Psalm 136:1-12

It is often difficult to break these longer psalms without interrupting the flow. Today is a good example. I broke Psalm 136 at verse 12; verse 13 would also be good; or verse 16. Pick your own break today!

Today’s verses break down into three sections – praising and thanking God for Who He is (Ps. 136:1-3), praising and thanking God for His creation (Ps. 136:4-9), and praising and thanking God for His deliverance from Egypt (Ps. 136:10-12, ff.), also continued tomorrow. We 21^st century Christians can fully relate to these first two sections; then we can either relate to Israel’s deliverance or we can look back to deliverance(s) that we have seen in our own lives. Personally, as many of you well know, I like to look back at God’s work in my life.

I don’t always think of “deliverance” as what happened at this event or that event, but it’s intriguing to go further and ask what might have happened if … if … if…, given that at some point(s) I was redirected – or “delivered”, if you will. Why would an “A” student drop out of college and join the Army? Why would I quit my job at AT&T to go back to school? Why would I choose the academic paths that I followed (Psychology, Labor Relations, Economics)? Why would I choose graduate school at the University of Maryland, some 700 miles east? All these redirects…! I can’t even begin to imagine whatever it was that I was delivered from at each of those points. What if I had not acted on any one of those redirects? Where would I be?

Folks, it truly is good to look back at the Lord’s work in your lives – to thank and praise Him for His many deliverances! Thank you, Lord!

Psalm 135:13-21

O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD! O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, He Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD! (vv. 19-21) What does it mean to “bless the LORD”? Yesterday afternoon we had our annual cookie baking/decorating party with Christian’s family, the Wolfes. As Richard and I stood together, grandfathers sharing our beautiful granddaughter, Audra, I noted to Richard how blessed we were. I know what it means (within our human sphere) to be blessed, to see “blessed” as an adjective. I’m less certain about what it means to bless one another, with “bless” as a verb. I suppose it means something like wishing a person good will, good fortunes, good outcomes going forward.

But what does it mean for God to be blessed, or for us to bless the Lord? I presume that God is blessed even as Richard and I are blessed when we see our children and our grandchild living in happiness and joy. So too, God is blessed when He sees His children – us – happy and joyful. But He also knows that our pure joy, pure happiness can only come when we know Him more fully. Which answers that original question, what does it mean to “bless the Lord”. For us to come to know Him more fully, to embrace Him with all that we have – that would be what blesses the Lord. So, bless the Lord, folks. Seek Him!!

Psalm 135:1-12

It was a wacky morning and a busy afternoon, so I’m just now posting. But it’s a worthy verse to post on: “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.” (v. 6) This is the might, the power of our God. Whatever He pleases!! That doesn’t mean that He causes everything. We have free will. He chooses when and how to act, to intervene or not. But He is God, not us, and He does not act according to our expectations of when and how He should act. (Thank you, Ben!) Whatever He pleases!!

Psalm 133-134

Two psalms today, three verses each. Interestingly, for Carol and me each of these psalms has associated music. Our leader at the Bible Study where we met was a talented musician who wrote guitar music for Psalm 133. And Psalm 134 is one that we’ve sung regularly at church services. It’s difficult to simply read the words without singing them!!

My Study Bible was helpful with Psalm 134; they suggested that it’s a verbal interchange between people leaving the Temple area (vv. 1-2) and the Temple guards (priests) responding (v. 3). That rings a bell with me – servants … night … sanctuary / holy place all make sense in that context; likewise with verse 3 set apart. I’m thankful for Kathy and John commenting yesterday on the Lord’s dwelling on the Temple Mount – past, present, future. We see that today: May the LORD bless you from Zion… (134:3). His blessing is “from Zion”.

Psalm 132:11-18

For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it as His dwelling place. “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it…” (vv. 13-14) One wonders. Often we Christians ask whether we are to take the Bible literally or figuratively or whatever’ly. Taking these verses literally is difficult. Typically Zion refers to Israel, Mount Zion more specifically to the Temple Mount. These verses say that the Lord has chosen Zion / Israel / Mount Zion as His eternal dwelling place. But as I understand it (I am not an Israeli expert), it’s not the Jews or the Christians worshiping on the Temple Mount, but the Moslems have it under their control. So, did the psalmist get it wrong? Did he hear incorrectly from the Lord? Or has the Lord continued to inhabit Mount Zion, in spite of Israel’s enemies in control? These verses leave me confused. Anyone out there with more wisdom?

Psalm 132:1-10

Psalm 132, the first half. December 8, in the Catholic Church, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation. We say in our Nicene Creed, “Begotten, not made…” and we believe it. How miraculous is this, that God, the God of the Universe can come to earth as a tiny seed implanted in a young girl’s womb! And then live among us for 30+ years, then die a horrible death, then to rise again in glory and ascend to the throne that He abandoned those many years earlier. How can this be? The same question that the young Virgin asked, “How can this be!” But nothing is too great for our Almighty!

I mention the Immaculate Conception today because I read ahead in Psalm 132. My Study Bible noted that verses 17-18 were read by early Christians as Messianic: There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine. During this season of Advent, even though we Anglicans don’t celebrate the Immaculate Conception as such, we do honor the Annunciation. And as we await His coming again, we also celebrate His first coming. How can this be…??!! GLORY!

Psalm 131

Only three verses. Psalm 117 was shorter – two verses – but we read it in conjunction with Psalm 116. So, only three verses today.

O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me. (v. 1, NASB 1977) PRIDE. Is there anything that draws us further from the Lord than pride? Our self. Our human spirit. Our independence. Control. One of our children used to say, “I can do it myself!” I daresay, it is THE human problem. Our fierce determination to do it ourselves:

I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus, William Ernest Henley, 1849-1903

How to “let go and let God”? Questions, no answers.

Psalm 130

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I hope… (v. 5) While reading through Psalm 119 we had a number of e-mail and face-to-face discussions on those seven or eight synonyms for God’s “word”. Those discussions have stayed with me. My favorite synonym was “His ways”, so whenever I see “His word” in the psalms now I quickly translate it to “His ways” and find some greater sense of peace, of contentment, of understanding. That to say, in the past I had always thought of “His word” as “The Law” – statutes, commandments, decrees, etc. “His ways” seems more loving, more forgiving – as is the focus of the rest of Psalm 130: …and in His ways I hope…

Psalm 129

A very different psalm today. It’s all about Israel’s enemies and God’s consistent deliverance of Israel from those enemies (Ps. 129:4) – from Israel’s infancy (Ps. 129:1-2) through to her growth years. Although Israel has seen the Lord’s deliverance, the enemies remain.

Is that a picture of our Christian culture today in the USA? It seems that with the COVID shutdowns that the church has lost membership throughout the USA. We see political battles over same-sex issues and for abortion rights. Christians are mocked as judgmental and discriminatory – a same-sex issue is going before the Supreme Court today, where a wedding website designer chooses not to do websites that celebrate same-sex marriages, but the LBGTQ-rights people want to force the issue instead of moving on to a more accommodating company.

It’s not just the USA. European Christianity has seen huge declines; Christians are no longer the majority in some European countries. Plus there are atheistic Communist countries and Middle Eastern and African and Asian lands where Christians are actively, physically persecuted. Where is God in all this? How will His people respond? As Kerry told us yesterday, pray “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus, Come!”

Psalm 128

Not a whole lot this morning, ahead of our RTB gathering after coffee hour.

Family. The psalmist specifically mentions the wife (spouse), the children, and the grandchildren. Each is his/her own blessing! He uses the vine (fruit, wine) and the olive tree (oil, food, lubricant, wood) as metaphors of the blessedness of family life. I’m regularly thinking of our new vision at St. Andrew’s, specifically “community” this morning, seeing St. Andrew’s as “family”. So often I’ve heard Christians say something like this or that person is closer than my own brother. That’s nice, especially if we are not disparaging our own blood relatives! I’ve long believed that we already have a good community at St. Andrew’s, a wonderful congregation. But “Bread Breakers” is a nice start for something even stronger. And we need to grow more, to get to know one another outside the church building, to encourage one another. Let’s do our part, folks. Get to know those faces at church you’ve never met. We can do this!