Year 2, Day 181: Psalms 38-39

Psalm 38

Psalm 38 reminds me much of the book of Job.  David pleads with God to stop disciplining him in His anger.  He tells God that he feels as though he is full of arrows.  David is clearly feeling as though he is under the full weight of God’s watchfulness.

As I react to this, I have to ask myself, “Why shouldn’t he?”  I mean, after all, it is David who is king over God’s people.  He is the monarch on the throne.  He is the guy in the spotlight.

I think human beings in the spotlight have always had this issue.  We love the spotlight when things are going great, but when life begins to fall apart we talk about all the pressure of the spotlight and how we are always the target of everyone’s watchfulness.  My response is “Uh, yeah.  There’s always a price to pay for being in the spotlight.”  We have a cliché in our culture that sums up what I am feeling pretty well: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Don’t get me wrong, though.  It’s not that I have no sympathy.  I do.  I do feel bad that people in the spotlight are put under intense social pressure.  It’s unfortunate.  But it is a reality.  There is a way to escape the pressure: get out of the spotlight.

The reality is that if David is going to be king over God’s people, then he needs to expect to be in the spotlight.  He needs to expect that God is going to hold him to a pretty high standard.  It’s going to be hard from time to time, but it is a part of the arrangement.

Then I come back to me.  Not that it is all about me, mind you.  I’m not trying to be a self-monger here.  But if I am going to speak words of judgment, I can only speak them about myself.  You can apply this to yourself if you so desire.  But I come back to me.  I am supposedly a spiritual leader.  God has placed me in a position of leadership above a people.  Why should I likewise not expect to be in the spotlight?  Why should I not expect to be judged more harshly?  Why should I have any allusions about the fact that God does expect me to follow His ways and I will fall under His judgment more sternly when I don’t?

Like David – and like Job – it is time to fall before God and take the humble position.  It is time to confess my iniquity and acknowledge my imperfections.  The scrutiny of the world is all around.  Who can stand under such scrutiny but those who see the wisdom in humbling themselves before God and relying completely on His strength?

Psalm 39

Psalm 39 shows us a great discourse for humanity.  Tell me if this pattern sounds familiar to anyone.

• Step One: Hear something wrong, hold tongue out of fear or out of the need to keep peace.
• Step Two: Hear the wrong increase, begin to feel the need to speak out.
• Step Three: Holding it in becomes too much.  What’s inside comes rushing out.
• Step Four: Speak your mind in a way that you wish you could take back the manner in which you spoke (although not necessarily what you spoke).

This is David’s situation as we look at Psalm 39.  Out of fear he held his tongue, but he could not hold it forever.  When he spoke, the fire of his tongue and the heat of his heart erupted.  Yeah, I’ve been there.

What is the cure for such a condition?  Humble repentance.  Notice that David’s genuine reply is that God would make him know the measure of his days and the fleeting nature of his life.  David needs to feel just how much his life is but a breath among the billions of people who have lived on this planet.  The cure for overcoming a mistake is humbly reminding ourselves of our imperfections.

This is wisdom that I think the world largely ignores.  How often does a person make a mistake and then they try and justify it?  How often do you hear someone make the comment “It’s getting deep in here” or “would you like a shovel to dig your own grave?”  The reality is that we as human beings really do struggle with acknowledging our mistakes.  We don’t want to be seen as imperfect so we get defensive.  The more defensive we get the more blind we are to our faults.

David has it right in this psalm.  May God remind us how fleeting life is.  May God remind us how much our hope is in Him.  May God neither hold back His discipline nor His peace.  May God remind us just how lucky we are to be able to sojourn* with Him.

<>< 

*Lest anyone miss this word, I chose it quite intentionally.  It is important that we see ourselves as a sojourner with God.  A sojourner is someone who does not natively belong but who has chosen to make a home in a certain place for a time in spite of it not being their natural home.  That pretty much sums up our ability to be with God.

Year 2, Day 180: Psalms 36-37

Psalm 36

Psalm 36 begins with a discussion of “fearing the Lord.”  However, a short trip into Biblical Hebrew will serve us well as we look at this passage.  When I hear about the fear of the Lord, I immediately think of Psalm 111:10 or Proverbs 1:7 or Proverb 9:10.  In those passages we hear that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  It seems to fit really well with Psalm 36 and the idea that there is no fear of the Lord within the wicked.

However, in reality the word fear in this psalm is not the same as the word fear in the other passages that I quoted.  The word fear in this passage is a word that is best translated as “dread,” “panic,” or “terror.”  In the other passages that I quoted the word is best translated as “fear” or “awe” or “reverence.”  When we look at this, we can see David’s point.  It’s bad that the wicked are evil.  But the wicked can be evil because they have no genuine dread for the Lord.  They don’t worry about the judgment to come.  They don’t worry about what God can do to them.  I am reminded of Jesus’ words In Matthew 10:28. 

After talking a little about the wicked who have no dread of God, David then turns to proclaim God’s greatness once more.  David talks about how great God’s steadfast love is.  He saves man and beast.  Everyone can take refuge in Him.  He abundantly provides for those who are with Him.  He is the fountain of all life.  In Him do we see truth.

The contrast should be noted between how this psalm began and how the psalm ends.  David begins talking about the wicked and their inability to have any meaningful or even non-meaningful relationship with God.  Then David turns to speaking to those who do have a meaningful relationship with God.  What is the difference?  Humbleness.  The wicked are too self-interested to have any relationship at all.  The godly understand their relationship with God as the master.  They follow Him and take pleasure in doing things His way and being under His shelter.

Psalm 37

Psalm 37 talks much about the difference between the wicked perishing and the righteous enduring.  On one level, this could be taken to speak about each of us in life.  However, this is not a very satisfying understanding of this psalm because we all know that we will all die.  Even more, we know that sometimes it is the righteous that die prematurely and it often seems like the wicked live longer than their behavior would indicate.  I don’t find much satisfaction thinking that this is the rationale for the psalmist words.

It could be that the psalmist is speaking eternally.  The righteous will live forever with God, while the unrighteous will be judged into destruction.  While certainly we believe this to be true, I don’t think this is actually the only way to take this psalm, either.  The tone of the psalm seems to be speaking about this life and this world rather than the life to come.

I think there is another way to interpret this psalm.  Notice that in the psalm the psalmist encourages the listener to hold onto the ways of the Lord.  We are told to commit ourselves to the Lord and delight in His ways.  When we commit ourselves to His ways, then we can see an understanding of this psalm.  It is the way of the Lord that continues on forever.  We as human beings come and go, but we are merely pieces in the Lord’s overarching plan.

Think about it this way.  The plans of the wicked usually run for the length of a single person’s life.  The wicked are concerned about themselves.  They are self-mongers.  Sure, occasionally a wicked person passes off the baton to another wicked person and you might end up with a few wicked regimes in a row.  Some of the Roman Emperors fit well as examples here.

However, while wickedness has always dwelled on the earth, there has never been one consistent plan for wickedness.  Wicked plans come and wicked plans go.  On the other hand, we can say for certain that since Abraham was called into righteousness by God that there have always been righteous people pursuing God’s plan.  We have been pursuing one overarching path of righteousness.  While we may come and we may go into death, the reality is that the path of righteousness remains true.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 179: Psalms 34-35

Psalm 34

Psalm 34 begins with another challenging statement.  Of course it does!  It is another praise psalm.  I’m sorry to keep beating this horse, but I think it is one of the big lessons that God wanted to teach me about the psalms this time through them.  The praise psalms are psalms where we find challenge to improve our own behavior!

Look at how this psalm opens.  “I will bless the Lord at all times.”  Let me take this sentence word by word or phrase by phrase. 

• “I.”  This means me.  I’m not supposed to rely on someone else to do it for me.  When I go to church, I bless Him.  When I go to work, I bless Him.  When I go to Walmart, I bless Him.  It’s not good enough to hear the pastor bless Him and say it’s okay.  It’s not good enough to go to Walmart and see someone else in a Chrisitan T-shirt or see someone else helping a person in God’s name; I need to be proclaiming God’s Gospel and blessing His name myself.  Yes, it is great that other people are doing what I should be doing at all times.  But I need to do it, too.
• “Will bless.”  Another way of thinking about this word is “exalt” or “give praise.”  I am to be about praising God’s name.  It doesn’t say “can bless” or even “should bless.”  It says “will bless.”  There is no wiggle room.  If I am going to follow God, I will exalt Him.  I will give praise to Him.  I will bless Him.
• “The Lord.”  God is the object of my life.  I am not to bless my job.  I’m not even to bless my family.  I’m not to bless my spiritual mentor.  God is the object of my life.  Don’t get me wrong, God does want us to have meaningful relationships with our employer, our family, and even our spiritual mentors.  But I am to bless God.  I can give them credit for being God’s wonderful tools in my life, but I am to bless God.
• “At all times.”  This is the one that nailed me today.  It doesn’t say, “when convenient” or “when I go to church/temple” or even “when I am in the privacy of my prayer life.”  It says that I will bless the Lord at all times.  That means right now.  It means later today when I’m out in the world.  It means those times when I’m driving down the road and I’m stuck in traffic.  It means those times when a loved one dies.  It means … well … at all times!

For the record, if you don’t think David meant this when he wrote it, read the next line.  “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  What is in my mouth?  Who am I to praise?  Where is the praise located?  How often is the praise supposed to be there?  Yeah.  David meant what he says here.

I’ve taken a bunch of space on one line of the psalm, and I do want to make two more quick comments about this psalm.  First of all, notice that David gives plenty of reasons for which God can be praised.  Second, don’t overlook the insertion of verse 19 into the meaning of this psalm.  “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.”  Many!  Those who follow in God’s ways will be tested and tried by this world and the ruler of it.  David knows this, and this is all the more reason that we are to take the first two lines seriously.  If praise of God is always upon our lips, when the trials and afflictions of this life come we will be better prepared to handle them.

Psalm 35

Psalm 35 is just about the opposite in tone as Psalm 34 – although note that the last verse of this psalm shows us that whether in mourning (this psalm) or rejoicing (the prior psalm) that the praise of the Lord should be upon our lips. 

I don’t know about you, but when I read psalms of lament I have a far different emotional experience than when I read psalms of celebration.  When I read psalms of lament, I can empathize with the psalmist.  I can feel the pain.  I can join in the flow of the psalm.

However, in this psalm of lament I was struck by one overarching theme.  Notice how David balances his desire for vindication with humbleness before God.  It is natural for him to desire that his name be vindicated.  It is natural for him to want to escape the persecution under which he finds himself.  But he does not go out and seek the vindication on his own might.  He turns to the Lord and trusts that the Lord will make all things right in the end.

This is a really powerful thought today.  David turns to God and trusts God with “vengeance.”  This is a great time to make connections to other places in the Bible.  Proverbs 20:22.  Deuteronomy 32:35-36.  Psalm 94:1.  Romans 12:19.  Hebrews 10:30-31 (Don’t miss verse 31!).  I think we really need to start practicing the belief that if we trust in the Lord, we need to trust Him with everything – especially vengeance.

We are in the Lord’s hands.  Let put our trust in Him.  He will save us far better than we can save ourselves.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 178: Psalms 32-33

Psalm 32

Psalm 32 gives us a great opportunity to understand the idea of forgiveness in the Bible.  There are several main words in the Old Testament that are often translated as forgiveness.  The first word literally means “the removal of defilement by means of an atoning sacrifice.”  Another word simply means to “lift up” or “take away.”  This is the word that we have present in this psalm.  A third word literally means “to forgive” or “to pardon.” 

There is a striking difference here between these words – although not that these words are at all at odds with one another.  The first word focuses on the reason for the removal – a sacrifice.  The second word focuses on what forgiveness is about: the removal of guilt.  The third word focuses on the effect of forgiveness: pardon and restored relationship.

I love the fact that the Hebrew language has at least three solid words to describe the forgiveness process.  I do mourn a little that our English language only has one word.  But then again, we also have words like atonement, sanctification, repentance and the like.  I guess perhaps what I am trying to say as I start my reflection on this psalm is that we should take a moment and remember what forgiveness is all about.  We need to drink deeply in that it is a multiple step process with far reaching effects.  As David says, blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven: atoned, removed, and pardoned.

Where do we go after forgiveness?  We focus on the Lord.  We let the Lord teach us His ways.  We sing praise to God and ascribe glory to His name.  We yearn for the understanding that comes from Him.  We pray to Him and take seriously our relationship with Him.

Psalm 33

Psalm 33 plays with an interesting trio of words: upright, faithful, steadfast.  Each of these words describe the overarching theme of the psalm: God’s love.  Let’s play with these words a little as we consider the message of the psalm.

God’s love is shown through His Word.  In this sense, God’s love is upright.  God’s love embodies righteousness through His Word.  In fact, as David reminds us, remember that it is through God’s Word that the world was made.  Creation itself was a righteous act.  We were intended to partake in God’s righteous Word by definition as a part of creation.  Furthermore, through God’s upright Word he brings the counsel of the nations to nothing.  He frustrates the self-mongerism of the world.  The plans of the world fail and pass away while the plans of the Lord are eternal.  If that’s not a natural transition into a conversation about salvation, Jesus Christ, and eternal life I don’t know what is!  All of these things are rooted in the upright nature of God’s love.

God’s love is faithful.  Faithful is a word that means true, believable, authentic, real, or trustworthy.  It is the Lord who looks down upon the earth and holds us in judgment.  It is the Lord that pronounces words of judgment and salvation.  We can trust in the judgment of the Lord because His judgments are faithful.  They are true and accurate.  They are believable.  They are trustworthy.

God’s love is also steadfast.  Steadfast is a word that means reliable, unwavering, committed, or even persistent.  We can legitimately have hope in God because His love is steadfast.  We can wait upon the Lord because He is steadfast and will not forget about us.  We can trust His timing because His ways are unwavering and He sees with eyes that have steadfastly overseen creation.

God’s love is – to introduce a fourth word – good.  Our relationship with Him is also good because He is good.  We can step forward in life knowing that His love is steadfast, faithful, and upright.  I am reminded of a classic Christian rock song by a group named Whitecross called “If He Goes Before Me.”  I’ll leave you with the words of the chorus today. 

If He goes before me, how could I ever lose? 

If He goes before me, before I ever begin I know I’ll win. 

If He goes before me…

<>< 

Year 2, Day 177: Psalms 30-31

Psalm 30

Psalm 30 is another psalm of praise.  Again I hear a deep challenge within the psalm.  As I read the psalm, I hear three movements – each building the challenge from a different perspective.

The first movement is in the first three verses.  This is a personal confession and testimony from David.  David cried out to the Lord and God was with him.  God sheltered him.  God healed him.  God did not let David’s enemies triumph over him.  The challenge is that we should likewise remember to praise God for what God has done in our life.  We should remember His victories daily.

The second movement is a return to the announcement of God’s character.  David ascribes certain things to God.  David is mindful that God’s anger lasts a moment but His love endures forever.  David reminds us that we may be sad for a night, but in the morning we’ll have a new perspective from God that will be based on hope and joy.  The challenge here is to remember that in God there is eternal peace, joy, and love.  The world may close in on us, but the suffering of the world is at best temporary.  In God, we have a more permanent position of peace in Him.

The third movement is a combination of the two earlier themes.  It is in this third movement of the psalm that we find the greatest wisdom on earth.  Life – everything we treasure – comes at the hand of God.  Our joy comes from God.  Our delight comes from God.  Our success comes from God.  Our strength is only by His favor.

The reason that the message of this psalm is so important is because the psalm really does counter traditional human tendency.  Human beings come to God most often when we are in need.  When life is going well, we have a tendency to forget God.  This psalm tells us the opposite.  When life is going well we have all the reason in the world to celebrate.  We should be glorifying God’s name the loudest and boldest when life is going well for us.  We should be testifying to God’s character the most when life is going well!

I’m not saying that when life isn’t going well we have any reason to drift away from God.  I’m not saying that at all!  Rather, what I am trying to do is to make the point that we have no excuse for drifting away from God and getting sucked into our own life when things are going well.  For good or bad we should praise God and remember that our life comes from Him.

Psalm 31

Psalm 31 contains one of the most famous New Testament quotations from the psalms.  If it isn’t the most famous, it should be.  Psalm 31:5 tells us, “Into Your hands I commend my spirit.”  These are the words that Jesus utters as He dies upon the cross.  At the moment of death – the moment of salvation! – these are the words that God chose to speak.  That’s powerful to me.

But let’s back up for a second.  Let’s go back and make sure that we pick up the theology from Psalm 31:3, too.  “For your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.”  The theology here is really clear.  Crystal clear.  It is for His name and the sake of His name that God is in our life.  God doesn’t lead us and guide us so that we can see how good we can become.  He doesn’t lead us and guide us so that we can swell up with pride with respect to how much good we can do.  Our faith isn’t about us!

It is about Him.

Life is about God.  If we believe the words of the psalm here, our life is about God.  It has to be.  If our life isn’t about God and following God’s ways, then we don’t really believe the theology of Psalm 31:3.

Now let’s tie Psalm 31:3 together with Psalm 31:5.  Life is about God and for the sake of His name.  This is precisely why Jesus can commend His life in God’s hands upon the cross.  Jesus’ life has been completely about God’s agenda.  When Jesus sat among people, He was teaching them about God.  When Jesus taught among the crowds, He was instructing them about God.  When Jesus argued with the Pharisees and the scribes, Jesus was arguing for the sake of God.  Everything Jesus did pointed back to God.

Everything.

That’s a really high bar, I know.  Jesus lived a pretty flawless life.  But it is the bar to which we should desire to rise.  We should be living our life as though everything is for the glory of His name.  If at the end of our life we desire to utter the same words as Christ – “Into Your hands I commend my spirit” – then we really need to be about God’s ways before we get to the end of our life.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 176: Psalms 28-29

Psalm 28

Psalm 28 begins with a genuine cry for help and a very grim picture.  Listen to the words that David says in verse 1.  “Be not deaf to me … lest I become like those who go down into the pit.”  The word pit in this psalm can mean anything from a cistern, a well, a pit, or a dungeon.  Obviously, it is also a symbolic way of speaking about death.

This is a really neat point to flesh out of scripture.  When we are not in a relationship with God – when God is silent to us, it is like we are in prison.  Perhaps it is worse than that.  When we are not in relationship with God, it is like we are in death.

This brings up all kinds of possible theological paths to pursue today.  I’ve heard many people talk about their belief about what death – or perhaps more apropos to the conversation, what Hell – is like.  One of the absolute scariest images is an existence of eternal separation from God.  Imagine living in a world where there is no God, no morality, and no righteousness.  Everyone is allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want.  They don’t have to think about anyone else.  They don’t have to think about the consequences on other people.  Imagine being in a world where self-mongerism reigns and there is no hope of it ever changing.  That is one of the scariest depictions of Hell that I have ever heard.

In a sense, that is what David is saying here.  The scariest form of life is a life in which there is no relationship with God.  The scariest way to live is a life where God has no interaction with us.  When we are all alone and there are no divinely righteous checks and balances … that is indeed something about which we should be afraid.

What then is the answer?  Follow David’s example in the psalm.  Always remember that it is the Lord that is our strength and shield.  Always remember to worship Him.  I’m not talking about the “go to church and give Him lip service” kind of worship.  I’m talking about genuinely worshipping Him with all that you’ve got.  Get into a relationship with Him on a daily basis.  Then He will be your strength and your shield.  Then He will be the rock upon which you are built.  Then you will not worry about feeling as though God is silent, because God will be the foundation upon which you are built.

Psalm 29

Psalm 29 is centered upon the Hebrew word “ascribe.”  Generically speaking, the word “ascribe” means “to give.”  However, in a more meaningful application it can also mean “to credit” or “to assign” or even “to attribute.”  Think about that for a second.  To ascribe to someone is to credit them.  To ascribe to someone is to attribute something to their character.  Thus, when we are ascribing good things we can say that we are also praising a person.  First and foremost then, Psalm 29 can be seen as a psalm of praise to God and His character.

What is the Lord?  Let’s look at His characteristics as to why He deserves praise.  It’s been a while since I’ve done a bulleted list, and it will serve us well here today.  He is:

• Holy
• Glorious
• Powerful
• Exciting
• Vibrant
• Bringer of life
• Enthroned as King over the earth
• Giver of strength
• Giver of blessings of peace

I think one of the challenging things about psalms of praise is how I don’t match up to the psalm on a consistent basis.  For the record, I don’t think the psalmist did, either.  Do I live my life as though I genuinely believe all of those things about God?  Sure, I do believe them about God.  But do I live my life as though I do?  Is my life focused on proclaiming God’s greatness?  Do I talk about the power of God?  Whenever I see life do I thank God for it as its creator?  When I have a meaningful relationship with a person am I always mindful that it is God’s blessing of peace upon the relationship that allows it to exist?

I have so much to learn from the psalms of praise.  I have so much to learn about praising God at all!  I’d like to think that this is a maturity issue.  The older I get, the more I hope to be successful at keeping my focus on God and realizing just how much He is behind everything in this world.  God has been patient with me thus far – I don’t have a very good track record from the beginning part of my life.  I pray that it will get easier the older and more mature I get.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 175: Psalm 27

Psalm 27

Psalm 27 is a psalm of David in which the focus is on the salvation of the Lord.  I love the way that this psalm opens.  “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”  What a powerful confession.

This is really is a powerful thought, although I am guilty for not giving it the credit that it is due.  Here is the reason that it is so powerful.  Who that ever lived will experience God failing them?

Think about that for a moment.  What genuine follower of God will God fail?  Even if life deals out its worst and a person ends up in a premature death, will we not live eternally with God? 

As I write this, I am reminded quite a bit about Jesus’ earliest followers.  Peter?  Died prematurely.  Paul?  Died prematurely.  John?  Exiled to Patmos, ministry ended prematurely.  Stephen?  Died prematurely.  I could go on quite a bit with more examples.  Did God fail them as He bid them to come and live eternally with Him?  I think not.

What about martyrs in the modern world?  Dietrich Bonhoeffer?  Died prematurely.  Oscar Romero?  Died prematurely.  Wang Zhiming?  Died prematurely.  Again, I could go on and on.  Did God fail them?  Absolutely not.  The world treated them harshly and it is God who saved them.  As David says in the opening verses, whom shall I fear?

This is a wonderful means of gaining perspective.  If those who are martyred for the faith have not been failed by God, then what complaint do any of us who are still living have?  Has not God sustained our life up until now?  Has not God caused us to draw breath for at least one more day?  The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

Then David moves on.  When evildoers surround us to consume our flesh – yes, that’s literally what it says – why will we fear?  When the enemy encamps around us and war rises against us, why be afraid?  Is there any enemy out there that can take away the one thing that we need: dwelling with God forever?  What enemy can snatch us out of the hand of God?  Name one thing in the world that is capable of permanently forcing us to miss out on seeing the beauty of the Lord every day?

Here is the truth.  The only enemy that has the power to accomplish this is yourself.  Or for me, myself.  Think about it.  God has given the free gift of salvation to all that would receive it.  Embrace the Holy Spirit and He is the guarantor of eternal life.  {Ephesians 1:13-14}  Who can keep the Holy Spirit from dwelling in us but ourselves?  If I reject God’s gift, then I do choose God’s wrath instead of His salvation.  But if I embrace God’s gift of salvation to me, who can pry me out of the hands of my Savior?  If you embrace God’s gift and do not reject His ways, who can pry you out of God’s hand?

So of whom should we be afraid?  Shall we be afraid of the person who can make our life miserable?  Absolutely not.  Did Paul shrink back when he was faced with imprisonment?  Did Isaiah stop prophesying when they threatened him and opponents rose up against him?  Did Moses turn and recant when the vast Egyptian army came out to pursue him and his ragtag community of followers?

Should we be afraid of the person that can end our life?  Absolutely not.  Did Luke the Evangelist recant when they went to hang him?  Did Mark the Evangelist recant as they chopped off his head in Alexandria?  Did Jan Hus recant when they lit a slow fire underneath him in the Middle Ages?  Truth be known, Hus’ reaction instead of recanting was to ask God to forgive those who were about to kill him.  Think on that for a moment.  There is a genuine follower of Jesus Christ if I’ve ever seen one!

No.  We have nothing to fear so long as we are with God.  He will lift our head up.  We shall offer sacrifices in His tent.  He will teach us His ways.  We will look upon His goodness.  So long as we do not reject His free gift of salvation, we have nothing to fear.  What a powerful psalm.  What an inspiration to the faithful to be faithful even in death.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 174: Psalms 25-26

Psalm 25

Psalm 25 really does read much like a conversation with God.  In fact, Psalm 25 reads like an incredible prayer.  Let’s follow through the thought progression of David as he writes the words of this psalm down.

First, he reminds himself that he ascribes his soul to God.  David acknowledges that God is the author of His life.  It is in God that David trusts.

This moves us to a request.  Having reminded himself about giving himself to God, he asks God to make him know God’s ways.  This section of the psalm is profound.  Notice that David doesn’t say, “I can learn your ways.”  David doesn’t even say, “I can learn your ways with your help.”  No, David says, “Make me do it, Lord.”  In other words, David knows he can’t do it.  David asks God to make it happen.  This is a great line for spiritual accountability and humble repentance.  In a few short words David confesses that he can’t do it and he would rather have what he cannot do than what worldly things he can accomplish on his own.  That’s what it looks like to be a man after God’s own heart right there.

Then we get an entreaty.  Since David cannot do it on his own, he is reminded just how much he needs to rely upon God’s grace and mercy.  David asks God to remember love and forgiveness, because it is only through those characteristics that David can know salvation and a genuine relationship with God.

Then we have a moment where prayer turns into evangelism.  After asking for God to remember grace and forgiveness, David is no longer talking with God as the assumed audience.  Now David speaks to us.  He tells us about the character of God.  God is good and upright.  God instructs the sinners.  God loves the humble.  God loves those who fear Him.  This is how it should be.  When we come to God at any point in our life and remember our salvation and forgiveness, we should genuinely desire to tell others about it.

Psalm 25 is a wonderful snapshot of how confession leads to genuine prayer.  Prayer leads to genuine relationship.  Relationship leads to genuine evangelism.

Psalm 26

Psalm 26 is a psalm of pleading.  David is in a low place in his life. Opponents have once again come beside him to attack and challenge him.  He is in a place where he knows that the only true way out is to genuinely trust on God’s provision.

I want to stop there for a second and run through that thought again.  In all things human beings can choose.  We can choose to trust in God’s provision or we can try to do it our way. Sometimes our way gets us out of the current situation and we feel successful.  But is it good?  When we turn from God and have success on our own, is it ever a good thing?  Does not my success apart from God only fuel a belief inside of me that I do not need God’s ways?

If this is true, then why would I ever seek to do something on my own?  This is really a fundamental point with humanity.  Human beings – even down to the 1 year olds among us! – enjoy doing things on our own power first.  We are inherently the self-monger.  We don’t’ desire to trust in God.  We don’t desire to do it His way and with His power.

But that is the only way that leads to a satisfying end.  I’ve already shown the danger of the moments when we do manage to feel success apart from God.  Why would we ever want to go there?  No, David knows the answer.  The only real answer is to deny the self and trust in God’s salvation.  His way out is really the only way out that we should desire.  I don’t know about you, though.  I could really stand to learn a lot better about doing things God’s way first rather than lean on my own understanding.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 173: Psalms 23-24

Psalm 23

As we look at perhaps the most famous psalm – Psalm 23 – we hear the familiar words.  It is the Lord who is the shepherd, not any of us.  The shepherd will provide for our needs, we will not be in want.  He will restore us.  He will walk us through the dangers of the world.  He will teach us to be righteous.  He will use His staff to guide us and His rod to disciple us when we get out of line.

All of this is true.  Yet, today I desire to talk about something else.  I don’t know that I’ve ever spent much time contemplating the inspiration of the end of this psalm.  I spend so much time focusing on the relationship between us of God and His ability to help me navigate the dark places of this world that I forget to think about the end.

What is the end?  God has invited us to sit at His table with Him.  He has prepared a place for us.  He invites us to come and dwell with Him in His house.  How cool is it that God has invited us to dwell with Him?

What’s really neat about this psalm is that we know that the invitation is personally delivered.  Because this psalm is placed in such close proximity to Psalm 22 – a psalm typically connected to Jesus for Christians – we cannot help but have our minds contemplating the Christ when we hear these words.  Therefore, not only can we be confident that God has invited us to come and dwell with Him, but He sent His Son into this world to deliver that message to us personally!

This is the truth.  We can follow His lead.  We can have shelter and respite at His hand.  We can have comfort in His providence.  When it is all over, we can dwell with God at His request.  At His request!  We do serve a God who has prepared a special place for each of us.

Psalm 24

Psalm 24 is a neat psalm to follow Psalms 22 & 23.  “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  Who shall stand in His holy place?”

What does it mean to climb His hill and stand in His place?  Certainly on a literal tone this psalm speaks to going up to Jerusalem and standing in the temple of the Lord.  Who can do that but the priests of the Lord, right?

Yet, more figuratively this psalm takes on a far more profound tone – although the answer is still the same.  Who can spiritually go to God?  Who can spiritually be in a relationship with Him and dwell with Him?

The psalmist gives the answer.  The one who is pure of heart.  The one whose hands are clean.  The one who does not go to the wicked and adopt their ways.

We should note that this is not works-based-salvation.  The psalmist is not making the claim that we save ourselves.  Neither is the psalmist making the claim that we can even do good on our own.  Rather, God comes to us and enables us to serve Him and do what is righteous.

We know this because of the second half of the psalm.  The psalmist tells us to lift up our hearts and sing.  We are to lift up our eyes and watch the Lord come in.  We are to celebrate and give glory to the Lord, who makes all things possible.  When we find ourselves able to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in the presence of God we should first and foremost give credit to God because it is His due.

This is one of the greatest aspects of being a Christian.  One of the beliefs near and dear to my faith is the belief of the “priesthood of all believers.”  It is the belief that once we have the Holy Spirit within us we are the priests of God.  I am not a priest because I wear a black shirt and put a little plastic tab in the collar.  Nor am I a priest because I went through some ordination service.  I am a priest because God has come and dwelled with me and claimed me for Himself.  The same is true for all who have been claimed by God and who have received the Holy Spirit!

<>< 

Year 2, Day 172: Psalms 21-22

Psalm 21

Psalm 21 is a most interesting psalm.  The first half of the psalm reads like a celebration.  Actually, it is a celebration.  From a historical perspective this psalm was written as David has just come off of a victory in battle.  David is exuberant about the victory.

David speaks about the deliverance that he has received at God’s hand.  David talks about the faithfulness of God and David promises continued faithfulness towards God on his behalf.  We hear these words and have absolutely no difficulty understanding David’s joy.  In his time of success, David pours out adoration for God.  It is as it should be.  God absolutely deserves our adoration.

However, then we turn to the second half of the psalm.  This is a part of God that most of us in the modern western world don’t care to think about.  God treats His enemies harshly.  When God appears, His enemies burn as an oven burns.  The Lord swallows them up in wrath.  The Lord consumes them with fire.  The Lord destroys the descendants of His enemies and it is assumed that the descendants are enemies as well.  The Lord will even aim at their faces with His ammunition.

These are not very friendly words.  These are words of destruction and judgment and vindication.  These are words that should make us feel for the enemies of God in addition to making us recognize the might of God.  These are words that should make us want to be active and vocal about convincing people to not be an enemy of God.  These are words that are designed to cause us to take seriously the consequences of being an enemy to God.  We cannot save all people – in fact, we cannot save any of them! – but we can actively point to salvation and allow God to use us to bring as many people in this world as possible into a relationship with Him.

Psalm 22

Psalm 22 is a famous song.  I cannot read this psalm without crying and thinking about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  In the Christian Church, this psalm takes on a whole new meaning.  This psalm is filled with a grave set of predicting images for our Lord, Jesus Christ.

However, I am not going to focus on that dimension of the words today.  I believe all of us can read this psalm and understand how it applies to Christ.  Instead, I want to take this psalm in its historical context.

First, do you feel the difference between Psalm 21 and Psalm 22?  Psalm 21 is an exuberant king relishing life with his God.  Psalm 22 is a king whose perspective has been turned away from God and focused upon the threats of the world.  These opening words say as much: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  We know that God has never forsaken any of His followers.  God is always beside us.  Rather, it is we who stop seeing the proximity of God’s closeness.  It is we who focus more and more on the threats, dangers, and concerns of the world around us.  We lose sight of God’s faithfulness.

This is the interesting dichotomy of the whole psalm.  David goes back and forth between focusing on his pain and suffering yet knowing that he should be praising God.  One of the reasons that I love this psalm is because it truly does demonstrate the difficulty of focusing on God in the midst of our suffering.  It is genuinely difficult, and this psalm attests to that fact!

As it should be, it is hope that wins out in the end.  The true follower of God will always find more respite in God than worry in the world.  The follower of God will eventually remember to trust in the Lord and put their faith in Him.  The follower of God will always remember that it is the Lord who prospers and the Lord can make any of us fall into prosperity at any time.  If this world ends in death – which it does for all of us – the Lord can make us prosper even after death.

I love this psalm because it is a phenomenal example of how to gain perspective when perspective is hard to find.  It is a great psalm to speak about real issues of life: pain and sorrow versus celebrating our relationship with God.  It is an honest psalm that confesses freely that life is not easy and there are times when we as human beings will struggle to remember that God walks with us.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 171: Psalms 19-20

Psalm 19

Psalm 19 begins with a really deep thought.  David asserts that all of creation testifies to the greatness of God.  The day brings testimony after testimony of God’s creative power.  The night brings wisdom as we reflect upon what we saw during the day.

Right?

The power of this thought is really in our self-reflection.  Do we see the world today as bringing testimony to God’s power?  Do we get up in the morning and stand in awe of God’s handiwork?  Or – if you are like me – do you get up in the morning resenting the morning and preferring to remain in bed? 

What about life?  Do you see your car, your smart phone, or your computer as evidence of human ingenuity or as a sign of God’s care?  Do we really look around us and see God?  Or do we see God only when we choose to slow down in life and look for Him?  We should be training ourselves to see Him regardless of how fast life goes by.  If we only see the world’s witness to the power of God when we slow down and look for it, then we have a problem.

The second half of this psalm is the perfect answer to the first half.  The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  How do we train ourselves to see God no matter how fast the world goes by?  Obey His ways.  Live the life He desires.  Understand that His ways are right for us.  His precepts are what we need.  Fear/awe of the Lord is what we need.

When we take this approach to life then we genuinely understand the last verse of this psalm.  There is a reason that it is a verse often quoted before a preacher delivers a sermon.  When we have ordered our life such that we see the witness to God everywhere, then we can be assured that the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart are acceptable and even pleasing in His sight!  It begins with God, but we must respond.  God enters our life, but we choose to follow His lead or not.  It is we who need to train ourselves to see Him rather than thinking that He needs to make Himself easier to see.

Psalm 20

Psalm 20 is often referred to as an intercessory type of psalm.  The word intercessory means “the action of pleading on somebody's behalf.”  Thus, an intercessory prayer is a prayer on behalf of someone else.  Hopefully we’re all really good at intercessory prayer.  An intercessory psalm would therefore be a psalm sung on behalf of someone else.  As we can see all throughout this psalm, it is indeed an intercessory psalm.

There is something neat about intercessory spirituality.  We pray for the benefit of other people.  We sing for the benefit of other people.  We preach for the benefit of other people.  We serve for the benefit of other people.  Do you hear it?  The reason that intercessory spirituality is so neat is because it automatically kills the self-monger within us!  When I pray for other people, I am inherently focusing on someone besides myself!  The same thing is true for preaching, serving, giving, singing, or any other spiritual act that can be done in an intercessory manner.

I think this concept is one of the largest spiritual areas of growth that I have been able to have since hitting adulthood.  When I sing among people, I don’t sing for myself.  I sing for them.  I sing in boldness and confidence because I want them to be able to be encouraged to join me boldly and confidently.  Sure, I could be all timid and concerned about what I sound like.  But then I’m singing for me.  I don’t want to sing for me.  I want to sing for God and for others.

I really believe that this is the motivation behind David’s psalm here.  David wants the people around him to be emboldened.  He wants them to hear how much he cares about them and to empower them to join him in caring about others.

Before I go, I do want to actually talk about the content of intercessory spirituality.  Notice what it is towards which this psalm points us?  This psalm points us to God.  It is God who saves.  It is God who hears and responds.  It is God who is the root of our trust.  That should be true about everything that we do spiritually – especially the stuff we do in an intercessory manner.  If I am praying for someone else, I should be praying for them in a direction that helps them focus on God.  The same is true for talking, preaching, singing, or whatever.  Intercessory spirituality is done for the benefit of another and in a manner such that the other is directed towards God.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 170: Psalms 17-18

Psalm 17

As I began to read through Psalm 17 I couldn’t help but to read through those words with a sense of amusement.  Does David really claim to have avoided the ways of the violent?  And if so, did he miss a significant portion of his life as recorded in the chronology of Samuel and Chronicles?  Does he really claim that God will find nothing against David when God should examine him?  Has his steps really held fast to the ways of the Lord?

The neat thing that we can learn from David is the assurance of forgiveness.  Clearly David sinned.  He took Bathsheba from Uriah after having him killed in battle.  He had a major revolution to stave off from his own son – in which his son was killed.  His own family acted with little sexual restraint – as did David throughout his whole life.  David fought with the Philistines for a time against the Hebrew people.  Then he turned on the Philistines and plundered their own land while blaming it on other people.  David did many sketchy things over the course of his life.

However, David understands that God desires repentance.  This is not a free “pass” to sin as much as you want knowing that God will forgive.  Rather, it is a reminder that God forgives our sinfulness so long as we are genuinely repentant.  David did some horrible things in his lifetime, but he was a man genuinely after God’s own heart.  When he sinned – and especially when his sin is presented before him – David repented with all that he had.  He admitted where he was wrong and he stopped the behavior.

This is precisely why the second half of the psalm turns into a plea to God to keep David close to God.  David knows that this is a tough world.  There are many temptations that abound.  There are many pitfalls into which we will stumble.  The only way that we will remain faithful is if it is God who holds us close to Him and we remember to repent before turning and worshipping Him for His faithfulness.  It is only when God goes out and subdues our enemies – even our sinfulness – that we can genuinely turn to Him with all of our heart.  It is God who keeps us close to Him, not we who keep ourselves close to God.

Psalm 18

Psalm 18 begins with a tremendous outpouring of the spirit.  “I love you, oh Lord.”  Keep in mind that this is not just a man who wrote this, but a man who is king of an entire country.  There is no “restrained sense of control” that we see in our world leaders today.  There is no “straddling the issue so as to be able to pull support from both sides.”  No, here is David pouring forth his love for God.  It doesn’t matter to him who will reject him because of his public display of love to his God.  God is the priority.  God is the rock to which we cling.  God is the foundation upon which we build our lives.

In fact, David is here to give God praise because he knows that the snares of his enemies are already out there.  There is no point in straddling issues because people who desire it will always find something bad to say about you.  When you take a stand, people can legitimately love you or hate you for your stand.  When we sit on the fence, people cannot genuinely love us or hate us because they don’t really ever know where we stand.  Faith in God – our love for God especially! – is not a fence-straddling issue.

What then follows for the majority of the rest of this psalm is a testimony from David’s perspective about what the Lord had done for Him.  David is witnessing!  He is given a testimony to the glory of God.  Look at what David says.  He gives specific examples of the deliverance he found in God when his enemies closed around him.  He gives specific examples of when he went to the Lord in search of an answer and he found an answer from the Lord.  David is not at all bashful about talking to people about how great God’s presence has been in his life.  We have much that we can learn from this man of many mistakes but genuine pursuit of the heart of God.

As I conclude this post, I hope that you also picked up on the contemporary praise chorus that is derived from the worlds of this psalm.  The praise song, “I will call upon the Lord” is drawn from the witness of the words found here.  “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised … so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (v. 3)  “The Lord lives, and blessed be the rock and may the God of my salvation be exalted.” (v. 46)  For all the people in the world who have an issue with praise songs … remember that many of the praise songs that we sing are simple quotations of scripture set to music – much like most of our liturgies are also simply just sung scripture.  In my book, any song – liturgy or praise chorus – that teaches us scripture is worth my time singing.

<>< 

Year 2, Day 169: Psalms 15-16

Psalm 15

Psalm 15 starts with a powerful progression of ideas.  Who will sojourn upon God’s Holy space?  The idea of a sojourner is one who does not officially belong in the land but who is passing through on a leisurely pace – perhaps looking for a place to stop and make home for a while.  This is a powerful line, because it hints to the fact that when it comes to God, we are all sojourners.  Not one of us officially belongs in God’s land, but He allows us to come into His space and dwell with Him.  This is a really neat precursor to the concept of grace that gets full attention in the New Testament.

Then we hit the next line.  Who will dwell with God?  To dwell somewhere is to make a place a more permanent home.  This question takes us from the mindset of the sojourner – staying a while – to the mindset of the inhabitant – someone staying indefinitely.  This also gives us a great precursor to the faith presented in the New Testament.  God comes to us and invites us to sojourn with Him.  Some of us accept the invitation and do sojourn.  Some of those who accept that first invitation further accept the invitation to stay for life and dwell with God rather than move on after the time for sojourning has passed.

What does it look like to make the transition to actually dwelling with God?  Those who dwell with God are obedient – they do what is right.  They speak truth.  They do not use their tongue to slander.  They do not do evil to their neighbor.  They do not shame their friends.  They despise the actions of the vile.  They honor actions that demonstrate fear of the Lord.  They align themselves to God and do not change.  They do not charge interest to the people that they let borrow from them.  They are not interested in bribes.

What’s neat about this list is that it reminds me of the teachings of Jesus.  Love God.  Love your neighbor.  Upon these two commandments hang the whole rest of the Law and Prophets.  (See Matthew 22:34-40)  That’s really what the psalmist is saying here.  If you are invited to sojourn with God and you end up deciding to dwell with Him, then demonstrate it by loving God and loving your neighbor.  Quit thinking about yourself so much and begin to genuinely think about God and what’s good for your neighbor.

Psalm 16

Psalm 16 is a psalm of preservation.  It begins with a reminder – likely a reminder to David himself.  “You are my Lord.  Apart from You I have no other good thing.”  Then David speaks about how the holy ones in the land are his delight. 

The reason this verse reads like a reminder and a confession is because of the verses to follow.  David then turns to confess that the ways of those who chase after other gods multiply.  In other words, the temptations of the world are many.  The ways that one can sin are plenteous in any land.  People are always inventing new and exciting ways to enter into tried and true sinful behavior.

As an aside, this is precisely the dynamic that makes God’s Word such a useful tool.  There are many ways to enter into sin.  But the sin itself – that dark part of our humanity – does not change over the ages.  Human beings are still self-centered.  We still struggle with lust.  We still struggle with drunkenness.  We still struggle with stealing.  We still dishonor our parents and other authority figures.  We still lie and cheat.  The list goes one.  While the method of entry into sin may change, the name and the feel of the sin don’t change.  The Bible can always speak to our sinful condition.

Because we have God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, we can be like David and rejoice.  We know that He will not abandon us.  He will not leave us to fend for ourselves.  He will help us out of the pitfalls of sin.  He will reveal to us the true path of life.  It is indeed at His right hand that we will find eternal pleasure.

<><