To be real is to be like Jesus

September 2, 2017

Worship: Rescue Me by Selah

Deep is the river that I have to cross
Heavy the weight on my shoulder
I have discovered how great is the cost
Of trying alone to cross over
I try, and I try, but the current's too strong
It's pulling me under, and my strength is gone
Don't leave me stranded

Rescue me, my God, and my King
The water’s a rising, and I cannot breathe
Wrap Your arms all around me and
Carry me over, carry me over
(Rescue me)

There is a bridge that is easy to cross
Where all of our burdens are lifted
Peace is the land that is waiting for us
Lord, give me faith to believe it
Cause I'm in a storm, but I'm willing to fight
I'll overcome, and I will not die with You by my side

Rescue me, my God, and my King
The water’s a rising, and I cannot breathe
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over, carry me over
(Rescue me)

I will sail over the oceans and
High over the mountains and
Soar up to the Heavens
Here is my hand, is my heart,
And my soul, and my mind

Rescue me, my God, and my King
The water’s a rising, and I cannot breathe
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over

Rescue me, my God, and my King
You are the only one who can save me
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over
(Rescue me)
Carry me over
(Rescue me)
Carry me over
(Rescue me)

Lyricist: Christopher Eaton, James Todd Smith

Lyrics: https://mojim.com/usy128898x6x18.htm

Video: https://youtu.be/uE8pg5m1wYc

There was no perfect video, nor was there a sight with the correct lyrics. Therefore, I took it upon myself to fix the words. I include the video for music purposes only, it contained no lyrics. All lyric video’s had typos in them.

Witness:

Above the posturing and bravado. Behind the masks, we wear and feign authenticity. Is the voice and soul of a lost child crying out to be rescued. Some of us are so fooled by the image we see in the mirror that we don’t see the mask. Some of us are so full of ourselves that we can’t see our faults and our failings. And many of us are so tuned to what is going on around us, we’ve tuned out our own heart’s cry. A lonely person hides behind a mask of laughter. An insecure person conceals their fears behind the mask of confidence. A proud person hides behind a mask of false humility. In my case, pride exists because of my feelings of inferiority, and I crave affirmation. What is your mask?

My desire of late is to be authentic and honest with others and God (whom we cannot fool anyway).

Note what Hebrews 4:12 says:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
ESV

As the old adage says, “You can run, but you can’t hide.”   We can hide our true self from others, but we cannot hide our self from the Lord. I’m crying out for rescue from this flesh.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?Rom 7:24 NIV

God gives the answer immediately in the next verse:

Rom 7:25Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!NIV

Thank God! The answer is in JesusHoly Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by
Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers. All rights reserved. 

Positionally and Personally:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,   because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.Rom 8:1-2 NIV

Presently and Perpetually:

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Rom 8:9-11 NIV

Participationally  and Progenically:

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Rom 8:12-17 NIV

Purposely and Perfectly

Rom 8:28-30

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
NIV 

Because of these things, planned in eternity for me, procured in the present by the Cross of Christ, and perfected in the future by the resurrection to life, I can live with this confident expectation promised to all believers:

… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phil 1:6 NIV

Therefore, to become real, to be authentic, is not to strive “to be me,” in which there is no good thing. It is to be like the only one who can claim to have lived a real and authentic life – the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have this confidence that such a thing will take place in the life of the believer because God has predestined [us] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Rom. 8:29). A process currently performed by the Holy Spirit.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Cor 3:17-18 NIV

We are a work in progress, which we in some sense cooperate in.

… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phil 2:12-13 NIV

And completed at His coming.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3 NIV

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/85/14/7c/85147c27ddffab6fa0a690205cd3ec50.jpg

WORD:

Ps 27:1, 7 27 The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? 7 Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. 13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. NIV Ps 27:1, 7 27 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? 7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! 13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. Ps 27:1,7 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. KJV Ps 27:1,7 The Lord is my light and my salvation;  whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! 13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! ESV

I have begun the study of Psalm 27 with a selection of verses in order to show the varying moods of the Psalmist. Because of these seeming swing in moods, some have speculated that this a composite Psalm. The first six verses, because of the confidence exuded were written by themselves. Verses 7 – 14, because of they seem to be a cry for rescue, composed at another time. Whether both, one, or none were authored by David is debated by scholars. Here is a sampling from sources I have at hand.

The USB Old Testament Handbook states the issue but forms no firm opinion on it. The first sentence would seem to indicate that commentator believes it was written by one person but leaves the question open without further comment.

           

This psalm includes both a song of confidence (verses 1-6) and a lament by an individual who feels beset by troubles (verses 7-14). The majority of commentators believe that originally they were two separate compositions; some, however, see it as a unity (Toombs). Anderson's reasons why he sees two separate psalms are convincing. Of the standard translations, only NAB indicates that this is a composite work.(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges says:

Enthusiastic confidence is the keynote of the first six verses of the Psalm… Suddenly all is changed: the jubilant rhythm is abandoned; anxious supplication takes the place of joyous faith… Thus the Psalm falls into two equal divisions, with a conclusion. If the two parts are by the same poet, he must clearly have written them at different times, and under the influence of different circumstances. When he added the prayer of Psalm 27:7-14 to his former song he reaffirmed the faith of happier days, though it had ceased to give joy and comfort in his present distress. But the marked difference in tone, contents, and rhythm, makes it not improbable that two independent Psalms are here combined, or that a later poet appended Psalm 27:7-14 to Psalm 27:1-6. It is as though he would say: ‘I would fain appropriate this bold utterance of faith; but all is dark around me, and I can only pray in faltering tones, and strive to wait in patience.’http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/psalms/27.htm

However, the Pulpit Commentary counters with these words:

Psalms 27:1

THIS psalm is one of those which have been called "composite" ('The Psalms,' by Four Friends, p. 67); and certainly it falls into two parts which offer the strongest possible contrast the one to the other. Part 1. (vers. 1-6) is altogether joyous and jubilant. It records, as has been said, "the triumph of a warrior's faith." Part 2. (vers. 7-14) is sad and plaintive. It pleads for mercy and forgiveness (vers. 8-10). It complains of desertion (ver. 10), calumny (ver. 12), and imminent danger (vers. 11, 12), It still, indeed, maintains hope, but the hope has only just been saved from sinking into despair by an effort of faith (ver. 13), and a determination to "wait" and see what the end will be (ver. 14). It is thought to "express the sorrows of a martyr to the religious persecutions at the close of the monarchy" (Four Friends, p. 68). For these reasons the psalm has been supposed to be "composite;" but the question arises - If the two parts, being so entirely unlike, were originally distinct and unconnected, what should have led any arranger or editor to unite them? To this question there seems to be no possible answer; and thus the very diversity of the two parts would seem to show an original union. According to the statement of the title, the psalm was written by David. It has many characteristics of his style, the sudden transition and change in the tone of thought being one. It is quite conceivable that during the rebellion under Absalom, having obtained some important success, he may have considered it an occasion for thanksgiving; and that, after his thanks were paid, his thoughts may have reverted to the still-continuing difficulties of the situation, the danger which impended (vers. 11, 12), the calumnies to which he was exposed (ver. 12), the desertion of those near and dear to him (ver. 10), the fact that the chastisement had been provoked by his own sin (ver. 9); and so the strain, which began in jubilation, may not unnaturally have ended in a plea for mercy.(from The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Therefore, speculation of dual composition and even dual authorship becomes unnecessary even if most commentators believe it is. Most of the commentaries I have do not believe it is a composite work.

The circumstances that led to this Psalm seems to be during the time of Absolems rebellion. Many believe that Psalms 25 – 27 were written during this time period.  Wiersbe suggests another time frame.

According to the title of this psalm as recorded in the Septuagint, David wrote it "before he was anointed." This means it was probably written when he was exiled from home and being hunted by King Saul and his men(from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)

Both fit well with the setting of the Psalm.

This intro is quite long, so I will finish here and move on to the meat of the Psalm in my next journal entry. I conclude with an outline of the Psalm I sent one of my friends to encourage them.

I. Exalt and be exalted Psalm 27:1-6

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

    whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me

    to devour[a] me,

it is my enemies and my foes

    who will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,

    my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

    even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

    and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble

    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

    and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted

    above the enemies who surround me;

at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;

    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

II. Entreating and Entrusting Psalm 27:7-12

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

1Peter 4:19

Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

    be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

    Your face, Lord, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me,

    do not turn your servant away in anger;

    you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me,

    God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me,

    the Lord will receive me.

11 Teach me your way, Lord;

    lead me in a straight path

    because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,

    for false witnesses rise up against me,

    spouting malicious accusations.

III. Exhorting and Encouraging Psalm 27:13-14

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43:5

I remain confident of this:

    I will see the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart

    and wait for the Lord.