21 Days of Prayer in Psalm 119 (Day #8)

"My Portion"
Read Psalm 119:57-64

As our service was canceled this morning due to freezing rain and the resulting travel woes, I am continuing to post these daily readings and comments with prayer on Facebook and on my Honest 2 God blog on the Psalms.

Each day we are reading a successive passage of eight verses from Psalm 119. Almost every verse mentions the Word of God by one of several synonyms. So, in this psalm, we don’t look for the differences between these different terms (Word, Way, Law, Testimonies, Precepts, Commandments, Statutes, Rules, etc.) but look for the similarities. One other note, Psalm 119 is what is called an acrostic psalm. It is made up of 22 separate sections (of eight verses each) starting with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This means that all eight verses in the first section start with the Hebrew letter aleph, the next eight verses all start with beth, and so on. Today is the letter heth.

There is much in this section that I was going to teach today, but for this post, I will focus on the first two verses, 57-58.

The Lord is my portion;
    I promise to keep your words.

I entreat your favor with all my heart;
    be gracious to me according to your promise.

In verse 57, the psalmist’s concept of “portion” has a deep history in Israel. The Hebrew word is commonly used for “portion, share, part, territory,” but in meaning “portion” points to their inheritance, that which has been given to them by the Lord. And what is it that has been given? It is nothing less than the Lord himself. Nothing could be greater, or more undeserved, than the relational presence of the Lord in our lives.

(See Psalm 16:5; 73:26; Lam.3:24)

This acknowledgment of the Lord as his “portion” leads the psalmist to vow to keep the word of God—why? First, such obedience is the response of love to the given love of God; second, it is the Word itself that declares the Lord to be his portion. Hence, he would want to guard and cherish the word that itself is the guarantee of his inheritance.

Verse 58 testifies that the psalmist seeks God’s favor/grace with all his heart. God wants what is best for us but do we seek his grace with all our hearts? Do we ask this like we mean it? Do we ask it like we mean it? Too often we don’t feel our needs as intensely as we should for we minimize our own sin and exaggerate our own goodness. The truth is that we need God’s grace more than we know. It is as we come to the conviction of our own need that we will begin to seek his favor wholeheartedly. The sooner the better, since he longs to bestow it upon us. 

It is his promise, should we confess our need!

O Lord, I thank you that you didn’t choose to satisfy me with riches and other things, popularity and position, worldly power, hosts of angels, or libraries of knowledge. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are my portion! You are my only hope which is a very good thing for in Christ all your promises are “Yes” and Amen! (2 Cor. 2:20-22)

Psalm 84:5-10 “I’d Rather be a Gatekeeper!”

This post was originally posted on my pastoral blog at Our Long View

Text: Psalms 84:5-10

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the Valley of Baca

        they make it a place of springs;

    the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength;

        each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

                              give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9 Behold our shield, O God;

    look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better

    than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Comments:

On Sunday, I wasn’t the scheduled preacher, but as we transitioned from singing our praise to the Lord to a posture of listening to the encouragement of the message, I read briefly from the Psalms and made a couple of simple devotional points that I would like to share here.

Our songs emphasized our desire to be in the presence of the Lord and our need for Christ to set us free from the chains that bind us—be they spiritual, emotional, or physical.

I read from Psalm 84 that gives voice to much the same sentiment. It was written by the “Sons of Korah” who are typically concerned with being in the presence of the Lord.

Verses 1-2 give voice to their desire to be in God’s presence. It really wasn’t about their being in the temple, but that by being in the temple they were in the presence of God. It was a place designated as a place of prayer for all the nations and was illustrated by the nesting birds in the temple compound (v. 3-4). However, this week I focused on v. 5-12 for a couple of reasons.

First, in verse 6, the psalmist describes the transforming pilgrim attitude of those who seek the Lord, 
"As they go through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs." 
Literally, the “Valley of Baca” means “Valley of Weeping,” but pilgrims of God, or disciples (as we describe them in the New Testament), dig wells and pray for rain in a way that benefits those who come behind them. Hopefully, we have all listened to speakers who have done this well—sharing from their own seasons of dryness and how the Lord delivered them. It is what we all should be doing. We all have a history and it is with the comfort that we have received from Christ that we can turn and comfort others—not as perfect people, but as those who are flawed, have been wounded, but who also have received the comfort of Christ. As Paul wrote,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (2 Cor. 1:3-5)

Secondly, in Psalm 84:10 the Sons of Korah express that they wanted to be in the temple,

For a day in your courts is better

    than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Often we focus on the comparison between the one day and the thousand, for something is to be said about the quality of the day, not just the quantity. However, what jumped out to me this week was the phrase in v. 10 “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God.” What we need to remember is that the authors of this psalm had been assigned as doorkeepers (1 Chron. 26:1, 19).

What I am saying is that there is something about being where God wants you, doing the job that he has given you to do, which is more significant than we realize. Doing that job brings a sense of fulfillment and joy. Even the “outside” times of discomfort and labor as a part of God’s mission are far better than dwelling inside and at ease but surrounded by those who are wicked. Our jobs are appointed by the Lord so let’s rejoice at an opportunity to perform our daily duties as worship to the Lord and as service to his people. 

Remember, this desire on the part of the Sons of Korah was not one of withdrawal from the world, but rather it was one of engagement through their assigned role. For them, all of life was sacred when lived unto the Lord. Their work was fully integrated into their faith.

Let’s allow the Lord to use us whether in the "Valley of Weeping" or in the "Door of his House", to bless those who might come behind us. 

Psalm 125 “From This Time Forth And Forevermore”

Psalm for Today = 125:2-3

² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

Crown jewels. (2024, December 7). In Wikipedia. 

    so the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.
³ For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
    on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
    their hands to do wrong.

    so the Lord surrounds his people,

    from this time forth and forevermore.

³ For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest

    on the land allotted to the righteous,

lest the righteous stretch out

    their hands to do wrong.

Comments:

The point of verse 3 is that God is not absent from his people. If you have been to Jerusalem, you know that it really is surrounded by mountains. As the mountains around Jerusalem serve to protect the city, even more so God protects his people. I love the phrase, “from this time forth and forevermore” though the language does bring back some memories of Edgar Allen Poe. There is permanence to God promised care and faithfulness, a deeply rooted historical providence.

There is also a purpose to this protection. God doesn’t want an authority based on wickedness to “rest” in the land he has given to the righteous. Yes there were wicked kings even in Israel, but they did not rest but were judged by God and removed or replaced by either their own people or by another nation which God raised up as his instrument. God doesn’t want his people to think that they need to become like the wicked to gain influence. We are not to fool ourselves into thinking that God doesn’t judge wickedness.

Verse 3 reminds me of Romans 12:2 which says,  “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” 

And also in Romans 6:12-14 we are instructed not merely to say “No” to sin but to actively say “Yes” to God.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Questions:

·         What are the influences in our life? Who do we respect and want to be like?

·         What do we spend our time doing?

·         Who do we listen to?

·         What do we watch?

If we marinade ourselves in worldliness all week we should not be surprised when we “stretch out our hands to do wrong.” If we follow the one whose scepter  is righteous than we will not be tempted to lobby for influence unrighteously. Jesus' authority is based in righteousness and it brought joy. 

May we rediscover the oil of gladness that comes with dwelling in the righteousness of Christ (Hebrews 1:8-9)!

Psalm 114 "Tremble...at the presence of the Lord"

Psalm for Today = 114:5-8

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?

    O Jordan, that you turn back?

O mountains, that you skip like rams?

    O hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,

    at the presence of the God of Jacob,

who turns the rock into a pool of water,

    the flint into a spring of water.

Comments:

Just as we saw the use of the literary device of personification in Psalm 97, here in verse 5, the psalmist uses a similar literary device of apostrophe (i.e., speaking to the inanimate, imaginary, or absent as though animate, real, and present). Yes, in my course on the Psalms, that is on the test!

In a very brief poetic summary, he evokes the miracles of the Exodus, from the Red Sea parting at the beginning to the Jordan River stopping at the end. In the middle, there is the image of the earthquakes that came with the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai.

What I think is interesting today is that in verses 5-6, it seems like the psalmist not only poetically transports himself back into the historical events of Israel’s past, but engages in what seems to be a taunt song addressing the named elements as though they might stand for some enemy contemporary to the psalmist. Whether nature, the Gentile nations, or the Israelites themselves, the call is to recognize the presence of the Lord, the Creator Himself.

Questions:

Do we tremble at the presence of the Lord? Do we recognize his life-giving and sustaining power as we walk through the wilderness moments in our lives? This psalm suggests that we should.

Here is a cool quote from a commentary written in 1867 that still speaks today:

“The causing of water to gush forth out of the flinty rock is a practical proof of unlimited omnipotence and of the grace which converts death into life. Let the earth then tremble before the Lord, the God of Jacob. It has already trembled before Him, and before Him let it tremble. For that which He has been He still ever is; and as He came once, He will come again.” (Keil & Delitzsch, Vol.5 Psalms, 209)Cross references: