God’s grandeur

Psalm Reading for August 14, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm appeals to the Lord for intervention in a time of adversity.  It is difficult to tell from the context alone if the Psalm was written before or after the exile of Israel.  It doesn’t really matter to the reader, because it is clearly a cry for help in any event. One clue, though, might be the mention of the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh, which would suggest that the Psalm was written before the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and scattered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C.

The imagery of the Lord as Shepherd is familiar to us, and comforting; but then there is the imagery of the Lord sitting enthroned between the cherubim — those terrifying angelic figures who are depicted as the guardians of Eden with a sword of flame, and the close companions of the Lord who bear him up with wings of the wind.  This is much more intimidating.  There may also be a reference to the winged cherubim made of gold who flank the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem.

Our current lectionary reading jumps from verses 1-2 to verses 8-19.

In verses 8-19, the Psalmist introduces a familiar metaphor — Israel is compared to a vine that the Lord has brought from Egypt.  The Psalmist recounts a part of the salvation history of Israel.  In language reminiscent of Isaiah 5:1-7, he addresses his prayer to the Lord:

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
 it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.

[For more information on the vine and the vineyard as a Biblical metaphor, CLICK HERE to read the Old Testament SOAR for August 14, 2022]

In these few verses we see the sweep of Israel’s history — exodus from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, flourishing in this new land, and the spread of the nation under the leadership of the Davidic kings.  At its height under David and Solomon, Israel’s influence had spread north to Lebanon (the mighty cedars), and from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to the Euphrates River.

But now circumstances have changed.  The Psalmist asks God plaintively:  

Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.

The Psalmist is writing from the perspective of one who sees his nation besieged and harassed, likely by the Assyrians in the late 8th century.  Given the references to Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh the Psalmist particularly has the Northern Kingdom in mind, not Judah.

His appeal is for the God of hosts to protect and care for his vine that has been burned and cut down by the invaders.

And what is the source of that salvation?

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.

Is the Psalmist speaking of a king? If so, is he speaking of a king from the Davidic dynasty that rules in Judah following the separation of the Northern from the Southern Kingdoms?  Or is this, as the Christian reader might interpret, a messianic prophecy that will be fulfilled by Jesus, the Son of David?

In any event, the Psalmist vows that when deliverance comes:

Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.

Finally, the Psalmist closes with a litany that appears three times in this Psalm:

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

This hearkens back to the priestly blessing that Aaron was instructed to give as High Priest:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

There may also be a reference intended to the shekinah, the glory of God that accompanies his presence, and that made the face of Moses to shine after he’d been in the presence of the Lord.

APPLY:  

At some point we all know how it feels to be defeated, demoralized, in despair — as a nation, a family, an individual.  The cry of the Psalmist isn’t far from the experience of any of us.

When we have experienced the grace of God, we know how it is to feel that we are like a vine that has been planted and watered by God, and flourished under his care.  And when life gets hard, when the “vine” in our lives is uprooted by circumstances beyond our control, we cry out just as the Psalmist does.

What we cry out for, in our nation, our church, our family, our own lives — is revival, restoration.  If we have experienced the presence of God in our lives, if we have known the “shine” of his face, and it has faded for us, we earnestly yearn for it again.

We will find it, if the Scriptures are true, in the life and the light of Christ, who brings not only salvation from our sins, but healing to our hearts, and the power to live the holy lives to which he calls us.

RESPOND: 

I find myself from time to time dealing with my own drift away from God. I have to cry out again for renewal and revival. As with the Psalmist this happens when I begin to call out his name and seek to live according to the claims of that name.

Our Lord, our nation experiences victories, but also sees defeats — the disabled veteran who wonders ‘was it worth it?’ The ambiguity of race relations in our nation today. The specter of terrorism. And our own personal struggles with grief or depression. We don’t have the wisdom to provide all the answers. But you have provided a Person who is wisdom incarnate, and salvation, and new life! May we find our source of healing and salvation in Christ! Amen.

PHOTO:
Psalm 80_14” by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 7, 2022

3404690826_b737f51693_zSTART WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm is attributed to Asaph.  Asaph is likely either a Levite who ministered in music, or part of a group associated with the temple.

The Psalmist notes the Lord’s power over the earth as he calls the earth to hear him from dawn to dusk.  But the Lord is not only God of all the earth, he also has a particular interest in Zion, which is the political idealized center of Israel in Jerusalem.

On the one hand, God is a judge who will exact justice like a devouring fire.  On the other hand, God recognizes those who have entered into covenant with him, those whom he calls his faithful ones. 

His righteousness is manifest in the heavens themselves as the work of his hands.

We note, though, that verses 7-8 can be taken a little out of context when verses 9-21 are not included in the reading.

[You can click here to read the entire Psalm 50 on Biblegateway.com]

Verses 7-8 might lead us to believe that God is pleased with the temple sacrifices:

Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.

But if we continue to read after verse 8, we see that the Lord will not accept their sacrifices unless the discipline of their lives and their ethical practices are consistent with their worship.

For one thing, the Lord says, the people aren’t offering him anything that he doesn’t already own, nor does he eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats:

I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.

If their sacrifices are to be acceptable, they are to live in accordance with the whole law of God:

 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
 You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.

 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.”

Only when the holiness of heart and life are consistent with the holiness of their ritual will their sacrifices be truly acceptable:

“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”

APPLY:  

Our understanding of God is never adequate unless we understand his power, perfection, and righteousness.  Sometimes we may have a tendency to reduce God to our level as our “friend” and “companion” and forget that his is a terrible beauty, like a devouring fire.

And simply showing up at worship doesn’t fulfill God’s demand that we live holy lives the rest of the week in our moral, ethical, financial and family relationships.

This is a reminder that we may count ourselves blessed if we are the faithful ones who have kept covenant with God.

RESPOND: 

I try to keep a balance between my understanding of God as my loving and merciful heavenly Father, and as a righteous judge who doesn’t tolerate evil.

Pardon and mercy don’t eliminate the fact that God still requires righteousness from me.  My personal relationship with him doesn’t eliminate my accountability for my actions.  It only makes his grace and mercy that much more precious.

We have all heard the condemnation from non-churched friends who say they don’t go to church because of the “hypocrites.”  Of course, the proper answer is to say “who else should be in church if not the hypocrites?  Evidently they need it!”

The truth is that in the vast majority of churches in the U.S., we will find a spectrum of people at different places in their spiritual journey — those at the beginning still needing spiritual milk and guidance; some further along needing to be challenged to never become complacent; and those who are mature in faith reminded that they can never be arrogantly elite, because their salvation also rests entirely on God’s grace.

But we must also be clear that Christian discipleship does call for a transformed, disciplined, holy life into which all of us must grow with God’s help.

Our Lord, your power and your holiness are awesome.  If you were to judge me based on my righteousness, I would be burned to cinders by your devouring fire.  I am infinitely grateful that Jesus was wounded for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities.  And my gratitude for his sacrifice on my behalf brings me to tears.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
Where it sets” by WELS net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 18, 2019

15206794737_2ec06ab7ff_zSTART WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm appeals to the Lord for intervention in a time of adversity.  It is difficult to tell from the context alone if the Psalm was written before or after the exile of Israel.  It doesn’t really matter to the reader, because it is clearly a cry for help in any event. One clue, though, might be the mention of the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh, which would suggest that the Psalm was written before the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and scattered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C.

The imagery of the Lord as Shepherd is familiar to us, and comforting; but then there is the imagery of the Lord sitting enthroned between the cherubim — those terrifying angelic figures who are depicted as the guardians of Eden with a sword of flame, and the close companions of the Lord who bear him up with wings of the wind.  This is much more intimidating.  There may also be a reference to the winged cherubim made of gold who flank the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem.

Our current lectionary reading jumps from verses 1-2 to verses 8-19.

In verses 8-19, the Psalmist introduces a familiar metaphor — Israel is compared to a vine that the Lord has brought from Egypt.  The Psalmist recounts a part of the salvation history of Israel.  In language reminiscent of Isaiah 5:1-7 , he addresses his prayer to the Lord:

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
 it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.

[For more information on the vine and the vineyard as a Biblical metaphor, CLICK HERE to read the Old Testament SOAR for August 18, 2019]

In these few verses we see the sweep of Israel’s history — exodus from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, flourishing in this new land, and the spread of the nation under the leadership of the Davidic kings.  At its height under David and Solomon, Israel’s influence had spread north to Lebanon (the mighty cedars), and from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to the Euphrates River.

But now circumstances have changed.  The Psalmist asks God plaintively:  

Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.

The Psalmist is writing from the perspective of one who sees his nation besieged and harassed, likely by the Assyrians in the late 8th century.  Given the references to Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh the Psalmist particularly has the Northern Kingdom in mind, not Judah.

His appeal is for the God of hosts to protect and care for his vine that has been burned and cut down by the invaders.

And what is the source of that salvation?

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.

Is the Psalmist speaking of a king? If so, is he speaking of a king from the Davidic dynasty that rules in Judah following the separation of  the Northern from the Southern Kingdoms?  Or is this, as the Christian reader might interpret, a messianic prophecy that will be fulfilled by Jesus, the Son of David?

In any event, the Psalmist vows that when deliverance comes:

Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.

Finally, the Psalmist closes with a litany that appears three times in this Psalm:

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

This hearkens back to the priestly blessing that Aaron was instructed to give as High Priest:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

There may also be a reference intended to the shekinah, the glory of God that accompanies his presence, and that made the face of Moses to shine after he’d been in the presence of the Lord.

APPLY:  

At some point we all know how it feels to be defeated, demoralized, in despair – as a nation, a family, an individual.  The cry of the Psalmist isn’t far from the experience of any of us.

When we have experienced the grace of God, we know how it is to feel that we are like a vine that has been planted and watered by God, and flourished under his care.  And when life gets hard, when the “vine” in our lives is uprooted by circumstances beyond our control, we cry out just as the Psalmist does.

What we cry out for, in our nation, our church, our family, our own lives — is revival, restoration.  If we have experienced the presence of God in our lives, if we have known the “shine” of his face, and it has faded for us, we earnestly yearn for it again.

We will find it, if the Scriptures are true, in the life and the light of Christ, who brings not only salvation from our sins, but healing to our hearts, and the power to live the holy lives to which he calls us.

RESPOND: 

I find myself from time to time dealing with my own drift away from God. I have to cry out again for renewal and revival. As with the Psalmist this happens when I begin to call out his name and seek to live according to the claims of that name.

Our Lord, our nation experiences victories, but also sees defeats — the disabled veteran who wonders ‘was it worth it?’ The ambiguity of race relations in our nation today. The specter of terrorism. And our own personal struggles with grief or depression. We don’t have the wisdom to provide all the answers. But you have provided a Person who is wisdom incarnate, and salvation, and new life! May we find our source of healing and salvation in Christ! Amen.

PHOTO:
Psalm 80-7” by tea4judy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 11, 2019

3404690826_b737f51693_zSTART WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm is attributed to Asaph.  Asaph is likely either a Levite who ministered in music, or part of a group associated with the temple.

The Psalmist notes the Lord’s power over the earth as he calls the earth to hear him from dawn to dusk.  But the Lord is not only God of all the earth, he also has a particular interest in Zion, which is the political idealized center of Israel in Jerusalem.

On the one hand, God is a judge who will exact justice like a devouring fire.  On the other hand, God recognizes those who have entered into covenant with him, those whom he calls his faithful ones. 

His righteousness is manifest in the heavens themselves as the work of his hands.

We note, though, that verses 7-8 can be taken a little out of context when verses 9-21 are not included in the reading.

[You can click here to read the entire Psalm 50 on Biblegateway.com]

Verses 7-8 might lead us to believe that God is pleased with the temple sacrifices:

Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.

But if we continue to read after verse 8, we see that the Lord will not accept their sacrifices unless the discipline of their lives and their ethical practices are consistent with their worship.

For one thing, the Lord says, the people aren’t offering him anything that he doesn’t already own, nor does he eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats:

I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.

If their sacrifices are to be acceptable, they are to live in accordance with the whole law of God:

 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
 You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.

 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.”

Only when the holiness of heart and life are consistent with the holiness of their ritual will their sacrifices be truly acceptable:

“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”

APPLY:  

Our understanding of God is never adequate unless we understand his power, perfection, and righteousness.  Sometimes we may have a tendency to reduce God to our level as our “friend” and “companion” and forget that his is a terrible beauty, like a devouring fire.

And simply showing up at worship doesn’t fulfill God’s demand that we live holy lives the rest of the week in our moral, ethical, financial and family relationships.

This is a reminder that we may count ourselves blessed if we are the faithful ones  who have kept covenant with God.

RESPOND: 

I try to keep a balance between my understanding of God as my loving and merciful heavenly Father, and as a righteous judge who doesn’t tolerate evil.

Pardon and mercy don’t eliminate the fact that God still requires righteousness from me.  My personal relationship with him doesn’t eliminate my accountability for my actions.  It only makes his grace and mercy that much more precious.

We have all heard the condemnation from non-churched friends who say they don’t go to church because of the “hypocrites.”  Of  course, the proper answer is to say “who else should be in church if not the hypocrites?  Evidently they need it!”

The truth is that in the vast majority of churches in the U.S., we will find a spectrum of people at different places in their spiritual journey — those at the beginning still needing spiritual milk and guidance; some further along needing to be challenged to never become complacent; and those who are mature in faith reminded that they can never be arrogantly elite, because their salvation also rests entirely on God’s grace.

But we must also be clear that Christian discipleship does call for a transformed, disciplined, holy life into which all of us must grow with God’s help.

Our Lord, your power and your holiness are awesome.  If you were to judge me based on my righteousness, I would be burned to cinders by your devouring fire.  I am infinitely grateful that Jesus was wounded for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities.  And my gratitude for his sacrifice on my behalf brings me to tears.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
Where it sets” by WELS net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 21, 2016

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God! [photo by Holly Hayes]

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God! [photo by Holly Hayes]

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 71:1-6 

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Psalmist is lifting up a prayer of supplication, asking God for deliverance and protection.  He bases his present hopes on the deliverance he has experienced in the past.

It is the righteousness of the Lord that provides the source of deliverance and rescue. This is in contrast to the shame that the Psalmist fears.

The Psalmist uses a common Biblical metaphor of the Lord as a

rock of refuge,
a strong fortress.

If the Lord is his refuge and fortress, God provides a place of rescue from the wicked, unjust and cruel.  They are his besiegers, but God is his strong wall.

More proactively, the Psalmist affirms that the Lord has been with him from the very beginning of his life:

For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.

The Psalmist’s present faith in God’s protection is grounded in God’s past faithfulness.

APPLY:  

This Psalm illustrates the vital need to teach our children about the faithfulness of God.

A child first learns about the reality and the faithfulness of God by the example of parents, then by the reinforcement of precept and experience.  And this comes from a strong, caring, nurturing community of faith.

RESPOND: 

Martin Luther, the great German reformer, penned one of the great hymns of the faith that is reminiscent of this Psalm:

A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing . . .

There is another quote that has been attributed to Martin Luther that seems appropriate to this Psalm:

The church is always just one generation away from extinction.

Every generation of Christian parents is responsible for teaching and modeling the Christian faith to their children.

Lord, I thank you that you have been with me since the very beginning of my life. Because you have always been my rock and my fortress, I don’t fear the future.  Amen.   

PHOTO:

a mighty fortress is our god” by Holly Hayes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 14, 2016

15206794737_2ec06ab7ff_zSTART WITH SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm appeals to the Lord for intervention in a time of adversity.  It is difficult to tell from the context alone if the Psalm was written before or after the exile of Israel.  It doesn’t really matter to the reader, because it is clearly a cry for help in any event. One clue, though, might be the mention of the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh, which would suggest that the Psalm was written before the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and scattered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C.

The imagery of the Lord as Shepherd is familiar to us, and comforting; but then there is the imagery of the Lord sitting enthroned between the cherubim – those terrifying angelic figures who are depicted as the guardians of Eden with a sword of flame, and the close companions of the Lord who bear him up with wings of the wind.  This is much more intimidating.  There may also be a reference to the winged cherubim made of gold who flank the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem.

Our current lectionary reading jumps from verses 1-2 to verses 8-19.

In verses 8-19, the Psalmist introduces a familiar metaphor — Israel is compared to a vine that the Lord has brought from Egypt.  The Psalmist recounts a part of the salvation history of Israel.  In language reminiscent of Isaiah 5:1-7 , he addresses his prayer to the Lord:

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
 it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.

[For more information on the vine and the vineyard as a Biblical metaphor, CLICK HERE to read the Old Testament SOAR for August 14, 2016]

In these few verses we see the sweep of Israel’s history:  exodus from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, flourishing in this new land, and the spread of the nation under the leadership of the Davidic kings.  At its height under David and Solomon, Israel’s influence had spread north to Lebanon (the mighty cedars), and from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to the Euphrates River.

But now circumstances have changed.  The Psalmist asks God plaintively:  

Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.

The Psalmist is writing from the perspective of one who sees his nation besieged and harassed, likely by the Assyrians in the late 8th century.  Given the references to Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh the Psalmist particularly has the Northern Kingdom in mind, not Judah.

His appeal is for the God of hosts to protect and care for his vine that has been burned and cut down by the invaders.

And what is the source of that salvation?

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.

Is the Psalmist speaking of a king? If so, is he speaking of a king from the Davidic dynasty that rules in Judah following the separation of  the Northern from the Southern Kingdoms?  Or is this, as the Christian reader might interpret, a messianic prophecy that will be fulfilled by Jesus, the Son of David?

In any event, the Psalmist vows that when deliverance comes:

Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.

Finally, the Psalmist closes with a litany that appears three times in this Psalm:

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

This hearkens back to the priestly blessing that Aaron was instructed to give as High Priest:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

There may also be a reference intended to the shekinah, the glory of God that accompanies his presence, and that made the face of Moses to shine after he’d been in the presence of the Lord.

APPLY:  

At some point we all know how it feels to be defeated, demoralized, in despair – as a nation, a family, an individual.  The cry of the Psalmist isn’t far from the experience of any of us.

When we have experienced the grace of God, we know how it is to feel that we are like a vine that has been planted and watered by God, and flourished under his care.  And when life gets hard, when the “vine” in our lives is uprooted by circumstances beyond our control, we cry out just as the Psalmist does.

What we cry out for, in our nation, our church, our family, our own lives — is revival, restoration.  If we have experienced the presence of God in our lives, if we have known the “shine” of his face, and it has faded for us, we earnestly yearn for it again.

We will find it, if the Scriptures are true, in the life and the light of Christ, who brings not only salvation from our sins, but healing to our hearts, and the power to live the holy lives to which he calls us.

RESPOND: 

I find myself from time to time dealing with my own drift away from God. I have to cry out again for renewal and revival. As with the Psalmist this happens when I begin to call out his name and seek to live according to the claims of that name.

Our Lord, our nation experiences victories, but also sees defeats – the disabled veteran who wonders ‘was it worth it?’ The ambiguity of race relations in our nation today. The specter of terrorism. And our own personal struggles with grief or depression. We don’t have the wisdom to provide all the answers. But you have provided a Person who is wisdom incarnate, and salvation, and new life! May we find our source of healing and salvation in Christ! Amen.

PHOTO:
Psalm 80-7” by tea4judy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 7, 2016

3404690826_b737f51693_zSTART WITH SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm is attributed to Asaph.  Asaph is likely either a Levite who ministered in music, or part of a group associated with the temple.

The Psalmist notes the Lord’s power over the earth as he calls the earth to hear him from dawn to dusk.  But the Lord is not only God of all the earth, he also has a particular interest in Zion, which is the political idealized center of Israel in Jerusalem.

On the one hand, God is a judge who will exact justice like a devouring fire.  On the other hand, God recognizes those who have entered into covenant with him, those whom he calls his faithful ones. 

His righteousness is manifest in the heavens themselves as the work of his hands.

We note, though, that verses 7-8 can be taken a little out of context when verses 9-21 are not included in the reading.

[You can click here to read the entire Psalm 50 on Biblegateway.com]

Verses 7-8 might lead us to believe that God is pleased with the temple sacrifices:

Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.

But if we continue to read after verse 8, we see that the Lord will not accept their sacrifices unless the discipline of their lives and their ethical practices are consistent with their worship.

For one thing, the Lord says, the people aren’t offering him anything that he doesn’t already own, nor does he eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats:

I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.

If their sacrifices are to be acceptable, they are to live in accordance with the whole law of God:

 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
 You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.

 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.”

Only when the holiness of heart and life are consistent with the holiness of their ritual will their sacrifices be truly acceptable:

“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”

APPLY:  

Our understanding of God is never adequate unless we understand his power, perfection, and righteousness.  Sometimes we may have a tendency to reduce God to our level as our “friend” and “companion” and forget that his is a terrible beauty, like a devouring fire.

And simply showing up at worship doesn’t fulfill God’s demand that we live holy lives the rest of the week in our moral, ethical, financial and family relationships.

This is a reminder that we may count ourselves blessed if we are the faithful ones  who have kept covenant with God.

RESPOND: 

I try to keep a balance between my understanding of God as my loving and merciful heavenly Father, and as a righteous judge who doesn’t tolerate evil.

Pardon and mercy don’t eliminate the fact that God still requires righteousness from me.  My personal relationship with him doesn’t eliminate my accountability for my actions.  It only makes his grace and mercy that much more precious.

We have all heard the condemnation from non-churched friends who say they don’t go to church because of the “hypocrites.”  Of  course, the proper answer is to say “who else should be in church if not the hypocrites?  Evidently they need it!”

The truth is in the vast majority of churches in the U.S., we will find a spectrum of people at different places in their spiritual journey — those at the beginning still needing spiritual milk and guidance; some further along needing to be challenged to never become complacent; and those who are mature in faith reminded that they can never be arrogantly elite, because their salvation also rests entirely on God’s grace.

But we must also be clear that Christian discipleship does call for a transformed, disciplined, holy life into which all of us must grow with God’s help.

Our Lord, your power and your holiness are awesome.  If you were to judge me based on my righteousness, I would be burned to cinders by your devouring fire.  I am infinitely grateful that Jesus was wounded for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities.  And my gratitude for his sacrifice on my behalf brings me to tears.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
Where it sets” by WELS net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.