Automatic Transcript Generated:
Wendy:
So Mary is asking, Is there a specific name? I’m sorry, is there a specific name for your book in 139th Psalm, where every day of your life life is written, like, for example, the Lamb’s book of life.
Jay:
Yeah. So I think if we put up the 139 Psalm, sign up verse 13, we’ll get some context. Here the Psalm 139, verse 13. And it says, for you form my inward parts. You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are your works. And that my soul knows well, my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the Earth. Your eyes saw my stump substance being yet unformed. And here’s the part that the questioner is asking about Mary’s asking about. And in your book, they were all written the days faster for me when as yet there were none of them. So Mary is asking, what is that book mentioned there? And that’s a great question. Great question, Mary. So I think if we look at the whole Psalm altogether, first we get some context that might help us. So if we look at Psalm 139, verse one, it says, you have searched me and known me. You know, my sitting down, my rising up. You understand my thought. Afar off. You comprehend my path, my lying down.
You’re acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue. But behold, Lord, you know it altogether. And then this is the Psalmist. He said, Wherever I go, Lord, your spirit can find me. How can I plead from your presence? It says, like in the darkness. Verse twelve, he says, Indeed, the darkness shall not hide you or shall not hide from you. But the night shines as the day, the darkness and the light of both a light to you. Verse 19. Oh, that you would slay the wicked. O God, depart from me. Therefore you bloodthirsty men in verse 23, search me. O God know my heart. Try me know my anxieties, and see if there’s any wicked way in me and leave me in the way everlasting. So these are verses from the beginning and end of the Psalm. And the book is mentioned pretty much in the middle of this chapter. And you’re probably thinking, okay, well, what do all these things have to do with each other? But really, I think this is talking about God’s judgment. How does God judge us, David? Or the Psalmist is saying, no matter where I go, you see me, you know everything about me, inside and out.
You know what’s? In the darkness, you see everything as if it’s just light. And then talking about, oh, that you were slayed the wicked. I mean, this is bringing judgment to the wicked. This is very much judgment oriented language. Not perhaps the most clear that you might see in the Bible. But I say this is judgment oriented language and often associated with judgment is a book. So we looked at this one Psalm. Now let’s look at other Psalms that will give us more context, too. So Psalm 69, verse 24, starting at verse 24, it says, Pour out your indignation upon them and let your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their dwelling pages places be desolate. Let no one living in their tents, for they persecute the ones you have struck and talk of the grief of those you have wounded. Add iniquity to their inequity and let them not come into your righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. Other translations might say the book of life and not be written in righteousness. But I am poor and sorrowful. Let your Salvation of God be set upon high or set me on high.
So he is talking about God. Please help judge this wicked people. Block them out of the book of life, block them out. Similar language. Psalms 947 it says, verse four, you have maintained my right and my cause. You sat on the throne judging in righteousness, you have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. O enemy destructions are finished forever, and you have destroyed cities. Even their memory has perished. But the Lord Shander forever. He has prepared his throne for judgment. So there’s this book, a book of life. If your name is in it, you shall be saved. And you see that in Revelation, for example, Revelation 35, it says the one who is victorious will like them be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of Life, but will acknowledge that name before my father and his Angels. And then you see Revelation 20, verse twelve, it says that there were the dead great and small, standing before the throne. The books were open. So there’s multiple books and another book that was open, which is the book of Life.
The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in those books. So there is a book that’s probably recorded for each one of us. But then there’s also this larger book of life, and we’re not giving tons of details on these. So if the one book we’re seeing a lot mentioned in Psalm is a book of life, if that’s not the one specifically mentioned in Psalm 139, it’s probably one of these books of judgment, a recording of someone’s life. Nothing escapes God’s view. He sees it all. He records it all. And it’s important also not to just think of this as just some book, just like a physical book that you might read. In fact, in some of this ancient language, probably the word use. There might be scroll or something like that. But we have translated to be book in modern times. We might even say we might use the word recording. That might be a better word even than book some recording, because just think how technology has changed for us. We went from Scrolls and papyrus to books. Then we had floppy disks and other weird things to CDs.
And now we’re using thumb drives. And now the cloud. And really, probably the cloud is close to seeing how God works. He has some way of storing some technology beyond us that everything’s recorded there. And this is what it’s sort of referring to here in Psalm and then across the Bible. So great question, Tina, What do you think?
Tina:
I totally agree.
And I think that is definitely judgment language. And it always reminds me of also written Malachi 316. I’m sorry if you quoted and I didn’t hear you.
Jay:
No, I didn’t.
Tina:
Okay. Or he basically talks it’s God’s. People at the end of time is kind of the context, it seems. But it basically says then they that feared the Lord speak often one to another, and the Lord heard it. And the Book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his name. So there’s definitely books recording like you’re saying in Heaven, both good and bad. So it kind of makes you think, like everything you say, think. And do we want to think about these things because it is being recorded by God, and he does know there’s nothing that escapes them.
Jay:
That’s a good point, too. Maybe something I mentioned. Yeah, he records all the bad stuff, but when you ask for forgiveness, he blocks out our sins. And then what’s left is you’re good. So don’t you want to be doing your best now to have as many good things recorded, and then you could go back for all the attorney. Be so glad. Hey, I helped that person. I did this for someone else. I sacrificed this. God sees it all. He records, it all. Let that be in the Book of remembrance.
Tina:
Amen. Yeah. Let me be your legacy.
And I agree. Like, thank God. He said he blocks out our sins. And all they see, all God sees is Jesus who covers our sins.
So yeah. Thank the Lord. There’s definitely things I don’t want remembered that I asked for forgiven for. So thank God for strong. And I said, if you confess their sins, you’ve faithful, just forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jay:
Like the east is from the west. So shall God separate us from our sins.
Tina:
Amen.
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