Psalm Meditation 928
Easter
April 1, 2018
Psalm 34
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.
9 O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all.
20 He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
(NRSV)
When I was younger my mother and brothers would tell me to slow my pace while eating. They would ask if I even took time to taste my food and I thought that I did. I discovered eventually that I was eating way too fast and that I was not getting the full benefit of the food I was eating. When I am aware of my eating I find much more enjoyment in it than I do when I shovel it in as if I am in a race. This may be a part of why the instruction to taste and see that the LORD is good catches my attention.
There is a treat for the senses in the presence of God. There is a savor to being with God that delights the tongue in the way a favorite food impacts the taste receptors of the body. It is an indescribable and undeniable part of being with God. It is satisfying even as it creates a longing for more with each bite. With food there comes a point at which the body signals fullness and the eating stops. With God the taste draws us to want more since there is no sense of fullness as we ‘taste and see that the LORD is good.’
While we may be tempted to devour the presence of God, there is something to the advice my family gave me. Take the time to taste and savor the presence of God. Enjoy the various aspects of a delightful experience of taste that comes from being with God. Find comfort in God the way a comfort food gives a sense of love and belonging when we are most in need of that kind of comfort. “O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”
March 26, 2018
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 26, 2018
Monday, March 19, 2018
Psalm Meditation 927
Palm/Passion Sunday
March 25, 2018
Psalm 19
1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
(NRSV)
Some of us get upset when we are told and reminded that there are rules to be followed in many parts of our lives. We are okay if we helped make the rules, otherwise we believe the rules must be unfair, especially to us. True or not we see other peoples’ rules as restrictive and problematic. If we don’t see the reason or rationale for a rule we see no need to follow it and some will openly rebel against a rule we don’t agree with or understand. At the same time we get upset with those who do not follow our rules because they see them as arbitrary.
The psalmist reminds us that the rules of God are good and desirable. We follow God’s rules because they help us feel renewed, refreshed, and revitalized. We follow the rules of God because as we follow them we increasingly see the wisdom that comes from following them. Following God’s rules leads us to a lifestyle that is rewarding in a lot of ways. If only it were as simple as following every rule received from God word for word.
There are always those who will twist the words of the rules to make them come out the way they want them. The psalmist asks to be delivered from those who show this kind of disrespect for the rules. We do well to join the psalmist in looking to God to give clarity to our hearts and lives as we live toward God. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”
March 19, 2018
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Palm/Passion Sunday
March 25, 2018
Psalm 19
1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
(NRSV)
Some of us get upset when we are told and reminded that there are rules to be followed in many parts of our lives. We are okay if we helped make the rules, otherwise we believe the rules must be unfair, especially to us. True or not we see other peoples’ rules as restrictive and problematic. If we don’t see the reason or rationale for a rule we see no need to follow it and some will openly rebel against a rule we don’t agree with or understand. At the same time we get upset with those who do not follow our rules because they see them as arbitrary.
The psalmist reminds us that the rules of God are good and desirable. We follow God’s rules because they help us feel renewed, refreshed, and revitalized. We follow the rules of God because as we follow them we increasingly see the wisdom that comes from following them. Following God’s rules leads us to a lifestyle that is rewarding in a lot of ways. If only it were as simple as following every rule received from God word for word.
There are always those who will twist the words of the rules to make them come out the way they want them. The psalmist asks to be delivered from those who show this kind of disrespect for the rules. We do well to join the psalmist in looking to God to give clarity to our hearts and lives as we live toward God. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”
March 19, 2018
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 12, 2018
Psalm Meditation 926
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 18, 2018
Psalm 132
1 O LORD, remember in David’s favor all the hardships he endured;
2 how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house or get into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool.”
8 Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy.
10 For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation:
14 “This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”
(NRSV)
We like to know our roots, what place we call home, or at the very least where our ancestors called home. We like to know we have a place where we belong. We go to great lengths to provide a place of familiar and familial comfort and belonging. Even those of us who don’t have an actual place to call home have a way of making the place where we are look and feel like home to us. Something as simple as the direction we face the opening to our tent every time we set it up, the furniture and ‘stuff’ with which we surround ourselves, or the habits we follow in settling down for the night and rising for the day can make a place feel like home.
The psalmist reminds us all that David was intent on providing a sense of place for both the people and God by finding the perfect location for God to dwell. Even though David was not allowed to build the actual house, dwelling, temple, David was able to put the tent of meeting on the spot where the temple would be built. For both tent and temple everyone knew that it was nowhere near big enough to contain any part of God. It was a place to which people could come and feel the presence of God in a special way.
Most of us have a particular place in which God feels especially present to us. It may be a church building, a place out in nature, or a place in our hearts, a place in which we had a memorably moving experience of the presence of God. Wherever it may be, rest assured that God is there. For those who feel God near it is a place of wholeness and rejuvenation, a place of comfort as well a place from which we feel compelled to go out and change the world for the better, a place of joy deeper than we have felt anywhere else, a place in which we feel honored and loved by God.
March 12, 2018
LCM
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 18, 2018
Psalm 132
1 O LORD, remember in David’s favor all the hardships he endured;
2 how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house or get into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool.”
8 Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy.
10 For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation:
14 “This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”
(NRSV)
We like to know our roots, what place we call home, or at the very least where our ancestors called home. We like to know we have a place where we belong. We go to great lengths to provide a place of familiar and familial comfort and belonging. Even those of us who don’t have an actual place to call home have a way of making the place where we are look and feel like home to us. Something as simple as the direction we face the opening to our tent every time we set it up, the furniture and ‘stuff’ with which we surround ourselves, or the habits we follow in settling down for the night and rising for the day can make a place feel like home.
The psalmist reminds us all that David was intent on providing a sense of place for both the people and God by finding the perfect location for God to dwell. Even though David was not allowed to build the actual house, dwelling, temple, David was able to put the tent of meeting on the spot where the temple would be built. For both tent and temple everyone knew that it was nowhere near big enough to contain any part of God. It was a place to which people could come and feel the presence of God in a special way.
Most of us have a particular place in which God feels especially present to us. It may be a church building, a place out in nature, or a place in our hearts, a place in which we had a memorably moving experience of the presence of God. Wherever it may be, rest assured that God is there. For those who feel God near it is a place of wholeness and rejuvenation, a place of comfort as well a place from which we feel compelled to go out and change the world for the better, a place of joy deeper than we have felt anywhere else, a place in which we feel honored and loved by God.
March 12, 2018
LCM
Monday, March 5, 2018
Psalm Meditation 925
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 11, 2018
Psalm 69
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6 Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord GOD of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel.
7 It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children.
9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help
14 rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies.
19 You know the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
20 Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies.
23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute those whom you have struck down, and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.
27 Add guilt to their guilt; may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29 But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall live there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall live in it.
(NRSV)
Harassed, harried, teased, picked on, even persecuted are some of the words that come to mind as I read this psalm. While the psalmist does not seem to fear for life or limb there is pressure to be something or someone else in the face of the surrounding crowd. The psalmist even takes a moment to try on the mantle of victimhood, wavering back and forth between being a victim, a martyr, and an example to those whose need for God is deeper and greater.
There is something helpful and healing about being overwhelmed by the situations in which we find ourselves, as long as we don’t take up residence in our pain for too long at a time. The feelings of helplessness can open us up to seek a source of help for ourselves. Wanting to help those around us who are also in pain can give us the energy to look beyond our present situation to find a source of help and hope that can lift us and those around us to a renewed life.
God is an ever-present source of help and hope. When we are able to give ourselves over to the love of God we discover that even if our outward situation has not changed we know that we are not alone, we are renewed in hope, and we able to look to a future in the abiding presence of God.
March 5, 2018
LCM
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 11, 2018
Psalm 69
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6 Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord GOD of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel.
7 It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children.
9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help
14 rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies.
19 You know the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
20 Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies.
23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute those whom you have struck down, and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.
27 Add guilt to their guilt; may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29 But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall live there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall live in it.
(NRSV)
Harassed, harried, teased, picked on, even persecuted are some of the words that come to mind as I read this psalm. While the psalmist does not seem to fear for life or limb there is pressure to be something or someone else in the face of the surrounding crowd. The psalmist even takes a moment to try on the mantle of victimhood, wavering back and forth between being a victim, a martyr, and an example to those whose need for God is deeper and greater.
There is something helpful and healing about being overwhelmed by the situations in which we find ourselves, as long as we don’t take up residence in our pain for too long at a time. The feelings of helplessness can open us up to seek a source of help for ourselves. Wanting to help those around us who are also in pain can give us the energy to look beyond our present situation to find a source of help and hope that can lift us and those around us to a renewed life.
God is an ever-present source of help and hope. When we are able to give ourselves over to the love of God we discover that even if our outward situation has not changed we know that we are not alone, we are renewed in hope, and we able to look to a future in the abiding presence of God.
March 5, 2018
LCM
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