Psalm 13 How Long Lord?

Daily Bible Study for Friday July 15 2016

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”

Chapter Reading for Today: Please read in your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I will keep it with the New King James Version.

One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my own writing. I am adding red to the letters when it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

James 1:21

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

 Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Song: His Love Endures Forever   By: Michael W. Smith

                                                                                                                                

Psalm 13

How Long Lord?

Today in Psalm 13 we are really seeing a prophetic cry for the Lord’s return. David sees all the evil going on around him – yes, even his own enemies who think they will triumph over him. He longs for the Lord to appear in a mighty way before he sleeps in death. Still, in all the troubles going on without and within, he is rejoicing – finding great joy in his Lord who saved him, and he sings His praises. Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father;

We sing Your praise Lord for You alone are the God of our salvation – praise be to Your name forever! Thank You for saving us. Thank You for comforting us as we await the return of Jesus – our heavenly Bridegroom. Father, I ask You to speak to every heart that takes in this study, including mine. Bring wisdom and revelation for Your end time purposes and plans for our lives. Show us how we need to change and how we can let others know that Your return is near – very near. Father, I ask You to think through my mind, and love through my heart as You use these hands, Your ink pens, to convey Your message to Your children today. May this message go forth from Your heart to ours unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh Father. Thank You Lord for always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we obey and trust in You in Jesus name. Amen.

We live in troubling times. Nobody has to look far to see that. And David certainly knew what it was like to look around and see evil everywhere. It’s no different today, is it saints? David longed to see the face of the Lord. He wanted to see his enemies put in their place, once and for all. He was troubled by what he saw going on around him. He cried out to God, saying, “How long” not once or twice, but four times in this short set of verses. He was quite tired of seeing the enemy seemingly get his way. We heard David cry out in a recent Psalm…

Psalm 6:3

My soul also is greatly troubled; but You, O Lord—how long?

And again, we see it appear several more times in the Psalms…

Psalm 35:17

Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions.

Psalm 74:10

O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?

Psalm 89:46

How long, Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?

Psalm 90:13

Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants.

Psalm 94:13

Lord, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?     

     

Yes, all the way through until the book of Revelation, the question has been asked, “How long, Lord, will the wicked prevail?” Perhaps you have asked this question yourself as you have walked along life’s path with your family, friends and peers. Maybe you have pondered in your heart about the time of the Lord’s return. Some may have even said, “I just wish the Lord would come and take me out of here.” Many of us have said it at one time or another. But we are not the only ones who have asked this question. Look at this…

Luke 17:20-37

²⁰ Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹ nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

²² Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³ And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. ²⁴ For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. ²⁵ But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ²⁶ And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

³¹ “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. ³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. ³⁶ Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷ And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?”

So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

People have been looking for the kingdom to come for millennia. Little did many realize that it has already come – like the Pharisees in our verses above. They were looking for an outward sign.

Jesus explained that it was an inward event, an arrival that would take place right inside of a man’s heart. Even in the book of Revelation, the saints cried out…

Revelation 6:9-11

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Those already living up in glory with the Lord are crying out, “How long, O Lord?” Jesus told us in the passages in Luke noted above that we would be asking this and looking for His return. But even as we would ask, His return would not be immediate. There were signs that would come in advance of His return. There were prophecies to be fulfilled before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Many things need to take place before the return of our Savior. Let’s go to another section of scripture to expand on this…

Joel 2:1-11

Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
² A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations.

³ A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them. ⁴ Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run. ⁵ With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array.

⁶ Before them the people writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color. ⁷ They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. ⁸ They do not push one another; every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down.

⁹ They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief. ¹⁰ The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness.

¹¹ The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?

Can you see the correlation between these verses and those indicated in Luke chapter 17? Jesus warned people not to turn back, like Lot’s wife had in the day that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Many will be in a sheer state of panic, looking for any place to run and hide…

Revelation 6:12-17

¹² I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. ¹³ And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. ¹⁴ Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The great news for us saints (don’t get down as you read – there’s always hope while we are alive) is that we who are saved won’t be running and hiding from anything, especially the Lord. We eagerly wait for His return with great expectation. All of creation is waiting…

Romans 8:18:24

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

The waiting can be a challenge to our flesh. I understand that fully. But here’s the thing. While we wait we need to be busy about the Lord’s work. God needs, yes, needs us to do our part. We have to get the message out to people about the kingdom. None of us can carry out this task effectively without the leading of the Holy Spirit. But if we are willing and obedient, we can be used in a big way to make a major impact on the world around us for the kingdom purposes yet to be accomplished before the time runs out. 

Lots of folks seem to enjoy bantering back and forth about what day Jesus will return. Will it be this year? Will it be next year? But Jesus Himself told us exactly when the season of His return would be. If you read all of Matthew chapter 24, we can see a lot about what Jesus said about the end of all things and His return, on the Mt. of Olives – the exact place where He was sitting having this very conversation with His disciples that day – no coincidence there. Back to the fig tree, let’s look at this…

Matthew 24:32-44

³² “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴² Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

As most of you may know, the fig tree is a representation of Israel. When Israel became a nation back in May of 1948, that was the first sign that the end was drawing close where the fig tree is concerned. You’ll notice that Jesus said that this generation will not pass away before His return. Well folks, if you are in this generation right now, that’s you. Sure, some may not be alive then who are alive now, but we are the generation who will see His return. He gave us the signs of the season of His return, but He was not able to give the day or hour. That information rests solely with the Father.

We know that Jesus went to heaven to prepare a place for us as our Bridegroom. Just like Jewish custom, the bridegroom would get engaged, leave a gift with his bride to be, and then he would leave to go prepare a home for them. Then he would come back at an unknown hour to get his virgin bride and take her for the wedding and to live happily ever after in their new home. It is the same thing with Jesus. He stuck to Jewish custom like any good Jewish son. He did things the way the Jews did things – Jesus was and is a Jew by His birth. 

So when we look at when He will return, we can be certain that is very, very soon.

When I came to Florida in 2007, I came with the desire to follow the Lord and His plan for my newly surrendered life with Him. I began to study the Bible intently for the first time in my life. I was in a weekly international Bible study and had lots of homework to do each week.

As a child growing up in a godless home, I had no knowledge of the Bible or much about who God really is.

It seemed the Lord was putting me in a crash course of intense learning. I was enjoying it immensely. Studying and learning has always been something I enjoy. I just didn’t really have the opportunity growing up because of all the turmoil. But now I could feast on His word every day. I was living alone and all my time was devoted to the Lord no matter what I did. I was hearing His voice in my spirit. It was exciting.

I will share two experiences that I feel are very appropriate for this particular study. One morning as I was preparing for work, I stood in the restroom as I applied my makeup. All of a sudden I heard the Lord’s voice – not an audible voice, but on the inside I heard Him so clear. He said, “I will make you a fisher of men.” While He said that I was standing underneath a big fish sculpture hanging on the wall. As a matter of fact, the entire condominium where I was living has been decorated with fish! And the Lord had led me to the place, I did not seek it out. He has a wonderful sense of humor.

As you can imagine, when I heard that message from the Lord, I was awestruck! I nearly melted on the floor. So God was telling me that I would be a soul winner. That was exciting to my spirit. As we talk about the end times work that needs to be done, soul winning ranks at the top of the list. Folks are out there dying and going to hell, and He needs people like you and me to really be the church outside the walls to win souls as He directs us. He has a harvest just waiting for us…

John 4:34-38

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ³⁶ And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

Jesus told us that people are ripe and ready to be saved. They need just the right person to speak to them. Some will listen to me and receive well from me. Others will not. Some will listen to you who would not have listened to someone else. Because of our uniquely different personalities, everybody has someone they can talk to about Jesus who will relate well to them. Maybe you have just the right testimony for this person or that one. The Lord combines that with the words about Jesus that He knows they need to hear. Remember – the Lord is the Lord of the harvest. He is the fisherman – we are only His nets. That is, if we are willing.

Ok, so here was the other thing that the Lord said to me while I lived in that condo over a three-year period while I was learning the Bible and learning about evangelism. One morning I was sitting at my dining room table. That was my usual place of study. I would study for over an hour before going to work. I always made sure I got up and dressed with plenty of time to spend with my Savior before heading out the door for work – and it always paid off. One morning, out of the blue, I heard from the Lord again.

Not an audible voice, but inside my spirit as clear as someone talking to me in person, He said, “The end of all things is near, pull them from the fire.” I was alarmed! A comment like that from God Himself would make anyone sit back in their chair, for certain! I was quite overwhelmed. And I felt the seriousness of what He had just said to me as I allowed it to penetrate my heart. Never before had I realized that this world was so close to wrapping up. It caused me to really think long and hard about what was important in life now. I remember that morning as if it happened yesterday and it was back in 2009. I realized that I had an important role to play in the end times events of this world.

Just like you, we have to come to the understanding that while we would all like to be with Jesus in glory, there are dying people here who need to see that the kingdom of God is at hand. They need to realize that Jesus, the true Messiah has already come and they have to look no further than to the end of their prayer of repentance. The Holy One of Israel will come to dwell in the hearts of men, and salvation will be theirs. It is not an outward sign or thing that they have to look for like the Pharisees thought.

Right now the churches across the globe are filled with people who are lost. It is terribly sad but true. Many are there for the wrong reasons. They think going to church will save them. They think that if they do enough good deeds, that will save them. They think praying to M them, or the saints. Then combine those facts with all the people who are either in church and backslidden, or not even going to church anymore and are way far away from the Lord. 

They may have gone to church for a season, but for one reason or another they stopped.

Many stop going if someone in the church hurts them. But who are we going to church for anyway? Is for God, or for people? You be the one to answer that one for yourself. In these days, the Holy Spirit is doing mighty things in the hearts of people such as this world has never before seen. The miracles, signs and wonders will be more evident than they have ever been. Right now God is calling His people to repentance. His request is urgent and we need to pay close attention. Let’s look at the rest of the Joel verses about the call to repentance…

Joel 2:12-17

¹² “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
¹³ So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
¹⁴ Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave a blessing behind Him—
A grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
¹⁶ Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
¹⁷ Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Can you see a bit of David’s cry in this friends? He didn’t want people to look at the Jewish nation and say, “Where is their God?” The Lord was calling His church to repent. He wanted them to get serious about coming back to Him and living right. We can see another verse in scripture that most of have heard frequently…

2 Chronicles 7:14

 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God is moving the hearts of His people to cry out for revival. We do not get the credit for the prayers – God does. And we don’t get the credit for the change of heart – God does. We have to be willing. And even in that, God is the one doing all the work. Remember that He can change a heart like a watercourse. He has a way of making a person desire good. He does not force or control, but by His Spirit, He can bring about a change of heart in a person that will cause them to want to do the right things. Ask me how I know that? Look at this…

Ezekiel 36:26

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

The Lord can take the hardest of hearts and turn them to soft pliable vessels of His love. It is a miracle. Most of what we read in the Bible about the flesh is not good. It’s about us crucifying our flesh. But in this verse, the word flesh is used to mean a heart that is soft.

God has the most amazing ways of reaching into hard and damaged hearts. Remember also that He is always trying to work good in our lives. 

He is good and He wants good for every human being. He doesn’t take pleasure in having to “deal with the wicked” by sending them off to hell as some may think. The truth is God does not send anyone to hell except the devil and his demon buddies. People are the ones who choose to go there because they denied the salvation that had been provided for them through the blood, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Waiting for the Lord’s return can seem like it will never come. How long? It will not be long at all. In the meantime, we can live fruitful, productive lives with the Lord while we are here. And the entire time can be effective for reaching the world with the love of God. Today, like never before, the church needs to rise up and go out and show people that God loves them and has already forgiven them. They need to know that all they have to do is reach up and receive their free gift of the salvation that has already been provided for every soul that ever lived.

Instead of spending our days wondering, “How long?”, we should be spending them asking, “Who can I bless today Lord? How many can I reach?” When we treat each new day like it was Christmas morning, with a new gift to open each time we rise in the morning, we can be so excited and thrilled with the life we are living here, we will not have time to sit and count the minutes until Jesus comes back. You know what folks say, “Time flies when you are having fun.”

It is a truth that I am seeing more and more in my life. The more work I get to do for the kingdom, the more excited I get. The days and weeks are zipping by so quickly. I know I am on my way to heaven, so I know I have something solid to hold on to and look forward to. But my concern and yours saints needs to be, who else needs to have this same hope? Who can I share my testimony with and tell about the great things that Jesus has done for me?

The time is very short. We need not spend our time being concerned about what hour Jesus will show up. We need to repent, live right, according to the Bible and get out there and start blessing others so they will want to join the family. If we spend our lives in line with the word of God, we will be too busy to groan about the end of all things. And a heart that has truly been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit will be a heart that has the God kind of concern and compassion for those who are lost.

David trusted in his salvation. His heart rejoiced in the fact that he was a saved man - so can we saints. We can live out our days singing our praises to the Lord who has dealt bountifully with us while bringing more along with us to sing those same praises – hallelujah!

Questions:

What question did David ask in the opening verse of today’s chapter? How many times did he ask it?

What was David so concerned about as he cried out to the Lord?

What was David’s concern about the enemy?

What were the Pharisees asking Jesus about in the Luke verses?

How did Jesus respond to them?

Describe the intention of Joel 2:1-11.

In what way does it compare to Luke 17?

What are we required to do while we wait for Jesus’ return?

What did Jesus reveal in Matthew 24?

What does the Fig Tree represent?

What did Jesus tell us in John 4:34-38?

What was the second thing the Lord revealed to Hanny in this study?

Describe the problem with many church goers today.

Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

There are three main points to consider from today’s study…

The real question is not “how long?”, it is “how many?”

We are in the generation that will see the return of Jesus

Our lives can be fruitful and busy winning souls while we wait for our Savior to return for us

                        Let’s pray…                                    

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for providing so great a salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, while we eagerly await the return of Jesus, help us to be focused on the kingdom work that You have for us in the meantime. Lord, if I have gotten off the path that You had for me in any way, I ask You to show me. If there is someone that You want me to tell about Jesus, I ask You to show me. In the meantime, Lord, Your praise will continually be in my mouth. 

Thank You for the work that You have called me to do in Jesus name. Amen.

Have you been saying how long, or, how many can I tell about Jesus?

And God Said… You fill in the blanks.    

                                               

Revelation 2:10

 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.