Year 2, Day 205: Psalms 60-61

Psalm 60

As I began to read Psalm 60 today, I began to think about a road map.  Let me explain.

A few days ago I was comparing the routes between Atlanta and Pittsburgh.  You can go northwest up 75 to Tennessee, then jump on 81 to Wytheville, jump on 77 to Beckley, 19 to Flatwoods, and then 79 to Pittsburgh.  Or, you can take 85 northeast to Charlotte, jump on 77 to Beckley, and then follow the same route described earlier north of Beckley.  These are two completely different routes in the beginning.  They take you in completely different directions.  They take different amounts of time and go across different amounts of mileage. 

But there is one thing that is true about both of them.  Neither is precisely direct.  If I wanted a direct route from Atlanta to Pittsburgh I’d probably be better of flying on an airplane with no stops – but that wouldn’t guarantee an exactly direct route either due to air currents, storm fronts, other flight plans for that day, etc.

Why am I talking today about direct routes?  Well, so often we think of history as times of “good” and “bad.”  There are the times when particular nations had “evil” periods.  I’m thinking of France under Napoleon, Germany under Hitler, Rome under Nero, Judah under Manasseh, Israel under Ahab, etc.  Then, there are the good old days.  We think of “good” times such as England under King Richard, the United States under George Washington, Rome under Constantine, and Israel under David.  But the truth is that in none of those times were any of those countries completely good or completely bad.  They weren’t on a direct path of goodness or evil.

Under Hitler there was a resistance, and the same is true with Napoleon.  Under King Richard, there were the supporters of King John.  When Ahab was leading Israel astray there was the work of the prophets Elijah and Elisha to call people to truth.  As well as George Washington is remembered, there were problems like slavery and unequal voting rights for women at work in the system.  Even under David, Israel was not the beacon of righteousness that we tend to remember it as.

History is kind of like traveling.  I will remember getting to the destination, but I may not always remember how circuitous the route happened to be.  We may remember a time period as “good” or “bad,” but the truth is that it is likely that there are times of being on track and there are times of actually heading away from the desired destination or agenda.

Having taken this long time to set up the psalm, let’s now look at it.  What I explained above is actually the thought behind David’s opening lines. David looks to God and confesses that the Hebrew people have been wandering away from God.  They have strayed from the path.  They are on a more circuitous route than a direct path when it comes to their relationship with God.  As David says, they are in need of restoration.  They are in need of God to put aside His righteous rejection and embrace them with gracious love.  Even though David is remembered as Israel’s greatest king and the time period of David’s leadership is often thought of as one of the highest spiritual points of the kingdom, the truth is that they got away from the truth periodically – perhaps even often!  We remember it as a golden age, but it was just as flawed then as we are now.

But thanks be to God that there were prophets of truth among the people then.  David was calling the people back to God.  Prophets and priests like Nathan were there to teach and guide.  It would be possible to turn this wayward people around.  It would be possible to remind the people that with God we can do valiantly!  It is possible to remind people that it is only through the grace of God that we triumph!

Psalm 61

The thoughts of Psalm 60 lead us naturally into Psalm 61.  Psalm 61 is a psalm of praise.  God is the strong tower.  It is under His “wings” that we can find shelter, refuge, and protection.  It is in His tent that we can dwell forever!

I love the tenor of this psalm – especially knowing that it is from David and knowing how circuitous his own relationship with God was from time to time.  Here is a man who repeatedly makes big mistake after big mistake; yet he also repeatedly makes big success after big success through his faith, too.  David – whose family was fraught with interpersonal conflict, sexual sin, and all-around self-mongerism – is able to sing God’s praises.  He promises to sing them forever, even!  This same man whose life is filled with sinfulness is able to declare to God that he will fulfill his vows.  David – this sinful king after God’s own heart – is able to yearn for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him.

We all live lives that sometimes are on the direct path with God; yet sometimes we also find ourselves straying from God’s truth, too.  Regardless of which scenario we find ourselves in, there is always reason to turn to God and give Him praise.  There is always reason to look upon God and realize that he can lead us to a rock that is “higher than I.”  Confession, repentance, forgiveness, and praise should be a cycle that we never abandon throughout our whole life!

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