Psalm 138

The first of eight psalms “of David” in the next ten days. What can we expect to find in psalms “of David”? Thanksgiving and praise, certainly, and pleas for deliverance from his enemies. We see all that today in Psalm 138. See especially Ps. 138:1-2,7-8.

For though the LORD is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar. (v. 6) At first I thought it strange that David would be writing these words, since he, himself, is also of high stature. But then I remembered his earlier life, his times of running from Saul, and then his later life, when he was challenged by Absalom. Surely he had surrounded himself with people of both high and low stature. In addition, in his earlier life he was a shepherd and he likely knew other shepherds – again, people drawn from lower societal classes. So David is clearly qualified to write these words.

But beyond David’s perspective on the high and the low, this verse speaks of the God of Heaven and Earth having high regard for the lowly; no doubt He also has high regard for the mighty, so long as their might is cloaked in humility. The key in this verse is “haughty”. David is telling us that God “despises” our self-righteous pride. I have written before that pride is humankind’s greatest sin – and I believe it! Our personal pride leaves too little room for God to work in our lives. If we think that we’ve done it all ourselves, then there’s no basis for thanking God and little cause for praising Him. And without thanks and praise, most of our prayers are just “gimme, gimme”! Not good!

Psalm 137

The Babylonian Exile. Two days ago, my first comments on Psalm 136 talked about the Lord’s hand in Israel’s deliverance, perseverance and conquest/victory, mostly in Moses’ days. I first chatted about deliverance (redirection) two days ago, then conquest/victory (success) yesterday. Although today’s Psalm 137 speaks passionately about revenge, truly that Babylonian captivity is also a tale of perseverance. The Israelites were taken from their homeland as captives and held in Babylon for 70 years. During that time they maintained their faith in the One True God, effectively setting up synagogue worship in the absence of the Temple.

So, the question for us is how we persevere during hard times. That is, how do we seek the Lord and His mercy when things aren’t going well for us? My personal “Babylonian Exile” was a five-year period at USDA, non-academic time between TAMU and EKU. It was a depressing time for me, for us, but Carol and I continued to seek the Lord, and He remained faithful. I’ll save the details for a time when we’re together. But for now it would be good for all of us to relive those down times and look for God’s hand, for His faithfulness to us during those times, in spite of our own sense of disappointment or defeat. I can assure you, He was there for you!!

Psalm 136:13-26

Yesterday I wrote about deliverance, couching it also (in lesser terms) as redirection. We see Israel’s deliverance in Ps. 136:10-15,24. From there we see different acts of God with respect to Israel – preservation (Ps. 136:16,22,23,25) and victory / conquest (Ps. 136:17-21). Preservation is best shown in verse 25, …He Who gives food to all flesh… It’s that continuing act of God to provide for our basic needs.

Victory/conquest is something very different from deliverance or preservation. We see it in Israel in their defeat of the kings in the wilderness (Sihon, Og, etc.), then in their conquest of other nations and tribes in their taking the Promised Land. In our present day we are not in the business of conquest, as such, but we do make efforts to move forward from our present, everyday state. We work toward bonuses and salary increases, advances and promotions, entrepreneurial gains, and, eventually, retirement. On another level we also “work” toward family and church advances and improvements, in addition to growing in our own spiritual walk.

But for those “work”-related gains that we have seen (or those for which we are still striving), do we see the Lord’s hand in those successes, those “victories”? Do we actively look back to see His work in our lives back then so that we can thank Him for being there for us? I saw major redirections (that were in fact, advances) in both my M.A. thesis and my Ph.D. dissertation – events and ideas that opened up for me for which I cannot take personal credit. Then in my work world I lived with ups and downs – the ups for which I am (was) eternally grateful and the downs for which I saw the Lord’s constant deliverance to better ends. It’s time for us all to start listing out those recent and past victories and advances, looking with new eyes to see God at work in those events. You will be all the more grateful for where you are today if you see His past work in directing you to how you got there!

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.