SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/12/2012 7:18:34 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 113 PT-3
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 113:7-9
Message of the verses: We will look at the last three verses in
Psalm 113 in Today’s SD, remembering the words that Warren Wiersbe wrote at the
end of his introductory commentary on this psalm: “The psalm opens and closes with ‘hallelujah’
(‘praise Jehovah’) and gives us three wonderful reasons for praising the Lord.” We will look at the third reason for praising
the Lord that comes from Psalm 113 today.
God’s Love Is the Kindest (vv. 7-9): “7
He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them sit with princes, With
the princes of His people. 9 He makes
the barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the
LORD!”
I want to
quote ten verses from 2Samuel, chapter 2 which go along with the verses seen
here in Psalm 113: “1 ¶ Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart
exults in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly
against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2 "There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 3 "Boast no more so very proudly, Do not
let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And
with Him actions are weighed. 4
"The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on
strength. 5 "Those who were full
hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even
the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes. 6 "The LORD kills and makes alive; He
brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7
"The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.
8 "He raises the poor from the
dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And
inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, And He
set the world on them. 9 "He keeps
the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For
not by might shall a man prevail. 10
"Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He
will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He
will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.’” These ten verses come from the mother of
Samuel, Hannah, and they are also quoted by Mary when she praises the Lord over
the conception of Jesus which are seen in Luke 1:46-55. “46
And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble
state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will
count me blessed. 49 "For the
Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. 50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER
GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. 51
"He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who
were proud in the thoughts of their heart. 52
"He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted
those who were humble. 53 "HE HAS
FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 "He has given help to Israel His
servant, In remembrance of His mercy, 55
As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants
forever." 56 And Mary stayed with
her about three months, and then returned to her home.”
Let us
think about some of the women that are found in Scripture who were barren until
the Lord opened up their wombs. The
first would be Sara, the wife of Abraham who gave birth to Isaac at the age of ninety. Then we think of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac
who was barren until she became the mother of Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of
Israel, but his favorite wife Rachel was barren for a long time until she gave
birth to Joseph, whom God used to protect Israel when the first arrived in
Egypt. We have seen the story of Hannah
who was the mother of Samuel, the priest and prophet of Israel, along with
being a judge in Israel. In the New
Testament we see the familiar and similar story of Elizabeth who became the
mother of John the Baptist the forerunner of Jesus Christ.
Let us
think a moment about the words “ash heap” that are found in verse seven, and we
will find this concept in the book of Job, chapter two and verse eight, “And he
took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the
ashes.” The ash heap was where the ashes
were and the sun would warm the ashes during the day and this would keep the
poor people warm during the night. It
was a place where few people wanted to visit because of the poverty found
there. Our God visits places like this
for Psalm 113 speaks of this.
Dr. Wiersbe
writes the following as speaks of the love of God, “The love of God and the
grace of God make our God stoop to our level, especially when He sent Jesus
Christ to become one of us and die for us on the cross (Phil. 2:1-11). In John 8:6 and 8 and 13:1-11, Jesus stooped
to forgive a sinful woman and to wash His disciples’ feet. But His greatest demonstration of grace was
when He died for us on the cross. He
condescended to become like us that we might become like Him (1Cor. 1:26-29;
Eph. 2:1-10). One day the Lord will
visit ‘barren Israel’ and bless the nation with many children (Isa. 54:1-3;
66:8-11). No matter how dark the day or
impossible the circumstances, our God is able to do the impossible (Eph.
3:19-20).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful that the Lord stooped down and
saved me from the ash heap of life. The
psalmist writes in Psalm 40 “2 He
brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set
my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will
see and fear And will trust in the LORD. 4
How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not
turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which
You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.” Yes, I am thankful to the Lord for saving me
and this I will praise Him for throughout eternity.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: I desire to abide in the vine
as seen in John chapter fifteen, so that I can get my marching orders from the
Lord in order to do the works that He has planned for me to do in eternity
past. (Eph 2:10)
Memory verses for the week:
2Peter 1:1-10
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 multiplied 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
glory and excellence. 4 For by these He
has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you
may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world by lust.
5 ¶ Now for this very reason also, 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 your neither useless nor unfruitful
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 sure of His
calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will
never stumble;
8/12/2012 8:02:34 AM
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