SATURDAY, FEBRUARY
23, 2013
37 Days to
Resurrection Sunday
Psalm 69:9 “…the
zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that
reproached thee are fallen upon me.”
SCRIPTURE READING: PSALM 69:1-4, 13-21; 29-36
This Psalm is one
of the most frequently quoted in the New Testament. The Prophecies will appear in bold
print. The New Testament fulfillment
will appear in italic print.
1 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my
soul.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am
come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes
fail while I wait for my God.
4 They that hate
me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would
destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that
which I took not away.
John 15:24-25, Jesus speaking.
"If I had not done among them the works
which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and
hated both me and my Father. But
this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their
law, They hated me without a cause."
8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's
children.
John 1:11
"He came unto his own, and his own received
him not."
9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;
John 2:13-17
" 13 And the Jews passover was at hand, and
Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that
sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And
when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,
and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers money, and overthrew
the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves,
Take these things hence; make not my Fathers house an house of merchandise. 17 And
his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up."
and the reproaches
of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
Romans 15:3
"For even Christ pleased not himself; but,
as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me."
13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an
acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of
thy salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let
me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the
deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
16 Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn
unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
17 And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in
trouble: hear me speedily.
18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me
because of mine enemies.
19 Thou hast known
my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before
thee.
20 Reproach hath
broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take
pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
Mark 14:33-41
" 33 And he taketh with him Peter and James
and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; 34 And
saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and
watch. ... 37 And he cometh, and findeth them
sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch
one hour? ... 40 And when he returned, he found them
asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer
him. 41 And he cometh the third time, and saith
unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come;
behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me
vinegar to drink.
Matthew 27:34
"They gave him vinegar to drink mingled
with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink."
29 I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set
me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will
magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or
bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
32 The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart
shall live that seek God.
33 For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his
prisoners.
34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and
everything that moveth therein.
35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of
Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
36 The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and
they that love his name shall dwell therein.
REFLECTION:
Writing a millennium before the Messiah, King David offers detailed prophecies
of our Lord’s Passion. He would be hated
without cause. He would be rejected. He would be disowned. He would be reproached. He would look for some to take pity and offer
comfort but would find no one. He would be offered gall and vinegar to drink.
Yet it is His zeal for the Temple, the House of God that
arrests our attention just now. Christ
began and ended His ministry by cleansing the temple of money-changers. He faced them and demanded,
“Is it not written,
My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?” He charged those religious profiteers with
turning God’s house into “a den of
thieves.” (Mark 11:17)
Christ jealously guarded His Father’s house against the
encroachment of secularism—the malignancy of “this-worldliness.” Worship was
not to be an occasion for money making.
Worship was not to be about glorifying the worshippers—the singers, the
givers, the pray-ers, or the preachers. Worship
was not to entertain or to wow worshippers with hi-tech and psych-techniques. Worship was not about being
relevant. It was about being reverent.
Oh that the zeal for God’s House would grip God’s people. Certainly then God’s house would be filled
with fervent praying, not frivolous playing.
Surely then we would see God’s glory and the salvation and
sanctification of His people.
In the New Testament we are taught that our bodies are
the Temple of the Holy Ghost. If Christ was zealous to preserve the sanctity of
that temple made with hands, how much more does he desire that the temple made
with His hands be wholly and holy His?“What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Just as the Temple made with hands was to be “a house of
prayer,” so our Temple should be hallowed with prayer. Paul urges us, “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).So, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of
need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
PRAYER: Our
Father, Creator and Preserver of all that is good, we lift our hearts to you in
sincere praise and humble adoration. We
long to know the joy of your presence in our worship. We pray that we would be not only zealous to
worship, but that we would be zealous to worship in the way that pleases you.
May we deny ourselves and delight in you.
“O the glory of His presence, O the beauty of His face, I am His and His
forever, He has won me by His grace!” In
the name above every name, the name of Jesus, Amen. Our
Father &c.
