With God's Help We Will do Mighty Things (Psalm 60)

3/19/2012 9:55:44 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time               Focus:  12  With God’s help we will do mighty things.

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Psalm 60

            Message of the verses:  Today’s SD will begin to look at the first part of Psalm 60.

            “Abandonment—A Troubled People (vv. 1-5):  “1 ¶  «For the choir director; according to Shushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.» O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us. 2  You have made the land quake, You have split it open; Heal its breaches, for it totters. 3  You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger. 4  You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. 5  That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and answer us!”

“1 ¶  For the choir director: A psalm of David useful for teaching, regarding the time David fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and killed 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. To be sung to the tune “Lily of the Testimony.’’!  You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses.  You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor. 2  You have shaken our land and split it open.  Seal the cracks, for the land trembles. 3  You have been very hard on us,  making us drink wine that sent us reeling. 4  But you have raised a banner for those who fear you-  a rallying point in the face of attack.  Interlude 5  Now rescue your beloved people.  Answer and save us by your power.”  (NLT)

The first verse gives the background for the occasion of writing this psalm and we see that David and the army of Israel were in Syria fighting there when the Edomites came and attacked Israel so David sent Joab who was the commander of his army back to fight the Edomites while David stayed in Syria to fight against the Syrians.  The valley of Salt is below the Dead Sea.

In verses 2-5 we see how upsetting it was for the people of Israel to be defeated by Edom, but because David was a man of faith and because David knew the covenant that God had made with Israel to protect Israel, David rallied around his faith in the Lord and trusted Him for victory.  Verse four speaks of a banner and we find this is the name of the Lord, Jehovah Nissi—the Lord our Banner as found in Exodus 17:15.  “Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner.” 

“Encouragement—A Triumphant Message” (vv. 6-8):  “6 ¶  God has spoken in His holiness: "I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. 7  "Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter. 8  "Moab is My washbowl; Over Edom I shall throw My shoe; Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!’” 

“6 ¶  God has promised this by his holiness: “I will divide up Shechem with joy.  I will measure out the valley of Succoth. 7  Gilead is mine,  and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,  and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. 8  But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,  and I will wipe my feet on Edom  and shout in triumph over Philistia.’”  (NLT)

It is not told to us when David got this message from the Lord, but we know that David was a man of prayer and he also had one of the priests with him and so it is possible that when David heard of the attack of the Edomites that he asked the Lord how he was to respond and this was the answer he got from the Lord so David then sent Joab to fight against Edom.

We see in these verses a description of the land of Israel, a land that God had given to Israel.  We see how the Lord divided up the land of Israel and these verses speak of Ephraim being the helmet for Ephraim was a strong tribe called to defend Israel and Judah was the tribe where the kings would come from, David being the first king out of the tribe of Judah.  Genesis 49:10 says, “"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”  This was a prophecy given to Jacob from God.  Jacob was about to die when he blessed all of his sons and the two sons of Joseph telling them about the future of their tribes.  We see here that Messiah (Shiloh) would come from the tribe of Judah.

God describes Moab as a washbasin and Edom would be nothing more than a servant who cleaned dirty shoes.  It must be remembered that Moab was the nation where David’s great-grandmother Ruth came from.  See the last part of Ruth chapter 4.

“Enablement—A Trustworthy Lord” (vv. 9-12):  “9  Who will bring me into the besieged city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10  Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us? And will You not go forth with our armies, O God? 11  O give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain. 12  Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.”

“9  Who will bring me into the fortified city?  Who will bring me victory over Edom? 10  Have you rejected us, O God?  Will you no longer march with our armies? 11  Oh, please help us against our enemies,  for all human help is useless. 12  With God’s help we will do mighty things,  for he will trample down our foes.”

Verse nine speaks of a fortified city, and this could be Petra which was the capital of Edom.  This city was a city that was greatly fortified and it gave the Edomites a reason to brag about it, but God still destroyed them and one of the reasons was because of their arrogance.  In the book of Revelations we see that God is going to hide Israel and many Bible Commentators believe that the place where this will be is in the city of Petra.

David believed that God would bring victory to Israel for David was not trusting in humans, but in the Lord. 

I have mentioned that the background for this psalm is found in 2Samuel 8:1-14 and in verse thirteen of that section we read the following: “So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans in the Valley of Salt.”  It is not impossible that David was beginning to become proud and perhaps the Lord was using the defeat that came from Edom as something to humble him, but David being a man after God’s own heart would begin again to trust in the Lord as we see in these last verses of Psalm 60.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to focus in on the highlighted area from verse twelve which says “With God’s help we will do mighty things.”  God has to be the One who does His work through us in order for God to be glorified.  As a believer in Jesus Christ I have to totally depend upon the Holy Spirit of God to do something that will count for God and by doing things that count for the Lord He will then award me a crown or crowns when I get to heaven which the Bible says that all who receive these crowns will put them at the feet of Jesus Christ, for without Jesus Christ there would be nobody in heaven to receive any crowns.  I must remember that I cannot do things on my own that will count for the Lord.  David knew this.

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to remember that I am a channel that the Lord uses to do His work through me.  I want to continue to learn contentment.

3/19/2012 10:50:33 AM

Gleaming from the OT (Introduction to Psalm 60)

3/18/2012 8:40:19 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  Learning from the OT

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Psalm 60

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 60, to the introduction and background as to why David was inspirited by the Holy Spirit to write this psalm.

            “After many psalms which David penned in a day of distress this comes which was calculated for a day of triumph; it was penned after he was settled in the throne, upon occasion of an illustrious victory which God blessed his forces with over the Syrians and Edomites; it was when David was in the zenith of his prosperity, and the affairs of his kingdom seem to have been in a better posture then ever they were either before or after. See #2Sa 8:3, 13; 1Ch 18:3,12. David, in prosperity, was as devout as David in adversity.” (Matthew Henry)

            “Here is a lengthy title, but it helps us much to expound the Psalm. To the Chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, or the Lily of Testimony. The forty-fifth was on the lilies, and represented the kingly warrior in his beauty going forth to war; here we see him dividing the spoil and bearing testimony to the glory of God. Tunes have strange names apparently, but this results from the fact that we do not know what was in the composer’s mind, else they might seem to be touchingly appropriate; perhaps the music or the musical instruments have more to do with this title than the Psalm itself.

            “Michtam of David, to teach. David obeyed the precept to teach the children of Israel; he recorded the Lord’s mighty acts that they might be rehearsed in the ears of generations to come. Golden secrets are to be told on the house tops; these things were not done in a corner and ought not to be buried in silence. We ought gladly to learn what inspiration so beautifully teaches. When he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah. The combined Aramean tribes sought to overcome Israel, but were signally defeated. When Joab returned. He had been engaged in another region, and the enemies of Israel took advantage of his absence, but on his return with Abishai the fortunes of war were changed. And smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. More than this appear to have fallen according to #1Ch 18:12, but this commemorates one memorable part of the conflict. Terrible must have been the battle, but decisive indeed were the results, and the power of the enemy was utterly broken. Well did the Lord deserve a song from his servant.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon) 

            As I look at the different introductions to this psalm I began to think of all the different experiences that David would have had to go through in order to write these different psalms, and many of those experiences can be found in the pages of the OT Scriptures, for there is much written about David.  I then began to think of all that Job went through and these experiences of these two men have given me an opportunity of praising the Lord.  The reason for my praise to the Lord is that there are times when I go through similar experiences and face similar circumstances that these two men went through and am then encouraged by how they handled it, how they on most occasions trusted in the Lord fully to get through the difficult and also the happy times of life.  This truly encourages me, for our God has not withheld the sinful and difficult things from the pages of the OT, but was written down for our benefit.  The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 15:4 these words, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  Hope for the believer is a noun and not a verb, for our hope is certain in the Lord.  What is our hope?  “11 ¶  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12  instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13  looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14  who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”  (Titus 2:11-14) 

            Dr. Warren Wiersbe writes the following in his introduction to Psalm 60:  “According to the superscription, this psalm is a part of the history recorded in 2Samuel 8:1-14 and 10:6-18 and 1Chronicles 18:1-13 and 19:6-19, when David was winning battles and getting a name for himself (2Sam. 8:13).  While he was up north fighting the Arameans (Syrians), the Edomites attacked Israel from the south, doing a great deal of damage.  David dispatched Joab with part of the army, and Joab and Abishai (1Chronicles 18:12) defeated Edom in the Valley of Salt, south of the Dead Sea.  David must have written the psalm shortly after hearing the bad news of the invasion by Edom, but the psalm manifests a spirit of trust and confidence that the Lord would give Israel the victory, and He did.  The musical direction means ‘Lilly of the testimony [covenant].’  (See Psalm 45, 69 and 80).” 

            Edom was the nation that began with Jacob’s brother Esau, as when their mother Rebekah was about to give birth to her twins, Jacob and Esau the Lord said to her “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.’”  So when Edom and Israel were fighting against each other it was actually two brothers that were fighting against each other. 

            The OT book of Obadiah begins with these words:  “1 ¶  The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom- We have heard a report from the LORD, And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, "Arise and let us go against her for battle"- 2  "Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised.”  Paul writes the following in Romans 9:13, “Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.’”  These words are a quotation from Malachi one, “1 ¶  The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. 2  "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob; 3  but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.’”

            I realize that we have gotten a bit off the path from Psalm 60, but I felt that it was necessary to write these things about Edom, since Edom was a part of the background from Psalm 60.  It seems to me that the commentary that I have read in the past about the statement about loving Jacob and hating Esau was about the descendants of Esau and not Esau personally, although when one reads the story of Esau one will not find many things about him to love, for it seems that “spiritual” things were not a high priority to him.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the OT and I truly enjoy reading through it so that the Spirit of God can teach me from it and cause me to grow closer to my Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to continue to grow in the grace and the knowledge of my Lord and Savior and to continue to learn contentment.

3/18/2012 9:37:05 AM      

   

Prayer from Billy Graham

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation
THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable... We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and Set us free. Amen!'

God the Judge (Psalm 59:10-17)

3/17/2012 10:01:45 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  God the Judge

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference: Psalm 59:1-17

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at the last part of Psalm 59 as we began it in yesterday’s SD.

            “God the Judge” (vv. 10-17):  “10  My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes. 11  Do not slay them, or my people will forget; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield. 12  On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they utter. 13  Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more; That men may know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah. 14  They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 15  They wander about for food And growl if they are not satisfied. 16  But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. 17  O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.”

            “10 In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me.  He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies. 11  Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;  stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,  O Lord our shield. 12  Because of the sinful things they say,  because of the evil that is on their lips, let them be captured by their pride,  their curses, and their lies. 13  Destroy them in your anger!  Wipe them out completely! Then the whole world will know  that God reigns in Israel.  Interlude 14  My enemies come out at night,  snarling like vicious dogs  as they prowl the streets. 15  They scavenge for food  but go to sleep unsatisfied. 16  But as for me, I will sing about your power.  Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge,  a place of safety when I am in distress. 17  O my Strength, to you I sing praises,  for you, O God, are my refuge,  the God who shows me unfailing love.” (NLT)

            Sometimes I have to go to the New Living Translation in order to better understand the passage that I am reading and that is why I have included both translations today.  When you read what David has asked God to do to his enemy’s one must realize that David’s enemies were also God’s enemies, and because the Lord had called David’s line to bring into the world the Messiah, God was going to protect David and his line.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “This was not a personal crusade on David’s part, for he asked God to fight the enemy for him (Romans 12:17-21)”  “17  Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19  Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge;  I will pay them Back,’’{#De 32:35.} 20  Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap  burning coals of shame on their heads. 21  Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”

            David wanted the Lord to destroy the Gentile nations as seen in verse 13, and his reason was that God’s victories bear witness to those who don’t know Him.  However David did not ask God to kill Saul and his men, but to allow their sins to catch up with them and to consume them gradually.  Others in Israel would see this and not follow down the same path.  Saul and his men would be killed by the Philistines soon after Saul stooped so low as to go to a witch that she might bring up from the dead Samuel who told Saul that he would die the next day.  (Now there are some commentators who do not believe that it was actually Samuel that the witch brought up, but what was said about Saul happened.)

            I have mentioned that many believers today speak about the love of God, but neglect to talk about the justice of God.  God has enemies and there is coming a day when all His enemies will be in the lake of fire.  In the mean time we as believers must continue to sew the seed, which is the Word of God, the Gospel, and allow the Lord to do His miraculous work in the hearts of those who hear the Word, though not all people have the same kind of “soil” in their hearts, but we must leave that up to the Lord.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  David prayed for the Lord to deal with his enemies and David did not bring his wrath on them.  As I look around this sin cursed world there are many that I see who seem to be enemies to the Lord and enemies to people, but we must pray that God will deal with them in His way and in His time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Take precautions in my life so that I will be less tempted in certain areas of my life.  I desire to continue to grow in my walk with the Lord, and this is done in the same way that I came to know the Lord, by grace through faith.  Faith is increased by reading and studying the Word of God. 

I desire to continue to learn contentment.

3/17/2012 10:35:16 AM

God the Deliverer (Psalm 59:1-9)

3/16/2012 7:09:31 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  God the Deliverer

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Psalm 59:1-9

            Message of the verses:  We will begin looking at Psalm 59 this morning beginning with the introduction of the psalm.

            “This psalm is of the same nature and scope with six or seven foregoing psalms; they are all filled with David’s complaints of the malice of his enemies and of their cursed and cruel designs against him, his prayers and prophecies against them, and his comfort and confidence in God as his God. The first is the language of nature, and may be allowed; the second of a prophetical spirit, looking forward to Christ and the enemies of his kingdom, and therefore not to be drawn into a precedent; the third of grace and a most holy faith, which ought to be imitated by every one of us.”  (Matthew Henry)

            “This is another in a series of laments in which the psalmist pleads for God to defend him against his oppressors.  The psalm is a mixture of prayer, unfavorable descriptions of the adversary, imprecations, and praise to God.  Though written when David was king of Israel, the psalm recalls an earlier time of anguish when Saul sought to kill David (1Sam. 19:1).  Ultimately David’s strong confidence in God’s sovereignty transforms the lament into a son of assurance.”  (John MacArthur Study Bible)

            “King  Saul’s fear and hatred of David became so compulsive that he finally gave orders to kill his son-in-law, and twice Saul tried to do it himself (1Sam. 19:1-10), but his wife helped David escape by letting him out a window (see Acts 9:23-25).  Before this attempt, Saul sent out search parties to spy on David (vv. 6, 14), and David wrote this psalm to ask God for the help he needed.  The focus of the psalm is on God—Deliverer (vv. 1-9) and Judge (vv. 10-17).  Note David’s repeated ‘statement of faith’ in verses 9 and 17.  David waited and watched for God to work, and then he sang praises to the Lord for His mercies.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

            It was on June 20, 2010 that I wrote the following words in my Spiritual Diary concerning 1Samuel 19:1-10:  “Today’s SD begins the second stage of opposition to David by Saul and Dr. Wiersbe has entitled it “Saul looks for opportunities to have David killed.”  Today I will look at the first ten verses of chapter nineteen of 1Samuel which speaks of Jonathan interceding for David to his father Saul who wants to kill David.

            “I like this statement that comes from the pen of Warren Wiersbe about this section of Scripture.  “It’s remarkable that such a magnificent son could belong to such a wicked father!”  Of course he was writing about Jonathan and his father Saul.  Jonathan was the person who could have been the next king but since he was a godly man and since he was such a good friend to David and since he knew that the Lord had chosen David to be the next king he told David that Saul wanted to kill him and to watch out for him.  This worked out for a while but then the evil spirit came upon Saul again and he tries to kill David again. 

            “Dr. Wiersbe writes that Satan was a liar and he was the one controlling Saul at this time so that is why he broke his vow not to try and kill David.  David realizes that it was time to get out of town, but first he wanted to go and see his wife before he left.”

            On June 22, 2010 I wrote the following on the verses from 1Sam. 19:11-17:  “Even though Michal had David’s best interest at heart she kind of went about helping him and scheming to her father in a bad way.  Michal was the first wife of David, a man after God’s heart and here she was with an idol in her room similar to Rachel who also had idols that she stole from her father.  David on the other hand trusted the Lord to make sure that Saul would not kill him.  David wrote Psalm 59 out of this experience. 

“1 ¶  «For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.» Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. 3  For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, 4  For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! 5  You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. 6  They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 7  Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, ‘Who hears?’”  This is only the first part of this 59^th Psalm as in total there are 17 verses, but the point is made here that David was trusting in the Lord to save him from Saul’s men.  God uses humans to work out his plan and Michal was used to accomplish His plan for David’s escape even though she schemed to allow David to escape. 

“Michal will turn up again when David is dancing before the Lord while the Ark of God is being brought to Jerusalem and that situation if far different than this one.”

            “God the Deliverer” (vv. 1-9):  “1 ¶  «For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.» Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. 3  For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, 4  For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! 5  You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. 6  They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 7  Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, "Who hears?"  8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. 9  Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold.”

            As I wrote in the earlier SD on 1Samuel 19, we see from these verses that David’s trust was in the Lord, and it was the Lord who would use David’s wife to help David escape and begin his ten years of wondering in the wilderness hiding out from Saul.  If David would not have had this “wilderness experience” then Israel and the Church would have missed out on many of the psalms that David wrote about that time in his life.

            I was wondering when it was that David began to write his songs and psalms, for it seems that the first time we see David in Scripture God is having him anointed to be king over Israel, and then comes the killing of the giant Philistine.  While he was meeting with Saul before killing the giant David mentioned that he had killed both a lion and a bear while tending his father’s sheep.  This must have been the time in David’s life that he penned the famous 23^rd Psalm, so it seems to me that David had been depending upon the Lord for a long time in his life before he began to write all of the psalms that we see in the Bible.  I think that if we can know the background of why David writes the different psalms it will help us understand more about the psalm.

           

            We see at the beginning of Psalm 59 in verses 1-2 that David knows that God hears his prayers and this is very important to David and for that matter to all of us who have troubles and we know confidently that God hears our prayers.  David also knew that his prayer to the Lord was not a substitute for doing something for “faith without works is dead.”  (James 2:26) 

            We know that the Lord knows the hearts of everyone and therefore He knew the heart of David, knowing that David was innocent, and that Saul trying to kill him was wrong for David had done nothing to provoke Saul into trying to kill him. 

            As we look at verses 3-7 we see that the Lord knows the hearts of David’s enemies, and for that matter our enemies.  David uses the covenant name for God in verse five and calls Him the God of Hosts and the God of Israel. 

            David immediate enemy was Saul who was trying to kill him, but because of Saul’s mismanagement of Israel the enemies of Israel were also trying to defeat Israel.  It is no different today as many nations want to destroy the little nation of Israel, and is surrounded by enemies, but just as back then when David was king God will defeat the enemies of Israel and will someday (hopefully soon) bring the Lord Jesus Christ back to earth to rule all the nations from His throne in Israel for 1000 years.  Just as in the days of David when he was the anointed king, but was not recognized, today there are few who recognize that Jesus is the rightful King.

            We see some graphic descriptions of David’s enemies and this show how much disdain he had for them.  I like what David writes in verses 8-9 about how the Lord feels about His enemies, and that He laughs at them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the reasons that I admire the life of David so much is his great faith that he had in God.  His faith in God to take care of his enemies and to lead the nation of Israel is inspiring to me and hopefully as I read more about his faith that it will increase my faith for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”  Hearing and reading God’s Word will increase my faith.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to read and hear the Word of God so that the God of the Word can speak to my heart and increase my faith in Him.  As I continue to read the Word of God I desire for it to cause me to be content.

3/16/2012 8:19:10 AM     

Lawlessness Punished & Righteousness Praised (Psalm 58:6-11)

3/15/2012 9:45:53 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time   Focus:  Lawlessness Punished & Righteousness Praised

Bible Reading & Meditation                                          Reference:  Psalm 58:6-11

            Message of the verses:  In today’s Spiritual we will look at the rest of Psalm 58 beginning with the second main point.

            “Condemnation—Lawlessness Punished: (vv. 6-8):  “6 ¶  O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. 7  Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. 8  Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.”

“6 ¶  Break off their fangs, O God!  Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD! 7  May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.  Make their weapons useless in their hands. 8  May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,  like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.”  (NLT)

            David is very upset with the unjust judges and therefore He asks the Lord to do the things that are described in these verses, for David knew that according to Deuteronomy 32:35 “’Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’”  David knew that there would come a time when the wrongs of these unjust judges would be taken care of by the Lord for as we mentioned in yesterday’s SD part of the character and attributes of the Lord is Justice.  Here is how the Bible teaches that justice will be taken care of by the Lord:  At the cross of Jesus Christ God the Father punished His Son for our sins and what this is called is propitiation and this word was used by the heathens in the days of the Romans and Greeks to mean “the satisfaction of an angry God.” God is angry with sin, but when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins God was satisfied with this payment and thus His justice was satisfied.  Those who will not accept the payment that Jesus Christ paid on the cross will have to pay for their own sins, and that means they will die in their sins and be sentenced to hell for they did not receive the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

            What David is describing in these verse is that he wants the weapons that they are using against the righteous to become useless, for water loses its power when it is dried up in the ground and a lion without teeth is not to powerful, and a snail looks like it is melting away as it travels over a rock because of the slime it leaves.  What David is saying is “let those unjust leaders be gone.”

            “Vindication—Righteousness Praised” (vv. 9-11):  “9  Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. 10  The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11  And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!’”

“9  God will sweep them away, both young and old,  faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. 10  The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.  They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. 11  Then at last everyone will say,  “There truly is a reward for those who live for God;  surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.’’”  (NLT)

We could understand that David is saying in verse nine that these unjust leaders were only a “flash in the pan.”  When you try to cook a meal using thorns the fire will be very hot very fast, but will go out just as fast because there is no substance to the thorns.

The picture in verse ten is of a victorious soldier with blood on his feet walking around picking up the spoils of their victory and that is what David is saying will happen to those who are godly.  According to Job 29:6 walking in cream and oil was a picture of wealth which contrasts with the blood on the soldier’s feet.

Dr. Wiersbe writes “The fact that the righteous rejoice at this is no more sinful than that prisoners of war rejoices at the fall of Babylon (Rev. 18:20-19:6).  God vindicates Himself, His law, and His people, and He does it justly.  So effective is His judgment that outsiders will say, ‘Surely there is a God who judges on earth’ (v. 11 NASB).”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the justice of the Lord for I know that His justice will be perfect.  I am most thankful for His justice at the cross and the willingness of my Lord in taking my punishment and then exchanging it for His righteousness.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Live a life that is steadfast before the Lord.  Trust the Lord to guide my steps along the path He will lead me today.  Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.  Put on the spiritual armor.  I want to continue to learn contentment.

3/15/2012 10:29:08 AM

The Justice of God as seen in Psalm 58:1-5

3/14/2012 8:38:43 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  God’s Justice

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 58:1-5

            Message of the verses:  Today we begin looking at Psalm 58 and I will first of all look at several introductions and decide which of them I will use on this Spiritual Diary.  

            “As a lament against tyranny, the first half of the psalm rehearses a series of charges against wicked leaders and judges; and the second half is an imprecatory prayer that they be obliterated.  In the end, the psalmist is certain that God will act with ultimate justice.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

            “During David’s exile years, Saul led the nation down a path of political and spiritual ruin as he disobeyed God’s law and opposed God’s anointed king.  Saul was surrounded by a group of fawning flatterers who fed his ego and catered to his foolish whims (1Sam. 22:6ff), and he put into places of authority people who used their offices for personal gain and not for the national good.  They wanted to get as much as they could before the kingdom collapsed.  David himself had been treated illegally, and it’s likely that many of his men lost all they had because they followed David.  (1Sam.22:1-2).  This psalm was probably written late in David’s exile, or very early in his reign in Hebron, and may have grown out of his pondering the mess he had inherited from his father-in-law.  (See Psalm 82 for a parallel psalm by Asaph.)  The prophets often preached against the lawlessness of the leaders in Israel (Isa. 1:23-28; 5:22-25; 10:1-4; Amos 5:7-13; Mic. 3:1-4, 9-12; 7:1-6).  Certainly nations, corporations, and even churches today need to take this kind of leadership crisis seriously.  This is an imprecatory psalm (see Psalm 6).”  (Warren Wiersbe)

            “Accusation—Lawlessness Practiced” (vv. 1-5):  “1 ¶  «TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID.» Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?  Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2  No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;  your hands deal out violence on earth. 3  The wicked are estranged from the womb;  they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4  They have venom like the venom of a serpent,  like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5  so that it does not hear the voice of charmers  or of the cunning enchanter.”  (ESV)

            As I look at this psalm and then look around me today I can see similar things and the need for similar actions that David prayed for.  There is indeed lawlessness practiced in our nation today and many other nations around the world especially pertaining to how people now view the Gospel.  I am reading the autobiography of Billy Graham, a book that is very long in length and starts at the birth of Billy Graham and continues through his celebrated life of preaching the Gospel to more people than any other person in the history of mankind.  It was early in his preaching that he spent time in Europe speaking to millions of souls who were ripe to hear the gospel.  People around the world were ripe to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, but it seems today that people do not want to hear the good news of Jesus Christ in the same way that they did when Billy Graham began his preaching.  There has been a turn in the lives of the people around the world.  Many people today are being killed for their faith as I read on “The Voice of the Martyrs” that as many as 1000 people everyday around the world will die for their faith.  I am not a date setter as far as when I believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return for His Church, but it seems to me that the times are being made ready for His return.  It was my fear of the end of the world that the Lord used to call me to Himself and since 1974 I have studied eschatology (study of the end times) with great interest as many others have and it seems to me from what I have learned that many believe the time is near for the return of Jesus Christ.

            It is the lawless leaders that these verses from Psalm 58:1-5 that David is addressing and he asks if their words were just, if their decisions were legal, and also if their sentences were fair and honest.  Were these leaders upholding the law or making up their own laws to their benefit and the benefit of the wicked.  David knew the answer and it was that these men were evil and going against the things that God had made clear to them to do but didn’t do them.  We know that the Bible teaches that all are born sinful do to the fall that is spoken of in Genesis and David has also pointed this out in Psalm 51:5 where he wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”  We have already discovered that this did not mean that there was adultery involved, but David was speaking of his sin nature, something Paul goes into detail about in Romans 7.  These men seemed to enjoy sinning and did not look to do things according to the Law of the Lord.  The very fact that men are sinners is the reason that God established government and law, for without law society would be in chaos.  Evil comes from the heart of man as Jesus spoke of when the Pharisees were trying to impose their tradition on Him to ceremonially wash before eating, which was their man made rule.

            Dr Wiersbe writes about these unjust judges when he calls them liars, “Their words were like venom that poisoned society instead of like medicine that brought health.  David compared them to snakes in verses 4-5 and lions in verse six, both of which are images of the Devil (Gen. 3; 2Cor. 11:3; 1Peter 5:8).  Like the cobra, they obeyed the charmer only when they got something out of it, but they had a mind of their own.  Snakes have not visible ears or internal eardrums, but they do have small bones in the head that conduct sound vibrations.  The cobra responds more to the movements of the charmer than to the tune he plays.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at Psalm 58, and part of this psalm is an imprecatory psalm, which many people have trouble with, I see the justice of God being spoken of.  Many people today only want to see God’s love and God is love, but God is also just, and David knew a lot about the justice of God along with the mercy and grace of God, so David was getting the whole picture of God. 

            I look around the country that I live in and the country that I love and see many unjust things happening that I desire to have the Lord do something about.  I believe the verse that says vengeance is mine saith the Lord, and I believe that all of the wrongs that are done to believers today will be dealt with, but like others, I sometimes want it to happen right away, but as I continue to learn contentment I believe that it will happen when the Lord wants it to happen, and that will be the perfect time for it to happen.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to be steadfast like I learned yesterday, and I want to continue to learn contentment.  I want to trust the Lord to lead my life as Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks of.  I need the spiritual armor on as Eph. 6:10-18 speaks of.  I give myself to the Lord for worship and service as Romans 12:1-2 talk about.

3/14/2012 10:04:27 AM