"Representation"

BOOK IV
Okay, so this might be a little different; or so it may seem. How do we determine where we stand with God? The previous Psalm was most likely written during Israel's captivity in Babylon, while this one was written during the children of Israel's wandering in the wilderness; most likely right after they were cut off from entering into the promised land, which would be about 38 years prior to the next generation entering in. I guess if we were to try and put some sort of pattern to this, we might try to examine our motives and our liberty in Christ. It might not seem right, but who's to say that it's wrong? We do! That's 100% right; we determine in our own hearts what is right and what is wrong; we know good and well what God wants from us, because He has placed His Spirit within us, we know how we are to live and what it is that we must touch or not touch. For forty years the children of Israel were led around by God in the wilderness, all the while Moses was God's spokesman to tell them what they must or must not do. Trying to teach them, that if they were to want, then want to please God; otherwise, want nothing at all. That might seem a little harsh, but look at the reality of where everything comes from; it is God who gives and takes away, so who do you want to be trying to please? The Book of Romans is a good book to make this comparison with, because Paul uses the grace that God has given us to show how it's not about canceling the law, it's about fulfilling the law. By God's grace we fulfill the requirements of the law, which is righteousness and holiness; but it's not by our doing, it's by what Christ has done for us; He has made us to be righteous and holy, if we abide in Him. As to the divisions of the Psalms into five separate books, I really don't know if that matters so much; it could just be based upon a certain calendar, or maybe the different Feasts and Celebrations that Israel must honor. As far as we are concerned, God's word is alive and can speak to us in many different ways and on many different occasions; so we should not try and make it about any certain time or any certain place, it's all about Jesus and God's salvation for fallen man. Which reminds me of something I heard the other day, that I had never really thought about before. It was about man's fall, and when it had taken place. I had always assumed that Adam and Eve sinned almost immediately, but it could have been hundreds of years from the time of creation to the time of the fall. Go figure! Did God's grace appear before mercy was needed? When did they loose their liberty? This could get interesting...
"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died -from the time of Adam to the time of Moses -even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins." (Romans 5:12-16) NLT