Psalm of David

Psalm Reading for February 25, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 22:23-31
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This particular selection of verses from Psalm 22 seems an odd choice for Lent. At first glance, these verses are a chorus of praise for God:

Yahweh looks with compassion on the afflicted.
Yahweh satisfies the poor.
Yahweh is the one whom all the nations worship.
And it is Yahweh who will deliver a generation yet unborn.

But as we step back from the scene a little — like looking outside the selected frame of a camera — we see the whole picture a little differently.

Psalm 22:1-22 is a dirge of lament. The Psalmist cries out in dereliction in verse 1:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

The astute Bible reader immediately recognizes these as the words of Jesus, uttered from the cross:

At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).

So, in the selected verses before us, we only hear half the story — we miss the sense of abandonment, the scorn from others, the physical torture to which the speaker is subjected.

No doubt, the final resolution of Psalm 22 is a song of victory and praise. But without the context of the suffering and affliction of the first half of the Psalm we cannot sufficiently appreciate the glorious reversal of the latter half.

APPLY:

Even from my childhood, I have recognized this as a Messianic Psalm. From a Christian perspective, it is difficult not to read into the first 22 verses a graphic description of the suffering Christ.

From the opening cry of dereliction, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? to the mockery, the pierced hands and feet, the bones that are out of joint, the casting of lots for the garment, it is difficult not to see here the picture of the cross.

But perhaps with the second half of the Psalm we see the promises of resurrection, the hope of the afflicted, the poor, the unborn — and of course all who go down to the dust.

So, this Psalm of lament has turned into a Psalm of praise and worship, just as Christ transforms the cross from a symbol of torture to a symbol of grace, and the grave into an empty tomb!

RESPOND:

Lent sometimes threatens to become a season of unbroken mournfulness and self-denial. This Psalm is a reminder to me that there is a legitimate place for meditation on the cross; but the reversal in the latter half of the Psalm reminds me that God always turns ashes into blessing.

Lord, even in the midst of the repentance and self-denial of a Lenten mood, remind me that Easter is coming! You always turn mourning into joy. Amen.

PHOTO:"Psalm 22 26" by New Life Church Collingwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for November 6, 2022

“Jewish Museum, Rome – The Spanish Synagogue”

The Jewish Museum of Rome is beneath the Great Synagogue. The Spanish Synagogue has been moved here from a building that was just over the river but no longer exists. This is the ladies’ gallery (as in all orthodox synagogues men and women sit separately). The Hebrew inscription (reading right to left) is the opening of psalm 145: “Happy are they who dwell in your house and they shall praise You forever.” [photo and caption by Mike Freedman, emphasis mine]

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Psalm 145 is another acrostic Psalm devoted to the praise of Yahweh. Each verse begins with a different letter from the Hebrew alphabet. David, the shepherd, musician, warrior and king, is designated as the author.

David begins by proclaiming his own praise for God, with his affirmation that:

I will exalt you, my God, the King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.

In the second verse, he reinforces this declaration through the Hebraic poetic technique of parallelism — repeating the same thought in different words:

Every day I will praise you.
I will extol your name forever and ever.

He proclaims the greatness of Yahweh, whose greatness is unsearchable —beyond comprehension.

David reminds us that each generation is responsible to pass on the faith to the next generation:

One generation will commend your works to another,
and will declare your mighty acts.

This underscores the importance of corporate worship and of teaching children the Scriptures and traditions of the faith.

At the same time, there is an intensely personal and intimate dimension to the worship of God:

Of the glorious majesty of your honor,
of your wondrous works, I will meditate.

In the second section of our lectionary reading from Psalm 145, David extols the qualities and character of Yahweh. He is righteous and gracious. And Yahweh also is described as intimately close to those who call on him and who fear him.

And then there are some extraordinary promises that are claimed in the name of Yahweh:

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.
He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
Yahweh preserves all those who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

Some scholars describe this as Deuteronomic theology. In Deuteronomy 28, as Moses prepares for his own departure from the people of Israel, he makes this statement:

It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you, and overtake you, if you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

Conversely, if the wicked are not obedient to God’s commands, they will suffer the consequences of their disobedience.

For himself, David proclaims his own intention to praise Yahweh, and calls upon all living beings to praise him:

My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh.
Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

APPLY:

There are a few obvious applications of this Psalm to our spiritual life.

First, worship and praise of Yahweh as our God, the King is absolutely vital to our own relationship with God, including meditating on his unsearchable greatness. A sense of awe is an essential part of our worship and prayer.

Second, corporate worship and church-life are vital in the process of passing the faith from one generation to the next. As John Wesley said, “Christianity knows nothing of solitary religion.” We must declare God’s mighty acts to each generation— from creation to the liberation of Israel, the giving of the law, the ministry of the prophets, and the incarnation and redemptive work of Christ.

Third, we internalize his wondrous works as we meditate on them. Our own spiritual life is fed as we meditate on God’s work in creation, as well as his mighty acts of salvation revealed in Scripture.

Fourth, we are aware that part of God’s character is his graciousness to us — that there is blessing that is bestowed on those who call on him. Obviously there is a nuance here — God is not a genii who gives whatever we want if we “name and claim it.” But those who live close to God and in worshipful gratitude tend to be those who are more keenly aware of God’s consistent love and blessing. And, yes, they tend to be happier and more content with what they have received than those whose cravings rule their lives.

RESPOND:

The proper focus on Psalm 145 is on the theme of praise and worship. That is the real emphasis here.

However, it is impossible to miss the Deuteronomic influence here — that if we obey God’s law and fear God, we will be blessed.

We see that theology in an exaggerated form in what is called the Prosperity Gospel today. This is the belief that when we become Christians, whatever we ask in Jesus’ name God must give us.

I had a friend in seminary who would proclaim, as we drove through the pricey, exclusive sections of Dallas, “I believe Jesus wants me to have that house! I believe Jesus wants me to have that Mercedes.”

I believe that this is a gross distortion of Deuteronomic theology. The truth is really more a matter of “both/and.” It is true that blessing and reward are promised in the Old Testament and the New Testament to those who are faithful. However, there is also a balance in the Biblical record. Patriarchs, prophets and apostles all experienced profound suffering and hardship, and delayed fulfillment.

So, yes, there is reward promised to believers. Some of that reward may come in the sense of peace and serenity in the face of tribulation and suffering. And some of that reward is eschatological.

So the answer to the question about God’s promise of reward is yes — but as Paul writes in Romans:

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. (Romans 8:18)

Lord, I join together with all generations to praise and extol you! Thank you for your promise of blessing. The greatest blessing of all is the opportunity to know and worship you. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"Jewish Museum, Rome-The Spanish Synagogue" by Mike Freedman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for October 23, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 65
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Psalm 65 is called A Psalm by David in the ascription. It is a Psalm of praise and thanksgiving, especially for the blessings of salvation, the created order, and the abundance of the harvest.

The Psalm begins with praise of God in Zion, the mountain upon which the City of David, Jerusalem, is built. This is a place of prayer and worship, where vows to God are honored, prayers are heard, where pilgrims come, and sacrifice for sin is made.

Our knowledge of the biography of David certainly adds color to his confession:

Sins overwhelmed me…

We are familiar with the details of adultery and murder in David’s life (2 Samuel 11), and that God calls him a man of war who has shed blood in battle, which disqualifies him to build the temple. However, we also know that David repents of his sin in the matter of Bathsheba and her assassinated husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 12; Psalm 51); and we know that David is called a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14), which is also how he is described by the Christian church centuries later (Acts 13:22).

Like all human beings, David is a mixture of good and evil. This is why the phrase that immediately follows his confession is so poignant:

but you atoned for our transgressions.

This is a reminder that the sinner cannot atone for his/her own sin. Only God can do that.

The next verse (4), however, is a little problematical. It describes the blessing of the one who is chosen to come into the courts of the Lord, in his house and holy temple. The problem is that the temple itself wasn’t built until after David’s reign, by his son Solomon.

It is true that David brings the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), and places it within the Tent. So we must assume that if David wrote this Psalm, the temple refers to the tabernacle, or Tent.

David’s Psalm continues to recount God’s awesome deeds of righteousness, and character as the God of our salvation.

And there is here a hint of the opportunity of salvation that is offered not only to Israel but to everyone, including the Gentiles:

You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth,
of those who are far away on the sea;

David then waxes lyrical as he describes the beauty and power of God as he forms the mountains, calms the roaring sea waves, and even resolves political issues as he stills:

the turmoil of the nations.

David continues in a poetic vein as he describes Yahweh’s natural wonders that evoke awe everywhere:

You call the morning’s dawn and the evening with songs of joy.
You visit the earth, and water it.
You greatly enrich it.
The river of God is full of water.
You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows.
You level its ridges.
You soften it with showers.
You bless it with a crop.
You crown the year with your bounty.
Your carts overflow with abundance.
The wilderness grasslands overflow.
The hills are clothed with gladness.
The pastures are covered with flocks.
The valleys also are clothed with grain.
They shout for joy!
They also sing.

APPLY:

The gifts of God for the people of God are superlative — but the truth is God’s gifts are meant for all people who will acknowledge God — and even for those who don’t acknowledge him!

Yahweh hears the prayers of all people who will respond (v. 2); he is:

the hope of all the ends of the earth,
of those who are far away on the sea…

The mountains and the seas inspire the awe of those:

who dwell in faraway places [and] are afraid at your wonders.

The blessings of sunrise and sunset, rain and harvest are available to all people throughout the world.

We are reminded of this message in the New Testament. When Jesus speaks of the universal love of God, he says that God:

makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 6:45).

When Paul begins to spread the Gospel beyond the Jews to the Gentiles in Lystra, he reminds these pagans that the same God who revealed himself through Jesus is the God who has made all things for all people:

[God] didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17).

We are reminded that God’s love isn’t simply limited to the so-called chosen. He loves all people, and has lavished his gifts of salvation and creation to all who will come to him in praise and thanksgiving.

RESPOND:

This is a wonderfully lyrical passage that inspires us to give thanks and praise to the Creator of all the natural wonders that surround us, and the abundance of creation that is available to all of us.

However, there is one verse embedded in this Psalm that reveals a very personal side of David’s character, if only as an aside:

Sins overwhelmed me,
but you atoned for our transgressions.

What a contrast David is to a man who only apologizes after he is confronted, and then makes excuses and casts aspersions on others!

This is a simple confession of sin, and an acknowledgement that we cannot atone for our own sins. Upon this cornerstone the entire Christian doctrine of atonement rests. As the great hymn of Robert Lowery reminds us:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Lord, your blessings surpass my capacity for praise. You offer salvation, through your own sacrifice, and share the beauty and wonder of all creation with all of us. I thank you for… everything! Amen.

PHOTOS:
"psalm 65-8" by George Samuel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for September 11, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Psalm 14 might be called a “Lament” because it addresses one of the darkest of themes — atheism, corruption, and evildoing.

The Psalmist pulls no punches in his denunciation of unbelief:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile.

The footnote provided in the text offers further explanation of the term fool in Hebrew. It does not mean one who is stupid or ignorant, but one who is morally deficient.

This helps clarify the premise of the Psalm — that unbelief derives from and leads to moral corruption and sin.

What is most disturbing is the general scope of evil:

there is no one who does good. . . All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

While this is a pretty pessimistic assessment of human nature, the Psalmist does make an exception — those who are being oppressed by the godless evildoers are the people of God.

They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.

This vivid figure of speech compares the godless to carnivorous beasts, or even cannibals!

This gives the Psalmist the occasion to draw the contrast between the godless and the Godly.

On the one hand, the godless live in constant anxiety:

there they are, overwhelmed with dread.

On the other hand:

God is present in the company of the righteous.

On the one hand, the:

evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor.

On the other hand:

the Lord is their refuge.

To use a figure of speech from the game of chess, the Psalmist is declaring “check and mate!” If God is the refuge of the poor, the evildoers’ efforts to oppress them are thwarted. The game is essentially over, because God has won!

The Psalmist ends with a great exclamation of victory which is also a plea for God’s intervention:

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

APPLY:

It seems to me that our culture thinks that morality is no longer black and white, good and evil — that moral judgments are simply multiple shades of gray (please pardon the allusion to a morally reprehensible book!).

The Psalmist sees the moral universe in far more stark and clear terms. Evil derives from godless disbelief, and results not only in moral corruption but in oppression of the innocent and the righteous.

When the Psalmist tells us that:

All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one,

he is describing the destiny of all who have turned their backs on God.

In contrast, the people of God depend on the righteousness of God for their salvation. Paul quotes this Psalm in Romans 3, pointing out that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin and its consequences are universal. However, he also declares that:

all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith (Romans 3:24-25).

Without God, we are all morally corrupt fools. And we have no righteousness of our own that can make us “wise” in God’s sight. But our faith in Christ’s righteousness imputes his righteousness to us, and we become God’s people.

RESPOND:

Atheism seems to be making strides in our era. According to the Pew Research Center, Christians in the United States declined from 78.4% in 2007, to 70.6% in 2014, whereas the “Unaffiliated,” which includes atheists and agnostics, has increased from 16.1% in 2007 to 22.7%.

It seems to me that there are several factors in this — some “Cultural Christians” who are Christian only because of family origin or background are probably being more honest about their state of faith and no longer claim to be Christian. On a more positive note, this may indicate a clarification among some folks that Christianity isn’t merely a matter of culture, but of conviction and commitment.

I think there are some fairly general causes of “atheism”:

Arrogance — those who seem to believe that they have thoroughly investigated all of the world religions and have concluded that they are intellectually superior to people of faith; or have persuaded themselves that there is no Creator necessary in this vast, complex universe.
Anger — those who have been hurt by Christians, or perhaps have been disappointed that their faith in God failed to deliver what they hoped for.
Apathy — those who are simply too lazy to conduct a systematic search for God, and simply don’t care enough to find faith.
Accountability — those who honestly hope that there is no God; for if there is a God, and this is a moral universe, there are consequences for their actions and our lifestyles. That is certainly the case for the godless referred to in Psalm 14.

From my perspective, the Psalmist’s blunt words apply to each of these factors, though most of us are too polite to say it out loud:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

But we are also reminded that:

at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).

Our Lord, the Psalmist’s words are blunt. Only fools declare unequivocally that you don’t even exist. And yet, I’m reminded that you love even those who don’t love you! That love is at the heart of the Gospel! Help me to do what another Psalm declares, which is to “teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” Amen.


PHOTOS:
"OnlyFools" by Yay God Ministries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for July 3, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 30
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is a Psalm of Thanksgiving on the occasion of “Recovery from Grave Illness,” according to the Psalm’s ascription [NRSV].

David’s experience of illness brought him close to death. He gives thanks that the Lord has drawn him up, and then reveals his plight:

O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

This is an example of the literary device called parallelism, often used in the Psalms. The first line makes a statement, and then the second line paraphrases the first line in such a way that it is amplified.

Here, that technique relates to David’s sense that he was already virtually dead. He was very close to Sheol. Sheol is not identical with the Christian understanding of Hell, but it does describe the shady, gloomy experience of an afterlife without hope or joy. He had the sense that he was already among the dead who were in the Pit of the grave.

In the second section (verses 4-5), David invites the faithful to praise God. He is not necessarily describing his own experience, but describes God’s inclination toward mercy, again with the technique of parallelism:

For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

This is a vivid way of describing the temporary nature of suffering, especially when compared with God’s grace and joy. God’s favor and joy are enduring, and anger and grief are momentary.

The Apostle Paul expresses this same understanding of suffering:

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

But David also confesses that he had begun to take his well-being for granted prior to his catastrophe:

As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”

He had counted on the Lord’s constant favor, but he learned not to be presumptuous:

By your favor, O Lord,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

Only so long as the Lord sustained him did he experience the Lord’s favor.

But David responds to his plight as any faithful believer might respond — he cries out in supplication. Interestingly, he frames his prayer as a kind of debate, putting forth his request for healing and life as a better bargain for the Lord than his death:

“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

In this section, he reminds us a little of Job, who felt comfortable enough in his relationship with the Lord to challenge God to a debate! In this case, though, David is arguing that he can serve God far more effectively if he lives than if he dies.

As David closes this Psalm of praise, he celebrates:

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

This passage reminds us of David when he danced with all his might as he led the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:14-15).

Sackcloth was the garment of a penitent. We are reminded of David’s profound penitence when Nathan confronted him with his sin of adultery and murder (2 Samuel 12:13). We are also reminded of his heartsickness as he prayed and fasted when his infant son was dying (2 Samuel 12:16).

This Psalm is a triumphant declaration that God does heal.

APPLY:

This is a Psalm that explores the spiritual and emotional dynamics of serious illness and the tremendous relief of healing.

Someone who has experienced cancer or heart surgery or kidney failure may be able to identify with the feeling that he was already in the grave. To be delivered from such an illness is almost like a resurrection!

But this Psalm also captures our very human tendency to take our health and well-being for granted — until something happens that reminds us of just how fragile our health may be.

And, to be honest, we have a very human tendency to want to bargain with God when we are in “the pits.” But we are reminded by this Psalm that God’s grace and mercy far exceed our superficial negotiations:

his favor is for a lifetime.

RESPOND:

One thing is clear — all of us will go through hard times. We will watch our friends and our family members suffer. And we will also suffer.

I have visited with folks many times in my ministry who have been perilously close to death. In nearly all cases, when they recover they have a sense that they have been rescued from the grave and been given a reprieve.

They have almost always said to me: “God did this for a reason. I have been given another chance. Now I need to find out what he wants me to do.”

Lord, I have prayed many times for those who have been grievously ill. In some cases they recovered. In a few cases they did die. I have thus far escaped serious illness in my own life — but I know that if I live long enough, I will face those moments as well. I pray that I might not bargain with you when that time comes, but that I will trust you that whether I live or die, I am in your hands. Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Psalm 30-3 1024×768” by Dr. Johnson Cherian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for May 1, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 30
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is a Psalm of Thanksgiving on the occasion of “Recovery from Grave Illness,” according to the Psalm’s ascription [NRSV].

David’s experience of illness brought him close to death. He gives thanks that the Lord has drawn him up, and then reveals his plight:

O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

This is a vivid way of describing the temporary nature of suffering, especially when compared with God’s grace and joy. God’s favor and joy are enduring, and anger and grief are momentary.

The Apostle Paul expresses this same understanding of suffering:

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

But David also confesses that he had begun to take his well-being for granted prior to his catastrophe:

As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”

He had counted on the Lord’s constant favor, but he learned not to be presumptuous:

By your favor, O Lord,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

Only so long as the Lord sustained him did he experience the Lord’s favor.

“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

As David closes this Psalm of praise, he celebrates:

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

This passage reminds us of David when he danced with all his might as he led the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:14-15).

This Psalm is a triumphant declaration that God does heal.

APPLY:

This is a Psalm that explores the spiritual and emotional dynamics of serious illness and the tremendous relief of healing.

But this Psalm also captures our very human tendency to take our health and well-being for granted — until something happens that reminds us of just how fragile our health may be.

his favor is for a lifetime.

RESPOND:

One thing is clear — all of us will go through hard times. We will watch our friends and our family members suffer. And we will also suffer.

They have almost always said to me: “God did this for a reason. I have been given another chance. Now I need to find out what he wants me to do.”

PHOTOS:
“Psalm 30-3 1024×768” by Dr. Johnson Cherian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for August 1, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 51:1-12
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The superscription that precedes Psalm 51 describes the context in which this Psalm was purportedly written:

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

The theme and tone of the Psalm reveal a heart broken by a deep awareness of sin and shame. This is a Psalm of confession and lamentation, but also great hope.

Just as a fresh reminder — David committed adultery with Bathsheba and conspired to have her husband Uriah killed in battle. Nathan the prophet is instructed by the Lord to confront David with his sin, and does so by relating a carefully crafted story that appeals to David’s sense of justice; and only then does Nathan spring his trap:

you are the man!

David, the powerful king, might have ordered Nathan’s execution. Instead, he is cut to the heart with conviction, and confesses:

I have sinned against the Lord.

There is absolutely no shred of excuse or rationalization in this Psalm.

The Psalmist begins by throwing himself on the merciful nature and steadfast love of God for complete cleansing of his sin:

blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.

He will return again to this imagery of washing and cleansing.

He openly confesses that he is very aware of his sin. But what seems very odd is that he then says:

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment.

Obviously David’s sin has violated the moral laws of God, namely adultery and murder. But if this is David, he has not only violated God’s laws; he has sinned grievously against Uriah and even Bathsheba! Is he saying that all sin is initially and ultimately against God? That whatever the social consequences of his sin, it begins with a transgression against God and separates him from God?

He then confesses that his sin is somehow woven into his nature:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

This seems a likely proof-text of the Christian doctrine of original sin — that human beings are predisposed to sin by their very nature.

Then he begins to offer a series of petitions and requests of the Lord. He acknowledges that God requires truthfulness in the depths of the human heart; so it would seem that only God can provide what is needed in order for that to be actualized:

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

The Psalmist then returns to the imagery of cleansing. He begs to be purged with hyssop, which is a an herbal plant prescribed to purify lepers in Leviticus 14:6-7. In that passage, it is used in a ceremonial sense, dipped in the blood of a bird and mixed with cedarwood and scarlet cloth, and sprinkled on the leper. It would be interesting to know if the hyssop is to be received internally in this context. Among other references, the hyssop stalk was used during the crucifixion of Jesus to offer him a drink of vinegar wine soaked into a sponge (John 19:28-29).

Suffice it to say, the Psalmist is pleading for complete spiritual and moral cleansing:

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Once that cleansing has occurred, he is confident that joy and gladness will be restored. Metaphorically, the conviction that he has experienced has been like the agony of broken bones. And he believes that the source of his conviction is from God himself:

let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.

Mercy will come only when God will:

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

And the cleansing that he begs for is not merely symbolic or superficial purgation. He pleads that the Lord will:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

The old nature, conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity, must not only be cleansed but renewed with the right spirit.

He mentions spirit four times in this Psalm, sometimes indicating his own broken spirit, but also alluding to God’s Spirit:

Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

He confesses that the relationship with God that was once whole and harmonious has been broken, and he yearns for that relationship to be restored. And this can only happen if God restores that joyful sense of salvation and wholeness, and if God sustains it within him.

APPLY:

Heinrich Heine, the German writer, is alleged to have said on his deathbed, “Of course God will forgive me. That’s his business.”

There is none of that presumption and no hint of “cheap grace” in this Psalm. And I would venture to say that those who take seriously the consequences of sin in their own lives and have cried out for God’s forgiveness can identify more closely with Psalm 51 than with Heinrich Heine.

No, we have not all committed adultery or murder. But Jesus teaches us that sin is not merely the external act but originates in the heart, as with anger and lust (Matthew 5:21-30). The same can be said of covetousness, or pride, or any other sin.

Like David, we all have been conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity. But the theme of Scripture is that God does love us with a steadfast love, and his mercy endures forever. He does restore the joy of our salvation and renews his Spirit within us.

God’s grace is abundant and generous; but our ability to receive that grace does depend on our willingness to confess our sin and turn to him in faith. This is confirmed in the New Testament time and time again:

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

RESPOND:

Until I fully faced the reality of my own sinful nature, I could not fully appreciate the Cross. If sin is merely a “mistake,” all we need do is mutter “my bad,” and receive the casual response “no problem.”

But my own breakthrough happened when I confronted the fact that I am “bad to the bone.” I am selfish, prideful, lustful, conceived in sin and broken. Only the forgiveness of God in Christ can possibly restore the joy of salvation.

That message is supremely revealed in Jesus, who is “great David’s greater Son.” As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Thank you, Lord, that you have anticipated my sin with your mercy, purchased with the atoning blood of Christ! Through your Holy Spirit you have created in me a clean heart, and restored the joy of my salvation. Amen and Amen!


PHOTOS:
"Psalm 51" by Daniel Go is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.

Psalm Reading for July 25, 2021

Without God, we are all morally corrupt fools.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Psalm 14 might be called a “Lament” because it addresses one of the darkest of themes — atheism, corruption, and evildoing.

The Psalmist pulls no punches in his denunciation of unbelief:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile.

The footnote provided in the text offers further explanation of the term fool in Hebrew. It does not mean one who is stupid or ignorant, but one who is morally deficient.

This helps clarify the premise of the Psalm — that unbelief derives from and leads to moral corruption and sin.

What is most disturbing is the general scope of evil:

there is no one who does good. . . All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

While this is a pretty pessimistic assessment of human nature, the Psalmist does make an exception — those who are being oppressed by the godless evildoers are the people of God.

They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.

This vivid figure of speech compares the godless to carnivorous beasts, or even cannibals!

This gives the Psalmist the occasion to draw the contrast between the godless and the Godly. On the one hand, the godless live in constant anxiety:

there they are, overwhelmed with dread.

On the other hand:

God is present in the company of the righteous.

On the one hand, the:

evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor.

On the other hand:

the Lord is their refuge.

The Psalmist ends with a great exclamation of victory which is also a plea for God’s intervention:

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

APPLY:

When the Psalmist tells us that:

All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one,

he is describing the destiny of all who have turned their backs on God.

all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith (Romans 3:24-25).

RESPOND:

I think there are some fairly general causes of “atheism”:

Arrogance — those who seem to believe that they have thoroughly investigated all of the world religions and have concluded that they are intellectually superior to people of faith; or have persuaded themselves that there is no Creator necessary in this vast, complex universe.
Anger — those who have been hurt by Christians, or perhaps have been disappointed that their faith in God failed to deliver what they hoped for.
Apathy — those who are simply too lazy to conduct a systematic search for God, and simply don’t care enough to find faith.
Accountability — those who honestly hope that there is no God; for if there is a God, and this is a moral universe, there are consequences for their actions and our lifestyles. That is certainly the case for the godless referred to in Psalm 14.

From my perspective, the Psalmist’s blunt words apply to each of these factors, though most of us are too polite to say it out loud:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

But we are also reminded that:

at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).


PHOTOS:
Susan Murtaugh's photograph of Christopher Wool's "Fool" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for July 18, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 89:20-37
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm is a perfect companion-piece to 2 Samuel 7:1-14a. The voice is first person, as the Lord affirms his choice of David as his anointed king. He has been anointed with the sacred oil reserved for priests, prophets and kings.

The Lord promises victory over his enemies, and the extension of his kingdom:

I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.

Using an ancient symbol that connects Israel to its agricultural past, the Lord asserts that:

through my name his horn will be exalted.

The horn in Biblical lore is a symbol of strength — but the true strength comes from the identity of the Lord, as revealed in his name.

The relationship that the Lord establishes with David is unique and intimate:

He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

David is “adopted” as the firstborn of God, with all of the benefits of power and royalty that involves; but more importantly he will be able to call out to God in God’s name.

Then the Lord reiterates the same pledge he has made in 2 Samuel 7:11-14:

I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.
I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.

However, there is also the threat of consequences if David’s descendants forsake God’s law or fail to keep the commandments — they will be scourged! However, God has made an inviolable promise to David — to love him and his house forever, and to keep his side of the covenant. Punishment is not correlated with utter abandonment:

his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.

APPLY:

David obviously has a unique place in God’s heart, and in the hearts of the Israelites as the model, ideal king. But what has that to do with us nearly 3,000 years later?

Quite a lot, actually! We know from the history of the monarchy in Israel and Judah that the united kingdoms consolidated by David didn’t last but one generation after his reign. And we know that some of his successors who ruled Judah in Jerusalem were really good, and some were really bad. And we know that the threat included in verses 31-32 did come to pass:

If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging.

Eventually, the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. It would almost seem that the promise made to David by God for an unfailing covenant, an unending dynasty, and an eternal throne was broken.

Almost — but not from a New Testament perspective. Jesus, as the descendant of David, fulfils the Messianic destiny of the Son of David and rules also as the Son of God, as Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 17:14).

We also hear something that might be a comfort to us. That though we break God’s commandments and laws, and receive the due punishment for our sins, God doesn’t stop loving us. In fact, it is through the life, death and resurrection of King Jesus that all of God’s promises are fulfilled. And all who turn to the Son of David in repentance and faith may become his subjects.

As Jesus says in the Epilogue of Revelation:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End… I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:13,16).

RESPOND:

I have learned to be cautious about idealizing princes, politicians, celebrities, athletes and actors. They have a tendency to disappoint, sometimes devastatingly. But the promises made about the One descendant of David that I really care about have been, are being, and will be fulfilled.

Though times of austerity and even scourging may come, God will not forget his love for us for the sake of his Son. Promises may seem deferred in my short-term field of vision; but in God’s long-range vision, his promises are always fulfilled.

Our Lord, your promises sometimes seem to be delayed, and even broken, in my limited scope of vision. But as it has been said in different ways, your promises may come slowly but they bend toward eternal fulfillment. Amen.


PHOTOS:
"God's Promises" used this photo:
"One with Nature" by Nikky Stephen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for July 11, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 24
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm of David is entitled “Entrance into the Temple.” But what exactly is the Temple to which the Psalm refers? Is the Temple that which is built by human hands, or the Temple of the created order, or the hearts of the worshippers?

The Psalm is divided into three essential units. In the first section (verses 1-2), the Psalm relates to the Lord as Creator and Owner of all things. The second section (verses 3-6), describes the moral and spiritual qualities necessary for the human worshiper to enter into God’s presence. The third unit (verses 7-10), is an exhortation to the personified gates of the city that they be opened:

that the King of glory may come in.

The first section provides a divine perspective. God’s reign and presence are not limited to a dwelling place in the Temple or seated in the ark of the covenant. His reign is universal, as is his Lordship:

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.

God’s claim to the title as Ruler and Owner of all is quite simple — he is the Creator of all:

for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.

The second section asks the vital question:

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?

Interestingly, the Psalmist does not offer the conventional answer — the Priests and Levites. No, those who are qualified to climb this holy hill are not qualified by their titles or lineage, but by their character:

Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.

They shall be vindicated and blessed by the God of their salvation. And perhaps the most significant quality required of those who are deemed worthy of climbing the ascent to the Temple Mount and standing in the presence of the Lord is their spiritual hunger:

Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

The third section personifies the ancient doors of Jerusalem, as the Psalmist exhorts these gates to lift up their heads. But even more significantly, the Psalmist justifies the purpose of opening these presumably long closed gates — the Lord and Sovereign of all the earth, and the one whom those of clean hands and pure hearts are seeking, is preparing to enter!

Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.

APPLY:

There are three dimensions to this Psalm that lift us to true worship.

First, we are reminded that the Lord is God, the Creator and owner of the universe that he has created — and we are not! This provides a sound theological foundation for our perspective. We own nothing at all — God is the owner of everything. So, we worship the Lord as the one from whom all things flow.

Second, we are reminded that worship is never casual and careless. The qualifications for entering into the presence of God require clean hands and pure hearts. This is a moral imperative, that we enter worship only after scrupulous self-examination and repentance. From a Christian perspective, we know that there is none of us who is worthy to come into the presence of God, except through the redemptive blood of Christ and his grace. But his grace both pardons and cleanses us:

If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Moreover, we are reminded that our response to the grace of God is to seek him with all our hearts. God acts and we react in response to his gracious initiative toward us. But by seeking him we find him who is already seeking us. Jesus says:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).

Finally, we ask ourselves, where is the Temple into which God awaits entrance? For us, is it not ourselves, the people of God? As Paul tells us:

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst (1 Corinthians 3:16)?

We are to open the doors of our lives that the King of glory may come in.

RESPOND:

Recognizing that God is Lord over heavens and earth is vital. However, when that truth becomes real in our hearts, we begin to recognize the vast chasm between ourselves and God. He is The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

How can we possibly come into his presence, and offer appropriate worship? Only when, through his grace, we have been cleansed and made suitable:

who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.

It is this quest, to know and worship the King of glory, that drives me to seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Our Lord, purify my hands and my heart, that I may suitably worship and glorify you! I seek you with all my heart, though I so often fall short. Grant that I may see your glory! Amen.


PHOTOS:
The photo used in "Psalm 24:3-4":  "Figures ascend the Manaslu Glacier on their summit push" by Mark Horrell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.