... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
To the chief Musician, for the sons of Korah, Maschil.
We have heard with our ears, O God, our
fathers have told us, [what] work You
did in their days, in the times of old. You
drove out the heathen with Your hand, and planted them. You afflicted the people, and cast them out:
for they got not the land in possession by their own sword, Nor did their own
arm save them: but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your
countenance, because You had a favor to them.
You are my King, O God. Command deliverances for Jacob. Through You, we will push down our enemies. Through Your name, we will tread them under
that rise up against us: for I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword
save me. But You have saved us from our
enemies, and have put them to shame that hated us. In God we boast all the day, and praise Your
name forever. Consider.
But You have cast off, and put us to shame,
and go not forth with our armies. You make
us turn back from the enemy. Those who
hate us spoil for themselves. You have
given us like sheep for food; and have scattered us among the heathen. You sell Your people for nothing, and do not profit
from their price. You make us a reproach
to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to those who are round about us. You make us a byword among the heathen, a
shaking of the head among the people.
My confusion is continually before me, The
shame of my face has covered me: for the voice of him who reproaches and blasphemes;
by reason of the enemy and avenger. All
this is come on us. Yet we have not
forgotten You. Nor have we dealt falsely
with Your covenant. Our heart is not
turned back. Nor have our steps declined
from Your way. Though You have sore
broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God,
or stretched out our hands to an alien god. Shall not God search this out: for He knows
the secrets of the heart. Yes, for Your
sake we are killed all the day. We are
counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, why do You sleep, Lord? Arise, cast [us] not off forever. Why do You
hide Your face, [and] forget our
affliction and our oppression: for our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our belly clings to the earth.[2] Arise for our help, Redeem us for Your
mercies’ sake.[3]
[1] The
sons of Korah are not eyewitnesses of the saving acts of God wrought with hands
of Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites of 1446 to 1406 BC, or in the first thirty
years within the promised land. However,
they listened carefully to the family memories, passed down from generation to
generation (2 Timothy 2:2). The sons of
Korah understood from this family history that the Israelites were set apart, “had
a favor,” for a purpose driven task; God could not deny Himself until that task
was accomplished exactly as God had planned and explained it. Consequently, the sons of Korah rightly
believed that God’s salvation history could not possibly be concluded as far as
the Israelites were concerned. Everything hangs on the reality of this
salvation history.
Based on the reality of this salvation history, the sons of
Korah burst forth into songs of confidence and praise for God’s deliverance in
their present circumstance. Although not
an absolute case, we believe that this present circumstance is the troubles that
beset the Israelites, now becoming known as Jews, after 516 BC when they
returned from exile in Babylon. Briefly
stated, they lived in day-by-day fear and threat, and the Shekinah
had not yet returned. They had no
Autographa, no Ark, no Urim or Thummim.
They could not consecrate priests unless they were specifically named in
surviving records, and the Samaritans hated the ground they walked on. Most Jews had forgotten the Hebrew language.
As a result, the Jews felt rather estranged. The Glory of the Davidic kingdom was not
restored as they had hoped. Wandering away
from the shelter of Jerusalem was a life threatening risk. Jerusalem itself was constantly under threat
of attack, and always under armed guard.
Moreover, many families had been scattered abroad by the Assyrians in
722 BC, and even now and for centuries to come, these scattered families would
be known as the Diaspora, the Dispersion.
The sons of Korah cannot understand how God made any profit from such
transactions. We feel that way today as
well, since Christianity appears to be in a state of decline. Where is God when you really need Him? The answer to that question is that He is not
far away; He is near to every one of us; but He will come on His own time
schedule, which seems to us like an excessively long time. We lose heart; faith fades; but we are wrong.
The sons of Korah pour out their lament in a state of
bewilderment and confusion. They insist
that they have been faithful to God and His covenant Law. How short our memories are. The stone chips from the God carved Decalogue
had not yet landed on the ground when Israel made the golden calf. The feast of manna still filled their bellies,
when they demanded meat. The water was
not yet gone from their water bags, when they complained of dehydration. We have barely arisen from our morning prayers,
when the first sin crosses our lips.
Such is the course of man. Yes, “You have sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with
the shadow of death;” and we deserved every bit of this painful discipline
(Hebrews 12:1-11).
In spite of this reality of sinful life, the
sons of Korah are so convinced of their innocence that they continue with a
second verse of their lament.
And finally a third….
What the Psalm doesn’t say or see is that Jesus
will come around 4 BC, and most of the descendants of the sons of Korah won’t even
notice (John 1:10-13). Neither will we
be paying attention when the Shekinah flashes from the east to the
west: for we need to be warned to watch, Jesus comes as a thief, the foolish
bridesmaids were not prepared. It seems
contradictory, doesn’t it? Yet, Jesus
will come upon us stealthily, while we are not paying attention as we should,
but when He is upon us, His Glory will flash forth with unmistakable
brightness. Then, it will be too late to
amend our lives; we will be judged exactly as we are. It is not God Who slumbers. It is not good to be face down in the dirt.
[2] This
is Satan’s condition. God made man to
stand in His Presence, in the light of His smiling countenance.
[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or ND. They are designed and intended for your free
participation. They were freely
received, and are freely given. No other
permission is required for their use.
No comments:
Post a Comment