Thursday, April 14, 2011

Day 104-11

VII The Reign of Saul - 1065-1025 B.C. ~ cont.
B. Decline of Saul and rise of David (5 years) ~ cont.
2. David's dangers and flights ~ cont.
f. His flight
(1) Flees to Ahimelech, Priest at Nob - 1 Samuel 21:1- 9
(2) Goes to Achish, the King of Gath - 1 Samuel 21:10-15; Psalm 34:1-22; 56:1-13
(3) Gathers mighty men at cave of Adullam - 1 Samuel 22:1; 1 Chronicles 12:16; Psalm 142:1-7
(4) Organizes mighty men - 1 Samuel 22:2; 1 Chronicles 12:17-18; Psalm 141:1-10
(5) David flees to Moab - 1 Samuel 22:3-5; Psalm 64:1-0
{pages 459 -462}

O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.  (Psalm 34:9)

saints  - H6918 - From H6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary.
  • H6942 - A primitive root; to be (causatively make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally).
Used 116 times in 106 verses.  The first usage:

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.  (Exodus 19:6)

For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.  (Leviticus 11:44-5)

I thought those verses interesting as God is requiring the same level of holiness that He is of His people.

For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. (Deuteronomy 14:2)

A peculiar people...how different does the Bride look from the nations into which she has been seeded?

There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.  (1 Samuel 2:2)

For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.  (Psalm 89:18)

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  (Isaiah 6:3)

and last, but not least:

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.  (Zechariah 14:5)

That was a brief, but interesting and refreshing view of the word holy as applied to the chosen of God or about Himself.  Be encouraged to dig into HIS word daily, delighting in Him and all that He is, has and will do for, in and through us.

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.  (Psalm 34:15)

I found comfort in this verse many a time.  When trials and tribulations beset us, we have an advocate and high priest to whom we can make supplication.  What a wonderful reminder that HIS eyes are upon His people and His ears attentive to our cry.  David took comfort in this and cried out to the Lord often.  May we learn from our brother and be bold to petition the throne of grace, not only in time of need, but in the heights of blessings as well.

Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?  (Psalm 56:8)

My tears are put into a bottle and written in a book?  Well, that was quite enlightening.  Sharing Gill:

put thou my tears into thy bottle; the allusion is to "lachrymatories", or tear bottles, in which surviving relatives dropped their tears for their deceased friends, and buried them with their ashes, or in their urns; some of which tear bottles are still to be seen in the cabinets of the curious. A description of which is given by Gejerus (c), from Olaus Wormius; and who also from Cotovicus relates, that the grave of M. Tullius Cicero was dug up in the island of Zacynthus, A. D. 1544, in which were found two glass urns; the larger had ashes in it, the lesser water: the one was supposed to contain his ashes, the other the tears of his friends: and as this was a custom with the Romans, something like this might obtain among the Jews; and it is a saying with them (d), 

"whoever sheds tears for a good man (deceased) the holy blessed God numbers them, and puts them into his treasures, according to Psa_56:8;'' 

which shows, that they thought that reference is here had to funeral tears. The meaning of the text is, that God would take notice of David's afflictions and troubles, which had caused so many tears, and remember them, and deliver him out of them: these being desired to be put into a bottle was, that they might be kept and reserved; not to make atonement for sin; for as a thousand rivers of oil cannot expiate one sin, could they be come at; so neither as many rivers of brinish tears, could they possibly be shed: nor to obtain heaven and happiness; for there is no comparison nor proportion between the sufferings of the saints and the glory that shall be revealed in them; though there is a connection of grace through the promise of God between them: but rather, that they might be brought forth another day and shown, to the aggravation of the condemnation of wicked men, who by their hard speeches, and ungodly actions, have caused them; 

are they not in thy book? verily they are; that is, the tears and afflictions of his people. They are in his book of purposes; they are all appointed by him, their kind and nature, their measure and duration, their quality and quantity; what they shall be, and how long they shall last; and their end and use: and they are in his book of providence, and are all overruled and caused to work for their good; and they are in the book of his remembrance; they are taken notice of and numbered by him, and shall be finished; they shall not exceed their bounds. These tears will be turned into joy, and God will wipe them all away from the eyes of his people.

I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.  (Psalm 142:1)

I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.  (Psalm 142:2)

I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.  (Psalm 142:5)

Just searching for the words:  I, cried, Lord, resulted in 49 verses.  Those who have cried out to the Lord:

Moses ~ about the people crying out for deliverance from Egypt and/or the Egyptians ~ Israel cried out for a deliverer and received Othniel ~ Gideon's men cried out the sword of the Lord and of Gideon ~ Samuel to the Lord about Israel ~ Samuel cried all night unto the Lord about Saul and the Lord's rejection of him as king ~ David cried unto the Lord ~ Elijah to the Lord about the death of the widow's son ~ Judah cried unto the Lord while in battle ~ Asa to the Lord ~ Jehoshaphat in battle cried out to the Lord ~ Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani cried unto the Lord ~ Book of Psalms (quite a few) ~ Ezekiel ~ Jonah ~ LORD by/through the prophets ~ Canaanite woman about her possessed daughter ~ two blind men ~ father of the child possessed.

Saints, holy ones of God, chosen before the foundation of the world to become heirs to the Sovereign God, cry out to Him.  Petition Him for guidance, wisdom, strength, courage, discernment.  Be not fearful or afraid to enter into the Holy of Holies and petition the Throne of Grace.  Be bold and courageous for you are a chosen vessel to bring honor and glory unto the name of the Most High God.

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