Memory Verses

Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul, And all that is [deep] within me, bless His holy name. ² Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits; ³ Who forgives all your sins, Who heals all your diseases; ⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy; ⁵ Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle. Psalm 103:1-5 AMP

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Just as a father loves his children, So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence]. Psalm 103:13 AMP

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I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Psalm 104:33 AMP

Key people

Here is a list of key people found in today’s reading (in order of appearance) with bios from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

David. A young shepherd who gains fame first as a musician and later by killing the enemy champion Goliath.

Today’s Devotional Reading: Psalm 101 – 105

Psalm 101 Amplified Version (AMP)
Psalm 102 Amplified Version (AMP)
Psalm 103 Amplified Version (AMP)
Psalm 104 Amplified Version (AMP)
Psalm 105 Amplified Version (AMP)

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary

David was certainly the penman of this psalm, and it has in it the genuine spirit of the man after God’s own heart; it is a solemn vow which he made to God when he took upon him the charge of a family and of the kingdom. Whether it was penned when he entered upon the government, immediately after the death of Saul (as some think), or when he began to reign over all Israel, and brought up the ark to the city of David (as others think), is not material; it is an excellent plan or model for the good government of a court, or the keeping up of virtue and piety, and, by that means, good order, in it: but it is applicable to private families; it is the householder’s psalm. It instructs all that are in any sphere of power, whether larger or narrower, to use their power so as to make it a terror to evil-doers, but a praise to those that do well. Here is, I. The general scope of David’s vow, Ps. 101:1, 2. II. The particulars of it, that he would detest and discountenance all manner of wickedness (Ps. 101:3-5, 7, 8) and that he would favour and encourage such as were virtuous, Ps. 101:6. Some think this may fitly be accommodated to Christ, the Son of David, who governs his church, the city of the Lord, by these rules, and who loves righteousness and hates wickedness. In singing this psalm families, both governors and governed, should teach, and admonish, and engage themselves and one another to walk by the rule of it, that peace may be upon them and God’s presence with them Chapter 101).

Some think that David penned this psalm at the time of Absalom’s rebellion; others that Daniel, Nehemiah, or some other prophet, penned it for the use of the church, when it was in captivity in Babylon, because it seems to speak of the ruin of Zion and of a time set for the rebuilding of it, which Daniel understood by books, Dan. 9:2. Or perhaps the psalmist was himself in great affliction, which he complains of in the beginning of the psalm, but (as in Ps. 77:1-20 and elsewhere) he comforts himself under it with the consideration of God’s eternity, and the church’s prosperity and perpetuity, how much soever it was now distressed and threatened. But it is clear, from the application of Ps. 102:25, 26, to Christ (Heb. 1:10-12), that the psalm has reference to the days of the Messiah, and speaks either of his affliction or of the afflictions of his church for his sake. In the psalm we have, I. A sorrowful complaint which the psalmist makes, either for himself or in the name of the church, of great afflictions, which were very pressing, Ps. 102:1-11. II. Seasonable comfort fetched in against these grievances, 1. From the eternity of God, Ps. 102:12, 24, 27. 2. From a believing prospect of the deliverance which God would, in due time, work for his afflicted church (Ps. 102:13-22) and the continuance of it in the world, Ps. 102:28. In singing this psalm, if we have not occasion to make the same complaints, yet we may take occasion to sympathize with those that have, and then the comfortable part of this psalm will be the more comfortable to us in the singing of it (Chapter 102).

This psalm calls more for devotion than exposition; it is a most excellent psalm of praise, and of general use. The psalmist, I. Stirs up himself and his own soul to praise God (Ps. 102:1, 2) for his favour to him in particular (Ps. 102:3-5), to the church in general, and to all good men, to whom he is, and will be, just, and kind, and constant (Ps. 102:6-18), and for his government of the world, Ps. 102:19. II. He desires the assistance of the holy angels, and all the works of God, in praising him, Ps. 102:20-22. In singing this psalm we must in a special manner get our hearts affected with the goodness of God and enlarged in love and thankfulness (Chapter 103).

It is very probable that this psalm was penned by the same hand, and at the same time, as the former; for as that ended this begins, with “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” and concludes with it too. The style indeed is somewhat different, because the matter is so: the scope of the foregoing psalm was to celebrate the goodness of God and his tender mercy and compassion, to which a soft and sweet style was most agreeable; the scope of this is to celebrate his greatness, and majesty, and sovereign dominion, which ought to be done in the most stately lofty strains of poetry. David, in the former psalm, gave God the glory of his covenant-mercy and love to his own people; in this he gives him the glory of his works of creation and providence, his dominion over, and his bounty to, all the creatures. God is there praised as the God of grace, here as the God of nature. And this psalm is wholly bestowed on that subject; not as Ps. 19:1-14, which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the divine law; nor as Ps. 8:1-9, which speaks of this but prophetically, and with an eye to Christ. This noble poem is thought by very competent judges greatly to excel, not only for piety and devotion (that is past dispute), but for flight of fancy, brightness of ideas, surprising turns, and all the beauties and ornaments of expression, the Greek and Latin poets upon any subject of this nature. Many great things the psalmist here gives God the glory of I. The splendour of his majesty in the upper world, Ps. 104:1-4. II. The creation of the sea and the dry land, Ps. 104:5-9. III. The provision he makes for the maintenance of all the creatures according to their nature, Ps. 104:10-18, 27, 28. IV. The regular course of the sun and moon, Ps. 104:19-24. V. The furniture of the sea, Ps. 104:25, 26. IV. God’s sovereign power over all the creatures, Ps. 104:29-32. And, lastly, he concludes with a pleasant and firm resolution to continue praising God (Ps. 104:33-35), with which we should heartily join in singing this psalm (Chapter 104).

Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most of the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject-matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace we may, if we please, furnish ourselves out of the word of God (out of the history of the New Testament, as this out of the history of the Old) with new songs, with fresh thoughts—so copious, so various, so inexhaustible is the subject. In the foregoing psalm we are taught to praise God for his wondrous works of common providence with reference to the world in general. In this we are directed to praise him for his special favours to his church. We find the Ps. 105:1-11; 1 Chron. 16:8-18 of this psalm in the beginning of that psalm which David delivered to Asaph to be used (as it should seem) in the daily service of the sanctuary when the ark was fixed in the place he had prepared for it, by which it appears both who penned it and when and upon what occasion it was penned, 1 Chron. 16:7-36 David by it designed to instruct his people in the obligations they lay under to adhere faithfully to their holy religion. Here is the preface (Ps. 105:1-7) and the history itself in several articles. I. God’s covenant with the patriarchs, Ps. 105:8-11. II. His care of them while they were strangers, Ps. 105:12-15. III. His raising up Joseph to be the shepherd and stone of Israel, Ps. 105:16-22. IV. The increase of Israel in Egypt and their deliverance out of Egypt, Ps. 105:23-38. V. The care he took of them in the wilderness and their settlement in Canaan, Ps. 105:39-45. In singing this we must give to God the glory of his wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, must look upon ourselves as concerned in the affairs of the Old-Testament church, both because to it were committed the oracles of God, which are our treasure, and because out of it Christ arose, and these things happened to it for ensamples (Chapter 105).

Reflection

In studying the Word of God, it is important to know that you are drawing the right conclusions. This is part of what we see in II Timothy 2:15 as “rightly dividing” the Word of truth. Answers are helpful if we know what to do with them. However, we need to know how to learn also.

Being able to quote the Word is a good tool. The Lord said that His word would not go out void – it would not be powerless (Isaiah 55:11). When we quote the Word of God, His virtue goes out to accomplish His Word according to our faith. The next level is learning how to receive revelation.

“Revelation” (beyond the book itself) is an imparting of the Lord’s divine “knowing” that only God can reveal for His purpose. This is what the Lord said to Simon in Matthew 16:17…

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

The Message

In school you learn not only that there is sometimes an answer key in the back of the book (especially useful when calculation is involved, since the presence of variables makes it more likely that people can have the same problem and get different answers (it means there is a potential for revelation AND misunderstanding – and this is also true in Word study. That is precisely why we need the Holy Spirit and teachers who are led by the Spirit of God). In school you also learn how to think. You learn how to build from the ground up, not just how to take an end product and make it work.

A good teacher shows you how to make the cookies, not just bake the cookies. There are no secrets worth keeping in the subject of holiness. It is to be imparted fully. That is the point of God’s wisdom principle – that He upbraidedth not (holds nothing back). The most prevalent reason we don’t get all the lessons (if we don’t), is not because God does not want them taught but because we have not yet met the conditions of passing to the next higher grade. We have to do our homework and learn while we continue to apply what we already know to be from Him; and keep growing.

There are answers in the back of the Bible also – even when there is no glossary or concordance or anything else. We speak not now of the printed words, but the Word behind the words. What is the Word? A better question is, “Who is the Word?”

Taking this perspective on the Word helps us move from teaching only, to providing education – which is imparting the skills to empower a person to learn, rather than passing facts only. What would Jesus want us to do? First, see what He did. He imparted himself – His character, knowledge, wisdom AND METHODS to His disciples. He did not just give them a book with handouts.

Part of Satan’s attack on the church is to widen the disconnect between education and the Word of God. We have so many teachers and it looks like the students are decreasing. Not so. There are now more students than ever before and there are more everyday. If students are not learning, it will only make us better teachers, not worse, if we examine our teaching style, learn about learning styles, take some lessons from teachers who are more than any profession, taught how to teach. Just because we know a lot of facts about a subject does not mean that we are naturally good at imparting that knowledge with duplicability. Teaching is a skill. Some of us have to learn how to teach. The content to be taught is too important for us not to also be involved in learning.

We look at teaching the Word as helping people learn how to understand and empowering them to become teachers. God does not intend for the ultimate result of our outpouring His revelation to be that we become the guru and everyone else gets to sit at our feet. We are rather, training the trainers. Otherwise, we help create the mentality that looks for “answers” without studying; that reads one scripture and takes no note of context; that eventually dismisses the Word’s validity all together, since it “does not apply” to their situation.

Understand that The Bible implies God. We must apply the Word.

Someone told you that the “word of knowledge” was “adding” to the Word. You have read also that adding words to The Holy Word is punishable by adding the curses written in the book (Revelation 22:18). At this agreement you have ceased from intense searching of the scriptures, since when you receive a revelation you are reprimanded for drawing your own conclusion – that is, without the human teacher. God gave you a mind so you could think. He would not ask you to study if people were created to be sponges only. We are supposed to think and grow and change our minds.

The Word of Knowledge is not an addition to the Word, unless it is fake. A true “word of knowledge” from the Lord is not an addition to, but an emission from the Word. The Word is not print in a book. It is God in the book. This is how it is a living thing. He IS the Word; and a true “word of knowledge” is an issue of His essence into the consciousness. This is the teacher God wants to create: vessels receiving his revelation, which impart His essence to other vessels – which also receive and impart; which again continue the duplication; which process proceeds without finality, until He comes again to receive us unto himself.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I John 1:1

And the Word was made flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

And now we have the privilege of the Word indwelling, that we may be one with the Father through the Word.

I John 5:5-12

5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

JOHN 1:29-34

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Maximize Your Bible Study: Paraphrase. One of the first methods you learn in school after literacy, is how to paraphrase. You learn to put concepts in your words, in words you understand, to make them meaningful to you. What good is a word you can’t use? The Word is not supposed to be “just words” to you. God does not intend for you to read the Bible four score and seven years, then take another lap around the wilderness.

References

« The Amplified Bible
« The King James Bible
« Matthew Henry’s Commentary

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Image Source: 365 Seeds of Promise by Shenica Graham.

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