Showing posts with label Psalm 89. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 89. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1229
¶Baptism of the Lord
¶January 7, 2024
¶Psalm 89
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+89&version=NRSVUE
(NRSV)
¶When I was a teenager, there was a test going around that teachers and youth group leaders seem to have gotten together to write. The first item on the test was to read the whole test first, the second was to write your name at the top of the page. From there the instructions included all sorts of tasks from writing things in particular places on the test, to standing up, spinning around three times, and shouting something. The last item on the test was to do items one and two. Read the whole thing first.
¶The psalmist praises and thanks God for all the good things that God has done, and promised to do, for the ruler of the people. Included in the list is the warning that there will be punishments if those who rule fail to follow God’s laws and ordinances. The psalmist does not list any reasons for God rejecting ‘your anointed.’ If the psalmist is currying favor with the king, it would be foolish to add such a list. Knowing that rulers can easily become full of themselves, it would not be surprising to know that this king has committed offenses that would lead God to mete out punishments.
¶The primary promise God makes to each of us is to be with us, no matter what. If we demand the place of honor, God is with us. If we take the lowest place despite having been invited up higher each time previous, God is with us. When things go our way and it seems we are sitting on top of the world, God is with us. When things go against us and we are neck deep in the muck, God is with us. If we sit in the loftiest seat of power, the lowliest place on the planet, or anywhere in between, God is with us.
¶January 2, 2024
¶LCM
Monday, January 9, 2017
Psalm Meditation 865
Second Sunday After Epiphany
January 15, 2017
Psalm 89 (selected verses)
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: “I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21 my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’
27 I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him, and my covenant with him will stand firm.
29 I will establish his line forever, and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges;
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His line shall continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun.
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah
52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)
When we make promises to others, even to ourselves, it is our intention to keep those promises. Sometimes our most heartfelt promises get changed by unanticipated events people and events. A particular promise was the right one to make at the time and then we discover all manner of hidden parts and pieces to our now intertwined lives that make the promise difficult if not impossible to keep. A promise is made in the context of a relationship and when that changes, so does the meaning of the promise. We discover that making promises is a lot easier than keeping them.
Other times we keep the promises we have made even though the folks to whom we made the promise don’t see it that way. A promise to love and care for someone does not mean that we will accompany them on whatever nuthatch scheme they conceive, even when they claim it is all for us. God promises to love David and his children forever, no matter what. God also promises that if any of those children wander off the path of statutes and commandments there will be a price to pay. The price will be the consequence of the behavior. As a mentor taught me, “We are not punished for our sin so much as we are punished by our sin.” God keeps the promise to love us as including the part about not protecting us from the cause and effect parts of our actions.
The parts of this psalm that I edited out for this time are the ones in which the psalmist complains that God is punishing the people by ignoring them, by allowing them to be overrun by enemies and adversaries. God is keeping the promise of steadfast love, including the part about punishment, maybe even discipline, in the event of people having broken the rules.
January 9, 2016
LCM
Second Sunday After Epiphany
January 15, 2017
Psalm 89 (selected verses)
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: “I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21 my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’
27 I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him, and my covenant with him will stand firm.
29 I will establish his line forever, and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges;
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His line shall continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun.
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah
52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)
When we make promises to others, even to ourselves, it is our intention to keep those promises. Sometimes our most heartfelt promises get changed by unanticipated events people and events. A particular promise was the right one to make at the time and then we discover all manner of hidden parts and pieces to our now intertwined lives that make the promise difficult if not impossible to keep. A promise is made in the context of a relationship and when that changes, so does the meaning of the promise. We discover that making promises is a lot easier than keeping them.
Other times we keep the promises we have made even though the folks to whom we made the promise don’t see it that way. A promise to love and care for someone does not mean that we will accompany them on whatever nuthatch scheme they conceive, even when they claim it is all for us. God promises to love David and his children forever, no matter what. God also promises that if any of those children wander off the path of statutes and commandments there will be a price to pay. The price will be the consequence of the behavior. As a mentor taught me, “We are not punished for our sin so much as we are punished by our sin.” God keeps the promise to love us as including the part about not protecting us from the cause and effect parts of our actions.
The parts of this psalm that I edited out for this time are the ones in which the psalmist complains that God is punishing the people by ignoring them, by allowing them to be overrun by enemies and adversaries. God is keeping the promise of steadfast love, including the part about punishment, maybe even discipline, in the event of people having broken the rules.
January 9, 2016
LCM
Monday, October 20, 2014
Psalm Meditation 749
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 26, 2014
Psalm 89:1-15,49-52
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him?
8 O LORD God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.
12 The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
51 with which your enemies taunt, O LORD, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)
Remember when our parents could do anything and everything? They were there to protect us, to defend us, to feed and clothe us. Not only did they do these things they did them better than any of the other parents in the whole, wide world. At some point we realize that they have their limits, that they are not omnipotent, they are not perfect. For some of us, our parents become an embarrassment. More time passes and we begin to see that our parents are pretty wise and wonderful even though they have their limits. Many of us go through the same process with God.
We see God as able to do anything and everything, especially the things we want, the things that will make our lives easier, better and more fun. Then something happens. We ask God for something and it doesn’t happen. We are hurt and angry. We do our best to change something in the equation to keep our equilibrium. That doesn’t work either. I have found that it is much more fulfilling to see God as present rather than powerful, as loving instead of angry, as hospitable rather than hostile. God is not out to get us, not out to make our lives miserable and willing to be with us in all those times when things do not go according to our plan. When things do not go according to our plan we see God as a source of comfort in our suffering rather than the cause of all those things.
Is God with us? Yes. Does God protect us from all harm? No. Is God the cause of all the harm that befalls us or all the good that happens to and around us? No. God gathers us into loving arms and holds us as securely as we will allow. God offers us comfort through being present with us; not necessarily changing the situation at all, except by being with us. Sometimes knowing we are not alone makes all the difference in the world.
October 20, 2014
LCM
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 26, 2014
Psalm 89:1-15,49-52
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him?
8 O LORD God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.
12 The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
51 with which your enemies taunt, O LORD, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)
Remember when our parents could do anything and everything? They were there to protect us, to defend us, to feed and clothe us. Not only did they do these things they did them better than any of the other parents in the whole, wide world. At some point we realize that they have their limits, that they are not omnipotent, they are not perfect. For some of us, our parents become an embarrassment. More time passes and we begin to see that our parents are pretty wise and wonderful even though they have their limits. Many of us go through the same process with God.
We see God as able to do anything and everything, especially the things we want, the things that will make our lives easier, better and more fun. Then something happens. We ask God for something and it doesn’t happen. We are hurt and angry. We do our best to change something in the equation to keep our equilibrium. That doesn’t work either. I have found that it is much more fulfilling to see God as present rather than powerful, as loving instead of angry, as hospitable rather than hostile. God is not out to get us, not out to make our lives miserable and willing to be with us in all those times when things do not go according to our plan. When things do not go according to our plan we see God as a source of comfort in our suffering rather than the cause of all those things.
Is God with us? Yes. Does God protect us from all harm? No. Is God the cause of all the harm that befalls us or all the good that happens to and around us? No. God gathers us into loving arms and holds us as securely as we will allow. God offers us comfort through being present with us; not necessarily changing the situation at all, except by being with us. Sometimes knowing we are not alone makes all the difference in the world.
October 20, 2014
LCM
Monday, May 13, 2013
Psalm Meditation 674
Day of Pentecost
May 19, 2013
Psalm 89 (selected verses)
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him?
8 O LORD God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21 my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges;
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
51 with which your enemies taunt, O LORD, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)
The history of the kings of the Davidic dynasty is spotty at best. One of the difficulties with them is their willingness to accept the steadfast love of God without also accepting the responsibility to live as if the presence of God mattered in their lives. My guess is that these were not conscious choices so much as assumptions on the part of the kings. They assumed that things would go along as they had always gone without a lot of change one way or the other. If they thought of God at all, it was as one more being standing ready to do whatever was asked or demanded of them.
While we don’t have the power of a king, there are times in which we believe that God stands ready to do for us whatever it is we ask, because we are simply that important to God. Folks ask for things so that God won’t be embarrassed to be seen with them, folks ask for the weather to clear so that they can be about the business of God without delay or interruption, just to name two. God does answer these prayers in some form. In some cases the weather clears or we receive the items for which we have asked and we know that we are so precious or important in the sight of God that God will do whatever we ask. In most cases we receive the assurance from God that God loves us and is more impressed by faithfulness than the stuff with which we surround ourselves. Or, God reminds us that our schedules can be adjusted and that safety is more important than prompt arrivals.
When we begin to feel a sense of entitlement with God, we may still receive all for which we ask. It will not be because we have actually earned it as much as it will be because God loves us. Most of the time, our prayers serve to remind us that it is we who are to live in the presence of God, which may mean adjusting our wants and needs to line up with God. And when things don’t go as either God or we would like, our prayers remind us that the steadfast love of God is with us in all of the events of life.
May 13, 2013
Day of Pentecost
May 19, 2013
Psalm 89 (selected verses)
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him?
8 O LORD God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21 my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges;
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
51 with which your enemies taunt, O LORD, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)
The history of the kings of the Davidic dynasty is spotty at best. One of the difficulties with them is their willingness to accept the steadfast love of God without also accepting the responsibility to live as if the presence of God mattered in their lives. My guess is that these were not conscious choices so much as assumptions on the part of the kings. They assumed that things would go along as they had always gone without a lot of change one way or the other. If they thought of God at all, it was as one more being standing ready to do whatever was asked or demanded of them.
While we don’t have the power of a king, there are times in which we believe that God stands ready to do for us whatever it is we ask, because we are simply that important to God. Folks ask for things so that God won’t be embarrassed to be seen with them, folks ask for the weather to clear so that they can be about the business of God without delay or interruption, just to name two. God does answer these prayers in some form. In some cases the weather clears or we receive the items for which we have asked and we know that we are so precious or important in the sight of God that God will do whatever we ask. In most cases we receive the assurance from God that God loves us and is more impressed by faithfulness than the stuff with which we surround ourselves. Or, God reminds us that our schedules can be adjusted and that safety is more important than prompt arrivals.
When we begin to feel a sense of entitlement with God, we may still receive all for which we ask. It will not be because we have actually earned it as much as it will be because God loves us. Most of the time, our prayers serve to remind us that it is we who are to live in the presence of God, which may mean adjusting our wants and needs to line up with God. And when things don’t go as either God or we would like, our prayers remind us that the steadfast love of God is with us in all of the events of life.
May 13, 2013
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