Shalom,
In Psalm 79 we see that Israel is reaping the results of their disobedience to God's Word. They have been overtaken by other nations, blood was shed and the temple destroyed. Verses 1-4:
1O GOD, the nations have come into [the land of Your people] Your inheritance; Your sacred temple have they defiled; they have made Jerusalem heaps of ruins.2The dead bodies of Your servants they have given as food to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3Their blood they have poured out like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.
4[Because of such humiliation] we have become a taunt and reproach to our neighbors, a mocking and derision to those who are round about us.
Now God's people are calling out to Him to deliver them - AGAIN! The psalmist is also calling on God to avenge them by judging their enemies. Verses 5-7:
5How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Shall Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?
6Pour out Your wrath on the Gentile nations who do not acknowledge You, and upon the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
7For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling and his pasture.
Then he remembers their sin, which is what got them in that predicament in the first place! Verses 8-9:
8O do not [earnestly] remember against us the iniquities and guilt of our forefathers! Let Your compassion and tender mercy speedily come to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name! Deliver us, forgive us, and purge away our sins for Your name's sake.
Then he calls again for vengeance in verses 10-12:
10Why should the Gentile nations say, Where is their God? Let vengeance for the blood of Your servants which is poured out be known among the nations in our sight [not delaying until some future generation].
11Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power and Your arm spare those who are appointed to die!
12And return into the bosom of our neighbors sevenfold the taunts with which they have taunted and scoffed at You, O Lord!
And FINALLY in verse 13 we have a reference to praise to the One, True, Most High ,Living, Almighty God of the Bible! The God of Creation! The God of our Salvation! And he doesn't even actually praise Him, he says they WILL praise Him.
13Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth and publish Your praise from generation to generation.
I'm still pondering this Psalm! I'm not too impressed with the fact that praising God sounds a little like an afterthought and that it SOUNDS like they will do it WHEN they see God deliver them. Faith praises Him BEFORE you see the results of what you've asked Him for! And the Fear of the Lord praises Him for Who He IS! Hallelujah! Glory to God!
In Romans 7 Paul is again talking about the law. A key verse here is verse 9:
9Once I was alive, but quite apart from and unconscious of the Law. But when the commandment came, sin lived again and I died (was sentenced by the Law to death)
When we were born, we had no sin, but the moment we knew right from wrong, and inevitably chose wrong, then we died spiritually and needed a Saviour. Thank God for our Saviour! The purpose of the Law is to show us our need for the Saviour! Too many times, though, born again believers think that they must NOW go back and try to live by the Law in order to be pleasing to God. NOT SO! We have been given the Holy Spirit Who began a GOOD WORK in us the moment we were saved. Philippians 1:6:
6And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.
We have to rely on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God in order to live a life free from the bondage of sin. Look at what Paul says about himself! Verses 19-24:
19For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.
20Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [fixed and operating in my soul].
21So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands.
22For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature].
23But I discern in my bodily members [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh].
24O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?
So what is the answer for Paul AND for us? Verse 25a:
25O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord!
Spend time praying in the Spirit and meditating on the Word of God so sin will lose it's hold on you. Then, WHEN you DO sin, go immediately to 1 John 1:9 and receive the forgiveness that God provides for you! AMEN!
As we go through Numbers you may be tempted to skim over it because of the sheer volume of numbers and names. I encourage you to take the time to read each one. God took the time to speak each one! He does NOT waste time, His or yours! Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through this book and you will be amazed how organized your life will become as you begin to get the picture of a God of so much order and exactness that you will never again allow the enemy to convince you that God can't be bothered by your little needs and desires. Just remember this in Luke 12:7:
7But [even] the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be struck with fear or seized with alarm; you are of greater worth than many [flocks] of sparrows.
He truly does care FOR and ABOUT you! Rejoice in that daily! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
