Thursday
Evening Bible Study
September
10, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
The English word psalm comes from a Greek word that means “a poem
sung to musical accompaniment”, or in particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim, which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well.
It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from
Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I
said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about
Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus
in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s
“soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
We’re going to find every kind of emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.
For every sigh there is a Psalm.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs
academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 14 – The Foolish Atheist
: To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
This isn’t a “pretty” song. It’s kind of a “downer”. Yet being written to “the chief Musician”, it
was meant to be sung in public, a song for the congregation.
Life isn’t “pretty”. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about
difficult things at church.
:1 The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are
corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
:1 The fool has said in his heart
Lesson
Ultimate foolishness
fool – nabal
– foolish, senseless, fool
We might think of a fool as a person who lacks intelligence, uneducated, or
just mentally challenged.
The Bible says that the real fool is the one who pretends that God isn’t
there.
The ironic thing is that most people who claim to be atheists are people
who make great boasts about their intellect.
agnostic = “not” + “knowing” – someone who admits
they don’t know anything. The Latin word
for agnostic is ignoramus.
Illustration
When D. L. Moody was conducting
evangelistic meetings, he frequently faced hecklers who were in violent
disagreement with him. In the final service of one campaign, an usher handed
the famous preacher a note as he entered the auditorium. It was actually from an atheist who had been
giving Mr. Moody a great deal of trouble.
The evangelist, however, supposed that it was an announcement, so he
quieted the large audience and prepared to read it. Opening the folded piece of paper he found
scrawled in large print only one word: “Fool!”
The colorful preacher was equal to the occasion. Said Moody, “I have just been handed a memo
which contains the single word—‘Fool’.
This is most unusual. I’ve often
heard of those who have written letters and forgotten to sign their names, but
this is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone who signed his name and then
forgot to write the letter!” Taking
advantage of the unique situation, Moody promptly changed his sermon text to
Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God!”
:1 There is no God
Lesson
A matter of the will
The words “there is …” are not in the Hebrew. The sentence is literally, “The fool hath
said in his heart, “no God”.
I don’t think that talking to an atheist is a matter of intelligence, as if
coming up with the right arguments will convince them.
Though it is ironic that some of the best Christian apologists are former
atheists (Lewis, McDowell, Strobel, etc.)
The issue with atheism is the will.
It’s a decision that you don’t want anyone or anything telling you what to
do. I think that is one of the
underlying motivations to put evolution in front of children, to tell them that
there is no God to which they are accountable.
Illustration
The philosophy of humanism is
eloquently expressed in William Ernest Henley's famous poem, Invictus:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud:
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
:2 The Lord looks down from
heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who
seek God.
:3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There
is none who does good, No, not one.
:3 They have together become
corrupt
Lesson
The result of God-less-ness
Man becomes worse without God, not
better.
Illustration
In 1924 the Soviet revolutionist
Leon Trotsky promised that with the abolition of God would come a new breed of
man. "Man will become immeasurable
stronger, wiser and subtler; his body will become more harmonized, his
movements more rhythmic," Trotsky wrote.
"The average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a
Goethe, or a Marx. And above this ridge
new peaks will rise."
-- Graeme Crouch, Chairman, Bible/Theology
Dept., Prairie Bible College
Illustration
Cal Thomas wrote in 1992,
Nadia Hundert of
Kiev knows of the end results of atheism, especially in public education. Three years ago she wrote a letter to the
publication Soviet Ukraine. Hundert’s
message ought to be read wherever religious intolerance is practiced.
“Today, as a
consequence of an atheistic upbringing,” she wrote, “we are knee-deep in
alcoholics, drug addicts, other chemically dependent individuals, loafers,
bums, criminals, savages, uncouths, dullards, cruel and rightful juveniles who
commit crimes for the fun of it. These
are people who were brought up by non-believer parents and an atheistic
society. Christians lived with religion
for 1,000 years and provided us with a rich heritage, which we have succeeded
in destroying without fire or flood.... It
would be a very good thing if, in re-structuring the school curriculum, the
education specialists included teaching of religion in our schools.”
It appears the
Russians have learned something from us.
It also appears we have learned nothing from them.
:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as
they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord?
:5 There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of
the righteous.
:5 There they are in great fear
(Psalm 14:5 NLT) Terror will
grip them, for God is with those who obey him.
Lesson
The terror of atheism
When a believer is dying, they know what happens at death. They know they are going to be with the
savior.
When the atheist dies, there is nothing but fear.
Illustration
Voltaire, the 18th-century French atheist who was one of the
greatest writers of his time, wielded a bitter pen against Christianity.
In a moment of triumph he once
boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it
took twelve apostles to rear.” But
Voltaire’s arrogance was swallowed up in his death. He died, in his own words, “abandoned by God
and man.” Shortly after his death, the
very house in which Voltaire wrote was made a depot of the Geneva Bible
Society!
-- W.A. Criswell, Why I Preach the Bible is
Literally True, pp. 103-104
The Christian physician who attended the skeptic Voltaire on his death bed
recorded these words:
I compare the death of a righteous man, which is like the
close of a beautiful day, with a black thunderstorm. It was my lot that this
man should die under my hands. Often did I tell him the truth. “Yes, my friend,
good advice. Had I but followed it, I should not be in the horrible condition
in which I am now. I have swallowed nothing but smoke. I have intoxicated
myself with the incense that turned my head. You can do nothing for me. Send me
a mad doctor. Have compassion on me. I am mad.”
I cannot think of it without shuddering. As soon as he saw
that all the means he had just employed to increase his strength, had just the
opposite effect, death was constantly before his eyes. From this moment on,
madness took possession of his soul. He expired under the torment of the
furies.
Illustration
Donald Grey Barnhouse was called to
the hospital by a doctor friend. An
atheist who disliked Barnhouse was dying.
Barnhouse responded, “I’ll come
right over to see him.” The doctor
noted, “But he doesn’t like you.” But Barnhouse insisted he was coming
anyway. He entered the patient’s room,
grabbed a chair, sat down and folded his arms and said nothing.
The atheist was curious and
irritated. “All right, what do you want, Barnhouse?”, he finally asked.
Barnhouse answered, “I’ve come to
see what it’s like when an atheist goes to hell.” Then he proceeded to lead him to Christ.
-- Dr. John DeBrine, Guest Speaker, Jan 28, 1989.
:6 You shame the counsel of the poor, But the Lord is his refuge.
:7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the
Lord brings back the captivity of
His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
:7 the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion
Lesson
We need a Savior
Paul quotes these first couple of verses in Romans 3:
(Romans 3:10–12
NKJV) —10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is
none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have
all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is
none who does good, no, not one.”
Paul takes this literally, that not just those who say they’re atheists say
“there’s no God”, but in a sense we all own up to this. We all live to some extent as if there is no
God.
Paul uses this to drive home his argument that all men are sinners.
(Romans
3:23 NKJV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
But Paul doesn’t stop there in his letter to the Romans and leave us in a
hopeless condition.
(Romans 3:25 NLT) For God presented
Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they
believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice
shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who
sinned in times past
Even though we come into this world acting as if God
didn’t exist, God loved us so much that He gave His Son to die for us and pay
for our sin.
Psalm 15 True Holiness
: A Psalm of David.
It has been suggested that this Psalm was written when David had become
king and had decided to move the Ark of the Covenant to his capital in
Jerusalem.
David had put the Ark on a new oxcart, and as the cart was wheeled up the
hill towards Jerusalem, he and the people were singing and playing musical
instruments.
When the cart hit a bump in the road, one of the priests worried that the
Ark was going to fall off the cart, and he reached up to steady it.
(2 Samuel 6:7 NKJV)
Then
the anger of the Lord was aroused
against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there
by the ark of God.
David was terrified and wondered how in the world they could ever move the
Ark, let alone approach God if God was so dangerous.
What David didn’t know at the time was that he was not moving the Ark
according to how God wanted it to be moved.
God didn’t want the Ark on an oxcart, it was supposed to be carried by the
Levitical priests.
Yet what David learned was a good lesson on the holiness of God
:1 Lord, who may abide in
Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
Who could possibly stand before a holy God?
:2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in
his heart;
:2 speaks the truth in his heart
Lesson
Integrity
God is looking for people who will be genuine. People who will be honest both in actions as
well as on the inside in their heart.
Outward actions AND Inward attitudes.
Illustration
In the July 15, 1993
Boardroom Reports, Peter LeVine writes, “When the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey
ran a help-wanted ad for electricians with expertise at using Sontag
connectors, it got 170 responses even though there is no such thing as a Sontag
connector. The Authority ran the ad to find out how many applicants falsify
resumes.”
-- Leadership
Magazine, Vol. 15:1, Winter, 1994, p. 47.
Illustration
Dr. Donald
McCabe has been studying university students and their tendency to “cheat”
for almost twenty years. The following
come from studies between 2002 and 2015:
In a survey of about 17,000 graduate students, 43%
admitted to cheating on either written assignments or tests.
In a survey of about 71,300 undergraduate students, 68%
admitted to cheating on either written assignments or tests.
In a survey of over 70,000 high school students, 95%
admitted to cheating, whether it was on a test, plagiarism, or copying
homework.
You can get through school by cheating and lying, but you’re going to have
a hard time living a healthy life if you don’t learn to live in reality and
truth.
Truth is a part of maturing.
(Ephesians 4:15
NKJV) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head—Christ—
:3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his
neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
(Psalm 15:3 NLT) Those who
refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.
:4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear
the Lord; He who swears to
his own hurt and does not change;
:4 swears to his own hurt and does not change
This is the person who says, “I promise I’ll do this or else I’ll pay a
great price”, and then when they don’t follow through, they actually pay the
price.
This is about being a person of your word, even when it’s costly.
:5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a
bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be
moved.
:5 He who does not put out his money at usury
Does not loan out money with interest.
:5 Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
Like a judge that takes a bribe to let a guilty person go free and sends an
innocent person to jail.
:5 He who does these things shall never be moved
Lesson
Genuine stability
When we get a taste of God’s holiness, we see how many areas of our lives
it affects.
David could just have written about carrying the Ark on the priests’ shoulders, but instead
he was how God’s holiness affected so many areas of life.
God doesn’t want us to be people who just talk with nice words, but whose
lives actually match what they say.
It’s this kind of person who will survive the storms of life.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 7:24–27
NLT) —24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a
person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the
winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on
bedrock. 26 But anyone
who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds
a house on sand. 27
When
the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will
collapse with a mighty crash.”
I Won’t Be Shaken (Psalm 15)
Lord may I dwell in your house
Lord may I live upon your holy hill
And in my walk be blameless
In my deeds be righteous
May I speak the truth from my heart
Help me to honor those who fear you Lord
Help me to honor those who fear you Lord
Then Oh Lord I know I won't be shaken
Oh Lord I know I won't be shaken
I will not be moved
Psalm 15/ Words & Music by David Dunagan / © 2003 by David Dunagan /
Psalm15.doc
Psalm 16 – Joy in Trust
: A Michtam of David.
Michtam – miktam –
michtam; a technical term found in psalm titles; meaning uncertain
Some have suggested it means “golden”, others suggest is means “secret”.
Some have suggested that this means
“golden” or “precious”.
Others have suggested that it means
“hidden”, “secret”, or “mystery”.
I wonder if it isn’t possible to
carry both meanings. Spurgeon calls this
“The Psalm of the Precious Secret”.
It’s going to be a Psalm about Jesus.
He is precious. And there is a
sense that He is hidden within the prophecies of this Psalm.
:1 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
:2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
Everything good in our lives is from God.
We have no good apart from Him.
:3 As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent
ones, in whom is all my delight.”
:3 saints – qadowsh
– sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart
David finds joy in people who follow the Lord.
:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my
lips.
:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied
(Psalm 16:4 NLT) Troubles
multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their
sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.
In contrast to how David feels about the “saints”, he does NOT find much
joy in people who follow other gods.
:5 O Lord, You are the
portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.
:6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a
good inheritance.
:5 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places
David is using language that describes a person’s inheritance, even the
plot of land that they receive from their parents.
David is saying that the things that God has given him are good
things. He has received a good
inheritance.
We too have a great inheritance from the Lord.
Peter wrote,
(1 Peter 1:3–4 NLT)
—3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by
his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ
from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have
a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and
undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
Paul wrote,
(Romans 8:31–32
NKJV) —31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
We have much to be thankful for.
:7 I will bless the Lord who
has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
:7 My heart also instructs me in the night
Lesson
Night School
I think there is a sense that God can teach us even while we sleep.
(Psalm 127:2
NASB95) It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the
bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
Have you ever gone to bed worrying about something and
woke up with the answer? Sometimes I go
to bed on Saturday night feeling like something is missing from the morning
sermon, and when I wake up, I have it.
If you’re in school, don’t count on this for tomorrow’s
text.
I think there also is a sense in which we learn so much about life when
times are “dark”.
Sometimes our greatest growth in the Lord comes through difficult times,
through the “night” seasons.
(2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NKJV) —16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is
perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary,
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Our afflictions
produce eternal treasures in our lives.
When Paul was going through his own difficulties, struggling with his thorn
in the flesh, he wrote,
(2
Corinthians 12:8–10 NKJV) —8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord
three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength
is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in
distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
:8 I have set the Lord always
before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Another precious promise:
(Psalm 16:8 NLT) I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be
shaken, for he is right beside me.
:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will
rest in hope.
:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy
One to see corruption.
:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol
Sheol – underworld, grave, hell, pit
Lesson
Resurrection
Written 1,000 years before Jesus, David is hinting at a resurrection.
The apostles all saw this as well.
This is their “go-to” verse when they are preaching on the resurrection
and showing that it was prophesied in the Old Testament.
Peter did it on the day of Pentecost, saying that it was talking about
Jesus.
(Acts 2:25–28 NKJV)
—25 For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord
always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my
heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in
hope. 27 For You will
not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have
made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
Peter goes on to explain that David can’t be talking about
himself because his body is still in the grave.
David was speaking prophetically about Jesus.
:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness
of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
:11 In Your presence is fullness of joy
Lesson
Joy in worship
David might be talking about the joy that we will have in heaven when we
are in God’s presence, but I can’t help but thinking of this every time we
worship.
There are times when we ought to tremble with conviction and even fear when
we are in the presence of our Holy God.
(Isaiah 6:5 NKJV) So I said: “Woe is
me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
But God did not leave Isaiah in a place of conviction, God
brought cleansing to Isaiah just as we ought to experience when we are
worshipping before God and confessing our sin and unworthiness.
Ultimately, there is joy before God.
He is here.
He is with us.
He is for us.
He loves us.
The boundary lines
Have fallen in welcome places
The Lord is my
Defender and my shield
I will keep my eyes
Always, always set on You
Forever You're my joy
If my heart is a cup
Your love is an ocean
You fill me up
Like rivers overflowing
If my heart is a cup
Your love is an ocean
You fill me up
Like rivers overflowing
I cannot contain this love
I cannot contain this love
I cannot contain this love
Words & Music by Ed Cash , Chris Tomlin , Scott Cash
©2014 Worship Together Music
Psalm 17 – Prayer for Deliverance
: A Prayer of David.
This is the first Psalm that is called a “prayer”.
It would seem that the circumstances of David’s “prayer” had something to
do with wicked people that were oppressing David (17:9).
:1 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful
lips.
:1 my prayer which is not from deceitful lips
prayer – tephillah
– prayer
deceitful – mirmah
– deceit, treachery
Lesson
Reasons for prayer
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you pray for the things you pray
for?
Sometimes a wife can pray, “Oh God save my husband”.
What could be wrong with that?
The question is, why would a wife pray this?
Is it because she is truly concerned about her husband’s eternal welfare,
or is it because she doesn’t want to sit alone in church?
Is it because she is concerned about her husband going to hell, or is it so
he will be nicer around the house?
I’m not sure we can always have the purest of motivation when we pray, but
I think from time to time it doesn’t hurt to ask ourselves why we’re really
praying.
If you find your motivation is wrong, don’t stop praying, just change your
motives.
:2 Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the
things that are upright.
:3 You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You
have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not
transgress.
David is just trying to be open and honest with God.
:4 Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away
from the paths of the destroyer.
:4 By the word of Your lips
God’s Word has kept him from doing wrong things.
(Psalm 119:11 NKJV)
Your
word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
:5 Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip.
:6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to
me, and hear my speech.
:7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save
those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.
:7 Show Your marvelous
lovingkindness
lovingkindness – checed
- goodness, kindness, faithfulness
:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your
wings,
:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye
The “apple” is the pupil of the eye.
The eye is the most sensitive part of our body, the pupil the most
sensitive of the eye.
We are told that the reflex that has the eyelid covering the eye is the
quickest reflex in your body, 1/10,000th of a second.
David is asking God to protect him like He protects His own eye.
God promises His people:
(Zechariah 2:8 NKJV)
For
thus says the Lord of hosts: “He
sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you
touches the apple of His eye.
When people try to hurt you, it’s like they’re poking God
in the eye. You don’t want to do that.
:8 Hide me under the shadow of Your wings
David is speaking metaphorically.
God is not a big bird with wings.
But a mother bird will protect her young with their wings.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 23:37 NKJV) “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are
sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
God does want to protect us.
:9 From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who
surround me.
This is what David’s facing.
Enemies. Oppression.
:10 They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they
speak proudly.
(Psalm 17:10 NIV) They close
up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance.
:11 They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes,
crouching down to the earth,
:12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in
secret places.
:12 a young lion lurking in
secret places
There’s something even in cats that
likes to hide, crouch, and pounce
David’s enemies are just waiting to attack.
:13 Arise, O Lord, Confront
him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
:14 With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And
whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with
children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
:13 Arise, O Lord
This is the heart of the Psalm.
David is crying to God to get up and help him.
:14 men… who have their portion in this life
This is how David is describing his enemy.
It’s the people whose whole lives are centered on what they have and what
they can get in this world, in this life.
For the men of the world, this is
as good as it gets. This is as much as
they’re going to get. It’s actually
quite sad.
:15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied
when I awake in Your likeness.
:15 I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness
Lesson
The right prize
When your whole life is aimed at getting ahead in this life, you will one
day face a terrible dilemma – this life will come to an end, and nothing you’ve
accumulated will come with you into eternity.
For David, his life was aimed at the treasure at the end of life’s race,
when he finds himself in God’s presence and is transformed.
John wrote,
(1 John 3:1–3 NKJV)
—1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because
it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be
like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He
is pure.
Remember, this was a prayer – David could have said that he’d be satisfied
if God would wipe out his enemies.
But David was running for another prize.
He was living his life in order to see God.
(Hebrews 12:1–2 NKJV) —1 Therefore
we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us
run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
David was looking towards the finish line, when he would be with God and
hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.
D Dmaj7
As for me, I will behold
Em7 Asus
Thy face in righteousness
Em7 Asus
I will be satisfied
D D7
When I awake in Thy likeness
G A7/G
F#m Bm
I want to be just like You, Lord
Em7 Asus D
But as for me, I will behold Thy face
Words & Music by Dan Marks / © 1982 Maranatha! Music
/ As For Me.doc
Give ear to my prayer
And hear my cry
O... God
For when I call and cry out
You will answer me
O... God
O... God
Show the wonder of
Your great love
For my refuge is
In Your mighty hand
And keep me as
The apple of your eye
And when my enemies
Have surround me
O... God
Hide me in the shadow
Of your wings
O... God
O... God
Show the wonder of
Your great love
For my refuge is
In Your mighty hand
Arise O Lord
And deliver me
For by Your hand
Is the victory
And keep me as
The apple of your eye
And keep me as
The apple of your eye
Words & Music by David Dunagan
© 2015 by David Dunagan