Psalm 142 is another Psalm of David. This one is called a "didactic" or reflective poem. Didactic means: designed or intended to teach. We can and should learn from ALL of the Word of God. Sometimes we learn what to do in certain situations. Other times we learn what NOT to do! Learning is the key, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher! Verses 1-3:
1 I CRY to the LORD with my voice; with my voice to the LORD do I make supplication. 2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I tell before Him my trouble. 3 When my spirit was overwhelmed and fainted [throwing all its weight] upon me, then You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
What can we learn from these verses? COMMUNICATION! That's what prayer really is! We pour our hearts out to God. He already KNOWS what we are going through! Speaking it out to Him helps us to face what the Pastor of The Spoken Word Church refers to as "the worst-case scenario"! We look at the worst that can happen so that nothing will take us by surprise! Then we listen to the Holy Spirit as He directs us to what the Word of God has to say about the situation or circumstance that we are facing. With our mind clear and renewed by the Word of God, we can stand strong ON the Word and AGAINST the lies and attacks of the enemy, knowing that "if God be for me, it doesn't do anyone any good to be against me" (Romans 8:31)!
John 2 tells of the first miracle that Jesus performed when He turned the water into wine. We also see this in verse 12:
12 After that He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.
We visited the ruins of Capernaum when we were in Israel last year. Here is a picture of the ruins of a synagogue from that time:
Then we see Jesus cleaning the Temple of the money changers and merchants. I learned something new from my study this time. We know the obvious reason why Jesus did this, but I found out something more. The place where this was all taking place was in the court of the Gentiles! What the Jews should have been doing is sharing the news of the One, True God with them, instead of trying to make money off of them! Someone searching for the Truth certainly wasn't able to find it there. At least not before Jesus cleaned it out! Remember that even in this, Jesus did not sin! He did what needed to be done, but He did this, like He did everything else, IN LOVE!
In 1 Samuel 10:17-19:
17 And Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah 18 And said to the Israelites, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: It was I Who brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19 But you have this day rejected your God, Who Himself saves you from all your calamities and distresses; and you have said to Him, No! Set a king over us. So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.
They had rejected the very One Who had provided everything for them! Even at this point the people could have repented and changed their thinking to agree with the One, True God! But they didn't. They took so much for granted! Yet, every time they called on the LORD, He delivered them! 1948 marked a return to the land for the Israelites and now they will NOT be forced out again! Soon and very soon they will be faced with the fact that they are alone, with not a friend in the world, and they will have to rely COMPLETELY on the One, True God! Keep reading in 1 Samuel to see how this king-thing works out for them!
Shalom in Him!
