Psalm 137:1-9 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 137:1-9[1]

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.  Yes, we wept when we remembered Zion.  We hung our harps on the willows in the middle of it: for there, those who carried us away captive required of us a song.  Those who wasted us [required of us] mirth, [saying], “Sing us the songs of Zion.”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in an alien land?  If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget.  If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.  Remember, Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze, raze, to its foundation.”

O daughter Babylon, who are to be destroyed, blessed [is he], who rewards you as you have served us.  Blessed [shall he be], who takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.[2] [3]

---

[1] Truly, there is a Psalm for every season and emotion of man.  The Psalms of David are set around 1000 BC.  This Psalm is set after 586 BC, after the Babylonian Captivity and Exile.  The psalmist is bathed in anger, bitterness, and grief.  He is able to see and understand the promise of God to Solomon, that God answers all prayer directed to Him, and His Temple in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion: so he prays accordingly.  However, Solomon’s Temple is destroyed, it seems like the end of the world to this psalmist, and he is not yet able to grasp that there is, and always was, a heavenly Jerusalem, a heavenly Zion, and a heavenly Temple, far greater than Solomon’s Temple.  So he clings to his earthly memory through his tears of anger, bitterness, and grief.  In such a state the psalmist lashes out at all around him.  This is a normal part of the grieving process.  In fact we see several aspects of the grieving process in play here: anger (obviously), denial (he can’t quite face the fact that the Temple and everything in it is gone), negotiation (“let my tongue”, etc.), depression (“how shall we sing”, etc.).  The only thing missing is acceptance: the psalmist cannot yet see God’s grace and mercy in his misery, and he cannot yet embrace his captivity as a blessing from God.  So the fact that the psalmist lashes out is to be expected: he utters a wicked and terrifying oath.  “Blessed [shall he be], who takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.”

Before we judge the psalmist harshly, or even at all, perhaps we should consider some harsh realities.

The psalmist has witnessed living babies being killed by hammering them against rocks.  There are people who have witnessed firsthand Dresden, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Oklahoma City, or New York.  These are terrible soul scarring experiences: these witnesses will never fully recover.  It seems as if everything except breath itself has been take away from them: they wait, only to die, and thus, at last, forget.

In grief, the psalmist says things that (s)he would not say or mean, were (s)he in a better, more recovered frame of mind.  The psalmist would be able to embrace the reality, knowing that “what men intended for evil, God intended for good.”  Knowing, (s)he would eventually be able to forgive.  Knowing, we come to realize that these terrible tragedies are not driven by mere human will; but rather by demonic forces far beyond human power.

Grief often takes years for recovery.  We all experience grief at some time or other: all of us die, all of us see death.  We hope for patience and understanding as we struggle with grief.  It’s not something we will just snap out of: we have to endure the experience and its raging gamut of emotions.  We should extend the same patience and understanding to this poor psalmist.

The real beauty of this Psalm is found in the psalmist’s naked honesty: (s)he is just being honest with God.  Would to God that our prayer would achieve such honesty.  This is a Psalm for grief.

In spite of all these things, we must see a strong note of the consummation of the kingdom in this Psalm.  “We wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).”  Our adversary is Satan, who deceives and manipulates the leaders of this world.  Consequently, taking vengeance is forbidden to us.  On the other hand, the judgment of Yahweh is coming upon this world.  In Christ, we will participate in that judgment.  “Blessed [shall he be], who takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.”  Blessed is Christ, Who brings the final and just judgment.  In the Consummation, all anguish, bitterness, and sorrow will be swallowed up in victory.  ΙΣ ΧΣ ΝΙΚΑ!

[2] Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45; 5:25, 30; 7:4, 11, 18, 22, 26-27

[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  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.

Psalm 73:1-28 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 73:1-28[1]

A Psalm of Asaph.

Truly God [is] good to Israel, to such as are of a clean heart.

But as for me, my feet were almost gone.  My steps had well near slipped: for I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked.[2]

[There are] no pangs in their death.  Their strength [is] firm.  They [are] not in trouble [as other] men.  Nor are they plagued like [other] men.  Therefore pride circles about them as a chain.  Violence covers them [as] a garment.  Their eyes bulge out with fatness.  They have more than heart could wish.  They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [of] oppression.  They speak loftily.  They set their mouth against the heavens.  Their tongue walks through the earth.  Therefore his people return here.  Waters of a full [cup] are wrung out to them.  They say, “How does God know?  Is there knowledge in the most High?”  Behold, these [are] the wicked, who prosper in the world.  They increase [in] riches.

Certainly I have cleansed my heart [in] vain, and washed my hands in innocence: for all the day have I been plagued, and punished every morning.  If I say, “I will speak thus.”  Behold, I should offend the generation of Your children.  When I thought to grasp this, it [was] too painful for me: until I went to the sanctuary of God.  [Then] I understood their end.[3]

Surely You set them in slippery places.  You cast them down to destruction.  How are they [brought] to desolation, as in a moment!  They are utterly consumed with terrors, as a dream when [one] awakes.  Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.

Thus my heart was grieved.  I was pricked in my reins.  So foolish [was] I, and ignorant.  I was [as] a beast before You.  Nevertheless I [am] continually with You.  You have held [me] by my right hand.  You shall guide me with Your advice, and afterward receive me [in] Glory.

Whom have I in heaven [but You]?  [There is] no one on earth I desire beside You.  My flesh and my heart fails.  God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion forever: for, lo, those who are far from You shall perish.  You have destroyed all those who go a whoring from You.  But [it is] good for me to draw near to God.  I have put my trust in the Lord God, so that I may declare all Your works.[4]

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[1] The Psalms of Asaph are filled with lamentation, so much so that we believe their subject matter to be the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC at the hands of the Babylonians.  Indeed, we believe that Psalms Book III is devoted to the subject of the Babylonian Captivity from its causes to its termination.  As with Jeremiah, Asaph could be a first hand eyewitness (or eyewitnesses) of these historic events; but we cannot overlook the possibility that they could be prophetic in nature, written in the time of David.  Before we set aside this latter idea as being too fanciful, we hasten to point out that The Church has had a firmly established conviction about the Second Coming of Jesus for roughly two thousand years, so such prophetic clarity is not at all impossible or even unlikely.  Whether historically or prophetically, the content of Psalms Book III is almost certainly about the Babylonian Captivity.  Psalm 73 is an apt description of the Israelite arrogance obtaining immediately before the conquest of 586, and serves as an appropriate introduction to the subject matter.

Asaph begins with the declaration, painfully learned, that purity of heart matters in spite of the cruelty of the circumstances.

Asaph laments the dominant, overwhelming success of the wicked.  He notes how tempting it is to envy them.  Such envy is violently self-destructive: for his “feet … gone, steps … slipped.”  This describes being on the brink of death; which, ironically is exactly where prosperous Jerusalem is, on the brink of death.

Asaph describes in glowing detail the behavior of the corrupt wicked.  “Their tongue walks,” a curious and vividly descriptive figure of speech, indicating that the prosperous control the poor by clever oratory.  However, a cup is “wrung out” for them.  They erroneously think, to their error and shame, that the Crucifixion of Christ spells their victory; instead it spells their defeat.  God does know.  God will judge.  Even so today even our churches seem dominated by the wicked proud.  Shameless politicians lead in public prayer and boast of their conservative spirituality.  The poor are trampled underfoot.

Asaph mourns the seeming futility of his own worship.  He even experiences political correctness: for he couldn’t open his mouth without offending someone.  It was only in God’s house where he was able to visualize the bigger picture.

Asaph speaks of the downfall of Jerusalem with words that are catastrophic, sudden, swift, and thorough.  Nothing is left (utterly consumed).  It is like his worst, terrifying nightmare.

Asaph is as pained as if he had been struck in the kidneys, not because of the prosperous wicked, but because he failed to see the hand of God in all things, even in the wickedness of the wicked.  His vexation is turned to joy when he realizes that eternity holds all the answers.  Jerusalem is not the true City of God, it is a mere picture; yet even if the picture is grievously defaced, the reality stands secure.

Asaph concludes with a beautiful little hymn, a Psalm within a Psalm, a fleeting glimpse of hope in a sea of disaster.  Even so today, we find our hope in God alone, in spite of the fact that our world seems to be crumbling about us.  The poor and downtrodden will overcome at last.

[2] The wicked do prosper in this world.  1% of Americans control 40% of the wealth; while millions are without clothing, food, or shelter.  That statistic cannot be merely accidental.  There are days when the believers and lovers of God can’t get anything right; and envy of the wicked is an easy pit into which we fall.  Asaph’s advice is to go to church more, to pray more, to see the picture through God’s eyes.  It is not God Who needs to awake; it is we who are having this nightmare.  This is serious: as serious as a heart attack or a punch in the kidneys.  I’m told that a heart attack is like having an elephant sitting on the chest.  A punch in the kidneys buckles the knees, so that you fall to the ground with uncontrolled tears streaming from the eyes.  We need to be constantly reminded that God is with us, even in death.  We need to draw near to God, because He is never far away, and because He is supremely good.

[3] With the impending destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple at the hands of the Babylonians in 586, Asaph’s heart is shredded over the situation.  His own efforts to maintain faithful in worship seem futile.  All around him, Jewish youth are returning to pagan behavior and idolatry.  So much so, that Asaph cannot even speak of Yahweh worship without offending Jewish people: many have “unfriended” him, or simply ignore him.  Asaph is in pain trying to get his head around this kind of anger, hatred and malice.  He gets some comfort in worship.  Yet, still there must be pain: for how can he consider the deaths of other Jews without feeling grief?  How can he know that wrath is coming, and not be in turmoil?

[4] 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.

Psalm 135:1-21

... 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 135:1-21[1]

Praise the Lord.

Praise the name of the Lord.  Praise [Him], O servants of the Lord.  You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.  Praise the Lord: for the Lord [is] good.  Sing praises to His name: for [it is] pleasant: for the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His distinctive treasure:[2] for I know that the Lord [is] great.  Our Lord [is] above all gods.

What the Lord pleased, He did, in heaven, and on earth, in the seas, and all deep places.  He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain.  He brings the wind from His treasuries.  He struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.  [He] sent tokens and wonders to the middle of you, O Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his servants.  He struck great nations, and slew mighty kings: Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan: and gave their land [for] a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.

Your name, Lord, [is] eternal, Your memorial, Lord, throughout all generations: for the Lord will judge His people.  He Himself will relent concerning His servants.

The idols of the heathen [are] silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.  They have mouths, but they speak not.  Eyes have they, but they see not.  They have ears, but they hear not.  Nor is there [any] breath in their mouths.[3]  Those who make them are like them.  [So is] everyone who trusts in them.

Bless the Lord, O house of Israel.  Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.  Bless the Lord, O house of Levi.  You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.  Blessed be the Lord from Zion, Who dwells at Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.[4]

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[1] In this Psalm of Praise, God compares and contrasts us, His people with a litany of the most wicked nations and assures us that we will be judged and punished as surely as they were judged and punished; but mercy will be extended to those who sincerely serve Him.

Praise centers on God’s house, a specific place in Israel, in Jerusalem, on a specific hill.  We ought not think that any Israelite really believed that this place was the dwelling place of God.  Rather, God made His Presence, His Sh^ekinah audible and visible there, and before that in a tent in the wilderness as well as at Shiloh for the space of eight hundred sixty years, so that no one could ever raise the irrational excuse that God does not exist.  The fact that this spectacle was witnessed by millions upon millions of people sets the seal that it was impossible to fabricate.  There is no other reason for the existence of Israel as a nation, small and easily overthrown by any of the surrounding nations, other than that Yahweh was audibly and visibly there and defended them from all enemies.  Yahweh alone is worthy of praise.

The evidence for Yahweh’s real existence depends on His acts.  He does what He pleases in heaven and on earth.  We may attempt to explain away the existence of lightening, rain, and wind as the random functions of the created earth (a dubious position).  However, when it comes to the death of the “firstborn of Egypt” we are stumped.  Here is something that cannot be explained by accidental Providence; it is clearly miraculous.  We may attempt to explain away the defeat of Sihon and Og as battle victories.  The reality is that a ragtag bunch of sheepherders overcame established kingdoms with well-trained militia.  The manifold miracles of the Exodus, the plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea and Jordan, the giving of the Law, all of which are brought to mind by the Passover; these miracles cannot be explained away.  They really happened, and they are the necessary and sufficient evidence of Yahweh’s existence.

Yahweh is eternal.  Therefore, judgment begins at the house of God.  God’s standard of judgment is mercy.  “He Himself will relent…” not to all Israel, but only to His sincere servants.  Faith cannot be counterfeited.

Having judged His people Israel, Yahweh now proceeds to judge the whole pagan world, which is characterized by the absence of any living sensibility: inert matter (silver and gold), speechless, blind, deaf, and breathless, “everyone who trusts in them.”

Those who “fear Yahweh” bless Him.  Herein lies the real difference, not in whether they are Israelite or pagan; but in whether they fear God or do not fear Him.  It has often been said that this means to respect God; but God makes our knees tremble, and that is real fear, not merely respect.  Only after we have been perfected by His Love is fear cast out (1 John 4:17-19).  Such fear and love begins at Jerusalem, wonders at Bethlehem, and is satiated at Golgotha; nay rather on the day of Pentecost by the giving of the Holy Ghost, thus guaranteeing that the Lord Jesus Christ is seated on the throne of David by His glorious resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:29-36).  What will we ever do about that?

“Praise the LORD.”

[2] This choosing is to be a witness to the world.  Israel is not a chosen people because of their exclusive salvation.  The choosing of God is a national ordination to service: namely, the service of evangelism and witnessing.  Witness is not an individual effort but the synchronous work of the whole nation together.  There are individuals with special gifts of prophetic utterance, but witness is the work of all Israel, of all The Church: it cannot be done by isolated and separated individuals.  It is meaningless without the unity of Love.

[3] Hidden in these fervent denials is the strong affirmation that Yahweh is unmade, speaks, sees, hears, and breathes.  These are not things which any idol is able to do; but Yahweh does them all as an eternal reality.  If we ever needed proof for the existence of God, here it is in the concrete realty of His prophetic Word, His watchful eye, His caring ear, and the breath of His Holy Ghost.  First the wicked cease to obey His Word.  Then the wicked deny that God sees their crimes; they do not deny that He exists: that only comes later, after much hardening has taken place.

[4] 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.

Psalm 83:1-18

... 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 83:1-18[1]

A Song [or] Psalm of Asaph.

Keep not silence, O God.  Hold not Your peace.  Be not still, O God: for, lo, Your enemies make a tumult.  Those who hate You have lifted up the head.  They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and advised against Your hidden ones.  They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation: so that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.”  They have taken advice together with one consent.  They are confederate against You.

The tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites; of Moab and the Hagarenes; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre.  Assur also is joined with them.  They have helped the children of Lot.  Consider.

Do to them as the Midianites: as Sisera, as Jabin, at the brook of Kison: [who] perished at Endor.  They became dung for the earth.  Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yes, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: who said, “Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.”[2]

O my God, make them like a wheel, as the stubble before the wind.  As the fire burns a wood, as the flame sets the mountains on fire: so persecute them with Your tempest.  Make them afraid with Your storm.  Fill their faces with shame: so that they may seek Your name, Lord.  Let them be confounded and troubled forever.  Yes, let them be put to shame, and perish.  That [they] may know that You, Whose name alone [is] Jehovah, [are] the most high over all the earth.

________

If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

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[1] Psalm 81: the failure of the people to worship Yahweh alone.  Psalm 82: the failure of the leaders (gods) to execute justice.  Psalm 83: the failure of the surrounding nations to be supportive.

Asaph details a lengthy list of the charges brought against the surrounding nations.  Their evil behavior is not seen merely as an attack against Israel-Judah, but as an attack upon, a war against God.  “They are confederate against You.”

Asaph then lists all the nations under indictment.  They are evidently lead by the descendants of Lot.  “They have helped the children of Lot.”

Asaph, in his opening argument, draws on Israel’s history of wars against God’s enemies (Judges 4; 6-8).  The principal motivation for their crime is, “Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.”

Finally, Asaph specifies the punishment he is seeking.  Again we are tempted to see this in terms of blasphemous human vengeance.  In case we fail to be convinced that this is impossible, Asaph makes the point very clear.  “That [they] may know that You, Whose name alone [is] Jehovah, [are] the most high over all the earth.”  This is the purpose behind all affliction: that people would turn to God and be saved.

[2] This is more than a land grab.  The purpose of this war is to overthrow Yahweh worship.  Could such a motivation lie behind all human war, and murder: the open defiance of God (James 4:1-4)?

Psalm 82:1-8

... 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 82:1-8[1]

A Psalm of Asaph.

God stands in the congregation of the mighty.  He judges among the gods.

How long will you judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?  Consider.  Defend the poor and fatherless.  Do justice to the afflicted and needy.  Deliver the poor and needy.  Rid [them] from the hand of the wicked.

They know not.  Nor will they understand.  They walk on in darkness.  All the foundations of the earth are out of course.

I have said, “You [are] gods.  All of you [are] children of the most High: but you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth: for You shall inherit all nations.

________

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[1] Asaph writes at the time of the Babylonian captivity, but his perspective seems to be more Judean than Babylonian.  This Psalm is about God’s judgment.  Asaph uses the term, gods, twice with respect to men: the term indicates anyone who grants wishes, human leaders.  So, Asaph most likely has in mind the Israelite leaders who thought highly of themselves, who took the honors bestowed by God for granted, who failed miserably, and who were the direct cause of the deportation to Babylon.

Judgment follows immediately.  These little gods are unjust, approve of wicked people, fail to protect the poor and orphans, do injustice to the afflicted and needy, fail to deliver the poor and needy.  These several injustices that they committed in violation of the Law are the immediate reasons for the deportation.  What they have failed to do in obedience to the covenant is made a demand to perform: do it or else.  Defend, do justice, deliver, rid: get rid of the wicked.

After judgment comes an analysis of the condition of these petty gods: they are ignorant, lack understanding, and walk in darkness.  These are leaders of sorts; they are supposed to have knowledge and understanding: but, in reality, they are not very bright.  There is little excuse for this behavior, since knowledge and understanding come as a gift through meditating on the Law day and night (Psalm 1).  Because their leadership is so sorry, they have put the earth off course.  What are these foundations and what does it mean to be off course?  Israel was called to be the moral standard of the world in preparation for the fullness of the coming of Christ.  In order to accomplish this task they were given the Law at Sinai.  Their leaders (very possibly these gods) were blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost so that they could understand and apply this Law: but over generations they squandered everything.  They learned to walk in darkness by choice.  As a result, the common Israelites, and the pagan world were left without any moral compass.  Everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong.

Next, the verdict is delivered.  In spite of the great privilege they had as gods and the children of God, they will now go to execution and death.

Asaph comes to rejoice in this: for he realizes that as God cleans house by judgment, the moral course of the earth will be restored, and all nations will be invited to come to Christ (Psalm 2).  The judgment of God is a good thing, because it works salvation among men, and it reduces temptation for believers.