Bible Reading Challenge Blog

I’m not sure we have seen a Psalm which is as celebratory as this one when it comes to giving thanks to God in the most unchained way possible.  We will see something similar in Psalm 150 which for me is the uber praise psalm, but this psalm encourages us to praise God with the harp, the lyre, with our voices.  There is also shouting for joy which is to take place.  I know all of the preceding verses in this psalm deal with a request for protection because of all the evil ones who continue to surround and harass this “poor” author.  Okay, it is at this point that maybe we have heard enough laments so it is so incredibly refreshing that we hear him go absolutely ballistic, in a good way, about the love of the Lord.  

So, many of you know that for me March is the happiest time of the year.  I know that we are in Lent, but maybe, just maybe, that is some contributing factor to why I dive so deeply into March Madness.  Please find attached a bracket.  If you want to be a part of our yearly March Madness here at First Presbyterian fill it out and either put it in my box at church or email me a scanned copy.  It is not for the thin skinned, I tend to be somewhat competitive and I will give “feedback” throughout the tourney to all those who have participated.  I hope you will.

ncaam_bracket 2017

A short psalm in the midst of the very long  psalms which surround it.  It is a psalm which is divided into two parts.  The first part, vs.1-3, is a cry for deliverance because the enemies have surrounded the author and the end seems to be close at hand.  The transition in vs.4 until the end is so quick that it almost gives one whiplash.  There must have been a victory or something significant which happened in the life of the author to cause him to go from “deliver me” to “God is great”.  

The declaration that “I am poor” has to be looked at in a bit of a different light.  If the psalmist is King David, as the prologue would lend one to believe, then you would think that his poverty is slightly exaggerated.  Maybe he meant poor in a spiritual way so a cry for deliverance was more of a call for salvation of both his soul and life.  Remember in our Gospels Jesus teaches on the sermon on the mount two passages which are interpreted in vastly different ways.  We find in Luke 6:20 that Jesus says blessed are the poor, period.  He leaves it at that.  Matthew 5:3 adds the word spirit so it read: blessed are the poor in spirit.  

As I have mentioned before I know that Jesus has a special place in His heart for the poor since they are mentioned so frequently in Scripture as almost having special protection and special favor from God.  So I guess I take a bit of exception to King David calling himself poor. 

This is a classic psalm of lament.  From beginning to near the end the Psalmist is calling out to the Lord because he is in over his head in trouble and imminent danger.  The transition takes place starting in vs. 30 and then in vs.33 we find that “the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.”  The assumption is that the writer would fill both of those categories as being needy and belonging to the Lord.

So much of this psalm is the author stating that he did what was right and what was expected of him and yet people still mocked and made fun of him.  He fasted and they insulted him (vs.10).  We find vs.9 as a verse which is repeated when Jesus drives out the money changers from the temple in John 2:17.  Being consumed with zeal for the house of the Lord is a good thing, even if it does lead to some social separation.  Doing what is right is no guarantee that we will have favor on this earth.  It is a common misconception that as we become followers of Jesus Christ then our lives become a bit more routine and able to be managed.  I would actually argue quite the opposite.  The more we belong to Christ, the less steady we are on this earth.  That is also a good thing.  

This has to be the most difficult Psalm in the entire book of Psalms.  The approach of the author is one where God is lifted up as one who defends the people, but then takes that next step of bringing the enemies before the reader “so that you may bathe you feet in blood, so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.”  And who said that we worship a God of peace and Islam is based upon violence and bloodshed?  They must not have seen these verses in the Bible.  I would guess that we are able to find very unsettling verses in the Bible which speak to destroying the enemy with bloodshed which closely mirrors the verses from the Koran that point to death to the infidels.  Isn’t it something how religion sparks the worst in us?  

I guess this is one of those psalms that I would like to quickly pass over.  But let me lift up those parts that make me smile and give me strength for the day.  As we read in vs.4 we see that we are to lift up the name of God.  The main reason for that, as we read in vs.5 is that he is the Father of orphans and widows.  He gives the desolate a home to live in and leads out the prisoners to prosperity.  It does remind me of Jesus’ words in the synagogue which got him kicked out of this home town.  Read Luke 4:14-30.  It is quite an intense discourse and it ends with an attempt at violence and bloodshed but it is thwarted.  But Jesus refers in the synagogue to a Scripture which comes from Isaiah.  When you read Isaiah 61:1 it gives similar wording to the author.  

These three Scriptures, and many others, form the foundation for what I consider my ministry.  It is our responsibility, even if it is at a cost to ourselves, to care for the most vulnerable within our society.  That doesn’t seem to be our approach these days.  It surprises people to think that Jesus put the poor, the widow and orphan, the homeless and the prisoner, ahead of our own self-interest.  Why would we do that if it endangers us?  Because we are called to do it.  This has to be the sign of our Christian faith, and not the dangling of our feet in the blood of our enemies, or in the blood of the less fortunate regardless of how they became less fortunate.

So before you think too much about this Psalm I want you to read Numbers 6:22-27.  Do you see what is happening in this Psalm?  It is a time in the life of the psalmist that frankly things are going well.  This priestly blessing of Numbers 6:22-27, which I believe we commented on earlier and Elliott Smith said his mom gave that blessing after each of her services, is a blessing which was given by Aaron to all of the Israelites so that they would know that they were chosen and picked out individually by God.  It is a way in which God put His name upon the Israelites, it is the way that God has put His blessing on us as well.

When we turn to Psalm 67 we find these same words within the context of: If God blesses us then we will be able to be a blessing to all of the nations as well.  We see this same concept in Isaiah 49:6 where the prophet tells the people of Israel that they are to be a light to the nations (gentiles) so that they, even they, would come to a saving knowledge of the Lord.  

In the Old Testament another word for nations would be “goyim” which can also be translated as gentiles.  This is very much of an evangelistic psalm.  The Psalmist is not just content with the people of Israel knowing and love YHWH, but he understands the goal is that all the nations, including the nations worshipping idols and foreign gods, would come to know the living Creator God.  The desire is that all the ends of the earth would love Him.  All the ends of the earth, all of the countries, even those who did not worship the same God as the Israelites.  Wow, now that is an expansive faith.  

Hey, unrelated, but the 24 hour prayer vigil sign up sheet is up on the door of the my office.  Sign up!

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.”  You have heard this before, and now you know from whence it came.   The glory and the majesty of the Lord are highlighted in this psalm.  But there are particular events in history to which the author points to lift up the rule of God.  Look at vs.6 and to which historical event do you think he is referring?  Most of us would say Exodus 14:21-29, or if you wanted a Hollywood reference you may have had this in mind:

But I think the historical reference may have actually been Joshua 3:14-17 when Israel crossed the Jordan with the ark of the covenant.  This was crucial in David’s day because he was the one who had the vision to build the temple even if his son, Solomon, would be the one who ended up building it.  In either case we have here David referring to specific historical events in the nation of Israel that have taken place which all of the people would know.  As a result, they could all say: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.  In saying that, they would have in their minds specific occurrences which would bring about joy and thanksgiving.

This psalm is all about praise.  It is all about praise.  

Think of the listing of attributes that are given to the Lord which allows the author to praise him.  God: answers prayer, forgives, answers us, is the hope, established the mountains, silences the roaring waves (in our life), makes nature shout for joy, visits the earth and waters it, provides grain.  The list goes on.  But what I love about this psalm is the pasture imagery which pervades it.  You can definitely tell that the person who wrote this understood the outdoors and what makes it tick.  The person who wrote this knew what it meant to work hard in God’s nature.

My work is behind a desk, or visiting in hospitals or people’s homes, or behind a pulpit, or at meetings.  My work doesn’t take me outside.  But I love to be outside and I especially love to work outside.  I love to split wood until my arms can’t move.  I love to dig out things until my hands are bleeding with blisters, I love to run until I can’t run anymore, I love to be in God’s creation not just for the sake of being outside, but to actually do something which is demanding.  The person who wrote this psalm understood the value of this even better than I do.

I hope you take pleasure in God’s creation.  I hope you find in your life moments when you can read this psalm and completely relate to what it means when the writer says: The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.  That’s the image I have of God preparing this earth of us.

When I was working my way through college throughout the summer I had my own apartment in Linwood, NJ and worked at Golf and Tennis World in Atlantic City.  I would periodically be given tickets to see boxing bouts at the casinos in Atlantic City and I would love to go.  I loved boxing, in high school for a couple of years a few of my friends and I bought gloves and boxed, just to the body.  It was fun.  I loved watching boxing because it would go back and forth and when you thought someone had a bout locked up, the other person would come back and win.  It was exciting.

These Psalms feel like a boxing match.  At the beginning you have the author calling out to God for help (vs.1-2).  He lists the negative attributes of his enemy, but by doing so builds up his enemy as a formidable foe (vs.3-5).  Once he builds them up he gets to a point where it seems like he is going down for the count, well, God then comes to his rescue (vs.7-9).  Then he ends the psalm with a celebration and a victory dance (vs.10).  A bit like what Freddy Mercury had to say in this song (please pardon the outfit, I don’t condone it):

We find in I Samuel 23 that David was pursued into the wilderness of Judah by Saul.  He begins the Psalm very appropriately.  He speaks about the parchness that he feels, he speaks of his inadequacies as if he were wandering in a land that is dry.  In the midst of all this the dwelling place of the Lord serves as an oasis.  It serves as a place where he is able to go and gather himself and where he can find the presence of the Lord in a powerful and real way.  

Today it is going to be brief.  But I encourage you to find your place which brings relief to your dry soul.  

I was absolutely captivated by the first two verses of this psalm.  I love the thought of my soul waiting in silence for God.  Waiting in silence for God…waiting…in silence…for God.  There is an interesting internal discussion that takes place here as the author begins with a testimonial describing who God is to him.  It is almost as if he is talking to himself, and then expands it out to those around him, who happen to be his enemies.  

He then goes back to this personal dialogue of talking to himself and asserting that his soul is waiting for God in silence.  It repeats and it allows us to be sucked into his thoughts that we should be waiting for God in silence.  But notice that in vs.1 he stresses that salvation comes from God.  In vs.5 he states that his hope is in Him.  He repeats but stresses different aspects of what it means that our soul waits on the Lord, in silence.  It means that we fully recognize that salvation comes from God.  It means that we completely embrace the hope that comes from him.  

Vss. 9-10 are interesting.  They seem a bit out of place as the author becomes Captain Obvious.  Put no confidence in extortion and set no vain hopes in robbery.  Not a piece of advice which I would think I would have to give to people everyday.  So I almost want to take those verses out and then focus in on the first 8 verses plus the verses which end this psalm.  Power belongs to God.