Psalm 22:1-31

... 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.

Psalm 22:1-31[1]

To the Chief Musician on Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?  [Why are You so] far from helping Me, [and from] the words of My roaring?  O My God, I cry in the day time, but You hear not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

But You [are] holy, Who inhabits the praises of Israel.  Our fathers trusted in You.  They trusted, and You delivered them.  They cried to You, and were delivered.  They trusted in You, and were not confounded.

But I [am] a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.  All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn.  They shoot out the lip, They shake the head, [saying], “He trusted on the Lord [that] He would deliver him.  Let Him deliver him, seeing he delighted in Him.”

But You [are] He Who took Me from the womb.  You made Me hope on My mother’s breasts.  I was cast on You from the womb.  You [are] My God from My mother’s belly.

Be not far from Me: for trouble [is] near, for [there is] no one to help.  Many bulls have circled Me.  Strong [bulls] of Bashan have surrounded Me.  They gaped at Me [with] their mouths, [as] a ravening and a roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, All My bones are out of joint.  My heart is like wax.  It is melted in the heart of My bowels.  My strength is dried up like a potsherd.  My tongue clings to My jaws.  You have brought Me to the dust of death.

Dogs circled Me.  The assembly of the wicked enclosed Me.  They pierced My hands and My feet; I may count all My bones.  They[2] look [and] stare at Me.  They part My garments among them, and cast lots for My vesture.

But be not far from Me, Lord.  My Strength, hasten to help Me.  Deliver My soul from the sword; My darling from the power of the dog.  Save Me from the lion’s mouth.  You have heard Me from the horns of the monarchs.[3]

I will declare Your name to My brothers.  In the middle of the congregation I will praise You.  You who fear the Lord, praise Him.  All you the seed of Jacob, glorify Him.  Fear Him, all you the seed of Israel: for He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted.  Nor has He hid His face from him.  But when he cried to Him, He heard.

My praise [shall be] of You in the great congregation.  I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.  The meek shall eat and be satisfied.  They shall praise the Lord that seek Him.  Your heart shall live forever.  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord.  All the tribes of the nations shall worship before You: for the kingdom [is] the Lord’s.  He [is] the governor among the nations.

All [those who are] fat on earth shall eat and worship.  All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him.  No one can keep alive his own soul.  A seed shall serve Him.  It shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.  They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness to a people that shall be born, that He has done [this].

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[1] The Psalm of the Crucifixion, a Victory Hymn

Matthew 27:46, the cry of the ninth hour, around three pm.

God is holy, He casts down all idolatry and sin, for which Jesus is being crucified.  Jesus looks to, and trusts in, this deliverance.

Jesus describes His appearance in the eyes of the people.  These are Israelites and Jews behaving like pagans.  They reproach, despise, laugh, and mock.  Nevertheless, Yahweh, the Father will deliver Him.

He considers God’s parental care for Him since His incarnation.

He prays for God to be near because he is surrounded by a frenzied and insane mob, so wild in their behavior that they act like wild raging bulls and hungry roaring lions.

He considers His physical condition as death approaches.  There is nothing left: life is poured out, melted, dried up, on the brink of returning to dust.

They are like a dog pack.  They close Him in.  They howl over the nails that have ruptured His hands and feet; his bones stick out.  They stare and gloat; they tear and gamble to share His clothing.

He prays again for God to be near, and for deliverance: from the sword (soldiers), dogs, lion, rulers.

I approaching death, He proclaims victory.  The cross is not the defeat of Christ; it is His conquest over Satan.  God delivers from death, “trampling down death by death.”

He proclaims that this Gospel will rule the world and bring the kingdom to all people, everywhere.

He proclaims that “every knee shall bow” before Him (Philippians 2:9-11).

[2] The antecedents are not His bones, which look and stare.  “The assembly of the wicked enclosed, pierced, look and stare, part, and cast lots.”  It is an absurdity to suggest that His bones part and cast lots.  Both sentences have the same antecedent.

[3] Literally, unicorns.  There is no animal, a unicorn.  In the Bible, unicorn indicates a monocratic kingdom.  Here Herod and Pilate are indicated, and possibly Caesar.

The "New Paideuma"

While we agree with Luther's conclusion, we have doubts about how he got there. Both Law and Gospel agree in forbidding usury in a wonderful Biblical Harmony of Truth. The "Judaic paiduema" that was taking hold in Leo X's Europe was in direct violation of the Law, thus restoring the "disordered and fragmented nature of fallen man" forbidden by the Law. The Law at its core, forbids slavery. Jesus, by the cross fulfills the Law and brings real freedom. So also the "new paideuma" has taken hold of America and Europe and must be destroyed. This "new paideuma" is at the core of what Jesus and His Law make war against. The Bible must be seen in gestalt.

..Luther’s rhetoric of antithesis contrasted the destructive force, which he clearly associated with usury http://www.drjohndunn.com

Psalm 119, Part D

... 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 119, Part D

צ Tzaddi[1]

Righteous [are] You, Lord.  Upright [are] Your judgments.  Your testimonies You have commanded [are] righteous and very faithful.  My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten Your words.  Your word [is] very pure.  Therefore Your servant loves it.  I [am] small and despised.  I forget not Your precepts.  Your righteousness [is] an everlasting righteousness.  Your law [is] the truth.  Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me.  Your commandments [are] my delight.  The righteousness of Your testimonies [is] everlasting.  Give me understanding, and I shall live.

ק Koph[2]

I cried with [my] whole heart.  Hear me, Lord.  I will keep Your statutes.  I cried to You.  Save me.  I shall keep Your testimonies.  I confronted the dawning of the morning.  [I] cried.  I hoped in Your word.  My eyes confront the [night] watches, so that I might meditate in Your word.  Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness.  Lord, make me alive according to Your judgment.  They draw near that follow after mischief.  They are far from Your law.  You [are] near, Lord.  All Your commandments [are] truth.  Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

ר Resh[3]

Consider my affliction.  Deliver me: for I forget not Your law.  Plead my cause.  Deliver me.  Make me alive according to Your word.  Salvation [is] far from the wicked: for they seek not Your statutes.  Great [are] Your tender mercies, Lord.  Make me alive according to Your judgments.  Many [are] my persecutors and my enemies.  I decline not from Your testimonies.  I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved: because, they kept not Your word.  Consider how I love Your precepts.  Make me alive, Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.  Your word [is] true [from] the beginning.  Every one of Your righteous judgments [is] eternal.

ש Schin[4]

Princes have persecuted me without a cause.  My heart stands in awe of Your word.  I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil.  ¹⁶³ I hate and abhor lying.  Your law I love.  Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.  Great peace have they who love Your law.  Nothing shall offend them.  Lord, I have hoped for Your salvation, and done Your commandments.  My soul has kept Your testimonies.  I love them exceedingly.  I have kept Your precepts, Your testimonies: for all my ways [are] before You.

ת Tav[5]

Let my cry come near before You, Lord.  Give me understanding according to Your word.  Let my supplication come before You.  Deliver me according to Your word.  My lips shall utter praise, when You have taught me Your statutes.  My tongue shall speak of Your word: for all Your commandments [are] righteousness.  Let Your hand help me: for I have chosen Your precepts.  I have longed for Your salvation, Lord.  Your law [is] my delight.  Let my soul live.  It shall praise You.  Let Your judgments help me.  I have gone astray like a lost sheep.  Seek Your servant: for I forget not Your commandments.

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[1] Tzaddi discloses more of the agonies, and pains of old age (trouble and anguish).  The psalmist’s life has been consumed by zeal.  He sees himself with greater reality of perspective; because God looms larger, he sees himself as being smaller (small and despised).  The human flesh thinks of itself as growing greater as life continues.  This is not the common experiences of believers, who see God as greater, and greater: in the end human life is minuscule, its only merit is the crown we will throw at Jesus feet.  All our value rests in becoming perfect man in Christ.  Yahweh’s righteousness, uprightness, faithfulness, purity, and truth as seen through the lense of the law have become the psalmist’s love and delight.  As death approaches he cries out, “Give me understanding, and I shall live.”

[2] Koph reveals the desire to pray more, which increases with age.  The psalmist is awake for Orthros, before dawn to pray; he is alert for the Vespers, Compline, and Midnight prayers.  He keeps Yahweh’s statutes, but not by his own righteousness.  His prayers are filled with cries for salvation, hope, lovingkindness, and resurrection (make me alive).  He begs for God to hear him, not because he thinks God is deaf, but because he takes nothing for granted, everything hangs on God’s nearness, truth, and stability (You have founded them forever).  The eternality of God and His Law is now a great comfort, a growing realization, which, upon reflection, has been around for many years (I have known of old) in the psalmist’s life.

[3] Resh gives increased attention to the aggravating things of life.  The behavior of the wicked, the psalmist’s persecutors, the transgressors becomes a growing source of grief.  It is hard to understand how people could think so little of salvation and be so far from it.  How is it possible for people to refuse to seek the Law, to hate the life giving Word?  Lifting up the pagan world to God is becoming more and more difficult, but the psalmist finds life and strength in Yahweh’s tender mercies, lovingkindness, and eternality.  The psalmist cries out twice for resurrection: “Make me alive….  Make me alive….”  Yahweh’s Word of Law is equated to His lovingkindness.  “Deliver me….  Deliver me….”  The repetition intensifies the prayer.  “eli, eli, lama sabachthani” (Matthew 27:46).

[4] Schin evaluates human help and support: even princes are of no value.  God’s Word of Law is like discovered treasure.  It surprises and captivates, even when one is not looking for it: even at this stage of life, the psalmist has not seen everything, there is fresh spoil uncovered every day.  The psalmist is led to prayer more frequently; now he is praying the hours (every three hours, eight times a day, save one for rest).  His sense of peacefulness is growing.  The Law protects him from offenses.  Nothing is assumed.  His life is open and naked before God: “for all my ways [are] before You.”

[5] Tav closes with cries that the psalmist’s prayers be heard.  The psalmist is still in need of greater understanding, deliverance, teaching, and help.  It is the psalmist’s neediness that assures us that the Law is obeyed, and built upon, only in the perfect obedience of Christ.  Even when he is lost, the psalmist remembers to pray for help.  “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.  Seek Your servant: for I forget not Your commandments.”  (Matthew 10:6; 15:24; 18:10-14; Luke 15:1-7; John 10:1-30)  This closing comment, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep,” more than any other, pulls us up short, and forces us to face the profundity of the Law and this Psalm.  The obedience to the Law is all about being a rescued lost sheep.  Obedience depends on the faithfulness of the Shepherd, not on the efforts of the sheep.  The most significant thing that the sheep was able to accomplish in life was get lost.  Here is the heart of the Law.  For all the Psalmist’s diligence in learning the Law, in toiling at it, in sweating (blood) in prayer, the psalmist still sees himself as a lost sheep.  Jesus, bearing the sins of the whole world, comes to the Father, as if He were also a lost sheep: he bears our sheep like nature on the cross.

Psalm 147:1-20

... 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 147:1-20[1]

Praise the Lord: for [it is] good to sing praises to our God, for [it is] pleasant, praise is comely.  The Lord builds up Jerusalem.  He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.  He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.  He counts the number of the stars.  He calls them all by name.  Great [is] our Lord, and of great power.  His understanding [is] infinite.  The Lord lifts up the meek.  He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.  Sing praise on the harp to our God.  You cover the heaven with clouds.  You prepare rain for the earth.  You make grass grow on the mountains.  He gives the beast its food, the young ravens, which cry.  He delights not in the strength of the horse.  He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.  The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.  Praise your God, O Zion: for He has strengthened the bars of your gates.  He has blessed your children within you.  He makes peace [in] your borders, [and] fills you with the finest of the wheat.  He sends forth His commandment [on] earth.  His word runs very swiftly.  He gives snow like wool.  He scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.  He casts forth His ice like morsels.  Who can stand before His cold?  He sends out His word, and melts them.  He makes His wind blow, the waters flow.  He shows His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.  He has not dealt so with any nation.  [His] judgments, they have not known them.

Praise the Lord.

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[1] Psalm 147 is anonymous.  It is a song of praise written in three stanzas and concluding with a final, “Praise the Lord.”  Each stanza has a litany of praises, which are concluded with a thematic statement.

The litany of the first stanza focus on the gathering of the people of God.  In Joseph’s dreams, the stars are his brothers; counting them speaks of their gathering.  The theme of the stanza is, “The Lord lifts up the meek.  He casts the wicked down to the ground.”  The gathering of the meek, includes the calling of the wicked to repentance: but if they never repent it necessarily includes their rejection.

The litany of the second stanza focus on the greatness of the providence of God for all the earth.  The theme of the stanza is, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.”  This adds further substance to the meaning of “the meek” in stanza one.  Meekness involves the fear of Yahweh, not of man, and the hope in Yahweh’s mercy, which is a sure thing, but not to be taken for granted.

The litany of the third stanza shows how this great providence results in the blessing of Jerusalem.  We do not see the necessity of this promise if earthly Jerusalem is not already in ruins.  We see this more as the promise of heavenly Jerusalem of which earthly Jerusalem is a type.  Since Revelation 21 speaks at length on the nature of this city and its descent to earth, it is not unlikely that its future location will be Zion: but we cannot speak of these things with great certainty.  The flow of waters seem to be a precursor of the river of New Jerusalem.  The theme of the stanza is, “He shows His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.  ²⁰ He has not dealt so with any nation.  [His] judgments, they have not known them.”  This reminds us, as Paul also does, that Israel still has a place in the heart and plans of God (Romans 9-11).

“Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 104:1-35

... 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 104:1-35[1]

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord my God, You are very great.  You are clothed with honor and majesty.  You cover[2] [Yourself] with light as [with] a garment.  You stretch out the heavens like a curtain.  You lay the beams of Your chambers in the waters.  You make the clouds Your chariot.  You walk on the wings of the wind.  You make Your angels spirits, Your ministers a flaming fire.  [You] laid the foundations of the earth.  It should not be removed forever.

You covered it with the deep as a garment.  The waters stood above the mountains.  At Your rebuke, they fled.  At the voice of Your thunder, they hasted away.  They go up by the mountains.  They go down by the valleys, to the place that You have founded for them.  You have set a bound that they may not pass over.  They turn not again to cover the earth.

He sends the springs to the valleys.  [They] run among the hills.  They give drink to every beast of the field.  The wild asses quench their thirst.  By them the fowls of the heaven shall have their drink.  [They] sing among the branches.  He waters the hills from His chambers.  The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: so that he may bring forth food from the earth; and wine [that] makes glad the heart of man, oil to make [his] face shine, and bread [that] strengthens man’s heart.

The trees of the Lord are full, the cedars of Lebanon, that He has planted.  There the birds make their nests.  [As for] the stork, the fir trees [are] her house.  The high hills [are] a refuge for the wild goats, the rocks for the rabbits.

He appointed the moon for seasons.  The sun knows its going down.  You make darkness.  It is night: when all the beasts of the forest creep.  The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.  The sun rises.  They gather themselves together.  They lay down in their dens.  Man goes forth to his work, to his labor until the evening.

Lord, how manifold are Your works!  In wisdom You have made them all.  The earth is full of Your riches.  So [is] this great and wide sea.  There [are] things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.  There go the ships.  [There is] that leviathan, You have made to play in them.

These all wait on You: so that You may give their food in due season.  [What] You give them they gather.  You open Your hand.  They are filled with good.  You hide Your face.  They are troubled.  You take away their breath.  They die, and return to their dust.  You send forth Your spirit.  They are created.  You renew the face of the earth.

The Glory of the Lord shall endure forever.  The Lord shall rejoice in His works.  He looks on the earth.  It trembles.  He touches the hills.  They smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.  I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.  My meditation of Him shall be sweet.  I will be glad in the Lord.

Let the sinners be consumed from the earth.  Let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.  Praise the Lord.

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[1] See Psalm 146.  Psalm 104 sings of the magnitude of God’s Glory, which is seen in His person and works.  This is the great Vespers hymn.

The psalmist tolls the magnificence of God’s Glory.  God is dressed in light, as men wear clothing.  Very possibly, man was originally dressed in light, but became naked at the fall.  The great mysteries of God’s works of creation are praised.

The psalmist moves his ode to the flood.  The earth is dressed in water, as God is dressed in light, and as men wear clothing.  The floods are forbidden to again destroy the earth.

The flood waters are now diverted to peaceful use.  Yahweh uses them to provide drink for every living thing.  The mood of the tamed waters is playful and joyous.

Crops flourish with the coming of the peaceful waters.  Crops provide food, drink, and ointment: the necessities, joys, and luxuries of life.  Man thinks differently, but it doesn’t get any better than this.

Forests, mountains, and rocks provide natural dwellings for “all creatures great and small.”  No house is made for man, because man will dwell with God.

Night and day move through their cycles, governing the works of animals and man.  The moon and sun also govern the months, seasons, and years.

All of these things (this great wealth) are the products of God’s wisdom.  The psalmist returns to consider the sea, which once destroyed the earth.  Again, the mood is playful and joyous.  Everything is like a grand dance, involving everything from the smallest creepers to the largest beasts of the sea.  Even man made ships join in the dance with great leviathan.  Leviathan literally means coiled or twisted and most likely refers to an extinct and unidentified sea monster.  However, the modern use for leviathan is the generic name for whales, which frequently come to dance (coil and twist) or play with ships.

All of these creatures depend on God for life, for food, for breath.  Of all creatures, man alone worries that God might not provide for him.  When they die, all return to the dust from which they were created.  Creation is a specific work of the Holy Ghost.  Very possibly, creatures we believe to be extinct, will be created afresh by God.

Yahweh’s Glory does not perish as creatures do, He is eternal.  Yahweh’s creation brings Him great joy.  We cannot think of the violent contortions of the earth without remembering Noah’s Flood, together with the giving of the Law at Sinai.

The psalmist breaks forth in song, grateful for all that Yahweh has done.

One last work of God is mentioned.  As Noah’s Flood removed wickedness (primarily unbelief) from the earth, so also God continues in His quest to destroy sin.  Creation was good, without sin; but creation was followed by the falling away of man: man tends to move away from a state of belief and salvation, rather than toward it.  When God rescued Adam and Eve from the fall and provided them with new clothes, their children quickly fell away in sin, from a state of redemption to a state of evil.  When God broke through in covenant with Noah, mankind quickly stumbled again.  And so, down through history, God broke through with covenant after covenant after covenant: Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus; each time mankind drifted off in unbelief.  Man tends to move away from a state of belief and salvation, rather than toward it.  The story of history is not that of man receiving salvation and never losing it.  The story of history is that of God acting and man squandering.  Jesus is our last chance.  Jesus is the end and fulfillment of all of God’s covenants (Hebrews 13:20-21).  God removes sin, by removing unbelieving sinners.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul.  Praise the Lord.”

[2] The play on words with clothing draws attention to Adam’s nakedness.  The whole Psalm may be thought of as the sum of God’s works in re-clothing Adam and Eve with Christ’s righteousness and making them better than they were in Eden.  However, Christ’s family consists of all those who sincerely believe (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21).  Sadly, this means that many natural children will fall away, but this cannot be helped.  Our only comfort and consolation is that God will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:14).

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.

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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)?

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.