January 25 – February 3, 2019
WORD:
Ps 28:6-29:1
6 Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
A psalm of David.
NIV
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Ps 28:6-9
6 Praise the Lord!
For he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8 The Lord gives his people strength.
He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.
9 Save your people!
Bless Israel, your special possession.
Lead them like a shepherd,
and carry them in your arms forever.
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 28:6-9
6 Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
KJV
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Ps 28:6-9
6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
ESV
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I. Minor Key: vv. 1-5
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: vv. 6-9
A. Praise (vv. 6-8)
B. Supplication (v. 9)
The very first word in verse 6 arrests our attention – “Blessed!” Up until now the tone of this psalm has been plaintive and pleading. Suddenly, there is an abrupt change of key. The tune, which up until now has been melancholic and morose, unexpectedly changes into one of munificent joy! The psalmist was dejected and disheartened, but now he sings with ecstatic ecstasy!
The change is so brusque that some think that David composed the second half of the Psalm later. They come to this conclusion because David writes as if the answer had already come and it would seem strange that it happened before the ink was dry on the page for verses 1-5.
Keil & Delitzsch comment:
The first half of the Psalm prayed for deliverance and for judgment; this second half gives thanks for both. If the poet wrote the Psalm at one sitting then at this point the certainty of being answered dawns upon him. But it is even possible that he added this second part later on, as a memorial of the answer he experienced to his prayer (Hitzig, Ewald). It sounds, at all events, like the record of something that has actually taken place.(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)
While the preceding comments allow for a composing of this Psalm on two different occasions, the possibility of another way of looking at it is hinted as well. It proposes that David wrote as if sure that his prayers would be answered.
Matthew Henry says:
David gives God thanks for the audience of his prayers as affectionately as a few verses before he had begged it: Blessed be the Lord, v. 6. How soon are the saints' sorrows turned into songs and their prayers into praises! It was in faith that David prayed (v. 2), Hear the voice of my supplications; and by the same faith he gives thanks (v. 6) that God has heard the voice of his supplications... Those that pray in faith may rejoice in hope. "He hath heard me (graciously accepted me) and I am as sure of a real answer as if I had it already."(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All Rights reserved.)
There is, of course, the possibility that even while David was praying, word came of the answers to his prayer. Have we not prayed for something and received the answer immediately?
Gill allows for both possibilities:
[because he hath heard the voice of my supplications] what he had prayed for, Ps 28:2; an answer was quickly returned, even while he was speaking, Isa 65:24; though this may be an expression of faith, being fully persuaded and assured that he was heard, and would be answered, and may be said by a prophetic spirit; knowing that what he had humbly asked for would be granted; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi understand it in a way of prophecy.(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.)
In any event, whether immediate or delayed, our hope is in the Lord. Sometimes we enter into prayer in weakness. Crying out to be heard. Pleading for mercy. Yet in the midst of our praying, the trust that had faded into the background now begins to come forward, and the sorrowful cries of the saint of God turn into joyful shouts of praise! The tears of sadness become tears of gladness.
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G. Campbell Morgan writes:
The prayer is heard, help is granted, the song begins. That this psalm, with its inverted order of prayer and praise, follows closely that in which the order is praise and prayer is encouraging [note: he is referring to Psalm 27 here]. The true order is praise and prayer. If the heart is not strong enough for this, let it learn how to praise by speaking first in prayer of its sorrow. The one thing impossible in worship is to compress it within the narrow limits of stated formulas.
(from Exposition of the Whole Bible, by G. Campbell Morgan. Biblesoft Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
There may be a pattern to prayer, but there is no prescribed formula that covers all the situations that come in our lives. When we read the psalms, we see that we come to God in reverence, but we also can approach Him with our raw and honest emotions. We will always face storms in life. Some will be cloud bursts followed by immediate sunshine. Some will be bittersweet sun showers. Some will be Tornadic – short but leaving devastating destruction. For some – like me- they are more like a monsoon in which we wonder if the rain will ever cease.
As difficult as it may be to do, we must have this attitude if we are going to survive and see the glory of God and find the comfort we seek:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMZi6Tm2gayQ03TaKPCy-hjk_HW0uJhCmqz-UqN00U7IxMXyYYs2PJ_nN31CuBio3SrwwMbs_O6iIa-1Z5pmFtfmII-wCEDpylE6S40C7dgo-HqrvShBAffdDBp7yegD4QPm61tYoKU8/s1600/Mid+week+2+Dancing+in+the+Rain.jpg
Two psalms later David would declare (and I will end it on this note ꭉ) :
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 O Lord my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit.
4 Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Ps 30:1-5 NIV
Witness:
Written February 3, 2019
When I returned home from church tonight, I wasn’t ready for the downpour that would ensue. One of my sons had called me earlier in the day while I was sleeping and then again while I was at church. I should have had an inkling of what was to come when I tried calling him while I was driving home and he said he had been served papers, but to call him when I got home because the phone connection was not good. I thought that he was facing another financial crisis, and tried to calm my soul and collect my thoughts on what I was going to say. However, when I got home and called him, it was much worse. Without going into detail, my son was facing a legal, emotional, and financial crisis dealing with his ex-wife which would also affect his ability to see his son.
To make matters worse, he only has 8 days until he is due in court over this. He has no money and little time to get a lawyer. Here is a test of what I have said above.
Lord, I don’t feel much like dancing.
It’s raining hard.
Cover me.
But wait,
this is not about me –
it’s about my son and my grandson.
And yes, it is even about his ex-wife.
The storm clouds are brewing.
Thunder is rolling in the distance,
and lightning is appearing on the horizon.
It looks like it will be a bad one.
Is that a funnel cloud starting to form?
Lord, hear me above the claps of thunder.
Save us,
protect us,
and if we have to go through the storm,
shelter us.
You are the Lord of the storm
and the Lord of the dance.
May we endure the storm
and dance under the shelter of Your wings!
Amen
Worship:
Side A: Lord of the Dance written by Ronan Hardiman
Side B: Lord of the Dance by Stephen Curtis Chapman
Lord of the Dance
I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I danced for the scribe
And the pharisee,
But they would not dance
And they wouldn't follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
For James and John
They came with me
And the Dance went on.
And the pharisee,
But they would not dance
And they wouldn't follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
For James and John
They came with me
And the Dance went on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame;
The holy people
Said it was a shame.
They whipped, and they stripped
And they hung me on high,
And they left me there
On a Cross to die.
And I cured the lame;
The holy people
Said it was a shame.
They whipped, and they stripped
And they hung me on high,
And they left me there
On a Cross to die.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I danced on a Friday
When the sky turned black
It's hard to dance
With the devil on your back.
They buried my body
And they thought I'd gone,
But I am the Dance,
And I still go on.
When the sky turned black
It's hard to dance
With the devil on your back.
They buried my body
And they thought I'd gone,
But I am the Dance,
And I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That'll never, never die;
I'll live in you
If you'll live in me -
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he.
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That'll never, never die;
I'll live in you
If you'll live in me -
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he.
Songwriters: Ronan Hardiman
Lord of the Dance lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics:
Video: https://youtu.be/OfjZkE3dTik
Video (Traditional Irish version): https://youtu.be/ZyP61F_AT6A
Lord of the Dance
On the bank of a Tennessee River
In a small Kentucky town
I drew my first breath one cold November morning
And before my feet even touched the ground
With the doctors and the nurses gathered 'round
I started to dance
I started to dance
In a small Kentucky town
I drew my first breath one cold November morning
And before my feet even touched the ground
With the doctors and the nurses gathered 'round
I started to dance
I started to dance
A little boy full of wide-eyed wonder
Footloose and fancy free
But it would happen, as it does for every dancer
That I'd stumble on a truth I couldn't see
And find a longing deep inside of me, it said
Footloose and fancy free
But it would happen, as it does for every dancer
That I'd stumble on a truth I couldn't see
And find a longing deep inside of me, it said
I am the heart, I need the heartbeat
I am the eyes, I need the sight
I realize that I am just a body
I need the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But who'll give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
I need the Lord of the dance
I am the eyes, I need the sight
I realize that I am just a body
I need the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But who'll give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
I need the Lord of the dance
The world beneath us spins in circles
And this life makes us twist and turn and sway
But we were made for more than rhythm with no reason
By the one who moves with passion and with grace
As He dances over all that He has made
And this life makes us twist and turn and sway
But we were made for more than rhythm with no reason
By the one who moves with passion and with grace
As He dances over all that He has made
I am the heart, He is the heartbeat
I am the eyes, He is the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
He is the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But He gives purpose to chance
I am the dancer
He is the Lord of the dance
I am the eyes, He is the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
He is the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But He gives purpose to chance
I am the dancer
He is the Lord of the dance
Lord of the dance
Lord of the dance
Lord of the dance
And while the music of his love and mercy plays
I will fall down on my knees and I will pray
I will fall down on my knees and I will pray
I am the heart, You are the heartbeat
I am the eyes, You are the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
You are the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But You give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
You are the Lord of the dance
I am the eyes, You are the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
You are the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But You give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
You are the Lord of the dance
I am the heart, You are the heartbeat
I am the eyes, You are the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
You are the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But You give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
You are the Lord of the dance
I am the eyes, You are the sight
And I see clearly, I am just a body
You are the life
I move my feet, I go through the motions
But You give purpose to chance
I am the dancer
You are the Lord of the dance
I am the dancer
You are the Lord of the dance
You are the Lord of the dance
Songwriters: Chris Clark / Stephen Kipner / John Parker
Lord of the Dance lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol Christian Music Group
Video (No lyrics – official Vevo studio version): https://youtu.be/iuX7pzQRI_k
Video (Lyrics – Long version): https://youtu.be/L_MnQxAd16k
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