Showing posts with label Psalm 144. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 144. Show all posts
Monday, August 26, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1263
¶Proper 17
¶September 1, 2024
¶Psalm 144
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+144&version=NRSVUE
(NRSVUE)
¶In the movie Braveheart, a young William Wallace asks his uncle to teach him to use a sword. His uncle pokes him in the forehead and tells him to learn to use his brain, and then he can learn to use other weapons. While we don’t use military weapons on a daily basis, we can use other means in the struggles of daily life. The psalmist begins with prayer, asking God to be present in all the conflicts that will be a part of the day ahead. Some of those conflicts will require weapons and all of them will take knowledge and wisdom.
¶Before getting to the request at hand, the psalmist takes a moment to wonder what it is about humans that draws the attention of God. We are short lived and insignificant in the scope of creation. Then the psalmist asks God to intervene in this conflict by siding with us and using the more frightening weapons in God’s arsenal, volcanoes, lightning, and any other direct interventions available in this setting. Use those weapons to rid us of the enemies who wish us harm and destruction.
¶If God will pull us out of this mess, we will sing praises to celebrate all the good things God does for us. Oh, and since you have saved us, O God, it would be nice if you would carry on the tradition of care by seeing that our sons and daughters have the same good things we have, and more. The psalmist asks God to continue to care for us through the blessings of life as God has cared for us through the conflicts and trials of life. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.“
¶August 26, 2024
¶LCM lcmanifold@gmail.com
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, May 31, 2021
Psalm Meditation 1094
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 6, 2021
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)
Most of us don’t face our enemies in armed combat in physical form since most of our enemies are the doubts and concerns that interfere with our ability to function on a daily basis. We may have gobs of skills and talents, or just enough to get by. At the same time we are assailed by doubts that keep us from doing the work of which we are capable. The doubts likely come from within us, even if we received them from a figure we loved and trusted at some point in our lives. Having internalized the doubts, we allow our doubts to overpower our awareness of our skills.
The psalmist asks God for relief from the enemies who are in full attack mode against our author. Whether physical, spiritual, or psychological, the enemies aim is to destroy us in some form or another. No matter how the destruction comes, it is aided by lies and offers of help that will turn to dust in our hands. God is the ones who speaks the truth and whose offered hand is firm and supportive in the face of any calamity.
God serves as giver of our skills and talents as well as our cheerleader to use our gifts to the best of our ability. When we feel as if we are drowning in doubt and questions, God is with us to give us what we need to face our doubts. It could be as simple as letting us walk away to regroup for a moment or the willingness to trust ourselves and give our all to the project, calamity, or trial at hand. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the Lord.”
May 31, 2021
LCM
Monday, November 19, 2018
Psalm Meditation 962
Reign of Christ
November 25, 2018
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)
A great way to turn an adversary into an enemy is to demonize them. Turn folks into aliens who only deal in falsehood and violence and we are well on our way to having an enemy with whom we need no contact whatsoever. If we can’t bring ourselves to paint ‘those people’ as liars, killers, and cheats we can at least paint them as idiots who wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and slapped them in the face. Currently, we are even doing this with each other. People of other parties and perspectives, people with strong beliefs with which we disagree are branded as evil and alien.
Interestingly, when we meet face to face we can carry on conversations as if we saw the other as mistaken rather than pure evil. It is from a distance that we are able to fire our various slings and arrows. The distance is not always geographic, it can also be in ways that are more psychological than physical. If I already believe that you are one of ‘them’ the barriers I place between us will be insurmountable even by contact.
When we see ‘those’ people as children of God, as redeemed by the same power and presence as ourselves, we begin to heal our rifts and divisions. When we can look past our disagreements to see a person with faults and flaws as well as with hopes and dreams, we see a whole person with whom we have a disagreement rather than an evil presence taking up space in a world that belongs to me and my kind. I am sure that God loves more folks than any one of us believes is possible. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.”
November 19, 2018
LCM
Reign of Christ
November 25, 2018
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)
A great way to turn an adversary into an enemy is to demonize them. Turn folks into aliens who only deal in falsehood and violence and we are well on our way to having an enemy with whom we need no contact whatsoever. If we can’t bring ourselves to paint ‘those people’ as liars, killers, and cheats we can at least paint them as idiots who wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and slapped them in the face. Currently, we are even doing this with each other. People of other parties and perspectives, people with strong beliefs with which we disagree are branded as evil and alien.
Interestingly, when we meet face to face we can carry on conversations as if we saw the other as mistaken rather than pure evil. It is from a distance that we are able to fire our various slings and arrows. The distance is not always geographic, it can also be in ways that are more psychological than physical. If I already believe that you are one of ‘them’ the barriers I place between us will be insurmountable even by contact.
When we see ‘those’ people as children of God, as redeemed by the same power and presence as ourselves, we begin to heal our rifts and divisions. When we can look past our disagreements to see a person with faults and flaws as well as with hopes and dreams, we see a whole person with whom we have a disagreement rather than an evil presence taking up space in a world that belongs to me and my kind. I am sure that God loves more folks than any one of us believes is possible. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.”
November 19, 2018
LCM
Monday, April 21, 2014
Psalm Meditation 723
Second Sunday of Easter
April 27, 2014
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)
While our list of good things provided by God is a bit different from that of the psalmist we can still celebrate the overwhelming providence of God in our lives. Our battle skills are framed in terms of job performance and market share rather than swords and armies. Our children are still way above average in every category of comparison. Crops and livestock have been exchanged for other types of quantifiable possessions of excellent quality. Safety and security continue to be concerns we place in the hands of God.
The change in emphasis does not change our dependence on the providence of God. While not everyone looks to God as the source of all that is, those of us who do are willing to see the hand of God at work in every aspect of our lives. Some folks see God as the cause of all that happens, both good and bad, while others see God as present in all that happens. Either way, God provides us reasons for celebration, concern and comfort. God provides out of a rich store of blessings.
There are those for whom the current inventory of wealth and possessions is inadequate; there is a constant desire for more of something or everything. These folks will live in a state of continual disappointment. There will never be enough of anything. More ’stuff’ will increase the sense of emptiness since it will continue to be unsatisfying. Those who live in gratitude for what God provides will temper striving for more or better with a celebration and contentment of what is. The presence and providence of God is a great blessing than all of ‘stuff’ the world has to offer.
April 21, 2014
Second Sunday of Easter
April 27, 2014
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)
While our list of good things provided by God is a bit different from that of the psalmist we can still celebrate the overwhelming providence of God in our lives. Our battle skills are framed in terms of job performance and market share rather than swords and armies. Our children are still way above average in every category of comparison. Crops and livestock have been exchanged for other types of quantifiable possessions of excellent quality. Safety and security continue to be concerns we place in the hands of God.
The change in emphasis does not change our dependence on the providence of God. While not everyone looks to God as the source of all that is, those of us who do are willing to see the hand of God at work in every aspect of our lives. Some folks see God as the cause of all that happens, both good and bad, while others see God as present in all that happens. Either way, God provides us reasons for celebration, concern and comfort. God provides out of a rich store of blessings.
There are those for whom the current inventory of wealth and possessions is inadequate; there is a constant desire for more of something or everything. These folks will live in a state of continual disappointment. There will never be enough of anything. More ’stuff’ will increase the sense of emptiness since it will continue to be unsatisfying. Those who live in gratitude for what God provides will temper striving for more or better with a celebration and contentment of what is. The presence and providence of God is a great blessing than all of ‘stuff’ the world has to offer.
April 21, 2014
Monday, December 3, 2012
Psalm Meditation 651
Second Sunday of Advent
December 9, 2012
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)
Early in ministry I was advised to pick the battles in which I was willing to die and to fight them to the death. It is a helpful reminder that not every battle is worth fighting, and that the ones worth fighting are the ones in which I am willing to give my all. I have also discovered that some battles that seemed of great importance at the beginning are not nearly as important as they seemed once the first blood has been drawn. Battle imagery makes a useful metaphor.
While the psalmist may be preparing for an actual battle with swords and real blood, we can use the battle imagery as a way of thinking about the conflicts in our lives. If this were a physical battle would I be as invested in fighting and winning as I am in a battle of wits and words? If I actually lost my life in this would it have been worth it? Am I really interested in this issue or do I like to win? Am I in this battle at the direction of God or is it an interesting distraction? These and other questions are important as we choose our battles.
Whether our battles are physical or metaphoric, it is good to know that God is with us. In some battles God gives us the strength to stand and fight, in others God gives us the sense to turn and walk away. The important part is to know that God is with us. Whether we win or lose, we are in the presence of God who loves us and blesses us in countless ways.
December 3, 2012
Second Sunday of Advent
December 9, 2012
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)
Early in ministry I was advised to pick the battles in which I was willing to die and to fight them to the death. It is a helpful reminder that not every battle is worth fighting, and that the ones worth fighting are the ones in which I am willing to give my all. I have also discovered that some battles that seemed of great importance at the beginning are not nearly as important as they seemed once the first blood has been drawn. Battle imagery makes a useful metaphor.
While the psalmist may be preparing for an actual battle with swords and real blood, we can use the battle imagery as a way of thinking about the conflicts in our lives. If this were a physical battle would I be as invested in fighting and winning as I am in a battle of wits and words? If I actually lost my life in this would it have been worth it? Am I really interested in this issue or do I like to win? Am I in this battle at the direction of God or is it an interesting distraction? These and other questions are important as we choose our battles.
Whether our battles are physical or metaphoric, it is good to know that God is with us. In some battles God gives us the strength to stand and fight, in others God gives us the sense to turn and walk away. The important part is to know that God is with us. Whether we win or lose, we are in the presence of God who loves us and blesses us in countless ways.
December 3, 2012
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