Monday, October 7, 2019

God is Our Treasure

I purposefully left the date when I began writing this blog entry. As you can see there is a large gap between the starting and the completion. There were probably only three or four days in which I studied, or wrote something in my journal. The circumstances of life have a way of distracting and dragging us away from spending time on the things that are of the utmost import. I will say that I still prayed and read devotional writings in the interim. Please pray that I will at least put out one blog a week (that is if you like to read them). Thanks!



Worship in WORD


A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.

30 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;b
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.

6 When I felt secure, I said,
"I will never be shaken."
7 O Lord, when you favored me,
you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 "What gain is there in my destruction,d 
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me;
O Lord, be my help."

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.
_
  A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple.
30 1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you restored my health.
3 You brought me up from the grave,* O Lord.
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.

4 Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 When I was prosperous, I said,
"Nothing can stop me now!"
7 Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.

8 I cried out to you, O Lord.
I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
9 "What will you gain if I die,
if I sink into the grave?
Can my dust praise you?
Can it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Help me, O Lord ."

11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved_
Ps 30:1-11

A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.

30 I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.

9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
KJV
  Joy Comes in the Morning
30 I wills extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, Iu cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;

you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.* 
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.* 
5 a For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.* 
c Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 "What profit is there in my death,* 
if I go down to the pit?* 
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 l Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!"

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

I. Personal/Public Purpose

II. Personal Praise: vs. 1- 3
III. Public Exhortation: vs. 4 - 5
IV. Personal Plea: vs. 6 - 10
V. Personal/Public Praise: vs. 11 – 12

I. Personal/Public Purpose
There is some debate over the superscription: “A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple” (ESV). Obviously, the Temple was not built in David’s life, though he did gather the materials for it to be constructed. Some say that this refers to the dedication of the materials for the Temple or the site upon which it was to be built. Some say this actually refers to the palace of David. This is a possibility because the word translated as “temple” here literally means “house” and refers to several types of dwelling places throughout the OT, as well as to the family unit (“the house of David, for example). Another possibility is that this subscription was added later by someone at the dedication of the second temple.
In any event, there is a difficulty faced by all of these explanations. When we read Psalm 30, we do not find any reference to any type of building. Let me quote some reference material to illustrate the varying views concerning the title to this psalm.

The Psalm bears the inscription: A Song-Psalm at the Dedication of the House, by David. This has been referred to the dedication of the site of the future Temple, 2 Sam 24; 1 Chron 21:1; but although the place of the future Temple together with the altar then erected on it, can be called ‎yhwh ‎‎beeyt ‎(1 Chron 22:1), and might also at any rate be called absolutely ‎habayit ‎(as ‎hbyt ‎‎hr‎, the Temple hill); yet we know that David did not himself suffer (2 Sam 24:17) from the pestilence, which followed as a punishment upon the numbering of the people which he instituted in his arrogant self-magnification. The Psalm, however, also does not contain anything that should point to a dedication of a sanctuary, whether Mount Moriah, or the tabernacle, 2 Sam 6:17. It might more naturally be referred to the re-consecration of the palace, that was defiled by Absolom, after David's return; but the Psalm mentions some imminent peril, the gracious averting of which does not consist in the turning away of bloodthirsty foes, but in recovery from some sickness that might have proved fatal.

Thus then it must be the dedication of the citadel on Zion, the building of which was just completed. From 2 Sam 5:12 we see that David regarded this building as a pledge of the stability and exaltation of his kingdom; and all that is needed in order to understand the Psalm is, with Aben-Ezra, Flaminius, Crusius, and Vaihinger, to infer from the Psalm itself, that David had been delayed by some severe illness from taking possession of the new building. The situation of Ps 16 is just like it. The regular official title ‎±al-habayit °asher ‎(majordomo) shows, that ‎hbyt‎, used thus absolutely, may denote the palace just as well as the Temple. The LXX which renders it ‎tou' egkainismou' tou' oi'kou ‎(‎tou'‎) ‎Daui'd‎, understands the palace, not the Temple. In the Jewish ritual, Ps 30 is certainly, as is even stated in the Tractate Sofrim xviii. §2, the Psalm for the feast of Chanucca, or Dedication, which refers to 1 Macc 4:52.

(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

[T]he theme of restoration from sickness and the praise of God hardly fit the superscription: “For the dedication of the temple. Of David.” If the psalm is Davidic, it may have been composed at the dedication of his palace or of the building materials (cf. 1 Chronicles 22:2–19). This may be unlikely in view of the word “dedication,” connoting the completion of the temple (cf. 1 Kings 8:63). It is preferable to view the psalm as an individual thanksgiving psalm associated with David, and to consider the superscription a later addition in which the psalm was nationalized as an expression of the suffering of the nation in exile and of the restoration from exile. The “temple” must be a reference to the second temple, dedicated in 515 B.C. The psalm became associated with the feast of Hanukkah, commemorating the dedication of the temple in 165 B.C. (J. Ridderbos, 1:251–53). According to the Talmud the Jews recited Psalm 30 during the Hanukkah Festival (b Sopherim 18b).
VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 257). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.


From these rather long citations, we can see that there is no agreement on the origin of the superscription.

Why this long introduction to this Psalm? Because I think there is a lesson even in this seeming dry discussion of the background to this Psalm. Especially since there is no agreement as to the origin for the superscription. As I pointed out above, there is no mention of a building in all of this Psalm, so there is no explanation for the heading on the surface.

But what if the lack of mention of a structure is the very reason this heading is written. Perhaps this is instructive to us of the need to remember and give thanks to God for His salvation and blessings first, rather than to any physical dwelling or earthly fortune. The import was not the dwelling, but the One who dwelt in it – that is  the One who was the source of this blessing, whether it be a palace or a place of worship. We must ask ourselves, “Do we treasure the treasure more than the One who gave us the treasure?” Ultimately, our treasure is the Lord Himself, and not the gifts He bestows on us.

Ps 73:25-26
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
NIV

Ps 17:14-15
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
may there be leftovers for their little ones.

15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
TNIV

Ps 63:1-5

1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
TNIV

Phil 3:7-8

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ...
TNIV


Worship in Witness:




The one who worships in the whys is wise. We live our lives for the glory of God and the good of others. In the midst of these, we may be struck down with tragedy or sickness or financial disaster. And we ask God, why? It is not necessarily wrong to ask why.

          "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1 & Matt. 27:46)

 We find these words on the lips of the Psalmist as well as the Savior. So God understands our humanity may lead us to ask, why? Yet see what the Psalmist declares later in the psalm. He did not remain in the dust of despair. For out of his whys came his worship.

          I will declare Your name to My brethren;
             In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. (Ps. 22:22 NKJV)

And our Lord yielded not to the whys but yielded His life to His Father, which was an act of worship, was it not?

          "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." (Luke 23:46 NASU, quoting from Ps. 31:5)

If we wallow in the whys, we will wane in our faith. If we are constantly defeated by our circumstances, we will never find victory in the valley. If we get lost in the darkness of self-pity, the only way out is through praise!

The wise turn their whys into worship. They walk by faith, and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). And their worship becomes a witness both to the saved and the lost.

To the saved –

          From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
              I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
          (Ps 22:25 NASU)

And the lost –

          And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he            
          said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Mk. 15:39 NIV)

So don't waste your whys. Turn them into worship and witness and be wise.

          The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
              and he who wins souls is wise.
           (Prov. 11:30 NIV)

Worship in Song:  Faithful by Laura Story


May the grace that sought my heart on that first day
Be the grace that binds my heart to stay
May the truth that opened up my eyes on that first time
Be the thoughts on my mind that never go away

For You are a lamp to my feet
A light to my path
You're the hand that's holding me

Faithful God, every promise kept
Every need You've met, Faithful God
All I am and all I'll ever be
Is all because You love faithfully
Faithful God

May the love that caught my heart to set it free
Be the love that others see in me
And may this hope that reaches to the depths of human need
Be the song that I sing in joy and suffering

For you are the love that never leaves
The friend that won't deceive
You're the one sure thing

Faithful God, every promise kept
Every need You've met, Faithful God
All I am and all I'll ever be
Is all because You love faithfully
Faithful God

How deep, how wide the love
That pierced His side, the love
Redemption's mine, O Love that will not let me go

How deep the love (How deep, how wide the love)
How deep the love (That pierced His side, the love)
Redemption's mine, O Love that will not let me go

How deep, how wide the love
That pierced His side, the love
Redemption's mine, O Love that will not let me go

Faithful God, every promise kept
Every need You've met, Faithful God
All I am and all I'll ever be
Is all because You love faithfully
Faithful God
  
Songwriters: LAURA MIXON STORY
Faithful God lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP



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