Monday Psalms
Encouragements to live in God's Story.
I don’t know if I could say that I’ve ever been truly thirsty.
I’ve never lived the scene from every stranded-in-the-desert movie I’ve ever seen where the guy with the chapped lips squeezes his canteen (it’s usually canvas) for every ounce of water it’s worth only to mostly miss his mouth, weakly collapse in the sand, and succumb to despair.
I don't know about you, but reading through the Old Testament makes Psalm 136 come to life. We have read, listened to, and discussed these stories. And now we know more of what the psalmist is referring to as he recounts the ways God has shown up in history. The repetitious phrase "for His steadfast love natures forever" seems to emphasize the motive of all of God's actions.
Psalm 129 is interesting. We may find ourselves a little uneasy with the “victim role” taken up by the psalmist in the first few verses; kind of whiny isn’t it? Probably even further removed from our modern sensibilities, we cringe a bit at the thought of calling down curses on our enemies (vv. 5-8). But I think we all too often overlook, ignore or pass by the parts of the Psalter that strike us as strange or weird or archaic; preferring instead the “nice” parts, or the penitent parts (to help us wrestle with sin), or even the violent parts as long as they predict Christ in explicit ways. But the whining, cursing voice we find in Psalm 129? This is surely a Psalm we can do without right?
I confess that my tank feels pretty low as I write. I want to feel these words. I want to be in awe, to be as the psalmist in overflowing repetitious reverence for God. I just feel dry. My heart feels restless and my body feels exhausted. I don’t feel stirred up to praise and feel that any semblance of it would take a mustered up effort.
The first lines of Psalm 106 are like a warm blanket for the believer’s soul. They are words that get made into memory verses and put on posters. It might even remind of you a popular worship song Forever. Those words are stirring and are absolutely worth celebrating, but if you leave the psalm after the first three verses you miss the depth in this declaration. You miss the worship of God in the midst of confession.
When I was 17, the church I attended placed a new pastor. He was different from any pastor I’d known – a man truly focused on applying his faith to everyday life and not just to Sunday worship service. He led mine and my wife’s pre-marital counseling and presided over our wedding. He shepherded me during the loss of my dad. He was with me at the hospital on a Christmas eve and Christmas morning for my wife’s emergency surgery. He helped me field dress my first deer. He taught me a lot of lessons, one of which included his belief that God was the author of everything good in my life.
When you’re sitting on the couch, a cup of your favorite beverage in your hand, quietly listening to music, you may find it easier to say along with the psalmist: It is good to praise the Lord. But let’s just be honest, most mornings look a little more like ours did this morning: dishes piled in the sink, child bent on a spoon that is nowhere to be found, running late for work (and just plain not wanting to go to work) and then your child’s apple juice goes everywhere which brings a flood of tears - and let’s just be honest, things didn’t get any better with each passing minute.
Have you ever wondered to yourself: “Why is this happening to me?”
Of course you have, because you're human and you don’t live in a cave – and if you do live in a cave, you are probably thinking “why is this happening to me?” right now.
There are many reasons bad things happen to people, not the least of which is the fact that the world we live in is still drenched in evil and brokenness. But Psalm 85 isn’t about the consequences of someone else's evil. It is a collective recognition of personal wrong doing.
The Scriptures are clear that we are to remember the works that the Lord has done. To call to mind who He is, what He has promised, and the things He has done is a spiritual discipline that is sure to fertilize our faith and grow our confidence and trust in the dry and weary seasons that we will all inevitably face. When we remember what God has done in the past, we can have trust with confidence in what he will do both now and in the future. Psalm 78 elaborates on this idea, teaching us that the act of remembering.
Keep your head on a swivel.
Have you heard that phrase before? I use that saying when I’m coaching my son in flag football. As a defensive safety, he must spy the quarterback in case he decides to pull the ball down and run, know where the receivers are so they don’t get behind him, and watch for the frantic traffic of his own teammates flying around trying to make plays. Keeping your head on a swivel is maintaining multiple perspectives all at the same time.
I often find myself worrying about the little things. I try to play it cool and not let people know. I like control. I like feeling or at least appearing to have it all together. Unfortunately, I live in a world that makes declarations for me. I find it rather difficult to push back against those declarations at times. It usually goes as follows:
Dear John,
You MUST have a certain job, make a certain income, travel frequently, have 2.4 children- though not too early or too late, and then retire early. This is THE meaningful and successful life.
Tradition tells us that Psalm 57 was penned while David was on the run. After years of friendship with King Saul and his family, after years of faithful service and loyalty, suddenly Saul has been overcome with a vengeful covetousness and has determined to kill David. Crisscrossing the wilderness and hiding in caves, David finds himself an enemy of the state; his life in danger.
Psalm 50 makes clear who God is and who we are. Which is helpful because in an effort to understand our story in light of God's story we must be reminded of who God is and who we are in relation to Him. We read that God is the Mighty One, that He rules over the earth, is the perfection of beauty, judge, and righteous.
It’s likely that at one point or another, you’ve encountered the words inscribed inside the base of the Statue of Liberty:
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It’s easy to live with cancer. Or, at least it’s easy to live with cancer if you’re unaware; up until that point where it begins taking your life.
In my teens and twenties I thought that I knew a lot about life, mostly through the eyes and writings of others. The words of these prophets became my truth. I was an atheist. There was no fear of God in any of it, nor was there any shame of sin. In fact, my crew and myself reveled in sin and disdain for God. It was as if we looked through the eye of a needle and boldly exclaimed that we saw all that is.
Psalm 29 speaks of the majesty, power and strength of the LORD; and calls us to, “Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength”, and “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name” (v. 1-2). Ascribe means to, “lay something to the account of a person; to give credit to an attribute”.
When we worship the LORD and ascribe to Him the glory due His name we humbly give credit and acknowledgement to God for the attributes and characteristics that already belong to Him...we worship Him for Who He is...for His great power, His holiness, His steadfast love and grace, and especially in this chapter, His sovereignty over all creation and the world; which includes our lives.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Have you ever uttered these words? Similar ones? Or perhaps you’ve simply felt them? I have. And often do. Be it for a moment, day, month, year, or even years, surely the opening cry of Psalm 22 has at some point wrung through the hearts of all who name Jesus as their Lord. Nor should it surprise those who seek to follow in their Master’s footsteps.
When I think of living with the Lord in His house, on His holy hill, I think of a big party in the Lord’s backyard. How awesome will it be to hang out at a barbecue in the Lord’s backyard? I imagine the taste of delicious ribs and the amazing feeling of companionship with God and His family.
Psalm 15 creates a picture of the life of a person who will live in the Lord’s home (v. 1), and be on His barbecue guest list.
