Journal for Christ: David prays for and pursues that which he passionately desires

November 8, 2017

Worship: Grace and Peace by Sovereign Grace Music; One Desire by Hillsong

VERSE 1

Grace and peace, oh how can this be

For lawbreakers and thieves

For the worthless, the least

You have said, that our judgment is death

For all eternity

Without hope, without rest

Oh, what an amazing mystery

What an amazing mystery

That Your grace has come to me

VERSE 2

Grace and peace, oh how can this be?

The matchless King of all

Paid the blood price for me

Slaughtered Lamb, what atonement You bring!

The vilest sinner's heart

Can be cleansed, can be free

Oh, what an amazing mystery

What an amazing mystery

That Your grace has come to me

VERSE 3

Grace and peace, oh how can this be?

Let songs of gratefulness

Ever rise, never cease

Loved by God and called as a saint

My heart is satisfied

In the riches of Christ

Oh, what an amazing mystery

What an amazing mystery

That Your grace has come to me

TAG

Oh, what an amazing love I see

What an amazing love I see

That Your grace has come to me

Oh, what an amazing love I see

What an amazing love I see

That Your grace has come to me

Music and words by Joel Sczebel

Lyrics: http://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/grace-and-peace/

Video: https://youtu.be/HPZFBq7EiSQ

You gave it all for me

My soul desire my everything

And all I am is devoted to You

How could I fail to see

You are the love that rescued me

And all I am is devoted to You

And oh, how could I not be moved

Lord here with You

So have Your way in me

'Cause Lord there is just one thing

That I will seek

This is my cry my one desire

Just to be where You are Lord

Now and forever it's more than a song

My one desire is to be with You

Is to be with You Jesus

How could I fail to see

You are the love that rescued me

All I am is devoted to You

And oh, how could I not be moved

Lord here with You

So have Your way in me

'Cause Lord there is just one thing

And that I will seek

This is my cry my one desire

Just to be where You are Lord

Now and forever it's more than a song

My one desire is to be with You

Is to be with You (repeat) Jesus (2^nd time)

The one thing, the one thing

That I ask is to be with You (repeat 3X)

Is to be with You

This is my cry my one desire

Just to be where You are Lord

Now and forever it's more than a song

My one desire is to be with You

Is to be with You (repeat) Jesus Jesus 2^nd time)

Artist: Hillsong

Album: Blessed

Lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/hillsong/one-desire-lyrics/

Video: https://youtu.be/1wd3Fv4Qkc4

Witness:

I have struggled to find a worship song to open with tonight. I had heard a song earlier called Grace and Peace by Sovereign Grace Music and was going to begin with that. However, when I finished listening to the song being sung, another song came on called “Behold our God” by the same artists, but when I did a search through my Journal, I found that I had already used the song before. It is my practice not to repeat a song. This way I am always finding new songs to worship by. It was then that the words “one desire” came to mind and I looked for a song with that title and of course I found one. Now I was in a dilemma – which song should I sing? The one that magnified the Lord for His grace and peace towards me the unworthy recipient or the one which fit in so well with the verses of my present study. It was then that I decided to do something I use to do in the beginning – include two songs. As I saw it, my sole desire for His presence was based on the prior monergism* of my sovereign God.

* MONERGISM - (from mo/no$, sole, and e&rgon, work) is a term used to designate the doctrine that in regeneration there is but one efficient agent, viz. the Holy Spirit. It is held by monergists that "the will of sinful man has not the least inclination towards holiness, nor any power to act in a holy manner, until it has been acted upon by divine grace; and therefore it cannot be said with strictness to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, since it acts in conversion only after it is quickened by the Holy Spirit."

WORD:

Ps 27:4-6

4 One thing I ask of the Lord,

this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon 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 tabernacle

and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted

above the enemies who surround me;

at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make music to the Lord.

NIV (84)

Ps 27:4-6

4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord's perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

6 Then I will hold my head high

above my enemies who surround me.

At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,

singing and praising the Lord with music.

Ps 27:4-6

4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

KJV

Ps 27:4-6

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

ESV

In my previous study, I lay much emphasis on the word desire. Now you may be wondering why I have made such an emphasis since all modern translations translate the Hebrew word “sha’al” as “ask,” it is only the KJV that translates it “desired.” But when we look at the meaning of the words “ask” and “seek” in Hebrew we will see why.

BDB Abridged defines the word for “ask” in its present form, in this way:

sha'al or sha'el —

to ask, to enquire, to borrow, to beg

1) to ask, to ask for

2) to ask (as a favor), to borrow

3) to enquire, to enquire of

4) to enquire of, to consult (used of deity, an oracle)

5) to seek

(from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)

It defines “seek” as:

baqash —

to seek, to require, to desire, to exact, to request

1) to seek to find

2) to seek to secure

3) to seek the face

4) to desire, to demand

5) to require, to exact

6) to ask, to request

Notice the similarity in meaning between the two words. Notice also that the second word has “desire” as part of its connotation.

Another factor that lends support to my contention is the verb tenses of these two words. Without going into detail on the technical aspects, which I am not well equipped to delineate on anyway, let me quote Keil and Delitzsch.

The future is used side by side with the perfect in v. 4 a, in order to express an ardent longing which extends out of the past into the future, and therefore runs through his whole life.
(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

So we see from these two words the intensity and persistence of David in prayer and longing. That is why I emphasized the word “desire.” Perhaps the word “desire” is too tame now and “fervent desire” would be more descriptive of David’s attitude and action. How easy it is for us to overlook the depth of what David is saying by the mere reading of words without searching out and meditating on what they mean.

One final thought before I end tonight (actually I began on the 8th, but I am finishing on the 13^th). Think about the implications of prayer and seeking. Yes, the word “seek” could be just another way of speaking about persistence in prayer, but I think it goes further than just that. David looked for opportunities to fulfill his desires.

What does this say about David’s concept of prayer? I think one thing it means is that David did not see himself as a passive petitioner who only waited on the Lord to answer his prayers. While all prayer calls for patience as we “wait on the Lord” to answer, that does not always mean we sit idly by until He does. No, sometimes we need to take action, knowing God will work His good pleasure through us as we pursue our holy desires. No one should think that when Our Lord prayed, “give us this day our daily bread” in His model prayer, that He was saying we could just sit around while God rained down from the heavens our daily sustenance. We work for our food, but we know that even our work is provided by God and if we are out of work at the moment, we search for a new one and trust that the Lord will continue to provide our daily nourishment in spite of the lack of employment.

Therefore, based on his praise and positive assertions he made in verses 1-3, David prays for and pursues that which he passionately desires. And I leave it there for now until the next time when I will take a look at the direction David’s desire took.

Journal for Christ

Monday, November 13, 2017

David prays for and pursues that which he passionately desires

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