Monday, August 6, 2012

Rely on God's Word & Obey His Will (Psalm 111:7-10)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/6/2012 9:30:04 AM



My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  Psalm 111 PT-3



Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Psalm 111:7-10



            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will attempt to finish the commentary on the 111th Psalm by looking at the last four verses.



            Rely on God’s Word (vv. 7-9):  “7  The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure. 8  They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness. 9  He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.”



            In the last SD we looked at Psalm 111:2-6, which spoke of the “Great Works of God,” and now we will transition into the Word of God, which is an easy transition, and the reason that it is easy is because it was by God’s Word that all things came into being and it is by God’s Word that things are kept together.  “6  By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. 7  He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. 8  Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9  For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10  The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.”  (Psalm 33:6-11)  “Heb 1:3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

            I suppose we could say that we are getting a little preview of what we are going to be looking at in Psalm 119 where we will be looking at 176 verses with only three of them not including some word in them that will represent God’s Word.  We see in verse seven the word precepts, and that word is speaking of God’s Word.  We also see from verse three the psalmist speaking of God’s Law and this to refers to God’s Word, for by God’s Law we can enjoy His blessings, for if we did not know God’s Law then we would not know right from wrong.  We also know from the reading of God’ Word that it is trustworthy, for God who has written His Word is trustworthy.  We know that God made covenants with the nation of Israel, some of them were conditional covenants and some were unconditional, and all of them either have been or will be fulfilled. 

            A quote from Dr. Wiersbe about the KJV of verse nine which reads as follows, “9  He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.”  “’Reverend is his name,’ says the KJV (v.9), meaning ‘His name should be revered and held in honor.’  The word ‘reverend’ is usually applied to the clergy, but there is no biblical basis for this.  Both the NIV and NASB use ‘awesome.’  To the Jewish people God’s name was so awesome that they would not speak the name ‘Jehovah’ but substituted ‘Adonai’ lest they would inadvertently blaspheme His holy name.  Would God’s people today had such reverence for the name of the Lord!” 



            Obey His Will (v. 10):  “10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”

            Because God’s name is so awesome it leads to the importance of fearing the Lord and obeying His will.  I looked up “The fear of the Lord,” in my Online Bible search and it came up 25 times, of which all but two are in the Old Testament and all but five of the twenty-three in the OT are from the Psalms and Proverbs.  I think that at the end of the commentary on this section that I will include all of these verses because of the importance of the subject, for just as Warren Wiersbe stated that in today’s world we do not have the proper reverence for the name of the Lord, perhaps the reason is that we do have a proper understanding of the “Fear of the Lord.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe says this about the fear of the Lord, “The fear of the Lord is a topic mentioned frequently in Scripture, especially in the book of Proverbs.  It is not the slavish fear of a criminal before a judge but the loving and reverential fear of a child for his or her parents.  If we want to understand God’s works and God’s Word, we must maintain this reverential fear of the Lord, for this attitude is the basis for receiving spiritual wisdom and understanding.  The word ‘beginning’ means ‘the principal part,’ and without this we are unprepared to learn God’s truth.  But fearing the Lord leads to obeying the Lord, and obedience is important to spiritual understanding (John 7:17).  How all of this works out in our practical daily life is explained in the next psalm.”  (Psalm 112)



The Fear of The Lord  (NASB)



2Ch 19:7  "Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe."

2Ch 19:9  Then he charged them saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly.

Job 28:28  "And to man He said, ’Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’"

Ps 19:9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

Ps 34:11  Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Ps 111:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.

Pr 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Pr 1:29  Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

Pr 2:5  Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.

Pr 8:13  "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Pr 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Pr 10:27  The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

Pr 14:26  In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.

Pr 14:27  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

Pr 15:16  Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

Pr 15:33  The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

Pr 16:6  By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

Pr 19:23  The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Pr 22:4  The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.

Pr 23:17  Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.

Isa 11:2  The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Isa 11:3  And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

Isa 33:6  And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Ac 9:31  So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

2Co 5:11  Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The section that I quoted from Dr. Wiersbe that is written in italics is my spiritual meaning for today:  If we want to understand God’s works and God’s Word, we must maintain this reverential fear of the Lord, for this attitude is the basis for receiving spiritual wisdom and understanding.”



My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continuing to try in maintaining a reverential fear of the Lord.  Continue to abide or remain in the Vine so that I can understand more about the works that God desires me to accomplish for His glory.



8/6/2012 11:13:21 AM

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