Journal for Christ: How shall I worship?

November 17, 2018

WORD:

Ps 28 28 To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. 2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. NIV	Ps 28 28 ¹ I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. ²Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary NLT
Ps 28 A Psalm of David. 28 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. KJV	Ps 28 28 To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. ESV

I. Minor Key

A. Pleas (vv. 1- 3)

1. Hear Me! - v. 1

2. Have Mercy! – v. 2a

3. Help! – v. 2b

B. Imprecation (vv. 4-5)

II. Major Key

A. Praise (vv. 6-8)

B. Supplication (v. 9)

David’s Pleas:

1. Hear Me!

2. Have Mercy!!

3. Help Me!!!

Psalms 28:1-9

Let us wait and pray, lifting up our hands in the dark to touch His hands.

David not only lifted his hands up, but he also raised them towards. He raised them toward Yahweh’s “Most Holy Place” (NIV) or “holy oracle” (KJV). The reason for the difference in translation of the Heb. word debiyr (ryb!D=) in this passage is because lexicographers have disagreed on the origin of this word. Most modern translators translate this word here along the same lines as the NIV. The RV and ASV translate it as oracle like the KJV.

Consulting all the lexicons at my disposal, they seem evenly divided. Strong’s and the Theological Wordbook of the OT (TWOT) side with “oracle” because they believe that debiyr is related to the Heb. Word dabar (rB#D)))) which means to speak. The OT Word Study Dictionary and Brown-Drivers- Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB) believe it should be translated in ways most modern translate it.

BDB says:

OT:1687oracle in AV RV... on the incorrect theory that it was derived from rB#D speak.
(from Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The reason why “Oracle” seemed plausible is that the Holy of Holies, which this is referring to, was the place that God spoke to the high priest. Barnes reflects this opinion in his commentary on this passage.

Psalms 28:2 The Hebrew word is probably derived from the verb to "speak;" and, according to this derivation, the idea is that God spoke to His people; that he "communed" with them; that He answered their prayers from that sacred recess-His special dwelling-place. See Ex 25:22; Num 7:89.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The correct rendering to me is not really that important to discuss much further. In the end, it is agreed (for the most part) that this was a reference to the inner sanctuary referred to as the “Holy of Holies.” However, I believe, even though “oracle” seems possible (seeing how the Lord spoke from that place), that the correct translation is “Most Holy Place” or something similar.

Keil & Delitzsch have this to say:

Psalms 28:1-5
The point towards which the psalmist stretches forth his hands in prayer is Jahve's holy dbiyr. Such is the word (after the form briyach, kliy°, ±aTiyn) used only in the Books of Kings and Chronicles, with the exception of this passage, to denote the Holy of Holies, not as being chreematistee'rion (Aquila and Symmachus), or
laleetee°rion, oraculum (Jerome), as it were, Jahve's audience chamber (Hengstenberg) - a meaning that is not in accordance with the formation of the word-but as the hinder part of the tent, from dabar, Arabic dabara, to be behind, whence dubr (Talmudic duwbar), that which is behind...
(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Another thing commentators have focused on is why David lifted his hands towards the “Most Holy Place (NIV).”

Here is a sampling:

Psalms 28:2
Hear ... my supplications ... holy oracle - so the most holy of the tabernacle or temple was called (1 Kings 6:16-19) [dbiyr, from dabar, to speak], because God thence spake reponses when consulted by the people, at first through Moses, afterward through the high priest (Ex 25:22; Num 7:89): Moses "heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy- seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims." The lifting up of hands was the attitude of prayer (Ex 9:29; 1 Tim 2:8). It symbolized the lifting up of the heart to God. David lifted up hands to the oracle, as it contained the ark of the covenant, the visible symbol of God's presence.
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)Psalms 28:2
Psalms 28:2
[when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle] the holy of holies, in the tabernacle and in the temple, which was sometimes so called, 1 Kings 6:23; compared with 2 Chron 3:10; where were the ark, the mercy seat, and cherubim, between which the Lord dwelt, and gave responses to his people(from John Gill's Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Psalms 28:1-5I lift up my hands towards thy holy oracle, which denotes, not only an earnest desire, but an earnest expectation, thence to receive an answer of peace. The most holy place within the veil is here, as elsewhere, called the oracle; there the ark and the mercy-seat were, there God was said to dwell between the cherubim, and thence he spoke to his people, Num 7:89.(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Psalms 28:2
[Toward thy holy oracle] Margin, as in Hebrew, "toward the oracle of thy holiness." The word "oracle" as used here denotes the place where the answer to prayer is given. The Hebrew word - dbiyr - means properly the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle or the temple, the place where God was supposed to reside, and where He gave responses to the prayers of His people: the same place which is elsewhere called the holy of holies. See the notes at Heb 9:3-14. The Hebrew word is found only here and in 1 Kings 6:5,16,19-23,31; 7:49; 8:6,8; 2 Chron 3:16; 4:20; 5:7,9. The idea here is that he who prayed stretched out his hands toward that sacred place where God was supposed to dwell.(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Psalms 28:2 David, however, does not say here that he lifted his hands to heaven, but to the sanctuary, that, aided by its help, he might ascend the more easily to heaven. He was not so gross, or so superstitiously tied to the outward sanctuary, as not to know that God must be sought spiritually, and that men then only approach to him when, leaving the world, they penetrate by faith to celestial glory. But remembering that he was a man, he would not neglect this aid afforded to his infirmity. As the sanctuary was the pledge or token of the covenant of God, David beheld the presence of God's promised grace there, as if it had been represented in a mirror...(from Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Gleaning from these comments, two reasons stand out.

1. God’s presence was manifested there

2. God spoke and answered prayer there

Indeed, David may have thought of God’s speaking and answering in the Holy of Holies in the past, especially in light of the Lord” seeming silence in the present. No doubt he thought of God’s manifested presence there and his lack of the sense of His presence now. However, I don’t think that exhausts the reasons why he lifted his hands toward the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle.

Remember David had pled for help by God’s mercy. Is it not conceivable to think that this was also in David’s mind as his hands stretched forth in prayer? I glean this from the allusions to the “mercy-seat” referred to in the comments above. I also believe it is what Calvin was pointing to when he says, “David beheld the presence of God's promised grace there.”

Witness:

What does all this mean to me? There is no tabernacle today. Can I even make an application for my life from the latter half of verse two?

Ironsides points out:

Psalms 28:1-9
“Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee, when I lift up my hands toward Thy holy oracle.” And now we get a suggestion here of the difference between Old Testament worship and New Testament worship. The Old Testament saint knew nothing of what you and I through grace should know and understand. In all of the Old Testament dispensation God was hidden behind a heavy veil. He dwelt in the thick darkness and only the high priest could push that aside and enter once a year, bearing the blood of atonement. But now it is altogether different. The Old Testament saint said, “I lift up my hands toward Thy holy oracle.” But what about the New Testament saint? Look at Heb 10:19-22 and see how different our position is, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water,” or with “the water of purification,” referring to the nineteenth chapter of the book of Numbers, undoubtedly. Look at the difference. The Old Testament saint was truly a child of God, truly forgiven, but he knew nothing of immediate access into the holiest because the veil was not yet rent. The precious blood of Christ had not yet been shed, and so these Psalms do not rise to the full height of New Testament worship.(from Ironside Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2012 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

This is where we must distinguish between principle and practice. What David knew through the eye by symbol, we now know by the eye of faith. The place of God’s special presence in David’s day, was external and localized in an earthly Tabernacle. Later his son Solomon would build a magnificent Temple (see 1 Kings 6-8). Now it is internal, for we are the Temple of God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). We understand more clearly that the earthly was a symbol that was patterned after the actual Heavenly Tabernacle (Heb. 8:5). That we can lift our hands anywhere not towards a temporal earthly structure, but towards a heavenly eternal place where God dwells in unimaginable glory.

The glorious presence, which was blocked by a veil in the Tabernacle and Temple, was rent at Christ’s crucifixion and now we can boldly approach the mercy seat of God. Yet we yearn for the day when we approach not by the eye of faith but in the actuality of being.

Therefore, I will approach the Lord with the same attitude of David’s, enlightened by my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the progress of revelation found in the New Testament. My circumstances may not be the same, for I need not symbol and priest to approach the Lord. However, I will still raise my hands to plead, petition, and praise.

The sad thing is that for many of us because there is no central structure here on earth, we do one of two things. We either relegate our worship only to a formal format performed in a local building we call church. Or, we reject any need for the formal and make it either a hit or miss practice to gather with others for worship. We say, “I don’t need to go to ‘church,’ I can worship God anytime and anywhere.” For most that probably means anywhere hardly ever.

Therefore, I will worship my Lord in my daily walk in word and deed. And I will worship Him weekly with my fellow travelers as we are marching towards the heavenly Zion when we in one accord will fall at the feet of Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb and declare:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/81/c3/97/81c397ad205b20a1cf13ea3e6f26ecf3.jpg

Heb 12:18-29

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."

NIV

Rev 21:1-4

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:

Look! God's dwelling is with men,

and He will live with them.

They will be His people,

and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Death will exist no longer;

grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,

because the previous things have passed away.

Worship: I Just Need You by Toby Mac

When I was showering today, I was praying for God’s comfort and presence. The words to Psalm 23, “Thy rod and staff, they comfort me.” I thought, “I know I have studied this passage in the past somewhat extensively, but what really constitutes Your rod and staff?” That quest perplexed me. Where the circumstances I am facing now to be considered His “rod and staff?” If so, how can I be comforted by them? As I think about it, it would seem that the “rod and staff” in and of themselves can bring no comfort. It is the hand that wields them guiding, protecting, and disciplining me that carries the comfort. He is in control.

When I came to sit down to worship, I asked the Lord for guidance for what song to sing. Almost immediately this song started playing in my head. I wasn’t sure that this would be a good choice. Those reading this blog might not appreciate the genre of music. However, I sat down and looked up the words to the song. I was blown away by what appears as the “post-chorus” lyrics in the song. Furthermore, as I typed the words above, “guiding, protecting, and disciplining me that brings the comfort,” I “perchance” look down the lyrics again and saw the words to verse 2. I was filled with confirming joy!

[Verse 1]

Uh, last night put the heavy on me

Woke up and I'm feeling lonely

This world gotta a way of showing me (Showing me)

Some days it'll lift you up

Some days it'll call your bluff

Man, most of my days I ain't got enough

[Pre-Chorus]

And all I know

Is You're my only hope (Woo)

[Chorus]

When I'm up, when I'm down (Uh, huh)

When the wolves come around (Tell me)

When my feet hit the ground

I just need, I just need You

On my darkest days (Uh, huh)

When I'm losing faith (Tell me)

No, it ain't gon' change

I just need, I just need You

Lord, I need You

Yeah, I just need You

[Post-Chorus]

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me

Thy rod and thy staff

[Verse 2]

They comfort me when I'm beat down, broken

Hold my heart when it's split right wide open

Turn these eyes to my sole protector

And break the will of this born defector

[Pre-Chorus]

'Cause all I know, all I know

Is You're my only hope

[Chorus]

When I'm up, when I'm down (Uh, huh)

When the wolves come around (Tell me)

When my feet hit the ground

I just need, I just need You

On my darkest days (Uh, huh)

When I'm losing faith (Tell me)

No, it ain't gon' change

I just need, I just need You

Lord, I need You

Yeah, I just need You

[Bridge]

When You pull me closer, I come to life

[Pre-Chorus]

When I'm up, when I'm down

When my feet hit the ground

On my darkest days

No, it ain't gon' change

Oh Lord, I need You

[Chorus]

When I'm up, when I'm down (Oh, oh)

When the wolves come around (Oh, oh)

When my feet hit the ground

Yeah, I need, I need, I need, I need You

On my darkest days (Oh, oh)

When I'm losing faith (Oh, oh)

No, it ain't gon' change

Ain't no way this thing gon' change, it's You

[Outro]

I need, is You, I need

On my darkest days

When I'm losing faith

I need You, I need, Is You, I need

Every single day, every breath I take

I need You, I need You

Songwriters: Bryan Fowler / David Blake Neesmith / Toby McKeehan

Lyrics: https://genius.com/Tobymac-i-just-need-u-lyrics

Video: https://youtu.be/4wNpOeakhEM

Journal for Christ

Saturday, November 17, 2018

How shall I worship?

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