Copyright 2015 J. Neely
Psalm 38:13
13 But I, as a deaf [cheresh] man,
heard [shama`] not;
and I was as a dumb man ['illem] that
openeth [pathach] not
his mouth [peh]. KJV-Interlinear
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like
a mute man who does not open his mouth.
ESV
Remember that this
is the third of the seven penitential Psalms, also called Psalms of confession. We listed the seven penitential psalms in the
Psa. 38:1 study.
The phrases, as a
deaf man, and as a dumb man, describe the total helplessness of a person when
faced with the sin nature within, and the pattern of sin without.
Throughout this
Psalm, from the piercing arrows to the physical and mental distress, paints a
total picture of what life is like, in the spiritual sense, using the elements
of this physical world, in portraying the pressures, and stresses, and
helplessness that exists when the spiritual life is either nonexistent, or
simply not functioning.
As we stated
before, there are only two environments in which you can live.
The first is the
environment of sin, or the carnal world as it is sometimes referred to, and the
second is the spiritual environment wherein God has control and command of our
life.
In the first
environment, that of sin, and more specifically the environment that exists
when a person is out of fellowship, is an environment of trouble, and hardship,
and pressure, and total helplessness.
Even though you
live your life from day-to-day, and likely are out of fellowship for most of
that time, you are not going to experience continual hardship and pressure. But
what is in view here is the pattern of your life, such that after you have
taken a complete picture of your life, from birth to death, that picture, when
a life is lived out of fellowship, and apart from God, will be one of absolute
and total failure.
And living your
life apart from God, means that you cannot complete your life with respect to
your soul, and the spiritual aspects of the soul, because life under the sin
nature has no resources with which to construct and complete, your otherwise
incomplete existence.
When you were
born, you were body and soul. You were incomplete.
When you believed
in Christ, you were born again, which simply means a human spirit was added to
your essence. That human spirit contains eternal life. But it also acts as a
conduit which funnels truth, or Bible doctrine, into your soul, by means of the
Holy Spirit, who is the communicator of truth, and by that doctrine, your soul undergoes
a construction process which leads to the completion of your existence.
This only occurs
when you are in fellowship, and have a functioning relationship with God
through Christ.
Out of fellowship,
means no functioning relationship with God, or truth, or the necessary
ingredients, namely Bible doctrine, for the completion of your soul.
In fellowship,
which is acquired by confession of sin to God the Father, on a regular basis,
in order to maintain your in-fellowship status, is the necessary environment in
which you need to live, in order to have a functioning spiritual life. It is
through that framework that you can be completed, by listening, by learning, by
understanding, and by applying Bible doctrine in your life.
Out of fellowship,
prevents you from hearing, or even speaking, in the spiritual sense. That means
you are isolated from the spiritual life. And that is a huge handicap that sets
life against you.
Obviously you can
speak and hear, but in the spiritual sense, when you are out of fellowship, and
living within the pattern of the sin nature, your spiritual life is shut down.
And of all of the
tragedies in the world, to live your life from birth to death, and have little
or no spiritual resources or advancement, for preparation for eternal life, is
a tremendous loss, and a total waste of ones life. It is like living for
decades, and doing nothing and accomplishing nothing.
These
studies are a part of the massive daily study web site at DailyBibeStudy.Org,
and are written, so that you can come to Christ if you have not done so
already, and therefore not be lost forever.
And
if you have already believed in Christ, then these studies are written so you
can learn and understand and grow in your spiritual life, so that you can come
to the full knowledge of Christ, so that you can fulfill your meaning and
purpose in life as God intended for you, and so you can qualify for a
phenomenal eternal reward which you will have forever. To ignore this opportunity to pursue a daily
study means you will be incomplete, unfulfilled and you will lose out, big
time.
The
Daily Bible Study is online, making it possible as never before in all of human
history, to advance in ones relationship with God, through Christ, and to
complete yourself beyond your imagination.
But
you have to decide to make that commitment.
No one else can study for you.
You have to do that yourself.
