Day #71 - Psalm 30-32 Psalm 30 - Verse 1 David says that God has lifted me (him) up. The Hebrew here means to raise as you would a bucket of water from a well. Spurgeon in his commentary on this phrase said, Grace has uplifted us from the pit of hell, from the ditch of sin, from the bed of sickness, from the bondage of doubts and fears: have we no song to offer for all this? In other words the same thing that David praises The Lord for we could as well. David as a soldier had many battles and no doubt times when his life was in peril thus in verse 3 his acknowledgement that he is alive because of The Lord; The Lord did not let him go down into the pit (the grave). Remembering all that God had done for both he as well as the nation of Israel David cant help but praise The Lord (verse 4) and elicits the praise for The Lord of those around him as well. That should be part of what we are about as well to help those around us get to the place where they too can praise The Lord. The second have of verse 5 is our testimony as well. David says, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. We all have experienced tearful night followed by joyful mornings. In the middle of the night when the heart is hurting it seems as though day will never dawn. When we have wandered into the darkness of sin and Gods hand of punishment is upon us it may seem like morning will never come. But remember what Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:22-23, Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Psalm 31 - Verse 7 David says he will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy. We too should be grateful for the mercy of God. It is only by the grace of God we will go to heaven one day and only by the mercy of God we do not end up in hell. Verse 14 David acknowledges the fact the length of our life is in the hands of The Lord. This reminded me of Psalm 139:16 where David said, And in Your book all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. Verse 16 David says, Make your face shine upon Your servant; save me for your mercies sake. Though we don’t know the exact situation, David seemed to be faced with some conspiracy (v. 13) where the end result was these wanted to take his life. In the face of trouble, he took refuge in the Lord and proclaimed his faith in God’s strength, trustworthiness, loving care, and ability to rescue and guide him. He believed that God saw and understood the anguish of his soul and had already responded with grace (v. 8). David’s faith enabled him to rejoice, but his pain was real and he didn’t pretend otherwise. He spoke of sorrow, grief, groaning, and affliction. Both body and soul were in agony and socially David was an object of contempt. His friends had deserted him. His joy was not a Im going to smile through the pain kind of joy. No, his joy ran deeper than the pain. That’s why he was able to say, “You are my God,’ My times are in your hands.” Are you in pain today? a situation in which you or your family feel directly or indirectly persecuted for your faith? Know that God sees and cares about your circumstances and feelings; like David cry out to Him. Describe your situation, affirm your trust in Him, and call on Him to rescue, vindicate, and give you hope. As Paul said: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Rom. 12:12). Thank The Lord for verse 23, He preserves the faithful. Psalm 32 - This Psalm in part reminds me of how Greenland got its name. There was a viking explorer named Eric the Red. He discovered a new North Atlantic island in the tenth century. This new island was covered mostly with glaciers and rocks, and had only a few places where the land was habitable. In spite of this Eric tried to cover up the reality of this new land and gave his discovery the name Greenland in the hope that others would be more likely to come and settle on this new island if it had a name more attractive than the land itself. Whether Erics ruse worked is a question for the historians. But his story illustrates how we all have a tendency to put a positive spin on life. Psalm 32 was likely written with a cover-up of a different kind. While we dont know exactly what hed done (maybe his sin with Bathsheba) David apparently had sinned in some way and tried to cover it up (see verses 3-5). Davids effort to hide his sin only served to make him more miserable. He complained that his vitality (strength) was turned into the drought of summer (his strength was gone see verse 4). All of us have experienced summer heat that left us feeling drained and exhausted (think 2 Summers ago in Kentucky). Of all the seasons, summer has the unique ability to steal our energy. David chose this word picture well, because our Christian lives can also enter a period in which our faith feels parched and weak. In Davids case, sin was the cause of a summer drought in his heart. The remedy for Davids dryness was full confession of his sin to God and a prayer for forgiveness. Did you know that God wants to forgive sin? He would not have sent Jesus were that not His desire, to forgive sin. Verse 8-9 transition to where it is no longer David speaking but The Lord. God describes some people here as being like horses or mules where they have to be controlled by a bit or bridle. God doesnt want to deal with our stubbornness with the bit of discipline. Dont let your stubbornness keep you from obeying The Lord today.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:22:14 +0000
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