Week 5: July 4-10

Psalms 42 (Sun), 72-74, 128 (Mon), 75-77, 129 (Tue), 78-80, 130 (Wed), 81-83, 131 (Thur), 84-86, 132 (Fri), 87-89, 133 (Sat)

  • Sunday

    Psalm 42
    As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?” 

    These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

    My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

    I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?” As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

    Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

    Background
    The psalmist seems to be exiled from the Temple.  The opening verses articulate the psalmist’s desire for God with the image of thirst.  The psalmist’s soul “thirsts for God.” (v 2) Thirst is not just a desire, for the human body cannot live without water.  For the psalmist, God is a necessity of life.  Verse 2 suggests that the psalmist is prevented from making a pilgrimage to the Temple to “behold the face of God.”  The psalmist desires a communion with God that is not currently available.  The grief of absence has been made worse by the question of others, “Where is your God?” (v 3) Verse 8 is unexpectedly hopeful, a recollection of a happier time/ The psalm is moving toward the direction of assurance and hope.

    Reflection
    The imagery of a ‘thirsting soul’ is powerful.  Can you recall a time when you felt separated from God and were ‘thirsting’ in a similar manner?

    From a communal aspect, is it possible that the contemporary north American church is in the situation of this psalmist, feeling alienated?  If so, how do we move forward?

    Even Jesus could not escape the disquieted soul.  Neither shall we.  The good news is that God’s steadfast love is constantly available.  How do we keep ourselves in touch with that love in the times of a ‘disquieted soul’?

  • Monday

    Psalm 72
    Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. 

    May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.

    Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.

    The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.

    Background
    It is likely this psalm was written for the coronation of Davidic kings in Jerusalem.  Psalm 72 probably functioned both as a charge to and a prayer for the new king.  There are two key words in the opening verse, “justice” and “righteousness”, prayed for the king to possess, but coming from God.  Justice and righteousness are first and foremost characteristic of God’s reign.  The role of the king is to enact God’s rule.  In vs 2 - 4 we see that “prosperity for the people”, or peace, has primarily to do with the condition of the poor and of the needy.  The significance of justice and righteousness is further indicated by the mention f the cosmic elements in vs 3, 5 - 7.  Praise for the king’s activity belongs ultimately to God, for God alone is the real actor.

    Reflection
    The call for the role of king in Psalm 72 and the actual behavior of Israel’s kings and people do not match.  The monarchy turned out to be problematic.  We might say the same about the contemporary church, and our call to be “the body of Christ.”  Consider the call we have as individuals and as a ‘body’ to be faithful and the gap we have to fill.

    Can you see a Christian conviction that Jesus ultimately fulfilled the vision of the king portrayed in Psalm 72?  When Christians pray this prayer messianically: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done n earth as it is in heaven,” is it any different from Psalm 72 for Israel?

    Psalm 72 finally calls us as citizens of God’s that the way to peace is to be concerned about justice and righteousness, especially for the poor and needy.  Do we need to reinforce this call for us individually, and for the church corporately?


    Psalm 73
    Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.

    Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.

    If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.

    When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you. Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

    Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.

    Background
    The wicked are prominent characters in Psalm 73.  Happiness or goodness has to do, not with material prosperity and success, but with the assurance of God’s presence in the midst of threat and suffering.  Goodness means to live not in dependence upon oneself but in taking refuge in God.  The highest good is to be near God.  The psalmist immediately professes doubt that is caused by the prosperity or peace of the wicked.  Their pretentious and oppressive life-style is lived with impunity.  Verse 10 even suggests that the faithful “turn and praise them.”  The psalmist is having trouble seeing the purpose of remaining faithful.  Whereas the wicked are “not plagued” (v 5), the psalmist is constantly “plagued” (v 14).  What brings the psalmist through the crisis of faith is apparently identity as a member of God’s people.  The psalmist begins to realize that the apparent prosperity of the wicked is not true peace at all.  The psalmist discovers that God is “continually” with them. (v 23) The psalmist’s talk has changed from self-pity to raise, and no longer focused on the self, but affirms belonging to God.  This nearness to God is the essence of goodness, happiness, assurance, and life.

    Reflection
    How often have you asked the question, “how is it that the unfaithful are rewarded?”

    The psalm is not clear how the psalmist began to realize the connection to being in God’s family.  How do you think that occurred?  If you have been in a similar situation when tempted away from being faithful, how did you respond?

    Reflect on a time when you felt, as did the psalmist, a presence of God that was so powerful that it transformed your faith.


    Psalm 74
    O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell. Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.

    Your foes have roared within your holy place; they set up their emblems there. At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes. And then, with hatchets and hammers, they smashed all its carved work. They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the dwelling place of your name, bringing it to the ground. They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

    We do not see our emblems; there is no longer any prophet, and there is no one among us who knows how long. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand; why do you keep your hand in your bosom?

    Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. You cut openings for springs and torrents; you dried up ever-flowing streams. Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the sun. You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter.

    Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.

    Have regard for your covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence. Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. Rise up, O God, plead your cause; remember how the impious scoff at you all day long. Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.

    Background
    Psalm 74 is a communal lament.  The rejection and destruction described in vs 1 -11 are usually associated with the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 BCE.  The opening questions in verse 1 attribute the current crisis to God’s anger.  The language of v 2 recalls the Song of the Sea and the exodus, in which God originally “acquired” the people having redeemed them from slavery to bring them to Mount Zion.  It appears that God’s opponents, rather than God, are sovereign.  They have destroyed God’s “sanctuary.” (v 3) There is no sign of God anywhere.  The people still trust God and God’s sovereignty, despite a total lack of evidence for God’s rule.  The question is not whether God is powerful, but when God will show God’s power – “How long?”  The merging of exodus and creation imagery suggests that God’s creative activity is in itself salvific and that God’s activity in the exodus was not simply in behalf of Israel but involved the fulfillment of God’s purposes for the whole creation.  Both God’s saving and creating work, which should not finally be separated, are testimony to God’s reign.  Twice God is asked to “remember” (vs 18, 22), and “not forget” (vs. 19, 23).  It was the special calling of a king to provide for the poor and the needy and the final section serves to remind God of this responsibility in view of the apparent triumph of the wicked and their arrogant behavior.  God can reasonably be asked to “rise up” (v 22) against those who have arisen against God.  The petitions in vs 18 - 23 function finally as an affirmation of the people’s trust that God will “not forget the life of your poor forever.” (v 19)

    Reflection
    In the worst of times, the people of God always seem to profess their faith.  Can we learn something of our own faith in the midst of our suffering?

    Psalm 74 asserts that the real foolishness is to deny the character and power of God.  How difficult has it been to maintain such faith?  How can you do so?

    This psalm, and others, incorporates a concern for the poor and needy in the midst of suffering.  It’s a good reminder.  Are we able to remember others, especially the poor and needy, in times when we are suffering?


    Psalm 128
    Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you. 

    Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.

    The Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

    Background
    Psalm 128 is the ninth of the Songs of Ascents.  Both Psalm 127 and Psalm 128 affirm that fruitfulness of family and of work derived from God.  The Psalm begins with a beatitude, “Happy is everyone who fears the Lord.”  To fear the Lord means fundamentally to recognize God’s sovereignty and so to entrust life and future to God.  It is to orient one’s whole life to God’s ways rather than one’s own ways.  Happiness is ultimately the connecting of one’s life to the true source of life: God.  Those who fear God will know a blessedness that endures in all circumstances.  The psalm ends with a proclamation of peace “upon Israel,” those who fear God, who live under God’s rule.

    Reflection
    Psalm 128 celebrates the daily realms of work and family as gifts of God.  What do you see as the relationship between your ‘blessings’ and gifts of God?  How about the challenges?

    Can the experience of the blessing and peace of God be, not self-congratulation, but an opportunity for gratitude?

    The basic message of Psalm 128 is that being devout and faithful is enough of a blessing.  Can you agree?

  • Tuesday

    Psalm 75
    We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds.

    At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
    I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn; do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck.”

    For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up; but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

    All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

    Background
    It is almost as if Psalm 75: 2 - 5, 10 is a direct response to the petitions in Psalm 74: 18 -23.  Psalm 75 develops the proclamation of God’s sovereignty found in Psalm 74, portraying God as savior and cosmic creator and ruler. The use of the word ‘name’ in v 1 suggests God’s character and presence.  The experience of nearness to God is accompanied by proclamation of God’s activity.  “Wondrous deeds” in v1 refer to the exodus, the crossing of the Jordan and other acts of deliverance.  A divine speech begins in v 2 and runs through v 5.  It involves divine judgment upon arrogant opponents, namely the Babylonians.  God will eventually establish justice.  God will exercise sovereignty on a cosmic scale.  When the world is threatened with chaos, God holds things together.  V 8 portrays this divine activity with the metaphor of a cup from which the wicked drink.  In v 9 the psalmist praises God.

    Reflection
    Psalm 75 contains the common theme of the psalter that the wicked are those with selfish pride.  Among all nations, even today, there is a persistent temptation to identify a nation’s goals with the will of God, often with the label of ‘national security.’  Consider what you see around the world today and ask if you see any of the self-interest this Psalm identifies.

    Psalm 75 claims God’s justice will come in the future, at a time unrevealed.  We, too, live with this eschatological hope that God’s justice will come.  But patience is not always our virtue.  Is waiting for God’s justice a difficult thing for you to accept?

    Psalm 75 suggests that God’s judgement is evident “when the earth totters.” (v 3).  Do you ever wonder why God’s judgement awaits such imminent peril?


    Psalm 76
    In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

    Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains. The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand. At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.

    But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused? From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah

    Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you. Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome, who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.

    Background
    Psalm 76 asserts God’s power and sovereignty, but it does so in a context where opposition and defeat are evident.  While it may allude to Zion’s past, it is more about the future that God will create for the people and for the earth.  The opening line already suggests a focus on God’s sovereignty.  The verb ‘known’ in v 1 is a reference to the exodus.  God uses power to destroy the implements of war, “he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.” (v 3) V 6 refers to the exodus, as “both rider and horse lay stunned” by the power of God over Egypt and the sea.  God’s justice will be worldwide.  V 8 suggests that the result of God’s justice will be peace. 

    Reflection
    The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 587 BCE was devastating to Israel’s image of Zion as the home of God.  Israel saw war and destruction all around them, but thought the walls of Jerusalem were a mainstay for God.  Can you think of a time when your image of God’s protection was challenged?

    V 11 is an invitation to live under God’s sovereignty to adopt God’s values and God’s ways, to stand for justice and peace in a world filled with war and injustice.  From a Christian perspective, we would say that we are called to live out of love rather than violence.  Understanding God’s call to ‘love’ is a centuries old theme of faith.  Do you live by this hope?

    Psalm 76, like many of the psalms, tries to bring together God’s power with the hope for the coming of God’s Kingdom of Peace.  In this psalm God uses power to destroy power, and calls us to live with love and peace.  Is that a strange balance to you?


    Psalm 77
    I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah

    You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago. I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
    And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” 

    I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples. With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

    When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

    Background
    V 4 is as if the psalmist has become so discouraged that prayer has become impossible and has given way to anguished meditation.  The meditation culminates in the questions of vs 7 - 9 and the apparently hopeless conclusion in vs 10. Vs 11-13 celebrates God’s incomparable greatness. While the ‘trouble’ in v 2 may be a reference to the exile, it is applicable to a much wider audience.  The constant seeking in Psalm 77 ‘day’ and ‘night’, including unceasing prayer, has led only to the conclusion that no comfort is possible.  Memory leads only to moaning.  V 4 describes characteristics of depression.  The sleepless nights and searching spirit produce no resolution, only agonizing questions that strike at the very heart of the biblical faith.  The psalmist questions God’s fundamental character, and a suggestion that “the Most High has changed.” (v 10) The psalmist comes to a new awareness of God and of God’s “way” (v 13) and a “path” which was “unseen” before.   The psalmist finally affirms that God reigns and that God is powerfully present.  God’s ‘way’ is ‘holy’ (v 13), and God’s ‘footprints are unseen’. (v 19) God’s way is not always clearly visible or comprehensible in terms of human ways.

    Reflection
    The psalmist’s transition from despair to hope seems instantaneous, and doesn’t happen on his own, but a communal process of remembering.  In times when you feel as desperate as the psalmist, can you recall how you regained hope?

    Was an act of ‘remembrance’ part of your path back to hope?

    Reflect on a time when you experienced similar ‘anguished meditation’ when prayer seemed not to help and your hope was dissipating.  Can you remember whether your understanding of God’s presence changed, or was there a change in you, as there was in the psalmist?


    Psalm 129
    “Often have they attacked me from my youth” —let Israel now say—“often have they attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.” The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward. Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up, with which reapers do not fill their hands or binders of sheaves their arms, while those who pass by do not say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

    Background
    Psalm 129 is the tenth of the Songs of Ascents.  Vs 1 -2 articulate the reality of the persistent opposition, which has been and is being experienced by the people of God.  The attribution of righteousness to God occurs often in the context of the proclamation of God’s sovereignty.  The affirmation of God’s sovereignty (v 4) in the context of persistent opposition means that Psalm 129 shares the eschatological perspective that characterizes the Songs of Ascent and pervades the psalter.  The mention of Zion in v 5 is a reminder that opposition to God’s people was also opposition to God, since Zion was God’s place.  V 8 should be heard as a concluding benediction offered by or for the people of God.

    Reflection
    The people of God have and always will experience the hostility of the world.  This psalmist recognizes the hostility is ultimately against God.  Can you see such hostility today?

    The life of faith can be exhausting.  It is constantly lived between the steadfast love of God and constant opposition to the life of faith.  How exhausting is this struggle for you?

    Examine your faith and ask, “How much of my faith rests on my understanding of God’s help in the past?” 

  • Wednesday

    Psalm 78
    Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

    He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

    The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. They forgot what he had done, and the miracles that he had shown them. In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light. He split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

    Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?”

    Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel, because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power. Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven; he rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven. Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance. He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; he let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings. And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths, the anger of God rose against them and he killed the strongest of them, and laid low the flower of Israel.

    In spite of all this they still sinned; they did not believe in his wonders. So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. When he killed them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly. They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again. How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! They tested God again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not keep in mind his power, or the day when he redeemed them from the foe; when he displayed his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the fields of Zoan. He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. He gave their crops to the caterpillar, and the fruit of their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost. He gave over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts. He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham. Then he led out his people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to his holy hill, to the mountain that his right hand had won. He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

    Yet they tested the Most High God, and rebelled against him. They did not observe his decrees, but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a treacherous bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mortals, and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. He gave his people to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage. Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior shouting because of wine. He put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting disgrace.

    He rejected the tent of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves. He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. He chose his servant David, and took him from the sheepfolds; from tending the nursing ewes he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance. With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.

    Background
    Psalm 78 is a creative retelling of Israel’s story, and it has a particular purpose.  In the broadest sense, the purpose is to teach, but not simply in the sense of imparting information.  Rather, the psalmist’s teaching is intended to inspire hope and obedience in the hearers and in all subsequent generations.  This kind of history is as much or more concerned with the present and future as it is with the past.  By re-creating and perpetuating a sense of awe and wonder in the hearers, the teacher intends to evoke a response that will involve obedience, gratitude and new political possibility.  Their commitment would be to God and God’s claim upon the world.  The psalmist desires to tell the stories of the past so the people will not make the same mistakes.  Every generation is to know God’s sovereignty and God’s sovereign claim, not simply as a matter of information but as a matter of life-saving hope.  V 21 introduces God’s angry response to the people’s faithlessness and lack of trust in God’s deliverance.  But God’s gracious activity is still noted.  God’s faithfulness – not the people’s is crucial for the continuation of the story, so also God’s memory.  A compassionate and forgiving God will not be content finally to abandon the people.  The primary purpose of the historical recitals seems to be the creation of a community that, despite its own failures and faithlessness, will live n hope.

    Reflection
    Psalm 78 is the biblical story of the sovereign God who lives in the tension between justice and mercy, a forgiving God followed by human disobedience.  It seems the true hope in the faith story is that of God for the people.  Do you agree?  Is there hope for humans?

    Psalm 78 is a striking example of the desire to share the story of faith.  How important is it to continue that process of instruction for the next generations?

    Is it more important to chronicle the sins of our ancestors or God’s saving acts?


    Psalm 79
    O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.

    How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire? Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.

    Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake. Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.

    Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die. Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord! Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

    Background
    Psalm 79 is a communal lament.  Vs 1 -2 describe in graphic detail the desecration and destruction suffered by Jerusalem and its people at the hands of the nations.  It’s not known exactly what historical event to which this refers.  But Jerusalem is in ruins and God’s place – the focus of Israel’s purity – has become unclean.  The destruction of Jerusalem calls God’s sovereignty into question.  The impurity of the Temple is made worse by the presence of unburied bodies.  These events were set in motion by the corruption of the people (v 8 - 9) V12 seems to indicate that taunts against the people are really taunts against God.  So what is at stake is not just the people’s reputation but also God’s ‘name’.  The people do not claim to be innocent, but appeal to God’s compassion for God’s mercy.  The nations who do not know God will come to know God if God will act to avenge Israel.  Thus, the request in v 9 “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.”  The psalmist asks God to set things right that are obviously wrong both for the people and for God. 

    Reflection
    If the psalmist is trying to appeal to God that God needs to act, not just for the people, but also to salvage God’s name, is that a tactic you would employ?

    Underlying this psalm is again the question, “Where is God?”  Does Psalm 79 give any assurance that God can be experienced in suffering?

    Have you ever been in a position of justifying the presence of God in a difficult time?


    Psalm 80
    Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!

    Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

    O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.

    Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

    You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.

    Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted. They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.

    Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

    Background
    Psalm 80 bases its appeal on the good news of God’s faithfulness an forgiveness.  The use of imperatives such as “Give ear” (v 1) suggests that the people believe that God is inattentive.  The plea suggests that the people believe that God is absent.  If God remains inattentive, inactive, and absent, the people will face death.  God may be the problem, but God is also the solution.  For God to be “enthroned upon the cherubim” ( v 1) indicates God’s sovereignty.  The question, “How long”? appears again in Psalm 80.  To emphasize the urgency of the plea, note that v 3 and v 7 are almost identical.  The use of the term “turn” in v 14 is interesting in that it generally refers to repenting of sin.  In this case, the psalmist is asking God to ‘turn’, and respond to the question of ‘how long?’   There can be no life or future for God’s people without God’s repentance, or restoration.    

    Reflection
    How difficult would it be to maintain faith and hope when it is believed that God is not attentive?

    Reflect on a time when you may have believed that God might be angry at you or ‘the people’.

    How can the people plea for God’s ‘repentance’ when there is no indication of penitence on their part?


    Psalm 130
    Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

    If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.

    I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.

    O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

    Background
    Psalm 130 is the eleventh of the Songs of Ascents.  The juxtaposition of Psalms 129 and 130 serves an important purpose: to address any temptation toward self-righteousness by reminding the people that, although they suffer for God’s sake at the hands of oppressors, they must also confront their own “iniquities” (v 3) The word ‘depths’ names the chaotic forces that confront human life with destruction, devastation, and death, and that are regularly symbolized by water.  The psalmist cries out to God, asking for a sort of personal exodus and perhaps encouraging Israel to anticipate a new exodus as well.  God’s willingness to forgive makes possible the renewal of the covenant and thus the continuation of the “awesome thing” that God will do with God’s people.  The psalmist’s question and response in vs 3 - 4 constitute an eloquent affirmation of God’s essential character.  The psalmist’s waiting is based on the conviction that God is fundamentally gracious and forgiving.  The psalmist’s faith and hope moves him or her to encourage others to be faithful and hopeful.  The focus is on God’s character.  Israel’s future does not depend on its own worthiness or ability to save itself but on God’s faithful love and ability to redeem. 

    Reflection
    John Wesley heard Psalm 130 performed at St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 24, 1738, the day of his ‘warm heart’ experience at Aldersgate.  Can Psalm 130 have that kind of affect on you?

    Is there any place where God is not?  “Out of the depths I cry to you,” indicates that this psalmist believed God was present, even in the lowest experiences of life.

    This understanding of God suggests that God is able to be moved, that God is responsive and affected by our cries ‘out of the depth.’  How reassuring is that for you?

  • Thursday

    Psalm 81
    Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. He made it a decree in Joseph, when he went out over the land of Egypt.

    I hear a voice I had not known: “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
    Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

    “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes. Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever. I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

    Background
    It’s possible this ‘sermon’ was preached on one of Israel’s holy days.  Joyous praise marks the beginning of the festival.  Psalm 81 serves both as an explanation for the people’s suffering and as a hopeful encouraging word if Israel will but listen and respond.  In light of the joyous season, people are encouraged to ‘sing aloud.’ (v 1) What is being celebrated is the reign of God over all creation.  Worship always involves the recognition and celebration of God’s claim upon the world.  A central motif of the first section of the sermon is God’s desire that the people hear — “listen to me!” (v 8) The second part of the sermon starts by stating the people’s response to God’s call to hear; they “did not listen” (v 11) God’s desire to supply good things, to “fill” and to “satisfy” (v 16) the people has been thwarted by their refusal to accept God’s gracious actions.  God’s pain is like a rejected lover.  The people’s experience is a result of their own choice not to listen, and not the result of God’s will.

    Reflection
    The theme of hearing in Psalm 81 is formulated as the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4.  “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone”.  Are we like overactive children and have trouble ‘hearing’ God?

    Listening for God in a world with so many competing voices is difficult. How do we discern God’s voice among all the rest?  Do we really try to ‘hear’ God calling?

    Recall how frustrated we get when someone is not listening to us.  Now, consider how frustrating it must be to God to have us fail to listen?


    Psalm 82
    God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

    Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

    They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

    I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.”

    Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!

    Background
    The background Psalm 82 is the Near Eastern polytheistic culture.  In Canaanite religion, the high god El convened the council of the gods.  Israel’s God has displaced El and convenes what proves to be an extraordinary meeting.  Israel’s God proceeds to put the gods on trial.  The psalmist pleads for God to claim the dominion once held by the gods and to rule justly.  God rules the world.  The key issue in the trial of the gods is the way they ‘judge’, or administer justice.  Acting as both prosecutor and judge, God accuses the gods of judging unjustly and showing partiality.  Thus injustice among humans, and certainly among the gods, violates the very nature of divinity and the divine will for the world.  In vs 3 -4 it becomes clear that justice in the human world is a matter of ordering the community.  Justice and righteousness are not just abstract principles or ideas; rather, they have to do with the very concrete matter of how human beings relate.  For the God of Israel, the criterion of justice involves what is done for the weak, the orphaned, the destitute, the needy.  The establishment of justice and righteousness is the measure of divinity and of human life as God intends it. It is to the wicked that the gods had been partial.  For the God of Israel, things are right in the human community when power is distributed in a way that all persons, especially the powerless, have access to the resources that enable them to live.  Because the gods have failed to do justice, they are guilty of destroying human life and community as God intends them. Thus they deserve to die. The death of the gods opens the way for God’s reign of justice, for which the psalmist prays in v 8 “rise up”.

    Reflection
    The use of mythology can be a challenge.  Is it helpful in this psalm?

    At the foundation of Psalm 82 is the premise that injustice destroys the world.  Do you agree?

    Compared to the council of gods, the God of Israel is a God of compassion.  Is Psalm 82 motivation for us to do justice and mercy, because God does?


    Psalm 83
    O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! Even now your enemies are in tumult; those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against those you protect. They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more.” They conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant—the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah

    Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon, who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take the pastures of God for our own possession.”

    O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane. Fill their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace. Let them know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.

    Background
    Psalm 83 implies a crisis.  It could be referring to the exile.  The nations assert themselves against God and God’s people.  Like other psalms, this psalmist recalls outstanding instances of God’s deliverance of the people.  Vss 16 and 18 suggest that the ultimate purpose of God is not to destroy but to reconcile.  What God wills is that all the earth “know”, that is, recognize who truly rules the world.  The result will be a reign of justice and righteousness that characterizes God’s rule as opposed to the rule of autonomous nations or the rule of the gods. 

    Reflection
    Is this image of God as a violent warrior more acceptable when the people are oppressed?

    Psalm 83 is finally a call to the people of God to be humble.  How difficult is humility when your very life is threatened?

    The prophets reminded Israel that they could and did become the ones who obstructed the coming of God’s kingdom in the world.  Isn’t it easier to identify an external enemy (the wicked) than to take responsibility?


    Psalm 131
    O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

    O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

    Background
    Psalm 131 is the twelfth of the Songs of Ascents.  The metaphor of a child with its mothers likely indicates that the author is a woman.  Some scholars have indicated that Psalm 131 may have originally been uttered by a woman as she carried her young child along the way to Jerusalem, perhaps even up the steps toward the Temple.  The psalmist is free of destructive pride and haughty thoughts.  In both thought and deed, she has been humble.  The psalmist finds peace in her acceptance by and dependence upon God.  She really has found a certain equilibrium.  The child is not an infant but a “weaned child.”  (v 2) The image of the loving, comforting mother embracing her needy child portrays Israel’s hope.  The vulnerable God whose choices are restricted by the rebellious stance of the wicked and by the iniquities of God’s own people will finally do nothing other than lovingly embrace God’s children, including both the victims of pain and those who by their iniquities have inflicted pain upon other people and upon God.  Such love and amazing grace are the hope of Israel and of the world.

    Reflection
    Does the image of a mother and child give a strong analogy for God’s grace and love?

    Could the image of the child be that of Israel who is to be just as dependent upon God as the child is of its mother?

    There is a suggestion that this woman may have been able to understand dependence on God better given the role of women in her culture.  This is not a justification of oppression.  Can we see it as a way of finding hope in an unjust society?

  • Friday

    Psalm 84
    How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

    Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah

    Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

    O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
    Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. 

    For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.

    Background
    This psalm may have been recited or sung by pilgrims as they made their way toward, or walked about Jerusalem.  Verse 1 seems to offer the psalmist’s enthusiastic response upon first seeing the city or the Temple, an experience the psalmist reflects upon in verse 2.  This psalm articulates the experience of generations of pilgrims, trusting God, in various times and places have derived from their experience of God a strength that transforms their lives.  Verse 2 communicates the power of the place, “my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.”  “Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself,” (v 3) is an indication of the feeling of ‘home’ in the Temple.  Ultimately, the psalmist’s praise is not of the place, but of God.  The pilgrims bring blessing, and they, themselves, are transformed by their experience in the Temple.  The ultimate goodness is to be near God.

    Reflection
    Reflect on those ‘places’ that have had a spiritual impact on you, where you have felt closest to God?  It may not be physical building(s).

    Psalm 84 has been set to music.  The words of v 10 are center in a contemporary piece, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”  Do you find yourself longing for this kind of spiritual experience?

    Could the experience of Holy Communion offer a similar ‘closeness’ to God, as the Jerusalem Temple did for the Jews?  Reflect on your experience during communion.


    Psalm 85
    Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
    You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.

    Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

    Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

    Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

    Background
    Psalm 85 is known primarily for its striking portrayal of God’s promise of peace and salvation in vs 8 - 13.  The psalm is a call for God to ‘turn’.  “Will you be angry with us forever?” (v 5) The gifts prayed for in v 4 – steadfast love and salvation – are promised in vs 8 - 13.  “Salvation is at hand” (v 9) In a sense, the gifts are conditional; God’s salvation will be experienced by those who fear God.  But the gifts exceed any possibility of human merit or accomplishment.  The focus is clearly on God’s character and activity.  Steadfast love and faithfulness are at the heart of God’s character.  God’s character and activity will fill the universe from ground to sky (v 11).The psalm affirms, in essence, that God will be with and for the people.

    Reflection
    Vs 8 - 13 is an eschatological prayer that Christians have experienced in Jesus Christ, amid the ongoing brokenness of the world.  Could these verses be a foundation for your prayers?

    “Restore us again” (v 4) could be a Christian prayer, given that we are looking for Christ to return.  Christians have already experienced the presence of God in Jesus Christ, but the promised second coming leaves us expecting further salvation.  How do you experience the presence of God through Christ, and also thirst for His coming again?

    Have you ever been at the point of seeing the ‘anger’ of God?  Is an action of “anger’ part of your understanding of God’s nature?


    Psalm 86
    Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.

    There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

    O God, the insolent rise up against me; a band of ruffians seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your serving girl. Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

    Background
    Immediately the psalmist includes themselves among those for whom God has special concern, the “poor and needy.” (v 1) Using the word “devoted” in v 2 (the same Hebrew root as the word “steadfast love”) suggests that the psalmist’s identity is bound with God’s identity.  In essence, the psalmist belongs to God.  Only God can “save”, or give life, so the psalmist entrusts their life to God.  Because God is merciful, good, forgiving, and loving, the psalmist appeals to God for life.  The nations recognize God’s sovereignty and respond to “bow down before you.” (v 9) The psalmist desires life and identity to be shaped by God’s will.  As the psalmist awaits God’s help, they remain convinced of God’s sovereignty, which will finally be revealed as love.

    Reflection
    In the midst of opposition, this psalmist somehow knows and experiences God’s goodness, mercy and love.  The psalmist knew what it means to be justified by faith.  Is there a time in your life when you experienced God’s goodness in the face of opposition?

    The psalmist has faith that God still rules the world, and yet hopes for a better life ahead.  We, as Christians, have similar faith based on Christ, with a hope for a “kingdom to come.”  How is this tension evident in your life?

    A major part of Psalm 86 is the psalmist’s openness to God’s instruction.  Do you seek God’s instruction in your life?


    Psalm 132
    O Lord, remember in David’s favor all the hardships he endured; how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, “I will not enter my house or get into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

    We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool.”

    Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy. For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

    The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.”

    For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation: “This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread. Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy. There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”

    Background
    Psalm 132 is the thirteenth of the Songs of Ascents.  The Songs of Ascents probably originally served as a collection used by pilgrims on the way to or upon arrival at Jerusalem.  Psalm 132 recalls the account of David’s bringing the ark to Jerusalem.  Vs 6 - 7 may indicate that pilgrims to Jerusalem understood their journey as being analogous to King David’s earlier journey to Jerusalem with the ark.  They, too, are accompanied by the presence of God.  They realize that God has already taken up the divine residence in Jerusalem.  God, not David, “has chosen Zion”. (v 13) The psalm concludes on a note of hope.  Some, no doubt, looked toward a literal restoration of the Davidic monarchy.  Others seem to have applied the Davidic ideology to the people as a whole.  Others have seen the fulfillment of Davidic hope in Jesus “proclaimed as the son of David.”

    Reflection
    The people were reenacting David’s carrying the arc into Jerusalem.  Consider some aspects of Christian liturgical practices (such as carrying the cross to the altar) that may be similar.

    Psalm 132 is a reassurance of the covenant God made with David, “from which he will not turn back.” (v 11) Do you understand your faith to be within a covenant with God?

    Consider the role of Jerusalem from the Christian perspective.  It likely does not hold the same significance as to the Jews.  However, it was the seat of early Christianity and the place of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.  What role do you believe Jerusalem plays for Christians?

  • Saturday

    Psalm 87
    On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah

    Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopia—“This one was born there,” they say.

    And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in it”; for the Most High himself will establish it. The Lord records, as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah

    Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”

    Background
    Psalm 87 has many interpretive difficulties and scholars and translators have often resorted to rearranging the text to attempt a smoother reading.  The psalm asserts that Jerusalem is God’s city.  The striking imagery that Psalm 87 employs to assert Jerusalem’s worldwide significance gives the psalm a poetic power that makes it unique.  Just as God’s name is glorified, so also are “glorious things” said about God’s place. (v 3) The city itself makes God known.  To know the city is to know God, and vice versa.  What is striking about the list of nations that know God – and thus count Jerusalem as their hometown – is that it consists of traditional enemies.  The nations call Jerusalem home because the God of Zion claims them as God’s own people.

    Reflection
    Remember the covenant with Abraham, that Israel would be blessed, ‘to be a blessing’.  The list of nations in Psalm 87 may remind us of the universality of the Hebrew covenant.  Can you imagine the extent of that covenant promise today, for Christians?  Who are the ‘enemies’ that might be a challenge to include?

    Remember that Jerusalem is claimed as a special place not only by Jews, but by Christians and Muslims as well.  Is Jerusalem truly a physical foundation for the unification of God’s people?

    The Day of Pentecost in Christian tradition, is a symbol of the Holy Spirit acting among ‘the nations’.  Consider how the covenant of Abraham, where Jews are called to be a blessing to the others, is present in Christianity.  Is the inclusion of Gentiles in the early church an example?


    Psalm 88
    O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.

    For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help, like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

    You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call on you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah
    Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

    But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. O Lord, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me? Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate. Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long; from all sides they close in on me. You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in darkness.

    Background
    Psalm 88 is clearly a prayer for help, an individual lament.  The severity of the complaint makes the psalm distinctive.  “Darkness” is literally the last word of the psalm.(v 18) Although Psalm 88 is pervaded by darkness, it begins with the psalmist addressing God as the one who saves (salvation).  For the psalmist to make an appeal to God is indicative of an underlying trust in God’s fundamental character. The psalmist’s complaint is bitterly and brutally honest.  In verse 14 the psalmist asks, “O Lord, why do you cast me off?”  The psalmist has cried out in affliction but God has not responded.  Thus the psalmist remains afflicted, and “desperate”. (v 15) The psalmist is under attack by God.  The psalm ends with a reminder of the psalmist’s complete alienation, with the pitiful statement that “my companions are in darkness”, (v 18)  or as the NIV translation says, “the darkness is my closest friend.”

    Reflection
    God is the problem, but God is also the solution.  However, this psalmist focuses to a greater extent than others on affliction.  Have you ever found yourself focused more on your affliction than the hope for salvation?

    Christians may see this psalm in light of the crucifixion of Jesus.  In the cross is faithfulness amid complete abandonment.  Have you found yourself in the cross culture praying endlessly for Easter?

    Is Psalm 88 a hopeful psalm for you, i.e. to remind us that even in utter darkness we do not stand alone?


    Psalm 89
    I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

    You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David: ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

    Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him? O Lord God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it—you have founded them. The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance; they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness. For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

    Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: “I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him; my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted. I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’ I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him, and my covenant with him will stand firm. I will establish his line forever, and his throne as long as the heavens endure. If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances, if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges; but I will not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His line shall continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun. It shall be established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah

    But now you have spurned and rejected him; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust. You have broken through all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins. All who pass by plunder him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword, and you have not supported him in battle. You have removed the scepter from his hand, and hurled his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah

    How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is— for what vanity you have created all mortals! Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah

    Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples, with which your enemies taunt, O Lord, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.

    Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.

    Background
    In this psalm, the failure of the monarchy seems to bespeak the very failure of God.  Verses 1 -2 introduce the two key words in Psalm 89: “steadfast love” and “faithfulness.”  God’s love will be proclaimed forever.  God’s love is “firm” as is David’s throne and God “established” the divine faithfulness as God “will establish” David’s line.  God’s rule in history is evidence of God’s cosmic power. The whole world belongs to God.  Happiness results from submission to God.  Verses 38 - 45 describe the occurrence of the unthinkable.  This is not just punishment; this is rejection which links conceptually the fate of Jerusalem with the fate of the Davidic king. The climactic question is in v 49, which employs for the seventh time each of the two key words in the psalm, “steadfast love”, and ‘faithfulness.”

    Reflection
    This psalm originated sometime around the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.  It forces reflection on the nature of God’s reign with the destruction of God’s city (Jerusalem), the captivity of God’s people, and the disappearance of the earthly agent of God’s rule (the king).  Can you imagine the total destruction and the challenge to your image of God?  How would you react in a similar situation?

    There is an apparent incongruity between God’s sovereignty and the prosperity of the wicked.  It calls the people to decide between righteousness and wickedness.  The issue is unresolved in Psalm 89.  Consider your journey and the times you have had to make this decision.

    The monarch, especially King David, was very closely related to Israel’s understanding of God’s rule.  Can you imagine the impact on Israel with the downfall of the monarchy?  Is there a contemporary equal?  Is there something/someone who seems as close and integral to our understanding of God’s reign that if taken away, would have similar affect?


    Psalm 133
    How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

    Background
    Psalm 133 is the fourteenth of the Songs of Ascents.  Like several other Songs of Ascents, Psalm 133 uses imagery of the family.  One scholar, though, suggests that this psalm is about reunification of the country, referring to “the dew of Hermon” (v 3) representing the people of the northern kingdom, to flow down upon Zion, the center of the southern kingdom.  It seems though that the focal point of Psalm 133 is finally not on family but on Zion, which is the gathering place for God’s larger family.  The pilgrims gathered there to receive God’s blessing.  Verse one introduces the concept of unity or harmony.  Harmony does not always prevail within extended family.  When it does, according to verse 1, it is “very good and pleasant.”  The word “blessing” in verse 3 gives meaning to the use of “good and pleasant” in verse 1.  But the end of the poem it is clear that the ultimate goodness that God intends is the gathering of God’s larger family, the whole people of God.  When God’s people gather in Jerusalem, God’s place, they experience their true family and home, for they are in touch with the true source of their life – God’s presence.  It is the abundant life which Israel can only receive in its unity.

    Reflection
    The family image certainly speaks to us.  Think about the blessing of YOUR family, but also the brokenness that can occur, causing pain.

    We live in a very divided nation now, not geographically, but ideologically.  America once was divided and it led to a civil war over the issue of slavery.  We have some of the same history as Israel that might help us to understand the desire for unity of the northern and southern kingdoms.  Is unity an important goal for you, which would bring the kind of blessing the psalmist describes?

    Can we expand this image of unity beyond national borders?  Can we ask what blessing might a larger gathering of God’s children, around the world, be?  Maybe not in a physical place such as Jerusalem, but a unity of spirit, and concern for each other.  Reflect on the blessings of unity for ALL of God’s children.