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Sunday, February 9, 2014

Psalm 16:1-11

Salutation

... 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: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

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.

Psalm 16:1-11[1]

A Michtam of David.

Preserve me, O God: for in You I put my trust.

[My soul], you have said to the Lord, “You [are] my Lord. My goodness [extends] not to You: [but] to the saints that [are] in the earth, and [to] the excellent, in whom [is] all my delight.”

Their sorrows shall be multiplied [that] hasten [after] another [god]. Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names to my lips.

The Lord [is] the portion of my inheritance and of my cup. You maintain my lot. The lines are fallen to me in pleasant [places]. Yes, I have a good heritage.

I will bless the Lord, Who has advised me. My reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me. Because [He is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, My glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope: for You will not leave My soul in hell. Nor will You suffer Your Holy One see corruption. You will show me the path of life. In Your presence [is] fullness of joy. At Your right hand [there are] pleasures forever.

________

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

[1] We do not know exactly what a Michtam is. The Psalm is attributed to the author David and that fixes its date around 1,000 BC. David begins with a plea for God’s preserving power. How much our breath, second by second depends on the mercy of God, without which we die in a heartbeat. Since death is only a breath away, what sort of lives should we then live? Fearless lives in the loving service and worship of God. Since we are already as good as dead, nothing confined to this earth matters any longer. The only things that matter on earth are the realities of earth seen in their true light through the eyes of heaven: namely, faith.

With these realities in mind, David addresses God, then begins with confession. David is striving with all his human strength to a good man; but, the best that he has to offer, falls far short of God’s goodness, and the goodness that God requires of us. Far, far in the distance, David has a dim idea of the coming goodness of Jesus, Whose excellence meets all of David’s needs, and ours, as well. This is David’s delight, and ours.

In this light, idolatry is simply sad, filled with sorrow. Yet, at the early stages of David’s reign, there were plenty of folks who wanted to mix the worship of Yahweh with every other abomination imaginable. To a great extent, David’s great love of Yahweh saw the defeat of these abominations. Yet, not long after David’s repose these demonic evils came roaring back. Yes, the Israelites were worshipers of idolatrous abominations and demons: and so, frequently, are we.

David’s only heritage is Yahweh. Himself. David mentions the cup. This motif cannot be accidental.

David blesses: that is, gives thanks and praise to God for His great goodness. God is his advisor. God is his rock solid foundation. The reins or kidneys, like the heart, are a great seat of emotions in Hebrew idiom. A blow to the kidneys causes extreme pain and makes the knees buckle. David experiences great anguish in his nightly prayers over the conflict over idolatry in his kingdom. That some of his subjects are dying, trapped in demonism, brings him to his knees with tears: his prayer is marked with grief. Yahweh is his only hope, his only fortress in maintaining courage and resolve.

Bolstered by this power, David’s rational heart, the seat of thought in Hebrew idiom, is able to overcome the crucifying agony of his emotions. He is enabled to find joy and hope through his tears. He looks into the future dimly, to see Jesus, Who will conquer hell, Who will “trample death, by death, Who will return to live without being tainted by the stench of the tomb. David rejoices in the fullness and pleasures of the life to come: not a life of debauchery with foolish virgins; a life gazing into the beautiful face of God, and singing with the angels and saints forevermore.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Psalm 116:1-9 and 10-19

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 116:1-9 and 10-19[1]

I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice [and] my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me: therefore, I will call on [Him] as long as I live.

The sorrows of death circled me. The pains of hell gripped me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord. “Lord, I beseech You, deliver my soul.”

Gracious [is] the Lord, and righteous. Yes, our God [is] merciful. The Lord preserves the simple. I was brought low. He helped me.

Return to your rest, O my soul: for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you: for You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Division 16: Part 3

I believed, therefore I have spoken. I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, “All men [are] liars.”

What shall I render to the Lord [for] all His benefits to me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people.

Precious in the sight of the Lord [is] the death of His saints.

Lord, truly I [am] Your servant. I [am] Your servant, the son of Your handmaid. You have released my bonds. I will offer You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord’s house, in the heart of you, O Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

________

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[1] The Greek text of Psalms divides Psalm 116 into two parts between verses 9 and 10. We believe that this division is correct, that this is really two Psalms: both anonymous and undated.

The psalmist begins with a proclamation of love for God. He is not claiming that if God doesn’t listen, he refuses to love him: he only loves God because God did him a favor, some sort of heavenly quid quo pro. What the psalmist boldly announces is that without God’s condescension, he would not be able to love God at all (1 John 4:10). We would be remiss if we did not see Jesus in this. Jesus is the ultimate and final Word of condescension from God. There will not be another such Word. In Jesus resurrection from the dead we are empowered to enter into prayer that never ends: it is “as long as I live” only because the risen Christ can never die.

The agonies of sin, the realities of mortality, grip the psalmist. Again his poetry, his hymnology is highly prophetic. Jesus is the one who leads us through the valley of death (Psalm 23).

Out of our lowliness and brokenness in sin, He helps us, only because He is gracious, righteous, and merciful. Simple and low are not compliments.

Thus only, we may enter into the eternal Sabbath rest of God. This alone, is salvation. This exclusively, is the path of “the land of the living.”

Verse ten may be separate from the previous nine, but it is not unrelated. The condition of the human race is in total wreckage. The only reason it is not worse than this, is because God, in His rich mercy, has limited the decline of our race.

The psalmist asks about the will of God for his life (John 6:28). The answer is that in Christ, God has set a great feast table for the human race. God excludes no one. People exclude themselves. Free clothing, wedding garments are provided, but people are thrown out of the feast for refusing to wear these wonderful garments. We must come to the feast table and eat and drink freely. What have we all vowed that we must pay? We have vowed to love the Law of God. We are incapable of obeying it. But in Christ we enter into His perfect obedience: we share His life. What we cannot do, He does within us. While we fail miserably under the Law, in Jesus we build most magnificently upon the Law. “God became man, so that man might become God.”

The next verse seems horribly out of place until we consider that the death of Christ on the cross, “tramples down death by death.” Through His death, “death has lost its sting, the grave is swallowed up in victory, mortality is turned to life.” Death, which formerly indicated the great poverty of man, is now made of great value, it is precious.

Now Jesus takes the bread and the cup. He is the Servant of God, par excellence. He is the Son of Mary, the handmaid of God, the Virgin. He prepares the Feast Table and eats and drinks from it. He breaks the bonds of man. He is thankful to God, and offers the High Priestly prayer for us all. He is the lover of God’s Law. These things He did in Jerusalem, on Zion, in the Temple Courts. Then He went out to die.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Psalm 141:1-10

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 141:1-10[1]

A Psalm of David.

Lord, I cry to You. Make haste to [help] me. Give ear to my voice, when I cry to You. Let my prayer be set forth before You [as] incense; the lifting up of my hands [as] the evening sacrifice.

Set a watch, Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to [any] evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity. Let me not eat of their dainties.

Let the righteous smite me. [It is] kindness. Let him reprove me. [It is] excellent oil, [that] shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also [is] in the calamities [of the wicked]. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words: for they are sweet.

Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cuts and chops in the dirt. My eyes [are] on You, O God the Lord. In You is my trust. Leave not my soul destitute. Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, the traps of the workers of iniquity.

Let the wicked fall in their own nets, while I escape as well.

________

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

[1] This Psalm could fit against the backdrop of David’s flight, from either Saul or Absalom: but I think it fits best against Absalom. David writes, “their judges are overthrown in stony places.” This fits against his instruction to Hushai, “defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.” (2 Samuel 15:34; 17:14) In this context, David makes some amazing and profound observations and requests.

He asks that his prayer be accepted by God just as if he were standing beside the high priest at the time of the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem, on Zion, in the presence of God’s Glory. That is how we also pray, secretly in our prayer closets.

He realizes what James will later proclaim, the tongue cannot be controlled by man. So David asks that his prayer, and his life that flows from prayer, may not be defiled by sins of the tongue or thoughts of the heart. Where does such speech and thought come from? Largely because we feel compelled to answer the wicked, or imitate them.

David knows that many counselors are available to tell him what he wants to hear. He prays instead for counselors who will tell him the truth, even if it is a slap in the face. Truth is what he must follow, no matter the cost. Truth must prevail. Truth is the only thing that can save his sorry hide from this predicament.

Now David evaluates his danger. He is on the brink of being made like the wood chips scattered on the ground, chips that fell from a woodsman’s axe. That is what David’s bones will look like if Absalom catches him, so he prays accordingly. What an amazing evaluation of life’s true condition. It is only God’s protection that keeps us from Satan’s clutches.

David closes by praying, not for his own brand of justice, but for God’s brand of justice. God’s punishment is always appropriate. It almost always involves some form of forcing sinners to live with the consequences of their own ambushes, nets, plots, and traps, while the innocent victims are allowed to escape from the impending danger. “Live by the sword; die by the sword”: which is to say, set an ambush to murder and rob a victim with swords, and God’s idea of justice is that your ambush will fail, and you will be murdered and robbed by ambush. Hmmm…. I wonder how many of our business plans are really plots to ambush, deceive, and defraud others.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Psalm 98:1-9

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 98:1-9[1]

A Psalm.

Sing to the Lord a new song: for He has done marvelous things. His right hand, His holy arm, has gotten Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation. His righteousness has He openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He has remembered His mercy, and His truth to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Make a loud noise! Rejoice! Sing praise! Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet, make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea roar, and the fullness of it; the world, and those who dwell in them. Let the floods clap [their] hands. Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord: for He comes to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with equity.

________

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[1] The author and date for this delightful Psalm are unstated. We recommend that the reader sing this Psalm, by any means possible. We are far too concerned that its language might be Greek or Hebrew; the language of theology is poetry and hymnology. By teaching yourself to sing this, as well as other Psalms, you will begin to understand the claim: the language of theology is poetry and hymnology. This Psalm is a good and easy place to start singing. Sing. Sing your heart out to God.

The psalmist begins with a sung oration addressed equally to pagan and Israelite. God’s righteous heart has always been open to all people from square one. There is no such thing as a special chosen people, with special privileges in God’s plan. There is only a people chosen to be messengers of God’s merciful, truthful, and righteous salvation to every last soul on earth. This is the mission of both the Old Testament Church, more commonly known as Israel, and the New Testament Church, better known as simply The Church. The mission is accomplished primarily through worship. The universe is invited to see worship and enter into it, so it is promulgated more by worship example than by blunt message. The message must not be separated from worship, but must rather flow from the heart of worship. Sing. Sing your heart out to God.

The second paragraph is addressed more specifically to the earth, which may be a reference to Israel and Judah. The message has not changed. Worship is central to the message. Sing. Make your worship a living reality. Fill your day with worshipful singing. No, not with silly, senseless little choruses. Sing the Psalms. Sing the Scripture. Sing profoundly. If you can’t sing very well, make noise: set up an earth shattering clamor. Sing, and make it loud. Sing like you really mean it.

The final paragraph is addressed to the sea, which is probably a reference to the pagan world. The message is the same. Sing. Come join us in worshipful singing. Let joy flood your life, because Jesus has brought freedom, and equality to the earth. The eternal jubilee has come. Only evil beings would take this away from you: forget them. Sing. Sing in your pleasure and in your pain. Sing only to God. This alone will bring peace to our strife torn world. Sing.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Psalm 77:1-20

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 77:1-20[1]

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.

I cried to God with my voice, to God with my voice. He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the night, and ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled. I complained, My spirit was overwhelmed. Consider.

You hold my eyes waking. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night. I commune with my own heart. My spirit made diligent search.

Will the Lord cast off forever? Will He be favorable no more? Is His mercy clean gone forever? Does [His] promise fail forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Consider.

And I said, “This [is] my infirmity.” [I will remember] the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate also on all Your work, and talk of Your doings.

Your way, O God, [is] in the sanctuary. Who [is so] great a God as [our] God? You [are] the God Who does wonders. You have declared Your strength among the people. You have with [Your] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Consider.

The waters saw You, O God. The waters saw You. They were afraid. The depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water. The skies let out a roar. Your arrows also went abroad. The voice of Your thunder [was] in the heaven. The lightning illumined the world. The earth trembled and shook. Your way [is] in the sea. Your path [is] in the great waters. Your footsteps are not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

________

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[1] Jeduthun could be a personal noun, or a musical instruction or tune. Asaph pours out the sorrows of a bitter and broken heart. If he is also physically ill, we do not know what malady struck him. It may well be that his sorrow is so great it made him bodily sick.

Holding the eyes is the gesture of one who is weeping: Asaph somehow knows that God shares his sorrow. In despair, Asaph tries to remember the past, and put the shattered pieces of his broken life back together. This is a step we must all take when we are confronted with life crushing sorrow. We must try to understand the historical causes to our suffering.

Now he spells out the specific questions that his grief demands. What events in Asaph’s life could possibly call forth such questions? The destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity are the only events we can recall, which would bring forth such heart-wrenching agony, such screams of horror.

Asaph seeks comfort in the same place he sought understanding: he remembers the good years of God. Again, this is an essential step for us, as well. This is a life changing situation, but seen against the overall perspective of God’s goodness, things cannot be nearly as bad as they seem. Why not?

The answer comes from the sanctuary, not made with hands, which cannot be destroyed. The earthly temple, ark of the covenant, master copies of Scripture, Urim and Thummim may all be immolated, gone forever: but they were never more than copies, symbols of the heavenly realities of the same things, which can never be destroyed. God’s omnipotent Glory still rules over all, and even yet, redeems.

Now Asaph is able to remember the Exodus through his tears. He understands in the greatness of the mystery that a new Exodus, with a new Moses, and a new Aaron are coming. He knows, from the character of God, that the story isn’t over yet.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Psalm 53:1-6

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 53:1-6[1]

To the chief Musician on Mahalath, Maschil, [A Psalm] of David.

The fool has said in his heart, “[There is] no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable iniquity. No one does good.

God looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were [any] that understood, that sought God. Every one of them is gone back. They are altogether become filthy. No one does good, no, not one.

Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people [as] they eat bread. They have not called on God. There were they in great fear, [where] no fear was: for God has scattered the bones of him who besieges you. You have put [them] to shame, because God has despised them.

Oh that the salvation of Israel [were come] from Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

________

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

[1] For all intents and purposes, this Psalm is identical to Psalm 14, at least in the English text. The notable differences are these: Psalm 53 adds the word Maschil to the heading: we have little idea of what this term means. Psalm 53 has the word God, rather than Yahweh in the second, third, and fourth paragraphs: since both Psalms are attributed to David, we have little reason to believe that this difference is due to a change of convention or custom; David considered the terms interchangeable. This leaves the difference in the explanatory clause in paragraph four (verse 5). Knowledge of the exact situations escapes us.

Psalm 14: “for God [is] among the generation of the righteous. You have shamed the advice of the poor, because the LORD [is] his refuge.”

Psalm 53: “[where] no fear was: for God has scattered the bones of him who besieges you. You have put [them] to shame, because God has despised them.”

Our conjecture is that this triumphal Psalm was intended as a formalized pattern, similar to a Todah. Whenever, Yahweh God granted victory, this prayer would be sung, changing only the explanation of the particular circumstances at hand. Thus, this Psalm may have had uncountable versions: only two are recorded for our instruction.

The commentary on Psalm 14 follows, to save the reader the trouble of looking it up.

David could be staring at the living, talking, flaming Glory of God for all we know. He had seen this Glory many times; being in His Presence was David’s chief joy. When David says that atheism is foolishness, he is not mincing words: he knows exactly whereof he speaks.

David turns from his own evaluation to Yahweh’s evaluation. There is no such thing as a good person anywhere. It is clear that whatever David knows about his intimate inner self and about people in general, he learned from talking with God.

Knowledge is a fundamental element in people’s evil: not that knowledge isn’t available, but people are mentally defective, neither able to nor desirous of receiving it. So, they destroy God’s servants, and think they’ve done God a favor. But God is about to intervene in that situation, and make the wicked afraid: not because God’s servants are good, while others are not; that is not the case, all are not good. The righteous are righteous because they have taken ownership of their lack of goodness; they have sought and found refuge in God’s forgiving, healing, and justifying mercy; they have received the gift of God’s goodness.

David concludes that Zion is the center for such hope, salvation, and worship. Captivity speaks of the gathering, calling together, congregating of God’s people as one. This may indicate that David is writing during the first seven years of his reign, before the Israel and Judah tribes were reunited as one nation, under one king. However, this unity, or lack of it, is just as true today of heavenly Zion, and we look for the reality of this united congregation.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Psalm 31:1-24

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 31:1-24[1]

To the Chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

In You, Lord, I put my trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be my strong rock, for a house of defense to save me: for You [are] my rock and my fortress. Therefore, for Your name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me from the net that they have laid secretly for me: for You [are] my strength. Into Your hands I commit My spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

I have hated those who regard lying vanities. I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy: for You have considered my trouble. You have known my soul in adversity; and have not shut me up to the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large room.

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in trouble. My eye is consumed with grief, [yes], my soul and my belly: for my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity, My bones are consumed. I was a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to my acquaintance. Those who saw me without, fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind. I am like a broken vessel: for I have heard the slander of many. Fear [was] on every side: while they took counsel together against me, They devised to take away my life.

But I trusted in You, Lord. I said, “You [are] my God.” My times [are] in Your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine on Your servant. Save me for Your mercies’ sake. Let me not be ashamed, Lord: for I have called on You. Let the wicked be ashamed, Let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

How great [is] Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, [which] You have wrought for those who trust in You before the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret of Your presence from the pride of man. You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Blessed [be] the Lord: for He has showed me His marvelous kindness in a strong city: for I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes.” Nevertheless, You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to You.

Love the Lord, all His saints. The Lord preserves the faithful, and plentifully rewards the proud doer. Be of good courage, He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

________

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

[1] David examines the proper object of faith, and notes that only God is to be trusted. David is not using the word, trust, the way we use it today, he is not speaking about doubting other’s words, or suspecting every act. David is speaking about the fact that God is the concrete reality in his life. We tend to think of God as, “out there somewhere.” For David, God is his constant companion; the first one consulted, and usually the last, on any issue. Prayer was not something David did; it was his life. This is what is different about David. The Israelites often forgot to pray, and consequently, were always in hot water: kind of like us. David rarely forgot to pray, as the Psalms attest.

As a result, David relied on God to get him out of trouble: we remember that David had more trouble than most. God was worthy of that trust and rewarded David with the gift of freedom among mankind.

Now David is in a fresh trouble. We do not know exactly what this particular trouble is. Perhaps David is grieving the animosity of the Philistines (1 Samuel 27), about the time when Samuel died. Perhaps David is grieving because Joab murdered Abner (2 Samuel 3); this prevented reconciliation between the Israel and Judah tribes, and resulted in seven years of strife. Perhaps David is grieving over Absalom’s revolt (2 Samuel 15-17)

In spite of trouble, David trusts in God. He knows that His status in life depends on God’s timing, not his own effort.

Accordingly, David orders his prayer aright, he waits for God’s action, rather than taking matters in his own hands. How often we err when we do things our way. How often we sin with the words, “I’m going to fix this. I’m going to do something about it.” Instead, David prays for God’s blessing: especially in putting the wicked to shame, and the liars to silence.

God is good, and that goodness is what protects from human pride and strife. Self-willed human vengeance offers no protection whatsoever from such pride and strife.

David notes that he has found refuge in a strong city. Perhaps he remembers that Saul stopped chasing him when he was with Achish at Gath.

Finally, David has an exhortation for us, trust God to “strengthen your heart.” If the issue is zeal for God and His kingdom, we must fight, as with David and Goliath. If the issue is protection of the weak and helpless, we must fight. If the issue is saving our own necks, our own skins, we stand down. In every case we remain constant in prayer, because we cannot find the right direction without God’s guiding hand. The Holy Ghost will guide us into all truth, this is concrete reality.