SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/6/2012 7:26:45 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Ministry of Memory
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 119:49-56
Message of the verses: “49 ¶
Zayin. Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me
hope.
50 ¶ This is my comfort in my affliction, That
Your word has revived me.
51 ¶ The arrogant utterly deride me, Yet I do not
turn aside from Your law.
52 ¶ I have remembered Your ordinances from of
old, O LORD, And comfort myself.
53 ¶ Burning indignation has seized me because of
the wicked, Who forsake Your law.
54 ¶ Your statutes are my songs In the house of my
pilgrimage.
55 ¶ O LORD, I remember Your name in the night,
And keep Your law. 56 This has become
mine, That I observe Your precepts.
Dr. Wiersbe
believes that the psalmist was either a priest or a Levite and therefore was
required to do a full study of the book of Deuteronomy, the “second Law.” He points out that the words remember is
found fifteen times in that book along with forget fourteen times, so we are to
remember some things but forget other things. “12 Not that I have already obtained it or have
already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which
also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting
what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:12-14).”
God remembers His people (vv. 49-51): “49 ¶
Zayin. Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me
hope. 50 This is my comfort in my
affliction, That Your word has revived me.
51 The arrogant utterly deride me, Yet I do not turn aside from Your
law.”
The word “deride” means treated
with contemp. God who is omniscient does
not forget anything, yet God has chosen to forget or not to remember things
against us as seen in Isa. 43:25; Jer.31-34; Hebrews 8:12; and 10:17. This makes up the negative side of the word
remember, but the positive side means that God remembers to do us good and give
us His blessings as seen in the lives of Noah, Abraham and Lot (Gen.
19:29). He also remembered Rachel and
Hannah so they could conceive. Now by
saying He remembered these things does not mean that He forget them and
remembered them, for God never forgets, it is relating to His people in a
special way.
The
psalmist wanted the Lord to use His Word in a special way to him, or on behalf
of him. This is similar to when the
prophet Daniel was reading Jeremiah that showed him that the Lord was going to
release His people in 70 years from captivity and so Daniel prayed that this
Word of the Lord would come true even though Daniel knew that God would keep
His promise he interceded for the children of Israel and confessed their many
sins along with confessing his sins to the Lord. This demonstrates that true faith not only
believes the promises but also prays for God to work. This would bring encouragement to the
psalmist.
His people remember God’s Word (vv.
52-54): “ 52 ¶
I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O LORD, And comfort
myself. 53 Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, Who forsake
Your law. 54 Your statutes are my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.”
I can relate to these verses,
especially verse 53, when I look at the things that are happening to our
country for I never thought that I would see the day when a political party
would desire to take God out of their platform, especially when we have seen
what has happened when God was taken out of the schools, how many children have
been killed since this has happened.
This causes me to have burning indignation as it did the psalmist. The psalmist knew the Word of God because it
had been preserved and it had been taught, something that must happen to the
next generation or it will be lost, and it is the obligation of the Church to
do this. (1Tim 2:2)
Dr. Wiersbe
writes these insightful words, “Anger alone can be very destructive, but anger
plus love produces anguish, and anguish can lead to constructive action. His response was to turn God’s statutes into
songs to use the Word to praise the Lord (vs. 54; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).”
As
believers we must remember that God’s Word is not a burden to bear; but a
blessing to share, and share it we must to those who are not believers so they
can become believers and to those who are believer so that they can grow and
mature in their walk with the Lord.
His People remember His Name (vv. 55-56): “55 ¶
O LORD, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your law. 56 This has become mine, That I observe Your
precepts”
I think
that it was Warren Wiersbe, when he was the Pastor at Moody Church in Chicago
that he began the program “Songs in the Night,” and perhaps the name came from
verse 55 as the psalmist remembered to praise the Lord at night.
Dr. Wiersbe
explains the full meaning of God’s name that we call Jehovah or Yahweh, “I am
present, I am actively present, and I can do what I choose when I choose to do
it. God’s name Yahweh speaks not only of
His existence and His eternality, but also of His sovereignty, His power, and
the dynamic working out of His will in this world.”
As
believers we are to remember God’s name, and we are to sing praises to His
name. We gain victory over our enemies
in His name, and this is the reason we should call on Him when we are in need
of help.
If you have
a desire to find out how strong the name of the Lord is study His names that
are found in the OT, and then you can also look at the “I Am” statements that
Jesus spoke in the Gospel of John, for this is one of the things that John
built His story of Jesus on.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I want to remember and practice these
word that Dr. Wiersbe wrote in this section:
“Anger alone can be very destructive, but anger plus love produces
anguish, and anguish can lead to constructive action. His response was to turn God’s statutes into
songs to use the Word to praise the Lord (vs. 54; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).”
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Practice anguish.
Memory verses for the week:
1Cor 13:1-2
1 ¶ If I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have
the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have
all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
9/6/2012 8:15:36 AM
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