Journal for Christ: Faith's Affect and Answer

March 1, 2019

Worship in 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

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 ®,

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

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

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)

I want to reintroduce a quote from Matthew Henry. I will give you the full quote, rather than the edited quote from my previous journal entry.

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. Note, 1. 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." 2. What we win by prayer we must wear by praise. Has God heard our supplications? Let us then bless his name.

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All Rights reserved.)

In a former study, I had included only note 1 (I edited out the phrase “Note, 1). Note 1 speaks of faith’s anticipation and affect. Note 2 speaks of faith’s action and answer.

And how did David’s faith answer? It answered with praise and thanksgiving to God. If we compare the four versions above, we will immediately see that the NIV and NLT begin with “Praise” and the KJV and ESV begin with “Blessed.” Note further, that the NIV, KJV, and ESV all have the word “be” following “praise” or “blessed’” while the NLT does not.

The word used here is transliterated as barak. Strong’s defines it briefly in this manner:

OT:1288 Er^B* ‎barak (baw-rak'); a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason)

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006, 2010 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Allen P. Ross, although he is commenting on Psalms 16:7-8, has these relevant words concerning the word barak:

Praise is lit., "bless," which means "to speak well of." This is the first of about two dozen times in the Ps. where the Lord is said to be "blessed," usually trans. "praised" in the NIV.

(from Bible Knowledge Commentary/Old Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries; Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries. All rights reserved.)

How can we bless God?

Man is able to bless God through worship, thanksgiving, and praise as a response to prior blessing from God (Ge 24:48; 1 Ki 10:9; Job 1:20–21; Ps 26:12; 96:2; 103:1–2, 20–22; Ne 9:5; Lu 1:68; 24:53; 1 Co 14:16)

The NASB Topical Index. (1992). (electronic ed.). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation

That and more is contained in the phrase “blessed be.” Before I go any further, let me mention that I have discussed this concept of blessing the Lord in a previous study on Psalm 26:12. There I noted that the term usually spoke of an inferior receiving a blessing from a superior. But there, as well as here, it speaks of the inferior blessing the ultimate superior.

Here’s what I wrote:

How are we able to bless the Blesser? That is - in what way can we as mere finite, imperfect mortals conceivably bless the infinite, perfect, and immortal One?

Perhaps that’s why some translations use the word “praise” here (i.e., CEV, HCSB, NET, NIV, NLT, TEV). It certainly alleviates any tension resulting from translating it as “bless.” However, I believe when we use the word “praise” it diminishes the meaning and message found in this little phase.

If what I am saying is true, then how do I answer the question “How are we able to bless the Blesser?” To answer that, let me say that praise is certainly a part of it, as well as thanksgiving. However, they are not the end but are the means to the end. Through them, God receives and experiences a blessing. Another way of saying this is: We glorify God when we return our praise and thanksgiving to Him for all His blessings upon us, and He finds great delight in them as well.

(from my August 10, 2017 entry)

Perhaps using the word “praise” can be appropriate if we understand what kind of praise is meant here. Praise can refer to the extoling of the virtues or excellencies of someone. But as I have relayed to you concerning this word “barak,” the idea of thanksgiving and gratitude are intrinsic to it as well.

Girdlestone says:

Barac irb

OT:1288, to bless (whence the name Beracah hkrb in 2 Chron 20:26), literally, to kneel, is translated 'praise' in Judg 5:2, and Ps 72:15 ('Daily shall he be praised'); and it is to be noticed that blessing signifies not only the act of a superior to an inferior, but also the expression of grateful praise proceeding from the inferior and ascending to the superior.*

(from Synonyms of the Old Testament. PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2013 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

* my emphasis added

Notice, however, that three of the four versions above begin with the expression, “Blessed be, or Praise be.” Why is that? Because this verb is in the passive voice.

ISBE’s says:

Statements of adoration or praise frequently follow a standard pattern or formula of blessing, as "blessed is" or "blessed be [someone]," usually expressed by passive participles, Hebr. b¹rû½ and Gk. eulog¢ménos (Ruth 4:14; 1 Sam 25:32; 1 Chron 29:10; Neh 9:5; Matt 25:34). When applied to God, they have the jussive sense "let us praise" or "let be praised" (Gen 14:20; Ps 28:6).

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition, Copyright © 1979 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.)

Here we learn that there is an imperative sense implied in the phrase “Blessed/Praise be.” When reading from the NLT, we need to keep this in mind, because the phrase “Praise the Lord!” can be misunderstood here as a personal exclamation. However, I believe David is actually asking us to join him in worshiping, praising, and thanking God for what He has done for David himself, and by correlation and remembrance, for what God has done for us as well.

When using the word “blessed” we are often told that one of the senses of this term is “happy.” Some scholars warn us that this is in no way to be linked to God when we praise Him. Here is what one resource says:

When men are said to bless God, as in Ps 103:1,2; 145:1-3. We are not, then, to suppose the divine Being, who is over all, and in himself blessed forevermore, is capable of receiving any augmentation of his happiness from any of the creatures which he has made: such a supposition, as it would imply something of imperfection in the divine nature, must ever be rejected with abhorrence; and therefore, when creatures bless the adorable Creator, they only ascribe to him that praise and dominion, and honor, and glory, and blessing which it is equally the duty and joy of his creatures to render. So that blessing on the part of man is an act of thanksgiving to God for his mercies, or rather for that special mercy which, at the time, occasions the act of blessing; as for food, for which thanks are rendered to God, or for any other good.

(from McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

While this may be so to a point, nevertheless, I think it relegates the experience to only the human side if not understood correctly. We may not be able to “augment” the happiness of God, but certainly, our praise and thanksgiving are something the LORD delights in and is glorified therewith. Therefore, in some mysterious way we participate in that which makes God happy.

Let me end this portion with one of my favorite go-to people when it comes to quotations:

Psalms 28:6Ver. 6. Blessed be the Lord. Saints are full of benedictions; they are a blessed people, and a blessing people; but they give their best blessings, the fat of their sacrifices, to their glorious Lord. Our Psalm was prayer up to this point, and now it turns to praise. They who pray well, will soon praise well: prayer and praise are the two lips of the soul; two bells to ring out sweet and acceptable music in the ears of God; two angels to climb Jacob's ladder: two altars smoking with incense; two of Solomon's lilies dropping sweet smelling myrrh; they are two young roes that are twins, feeding upon the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.(from The Treasury of David, Biblesoft formatted electronic database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

https://img.heartlight.org/overlazy/creations/1121.jpg

Witness:

Ever wonder where God is? Ever cry out, “God where are You?” Ever ponder the lack of blessing in your life? Ever question why you fail to see God working in your life?

I have...

And this thought came to me the other day. I tend to forget things God is teaching me, so I made a point of texting myself to remember it.

Here’s what I texted:

Perhaps I am not seeing much

Or feeling much

Because I am not doing much

With what I have been given

Worship in Song: One More Song for You by Casting Crowns

Staring at this old piano
Playing through the memories that it holds
Singing through the stories that it's told
And all the prayers that have been lifted
The leaps of faith, the giants slain
Desperate cries, and broken praise

Have all the songs been sung?
Is there still room for one?

Maybe one more hand in the air saying, "You are holy"
One more shattered heart singing, "You are good"
Maybe one more voice crying out for mercy
One more hungry soul declaring, "You're enough"
As long as there's breath in me
Lord, there will always be
One more song for You
One more song for You

What can I offer You but weakness?
All my life I tried to hide
You brought it all into the light
I'm still amazed that You would choose me
If You can use the least of these
Then there is no one You can't reach

In a world that's lost its song
Show them there's still room for one

With no one here but You to listen
My heat is bursting at the seams
Out of all the songs I've lifted
What I truly hope to see
Is one more broken life made whole
One more prodigal brought home
What better way to praise Your name and majesty

Than one more hand in the air saying, "You are holy"
One more shattered heart singing, "You are good"
Maybe one more voice crying out for mercy
One more hungry soul declaring, "You're enough"
As long as there's breath in me (As long as there's breath in me)
Lord, there will always be
One more song for You

Songwriters: Mark Hall / Jason Ingram

Lyrics:https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&ei=yup5XKW8KYu0jwTdra24Bw&q=lyrics+one+more+song+for+you+by+casting+crowns&oq=lyrics+one+more+song+for+you+by+casting+crowns&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30.6040.15444..16371...1.0..0.207.2275.2j16j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j33i22i29i30j33i299.MlUXEwNeHeo

Video: https://youtu.be/uQs55BaTD3U

Journal for Christ

Friday, March 1, 2019

Faith's Affect and Answer

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