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.
NIV
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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.
New Living Translation ®, copyright ©
1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers. All rights reserved_
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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.
KJV
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Joy Comes with the Morning
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the
temple.
30 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn
me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I 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.
ESV
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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
As I contemplate the meaning of the word “exalt,” I see
three aspects that actually correspond to the way I have set up my journal
entries. Let me illustrate below in a simple outline.
I. Word: “I will exalt”
II. Witness: “You have”
III. Worship: “You lifted me
out of the depths,” “You healed me,” “You brought me up from the grave; You
spared me from going down into the pit.”
I also see three more aspects that correspond to the outline
above.
III. Upward → Worship ↑
II. Outward → Witness ↑
I. Inward → Word ↑
I have reversed the numerical order of my second outline to
emphasize the vertical direction which exalting takes us and others, as we
shall see in verse 4. Our exalting begins internally in our mind, heart, and
spirit and is moved outwardly and upward through our verbal praise. It
witnesses to what God has done. A witness not only done in private devotion (to
the angels and demons) but in the presence of believers and unbelievers. This
witness results in worship, as it recounts the blessings and gifts of the LORD
in our lives. Worship that is both personal and public (vv 11-12).
I will praise the LORD with my
whole being
My mind and heart and spirit
agreeing
The enemies of my soul are
fleeing
With hatred, they are seething
Their final defeat now foreseeing
And in haste, they are now
retreating
From worship, that’s glorious
and freeing
Amen!
Witness:
I bought some fresh organic Beets the other day and have just
gotten around to cooking them. What an ordeal. It took me over an hour to
prepare, boil, peel, slice, and serve them. In fact, I was so involved in this
that I almost forgot to cook the Salmon! Thankfully, I have my Black &
Decker grill and was able to cook it in 10 minutes.
As I sat down to eat and study, I wondered what I could share in
this portion of my journal. Then it struck me, as I looked at the time and what
little time I had to journal. Cooking my meal had taken up a good portion of my
evening and left me with only about a half an hour to do any sort of study or
meditation.
How many of us find it easy to spend a lot of time in preparation
to eat (or some project that needs to get done), yet when it comes to sitting
down to study God’s word (a feast already prepared for us!), we settle for a
microwaved dinner or leftovers?
The excuses run along these lines:
·
No Time – This is where I trip up because of my schedule, but this
is merely an excuse. Like a budget when it comes to handling money, we can
certainly carve out time every day to spend 30 minutes or so in God’s Word (I
say 30 minutes, but it takes me much longer to study and write in this journal
of mine). It takes determination and the ability to keep distractions to a
minimum.
·
No Talent – “I just don’t understand the Bible, so I will settle
for a sermon with a side of some 5-minute devotional. Don’t get me wrong. Those
things are essential and helpful, but they cannot be our only consumption of
the Word of God. Yes, we may not be a gifted writer or reader, but that cannot
be an excuse to abstain from the study of His word. We can all learn to study
His Word. There are many excellent resources to help us with this.
·
No Tools – Along with the previous excuse, we may excuse ourselves
because we don’t have anything to help us, and if we did, we wouldn’t know how
to use them. Again, there are many resources to help you. There are some
excellent free Bible Study tools online. It also wouldn’t hurt to avail
yourself of materials from organizations such as Ligonier or Biblical Training.
Here a few resources for you to consider.
·
No Taste – “I just don’t desire to read, let alone study God’s
Word.” I can’t help you there. If you have no desire, then perhaps you need to
consider your spiritual state and your standing before the God who has revealed
Himself in a written document that He lovingly wrote over 1500 years. I do not
say that to insult you but to inspire you to seek that which you lack at the
moment. By instruction, inspiration, and Spirit-led initiative seek to desire
the “pure milk of the Word.”
1 Peter 2:2-3
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you
may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the
Lord is good.
NIV
Worship
in Song: We Exalt Thee as sung by Shane
& Shane
For Thou, O Lord, art high
above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all
gods
For Thou, O Lord, art high
above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all
gods
We exalt Thee, We exalt Thee
We exalt Thee, O Lord
We exalt Thee, We exalt Thee
We exalt Thee, O Lord
Thou, O Lord, art high above
all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all
gods
We exalt Thee, We exalt Thee
We exalt Thee, O Lord
We exalt Thee, We exalt Thee
We exalt Thee, O Lord
We exalt Thee, We exalt Thee
We exalt Thee, O Lord
We exalt Thee, We exalt Thee
We exalt Thee, O Lord
Writer: Dave Culross
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