me from the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers? 17 Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of
the grave. 18 I cried out, “I am
slipping!’’ but your unfailing love, O
LORD, supported me. 19 When doubts
filled my mind, your comfort gave me
renewed hope and cheer. 20 Can unjust
leaders claim that God is on their side-
leaders whose decrees permit injustice? 21 They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the LORD is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide.
23 God will turn the sins of evil people
back on them. He will destroy them for
their sins. The LORD our God will
destroy them.” (NLT)
Dr. Wiersbe writes these words as
he ends his commentary on Psalm 94: “In
evil days, we give thanks that we have the Lord as our refuge and
fortress. But we hide in Him, not that
we may escape responsibility, but that we might be equipped to go forth and
fight the enemy. As the salt of the
earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16), God’s people should do all
they can to encourage justice in this world.
As Edmund Burke said, ‘It is necessary only for the good man to do
nothing for evil to triumph.’ But in the
end, it is the Lord who knows the hearts of people and who will judge justly.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Trusting
the Lord is something that the psalmist did as he went through this difficult
time, for he knew that the Lord will never change, and the things that He said
He will do including judging the wicked.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Just as the psalmist realized
that the Lord was his Stronghold, and was the Rock of his refuge I desire to be
abide in the Vine who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
I desire to abide in the Vine to accomplish the works that He has
planned for me to accomplish, thus bringing glory to my Lord.
Memory verse for the week:
2Peter 1:1: “Simon Peter, a
bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those
who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our
God and Savior, Jesus Christ:”
6/14/2012 8:13:01 AM
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