Psalm 11:1-7 rA

... 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.

Psalm 11:1-7[1]

To the Chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David.

In the Lord I put my trust.

Why do you say to my soul, “Flee [as] a bird to your mountain?” for, lo, the wicked bend [their] bow; they make ready their arrow on the string: so that they may secretly shoot at the upright in heart.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The Lord [is] in His holy temple.  The Lord’s throne [is] in heaven.  His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men.  The Lord tries the righteous.  But the wicked and he who loves violence His soul hates.  On the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest.  [This shall be] the portion of their cup: for the righteous Lord loves righteousness.  His countenance beholds the upright.[2]

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[1] David raises questions about wicked activity around him, threatening his life and foundations: his enemies want him to fly away.  David remembers that all his foundations are in God.  Here we see that David's understanding of God's throne and temple is greater than any place on earth.  When David was a little boy, the sin of Israel had resulted in God’s Self-willed exile together with His throne among the Philistines: God simply got fed-up, and left the Israelites to their own corrupt devices.  David lived to see God return to Jerusalem, with His throne (the Ark of the Covenant), to Zion, to live in a tent.  Solomon would build the first temple.  Nevertheless, David always understood that these temporal things were merely ways for the invisible God to make Himself known to the world.  The Presence of God in flaming-smoking Glory, riding on and speaking from the Ark, were never more than pictures of a greater reality.  God is everywhere, but He is rarely audible or visible.  Now we hear and see Him in Jesus, His eternal Son.  Now we hear and see Him by the power of the Holy Ghost.

David begins with his declaration of faith.

Since David has such confidence in Yahweh, why is he always running to hide?  David’s mountain is most likely Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where the Ark of the Covenant resided in a tent.  Is David afraid to face conflict?

Part of the answer to these questions is that Yahweh, Whose Presence is enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant at Zion is the Foundation Stone, the One Who determines the outcome of every earthly conflict.  It is not that David is afraid to face conflict; but rather, that David is unwilling to enter into conflict without doing it God’s way.  It is necessary for the prince to consult the King before the prince swings into action.  David is not free to act unilaterally, without God’s explicit authority.  For David to act unilaterally is to undermine his own foundation stone, his relationship with Yahweh.  While Yahweh cannot be undermined, David can cause himself great harm by acting before or even without prayer.  Our action when not preceded by prayer, is one of the great causes of our failure.  The question, “what can the righteous do?” is answered by the introductory declaration of faith, “Trust in Yahweh.”

David concludes with several observations about Yahweh that provide further explanation for the importance of these things.  The temple and throne of Yahweh is really heavenly, not earthly: Zion and the Ark are merely icons of a greater living reality.  Yahweh has all mankind, even the righteous, on trial, and examines all human behavior: we are responsible for what we do.  Yahweh separates the righteous from the wicked with the execution of His judgment.  “Yahweh loves righteousness” and smiles (His countenance) upon those who honor it.  Within the context of this Psalm, such righteousness consists of seeking Yahweh’s direction in prayer, before taking action.  In the larger context of the whole Psalter, such righteousness consists of loving the Law (Torah), and in seeking the mercy and power of God to obey that Law.

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Mark 9:17-31

... 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.

Mark 9:17-31

And one of the multitude answered and said, “Master, I have brought my son to you: for he has a dumb spirit.  Wherever[1] [the spirit] seizes him and tears him, he foams, gnashes with his teeth, and passes out.  I asked your disciples to cast out [the spirit]; but they could not….”

He answers him, and says, “O faithless[2] generation, How long shall I be with you?  How long shall I suffer you?  Bring him to me.”

They brought [the boy] to [Jesus]; as soon as He saw him[3], immediately the spirit tore him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.  So, [Jesus] asked his father, “How long ago is it since this [first] came to him?”  And he said, “Since childhood.  Often it has cast him into the fire, and into the water, to destroy him: but if you can[4] do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”

Jesus said to him, “If you can[5] believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”[6]

Immediately the child’s father cried out, and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying to him, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter into him no more.  And the spirit cried, rent him violently, came out of him, and he was [left] as one dead: insomuch that many said, “He is dead!”  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

Later, when He came to the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could not we cast him out?”[7]

He said to them, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”[8]

And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any man should know it: for He taught His disciples, and said to them, “The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after He is killed, He shall rise the third day.”[9]

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[1] Wherever in preference to whenever, because where he fell when he passed out was of critical importance.

[2] Vocative: the crux of the problem is directed to the father, who is told that he is a member of a generation that has no faith.  This may be also obliquely directed at the disciples, who may be members of the same faithless generation.

[3] The antecedents are unclear.  Whether Jesus saw the boy or whether the boy, and hence the demon, saw Jesus is not a grave difficulty.  The incident is illustrative, so its present cause and timing is incidental to the point of the pending miracle, which is about faith, not about the demon’s particular current activity.

[4] If: the father, lacking faith does not understand the problem; he thinks he has come to a great spiritual healer, who can magically make his child well.  The father does not realize that he has come to God, Who alone is able to heal, and had he come to God sooner, he might not have endured such enduring agony.  Such is the nature of prayer: God expects us to pray; prayer is the signal indication of our genuine faith.

[5] If: a powerful play on words; the issue is not whether Jesus is able to heal; but does the father have enough faith to bother with prayer?

[6] The father does not believe.  Had he believed he would not have waited until now to bring his concern to God in prayer.

[7] Even the disciples have come to believe that this is some sort of magical power that resided with them.  They did not understand the gift of God.

[8] Jesus’ lesson is about faith.  Our society wants to make faith into something we conjure up: faith in faith.  You are not healed because your faith is not strong enough.  That almost looks like the point Jesus makes.  However, faith is not some magical talisman, a rabbit’s foot or genie’s lamp we can rub, whenever we don’t have what we think we want.  Faith involves real substance and real evidence (Hebrews 11:1-3).  What is lacking in this picture of faith is evidence and substance.  No sooner has the father asked for help that Jesus criticizes him and the generation around him for their lack of faith.

In Jewish society that would involve temple attendance three times a year, regular synagogue worship, the morning and evening prayers, fasting twice a week.  It is not that these things were to be done in drudgery, as the Pharisees did them: by regulation.  These things were the privileges of being a Jew, the response of gratitude, offered up in joy and love.  Such joy and love expressed in free and willing worship was intended to lift up the entire world to God, calling all to repentance and faith.

This incident indicates that few of this generation including the disciples and the father knew much about God’s spiritual relationship with them.  When the disciples ask, they learn that their faith is lacking in fasting and prayer.  The Jews were supposed to be experts at fasting and prayer, yet there is little evidence that they knew much about either: “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”  We recall that on another occasion, the disciples had to ask Jesus how to pray (Luke 11:1).  They were anything but experts on the subject: prayer is something that priests and Pharisees do.

Jesus answer seems harsh until we realize that the Old Testament is packed full of lessons in prayer, fasting, and how to worship the Living God.  Neither the father nor the disciples had remembered why they were Jews.  Because of this, the disciples were sent out to them as “the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6).”  The problem is that this generation wanted faith without putting any sweat into it, a sort of faith without works.  It just doesn’t work that way.

[9] We might ask, What does this have to do with the previous lesson.  Jesus uses the previous lesson as a teaching opportunity.  The defeat of Satan is accomplished by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.  No amount of faith or works can measure up to these great accomplishments.  Our task as faithful disciples is to publish these great accomplishments by our joyous and loving worship.  That is the beginning and the ending of my Christian life in Christ.  This defines me as a person.  I am a baptized Christian, a member of the body of Christ; as a member of His body, I naturally participate in it.  That is what faith is and does.  Faith fasts and prays.  Faith enters into spiritual warfare.

Mark 2:1-12

...  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).

Mark 2:1-12[1]

Again He entered Capernaum after several days; and it was reported that He was in the house.  Immediately, many were gathered together, so that there was not enough room to receive them, no, not even around the door: and He preached the Word to them.

Four came to Him carrying, bringing one sick of the palsy.  When they could not come near Him because of the crowds, they dug up the roof where He was: when they had broken it up, they let down the bed on which the sick of the palsy lay.

When Jesus saw their faith[2] (of the four), He said unto the sick of the palsy, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

There were certain scribes sitting there, who reasoned in their hearts, “Why does this man speak blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins besides God alone?”

Immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned this way internally, He said to them, “Why do you reason these things in your hearts?  Is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and walk?’  But, so you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, He says to the sick of the palsy, ‘I say to you, Arise, take up your bed, and go your way to your house.’ ”

Immediately, he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this before.”

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[1] There is a direct connection between sin and sickness.  This case is evidently the specific sin of the paralytic that is the cause of his illness.

In other cases the cause of sickness could be the specific sin of the individual, the sin of others, or the original sin of all mankind.  In this last case the sickness has no assignable reason, but it exists for the Glory of God (John 9:1-3): in which case the question of who sinned is irrelevant.  The Psalms repeatedly assure us that such afflictions draw us closer to God: that is certainly the case here.

What is amazing in this passage is that the paralytic is healed, is forgiven his sins, because of the faith of four other people, four friends, who have brought him to Jesus, and not because of his own faith.

Dear Father, there are more than seven billion people in our world, more than three hundred million people in our country, more than one hundred thousand people in our town; as well as many family members, friends, acquaintances, even casual acquaintances, and enemies.  We bring all of these to You in faith seeking Your healing and Your forgiveness of their sins.  Nevertheless, Your will be done.

Dear Father, please inform each one of them about the gift of the Holy Ghost; move in each heart, the desire to ask You for this magnificent gift; and give the life giving power of the Holy Ghost to all who ask in sincerity and truth.  Nevertheless, Your will be done.

Dear Father, do this because we have had the faith to bring all of these to you in prayer.  Nevertheless, Your will be done.

[2] Our generation has manufactured a new concept of faith: faith in faith.  This or that person does not have faith enough to be healed: it’s their fault that they are not healed.  This is utter foolishness.  The faith of the four friends motivated them to carry the paralytic to Jesus, dig up the roof, and lower the pallet through the hole in the roof: nothing more.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1); it always has this substance with it; in this case the substance of the four is seen in their actions related to Jesus: nothing more (Hebrews 11-12).  Jesus’ faith, that the Father had appointed Him to this service enabled Him to perform the miracles involved.  Note that He had the power within Himself, but His faith assured Him that, His will and His Father’s will, as well as the will of the Holy Ghost were in perfect accord.  Our faith assures us that it is necessary to do something: then we, in obedience, do it.

Jesus said, “If you have faith and do not doubt … if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.”  (Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:22-23).  This is not magic.  This is a veiled reference to an historic event.  Ezekiel, having faith to see the will of God, prophesied about the destruction of Tyre (26:3-21).  Nebuchadnezzar II came and completed part of this prophecy (586-573).  Tyre rebuilt itself in an island fortress.  In 332 BC, Alexander the Great came to Tyre and besieged it again.  His soldiers carried dirt and rocks from an adjacent mountain to build a causeway out to the island of Tyre, and destroyed it.  Tyre was besieged again, and again, and again: Macedonians (315-314 BC), Fatimids (996-998 AD), Crusaders (1111-1112), Venetians (1124), Saladin (1187); long after Jesus spoke about the meaning of faith.  God promised to obliterate Tyre, and God did exactly that.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tyre

Jesus’ message is simply this: if you are absolutely confident that God wants you to move this mountain, start digging.  If God wants it done, it shall be done.  Let us put away this abuse of the meaning of faith.  God makes His will happen.  Man, in faith, may understand a small part of that will, and be allowed to participate in it.  Mary of Bethany understood, by faith, that Jesus was about to be crucified; accordingly, she washed His feet with her tears and anointed Him for burial (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8): it was simply the decent thing to do.  All of the Apostles heard the same preaching that Mary heard.  She alone, sat at Jesus feet and paid attention.  She alone, believed.

Faith is not a magic formula, whereby we conjure up miracles by our own power; that idea is demonic, witchcraft: we need to abandon it.  Faith always has substance.  If you have faith in God to do something, go do it.

This is the principal difference between faith and hope.  Faith and hope are both informed by the certainty that God does what He wishes in heaven and on earth (Psalms 46:10; 58:10; 115:3; 2 Peter 3:9).  Faith sees how it can enter into the will of God.  Hope does not see that it can do anything, but is confident that God will act.  Love continues even though faith has faded, hope is dimmed, and death approaches (1 Corinthians 13).  Hence, love is superior to all.

Psalm 37:1-40

... 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).

Psalm 37:1-40[1]

[A Psalm] of David.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers.  Be not envious of the workers of iniquity: for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.  Trust in the Lord, and do good.  Dwell in the land; certainly you shall be fed.  Delight yourself also in the Lord.  He shall give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord.  Trust also in Him.  He shall bring [it] to pass.  He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.  Rest in the Lord.  Wait patiently for Him.  Fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.  Cease from anger.  Forsake fury.  Fret not yourself in any wise to do evil: for evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, shall inherit the earth: for yet a little while, and the wicked [shall] not [be].  Yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it [shall] not [be]; but the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.  The Lord shall laugh at him: for He sees that his day is coming.  The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay such as be of upright conversation.  Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man has [is] better than the riches of many wicked: for the arms of the wicked shall be broken; but the Lord upholds the righteous.  The Lord knows the days of the upright.  Their inheritance shall be forever.  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time.  In the days of famine, they shall be satisfied; but the wicked shall perish, The enemies of the Lord [shall be] as the fat of lambs.  They shall consume, to smoke shall they consume away.  The wicked borrows, and pays not again; but the righteous shows mercy, and gives: for [those who are] blessed by Him shall inherit the earth.[2]  [Those who are] cursed by Him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.  He delights in his way.  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholds [him with] His hand.  I have been young, [now I] am old.  Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.  [He is] ever merciful, and lends.  His seed [is] blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good[3].  Dwell forever: for the Lord loves judgment, and forsakes not His saints.  They are preserved forever.  But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever.  The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, His tongue talks of judgment.  The law of His God [is] in his heart.  None of his steps shall slide.  The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.  The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the Lord.  Keep His way.  He shall exalt you to inherit the land.  When the wicked are cut off, you shall see [it].  I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green bay tree.  Yet he passed away, Lo, he [was] not.  Yes, I sought him; but he could not be found.  Mark the perfect [man], Behold the upright: for the end of [that] man is peace; but the transgressors shall be destroyed together.  The end of the wicked shall be cut off; but the salvation of the righteous [is] of the Lord.  Their strength in the time of trouble.  The Lord shall help them, and deliver them.  He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them: because they trust in Him.

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[1] Psalm 37 is an exhortation against fretting.  Fretting is an extreme form of anxiety or worrying in which the fretter obsesses on his or her troubles until (s)he exhausts himself or wears herself ragged.  The Psalm may have Saul in view: Saul literally perished on his own sword (1 Samuel 31:4-6).

The first paragraph is a series of commands beginning with “fret not”, which is repeated three times.  Hebrew repetition is always emphatic, so we conclude that not fretting is the main point of the Psalm.  Look at the commands: fret not, be not envious, trust, dwell, delight, commit, trust, rest, wait, fret not, cease, forsake, fret not.  These are things we must strive to do.  Hidden is this list are several synonyms for faith: trust is the principal one.  The opposite of fretting is faith.  Also hidden among them are two exhortations about anger: anger serves little or no functional purpose; it only weakens the person who has it.  Anger is not only a major source of heart attacks and strokes (1 Samuel 25:38-38), it makes the person who has it, the victim, and gives power to his enemies.  The paragraph draws the conclusion, “the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

The second paragraph makes specific observations about the wicked.  While these observations are general in nature, they are universally true; they may be drawn directly from the life and death of Saul.  This is an oft repeated lesson of Scripture.  Whatever wickedness a person plots, will return to destroy him, while the victim is set free.  Since this may be fulfilled either in this life or in the next; the wicked need not comfort themselves with the idea that they got away with something; nor should the blessed fret that physical death has ended their hopes for life and peace.

The third paragraph draws a series of contrasts between the life of the wicked and the life of the righteous, in order to show that the life of the righteous may be humble, but it is always better.  This is an important lesson in our country where a superfluity of luxury lulls us into a false sense of security.  What this abundance of wealth really does is fill our lives with thorns, choking us to death, until we become completely fruitless (Matthew 13:7, 22).  Among the worst things a person can do in life, is to get caught up in the enslaving pursuit of wealth: it is a vapor; it will vanish away (James 4:13-16).

The fourth paragraph emphasizes how different the lives of good people really are.  However, it subtly raises the question, What makes a person good?

Paragraph five adds another command to the already lengthy list: “depart”.  This departure is enabled by “The law of His God in his heart.”  It is the incessant guidance of God’s Law, taught by the Holy Ghost, bringing us to Christlikeness that makes us truly good in Him.  We are healed.  We are justified (not condemned).  We are washed.

Paragraph six concludes the Psalm with two final commands: “wait” and “keep”.  Patience and perseverance are those virtues which God builds into believers’ lives that see them through.  Life looks as if the wicked prosper, but this is an illusion.  In the greater scheme of things, faith in Yahweh is always the best way.  There are many bad and wicked ways, but only one way is best.  Fretting over this is futile.  God shall certainly deliver and save His children, “because they trust in Him.”

[2] This is a Psalm of beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12).  The word “blessed” is found twice in this Psalm.  In paragraph one “the meek shall inherit the earth.”  In paragraph three “[the] blessed by Him shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

[3] The exhortation to “do good” has now been repeated.  The new creation, joining the faithful to the body of Christ, makes it possible for them to enter into Christ and actually do good.