Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. – Psalm 125:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 15, 2019): Psalm 124 & 125

Faith can be nebulous and hard to define. I know many people who adamantly declare that faith in things that they cannot see is false and something that they could never possess. And before someone remarks that we cannot see the air that we breathe (hopefully, if we can then we are in deep trouble) or gravity, they would respond that while we cannot see it, we do know of its effects. I know of at least one person in my circle of acquaintances who would argue that gravity is just a theory. What we interpret as gravity is really only the “Law of Repeated or Repeatable Events.” We know that something will always drop to the ground if we let it go, and it is not otherwise suspended. That result might be because of gravity, but it might also be because of some other force at work. So we cannot say that gravity exists, only that specific actions tend to produce precise, predictable results. But faith does not necessarily produce predictable results, and therefore, faith is harder to understand or define. And, in the end, faith is hard because the movement of God is mysterious.

And yet, there are, and we are, people of faith. And often we try to make comparisons between our faith and the outside world that we see and with which we deal.

Psalm 125 is one of the Songs of Ascent. Traditionally it is understood that these Psalms were recited as the worshippers ascended into Jerusalem or the Lower Eastern Hill which at the time was known as Mount Zion. Another theory is that these songs were sung as the Levites moved up the fifteen steps to the Higher Eastern Hill, which has become known as Temple Mount, but at the time was also known as Mount Zion. (Not to confuse the issue, but today Mount Zion is identified as the Western Hill, just outside the old city walls.) But either way, the Psalmist was trying to pair this vague idea that we call faith with something genuine and physical, the Mountain that they were climbing. The Psalmist wanted the worshippers to know that their faith and trust were on just as firm ground as the mountain they were climbing. The hill would stand forever, and so would God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 131, 133, & 134