Psalm 26: King David vs.Jesus?

Let’s start by considering two very different passages of scripture, one from the Old Testament written by a king, and the other from the New Testament proclaimed as the message of the kingdom of heaven.

Psalm 26:1-3

¹ Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
² Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
    test my heart and my mind.
³ For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in your faithfulness.

Matthew 5:1-3

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain,

and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”

How can we walk as King David claimed “in our integrity” and still be blessed as the “poor in spirit” or the “spiritually bankrupt” at the same time? Is it even possible for both to be true in us, or are these attitudes mutually exclusive? Or perhaps we just chalk it up to the differences due to progressive revelation from the mid-Old Testament to the early New Testament as is so often done and walk on by such issues.

Let’s be honest, sometimes King David’s claims in the Psalms seem almost arrogant and self-righteous at first glance…especially given our knowledge of his own personal and public failures. Certainly he was gifted with a completely honest approach to communicating with God and thus some of his statements may offend our more nuanced religious sensibilities. But before we are too hard on David, we need to get the log of self-promotion out of at least one of our own eyes. How often do we mentally make the same argument as David…that we deserve better? That we are not like “them”? That we have integrity in ourselves?

Let me say, in a stage-whisper aside, that it is in our corrupted nature to compare ourselves favorably with others. [Even those who despise themselves and compare themselves unfavorably to others do so with the thought that they should be better or have better in a kind of backwards pride—for if they really despised themselves then they would be happy that their life is miserable.]

We often don’t really feel the deep need for God to vindicate and redeem us because we either see no need for either vindication or redemption, or we are committed to vindicating ourselves. We think we are Superman rescuing our own lives from the gutters of both personal failures and religious superstitions. If God exists, then he must certainly accept us…but more often than not the spiritually confident live as though God

David’s request for God to “vindicate” him is actually a statement of humility. It demonstrates that he knows that he needs to be vindicated (to justify, maintain, support, defend, uphold, prove correct or right) and cannot deliver himself.

In the Expositors’ Bible Commentary Vol. 5, Willem A. VanGemeren writes, “Vindication is here the act of God whereby he declares his servant to be innocent and avenges himself of the wicked (false accusers, enemies).”[1] Note that vindication here is “the act of God” not the act of self-righteous humanity.

The integrity, to which David clung, was faithfully dependent upon the steadfast love and mercy of God (v.3). His integrity is seen in the coherence between his inner life of faith and his outward walk of faithfulness. He shunned everything that smacked of a lie or deceitfulness. He chooses not to enjoy the temporal benefits of those who oppress others. He has weighed the cost of following the Lord and does so with equal parts enthusiastic abandon steadfast endurance. So we see that to “walk in integrity” demands not perfection, but requires the honesty and humility to admit that we desperately need a gracious redeemer!

It has been said that “a life of faith” is one which serves a dream/mission so big that it requires God to miraculously bring it to pass or it is not a life of faith. If, in our integrity, we know that we need God to vindicate and redeem us and we put our whole-hearted hope in his doing so, then perhaps we are living by faith indeed as the “poor in spirit”.

Psalm 26, from which these verses are taken, is described as a psalm of entrance…that might have been used by the worshipper entering into the temple complex seeking both the clean hands and pure heart necessary to come before the presence of the Lord. The psalmist asked God to search and to test him, not because of an elevated sense of self-righteousness, but from the response of a heart captured by the steadfast love of the Lord! He wants to be able be in the presence of God.

He consciously distances himself from the oppressor and draws near to God in whom true freedom is found. For as Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)  This psalm testifies that the psalmist was a “one master” kind of guy. To quote VanGemeren again, “The psalmist's concern with integrity, acts of devotion, and words of praise flows out of a heart filled with love for the Lord and for God's house. It is motivated by a zeal for the Lord.”[2] 

So can I say the same thing about myself? A couple of years ago, in commenting on this same passage, I wrote,

I hope that one day I will be able to look back and say with the psalmist that “I have trusted the Lord without wavering.” Yet I am not so sure that I want to ask the questions of God that David asks in v.2. But I wonder if it is possible to experience unwavering trust (v.1) without asking God to test us (v.2). Maybe the key is in verse 3…where I keep God’s steadfast love before my eyes (which makes it a lot easier to trust) and I live in his perfect faithfulness (not my own).

So we see that David’s integrity caused him to cry out to the Lord for redemption, vindication, and relational access to the Lord. Perhaps David is actually a pretty good case study in the blessedness of being poor in spirit.

What do you think?

This post is also published at Compelled2 my cultural engagement blog.

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[1] Expositors Bible Commentary Vol. 8

[2] Ibid.

Psalm 25 Remembered Mercy, Forgotten Sins

I have posted commentary on parts of this psalm five times over the years but this is my first blog post on Psalm 25. For followers of this blog, you know I have been stuck on 25 for a long time while my writing time was directed elsewhere. Here are more than a few verses from Psalm 25 that I am considering in this season...

 

⁶ Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

 

The psalmist recognizes not only his own need for mercy but that the Lord is the only one who can provide it. He asks no less than three times for forgiveness in this psalm. Spiritually, the psalmist is humbling himself in this manner, admitting that he needs forgiveness from God as well as deliverance from his enemies. So what about us? Will we learn from the Lord in humility or continue on in our pride? No one else can say that “all their paths…are steadfast love and faithfulness” like God can. If we are honest with ourselves and not totally clueless we must admit that we all have a history that needs to be forgiven, a litany of stuff we are not proud of. I recently told my students that, “demanding law for others and grace for ourselves is the first sign of self-deception.”

 

The end of Psalm 25 continues to resonate with Israel’s cry for deliverance in Egypt, from oppression so deep and so intense that we can hardly imagine it in the comfort of the west. Where it is said that,

 

"God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them." (Exodus 2:24-25)

 

When God remembers, it is not like he forgot, but it is the moment when he manifests his loving character into the circumstances of his people. Will we look to him to remember us in our situation? Psalm 25 continues... 

 

¹⁵ My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
    for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸ Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
²⁰ Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you.

²² Redeem Israel, O God,
    out of all his troubles. 

 

What do we do in times of trouble? Do we pray first? The psalmist advocates for God to redeem Israel, not just from the guilt of sin but from the “causeless hatred” of man that always seeks to tear down.

Rabbi Johanan said: "What was the cause of the first destruction of Jerusalem? Idolatry. And of the second destruction? Causeless hatred." He continues by explaining that causeless hatred "is more grievous than idolatry." '['The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kallah Rabbati 54b]

Much could be said in response to the quote above. I think the Rabbi spoke of more than even he knew. However, I would like to just briefly address v. 15 which reminds me of the person today who may be stuck in whatever trap of “causeless hatred” that has been set for him/her be it physical, economic, or spiritual, and who have no hope of extricating themselves. Can you picture yourself in the midst of a minefield or stepping on the tripwire to an IED where if you move it will go off? Something that we can’t free ourselves from is the consequences of sin (ours or another’s). David was in a situation like that…feeling and actually being ambushed on so many levels. In those situations, he trusted that the Lord was the only one who could rescue him…whether from external enemies or internal ones (sins). And, the Lord is trustworthy—Jesus said,

 

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:9-11)

 

Jesus set us free taking the blast for us…and he is no less committed to our life today than he was then!

 

As my son’s unit returns from a year’s deployment in Afghanistan, I thank the Lord for his answered prayer. He has guarded and he has delivered. In this case, delivered all the way back to Oregon. Thanks be to God, for He is faithful!

Psalm 24 "That the King of Glory May Come In"

Psalm for Today = 24:9-10
"Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!"


Across the Kidron, looking at the wall

Comments: This psalm speaks of the Messianic entrance into Jerusalem, the King of Kings in triumph. He did it on Palm Sunday...not that he won’t do it again someday. However, the gates and doors that need to open to him are the doors of churches where he is desperately needed in their midst (Revelation 3:20). By the way, Lord of Hosts paraphrased is "Lord of Angel Armies" as in the song that is so popular. But what about the stronghold of our hearts? Have we thrown wide the doors for the King?

We are not able to ascend the "holy hill" into the presence of God for we cannot atone for our own sin, yet Jesus who is the forsaken and pierced Messiah (Ps. 22), and our Good Shepherd (Ps. 23), is also the "King of glory" (Ps. 24) who brings us up the hill with him. Sovereign love, amazing grace!

In 2011, on a trip to Israel, we shot a short sermon-bumper video about the East Gate for the "Jesus for Everyone" (Luke) Series. We entitled it, Presumption. Since the video is no longer available online, here are some of the notes that went into the production of that video.

This current east wall of the city is right where Solomon’s Temple wall would have been. It is built right on the ridge above the Kidron Valley. We are looking across from the Mt. of Olives. Notice the gate in the wall across from us. This is the East Gate, also called the Golden Gate; the most iconic of all the gates of Jerusalem.

The Golden Gate is the most important and most impressive gate in Jerusalem and the only visible entrance to the city of Jerusalem from the East. This oldest of all the gates to the city was the only one not rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent in AD 1539-42. Monolithic stones in the wall just above ground have been identified as 6th Century BC masonry from the time of Nehemiah.[1]

But it is walled up. Why is it walled up? Inquiring minds want to know!  Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Turks walled it up to prevent the entry of the Messiah of course. The Muslim cemetery just in front of the wall was intentionally built outside the gate to prevent the forerunner of the Messiah from entering. The thinking was that the forerunner, being a priest, would not enter the cemetery for fear of being made unclean.



Inside view of the "Golden Gate"

What an example of medieval thinking! To think that literal stones could prevent the Messiah’s entry into the city. Yet, we modern and post-modern thinkers do the same when we compartmentalize our lives in an effort to deny Jesus the Messiah access to our hearts.

It was also a bit of “locking the barn door after the horse gets out” Too late to seal it up… the Messiah already went through that Gate…most likely on Palm Sunday!

But will we open the gates of our hearts to allow the King of Glory to enter in?

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[1] Biblical Archaeological Review [BAR], Mar/Apr 1992, p. 40.

Psalm 23-B The Lord is My Host

Psalm 23:5-6

    You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
     you anoint            my head with oil;
                                  my cup overflows.
   Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
          all the days of my life,
                 and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Comments:

Psalm 23 is usually referred to as “The Shepherd Psalm” for good reason (v.1-4), but it also contains the imagery of the host and honored guest (v. 5-6). This second aspect of Psalm 23 gets very little attention compared to the first. However, there are a number of similarities between the two.

The shepherd shows the sheep hospitality by providing good food, drink, and a comfortable place to rest (v.1-3). The shepherd also offers his sheep protection as they journey on good paths that reflect well on the character of the shepherd (v.3-4).

The host similarly provides a meal (table and cup, v.5-6) and appropriate refreshment and honor to the guest (v.6) as seen in not just the table preparations but the anointing with oil. However, the Lord as our Host does more than that. In the ancient Middle Eastern culture “the law of hospitality” was supreme and made the host responsible to offer protection to those who shelter in his home. The Lord as host in this psalm not only protects the guest from enemies but vindicates the guest in their presence (v. 5). This is no hurried meal snatched in the anxiety of imminent attack, but a humanized form of the rest experienced by sheep whose shepherd has led them to green pastures. Spurgeon, the great 19^th Century preacher, when commenting on this psalm, wrote,

“When a soldier is in the presence of his enemies, if he eats at all he snatches a hasty meal, and away he hastens to the fight. But observe: ‘Thou preparest a table,’ just as a servant does when she unfolds the damask cloth and displays the ornaments of the feast on an ordinary peaceful occasion. Nothing is hurried, there is no confusion, no disturbance, the enemy is at the door and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace.”[1]

He leads us to his house and there, where everyone can see, he makes it clear that we not only are under his protection but are honored by his relational hospitality. Yet some might think that this is only our 15 minutes of fame and that soon we will be out on our own again. This is not what the psalm teaches. Nor is it like western hospitality that is done from a carefully orchestrated distance of individualism. Derek Kidner comments,

In the Old Testament world, to eat and drink at someone’s table created a bond of mutual loyalty, and could be the culminated token of a covenant…So to be God’s guest is to be more than an acquaintance, invited for a day. It is to live with Him.” [2]

The Lord is our host, both now and in the future. The psalmist makes it clear that he was currently participating in the banquet and would continue to enjoy “dwelling” with the Lord in the future, even forever.

This Lord who is our Host, is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, who has been revealed in the person of the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18) and he is the one who has gone to Heaven to prepare a place for us and will come back for us one day and take us to the table he has prepared (John 14:1-3).

In being the Lord our Host, God in Christ by the Spirit invites us into the Trinitarian community where we find protection, honor, refreshing, and justice that remains. But what does this mean for those of us who follow such a Shepherd and worship such a Host? When followers of the Way were first called Christians it was intended in a derogatory sense (Acts 11:26) but accurately described their commitment to live as “little Christs” determined to do what Jesus had done. Early Christian hospitality and care for the poor are renowned as they provided food, shelter, and medical care while working for justice for all whom they met even when there was no Motel 6 leaving the light on for them. They were givers more than takers, despite living under the often brutal persecution of the Roman Empire. Could John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father” have applied to hospitality? I think so.

So how do we become better hosts in today’s world? What will we risk? Whom will we protect and provision and send on their way and who will we allow to heal and help in our midst? Do we only open our homes and our lives to those who agree with us, look like us, and provide us some benefit? Or do we take Jesus’ words to heart, loving even our enemy for the sake of Christ?

How can those who don’t know the love of the Good Shepherd and Host learn about it and respond if not to that love as seen in us and extended to them? How will they know the welcome of the Divine community if not embraced by the outposts of such community here on earth? In what ways should we welcome the beggar at our gate? I think we have a lot of reflection, thinking, and work to do.

Is not the best diplomacy that of shared life and the honest and unguarded table? Will those who are open get burned in the process? Probably, but a better question to ask is, will those whose minds and gates are closed to the alien miss out on what God is doing? Absolutely.

This week we set aside a day to give thanks for what we have received from the Lord our Host. I have to confess that while I am often timid I am learning to open my eyes to the wonder of relational hospitality. In fact, I wonder what the Lord will do in our midst in the year to come. But first, I have to come into his midst by grace through the Word and the Spirit. Let’s encourage each other in this adventure!

^“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

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[1] Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David Vol. 1, page 400.

[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, Tyndale OT Commentary series

Psalm 23-A "The Lord is My Shepherd"

Psalm for Today = 23:1-4

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
      He leads me beside still waters.
³     He restores my soul.
      He leads me in paths of righteousness
                                 for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley

                of the shadow of death,
                       I will fear no evil,
 for you are with me;
      your rod and your staff,
      they comfort me.

Comments:

Hook's "Jesus the Good Shepherd"

We should all know this psalm by heart not merely from memory. In his presence, we "want" for nothing (in the old-fashioned sense of not “lacking” anything), and we fear nothing. This psalm uses the shepherd metaphor to great effect in the worship life of a people steeped in a herding culture. From the time that Jacob’s family first moved down to Egypt that was how they were known. In Genesis 46:34 we read that the Egyptians despised all herdsmen/shepherds and we see this prejudice play out through the pages of the Bible as the Shepherd God’s shepherd people are repeatedly persecuted by those who glory in the ways of the world. 

In this psalm we see God relating not just to the collective “nation” or “people” but to individuals. As westerners, we tend to over-emphasize the individual to the detriment of the group, but to the Hebrew, this was a remarkable passage where the psalmist says, “The Lord is my shepherd,” heavy on the “my”. As Americans, we are almost insulted to be referred to as “sheep” aren’t we? It’s not a stretch to think of someone getting an attitude about it, “If you call me a sheep again I’m going to give you a piece of this!” We like to think of ourselves as competent, capable, and in control of our lives. So, I think that this psalm must—for us—must be a personal confession of need before it can bring comfort. It must be our statement of trust before it becomes our testimony…and God wants it to be our testimony.

The subject in this passage is the Lord, the Shepherd, the God who consistently acts for the good of his people. Re-read v. 2-3. He provides just what I need at just the right time and in a gentle way that I can receive it without anxiety... if I am one of his sheep.

The key to this psalm, as in life, is not found in the peace of perfect circumstances, but in the relationship with, and presence of the Shepherd. It is all based on the foundation that he is my Shepherd, which implies that I am one of his sheep. There is a wealth of biblical imagery to develop to show just how relational—and dependent—this image of sheep and shepherd is. Here are just a few...

• He will carry his lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11)
• He will punish abusive and selfish shepherds and feed his flock himself (Ezekiel 34)
• He will rescue his sheep (Ezekiel 34:22)
• Jesus told the parable about leaving the 99 sheep safe to go out seeking the one sheep that was lost and the joy in the shepherd’s heart when it is found. (Luke 15:3-7)
• Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd, or literally, “the Shepherd, the good” (John 10:7-20)

I am glad that I can know that the Lord is my shepherd and that the Lord knows me personally as his sheep, not merely an anonymous part of the large flock.

 

Do you know this by heart, or just from memory?

 

My next post will look at the rest of Psalm 23.

Posts Coming More slowly...

Photo by Cedric Fox on Unsplash

Thanks to those of you who have followed my posts on the Psalms and other scriptures over the years. For this season of 2014 I have had to prioritize other areas of my writing so my posts on this blog which once were daily now have slowed to once every couple of weeks.

I apologize for the slow-down and am confident that the frequency will increase whenever I have the bandwidth to do so. In the meantime, I appreciate your prayers for my doctoral program, my job search, and for my son deployed in a combat zone overseas.

Thanks!

Psalm 22 "The Unanswered Call...Answered"

Psalm 22:1-2, 24 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest…

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,

    and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him."

Comments:

The psalmist knew lament...and to some extent, we all do and verse one becomes the universal cry of humanity. Long before David wrote this psalm, the righteous man, Job, longed for an answer from the God he had only heard about. “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. (Job 30:20) Little did Job know how firmly God believed in him and was in his camp…until the end of the book when, though humbled in God’s presence, he heard the Lord vindicate him before his “comforters” and put their health and future in his hands (Job 42:7-10). The late Peter Craigie pointed out that this "psalm differs from the record of Job and Jeremiah by virtue of its liturgical character; the liturgy immediately sets the loneliness of dying into the context of a caring community." (Psalms 1-50, WBC [Word, 1983], 202) We are meant to face life together not as individuals.

There are times when God seems far from us, but because Jesus once had to live out (or more accurately “die-out”) this verse in a complete and total way (Jesus even quoted this verse in agony on the cross [Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34]) we no longer have to. He will not forsake us even when we feel like He has (Hebrews 13:5).

Have you ever been in the same frame of mind as the psalmist? I am encouraged to remember that Jesus knows what this feels like too...at a level I will never know...as he quoted this verse while hanging on the cross for my sin. As you read the rest of the psalm note the tone towards the end! In v. 24 we see that God himself, in Christ, answered David’s cry, and the cry of all the afflicted throughout history. It is no wonder that the psalm ends in praise.

Sadly, though so many around the world have cried out like David in Psalm 22:1-2, too many people bail, quit, and walk away from God and his people before they get to the collective experience of v. 24, often because of undiplomatic and aloof believers. Heaven forbid that we should cause any to stumble. Christ did everything to enter into their suffering. Here is another quote from Craigie,

"The sufferer in Ps 22 is a human being, experiencing the terror of mortality in the absence of God and the presence of enemies. In the suffering of Jesus, we perceive God, in Jesus, entering into and participating in the terror of mortality; he identifies with the suffering and the dying. Because God, in Jesus, has engaged in that desolation, he can offer comfort to those of us who now walk where the psalmist walked." (Psalms 1-50, 203)

Allow me to share a couple more verses from Psalm 22 that I started thinking about yesterday. Verses 4-5 might be your testimony as it was David’s…

In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 

However, even if your physical parents and grandparents did not trust in the Lord, your spiritual parents—those who shared the gospel message with you and those who made sure you had the Bible to read of God's love for you [myself included]—all experienced the Lord’s deliverance in many different ways. I hope it gives you the confidence to be able to pray like David did in v. 19-21 for yourself and others.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog!
    Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

While we may not be spared from all hardship and danger, we will never be alone in the midst of it. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39) and when we cry out to the Lord for salvation he will not cast us out (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13, cited from Joel 2:32). Christ endured the separation for us so that God might now dwell in our midst by the Holy Spirit. Let us abide in him (John 15)!

One last thing, this deliverance that David sought from death, centuries later became the deliverance that Jesus experienced through his own death and resurrection and now makes available to all nations and all peoples. He is a Father to the fatherless and a brother to the forsaken. Let us come to him in faith, together, as the great collected people of God! That "unanswered call" of our soul's desperation has been abundantly and lovingly answered!

Psalm 21 "Humble Glory & Deliverance from the Proud"

Psalm 21:5-7, 11-12

This is a psalm of David, presumably written by or for King David and using the third person "him" most likely to refer to himself and any godly descendants to follow. I like his statement in v. 6b and desire that I too might be glad today with the joy of the Lord's presence. So having sorted out the pronouns, the author is speaking of the king (David), and by extension of the people of the king, to God,

⁵ His [David’s] glory is great through your [God's] salvation;
    splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
⁶ For you make him most blessed forever;
    you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord,
    and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

The king’s glory was not in his own achievements so much as it was great through what God had done to save and deliver him time and time again. David didn’t have to promote himself but it was God who bestowed splendor and majesty on him. God’s consideration of us is usually better than anything we would honestly think of ourselves. Self-glory is always at the expense of others and in the end, poisons our own life. But the humble glory that God gives to those who trust in him and are “glad with the joy of your presence” results in our being firmly established. Following the plan of God is not some dour task demanding grim determination, though often difficult (as it was for David) it is filled with joy and the greatest of loves.

In this psalm David—the king—represents all who would trust the Lord for their honor and glory. David worked diligently as a shepherd—in obscurity even within his own family—until the time that Lord chose to elevate him. Saul persecuted David for years and yet David spared Saul’s life several times (see 1 Samuel 16-31) and though a proficient warrior he refused to take things into his own hands (his military advisors told him to kill Saul) trusting in the plan of God. Why? Because he knew the steadfast love of the Lord for him! The steadfast love of God is something we all need to be reminded of in the midst of a culture of self-promotion, self-esteem, and selfishness. Amazingly we matter more to God than we do to ourselves!  

I wrote a major paper in the first year of my doctoral program about the “humble glory of God” and this passage fits into that model. In that paper, I included an original poem, Scent of Glory, that begins like this,

Born to share glory, not seek it.

Yet sniffing, climbing, grasping, fighting, expecting,

We hunt along a different path

Twisted we claim it, kill it, and die

Poisoned by pride.

And then later,

Glory is given not grasped,

Belonging to God—Father, Son, Spirit—

Shared in Trinitarian community of love.

Yet he invites us in as family, to eat once again

What we once lost by taking.

His invitation to “come up” is far better than the humiliation of falling from our self-claimed glory (Luke 14:7-11). 

The second section of this Psalm that also stood out to me, in this reading, was v.11-12. While the king/person that trusts in the Lord is established and unmoved, the person who is filled with the pride of self-promotion will not ultimately succeed. These verses contain some very military language that we would like to be true of us in our conflict with our enemies today.

Though they plan evil against you,
    though they devise mischief,

                they will not succeed.
For you will put them to flight;
          you will aim at their faces with your bows.

When I read the phrase “aim at their faces with your bows” I can’t help but picture the humorous scene in the movie, Fellowship of the Ring, where Gimli the Dwarf covers his own fear of the forest by bragging about how stealthy he is, only to look up to see a bunch of Elfish bows pointed at his face. It seems that prideful people are like that…surprised to learn they’re not “all that.” 

The humble glory of God has a much better shelf-life than any work of human pride.

God is still in the business of confronting the pernicious idol of our own pride. In the midst of cultural discord, political campaigns, and sadly even church conflicts, pride is not absent. I pray that we might be delivered from the attacks of the proud, yet often that means we need to be delivered from ourselves. 

We are to be different, following the example of our gift-giving Saviour, Jesus Christ and consider others first. 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3-4)

Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy!

Psalm 20:1, 6-8 "Pray First"

Psalm 20:1, 6-8

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
    May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! ...

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

    he will answer him from his holy heaven

    with the saving might of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright.

Comments:

This psalm is a seven-fold prayer delivered as a blessing directly to the person being prayed for (v.1-5) presumably the king. The psalmist is asking that God would hear the request [of the king] and bring deliverance. It is implied that those who sing this psalm strongly desire their king/leaders to actually make prayerful a request of the Lord before the day of battle comes.

These early verses culminate in a statement of trust (v.5) as the psalmist stands in solidarity with the afflicted as evidenced by his use of the plural pronoun “we”. Then in the familiar verses 7-8 he reveals where he puts his own trust. The psalmist is neither unprepared nor is he ill-equipped. He is realistically trusting in something/someone beyond the military might of the day.

In all of this that is being prayed, the psalmist reiterates how he could pray such things. He states emphatically, “Now I know that the Lord saves…he will answer.” Not only will God answer but it is how he will answer that we should not forget, “with the saving might of his right hand.”  The imagery is that of the Lord using his right hand to wield his sword in defense of the people in need. The “right hand” of the Lord was a very common and confident image in Psalms as the following verses indicate.

• Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
• Psalm 17:7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
• Psalm 18:35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
• Psalm 20:6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.
• Psalm 44:3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.
• Psalm 45:4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
• Psalm 48:10 As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
• Psalm 60:5 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
• Psalm 63:8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
• Psalm 73:23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
• Psalm 74:11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
• Psalm 77:10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
• Psalm 78:54 And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.
• Psalm 80:15, 17 “…have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself…But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
• Psalm 89:13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
• Psalm 98:1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
• Psalm 108:6 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
• Psalm 110:1, 5 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool…The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
• Psalm 118:15-16 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
• Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.
• Psalm 139:9-10 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 

The sheer number of times the psalmists wrote of this divine deliverance is evidence that it was a message that needed to be repeated, for it was always ancient Israel’s temptation to put their trust in the number of horses, chariots, and soldiers in their army, and to be alarmed at the size of the enemy’s army. Both reactions would result in disaster unless they first took the time to ask for God’s direction and to place their ultimate trust in the Lord. This psalm stands against that trend and asks the king to pray and the Lord to answer. The late Peter C. Craigie wrote,

On the one hand, the necessities of historical existence imposed certain requirements upon the chosen people: the presence of enemies made warfare a necessity. On the one hand, human action which involved no divine participation was doomed from the beginning; at the heart of Hebrew theology lay the conviction that God was involved in their historical experience. So the preparation for war was twofold. First, there must be practical and military preparation, for it would be impossible to sit back and wait for a miracle to happen. Second, there must be religious preparation, which is here reflected in Psalm 20, for it would be equally irresponsible to hope that anything lasting could be achieved merely in human strength. (Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, 187-188)

It is a rare time when the world has not been faced with wars and rumors of wars. It is not uncommon for a nation to have to defend its people as it is its responsibility to do. But leaders can rush into battle without good planning (2 Kings 3) or without asking God if it is a good idea.

 

Leaders can make bad decisions that cost many lives. waste gains made previously, and even have to fight the battle over again. I personally agree with the appeal of this psalm and would prefer that my leaders would seek the Lord before they do what they do. When I see the raw evil of mankind towards each other I also cry out for the Lord to be our deliverer!

I recently wrote to my deployed son using the words of this psalm,

“I know you are well prepared and have great equipment—for which I am thankful, yet that is not where my final trust lies. It is the Lord who will answer you in the day of trouble! “Some trust in Helicopters and MRAPs…” but they can be shot down, blown up, and crashed. Snipers ambush, SAMs hunt and seek, IEDs lurk, but the Lord is the one who picks us up after the attack.”

This lesson doesn’t just apply to the physical battles we read about in the media. If we are to survive the spiritual battle that rages around us every day, and finish well, then we must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the spiritual armor he provides (Eph. 6:10-20). And when we do place our trust in Christ, he says, "Fear not".

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” (Revelation 1:17-18)