UNBLOCKING THE WELL OF THE LIVING WORD

READ PSALM 56-60

SUGGESTED PATTERN Read Psalm 56-60 with your spouse or household  then re-read Psalm 56 again with spouse or household, then spend 2 mins in silence focussing on  Psalm 56:8,9 asking the Lord, the question “What does this text mean?” then 2 mins in silence asking the Lord what He is saying to you personally through Psalm 56:8,9 and then share together with your spouse or household what the Lord has been saying. Finally one person reads out loud the devotional below and then pray for one another.  

PSALM 56: 8,9 NASB  

“You have taken account of my miseries; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me.

The Brownsville awakening began on Father’s Day in 1995 when Stephen Hill shared with the congregation about how he had recently had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. (1)“That marked the beginning of the revival that the New York Times called “apparently the largest and longest-running . . . revival in America in almost a century.” People came from around the world”  In his book  “A time to weep”(2) Steven Hill quotes “A W Tozer who says “The Bible was written in tears and to tears it will yield its best treasure. God has nothing to say to the frivolous man.” The Bible contains more than 700 references to weeping, crying, tears and mourning. Stephen Hill reminds us (3) of apostle Paul who referred to the pain of tears in a second letter to Timothy, “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers, night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.” 2 Timothy 1:3-4. Timothy’s tears left a deep impression on the mind of Paul. The apostle stored up those tears and referred back to them in this most precious letter.

The NASB translates 56:8, 9 as “put my tears in your bottle”. What does this mean? (4)Stephen Hill says “The idea of collecting tears as a memorial has been going on for centuries. In fact civilizations, have actually carried out what we’ve done mentally, collecting tears in little bottles as memorials to those have died. These little bottles called lacrymatories, are still found in great numbers in ancient tombs. The custom was to collect the tears of the mourners and preserve them in bottles. These bottles were made of thin glass (or more generally, of simple pottery, often not even baked or glazed) with a slender body, a broad bottom and a funnel-shaped top. ..

(5)Every man does own a well – a deep well of tears. A tear is agony in solution. And by divine power it may be crystallised into spiritual wealth and all burdens  lifted…. In the Lords bottles we find our tears. God is very interested in our sorrows  and He records more than we can possibly imagine. Of all the things God could collect, you ask, why would he store up tears? Could it be to show how precious they are in his sight  and to suggest they are  preserved for a future use?.. in our future battles. This seems to be the implication of  verse 9..?”Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me.”

We live in a day when there is much pain and suffering. In the past week there has been a terrible road accident in Tanzania with 11 YWAM missionaries losing their lives and others still in a critical state. Darlene Cunningham has said in the last couple of days, “We have not seen a tragedy of this magnitude in all of YWAM’s history and we are all devastated.”  I have been reading recently about the posture of the bride in the end times. (6)“The need now is not for prophets to proclaim prophetic messages -some of which were unfortunately misleading and destructive. The need is for prophets who have a special feature that is ‘making lamentations.’ But, why is that? It is because Jesus himself is weeping now. Who would partake in his tears or rather, who would partake in the mystery of his tears?”

The storing up of tears, so that they are preserved for future use, makes sense of Revelation 8, which speaks of the prayers of the saints being poured out of golden censers. Maybe the censers in Revelation 8 will be filled with tears from this who have sown in tears, or from those like Jeremiah, whose eyes have been overflowing with tears like a fountain. There is a day ahead when your enemies will be turned back, when you call upon Him, because the your tears in HIs bottle will have been filled. The time will come for that future use, for which the Lord has been preserving your tears, and those enemies will finally be turned back.      

I have found the Orthodox study bible (7) has helped me in finding a more Christocentric interpretation of Psalm 56 which is seen as describing the war between Christ ( the End) (8) and the Devil. Christ fought the war as a Man on behalf of the church. Verses 3-13 tell the church how to fight the enemy. For example the faithful will not fear death when facing the enemy (vs 3,4,11,13).

Prayer

Thank you Lord ..I know that you are for me, because my enemies will turn back  . I will put my hope in you… you have put my tears in your bottle and I know I will not be disappointed… I put my trust in you. This I know that God is for me.

References

(1) https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/legal-and-political-magazines/brownsville-revival

(2) Hill, S. A time to weep, 90.

(3) Hill, S. A time to weep, 145.

(4) Hill, S.  A time to weep, 145, 146.

(5) Hill, S. A time to weep, drawn from 149, 148, 151, 152.

(6) Father Seraphim, The Bride and the end times, 94.

(7) Orthodox study bible, 718.

(8) Blog Day 9, Jesus is King and He will have a bride.