SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/21/2012 11:47:18 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 116 PT-2
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 116:5-19
Message of the verses: We began to look at the 116th
Psalm in yesterday’s SD, and will continue looking at it today. Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following at the end of
his introduction to this psalm: “As the psalmist reflected on his
life-threatening experience, he discovered several reasons why the Lord God
delivers people from danger and death.”
God Is Merciful and Gracious (vv.
5-11): “5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our
God is compassionate. 6 The LORD
preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD
has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For
You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from
stumbling. 9 I shall walk before the
LORD In the land of the living. 10 I believed when I said, "I am greatly
afflicted." 11 I said in my alarm, ‘All
men are liars.’”
When we
think about God’s name, and there are many names of God that are found in the
pages of Scripture, we must think that His name represents God’s character, and
we see that God is gracious, righteous, compassionate, and powerful. We see these characteristics or attributes in
this section of Psalm 116. When we think
of God’s character and attributes we will find many of them in the book of
Psalms, and when we look at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ while He was on
planet earth we will see many of these attributes and characteristics in
action. John MacArthur once said that
all of the attributes of God can be seen at the cross.
We can see
that the Lord loved the psalmist and after the Lord saved his life the psalmist
loved the Lord even more. In verse six
we see the word :simple” and this means to those who are childlike, and we can see
this in the gospels when Jesus takes a child and put the child on His lap and
tell His audience that people must be childlike in order to come to Him.
We see in
verse seven that the Lord dealt bountifully with the psalmist and how this was
done is described in verses eight and nine.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “In the pressure of danger and pain we often say
things we really do not mean, but the Lord sees our hearts and knows what we
really believe. The psalmist held to his
faith even though he said what he did, and the Lord ignored what he said with
his lips and responded to what he was saying in his heart.”
God Holds His children Precious (vv.
12-15): “12 What shall I render to the LORD For all His
benefits toward me? 13 I shall lift up
the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the LORD. 14 I shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be
in the presence of all His people. 15
Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.”
I first
remember seeing verse fifteen at a funeral of a man who was probably the first
man that died who was a believer since I had become a believer. I was 26 years old when I came to know Christ
as my Savior and Lord and after joining a local church I got to know this man
who died in an accident at work, and while going to his funeral this verse was
written on a little card that all received who attended his funeral. This is a very precious verse to me
especially since the very recent loss of my mother who knew the Lord as her
Savior and Lord.
The
psalmist wanted to express his gratitude to the Lord after the Lord had
delivered him from death and he did it in four ways.
1.
He brought a thank offering to the Lord (v. 17).
2.
Part of this sacrifice, the priest would pour
out a portion of wine on the altar as a symbol of the worshiper’s life poured
out to serve the Lord. (“Cup of
Salvation)
3.
The priest kept back part of the offering for a
feast held after the sacrifice, and there the worshiper shared his food and his
joy with his family and friends. It was at this feast that the psalmist would publicly
thank the Lord.
4.
The psalmist would began to keep the promises
that he had made to the Lord during his time of suffering and danger (vv.14
& 18) Dr. Wiersbe states that “we
must not consider these vows to be ‘holy bribes’ given in payment for God’s
help, for the psalmist surely knew that God’s will cannot be influenced by man’s
gifts. (See Job 41:11, quoted in Romans 11:35).”
Dr. Wiersbe writes these very
important words in conjunction with verse fifteen: “For
believers, death is not an accident but an appointment (Ps.
139:16, and see 39:4-6 and 92:12). If
the Father pays attention to the death of every sparrow, surely He will be
concerned about the death of His saints (Matt. 10:29-31; John 11:1-16). Just as the blood of Christ is precious
(1Peter 1:19), so our blood is precious to God (72:12-14). Gog’s
servants are immortal until their work on earth is done. They can be foolish and hasten the day of their
death, but they cannot go beyond their appointed time. That is in God’s hands. (48:14; Job 14:5,
NIV; Luke 2:26).”
God Is Faithful to His Covenant (vv.
16-19): “16 O LORD, surely I am Your
servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds.
17 To You I shall offer a sacrifice of
thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the LORD. 18 I shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be
in the presence of all His people, 19 In
the courts of the LORD’S house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the
LORD!”
Dr. Wiersbe
points out that when we read “I am Your servant” this can mean that “I am a son
of the covenant.” The parents of the
psalmist brought their son to the priest eight days after he was born to be circumcised
this makes him a son of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, and all
the sons of Israel. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Believers
today belong to God’s new covenant family in Christ, but this does not
guarantee protection from pain and trials.
However, it does mean that God is in control and will work all thing for
our good and His glory, even our death (Romans 8:28; John 21:17-19; 2Peter
1:12-15). Even our Lord lived on a
divine timetable and they could not crucify Him until the chosen hour had come
(John. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1).
May the Lord help us to end will and be faithful to Him (2Timothy 4:6-8).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: This section has reminded me again of the
fact that God is in control of all things, including the time when I go to be
with Him, whether through death or when the Rapture comes and I am transformed
in the air on the way to meet the Lord. (1Cor. 15:51-58; 1Thes. 4:13-18).
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Continue to abide or remain
in the Vine to understand what it is that the Lord desires me to do in His
service
Memory verses for the week:
2Peter 1:8-11
8 For if these
qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor
unfaithful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks
these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from
his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make
certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these
things, you will never stumble, 11 for in this way the entrance into the
eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied
to you.
8/21/2012 1:08:36 PM
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