Psalm
121 (Monday, August 30)
Well, after
that very long 119, a nice short Psalm isnÕt so bad, is it? The first
thing to note on this Psalm is the heading, ÒA song of ascents.Ó The
temple, and the city of Jerusalem for that matter, were built on
mountains. So when people talked about going to Jerusalem or to the
temple, they said that they were going ÒupÓ to the temple or Jerusalem.
This group of Psalms, from 120-132 were called the songs of ascents.
While we donÕt know if there was a liturgical significance to these
Psalms, for instance if they were used as part of the worship on the Passover
or one of the other feasts, they certainly portray the feelings of those going
to Jerusalem to see the temple. Remember, that every able-bodied male
from 12 on was required to appear before the Lord 3 times a year, though most
would only make it for Passover. This Psalm also explains why you always
have to go up a few steps to get into old churches. They built them up so
that people would look up and see the steeple and remember God. (You
might be wondering why people back then didnÕt think about the people who
couldnÕt manage steps. Remember the cold hard truth that before
penicillin, say the 1940s, if you couldnÕt get out of bed, you would probably
be dead in 6 months or less. And if you could get out of bed, you went to
church, even if they had to carry you in.) Think of verse 4 in contrast
to Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus asked them to
watch and pray. They fell asleep. Sound familiar? How often
donÕt we find ourselves asleep when we should be looking out for temptation or
looking for an opportunity to testify about Jesus? But our God does not
slumber not or sleep. Our Savior is at the FatherÕs side, constantly
interceding for us, constantly reminding the Holy Judge that he has died for us
and that our sins are forgiven. He never tires of this, because he is our
Friend, our Brother, our Savior. (Handel wrote a beautiful setting for
verse 4 of this text http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKLinSSgPoY&feature=related)
Prayer:
Lord, take my
hand and lead me
Upon lifeÕs
way;
Direct,
protect, and feed me
From day to
day.
Without your
grace and favor
I go astray;
So take my
hand, O Savior,
And lead the
way.
Lord, when the
tempest rages,
I need not
fear;
For you, the
Rock of Ages,
Are always
near.
Close by your
side abiding,
I fear no foe,
For when your
hand is guiding,
In peace I
go. CW-439v1,2
Psalm
130 (Tuesday, August 31)
Did you ever
have one of those paydays when you were afraid to look at your check? You
know, you weren't quite sure if it was going to cover your bills? Or
maybe you had to wait a few days before you opened your 401K statement because
you didn't quite think you could handle another down quarter, or maybe there is
a message from the doctor's office for you to call back that you haven't
responded to just yet because you're a little worried about what they might
have to say. If you know that feeling, you know how a watchman
felt. Was that pack of wild dogs getting closer? Were there bandits
coming to steal the flocks? What was that noise? And is that just a
shadow over there? How great to see everything in the light of day!!
Once the sun came up, there was no more darkness to allow room for fear
and suspicion and the unknown. God's love is like that light. It
assures us that our sins are forgiven. It drives out our fear and guilt
and shame and doubt. It fills us with peace, joy, and confidence so that
no matter what comes to us, we will not be afraid.
Prayer:
O Splendor of
GodÕs glory bright,
You daily
bring forth light from light,
O Light from
Light, lights fountain spring,
O Day, our
days enlightening:
Come, very Sun
of truth and love,
Come in your
radiance from above,
And the Holy
SpiritÕs ray
On all we
think or do today.586v1,2
Psalm
131 (Wednesday, September 1)
I love this
Psalm because it describes the peace a believer has with his God. The
imagery is kind of odd, but very accurate. Any mother who has nursed a
child can explain how much of a pain it is to be grabbed and pulled on by a
hungry child. Once that child is weaned, no longer nursing, it no longer
demands satisfaction as soon as it has a craving. That child has learned
to trust that his mother will provide and can rest contentedly in his motherÕs
lap. That contentment that the child feels shows the contentment we have when
we trust with a child-like faith. We donÕt have to pester God with all
kinds of questions about how there can be one God in three persons or how God
could possibly have created everything in six days. We donÕt have to
clamor for God to give us every earthly craving. We can just sit still and
know that he is God, and rejoice in his unfailing, saving, eternal love in
Christ.
Prayer:
Be still, my
soul; your God will undertake;
To guide the
future as he has the past.
Your hope,
your confidence, let nothing shake;
All now
mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my
soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who
ruled them while he lived below.
Be still, my
soul the hour is hastening on
When we shall
be forever with the Lord,
When
disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot,
loves purest joys restored.
By still, my
soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and
blessed we shall meet at last. CW 415v2,4
Psalm
137 (Thursday, September 2)
This is one of
the newest Psalms, going back to the Babylonian captivity, which was only 500
years or so before Jesus was born. The oldest Psalms go back 1500 years before
Christ! The first part of this Psalm is easy relate to. We have
all, at one time or another, longed for our homes. Even if we have lived
in the same place for 30 years, there are times when we wish we could go back
home and be a kid again for a day or two. The hard part about this Psalm
is the last couple of verses, ÒHappy is he repays you for what you have
done to us Ðhe who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.Ó OK, that is pretty harsh.
GodÕs people are saying this is a good thing, and more than that, the Holy
Spirit inspired someone to write this??? How can that possibly be!?
A couple of
things 1) God here isnÕt saying that bashing babies heads against the stones
was the right thing to do, he is simply saying that it would happen and that
the people who did it would be happy about it. It really is a picture of
how consumed with rage and anger the enemies of Babylon would be on the day
that city fell. 2) There are plenty of places in the Old Testament, Amos
1-2 especially, where God reveals that his judgment would fall on those people
who committed horrible Òwar crimes,Ó to use our modern term. One very
brilliant author, John Brug, put it this way, ÒSometimes God uses one group of
bad people to beat up on another group of very bad people.Ó The
Babylonians were not nice, and though there were times when some of the leaders
acknowledged the Lord, it was also basically a nation of people who rejected
the Lord. God brought his judgment against them through another group of
unbelievers- the Meads and the Persians. They were then destroyed by
another group of unbelievers, the RomansÐ who werenÕt exactly known for their
toleration and good behavior in combat.
Finally,
though, when we read this stuff, it is hard to take; it offends us
deeply. And that is probably because our reaction is, ÒNo one deserves
that.Ó The fact is, though, that everyone deserves that. The wages
of sin is death, and not a peaceful death in sleep after a good life, but death
and an eternity of punishment from the moment we are conceived, for there is
nothing good in us. (Romans 7:18) We do not seek God. We do not do
good. We were born dead in sin. But God who is great in mercy, made
us alive in Christ. (Ephesians 2:5) We seek God and do good not
because of who we are by nature, but because God has put us on life support
through the Gospel, the good news that in Jesus we have a Savior! His
Spirit gives us breath and life. While we are connected to Jesus through
that Spirit and the faith he gives, we can bear forth much fruit, but without
Jesus we can do nothing and are fit only to be thrown into the fire. In his
grace God gave us life, and he gave us lips to sing his praises and to tell
others what he has done for us. And if you look closely at this Psalm,
that is really what it is about. The people there are gathered on the
river bank and having church Ðproclaiming GodÕs name to the people around them.
Prayer:
Lord of the
living harvest
That brightens
oÕre the plain,
Where angles
soon will gather
Their sheaves
of golden grain,
Accept our
hands to labor,
Our hearts to
trust and love,
And be with us
to hasten
Your kingdom
from above.
As labÕres in
your vineyard,
Lord, give us
work to do,
Content to
bear the burden
Of weary days
for you,
To ask no
other wages
When you call
us home
And fill us
with your blessings
Both now and
evermore.
There is an
old Stephen Foster song called, ÒMy wife is a most knowing woman.Ó You
can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvqm6SY1FQo.
In it he complains that he canÕt get away with anything because no matter what,
his wife just seems to know what he has been up to or what he is
thinking. The song ends with a line ÒAnd a miserable life has a husband,
who numbers his wife with his foes.Ó
This
characterÕs wife may have know a few things, but how Ôbout God? What does
he know about your life? What do you with he didnÕt know? In that
song, the wife not only knows all the husbands faults, but lets him know
without any doubt that he will pay for each and every mistake. Wow!
Imagine if God treated us like that! He knows us better than
anyone. There is no place we can go to hide from him. There is no
word we can say, no thought we can think, no deed we can that he doesnÕt know
about. But what does he do for us? He punished Jesus for each and
every one of those sins, not us. In his great love for us, he sent Jesus
into the world to take our punishment for each and every secret thought and
hidden act. So what does his wisdom mean for us? It means that he
knows exactly what we need. He knows exactly what we feel. He knows
exactly how much we can bear. He knows exactly how we will respond to
this crisis or that, and so he is able to give us exactly what we need to get
through anything this life can throw at us.
It is worth
talking here for a quick second about hate. Is hate ever good?
Yes. The emotions we have are the same ones God created Adam and Eve with
back in the Garden Eden. Hate is one of those. To hate those things
which God hates Ðevil, sin, unbelief, is not wrong. But didnÕt Jesus
say, ÒWhoever hates his brother his a murderer and you know that no murder
has eternal life in himÓ?
Yes. But a brother is a fellow believer. Hate is reserved for those
things that stand in opposition of the Gospel and therefore are enemies of
God. Hating a fellow believer in God is wrong. But arenÕt we
supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves? Yeah, and hate evil too, and
count GodÕs enemies as our enemies. So how do we love our pagan neighbor
and hate GodÕs enemies at the same time? 1) Never give the impression the
OK not to believe. 2) Never think that that his or her unbelieving
lifestyle is merely his choice and fine with you. 3) Pray for your
enemies, because as nice as he or she might be, she is still opposed to God and
his will and is your enemy. 4) Tell them the truth always which means the
truth about their life and where it will lead and how to get to heaven through
Jesus.
Prayer:
Chief of
sinners though I be,
Jesus shed his
blood for me,
Died that I
might live on high,
Lives that I
might ever die,
As the branch
is in the vine,
I am his and
he is mine.
Only Jesus can
impart
Comfort to a
wounded heart;
Peace that
flows from sin for-givÕn,
Joy that lifts
the soul to heavÕn,
Faith and hope
to walk with God
In the way
that Enoch trod. CW385-1,3
Psalm
145 (Saturday, September 4)
The written
word, the Bible, is the most important book ever. But off hand, I canÕt
think of a place in Scripture where the current generation is encouraged to
pass on the Bible to the next generation. Instead one generation is told
to teach the next. And there is a difference, a big difference.
Teaching isnÕt done by handing out a book. Instead it is done with words,
actions, and examples. It is done when a person puts into practice what
they are teaching and by so doing make it an important part of their
lives. In this Psalm David reminds us that getting a child a cross for
confirmation and hoping that Pastor did a good job instructing them isnÕt the
same as teaching them. We teach because of the great joy that fills our
hearts from knowing God has done great things for us. And those great
things are what we share with our families and all those around us.
Prayer:
I love to tell
the story
Of
unseen things above,
Of Jesus and
his glory,
Of Jesus and
his love.
I love to tell
the story
Because I know
itÕs true;
It satisfies
my longings
As nothing
else can do. I love to tell the story:
ÔTwill be my
theme in glory
To tell the
old, old story
Of Jesus and
his love.
I love to tell
the story,
For those who
know it best
Seem hungering
and thirsting
To hear it
like the rest.
And when in
scenes of glory
I sing the
new, new song
ÔTwill be the
old, old story
That I have
loved so long.
I love to tell
the story:
ÔTwill be my
theme in glory
To tell the
old, old story
Of Jesus and
his love. CW 562
Psalm
148 (Sunday, September 5)
This is a
great Psalm to end on. It reminds us that everything- everything!- exists
to praise God. It is hard to imagine a destructive hail storm or a
massive wind-storm praising God, yet they do. Because through them GodÕs
power is clearly shown. Yes, they do damage. Yes they can cause
pain and suffering. But remember that, Òthe earth is the LordÕs and
all that is in it.Ó
The Psalms have reminded us that God is in control of all things all the time.
His wisdom is boundless, his power is matchless, and his glory is not confined
to heaven, but is reflected in all of creation. But most of all, the Lord
is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. He
does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities,
for as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is his love for those
who fear him (Psalm 103:8,10-11). This same glorious and majestic God is
our Good Shepherd, who makes us walk beside the still waters and leads us
through the valley of the shadow of death and we fear no evil (Psalm
23:4). Here too we see his glory. Not in powerful external displays
like earthquakes and armies destroyed by seas crashing in on them, but in
internal miracles of changed hearts. God has brought us from being brute
beasts, to being confident in the fact that he holds us in his right hand and
after this life will take us into glory (Psalm 73:22-23). He has changed
our hearts from wanting to trust in riches and the people of this world, to
trusting in him alone, for he alone is our rock and our salvation, our fortress
which will never be shaken. And so we pour out our hearts to him at all
times (Psalm 62). And in so doing we learn to be still, and know that he
is God (Psalm 46:10).
Prayer:
O Lord my God,
when I in awesome wonder
Consider all
the works they hands have made,
I see the
stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy powÕr
throughout the universes displayed.
Then sings my
soul, my Savior-God to thee,
ÒHow great
thou art! How great thou artÓ
Then sings my
soul, my Savior-God to thee,
ÒHow great
thou art! How great thou art.Ó
And when I
think that God his Son not sparing,
Sent him to
die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the
cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and
died to take away my sin.
Then sings my
soul, my Savior-God to thee,
ÒHow great
thou art! How great thou artÓ
Then sings my
soul, my Savior-God to thee,
ÒHow great thou art! How great thou art.Ó