Psalm 19:12-14 "Hidden Faults & Presumptuous Sins"

Psalm 19:12-14

Who can discern his errors?

    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

    let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

    and innocent of great transgression.

 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

    be acceptable in your sight,

    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Comments:

In this great psalm about God’s revelation, there is something so real and personal about these verses. The psalm starts with a hymn declaring the natural revelation of God (in creation) that testifies to God's glory (v.1-6). Then it speaks of the special revelation of God (in the Bible) that shows me the way of salvation (v.7-11) poetically describing the Bible and how it benefits us (i.e., reviving our heart, making us wise, bringing joy, enlightening our eyes, lasting forever, completely as we should be, bringing a great reward). 

Having considered these two revelations of God, the psalmist looked inward and found his own unworthiness. I don't know about you but I am constantly praying that my "personal" revelation...what I say and do will be found to be in harmony with both the natural and the special revelations of God! Because of this, it is in verse 12 that I find my focus today.

 

The psalmist’s declaration, “Who can discern his errors?” tells us that we are generally unable to accurately view our own sinfulness. When we consider our own lives, we gaze through a window that is more distorted than a fun-house mirror (Jer. 17:9) and dirtier than a window after a house fire. We normally see the sins of others fairly clearly, but tend to see our own only through a more nuanced filter.

It is the Word of God that sounds like a foghorn through the self-deception of our sin. It is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit often uses to search out our hearts. The law shows us where we have fallen short and how much we need God’s deliverance. Salvation starts working in us when we have our eyes opened to see that we actually need to be saved and that we are unworthy of it. In the New Testament, the Apostle John wrote in opposition to those who denied having a sin nature and having personally committed sins saying,

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

If we realize we have sinned, the best course of action is to admit it (confess) to God. Why would we do that? We would confess our failures, weaknesses, and rebellions because God has always loved us and desires to forgive us and cleanse us from all our sin. Salvation has never been about our worthiness (which is compared to filthy rags or a polluted garment—Isaiah 64:6) but about receiving God’s mercy.

The palmist’s second statement in v. 12 is along the same lines as something John or Paul might have written hundreds of years later. “Declare me innocent from hidden faults” is not a request that God would declare that he had done no wrong, but that God might forgive any wrong that he had done. That is the heart cry of all who know the heaviness of their own sin and the hopelessness of trying to atone for it ourselves.

We receive forgiveness by the gift of God in Christ. But the psalmist understands that his desire to bring his life into alignment with the natural and special revelation of the holy and loving character of the Lord needs to issue forth in a new way of living. A way of life that requires the continuous work of the Lord in our daily thoughts and actions. A person who has been set free from slavery has a healthy fear of ever going back into that oppression so too it is with sin.

"Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

    let them not have dominion over me!" (v. 13a)

This line reminds me of how Jesus taught the disciples to pray, 

       “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13)

As I have said in the past, God is there and he has spoken (a Francis Schaeffer title) both generally in creation, specifically in the Bible, and finally in Christ. It is by use of his Word that we can stay on track, free from presumption, and living into the calling and blessing that we have in Christ. His word transforms my mind and emotions as I see his love poured out. My affection for Jesus changes my behavior...not the other way around.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

    be acceptable in your sight,

    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (v.14)

This prayer cannot be answered until we confess our need for forgiveness, and put our trust in the Lord himself to make our forgiveness a reality, and the love of Christ has captivated me.

But this passage is not merely true of us as individuals...but should be viewed collectively.

• Can we as small groups, congregations, denominations, and movements discern our own errors? Disunity.
• Can leaders see their own tendency to be corrupted by the very power, privilege, and influence which they wield?  Distrust.
• Have we the insight to see how we look down on others from our position of education and economics (by what rubric do we assign value to our fellow humans)? Disrespect.

You tell me…

I tend to think that we still need the witness of the Word applied to our collective life and path to see where we have sinned against those within and without. We still need the grace of God to bring healing where we have even unintentionally caused hurt. We still need the more biblical leading of the Spirit to not fall into the same bondages that litter our collective past. We still need to follow Jesus in the way of the cross (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).

Even the prophet needs a prophet, or our hidden errors become presumptuous sins.

Psalm 18:6-16 "Song in the Storm"

Psalm 18:6-16

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.

Photo by Mandy Beerley on Unsplash

⁷ Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations also of the mountains trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
⁸ Smoke went up from his nostrils,
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
⁹ He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.
¹⁰ He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
    thick clouds dark with water.
¹² Out of the brightness before him
    hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

Photo by Brandon Morgan
on Unsplash

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
    and the Most High uttered his voice,
    hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴ And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
¹⁵ Then the channels of the sea were seen,
    and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶ He sent from on high, he took me;
    he drew me out of many waters.

Comments:

Recently I was listening to the August Rush soundtrack which I have loved since I first saw the movie. I was reminded of a couple of lines from the movie that stood out to me. Robin Williams’ tormented Fagin-like character “Wizard” argued in a lucid moment that it is not that many people can’t hear the music, but that not many are listening.  He encouraged August, “You got to love music more than you love food. More than life. More than yourself!” Unfortunately, Williams’ Wizard loved the money more than the music…and ended up alone with only a harmonica under the L. However, his mystical thoughts about music are brought full circle in the faith and longing of a child. After the performance of August’s Rhapsody, the 11-year-old August whispered, “The music is all around you. All you have to do is listen.”

David the psalmist also heard the music—the music of God’s love—all around him. He wrote this longish psalm (50 verses), to celebrate his deliverance from the years of false accusations, threats, betrayals, and violent pursuits of King Saul. He had believed that the Lord was his refuge through all his troubles, and had seen God continually providing help, strength, and salvation in so many situations. In verses 6-16 above he used the powerful poetic description of a terrible storm to communicate the emotion of his song of deliverance. God was working on his behalf, in answer to his prayers. Do we hear God's song in the storm? Do we, like David, have ears to hear the Lord working in love? Do we, like August, want to be found?

It is such “music” in his soul that inspired David to sing v. 28-32 with infused enthusiasm as he faced the new battles ahead, now that he had stepped into God’s calling for his life.

For it is you who light my lamp;
    the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
    the word of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
    and made my way blameless. 

The deliverance of God is not just from something but unto something. David was delivered from running for his life unto serving Israel as God’s anointed king.

What is it that God has delivered us from? What is it that we are delivered unto? What enthusiasm, what courage, what freedom now that we have been found and he has removed the shame and the blame of the past?

Dare I say it? The word has been so overused and underapplied. Yet God has equipped us for a mission…should we choose to accept it.

The music of God’s steadfast love is all around us. Today I am repeating the seven words of verse one, "I love you, O Lord, my strength!"  

 
Can you hear the music? I hope it gets stuck in your head too!

Psalm 17—Hear a Just Cause!

Psalm 17:1, 6-11, 13-15

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!...

⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
    incline your ear to me; hear my words.
⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love,
    O Savior of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
⁹ from the wicked who do me violence,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰ They close their hearts to pity;
    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
¹¹ They have now surrounded our steps;
    they set their eyes to cast us to the ground...

¹³ Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
    Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
¹⁴ from men by your hand, O Lord,
    from men of the world whose portion is in this life...
¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;     when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

 

Comments:

These are difficult days for those who would remain faithful in the face of brutal persecution, as they were at different times in the past. David spent years fleeing from Saul’s unjust campaign to kill him out of jealousy. The early church faced dreadful persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. 20^th Century Christians suffered and died by the millions at the hands of Communist and totalitarian regimes.

 

Today, the sword again comes against God’s people from a murderous group of Sunni radicals called ISIS. I wonder if they get the irony of the name they have chosen, that of an ancient Egyptian goddess of magic, healing, and motherhood. While they brutally torture and kill any that will not convert to Islam, and within Islam any that stand in their way. For Christians, they mark their houses with the Arabic letter that is the first in the word for Christians, reminiscent of the Nazi treatment of the Jews in the Holocaust.

 

David's response is instructive for me. In the face of great injustice, he cries out in faith to the Lord for help. He actually believed that the Lord would answer, deliver and save. His language (v. 8 “the apple of your eye” and “the shadow of your wings) deliberately looked back to the great national deliverance from Egyptian slavery as sung about by Moses in Deuteronomy 32:10-12

¹⁰ “He found him in a desert land,
    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
    he kept him as the apple of his eye.
¹¹ Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
    bearing them on its pinions,
¹² the Lord alone guided him,
    no foreign god was with him.

 

He not only remembered the past faithfulness of God, in the midst of the acute situation in which he found himself, but he connected with the larger community of God’s people down through history. I love the way the late Peter C. Craigie captures this idea.

That which makes hope, and therefore confidence, possible is an awareness of the nature of the covenant God. The psalmist was not the first to be in trouble, nor would he be the last, but he believed in a God of covenant, whose most fundamental characteristic was lovingkindness (v.7)…

Though the psalm is written in the language of individuality, it does not contain the words of a lonely and bold pioneer of crisis; it contains rather the words of one sharing in the past and present experience of a community that has known God as a deliverer. The psalmist thus draws upon the strengths of both history and community in reaching his confidence. (Psalms 1-50, p.165)

 

Yazidis fleeing ISIS in Iraq

Out of David’s covenant-based confidence, there is yet a very human urging, even a deeply pleading tone for the Lord to confront the enemy. Today, as we are once again made aware of man’s capability to objectify, abuse, and destroy the innocent and the weak, we cry out to the Lord with Davidic fervency for the deliverance of hurting people—be they religious minority Christians, Yazidis, Sunnis, or Kurds in Northern Iraq. In other areas of the world, it may be other minorities that are being tracked down, surrounded, and slaughtered by power-hungry men.

 

Do we cry out with the psalmist, “Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!” Using strongly military-sounding metaphors of desperation? Or do we close our eyes to the suffering with excuses de jour and/or limit our responses to government-designated expediencies? I was talking with someone recently who thought that the media was only covering the violence in Iraq today because it was targeting Christians. While I disagree with this assessment as much has been said first about the moderate Sunnis, and more recently about the Yazidis (neither of which are Christian) it does force me to assess my own definition of “neighbor.” Do I only get upset when Christians, or Americans, are being victimized, or do I see how God is concerned for all peoples?

 

Whether we take v. 15 to refer solely to the immediate physical deliverance sought today that enables us to actually wake up tomorrow, or as containing assurance that reaches beyond this life into eternity in the presence of God we should see that the prayer first uttered in v. 1 will be answered in v. 15, one way or the other.

 

In times of trouble, injustice, and persecution we pray for deliverance the like of which is recorded in Hebrews 11:32-35.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

 

Every day there are plenty of testimonies of God’s power to miraculously deliver, heal, and restore all over the world today. But it is not always the case that his followers are spared torture and death. The very same text (v. 36-38) goes on to say,

Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

 

Are we willing to follow Christ if the deliverance doesn’t come today the way we desire? The last book in the Bible encourages followers of Christ to “overcome” the urge to save our own lives by compromising with the idolatries of the world. Those who overcome do so “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Rev. 12:11)

 

If our portion is merely in this life we will close our hearts to pity (v.10) and abuse others in order to expand and prolong it. However, if we trust that our portion is ultimately in the presence of a God who is wondrous in showing his steadfast love (v.7) we will seek to care for the oppressed wherever we find them.

 

I am moved by the story of the Danes, who when the Nazis ordered Danish Jews arrested in 1943, stopped what they were doing and did whatever they could to hide Jews and ferry them to safety in Sweden. What can we do for the powerless today?

 

 

Psalm 16:5-8 "Pleasant Places"

Psalm for Today = 16:5-8
"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Comments:

Do we testify with the psalmist that the lines of our portion, our inheritance, are beautiful—that the boundaries of our lives have fallen in “pleasant places”? Or are we of the perennial “grass-is-always-greener” personality type? Are we quicker to trash-talk or to give thanks, to bad mouth or to bless? From whom do we receive counsel? What or who is it that we have set before us as an example? How is this worked out in our lives—are we stable and consistent, or shaky and easily rocked by circumstances?of Form

This passage alludes to the tribal inheritances allocated in Joshua, but then applies the idea of inheritance not to a place but to a person—the Lord himself. Recently, on my Cultural Engagement blog we have been talking about historic relocations of ethnic populations and the contemporary iteration of it—gentrification—that is remaking the city of Portland. Racial unity is something that almost all Christians will espouse on a personal level but rarely do we think about doing anything structurally, or communally, to help every tribe gain its inheritance.

 

Map Quiz! From old version
of Baker's Bible Atlas

When the people of Israel first were allowed to enter the Promised Land, two and a half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half the people of Manasseh) of the twelve tribes were the early adopters of their day. They claimed their land first, on the East side of the Jordan River. By the way, it looks a lot like Montana. However, Moses made it clear that they were not to benefit from such peace and privilege without first going over the river into Canaan and leading the charge into battle on behalf of the other nine and a half tribes who were not yet able to receive their inheritances. It makes me wonder if we should be any different.

Individually, like the psalmist’s statement of grateful confidence, we should be thankful and rejoice in where the lines have fallen. Even when the lines of our inheritance fall on lands difficult to work with paths painful to walk we can and should rejoice. Though we often lack understanding, the Lord does not lack in love or wisdom and he counsels us as he walks the path with us.

Collectively, those with resources and privilege should contend for full possession of the promise by all of God’s people, no matter what tribe. The East-siders were never to separate from the West-siders. They were to fight alongside each other and worship together in the place the Lord established (coming together as essential and equal parts) at least three times a year. They were to defend each other to the very last.

Who has yet to receive a piece of the pie? Who has not been given a place at the table? For such as these those of us who have access to economic and educational resources should look for ways to leverage them not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those who don’t have the same options available to them.

As I have been meditating and studying this psalm, it seems to me to contain the message Paul expresses in Philippians 4:12-14,

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.          

Too often v. 13 is taken out of the context of "being content" whether we are rich or poor, hungry or satisfied. And even when I have heard teachers correct this common mistake I have never heard someone connect it to v.14 “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” Perhaps, it is time for us to share in the trouble of those that would be our neighbors if we could help them enter into their inheritance.  As Paul wrote to the Galatians, a Gentile church being pressured to become cultural Jews first,

“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Gal. 6:2-3)

The question we have to ask is, “How can we best help?” I think that if we live more in light of our God-given inheritance that is not only uniting, but “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (Ephesians 1:7-14; 1 Peters 1:3-5) than in light of our anxious circumstances, then we will hear the Spirit’s voice directing us in creative ways to stand together for the rights of others. As an assassinated Spanish poet stated,

“I will always be on the side of those who have nothing

and who are not even allowed to enjoy the nothing they have in peace.”

—Federico García Lorca

Note: The one Israelite tribe that seemed to have failed most grievously in taking their land was the tribe of Dan. In fact, they left the land that God had given them, gave up, and moved north (Joshua 19:40-48; Judges 18). So much of the history of ethnic migration is typified in the selfishly faithless migration of Dan! Remember that they don't make it into the list of the tribes of Israel in Revelation 7 (àSee reason why).

 

Psalm 15 "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service?"

Psalm 15:1-2

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
    Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
    and speaks truth in his heart... 

Comments: I always call this “A psalm of Integrity”. Here the psalmist gives voice to the cry of God-seeking—but imperfect—people throughout history, “What do we need to do to live in God's presence?” or, to put it in New Testament terms, “…to be saved?" David gives a detailed list of that kind of person who can approach and be comfortable in a relationship with God. What a practical list of attributes and attitudes this psalm provides! 

As I would sum it up, the person who can dwell in the presence of God:

•        Walks blamelessly
•        Does what is right every time
•        Speaks the truth in his heart (he doesn’t even lie to himself)
•        Doesn’t slander with his tongue
•        Does no evil to his neighbor,
•        Doesn’t betray his friends
•        Doesn’t look up to vile people
•        He honors those who honor the Lord;
•        Keeps his promises even when it hurts
•        Doesn’t charge interest when helping others (not about what he gets out of it)
•        Won’t lie, even when he needs the money (never profit over people).

There is just one problem—we don’t add up, neither did David…and he knew it. It was clear to David that his integrity depended on the lovingkindness of the Lord.

So what do we do in that moment of honesty, when we see God as he really is, and ourselves as we really are and feel suddenly under-dressed and disqualified? Such moments come rarely for those who in their pride and self-sufficiency sense no need. For others, feelings of unworthiness and the dirty rags of disgrace are the uniforms of their daily lives.

The person this psalm describes as having integrity in all areas of their life is a great example for us, but thankfully we don't have to "earn it" ourselves. We can’t presume to approach God in unrepentant sin. When you go to a wedding you wear wedding clothes (Matthew 22:11-12). Our sin must be dealt with, and our nakedness must be covered. Before the King, there can be no excuses, no explanation, and no argument. What we must do—while it is still today—is admit that we need “a wedding garment” befitting the invitation we have received and to trust Jesus to provide what we need.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)

For us, as Christians, we are made worthy in Christ, not in our own efforts. Yet, if Jesus lives in us we will become more like him in our behavior as well. He came to serve, and such love transforms our hearts. It is Jesus' integrity that covers us, delivers us, gives us victory and enables us to dwell in the presence of a holy God as one who belongs there. 

We can’t hope to stand before the Lord in any kind of self-righteousness, but like the tax collector in Luke 18:9-15 who cried out, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' and went home justified. In putting his faith in the mercy of God, his righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees. What about now? Do we have faith in Jesus' integrity on our behalf?

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 2:3-4)

He gives us not only the needed shirt and shoes but all that we need for life and godliness…his very nature! 

Psalm 14:4-6 "Wise Up!"

Psalm 14:4-6

Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
    who eat up my people as they eat bread
    and do not call upon the Lord?

There they are in great terror,
    for God is with the generation of the righteous.
You would shame the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is his refuge.

Comments:

This psalm is part wisdom psalm and partly a lament. There is another almost identical psalm (53) that we will consider later (if I pick up the pace a little). I have always focused on the first two verses that set out the perspectives of the fool who, “says in his heart, ‘There is no God'” (v.1) and that of the Lord who, “looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” (v.2)

However, ...today I will ponder v.4-6. It is almost as if the psalmist is beside himself in consternation. I don’t mean the ironic “I could have had a V8!” head-slapping moment, but a deep cry of “Don’t-they-get-it” agony from the heart of his compassionate frustration. They not too metaphorically devour the psalmist’s/God’s people like bread instead of entering into a relationship with the Giver of the Bread from Heaven. They come together only in their corruption…a mocking of relational unity.

It should be noted that “the fool” is not unintelligent, but one who lives as though there was no God who has entered into a covenant relationship of love with the poor. In reading the late Peter Craigie’s rather technical commentary on Psalms I was surprised by this wonderfully affective insight,

“The fool is one whose life is lived without the direction or acknowledgment of God. Thus the precise opposite of fool and folly is not wise man and wisdom; the opposite of folly in the wisdom literature is lovingkindness [hesed]…That is to say, the fool is defined by the absence of lovingkindness…”[1]

There is an extended section that is present in some Greek manuscripts between v. 2 & 3 that is actually quoted in Romans 3:13-18

“Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
   “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
    in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Such verses only serve to emphasize the lack of hesed (lovingkindness) on the part of the fool. 

So often we tend to direct our thinking about wisdom along the "judging/discerning rightly" track. However, if Craigie is right, then perhaps wisdom is neither easily isolated from the heart’s response to the love of God, nor from the hand of mercy extended to one another!

In Psalm 14:5 we see that the fools’ plans fail to satisfy them, but instead, leave them in a state of terror even as they seek to terrorize others. Why is this? Because they don’t understand that though the righteous poor may be consumed, they are not cowed for the Lord is their refuge. The powerful fool cannot steal the hope of the Lord’s people…and it threatens the fool’s own corrupted worldview. It isn't wise to shame the poor…ever. Not just because God is their defender, but because wise people are full of lovingkindness!

One other comment about unity from this psalm…it makes it clear that we all have gone astray and become corrupt…which means we all need the same mercy of God.

We cannot say that such bad behavior and heart attitudes only apply to “those people” or the out-group de jour. I am reminded of that well-used parental proverb, “When you point the finger at someone else, you are pointing three back at yourself!” It is only because “salvation has come out of Zion” through the costly grace of Jesus Christ, that any of us stray dogs can claim to be the people of God. Paul makes no bones about this for after quoting from this psalm he stated,

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:22-25)

---

[1] Peter C. Craigie, Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 1-50 (Waco, TX: Word, 1983) 147.

Psalm 13 “How Long?”

Psalm 13:1a, 3-4 

How long, O Lord? (4x)… 

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

Comments:

What is the subject of this psalm? If I was to state it in the form of a question it would be, “How long do I have to wait for an answer from the Lord?” Sometimes we really wonder how long it will take God to answer us and how long we will have to endure seemingly high and dry like a beached boat.

While growing up in an orphanage in El Salvador, Hannah told me that when the kids in the van asked “How much longer?” The standard answer was always, “20 more minutes”—no matter how many times they asked. Didn’t our parents all do something like that? As a result, I have called this either the “Are we there yet?” or the "Kids-on-a-road-trip” psalm since the psalmist asks the Lord “How long…?” four times in rapid succession (v.1-2). But perhaps my semi-flippant title is making light of the deep pain of the psalmist’s lament. Yet the lament is common to the human experience. I know I have asked the Lord the same question more than once in the last couple of weeks. So I in no way want to minimize to the depth of the psalmist’s trauma…this is no impatient passenger but a person facing death and unjust accusations.

In verses 4-5, our focus today, he states why he really needs to know the answer. After the “How long” lament, he again presents his request,

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

He neither wants to die nor desires his enemies to get the last word! I am encouraged that he didn't stop presenting his needs to the Lord. Then in the last two verses (v.5-6), he states what he has done in the past "trusted" and what he will do in the future "rejoice."

Why this sudden change of heart on the psalmist’s part? What is it that lights up his eyes? Like a bit of honey on the tongue of a famished warrior (1 Samuel 14:27), he finds something that renews his hope and strength to persevere. This is a fairly common occurrence in the psalms.

·         Have his circumstances changed? No.

·         Has his perspective changed? Yes.

He has stated his need clearly to the Lord and seems to pause to remember how God has dealt with him in the past bountifully in steadfast love and salvation.

Clocks on Canary Warf, London

So has the psalmist come to realize that the answer to his repeated “How long?” lament is “As long as it takes”? Or, perhaps, has he come to see that the question has already been answered, even before he called? Because of what God has done in the past he knows that his future is also secure.

Of course, the long-term future view of the Day of the Lord addresses his concerns as well, for Isaiah prophesied,

He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:8-9)

Woman Waiting

The mouths of our enemies will not get the last laugh.
We are not like that boat beached in the dunes by chance and time. God has a plan to continue to show his steadfast love to us. He will bring his purposes to pass.

So what do we do with our “How longs?”
May the Lord brighten your eyes today!

P.S. I know some of you might have been asking “How long until Greg posts another Psalms blog?” Well, you too now have an answer!

Psalm 12 "Longing for Safety"

Psalm 12:1, 5 

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
    for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man…

 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

Comments:

This psalm is an individual lament as we can see in verse one’s prayerful request, “Save, O Lord”. It also contains a bit of imprecatory (v. 3) and a pinch of wisdom (v.6).

The larger context of the psalm indicates that when David wrote this, he was frustrated by the lying and treacherous words of his generation. It seemed like everyone had become corrupt in their speech. It is not much different today…check the comment thread on any sports or political post you find on the internet. People still use their power and wealth to oppress and disrespect others based on race, class, religion, and culture covering their actions with lying words. And many who have no power would treat others just as oppressively if they did.

Yet here in v, 5 we have the answer to David’s cry for help (v.1). The Lord rises up to deliver and save the poor/needy who are groaning because of the plundering that they are suffering. In the Old Testament “the poor” is the godly person who trusts in the Lord instead of in himself and worldly power structures. These were the “have-nots” of society that what little they had was being taken by those with more. They were being terrorized in a very real way.

Is it satisfying to see the Lord’s answer? He will move and “place” the poor/needy one who is trusting in Him “in the safety for which he longs.” I think so.

This was a verse that I got to share with my son as he headed off for a military deployment as a combat medic. This verse instructs me that I need to have a tender heart towards the oppressed wherever I may find them. Why? Because this is the very heart of God! Our military men and women can be self-serving just like anyone else, but they can also do some very brave and sacrificial things in an effort to protect others. Our government may make decisions that are not in the best interest of the poor and needy, but there are many who lay down their lives in sacrificial service to bring them to “the safety for which he longs.”  When they do this for others, they reflect something of the character of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. 

Our calling as Christ followers, is to come alongside those in need, show kindness, build relationship, and walk with them. It may be that we can help them to safety, or that in our risking something for others that we can be helped by what we learn from them. Some in terrible danger long for true safety, others merely loiter in it risking nothing for others. 

In any event, Gods heart is compassionate and responsive to his people, and his words are always true and dependable. So, even when I risk an investment of trust in the Lord he is my Deliverer and I really have risked nothing for he is the one who died for me and even now gives the harvest!

[Note: This psalm marks a memorial stone of sorts. It was on this psalm in January 2010 that in response to requests from readers (like Janet Miller) I began adding short commentary to the verses that I posted on Facebook. Then about a year ago, those comments moved into a more developed blog.]

Psalm 11 "Refuge or Fleeing?"

Psalm for Today = 11:1-4

"In the Lord I take refuge;

     how can you say to my soul,

"Flee like a bird to your mountain,

     for behold, the wicked bend the bow;

they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

     if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

    The Lord is in his holy temple;

     the Lord’s throne is in heaven

Comments:

This is a psalm of profound trust in the Lord. We need to see that our “refuge” is the place of our greatest trust, our ultimate hope for protection and deliverance from our enemies. In this case the refuge referred to is not a generally trustworthy place like Helm’s Deep (that could be overrun by a powerful enemy) but a faithful, loving, all-powerful, and ever-present person—the Lord himself!

I get the sense that the psalmist was shocked that someone thought that just because it was dangerous he should disengage and flee much the way the U.S. Secret Service agents spirit the American President and Vice President away in the face of imminent threats.

God’s people of both Testaments has been threatened and persecuted many times throughout history, but God has faithfully preserved a faithful remnant. It would seem that having the Lord as his refuge enables/empowers/emboldens the psalmist to stay in right where he was, doing what he had been doing—trusting the Lord.

But what about the fight over "the foundations?" It was not the psalmist that was concerned about the imminent collapse of “the foundations”, but the fearful. There have always been those that think that the best way to deal with the corruption that is in the world today is to retreat from the world and carve out some kind of insular community that would be safe from temptation, pollution, or attack. There are others who think that the best defense is a strong offense and tend to take the lead in any culture war that breaks out. They feel that if they don’t defend “the foundations” that surely they will be destroyed. But our foundation is none other than Christ himself (Psalm 118:22) and he doesn't need our protection. I don’t want to be like Uzzah and think that just because the ox-cart stumbles doesn't mean God is dependent upon us to catch the Ark (2 Samuel 6)!

The psalmist was neither of these extremes.

He felt no need to flee to his “mountain” for he was already actively trusting/taking refuge in the Lord right there where he was...in the midst of the community, doing what was right in the face of opposition. Neither did he feel the anxiety to protect the foundations for ultimately the true foundation cannot be destroyed because God is in His temple ruling the universe! This surely makes it easier for us to love those who are not like us.

I am siding with David and actively taking refuge in the Lord...right where I am. Will you join me?