Psalm Meditation 498
Epiphany Sunday
January 3, 2010
Psalm 70
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me!
2 Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me.
3 Let those who say, "Aha, Aha!" turn back because of their shame.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!"
5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
(NRSV)
There are folks who can do things for us in such a way that we know we would have been better off having gone without their help. They remind us on a regular basis how much they did to help us. We know they will never call in that favor because it will take away their leverage in the relationship. “Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.” is a way of asking God for help that does not make a big issue of it.
The good thing about that is that God is pleased to help us and is not likely to remind us what great things have been done for us by God. It is not about pay backs and bargaining where God is concerned. There is no, ‘I’ll do this for you if you do this for me,’ where God is concerned. God is not manipulated by our bargaining; God is pleased to be a part of our lives. God does not set us up with conditions on our relationship so that we have to jump through lots of hoops to get God to pay attention to us. There are rules and conditions to a relationship with God, just as there are with any relationship and those rules don’t change from one day to the next. God wants to be in relationship with us.
It is probably better to say no to a request from a friend than it is to use that favor as a leverage point in the relationship. If we can’t find a way to be pleased to help another we are probably better off not to help in this case. Eventually an opportunity will present itself that catches our interest and excitement in such a way that we are pleased to help out. When that happens we will know that we are doing a work of God and we can all rejoice together.
© December 28, 2009
LCM manifold@lightbound.com
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Psalm Meditation 497
First Sunday of Christmas
December 27, 2009
Psalm 45
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
(NRSV)
This psalms seems to be a wedding song for a princess who is being sent off to marry another king. There are praises to the king as a reminder to all that the king is the agent of God and the clearinghouse for all the good things that could possibly come to those of us who are not the king or queen. In the midst of all the wedding celebration is a reminder that all of the good things in our lives come as gifts of God whether we are kings or subjects of kings.
For those of us for whom royalty is a foreign concept there are still reasons to keep this psalm in the canon. Whether we are governed by hereditary rulers or by elected officials we do well to keep God as a central point in our lives. Years ago, when Becky and I got married, I heard from several people that there are three important people in a good marriage; the husband, the wife and God. The other part of that was usually that the order in which I just listed them was not the order of their importance. God is first, last and in between and the two people make their way together in the presence of God.
There are some couples who live with a constant awareness of the presence of God in their lives, individually and together, the rest of us have our moments. Our lives are filled with temptations; sometimes we give in to those temptations and other times we do not. We may judge those in the public eye more harshly as they give in to the variety of temptations to which celebrity is heir, however we each deal with our own infidelities as we are tempted to wander away from relationships of lasting importance to those of passing fancy. It could be a sexual relationship or it could be too much time and energy at work, a time consuming hobby or any number of ways we are tempted away from faithful relationships. Through it all God is with us and available to us as we discover our desire for God in our lives and relationships.
© December 21, 2009
First Sunday of Christmas
December 27, 2009
Psalm 45
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
(NRSV)
This psalms seems to be a wedding song for a princess who is being sent off to marry another king. There are praises to the king as a reminder to all that the king is the agent of God and the clearinghouse for all the good things that could possibly come to those of us who are not the king or queen. In the midst of all the wedding celebration is a reminder that all of the good things in our lives come as gifts of God whether we are kings or subjects of kings.
For those of us for whom royalty is a foreign concept there are still reasons to keep this psalm in the canon. Whether we are governed by hereditary rulers or by elected officials we do well to keep God as a central point in our lives. Years ago, when Becky and I got married, I heard from several people that there are three important people in a good marriage; the husband, the wife and God. The other part of that was usually that the order in which I just listed them was not the order of their importance. God is first, last and in between and the two people make their way together in the presence of God.
There are some couples who live with a constant awareness of the presence of God in their lives, individually and together, the rest of us have our moments. Our lives are filled with temptations; sometimes we give in to those temptations and other times we do not. We may judge those in the public eye more harshly as they give in to the variety of temptations to which celebrity is heir, however we each deal with our own infidelities as we are tempted to wander away from relationships of lasting importance to those of passing fancy. It could be a sexual relationship or it could be too much time and energy at work, a time consuming hobby or any number of ways we are tempted away from faithful relationships. Through it all God is with us and available to us as we discover our desire for God in our lives and relationships.
© December 21, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Psalm Meditation 496
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2009
Psalm 20
1 The LORD answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah
4 May he grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call.
(NRSV)
This psalm seems to be addressed to the king as he goes out to battle. The psalmist lifts up a prayer that all go well as the king and the army head out to war. At the same time there is the reminder for the king that the real source of victory we experience is due to the presence of God. Other nations have better chariots and others have faster horses, however we have the presence of Yahweh to lead us to a much more lasting victory than that won by chariots and horses.
Since we no longer have kings, chariots or horses as a part of our daily lives this psalm must have something else to offer than a prayer for victory as our king goes out to do battle with neighboring kings. Could it be a call for the unquestioning support for those who lead us on a daily basis, from those who supervise us directly all the way to the top of the organizational chart? Or a call to blindly support our elected officials from the most local to those with national influence? I hope not since we are in the habit of second guessing folks at work as well as those in elected office, especially those against whom we voted.
We do better to use this psalm as a reminder that it finally comes down to the source of our pride. Are we proud of the status of our nation and our national leaders? What happens when that shifts and another takes our place? Do we take pride in being largest, or small enough to adapt quickly or any other category we choose or make up to give ourselves a sense of pride? Do we find ourselves at the same time proud and humbled that God has chosen to love us and care for us freely?
God has chosen to love us no matter what. God has chosen to care for us in spite of and because of our very human faults and flaws. God chooses to be with us whether we succeed or fail, win or lose. It is not about our being deserving of God’s love and care, it is about God choosing, wanting, desiring our company in all our humanness. All the trappings of power and influence will fail and fade. The presence of God is a constant.
© December 14, 2009
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2009
Psalm 20
1 The LORD answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah
4 May he grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call.
(NRSV)
This psalm seems to be addressed to the king as he goes out to battle. The psalmist lifts up a prayer that all go well as the king and the army head out to war. At the same time there is the reminder for the king that the real source of victory we experience is due to the presence of God. Other nations have better chariots and others have faster horses, however we have the presence of Yahweh to lead us to a much more lasting victory than that won by chariots and horses.
Since we no longer have kings, chariots or horses as a part of our daily lives this psalm must have something else to offer than a prayer for victory as our king goes out to do battle with neighboring kings. Could it be a call for the unquestioning support for those who lead us on a daily basis, from those who supervise us directly all the way to the top of the organizational chart? Or a call to blindly support our elected officials from the most local to those with national influence? I hope not since we are in the habit of second guessing folks at work as well as those in elected office, especially those against whom we voted.
We do better to use this psalm as a reminder that it finally comes down to the source of our pride. Are we proud of the status of our nation and our national leaders? What happens when that shifts and another takes our place? Do we take pride in being largest, or small enough to adapt quickly or any other category we choose or make up to give ourselves a sense of pride? Do we find ourselves at the same time proud and humbled that God has chosen to love us and care for us freely?
God has chosen to love us no matter what. God has chosen to care for us in spite of and because of our very human faults and flaws. God chooses to be with us whether we succeed or fail, win or lose. It is not about our being deserving of God’s love and care, it is about God choosing, wanting, desiring our company in all our humanness. All the trappings of power and influence will fail and fade. The presence of God is a constant.
© December 14, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Psalm Meditation 495
Third Sunday of Advent
December 13, 2009
Psalm 144
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
(NRSV)
Children ask for everything, expecting parents and others to fulfill each and every request. As children we really do believe that each one of those things is important to our survival and necessary for our enjoyment in life. Parents smile and nod recognizing that not every request from a child has to be done right away if at all. We even recognize that at times the best way to fill a request is with a refusal. We want to hear the requests even as we know that not every one is as much a matter of life and death as it is presented.
Certainly God hears our requests in the same manner. While many of our petitions and intercessions seem to be matters of great import to us God recognizes that it is not always in our best interest to give us all we ask for. At times we discover that the answer to our prayers lie in trusting our own abilities to meet our needs and the needs of those around us. Other times God waits patiently for us to ask for help that only God can give as we keep trying to fix it by our own skills. I can only guess that God takes great delight in our willingness to bring God our joys and concerns.
God teaches us, provides for us, shelters us from a variety of storms in a variety of ways. God blesses us in ways that are outside our ability to comprehend. God does all this willingly and lovingly. God wants to be in relationship with us and wants us to be in relationships with each other. As we become more aware of how best to be in those relationships we discover more of what it means to be blessed.
© December 7, 2009
Third Sunday of Advent
December 13, 2009
Psalm 144
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
(NRSV)
Children ask for everything, expecting parents and others to fulfill each and every request. As children we really do believe that each one of those things is important to our survival and necessary for our enjoyment in life. Parents smile and nod recognizing that not every request from a child has to be done right away if at all. We even recognize that at times the best way to fill a request is with a refusal. We want to hear the requests even as we know that not every one is as much a matter of life and death as it is presented.
Certainly God hears our requests in the same manner. While many of our petitions and intercessions seem to be matters of great import to us God recognizes that it is not always in our best interest to give us all we ask for. At times we discover that the answer to our prayers lie in trusting our own abilities to meet our needs and the needs of those around us. Other times God waits patiently for us to ask for help that only God can give as we keep trying to fix it by our own skills. I can only guess that God takes great delight in our willingness to bring God our joys and concerns.
God teaches us, provides for us, shelters us from a variety of storms in a variety of ways. God blesses us in ways that are outside our ability to comprehend. God does all this willingly and lovingly. God wants to be in relationship with us and wants us to be in relationships with each other. As we become more aware of how best to be in those relationships we discover more of what it means to be blessed.
© December 7, 2009
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