January 16, 2018
My last entry included some thoughts I discovered I had left out of my November 22nd entry under the WORD section of my journal. What I did not realize was that I had also left out my worship song and witness portion as well. So I am using them in this Journal entry. One must remember that this was pre-Christmas when I sang this song and wrote the words under the “Witness” section below.
Worship: Evermore by Phil Wickham
Of the Father's love begotten
'Ere the world began to be
He the source of all that has been
And all the future years will see
Evermore, evermore
He shall reign forevermore
Humble King, Sovereign Lord
He shall reign forevermore
Oh, that birth forever blessed
When the chosen virgin go
By the Holy Ghost conceiving
Bore the Savior of our world
Evermore, evermore
He shall reign forevermore
Humble King, Sovereign Lord
He shall reign forevermore
He is found in human fashion
Death and sorrow here to know
That the race of Adam's children
Doomed by law to endless woe
Need not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below
But forever rest in beauty
In the lights of Heaven's glow
Evermore, evermore
He shall reign forevermore
Humble King, Sovereign Lord
He shall reign forevermore
And evermore
He shall reign forevermore
Humble King, Sovereign Lord
He shall reign forevermore, forevermore
Witness:
Below were some thoughts I had as I entered the Christmas season. So, it might feel a little strange and disconcerting to read them post-Christmas. However, I thought that the words I wrote were something to consider when we enter into any so-called season on the Christian Calendar. I can say that I was only partially successful. I believe, in some sense, I was able to divorce myself from the material side of Christmas. I also was consistent up to a point when it came to reading and meditating on the meaning and message of Christmas. Yet I believe it was mostly external motions and not enough internalizing of the eternal truths found in the incarnation, nor was there enough pleading before the Lord for a filling of my soul with the wonder and glory of the season.
“Jesus is the Reason for the Season” has become, in many ways, a slogan devoid of the impact it had when it first came out. We know it with our heads but not with our hearts. And so our spirits are not fully engaged in the season when the REASON became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-18).
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I’ve begun to listen to Christmas music now. One quest I have every year is to slow down and take time to meditate upon the real meaning of the season. Every year I fail. Time and again, I try to read works written about Christmas and surround myself with seasonal music. Why am I doing this in the first place? I’m sure that one reason is the pursuit of a mood. I’m trying to recapture an elusive feeling I had a child and bring it to maturity with an emphasis on God’s gift rather than my gift-giving. I am trying to experience the awe and wonder of the first visitors of the incarnate Son of God. I am seeking that “thrill of hope,” as the song now playing is saying, along with a “weary world,” and rejoice as “yonder breaks a new and glorious morn” and falling on my knees in worship along with the heavenly host and earthly guests.
Alas, that has not been my experience. Instead, TV and Tasks and Tiredness have been my focus and my lot. Maybe this year will be different. I hope so. I pray so. Lord, may it be so. Amen!
Darkness to Light
Earth’s Plight
The silhouettes of naked trees
Etch the barren Autumn sky.
In the air, there’s a chilling breeze
As nature breaths a mournful sigh.
Frost bejewels the ground, ponds freeze,
And all the grass in the field seems to die.
And earth by the tilt of a few degrees
Shortens days as winter draws nigh.
Darkness brings light to its knees,
Or so it seems to a tearful eye.
But on an appointed day darkness flees
And light begins with it to vie
The Sin’s Blight
Creation groans in sin and unease
From man’s fall, who listened to a lie.
Paradise was lost by its first trustees
And replaced by pain and toil and fly.
The winter of the soul’s barren leas
Lay empty, fruitless, and dry.
War and famine are history’s frieze.
Sorrow and suffering its battle cry.
World, flesh, and devil exact their fees
As Adam searches for the reason why.
But from eternity past God decrees
The answer to an earth gone awry
God’s Light
Christ would leave His heavenly deas
To live and die, then rise on high.
And all who trust in Him He frees,
Those bound by sin He doth untie.
For God the Father, He did please,
Through Christ His elect to sanctify,
To deliver His chosen from sin’s disease,
To assuage His wrath and justify.
For by Christ’s blood it did appease
God’s righteous, holy wrath thereby.
And eternal life He guarantees
To those, He one day will glorify.
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)
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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.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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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
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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
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In a previous study, I had observed that David’s one desire was delineated under 3 points:
· “that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” NIV· “to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” NIV· “to seek him in his temple” NIV or “to inquire in his temple” ESV
I had also outlined these verses under 3 headings, of which I added a 4th:
1. Presence – David earnestly desired to personally experience God’s presence – v. 42. Protection – Which led to experiencing God’s protection – vs. 53. Promotion – And experiencing exaltation – v. 64. Praise – And culminating in God’s praise – v. 6
The three points mentioned above fall under the first heading of “Presence.” I want to look at each point in a separate study of each. The first is David’s desire to “dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of [his] life.” What does he mean by this? On the surface, it would seem that though David’s desire was laudable, it was surely not livable. It reminds me of Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, wanting to build booths for the Lord, Moses, and Elijah to dwell in (see Mt. 17;1-6; Mk 9:2-8). Certainly, Peter meant well, but that would have kept the Lord from fulfilling the purpose for which He came. Perhaps David is using hyperbole to express his sincere desire to be in God’s presence.
I think a more reasonable explanation is that David wanted to continually go to the tabernacle of the Lord for fellowship with the Lord and for the reasons he shares in points two and three.
Barnes says:
Psalms 27:4 [All the days of my life] Constantly; to the end. Though engaged in other things, and though there were other objects of interest in the world, yet he felt that it would be supreme felicity on earth to dwell always in the temple of God, and to be employed in its sacred services, preparatory to an eternal residence in the temple above. To him the service of God upon earth was not burdensome, nor did he anticipate that he would ever become weary of praising his Maker. How can a man be prepared for an eternal heaven who finds the worship of God on earth irksome and tedious?(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Such is the attitude of one who loves God. They see the attending of church as a desire, not a duty.
Furthermore, David’s desire is heightened by his inability to be in the Tabernacle as many scholars believe he wrote this when being pursued by Saul or in the time of the rebellion of his son Absalom.
Calvin writes:
Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired. Some consider this as a prophecy of the perpetuity of David's kingdom, on which not only his own personal happiness depended, but also the happiness of his whole people; as if he had said, I am so well contented with this singular proof of God's favor, that I can think on nothing else night and day. In my opinion, however, it appears a simpler interpretation to view the words as meaning, that although David was banished from his country, despoiled of his wife, bereft of his kinsfolk; and, in fine, dispossessed of his substance, yet he was not so desirous for the recovery of these, as he was grieved and afflicted for his banishment from God's sanctuary, and the loss of his sacred privileges. Under the word one, there is an implied antithesis, in which David, disregarding all other interests, displays his intense affection for the service of God; so that it was bitterer to him to be an exile from the sanctuary, than to be denied access to his own house. That David desired only one thing, therefore, namely, to dwell in the house of the Lord, must be read in one sentence. For there is no probability that he means by this some secret wish which he suppressed, seeing he distinctly proclaims what it was that chiefly troubled him. He adds, too, steadiness of purpose, declaring that he will not cease to reiterate these prayers. Many may be seen spurring on with great impetuosity at first, whose ardor, in process of time, not only languishes, but is almost immediately extinguished. By declaring, therefore, that he would persevere in this wish during his whole life, he thereby distinguishes between himself and hypocrites.(from Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Perhaps one finds themselves in a place where attending Church is impossible. We know we can go to the Lord anytime and anywhere. David knew this too, yet there was something special about the Tabernacle, which we will see in the two points that follow. Nevertheless, it should always be the believer's desire to worship in the fellowship of other believers where the Lord promises He would be, I believe in a special way (see Mt. 18:20). “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is the old saying. It is true of those who cannot attend church because of illness, imprisonment, or any number of life’s little interventions. Yet, the believer all the more desires to be back in the sweet fellowship of the Lord along with their fellow brothers and sisters.
But as humans, we often lose our spiritual ardor for this fellowship because we neglect the personal practice of His presence through prayer and the pondering over His Word and as Calvin observes a “steadiness of purpose.”
Finally, let me observe that there are temporal as well as eternal aspects of the one desire.
Psalms 27:4 One thing ... that I may dwell in - not literal 'dwelling,' but spiritual (Ps 15:1; 23:6; John 14:23; Rev 3:12). To have a perpetual enjoyment of God's realized grace and presence (John 8:35). All other blessings are included in this, so that this one thing is, and shall always be, the Psalmist's ruling desire. The tabernacle, and subsequently the temple, symbolized the union between God and His true worshippers, dwelling in spirit with Him there.(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Psalms 27:4 That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. For the sake of communion with the King, David longed to dwell always in the palace; so far from being wearied with the services of the Tabernacle, he longed to be constantly engaged in them, as his life long pleasure. He desired above all things to be one of the household of God, a home born child, living at home with his Father. This is our dearest wish, only we extend it to those days of our immortal life which have not yet dawned. We pine for our Father's house above, the home of our souls; if we may but dwell there for ever, we care but little for the goods or ills of this poor life. "Jerusalem the golden" is the one and only goal of our heart's longings.(from The Treasury of David, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
I end with a question. What is my “ruling desire?” What is my greatest desire?” What is my “one thing?” If it is anything less than to desire God Himself, then it is nothing less than indolence and idolatry!
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