Journal for Christ: January 2021

January 21, 2021

Worship in WORD

Ps 31:5

Into your hands I commit my spirit;

redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.

NIV

Ps 31:5

I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.

Ps 31:5

Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

KJV

Ps 31:5

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

ESV

I. Hope – vv. 1-8

A. Verse 1: Action

B. Verse 2: Appeal

C. Verses 3 & 4: Acknowledge

D. Verse 5: Abandon

II. Help! – vv. 9-20

III. Hail – vv. 21-22

IV. Heart – vv. 23-24

D. Abandon

We now come to a crest in the waves that rise and fall throughout this Psalm. In the first portion of this verse, we find words that can be found on believers' lips in every age. They find their ultimate example in the last words of our Savior on the cross:

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Luke 23:46 ESV

¹Spurgeon declares:

The dying words of Jesus may well be the living words of each one of his redeemed people. We ought continually to commit our spirit into our great Father’s hands, for there is no other place that can be so safe and blessed as between the strong, almighty, never-failing hands of the eternal God.

(from Spurgeon's Expository Notes. Biblesoft Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

There are two views on this verse and the Psalm in general. Some see it as a messianic verse or Psalm. Others see Jesus as quoting the verse because its application is universal. They do not believe this verse or Psalm is a messianic Psalm. They point out that our Lord purposely quoted from the first part of the verse but left out the rest since it certainly couldn’t apply to our Lord.

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. ESV

Surely, the words “redeemed me” [ESV] or “redeem me”[NIV] cannot refer to the perfect, sinless Savior. However, I believe they are reading more into the word “redeemed” than is warranted. As believers on this side of the cross, the word redeem has taken on a soteriological significance that is not as prominent in the Old Testament. Yes, it is foreshadowed in the O.T., and all its uses reflect the greater redemption found through the cross. However, the word redeem has a wider meaning in Scripture than the one we usually associate it with.

This is such a precious subject and deserves much more attention than I can do here. I will demonstrate my point by quoting from Vine’s concerning this word used in the O.T.

²REDEEM

padah OT:6299, "to redeem, ransom...”

Padah indicates that some intervening or substitutionary action effects a release from an undesirable condition. In more secular contexts, it implies a payment of some sort...

When God is the subject of padah, the word emphasizes His complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings. Sometimes God is said to "redeem" individuals (Abraham, Isa 29:22; David, 1 Kings 1:29; and often in the Psalter, e. g., 26:11; 21:5; 71:23); but usually Israel, the elect people, is the beneficiary. Sometimes the redemption or deliverance is proclaimed absolutely 2 Sam 7:23; Ps 44:26; Hos 7:13; but the subject is said to be "ransomed" from a specific oppression. At other times, the reference is less explicit — e. g., from "troubles" Ps 25:22 and from "wicked" men Jer 15:21. Only once is padah used to describe liberation from sin or iniquity: "And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquity" Ps 130:8. (see “ Some further notes and quotes” for the full quotation)

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Forgive me for the long quotation. Other sources were even longer or more technical. My point here is that whether one takes this prophetically or principally matters little regarding its application for all believers. For far from being a word not appropriate on our Savior's lips, they are very fit for the Messiah to use as well as for all who call upon the Lord for redemption or deliverance. By His death, we are redeemed:

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ...

Eph 1:7 NASB

In some sense, we can also say that God the Father redeemed His Son’s body by raising it from the grave. God’s grace is the foundation for all forms of redemption; the cross is its procurement.

JFB commentary Has this to say about the matter:

Redeemed. In its application to the Saviour, the expression "redeemed" refers to the Father's having delivered the Son from Satan, death, and the grave, in Christ's resurrection. In its application to David, the type, it implies his assurance of deliverance is so strong that he speaks of it as already accomplished. In its application to believers in general, the word bears the strict sense 'ransom' [paadah], or deliver by paying a price (1 Peter 1:18).

(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

I would only add that the second meaning has relevance to believers daily through life. Even the first meaning has relevance because Jesus, our Savior, has gone before use and procured the redemption that delivers us from “Satan, death, and the grave.” And all this is wrapped up for us in the third meaning!

So David can say with abandonment:

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. ESV

And our Lord can cry out:

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

The language of the prayer lays hold of life at its root, as springing directly from God and as also living in the believer from God and in God; and this life it places under His protection, who is the true life of all spirit-life (Isa 38:16) and of all life. It is the language of prayer with which the dying Christ breathed forth His life, Luke 23:46. The period of David's persecution by Saul is the most prolific in types of the Passion; and this language of prayer, which proceeded from the furnace of affliction through which David at that time passed, denotes, in the mouth of Christ a crisis in the history of redemption in which the Old Testament receives its fulfilment.

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

Worship in Witness:

When I use the word “abandon” or “abandonment,” I use them in a most positive sense of relinquishing, submitting, surrendering, yielding, and entrusting. Is this not the meaning of the word “commit” in verse 5?

Into the hand of this God, who is and will be all this to him, he commends his spirit; he gives it over into His hand as a trust or deposit (piqaadown); for whatsoever is deposited there is safely kept, and freed from all danger and all distress.

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

This attitude is also reflected in the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12:

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

2 Tim 1:12 NIV (see note 3 below)

Paul was suffering for the sake of the gospel, but what was his response? It was the same as David’s. He was not ashamed because he knew the One to whom he entrusted his life was guarding his life – that he was his “refuge” and his “strong fortress.” Though bound in chains, he was free and safe in the hands of God.

I confess that both David’s words and Paul’s are at once comforting as well as convicting. Their faith brought them the knowledge and conviction that led them to abandon or entrust themselves to the Lord. This should be our confidence as well, and a prime motivator for our life of commitment and consecration to God and His cause in this world. That is both comforting and convicting.

I am comforted by this truth, but I am also convicted because I know I am not fully there yet. Yet I know that as I “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV), the Lord, the Spirit, will change me (see 1 Cor. 3:18). This is the hope I have, but I am disappointed in myself when circumstances shake my confidence, and I cower even in the safety of God my refuge. In those times, Lord, let me be reminded that You are the God who can be trusted to redeem His people. Let me then cry out:

“Into Your Hands I commit my spirit;

redeem me , O LORD,”

because You are

“the God of truth.”

I could end here on that note, but I want to end this portion on a higher note of exaltation and exhortation. We have an example of complete trust and entrustment that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has left us:

²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² "He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth."

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:21-25 NIV (see note 4)

Christ left us an example to follow. A while back, the little band “WWJD” was found on the wrist of many who professed faith in Christ. The initials stood for “What Would Jesus Do.” That fad has died out. Perhaps the band should have also have included the initials ⁴“WWJND.” That is, “What Would Jesus Not Do.”

What did He not do? The Apostle Peter says:

1. He committed no sin

2. No deceit was found in His mouth

3. He did not retaliate

4. He made no threats

What Did He do?

1. Entrusted (abandoned, committed) Himself to Him (God, His Father) who judges justly

2. Bore our sins in His body on the tree

What should we not do?

Sin!

What should we do?

1. Entrust ourselves to God

2. Die to sins

3. Live for righteousness

O Lord,

You are my Rock,

My refuge,

My hiding place.

Please help me

Not to yield to fear

Or temptation.

Help me commit

All of me

To You,

Everything

I am

And have,

To You

who will

Keep it safe,

Until You

Return in glory

For Your Church.

Amen!

Worship in Promise, Poetry, and Praise:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ca/ac/1a/caac1ab9aee703aeeed405fe0acc8e62.jpg

And You See What I Wanted To Be

Entrapped in my sin and my guilt

Depravity was up to the hilt

Who could rescue me from my shame

The iniquity for which I was to blame

And you see what I wanted to be

How I wanted to be set free

Like a bird on the wing in the sky

O’er the land and the sea on high

Then I heard...

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed

No longer bound by sinful need

Like a prisoner whose chains are gone

And to the Redeemer’s side is drawn

And you see what I wanted to be

How I wanted to be set free

Like a bird on the wing in the sky

O’er the land and the sea on high

So I called on Him to break my chains

And yielded to Him my spirit’s reins

Oh guide us Lord, when sin tease us

By Thy Word and Cross, oh blessed Jesus

And you see what I wanted to be

How I wanted to be set free

Like a bird on the wing in the sky

O’er the land and the sea on high

Redeemed, How I love to Proclaim it by Fanny Crosby adapted by Fountainview Academy

Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed through His infinite mercy,

His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,

No language my rapture can tell;

I know that the light of His presence

With me doth continually dwell.

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

His child, and forever, I am.

I think of my blessed Redeemer,

I think of Him all the day long;

I sing, for I cannot be silent;

His love is the theme of my song

His love is the theme of my song!

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

His child, and forever, I am

His child, and forever, I am!

Lyrics: https://www.lyrics.com/sublyric/96214/Fountainview+Academy/Redeemed+%7C+Fountainview+Academy

Video: https://youtu.be/srZi3j2dtC4

Some Further Notes & Quotes:

1. Psalms 31:5

Let us bless Jesus that His dying lips have given special sanctity to these words. How many since have thus breathed their last breath? May they be our constant utterance, for we know not what word may be our last. When we assuredly believe that God has redeemed us by His Son's precious blood, and are persuaded that His holy Word is truth, we may, without one fear, commit our spirits to His care. The custody is safe. He must be greater than God, who plucks our souls from His protecting hands.

2. REDEEM

Padah indicates that some intervening or substitutionary action effects a release from an undesirable condition. In more secular contexts, it implies a payment of some sort. But 1 Sam 14:45 indicates that money is not intrinsic in the word; Saul is determined to execute Jonathan for his involuntary transgression, but "...the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not." Slavery appears as a condition from which one may be "ransomed" Ex 21:8; Lev 19:20.

The word is connected with the laws of the firstborn. As a reminder of slaying all the Egyptian firstborn but sparing the Israelites, God retained an eternal claim on the life of all Israelite firstborn males, both of men and of cattle. The latter were often sacrificed, "but all the firstborn of my children I redeem" Ex 13:15. God accepted the separation of the tribe of Levi for liturgical service in lieu of all Israelite firstborn Num 3:40 ff.. However, the Israelite males still had to be "redeemed" (padah) from this service by payment of specified "redemption money" Num 3:44-51.

When God is the subject of padah, the word emphasizes His complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings. Sometimes God is said to "redeem" individuals (Abraham, Isa 29:22; David, 1 Kings 1:29; and often in the Psalter, e. g., 26:11; 21:5; 71:23); but usually Israel, the elect people, is the beneficiary. Sometimes the redemption or deliverance is proclaimed absolutely 2 Sam 7:23; Ps 44:26; Hos 7:13; but the subject is said to be "ransomed" from a specific oppression. At other times, the reference is less explicit — e. g., from "troubles" Ps 25:22 and from "wicked" men Jer 15:21. Only once is padah used to describe liberation from sin or iniquity: "And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquity" Ps 130:8.

3. The phrase is vague, and it is meant to be vague. “My deposit”—it means that St. Paul had committed to Him everything, and was persuaded that He was able to keep it all.

4. Peter referred specifically to Jesus' sufferings when He was on trial and during His crucifixion. Certainly Peter's readers could find a strong example to follow there. "Revile" means to heap abuse on someone. Often our threats are empty; we cannot follow through with them. However, Jesus could have followed through. Instead He trusted God to deal with His persecutors justly, as we should.

"Peter's picture of what Jesus did not do seems clearly molded by his memory of the messianic picture in Isa 53:6-7. Yet rather than quoting this passage, he gives his own confirmatory witness, thereby underlining the veracity of the prophetic portrayal."

Journal for Christ

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Abandoned to the One Who Redeems!

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