It's A Trap! Reflection on Psalm 43

Image By: Rishabh Mishra

It was recess and I was standing guard while the ladies were enjoyed the swing set.  I should explain.  I was standing guard because it was the habit of boys at my school to chase the girls during recess.  It was all in good fun, but the arrangement bothered me; to my superhero-loving 8 year old mind the boys seemed like bad guys.  So, as only an 8 year old can I resolved to oppose bad guys wherever they might be.  I declared myself the girl's body guard; when a boy would run at a girl I chased him away, kicked him, and yelled, “Don’t chase girls!”

While I stood guard that day a friend of mine yelled over from the play structure, “Hey David!  Come over here!”

“No!”  I had a job to do.

“I wanna show you something cool!”

This particular boy, we'll call him Jack, was good at catching cool bugs, however; I thought this could be a trap.  As I considered, he yelled, “I promise it’s not a trap.” That might seem a suspicious declaration to you, but it neatly dissipated my suspicions at the time.  I was not the smartest kid; I assumed he was bound by his promise to me.

“It was a trap!” Jack shouted once I had climbed to where he stood.  Two boys blocked my retreat route and four others came out from various hiding places.  I was surrounded.  No one hurt me.  This game was too fun for either side to ruin it that way.  I ran through the crowd and dove heroically down a slide.  Their plan was clever.  My escape was daring.  Everyone won.

           

            This is the greatest extent to which anyone was ever lain in wait for my blood.  I’ve been blessed; I have not been oppressed by an enemy, but sometimes circumstances can be bad enough without enemies.  I’ve hunted for jobs without finding them.  I’ve been hungry.  There have been difficult obstacles.  I’ve asked God what he thinks he’s doing much like David did in verse 2.  I love how the Psalms let us see the weakness of David.  Apparently it is OK to be weak sometimes.  Crazy right?  I think if there's a right way to deal with our weakness David nails it in 3-5.  He calls out to God; he steels himself against despair, and resolves to hope.  Sometimes that's all we can do.

Challenge:

            Call out to God today.  Whether you’re in a time of comfort or a time of hurt, take time today to ask God to guide you, increase your joy.  Praise him and resolve to hope.  Then, if you can, go hang out with someone who loves you.  God Speed.

RE: Psalm 42 Our Panting Soul

The Touch by: Alan Levine

This is a singularly sensuous psalm; I love it. It initiates with an image of thirst, wild thirst, uncurbed by propriety which become the driving force of one's whole being (Psalm 42:1-2). I feel that thirst; we all do. Rarely do we see it for what it is: a thirst for God which is sated in him alone.

Unaware of it's true purpose, some idolize this kind of thirst, imitating and paying homage to it with stories of passionate romance, wanderlust, and lofty dreams that refuse deferment. Others have been disappointed by the world's inability to fulfil their innermost longing, and they live in fear of the thirst, telling cautionary tales like that of Icarus. Fear and idolatry both miss God's purpose for our thirst.

“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.” (C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity)

Challenge:

Read Psalm 42. Remember that no matter what life is like now it is God's desire to make you whole, to satisfy your deepest longings and unite yourself in perfect intimacy. Say the words of Psalm 42:11 today, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

RE: Psalm 41 A Terminal Illness

What is sin like? Christianity has an abundance of symbolic words for sin: a wayward path, a stain, darkness. Most seem to explain why only Christ can remove our sin, and I think Psalm 41:3&4 can make a vital contribution to our medley of metaphor. The Psalmist called to God for merciful healing, because of his sin. His sin was referred to as an illness which needed healing.

Now some may argue that God punishes sin with disease, but personally I think it's foolhardy to blame an illness or calamity on God unless God has explicitly taken credit for the injury. Certain Christian figureheads like to talk about why God sends disease and disaster, and it embarrasses me every time. In scripture God did strike some people with punishing sickness, but others just got sick. Some were healed, and some were not. The only time we can tell which afflictions were punishments from God and which were not is when the Bible clearly delineates. Since the Bible does not say that God punishes such-and-such a sin with such-and-such an illness I'd just as soon take the Bible as is and not add anything to it. In any case the only illness of eternal importance is the illness of sin, and that is not a punishment; sin is self-inflicted.

Photo By: Beverly & Pack

Sin is our fault, and we are fully responsible for our own; at least, we were. Jesus, as you remember, did an awful lot of healing. He still heals, and most importantly he still heals that worst illness: sin. This is why the Psalmist called for mercy. We can call for mercy as well, with perfect confidence that Jesus Christ is the great physician who comes not to the healthy but to the sick. (Mark 2:17)

RE: Psalm 40, A Rainy Day Love Song

A love song, sung in a time of trial is a beautiful thing. It shows the true nature of love and the power of faith. Love is fabulously resilient, it flourishes in good times, and sees us through our dark times. The Psalmist recalls God's goodness and mercy, and draws strength from God's previous goodness, even while standing in the midst of new trials and troubles.

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Challenge: Reflect on what God has done for you in your life, remember when he has provided and rescued when things were at their worst. The God who saved us from our sins remains more faithful and loving than we can fathom. As you walk into the challenges of this new day and week, remember who goes with you.

RE: Psalm 39 The Measure Of My Days

Photo by Anna Fox

This rather macabre psalm gets referenced in one of my very favourite pieces of music ever: Brahms Requiem. Without the music I don't know if I'd understand the poem; I highly recommend taking a listen. What is astounding to me about the love of God is the context of that love. God is not just head over heals in love with us, but he is head over heals in love with us in spite of a myriad of obstacles. We were sinners, we were insignificant, we were even God's enemies, and still, with total determination God has pursued us, and never stops pursing us. Our lover is incredible and relentless, the Hero of whom all great lovers are only a pale imitation.

May you rest in the loving hand of the God who loves you and has measured out your days.

You have have a listen to the Requiem verse on Grooveshark.

If you really like it you can buy it on Amazon.

RE: Psalm 38

This is a difficult psalm to read. David is pained, ashamed and acutely aware of his insufficiencies. As disturbing and sad as it is, David's not wrong. He's not wrong about himself, and he's not wrong about us. We are messed up people.

I read on the internet that everyone deserves to be loved. This idea comes close to the truth, but comes up short. We should be loved; we were designed to love and to be loved, but we do not deserve to be loved. We embarrass ourselves daily by judging and hating our neighbours; we deserve as bad as we give. The fact is that if our hearts and secrets were laid bare to the world, we'd see that no one deserves love. If you know love, you'll know that this suits love just fine. Although we each make inexcusable mistakes, we are loved anyway.

It would be a fine thing if we deserved to be loved and God loved us. It is an abundantly greater thing that we don't deserve love, and God still loves us. The psalmist, David, the murderer and adulterer, deserves death; according to Matthew 5 so do I. We all do; however, the Bible tells us that so that it can tell us this:

Photo by Dirk Hartung

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! -Romans 5:6-10

Dear Sinner-Saints, may you grasp the passionate and compassionate love God has for you, which can never be earned, but is available freely to all who don't deserve it.

RE: Psalm 37

I struggle with whether or not to read the news. It is of course best to be as informed as possible so one can make wise decisions, but on the other hand I don't trust the information, almost as a matter of principle. I grew up reading 1984 and Brave New World; I learned psychology, sociology, and statistics in college. As a result I know a lot of compelling reasons to not trust politicians, reporters, first hand accounts, surveys, or even my self. Trusting no one, when I do read the news I'm left with the vague awareness that much in the world is horribly wrong, worse even than I'm being told, and yet I have no idea what to believe when it comes to assigning blame or approaching a solution. If ignorance is bliss, it is also irresponsible, but what can I do to help this world if I cannot know what is true?

I needed this psalm today. I needed to be reminded of what I do know is true: God prevails; love wins. There is incredible evil in the world today; people die of hunger, thirst, and many other preventable causes, and my skin crawls with rage because I don't know what to do about it. I don't know who to punish, and I don't know who to trust to help the poor and afflicted. In this moment of feeling powerless, God speaks through this Psalm:

Photo by Alex Proimos

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret —it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. -Psalm 37:7-9

May you take heart today, whatever your situation is. Hope in the Lord and be renewed because God can and will use you to accomplish his eternal purposes.

RE: Psalm 36

Psalm 36 is exquisite. Take a look at the structure of this psalm with me. It started by painting a picture of how awful people are, how evil their intentions are and how corrupt their desire are, and then it jumps without preamble into praising the might and mercy of the Lord. The jump is sudden and the contrast so jarring that it reminds me of the end of Romans 7. God's magnificence drowns out and consumes lesser realities.

Photo By John-Morgan

As humans we are objects of corruption. We can see it easily when we look around at each other, but the psalmist only briefly directs our attention to corruption and failure, and this he does only as a context for God's righteousness. The purpose of the psalmist is to directs our attention to the Lord who is so stunningly complete, so majestic, and so perfect that he contradicts all that is human. Yet this perfect God loves and protects imperfect men; as opposite as he is, he persists in his loving pursuit of of humanity, full of transformative love and compassion.

RE: Psalm 35 Wherein God Is Asked To Take Sides

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In Psalm 35 the Psalmist begs and pleads with God to be on his side. I cannot imagine a more universal desire than to have the God of the universe favour you. I even encounter this desire among agnostics who say that if there is a God they hope he's just, and if he's just he'll be good to them. We all want God to be on our side. There is seldom a war fought by anyone who doesn't believe God to be on their side. In Joshua 5:13-15 Joshua asks the Lord, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?” The Lord's reply is cryptic; God is not on a side.

God is love. He loves us with perfect and infinite love, and I'm coming to believe that God even loves us more than we love ourselves, and wants more for us than we want for ourselves. Left to our own, we might ask God to give us wealth and peace, but God gives us greater peace and greater wealth in Christ than our minds can conceive.  Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us more that we can ask or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). God is not on our sinful self-destructive side; but God loves us too much for that.

Challenge:

Who's side are you on?  Is it more your own than it is God's?  Jesus promises that if we seek his kingdom first that he will provide for us (Matthew 6:33).  Take comfort in that word today know that you are free to love generously.

RE: Psalm 34 And The Fear Of The Lord

 

I was parallelized by fear. I had been praying in a field, weeping profuse apologies to a God I thought was too just to listen to my prayers. Then in an instant I felt the mighty presence of the Lord, and he told me to be quiet. I actually stopped thinking thoughts because I was afraid that thinking would violate God's order to be quiet. In the silence that followed, I began to listen.

After about an hour of silent fear, someone else spoke to me. They mentioned a story I'd heard before about unconditional love, and in a single moment my fear evaporated. I comprehended something greater than my inadequacy: the vast and immeasurable love of the God that died to forgive me. Fear left me. My life has never been the same.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” - Proverbs 1:7

Since I first met the Lord I've been surprised to hear Christians speak affectionately of the fear of the Lord. While fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, it is just that, a beginning. Fear of the Lord made me crave reconciliation with God, and I was not disappointed. God reconciled himself to me in Christ Jesus. Since that day fear has held no place in my relationship with God. I have had bouts of fear to be sure, but no more than I have had bouts of sin or doubt. The fact is that I am now God's son, and if he redeemed me when I was corrupt, he will do more now that I am redeemed (Romans 5:8-9).

Photo By Babasteve

The fear of the Lord was the beginning of my journey with him, but as I've gotten to know God my fear has sharply receded. Fear is, after all a lousy basis for any relationship. When a leader is feared we call them a tyrant; fear of a spouse is a sign of abuse, and so too is fear of a parent. God is not a tyrant and God is not abuse; God is love (1 John 4:8). John says perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

Do you fear the Lord? If you do, then I have some great news. You don't have to be afraid any more. You must have faith in order to fear the Lord. Take that faith a step further and lay your fear down. Once God's people had reason to fear him, and were commanded to fear him (Psalm 34:8-9) But I do not believe that fear must be part of our redeemed relationship with God. Jesus called his disciples friends (John 15:15). I'm not afraid of my friends, and I'm not afraid of my God. God loves me, and there's no fear in love.

RE: Psalm 33

Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. (33:2-3)

Image By Deflam

Do you imagine a real harp when you read about one? I encounter very few harps in my daily life. My first mental reference for a harp is the Loony Toons, so when I think of a harp I think of a silly little thing that a cartoon angel plays in heaven after their anvil related death. If I don't think of the Loony Toons I think of those annoying bards from Skyrim. Those bards were awful.

I watched a bunch of harp videos today, and it turns out that real harps are not cute, or dainty. They are large, cumbersome, and can produce transcendently beautiful sounds. I heard them played so well that at times I became dizzy and forgot where I was.

Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.  -Martin Luther

Sometimes reading the Bible can feel like a chore. When that happens do what you can to reignite your passion for scripture. I recommend today that you read Psalm 33 with one of the following videos playing in a separate tab.

River Flows Duet By Lindsey Stirling

Owl City Cover By theheartrender

Allow the music to calm the agitations of your soul, while inviting God to enlighten and enrich your heart and mind through his word. Enjoy.

RE: Psalm 32 & Lectio Divina

Photo By: BabaSteve

Lectio Divina

If you’re familiar with Lectio Divina, pick a verse or two from Psalm 32 and enjoy it.  However, if you’re unfamiliar with Lectio Divina, then I'm afraid your life is woefully incomplete.  Don’t worry though; it is easy to learn, and will enrich the rest of your natural life if you use it.  
 

What's Lectio Divina?

Latin for “Divine Reading” Lectio Divina is a Christian practice of meditation that dates back to the third century.

Why Should I Meditate?

If God commanding his people to mediate on his word (Joshua 1:8) isn’t enough motivation for you then go ahead and check out some articles about the benefits of meditation in Psychology Today, MIT News, or The Houston Chronicler.  Meditation is really good for you in almost every conceivable way; as the more has been learned about mediation more and more health experts have been promoting it.  A lot of Christians are wary of meditation because some eastern religions teach meditation.  Some eastern religions also teach compassion, but this would be a very bad reason for us to throw away our long history of compassion.  In fact there is no excuse for a Christian not to practice compassion; God commanded it, and he commands meditation as well (Colossians 3:12).

How Do I Mediate?

Honestly the Wikipedia entry on Lectio Divina is pretty good, but just in case that’s too much history and jargon for you I’ve broken it down for you real simply:

To Practice Lectio Divina:

Prepare

Clear your mind and environment of distractions.  Turn off your music and close your other tabs.  Break deeply and be aware of your thoughts.

Read

Read a verse or two.  I recommend Psalm 32:1 for today.  Read your selection repeatedly, and allow it to fill your thoughts.

Reflect

Turn the verse over in your mind, looking at it from new perspectives.  What does it mean?  What is God saying to you today?

Pray

Pray.  React in prayer to the verse or verse you just read and thought about.  Praise God, make requests, and voice anxieties.  God is listening.

Contemplate

Be still and know the Lord is God.  Be quiet.  God hears your prayers and he answers them.  He loves you very much and is with you.

RE: Psalm 31

While at Concordia I had classmates who sometimes felt like they weren't real Christians simply because their faith story was not dramatic. Most of them were baptized as infants, but had heard the exciting testimonies of born again ex-Islamic extremists, recovering alcoholics, and ex-gangsters. They heard the stories of how God had intervened in powerful ways in the lives of extraordinary individuals, and they felt a little jealous because God had only intervened in simple ways in their own short lives. Feeling jealous of the hardships of others is not rational; this is a childish perspective to take on, but I confess that I feel this way myself.

Photo By: Jamesdale10

Psalm 31 evokes this kind of jealousy in me. I am a white, college educated, citizen of the United States of America. If I have suffered at all I have suffered little. I do not know what it is like to see the Lord's love while in a city under siege (31:21), I have never been literally delivered from a pursuing enemy (31:16), I have not known terror on every side (31:13).

When I take a mature look at the psalm I know that it is a blessing to have not experienced the suffering or affliction that the psalmist experienced. I may yet experience it or I may never experience it. That is not important. Our condition, station, and even our experiences are of peripheral importance when we properly focus on the cross. Jesus came so that at the end of days all people might enter a life free of distress, anxiety, or fear. If we suffer we can look to this psalm and know that God is with those who suffer, but even if we don't suffer we can look at this psalm and delight to remember that one man suffered once for all (1 Peter 3:18). Like him we can freely and gladly entrust our lives, our destiny, and our spirits (31:5) to the God that loves us all.

RE: Psalm 30

While sitting at my desk I got an unexpected and alarming phone call. My father-in-law was calling me to inform me that his car, which he'd given Beth and I the use of, had been towed and was quickly accumulating a staggering load of fines. I almost cried after I hung up the phone. I had been planning on paying taxes that day, taxes we could barely afford to pay off. I had no idea what we were going to do, and I was in no mood to pray, or to reflect on how God has always provided, nor was I inclined to remember the scripture I had just read about God's promise to provide. I didn't want to act wise or self-controlled; I wanted to punch things and yell. Thank God my boss noticed something was wrong and prayed with me before I had time to embarrass myself.

Photo Credit: HAWK Takahashi

Things worked out splendidly and I've no intention of explaining how.  I will say that God provided and that a few things which were at least as unexpected as an impounded car helped save the day. Right now everything is fine, situations are resolved and the song in my heart is Psalm 30, but next time I find myself in what appears to be a hopeless situation, I pray I can remember the lilies of the field.

RE: Psalm 29

 

There’s a reason that we are drawn to epic scenery, stories, and characters: our God is epic.  The voice of the Lord shakes the desert (29:8) and twists oaks (29:9), and why shouldn’t it?  It is the same voice that spoke the swirling galaxies into existence.  It blows my mind that the same world-forming, oak-twisting voice also speaks the tender and warm words of Jesus.  Jesus’ gentle words are no less powerful than any that ever shook the earth.  Jesus’ words have done more than shake, they’ve transformed how much of the world thinks and lives.  I encourage you to reflect on the following excerpt from the sermon on the mount and ask yourself how the voice of Jesus would transform you today.

Matthew 5:3-10

Photo Credit: Zach Dischner

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

RE: Psalm 28

I was bullied a bit as a kid. Once when I still attended a Christian school, an older boy on the school bus stomp kicked my face. I didn't tell anyone, since bullying was pretty common and I didn't want to look weak. I wanted to look strong. In fact, the desire to appear powerful became a driving force around this time in my life. I wanted to show that I was strong so I wouldn't get hurt any more. I didn't want anyone to get hurt any more. I hated bullies ferociously, so I committed myself to becoming stronger than they were. Tragically, I found out that the more I tried to be the strongest, the more my friends just got hurt by me instead of by someone else. Trying to stand up against bullies, I quickly became a one myself.

I don't think this experience is too unique. Trying to out wit and out gun the corruption and evil in our lives we easily become poisoned by our bitterness and resentment, and can ultimately become worse than what we hated at first.   It is once we recognise our own sinful power struggle that we pray the words, Do not drag me off with the wicked,with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbours while evil is in their hearts (28:3). And it is with full knowledge that we are no better than our enemies that we beg for forgiveness and Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy (28:6). Thank God he remains patient and loving even when we are temperamental, judgemental, and fearful.

The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed (28:8).

Photo credit: Ian Kahn

RE: Psalm 27

There are few verses in all of poetry that move my heart so much as, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me” (27:10).  There were a great many times, particularly in high school, when I could not bring myself to believe that God was working things out for my good as he’d promised to do (Rom 8:28).  At those times this chapter has been reinforcement for God’s many other promises.  On any given day God may not be obviously in control, on any given day we may find ourselves poor, sick, or crippled with anxiety.  On these days Psalm 27 takes up the cry of our breaking hearts: begging God to show his goodness (17:9), and refusing to despair until he does (27:13-14).


Photo Credit: "In A Lonely Place" by PCT

RE: Psalm 26

I don’t want to upset anybody, but I think this psalm sounds self righteous.  The psalmist sounds an awful lot like the pompous Pharisee in Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).  Arrogant or not it’s in the Bible; at times like this it is essential to remember that the Bible is what we call, Divinely Inspired.  The speaker in this psalm is not a religious windbag, but the very Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God has every right to brag.  The Spirit of God cries out on our behalf, here in this psalm and in every moment.  This poem even takes on new meaning when we read it from a New Testament perspective.  Consider the words, “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (26:8).  The temple mentioned is us (1 Cor 6:19).  You and I are the house where God lives and the place where his glory dwells.  He loves it here; he loves you.  Read this psalm joyfully, knowing that God finds pleasure in you and his Spirit intercedes for us. (Rom 8:26)

RE: Psalm 25

No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. -Psalm 25:3

During times of doubt and struggle I have read and reread this verse until the words echoed in my head for days at a time. At times the world is an oppressive and bewildering place to live. At I do not even feel that I understand my own life. In these times Psalm 25 is of particular value. This psalm is simply a promise that God is worth the faith we've put in him.

There are many little proverbs that we use to encourage one another, sadly I do not usually find them encouraging. Truisms are well meant, but I can't buy into them. It would be better to take the encouragement wherever I can find it, but God reaches out to me, even in my cynicism, and offers Psalm 25.

What do you put your hope in?

RE: Psalm 24

This psalm has changed my life. God has used it to confront me with the reality of my forgiveness. “If the son sets you free you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). God is done counting my sin against me; he has atoned for my failures (John 19:29). If your hope is in Christ than the same is true for you. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). You can stand on his holy hill because you have clean hands and a pure heart; Jesus has given them to you.