SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/4/2012 7:27:17 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 111 PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 111:1
Message of the verses: In Today’s Spiritual Diary we will begin to
look at Psalm 111 by looking at several introductions from different Bible
Commentators in order to help us better understand what this psalm is
about. We will then begin to look at the
psalm in more detail.
“Psalm
111 and 112 are alike in that 1) they both begin with, ‘Praise the Lord’ (as
does 113), and 2) they both are acrostics with 22 lines corresponding to the 22
letters of the Heb. Alphabet. Psalm 111
exalts the works of God, while Ps. 112 extols the man who fears God. The authors and occasions are unknown.” (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
“Life
was not easy for the Jewish remnant that returned to Jerusalem after their
exile in Babylon. Their neighbors were
often hostile, the Persian officials were not always cooperative, and the
economic situation was difficult. Ezra
the scribe and the prophet Haggai describe some of these problems in their
books and point out that the Jewish people were not always faithful to the Lord
or generous to each other. This was why
God withheld His blessing. This psalm
may have been written by one of the Levites to remind the people to put the
Lord first and trust Him to meet every need.
The next psalm describes the blessings God will give to those who truly
fear Him and do His will. Both psalms are acrostics with each line beginning
with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Other acrostic psalms are 9, 10, 24, 34, 37,
119, and 145. This was a special style
of writing and perhaps the arrangement helped the people to memorize God’s
Word. The writer gives us four
instructions to follow if we would enjoy the help and blessing of the Lord in
the difficult situations of life.”
(Warren Wiersbe)
“There is no title to this psalm,
but it is an alphabetical hymn of praise, having for its subject the works of
the Lord in creation, providence, and grace. The sweet singer dwells upon the
one idea that God should be known by his people, and that this knowledge when turned into practical piety
is man’s true wisdom, and the certain cause of lasting adoration. Many
are ignorant of what their Creator has done, and hence they are foolish in
heart, and silent as to the praises of God: this evil can only be removed by a
remembrance of God’s works, and a diligent study of them; to this, therefore,
the psalm is meant to arouse us. It may be called The Psalm of God’s Works
intended to excite us to the work of praise.”
(Charles H. Spurgeon)
Begin with Worship and Praise (v. 1): “1 ¶
Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart, In
the company of the upright and in the assembly.”
Dr. Wiersbe points out that this
111th Psalm along with 112 and 115-117 are called “Hallelujah”
psalms because they either begin or end with “Praise the Lord.” He states “If we cannot rejoice in our
circumstances, we can always rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4): ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will
say, rejoice!’”
It seems the more that I read the
commentary that Dr. Wiersbe writes the more I love to read it, for as I have
stated many times Warren Wiersbe puts the cookies on the shelf where you can
reach them and in this section there are some good tasting cookies.
The psalmist is determined to
praise the Lord and that is why he begins this psalm with those words. He desires to praise the Lord in every
situation that will come into his life, and the reason that he will be able to
do this is because of his close relationship with the Lord and also with his
likeminded friends. The psalmist will go
to the sanctuary in order to praise the Lord and in doing this he will be with
his friends who desire to do the same.
We all need good friends who have the same love for the Lord, friends
that we can talk to when we have troubles so that they will pray for us and be
with us in times of grief and troubles.
For 32 years I worshiped at a church, and while there I made a lot of
close friends and we all grew old together.
It was a couple of years ago that troubles came to our church and so
most of the older people decided to leave and go elsewhere. However this did
not cause us not to meet with each other in a Bible Study that we hold at a friend’s
house even though we went in different directions. My mother went to be with the Lord last Monday
and at the viewing many of these close friends came to comfort my family, to be
there when we were all hurting from the great loss. This is what the body of Christ is all about
and as the song states, “I’m so glad to be a part of the family of God.” The psalmist may be speaking about times like
this when he goes into the sanctuary with his close friends in order to praise
the Lord.
Dr. Wiersbe writes about what he entitles
the “growth group,” but I believe that it could also be called “small group
ministry.” “The ‘growth group’ movement
in the church today has proven very helpful, especially in larger congregations. But the important thing is that we are whole
hearted in our worship, giving God our very best.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I Thes.
5:18 states “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in
Christ Jesus.” I think that this goes
along with praising the Lord, for even when we have a hard and difficult time
in praising the Lord and giving thanks in everything we know that it is the
right thing to do. I look at the life of
Jesus Christ while on the earth and how difficult it was for Him, especially in
the last days as He prepared to go to the cross and then going to the
cross. It was the worst and the best thing
that has ever happened and it was all in the plan of God. Nothing can compare in anyone’s life as to
what happened to Jesus Christ in the Divine Plan of God and so when times get
tough I need to be reminded to praise the Lord and also to remember that God
has a plan for my life and in that plan for my life He desires for me to be
conformed into the image of His Son. I
must also remember that I am to depend upon His Word, His Spirit, and His
Church in order to get through these tough times.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Continue to abide in the Vine
in order to get my marching orders from the Lord.
Memory verses for the week:
2Peter 1:1
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, 2 Grace and peace be granted to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything
pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called
us by His own grace and excellence. 4
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so
that by them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world by lust.
5 Now for this very reason,
applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence, knowledge 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your
self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance godliness, 7 and in your
godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are
increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8/4/2012 8:36:38 AM
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