PSALM 63
David hunger for God verse 1
O God – YOU are my God – early will I seek YOU
my soul thirsts for YOU – my flesh longs for YOU
in a dry and thirsty land – where no water is
David sees the power of God verse 2
To see YOUR power and YOUR glory
so as I have seen YOU in the sanctuary
David praises God for complete satisfaction verse 3- 5
BECAUSE YOUR loving-kindness is better than life
my lips shall praise YOU
thus will I bless YOU while I live
I will lift up my hands in YOUR name
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness
and my mouth shall praise YOU with joyful lips
David meditates on God all night verse 6- 7
When I remember YOU on my bed
and meditate on YOU in the night watches
BECAUSE YOU have been my help
THEREFORE in the shadow of YOUR wings will I rejoice
David enjoys the security in God verse 8
My soul follows hard after YOU
YOUR right hand upholds me
David believes God will deal with his enemies verse 9- 10
BUT those that seek my soul – to destroy it
shall go into the lower parts of the earth
they shall fall by the sword
they shall be a portion for foxes
David contrasts believers with non-believers verse 11
BUT the king shall rejoice in God
every one that swears by HIM shall glory
BUT the mouth of them that speak lies
shall be stopped
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
:1 “O God, YOU are my God; early will I seek YOU: my soul thirsts for
YOU, my flesh longs for YOU, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” (“Thirsteth,” 6770 צָמֵא [tsameʾ] 10 occurrences; AV translates as “thirst” five times, “athirst” twice, “thirsty” once, “suffer thirst” once, and “suffer thirst” once. 1 (Qal) to be thirsty. [Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software]).
DEVOTION: Have you ever been so thirsty you would drink anything that someone brought to you? Several times my mouth has been so parched I would have drunk almost anything! This was the feeling of David in the wilderness, and he uses also this metaphor to describe his desire for God elsewhere (Psalm 42:1).
Just as our physical bodies are made to thirst for water, so our spirits are made to thirst for God. That means that we are to find our spiritual satisfaction in being refreshed by God. That is why Jesus describes Himself as “living water,” something that only God can give to satisfy our deepest inner longings (John 4:10-14). He also tells His followers to thirst after righteousness, so one’s spiritual thirst can be trained (Matthew 5:6).
Thirst, then, becomes an object lesson for how we are to seek to have our spiritual needs met. We can either seek to have them met by physical things, or we can turn to the One who meets spiritual needs for refreshment. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be the source of springs of living water bubbling up through our lives (John 8:38-39).
CHALLENGE: Do you desire refreshment in your spiritual life? Are you getting tired in your service to the Lord? If so, take a deep drink in the well of His Word, and then you will find yourself ready to go on! (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
:2 “So I have looked for YOU in the sanctuary, to see YOUR power and
YOUR glory.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). Sanctuary – 6944 קֹדֶשׁ [qodesh /ko·desh/] n m. From 6942; TWOT 1990a; GK 7731; 468 occurrences; AV translates as “holy” 262 times, “sanctuary” 68 times, “(holy”, “hallowed”, “…) things” 52 times, “most” 44 times, “holiness” 30 times, “dedicated” five times, “hallowed” three times, “consecrated” once, and translated miscellaneously three times. 1 apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness. 1A apartness, sacredness, holiness. 1A1 of God. 1A2 of places. 1A3 of things. 1B set-apartness, separateness. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: The climax of worship is reached in this psalm as David recognized his need to seek, fellowship and worship the Lord! As he awakens and realizes the need for water so his soul awakens and cries for the renewal of spiritual refreshment. David seeks for the Lord in the sanctuary and desires to see the expression of the Lord’s power and glory! Worship was an essential element in David’s life and even in the wilderness he continually longed to bring himself and his men into God’s presence.
In a time when, for many people, worship and seeking after the Lord is weak it is good to meditate on what David desired to do. This weekend as you have an opportunity to gather your family, tribe, or army together may your heart’s desire be to worship the Lord like David did here in this psalm!
CHALLENGE: Wherever you are, may your heart beat fervently to worship the Lord! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 3 Because YOUR lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise
YOU. (2617 “lovingkindness” [checed] means mercy, kindness, goodness, merciful, favor, an unfailing kind of love, kindness, or goodness, graciousness, ardor, zeal, benevolence, or loyalty.)
DEVOTION: It is sometime hard to realize that an Almighty God can truly love those HE has created. HE created us with a choice. The first man and woman were created with a choice to obey or disobey the LORD.
They listened to the enemy of their souls without realizing the consequences. They fell into sin and the human race with them.
Yet the LORD still loved them and gave them a sacrifice for their sin. HE gave us a sacrifice for our sins as well through HIS SON dying on the cross to give us the possibility of salvation.
HE loved us enough to give us this choice in life. Most people choose to reject this choice but those who accept the sacrifice of Jesus will spend eternity in heaven with HIM. That is a loving thing for the LORD to do.
Our responsibility once we chose to follow Jesus is to praise HIM each day of our life. This is shown by our times of studying the Bible and prayer. We are to come to HIM in humility and ask HIM to help us each day to live a life that shows how much we love HIM.
CHALLENGE: Our love for HIM is because HE first loved us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise YOU with joyful lips. (7646 “satisfied” [saba] means have enough, surfeited, have one’s fill, be overwhelmed, to be filled to satisfaction, or be fulfilled.)
DEVOTION: We need to ask ourselves on occasions if we have enough of the LORD’S blessing on our life? Here we find that David was satisfied with what the LORD was doing in his life. He had a rough life. He didn’t have it easy as a youth. He didn’t have it easy as a king.
He had people against him from the beginning. His older brothers didn’t seem to like him. King Saul liked him for a while and then turned his back on him. The children of Israel liked him at times and then at other times they didn’t like him.
It is hard to live a life even today with people who like you one minute and don’t like you the next. Here we have God who doesn’t give up on HIS children as easy as humans seem to be able to do. It is said that humans are fickle and I believe that is true.
God is not fickle. HE loves us from before the foundation of the world because HE knew what choices we would make regarding following HIM and obeying HIM. HE knows that we will never be perfect but HE will forgive us in spite of that fact.
HE is longsuffering toward us because HE knows our hearts. We have to ask ourselves if we are genuinely loving HIM from our heart and giving HIM praise with our lips regularly.
Once we can answer this we will be praising and thanking HIM on a regular basis and confessing our sins as well. We need to keep short accounts with the LORD.
CHALLENGE: The question we have to ask ourselves is “Are we satisfied with HIM? If the answer is yes and it should be than we need to keep short accounts with HIM and praise HIM.
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: 8 My soul follows hard after YOU: YOUR right hand upholds me.
(1692 “hard” [dabaq] means cleave, cling to, adhere, to catch by pursuit, follow close, be joined together, overtake, or stick.)
DEVOTION: The first use of this Hebrew word was found in Genesis 2: 24. It showed the relationship between a husband and wife. The order of the LORD was that the couples were to leave their parents and become glued to one another.
Marriage was between one man and one woman for life. No one was to come between a husband and wife. Parents were to allow them to form a life together. Today that is not happening very much even in Christian circles.
Divorce is rampant. Parents are causing problems between their children and their spouse. The Bible says that God hates divorce.
Recently I heard that a Christian woman says that she thought divorce doesn’t sound too bad. Once a vow is made between two believers it should last a lifetime. Each couple should cleave to one another.
David was cleaving to the LORD as a husband and wife should cleave to one another. He wanted to be close to the LORD. He was thirsty for the LORD. He is safe under the wings of the LORD. He is hungry for time with the LORD. David wanted to be close to the LORD. He wanted to be joined together with HIM. He wanted to catch HIM by pursuit.
He knew that those who didn’t want to follow the LORD where his enemies. His enemies wanted to cause his fall. They wanted to destroy him. However, he knew their end. They were going to spend eternity in the lake of fire. Death was first but then the judgment. This too faces all those who are the enemies of the gospel of Christ.
There is only one way to heaven. There is only one gospel. We need to present these truths to all those in our world. In the process we need to keep clinging to God as HE is found in HIS Word. We need to meditate on it every evening. We need to meditate on it each day. David had this desire.
CHALLENGE: Do all these sentences describe us? Should they? If we are busy pursuing God, others things will be left behind. What are we going to pursue today?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Meditate verse 6
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
David’s prayer for closeness verse 1- 11
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sanctuary verse 2
My lips shall praise thee verse 3
I will lift up my hands in thy name verse 4
My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips verse 5
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1, 11
Lovingkindness verse 3
Helper verse 7
Shadow of HIS wings verse 7
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
All those who swear by the LORD shall rejoice verse 11
Everyone that swears by HIM shall glory verse 11
Those who speak lies shall be stopped verse 11
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Seek a soul to do harm verse 9
Lies verse 11
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Seek God verse 1
Thirst for the LORD verse 1
Loving-kindness verse 3
Praise verse 3, 5
Bless God verse 4
Satisfaction verse 5
Joyful lips verse 5, 7, 11
Meditate verse 6
Help verse 7
Rejoice verse 7
Upheld verse 8
Follow God verse 8
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
David – author of Psalm verse 1- 11
Says he will seek God early
Says his soul thirsts for God
Says his flesh longs for HIM
He sees God’s power
He sees God’s glory
Praises the LORD (2x)
Bless the LORD
Lift up his hands to HIM
Satisfied with HIM
Remember the LORD on his bed
Meditate at night on HIM
Reason: HE has been his help
Follows hard after HIM
I shall rejoice in the LORD
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Go to the lower parts of the earth verse 9
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QUOTES regarding passage
11 The vision of divine vengeance and justice gives further reason for rejoicing. After all, deliverance consists not only of redemption from evil (cf. vv. 9–10) but also of redemption to a life of fellowship and enjoyment of God’s beneficence (cf. vv. 4–5). In view of the present suffering (vv. 1, 6–8), the king longs for his God to come through in triumph. Then he will be happy (NIV, “rejoice”) and “boast” (NIV, “praise”; see in contrast 52:1) with all those who swear by the divine “name” (cf. Deut 6:13; 10:20; 1 Sam 25:26). The deception of the adversaries will cease and the praise of the Lord alone will be heard (cf. 52:1–5; 107:42)! (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 428). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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11. We have already noticed David’s term for himself, the king, as a clue to the circumstances of the psalm (see opening comments). But it is surely more than a synonym for ‘I’. If this is written from his banishment at the hands of Absalom, the royal title becomes a reassertion of his calling, which was from God, and an avowal that this cannot fail. A Christian parallel, one of many, can be found in the doxology of John the prisoner, who praises God even from Patmos for the liberty and royal priesthood which are his birthright and ours (Rev. 1:5f.). If David’s faith in his kingly calling was well-founded, still more is the Christian’s. (Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, p. 245). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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63:9–11. David turned from his thoughts on praise as the food of the soul to his present situation. But in view of what he knew of God, he fully anticipated that his enemies would be destroyed and suffer ignominious deaths. For this deliverance he, the king, would rejoice in God, as all who are loyal to Him have occasion to do. Praise, then, is essential for one’s spiritual life. It should stem spontaneously from God’s intervention on behalf of a believer. Praise, in other words, is an evidence that God is at work, meeting His people’s needs. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 840). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Some people criticize David for wanting his enemies destroyed and their bodies left for the scavengers to devour. But they should remember that these rebels were the enemies of God and God’s purposes for Israel, and that those purposes included the coming of Messiah into the world. (See at Ps. 55.) David didn’t execute the enemy himself but asked God to deal with them, and He did (2 Sam. 18:6–8). David only wanted the God of truth to triumph over the liars (31:5; 40:11; 43:3; 45:4). David didn’t rejoice in the destruction of his enemies; he rejoiced in the God of Israel. Furthermore, he encouraged all the people to praise God with him. Often David’s personal praise became communal praise as he publicly glorified the Lord for His mercies, and so it should be with us today. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be worshipful (1st ed., p. 214). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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63:11 who swears by Him. The Mosaic Covenant instructed this practice expressing loyalty to the true God alone (cf. Dt 6:13; 10:20; 1Ki 8:31; Jer 12:16). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 63:11). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 11. But the king shall rejoice in God, &c.] Not Saul, as R. Obadiah; as if David wished him well, and that he might have reason to rejoice in God, though he sought his hurt; which sense is rejected by Aben Ezra: but either David, who speaks of himself as king, being anointed by Samuel, and who, upon the death of Saul, was so in fact; and who rejoiced, not merely at the destruction of his enemies, for he lamented the death of Saul, 2 Sam. 1:17. but in God in his grace and goodness to him, and in his power and justice shewn in the vengeance taken on them. Or rather, the King Messiah, who rejoiced in God because of the good of his people, their conversion and salvation, and their deliverance from their enemies, Psal. 21:1; Luke 10:21. Every one that sweareth by him shall glory; not by David, though such a form of swearing was used; see 2 Sam. 15:21. or, to him; and so describes his faithful subjects swearing allegiance to him: but rather by the Lord, in whom the king should rejoice; and designs the worshippers of him; swearing by him being sometimes put for the whole worship and service of God, Deut. 6:13. The Heathens used to swear by their deities, and their chief was called Jupiter Horcius, because he presided over oaths. Or else that the King Christ should rejoice in God; and intends such as believe in him and confess him; see Isa. 45:23. compared with Rom. 14:11 and every such an one will glory, not in themselves, nor in any thing of theirs, but in Christ, in his grace and righteousness, and in what he is unto them. But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped; such as Saul’s courtiers, who invented and spread lies of David; but now upon the death of Saul, and David’s advancement to the throne, would be silent; their mouths being stopped either by death, or through fear: and so all the followers of antichrist, that make and believe a lie, will have their mouths stopped, when cast into the lake of fire, Rev. 21:8. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 781). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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11. “But the king shall rejoice in God.” Usurpers shall fade, but he shall flourish; and his prosperity shall be publicly acknowledged as the gift of God. The Lord’s anointed shall not fail to offer his joyful thanksgiving: his well-established throne shall own the superior lordship of the King of kings; his rejoicing shall be alone in God. When his subjects sing, “Io triumphe,” he will bid them chant, “Te Deum.” “Every one that sweareth by him shall glory.” His faithful followers shall have occasion for triumph: they shall never need to blush for the oath of their allegiance. Or, “swearing by him,” may signify adherence to God, and worship paid to him. The heathen swore by their gods, and the Israelite called Jehovah to witness to his asseveration; those, therefore, who owned the Lord as their God should have reason to glory when he proved himself the defender of the king’s righteous cause, and the destroyer of traitors. “But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.” And the sooner the better. It shame will not do it, nor fear, nor reason, then let them be stopped with the sexton’s shovel-full of earth; for a liar is a human devil, he is the curse of men, and accursed of God, who has comprehensively said, “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” See the difference between the mouth that praises God, and the mouth that forges lies: the first shall never be stopped, but shall sing on forever; the second shall be made speechless at the bar of God.
O Lord, we seek thee and thy truth; deliver us from all malice and slander, and reveal to us thine own self, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 56-87 (Vol. 3, p. 68). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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Verse 11.—“Every one that sweareth by him,” i.e., to David, that comes into his interest, and takes an oath of allegiance to him, shall glory in his success. Or, “that swears by him,” i.e., by the blessed name of God, and not by any idol. Deut. 6:15. And then it means all good people that make a sincere and open profession of God’s name: they shall glory in God; they shall glory in David’s advancement: “They that fear thee will be glad when they see me.” They that heartily espouse the cause of Christ, shall glory in its victory at last. “If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him.”—Matthew Henry. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 56-87 (Vol. 3, p. 80). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Albert Mohler writes (KY): We will also need deep doctrinal discernment mixed with urgent spiritual concern. The Latter Day Saints include some of the most wonderful and kind people we will ever meet. They put a great emphasis on character and on the moral values of our common concern. They talk freely and passionately about their own beliefs, including their beliefs concerning Jesus Christ. Furthermore, they put action behind their commitments, sending their young people on mission and fueling a worldwide movement that remains one of the fastest-growing on the planet. But their beliefs concerning Jesus Christ are not those of historic Christianity, and their understanding of salvation differs radically from the message of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of every Christian, much less every Christian minister, to know this .Joel Osteen told The Washington Times that he is constantly “looking for new ways to influence the culture.” Our culture admires those with low theological commitment and high emphasis on attitude. In Joel Osteen’s case, it is the secular culture that has influenced the minister, and not the minister that is influencing the culture.
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The arguments about whether or not we should toss out the pews, abandon the pulpit, bring in the drums, or offer coffee, important though they are, are not as important as why people are in church in the first place. (p. 201, GOD in the Whirlwind by David F. Wells)
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It is primarily about adoration and praise being directed to God simply for who he is and what he has done. Worship loses its authenticity when it becomes more about the worshiper than about the God who is worshiped. (p. 202, GOD in the Whirlwind by David F. Wells)
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As this history unfolded, it became clear that it was not the place where the worship was to take place that was important, as it had been in the Old Testament; what was now important was the person who was to be at the center of the worship.
So am I being narrow-minded when I ask, are we doing the right thing to cater to convenience by offering worship on Saturday evenings, on the old Sabbath? Does this not depart from the important symbolism which the apostles insisted on preserving? They worshiped on Sunday, the Lord’s day. (p. 204, GOD in the Whirlwind by David F. Wells)
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We come to rejoice in his greatness, to be encouraged in his sovereignty, to be comforted by his promises, and to be instructed in his Word. (p. 206, GOD in the Whirlwind by David F. Wells)
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2 Peter 3
Some people will scoff at the Day of the Lord, but we ought to purify ourselves for it.
INSIGHT
Most people agree that the world cannot last forever. Eventually the hydrogen in the sun will burn out, and the sun will grow cold, destroying the earth in the process. So how will the earth end? The Bible tells us that the day will come when the heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire. It may not happen soon, but it will happen. Since all of us must face “the end” sometime, Peter writes that as we look forward to these things, we should accept salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. (Quiet Walk)
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DELIVERANCE
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. 1 John 5:6
The great business of the Messiah who was to come was to deliver the people from the thralldom and bondage of sin and its consequences. Men and women, as a result of their sin, were under the wrath of God. They needed to be delivered from the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil—the power of sin both inside and outside. So the Messiah, the Savior, had to make expiation for our sin and set us free from its power. This was His great task. And John tells us that Jesus Christ came as the Messiah and has done that, and we see Him doing it as we look at His baptism and as we see His death on the cross. His baptism, in a sense, is the beginning of His power as the Messiah—He came as the Messiah by “water.” Through that He identifies Himself with our sin, and it is upon the cross that He deals with it, expiates it, and delivers us from the wrath of God and therefore from the power of sin and the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Now I think we see why John does not refer to Christ’s birth in his Gospel. He has been pointing to Christ as the Messiah, fixing his attention upon that, that Jesus is the Son of God. So he does not refer to the birth; but he does refer to the baptism. And so I think we see very clearly why it is that we have this phrase “not by water only, but by water and blood.” The Lord Jesus Christ did not merely identify Himself with us and our sins—He went further. He dealt with it not in water only, but also in blood. His death is an absolute essential in addition to the baptism.
A Thought to Ponder: Through His baptism Christ identifies Himself with our sin, and it is upon the cross that He deals with it.
(From Life in God, pp. 78-79, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Name of David
“Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:1-2)
The name of David is uniquely important in Scripture. Except for the name of Jesus Christ Himself (of whom David is a remarkable type), no other name (not even Abraham or Moses or Paul) occurs nearly so often in the Bible. In the New Testament—again, other than Jesus Christ—David’s name is both the first mentioned (Matthew 1:1) and the last mentioned (Revelation 22:16).
As the “sweet psalmist of Israel,” David was largely responsible for this longest book in the Bible. As we see in our text, his claim to divine inspiration in the writing of his psalms is perhaps the most meaningful and clear-cut statement on this subject by any of the biblical authors. It was both “God’s Spirit” and “me” who spoke, giving “his word” through “my tongue,” said David in his last words shortly before he died.
David was not a perfect man. We remember his grievous sin, not only against Uriah the Hittite, but even more against the Lord (2 Samuel 12:9-14), thus giving “great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.”
He had to suffer greatly because of this, but his repentance was genuine, and he was graciously restored by God to fellowship and service. The Lord’s own testimony concerning him was this: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will” (Acts 13:22)
It is little wonder that so many loving parents over the many centuries—both Jews and Gentiles—have named their own sons David, for the very name means “beloved.”
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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A Worthwhile Wait
The Lord longs to be gracious to you . . . . Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18
Stuck in a stressful job with long hours and an unreasonable boss, James wished he could quit. But he had a mortgage, a wife, and a young child to take care of. He was tempted to resign anyway, but his wife reminded him: “Let’s hang on and see what God will give us.”
Many months later, their prayers were answered. James found a new job that he enjoyed and gave him more time with the family. “Those months were long,” he told me, “but I’m glad I waited for God’s plan to unfold in His time.”
Waiting for God’s help in the midst of trouble is hard; it can be tempting to try to find our own solution first. The Israelites did just that: under threat from their enemies, they sought help from Egypt instead of turning to God (Isaiah 30:2). But God told them that if they would repent and put their trust in Him, they would find strength and salvation (v. 15). In fact, He added, “the Lord longs to be gracious to you” (v. 18).
Waiting for God takes faith and patience. But when we see His answer at the end of it all, we’ll realize it was worth it: “Blessed are all who wait for him!” (v. 18). And what’s even more amazing, God is waiting for us to come to Him!
By Leslie Koh (Our Daily Bread)
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Keep the Torch Burning
A. W. Tozer
The clever proponents of evil political ideologies are spending millions to make us Americans ashamed to love our country. By the use of all available media of communication they are persuading our people that there is little left worth defending and certainly nothing worth dying for. They are building up in the public mind a picture of an American as a generous, tolerant, smiling chap who loves baseball and babies but is not too much concerned about fringe political theories. This synthetic American subscribes to the doctrine of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man and lets go fishing-everything will be all right. And so in religion, especially among the Protestants. Let a man rise to declare the unique Lordship of Jesus Christ and the absolute necessity of obedience to Him and he is at once branded as a hatemonger and a divider of men. The devil has brainwashed large numbers of religious leaders so successfully that they are now too timid to resist him. And he, being the kind of devil he is, takes swift advantage of their cowardice to erect altars to Baal everywhere. The Bible is a book of controversy. The Old Testament prophets were men of contention. Our Lord Jesus while on earth was in deadly conflict with the devil. The Apostles, the Church Fathers and the Reformers were men of controversy. They fought the devil to the death and kept the torch of truth burning for all succeeding generations. Is our contribution to history to be the ignoble one of letting the torch go out? (A.W. Tozer- A man of God)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture
Matthew 1:22-23; Luke 1:32-33
The advent is about the two arrivals of Jesus Christ! The first is what we have been anticipating as we draw near to December 25th to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, our Savior. The second is when Jesus will return to earth to establish His kingdom and He will rule and reign forever as Sovereign Lord!
Over the next two weeks I desire to look at some of the older hymns that celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We will look at a different hymn each day and I will seek to tie in the message that the author is sharing with the Christmas story. My desire is to capture the history of some of the older Christmas Carols we sing.
We begin today with a hymn that has its origins in the medieval church. During the medieval time (approximately 800 – 1300’s), the church had a series of Latin hymns that were sung each day from December 17th to 23rd. Each of these hymns began with the letter “O” and were called the “Great” or “O” antiphons. These were short musical statements that were sung for church services leading up to Christmas Eve. These statements were discovered in the mid 1800’s by an English minister named John Mason Neale who formulated these Vesper selections and produced the first draft of this song.
Neale desired for the message of the song to be a greeting for the anticipated Messiah using the titles ascribed to Him throughout the Old Testament such as Emmanuel, The Lord of Might, Rod of Jesse, Day-spring, and Key of David. With each stanza the anticipation, longing, and expectation of this Deliverer, the Messiah, would come and “ransom captive Israel”.
In case you have not figured out the song yet, it is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”! The words and melody may be ancient, but it continues to speak to hearts and the cries that echoed from Israel still can be heard today as people in many places around the world desire to have Jesus Christ return and establish His rule and reign forever. We may rejoice and celebrate His first coming but we also earnestly anticipate His return. Christ came as Emmanuel – “God with us” but now as believers in Christ, He is God in us! As you listen to O Come, O Come Emmanuel this Christmas season, may that expectation of His coming grip you anew! Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
With an Expectant Hope,
Pastor Miller
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Sermon by our son Brian (CO):
Sermon Isaiah 9:6
Last year I mentioned how our family has a tradition on Christmas day to wake up to Handel’s Messiah. It is how Tomina grew up doing Christmas morning and we have passed that on to our kids. It is not my favorite tradition because Tomina’s dad would play the music so loud that it was a jarring way to wake up. Plus when Ellice was a baby we just wanted her to sleep in on Christmas morning because she would have been into everything and he wasn’t going to watch her. Even though he was the one who had to play the music so loud. Tomina’s dad believes that Handel’s Messiah is inspired by God. I came across this story that may affirm his belief. In the 1960s Mary Ellen Rothrock was a grad student in English literature at the University of Wisconsin. In 1998 she wrote in Christian Reader magazine: “Despair seemed to permeate the student body, especially those in the humanities. A fellow graduate student summed it up cynically, “Playwright Samuel Becket is right. Man is just a piece of trash in a universe that’s running down.”
She goes on to say: “In college, atheism became my religion. Yet when I got into grad school, I found myself seeking to fill a spiritual void in my life. I began practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM). I met periodically with a TM supervisor. After a year or so of meditating, I mentioned that I had a recurring thought when I was trying to concentrate on my mantra. ‘It’s a line from Handel’s Messiah. Something in my mind keeps repeating “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” To my young mind, not only was the music thrilling, but the words seemed to come from beyond this world. I loved the joyful language: ‘Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. … For unto us a Child is born … And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.;”
Her TM supervisor told her to ignore the words that kept coming to her but she told herself, “These aren’t just random thoughts.” It suddenly hit her. The phrase And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed was an invitation from a personal God of glory to seek him! She thought to herself “Why couldn’t he be ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?”
Within months, she met a woman who explained how she could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She said, “As I heard the words from the Bible, the words from the musical score made sense. The Holy Spirit convinced me of the truth: the God I’d hungered for, the personal God, loved me. ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.’”
What a great story of God showing himself to be present in this world. Last week we talked about Immanuel: God with us. He is with us. Stories like this remind us that he is always at work. Last week we started our Christmas series of looking at the names of God in the Christmas story. This week we are going to be in Isaiah 9:6. I want to read Isaiah 9:6-7 even though we are going to stop with verse six in this study. Look with me at Isaiah 9:6-7 (For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.). Today we are going to study what we learn about the Messiah from this passage. The first thing we are going to observe is how the Messiah was going to come.
- How the Messiah would Come?
Isaiah here is prophesying that a better time is coming. As I talked about last week here Isaiah is prophesying something to Israel but then he is also prophesying about the coming Messiah. To the people of Israel Isaiah is telling them that hope is coming. Some believe this passage in Isaiah 9:6 is talking about Hezekiah. There is no way to fully know that this is who is being talked about. Hezekiah was a king that ruled in the way that is talked about in this passage but we cannot know for sure if he is the boy prophesied about in this passage. What we do know is this, Isaiah 9:6a (For to us a child is born, to us a son is given). The start of this verse is believed to be a tie back to Isaiah 7:14 (Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.). Look with me at Luke 1:26-33 (In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”). The Messiah was coming, being born of a virgin. He was coming as a baby. Israel was looking for a Messiah that was a conquering king. What they didn’t realize is that he was coming as a baby even though if they paid attention to the prophesies spoken they would have been able to see that it was a bay and not a conquering king. I wonder how much we miss because we come to scripture with a preconceived idea of what it is saying. I know for me when I study scripture some of the meat of the passages I would not understand had I not spent time reading commentaries or listening to sermons on the meaning of those passages. We must be students of the word of God. We must seek to know the word of God. Isaiah starts this prophecy off by stating that the Messiah would come as a baby.
- What will the Messiah do?
Look again with me at the second part of this prophecy from Isaiah. Isaiah 9:6b (and the government shall be upon his shoulder). This baby was born and would become a king. Jesus while he lived on this earth was the suffering servant. He came to serve and to not be served. He died in our place. He paid the penalty for our sin. He rose again on the third day and then ascended into heaven. As I talked about last week. He is in heaven preparing a place for us. Hebrews 2:5-9 says (For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.). Jesus is going to rule and reign forever. The government will be upon his shoulders. Again this is why we believe that this prophecy is about the coming Messiah. Verse 7 of Isaiah 9 helps us see that this could not be talking about anyone but the coming Messiah (Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.) What is being prophesied here can only be fulfilled by God. Jesus the second person of the Trinity is who this is talking about. The Messiah will come as a baby. He will eventually rule and reign for all eternity in heaven. Now, what are the names that are mentioned about the Messiah?
- Character qualities of the Messiah
To illustrate the 400-years of silence prior to the coming of Jesus, Del Tackett compares it to the Apollo 13 incident. On the evening of April 13, when the crew was 200,000 miles from Earth and closing in on the moon, mission controller Sy Liebergot saw a low-pressure warning signal on a hydrogen tank in Odyssey. Alarm lights lit up in Odyssey and in Mission Control as oxygen pressure fell and power disappeared. The crew notified Mission Control, with, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”
For re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere, there would be a blackout period, lasting a few minutes. During the silence, Mission Control petitioned, “Apollo 13, this is Houston, do you read me?”
Tackett comments: The Apollo 13 blackout lasted only a few minutes. Imagine 400-years of silence. Then the silence was broken. At the right time, God brought forth his Son, born of a woman, and fulfilled all the promises and the prophecies. For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor; Mighty God; Everlasting Father; Prince of Peace.
Even though God was silent for 400 years, that doesn’t mean he did give them hope. He gave them hope through the prophecies about the coming Messiah. In those prophesies we get to see the names of God that are given. Names of God are given to help us understand the character of God. Isaiah gives us four names of God here in this prophecy.
The first name is Wonderful Counselor. The word for Wonderful in the Hebrew has overtones of Deity. The Hebrew word means exceptional or distinguished. The idea is that people will gladly listen to him as authoritative and wise. The Messiah will be a Wonderful, exceptional, distinguished counselor. When he speaks people will listen as though an authority is speaking. You see this when Jesus is teaching throughout his ministry. People were drawn to his teaching.
We serve a God who is a Wonderful Counselor. He is the giver of wisdom. Romans 11:33-36 says (Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.). If we lack wisdom we are told in James to ask for it in faith and God will give it to us. He is a Wonderful Counselor. When we lack wisdom do we ask the Lord for it? If our God knows all things and holds all things together why wouldn’t we go to him and ask for wisdom when we lack it? Why wouldn’t we go to scripture when we need insight on how to live our lives? Why wouldn’t we go to a trusted friend that loves Jesus and wants to point us to Jesus when we lack wisdom. God is present with us. He speaks through the word of God, prayer, the people of God, and circumstances. Do we seek wisdom from the source of wisdom? The first attribute of the Messiah that Isaiah shares in that he is a Wonderful Counselor.
The second is Mighty God. Some who read this passage think Isaiah is talking about a mighty hero, not God. I do not believe that is what he is communicating. I believe that Isaiah is telling us that the Messiah will be God. Mark 14:60-65 says (And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.). The High Priest and the other Jews reacted vehemently against Jesus because he was claiming to be God. Jesus is the Messiah. He is God who took on flesh. He is mighty. He was able to heal the sick, lame, blind, and dead. He is Mighty God. We serve a God who is present with us. We serve a God who is a Wonderful Counselor and mighty, all-powerful.
The third name that Isaiah tells us about is Everlasting Father. Some get tripped up by this statement. Jesus the Messiah was the second person of the trinity. He was the son of God. How is he the everlasting father? This character quality is not about his relationship in the trinity, but his relationship to his people and his eternality. As the second person of the Trinity, he is eternal as God is eternal. The Messiah is fulfilling the Davidic Covenant. Jesus is going to rule and reign on the throne of David for all eternity. 2 Samuel 7:16-17 says (And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.). This is why he is called the Everlasting Father. He is going to rule and reign like a loving father over his people.
The last name that Isaiah mentions in this passage is Prince of Peace. The word for prince in the Hebrew carries the idea of an administrator. The Messiah will rule and administrate in a way that brings peace. The word for peace is Shalom, to be complete or whole. The Messiah is going to bring peace between us and God. He is also going to bring peace to creation and humanity. Isaiah 53:5 says (But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.). Jesus the Messiah died in our place. He took on the penalty for our sin and brought us peace with God through faith in Christ. We are no longer enemies but friends. So we have peace with God. Creation was marred by sin and one day God will refine the earth with fire and creation will be at peace again. Some people believe that the Prince of Peace alludes to the peace that will happen in the Millennial Kingdom. I am not sure what I think about this. I think for sure it is talking about the peace we will have for all eternity in the New Heaven and New Earth that we read about in Revelation. Sin will no longer be a part of us and we will live for eternity in peace with God, humanity, and creation. What a blessed hope we have because of the coming of this Messiah.
What we learn about the Messiah in this passage is that he is going to come as a baby. He is going to rule and reign for all eternity. He is going to rule and reign as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. God has shown us through scripture that we serve a God who is present with us. He is a trustworthy counselor. We can trust what he tells us to do. We can trust how the Bible teaches us to live for him. This present God, wonderful Counselor is also mighty. He has the power to raise the dead, heal the sick, comfort the hurting, and provide for the needs of his people. He is a mighty God. He is also the Everlasting Father. He is Eternal and he is going to rule and reign like a loving Father over his people. He will also bring peace, wholeness, completeness to us. We will no longer seek after other things because we will be complete in him. We will have peace. The lady in the opening story had a longing in her heart and consciousness that only God could fill. He brought peace to her. He is bringing peace to us. When we die and are with him in Heaven we will truly know that Shalom… peace.
Do we love this God that is being talked about in this passage? Have we put our faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins? If we have not then we will never know God as our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. We will know him as our eternal judge. That will proclaim judgment over us because we have not surrendered our lives to him. This part of the story is not very Christmassy but it is still part of the whole story of God. God made a way for us to have a relationship with him through Christ. Have we surrendered to him through Faith? If we have, are we taking this message of hope to those who do not have hope?
When is the last time we shared this message of hope? As we talked about last week most people celebrate Christmas, so it is a great time for us to have spiritual conversations with others. We can ask the question, why do you celebrate Christmas, or what does Christmas mean to you? This conversation starter could lead to a further conversation about the Messiah who came to bring hope for a future with him.
Do we recognize the great God we serve? Do we recognize that he is the one who gives us wisdom? Do we recognize that there is no other little “g” god above him? Do we recognize that he is going to rule and reign forever as a loving Father and he is going to bring peace to all of creation? We will get a glimpse of it during our life time, but will fully experience it in heaven. Let’s pray.
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