The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. – Psalm 146:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 31, 2019): Psalm 146

Immigrant. The word produces a different image to different people. Left-leaning news organizations tend to lean on pictures of parents with children or weary travelers that have wandered thousands of miles in search of a better life. These are ordinary people who have been oppressed to the point where leaving home and all that is familiar is the only answer that they can see that might solve their problem. The immigrant, and only the Native Americans can claim that their families were never foreigners living in a strange land, is one that deserves our pity and to be treated with respect until we can decide whether their case can be adjudicated in such a way as to allow them to become permanent immigrants in the land.

From the right, the picture is much different. For this group of people, immigrant is synonymous with criminal. They are liars and cheats trying to find their way into the country. Children are mules, excuses that place a respectable story on the reasons why the immigrant came to us in the first place. But even they are not innocent. The immigrant is just another name for people that we do not want in our country. And we will take whatever steps necessary to keep them on the other side of the border. They are nothing more than revolutionaries and gang members, and their only reason for being in this country is to be the source of pain for the rest of us.

I think the truth is probably somewhere between the two extreme views. Are there criminals within the group of people trying to immigrate into our countries? Most definitely. But every study that I have read tells me that the vetting process in most nations means that there is a lower percentage of criminals among the immigrant populations than there is among those who were naturally born in our country. Most of the people come fleeing pain somewhere else. And the only way that we will stop them from coming is if we are willing to change the situation that they experience at home.

But on another side of the coin, we need to recognize the voice of God when it comes to the immigrant who lives among us or the ones who cross our borders, even if that crossing is illegal. God takes particular pleasure in watching over the immigrant; he is protective of the vulnerable. And if we have any dream of being on his team, then this will be our role as well. We cannot say that God is remaking us in his image as long as we are mistreating the foreigner who lives among us. Taking care of the vulnerable is one of our tasks, placed before us by the God that we serve. And if we are his, we will find a respectable way of dealing with the strangers who walk among us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 147

“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,” let Israel say; “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me.” – Psalm 129:1-2

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 30, 2019): Psalm 129 & 130

I appear to be frequently told what it is that I cannot do. People seem to want me to know what it is that will not work. And often, the message that I receive is repeated regularly. “We have never done it that way before” becomes the mantra of those who do not want to violate the status quo. If we have never done it that way, then it follows that is should not be done that way, at least, in the minds of some. The hope, of course, is that if we are told something enough times, that we will stop trying. If we are told enough that our ideas won’t work, we will stop trying to come up with new ways of doing things. If we are told enough that we are not good enough, maybe we will get the message and stop trying to accomplish things. If we are told enough that we are worthless, perhaps we will fade into the background and stop bothering people. If we are continually oppressed, maybe we will identify the oppression as just a reality of life and stop straining against the chains.

The opening words of Psalm 129 are another place where I slightly prefer the King James Version rendering over that of the New International Version. In the King James, the translation is; “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth,” may Israel now say: “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.” (KJV) Many a time, so often that I can’t give you the accurate count, have my enemies told me that I was worthless, that my ideas didn’t measure up, that I wasn’t worth the breath needed to keep me alive. Too many times to remember have they tried to defeat me. They have taken away my food, and they have barred my path to water. Too many times, my enemies have surrounded me, or alternatively, they have ignored me as if I was not worth listening to, and they have let my pleas for help to go unanswered. But what they have not been able to do is defeat me.

Many a time, repeated twice. So many times that Psalmist can’t name them all. But Israel survived instead of giving in to “Many a time.” There were opportunities to give up, times when no one would have blamed them for saying enough is enough, we quit. Israel will be no more. We will fold ourselves into the peoples of the other nations and be called by their names instead of being called the children of Jacob or Israel.

Many a time. We know some of these oppressors, both before the Psalmist wrote this Psalm, and the many that have come afterward. We call them the Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Syrians, Greeks, and the Romans. The ones who have oppressed the Jews were called Athenians, The Roman Catholics, the city kings of Europe, the Muslims, the Czars, and the Nazi’s. There are others and more in the “Many a time” of the Psalmist.

And yet, Israel still stands as a distinct group of people with an incredible history. A history that the Christian Church often wants to share with them, because, like Israel, we want the world to know that we are not going anywhere.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 146

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. – Psalm 126:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 29, 2019): Psalm 126

I am a dreamer. I don’t remember a time that I have not been accompanied by my dreams. I have many aspirations for the future. In fact, I think I would die if I did not have my hopes and plans for tomorrow. It is my dreams that get me out of bed in the morning. And it is my dreams that keep me motivated during the day. My dreams, even the silly ones, are an essential part of who I am. And I can’t imagine what it might be like not to have them.

But the Psalmist had apparently experienced a time when the dream was missing. It was a time when thinking about the future just didn’t make any sense, because the pain of the present made the possibility of tomorrow seem so far away. It is the challenge of anyone who suffers from depression in our own culture. For whatever reason, and sometimes for no reason at all, the dream has died and tomorrow seems like it is an unattainable ideal. The future becomes the undiscovered country, which we will never reach because it has become unreachable. It is a place where there are no dreamers.  

The dating of the Psalms is hard, and often we are attracted by the significant events that we know, but there are so many variables and events that are essential to the biblical story, but about which we have no knowledge. We are placing it here, but it could easily be placed at the end of the time period covered by the Hebrew Bible as the people of Israel are returning home from the Babylonian captivity. Or maybe this is a prophecy of that time, of what it might be like to be removed from your home and forced to move to a different city where you feel that you no longer possess a future. And then, suddenly, the time comes when you can return home.

But whatever the historical reality of the Psalmist might be, the dream of the future has been absent in his life for a long time. But now, Zion, likely the City of David, Jerusalem, had been given back its hope. And because the City of David had hope, the nation had hope. And to the Psalmist, the dream that made life worth living has finally returned, and the Psalmist once again can state emphatically that he is a dreamer.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 129 & 130

Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. – Psalm 120:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 28, 2019): Psalm 120 & 121

Some years ago, I had a conversation with an older pastor who was on his way out of the denomination to which we both belonged in favor of the denomination of his youth. His reason for leaving stopped me. It had nothing to do with having more friends or that more opportunities that might have been available with a different group of churches, and it had nothing to do with worship style or conflict within the denomination. The issue that had led him to the decision had to do with peace. The denomination to which we both belonged at the time had no policy on war or peace. It was a decision that the church leaders had decided needed to be dealt with at the local level of the churches or even left as a matter of conscience among the believers. The denomination of his youth had a strong message of peace and pacifism, and it was to that message that my friend wanted to return.   

From a denominational perspective, I am not sure what the answer should be to our dilemma about peace. But I will admit that sometimes I think our conscience, with regard to the subject of war and violence, has let us down. I am not anti-gun, but I think that something has to be done about the gun violence in our world. For me, gun ownership is a privilege that we should have to earn rather than a right that we are given. I think that there are times when war seems like an unfortunate necessity, but sometimes we get to that point of necessity too quickly. And sometimes, it is too easy to become the Christian bully on the block. Christians in the Western World have earned the title of the “gods of war,” and I am convinced that it is not a title with which we should be at ease.

It is not that we hate peace, or that we love war, but instead that we don’t love peace enough, or hate war enough. And maybe we love getting our own way more than we should. As Christians, we need to get to the point where we realize that how we get there is very important. If we reach the goal that we want to achieve by lying, the cost is too high. The path that we take on the way to our goals is essential, and part of what it means to be a Christian.

And as Christians, we can live in peace even in a world that does not support our beliefs. And if you question that, just look at the early church. They made a massive difference in the world that did not accept any of the significant issues that the Christians held close. Yet, they were the voice of peace and love in their world, even paying the ultimate price for their faith. Peace reigned in their midst because they would not entertain any other reality. They were a people who truly loved peace.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 126

Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. – Psalm 119:161

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 27, 2019): Psalm 119:145-176

The sad story of Lady Jane Grey actually begins with the reign of King Edward VI. Edward was the son of Henry VIII. Henry VIII is probably best known for his series of marriage crises that led to Henry’s departure from the Roman Catholic Church and the rise of the English Reformation. Henry VIII wanted a legitimate son to succeed him. He had one, Henry, born on January 1, 1511, to Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. But the child only lived for twenty-two days, and Catherine was unable to provide Henry with another son. And so he began to chase through wives in pursuit of a son, having his first two marriages voided so that he could marry someone else. Jane Seymour became his third wife, and she gave birth to Edward on October 12, 1537. But the pregnancy left her weak, and Jane Seymour died on October 24, 1537, less than two weeks after Edward’s troubled birth.

Edward VI began his reign as the King of England and Ireland upon the death of his father, Henry VIII, on January 28, 1547. Edward was all of nine years of age when he took his father’s crown as his own. But early in 1553, Edward became sick, and it looked like he would die. So Edward, at the age of fifteen, had to work out his own plan of succession. As a fifteen-year-old, Edward had no children. Because his father had voided the marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, his older sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, were considered to be illegitimate, and therefore could not inherit the throne of England. So Edward took the step of naming his successor; enter Lady Jane Grey. Jane Grey was his cousin, once removed and was a descendant of Henry VII through Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary.

Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, but his death is kept secret for four days. On July 10, Jane rises to the throne on the strength of the succession declaration signed by the young Edward VI. She was sixteen or seventeen at the time, slightly older than her predecessor. But her reign would be short. On July 19, 1553, nine days after becoming queen, Jane is arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Parliament had overturned Edward’s choice of succession in favor of his older sister, the once considered illegitimate Mary. Jane, once the queen of England, was now a resident of the prison at the Tower of London, and would live there until her execution on February 12, 1554. In less than a year, she went from being a friend of Edward VI to being Queen, and then prisoner, and finally executed because she was considered to be a threat to the throne of Mary I, now the Queen of England.

It seems that Jane’s major crime was that she was the friend of Edward and that Edward had named her as his successor. As she knelt before the executioner who was preparing to take off her head, she recited Psalm 51, in English; “Have mercy upon me, O God.” Jane’s last words were also the last words of Jesus, as recorded by Luke. “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

Jane could have recounted this portion of Psalm 119. “Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word.” Mary could demand Jane’s life for no other reason than that Mary was Queen, and Jane was not. But in the end, Jane knew that her spirit belonged to God, and not the queen who we would come to know as Bloody Mary. Jane may have been persecuted by an earthly queen, but her heart trembled at the word of God,       

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 120 & 121

Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. – Psalm 119:124

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 26, 2019): Psalm 119: 97-144

Charles Dickens wrote “Oliver Twist,” which was first published as a serial, from 1837 – 1839. The novel has become known for its realistic or unromanticized portrayal of criminal life as well as for exposing the cruel treatment of many of the orphans living during the era in which Dickens was writing. In 1948, a movie was released telling the Dickens story starring John Howard Davies in the role of Oliver. One of the more memorable scenes from the film is of Oliver pleading for more food, and subsequently having his pleas ignored.

I have to admit that it is that scene that comes to mind as I listen to news reports regarding the United States government arguing over the fate of children crossing the Southern border of the country. We have differing stories about the conditions present in the facilities where the children, who are essentially orphans, are being kept. Provocative images of “children being marched like little soldiers or prisoners” are repeated by Democratic Presidential hopefuls. And the bottom line of the problem is the way that we consider the children. If they are just a means to an end, or if they are nothing more than a problem to be solved, then we will deal with them in a certain way; enter the story of Oliver Twist who never seemed to be more than a means to an end. But if we deal with these children according to our capacity to love, then the situation would be very different.

The plea of the Psalmist is that God would deal with us according to his capacity to love. Not according to his righteousness, to which we can never measure up. And not according to the problem that we present to his plan for this world, and there is no doubt that we present a significant barrier to God’s vision of what this world might look like. Instead, he says, at least in this place in the Psalms, that God would deal with us according to his love.

Love changes everything. In Oliver Twist, what is evident throughout the story is the lack of love present as various characters try to use the children to get what they want. Children are simply things to be tolerated or tools to be used. But the needs of the children are the last thing on the minds of those who deal with Oliver and his friends. The presence of love would have changed the Dickens story. The situation on the southern border would also be changed by love. And our lives should be shaped by it. We who have been dealt with according to God’s love for us should be a conduit of that love to others, even those who might be considered to be “least of these.” And the children are definitely, at least politically, “the least of these.”    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:145-176

Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. – Psalm 119:61

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 25, 2019): Psalm 119:49-96

It is an old story and features a long-haired male protagonist. His name was Samson, and he was the original strong man. Samson did many feats of strength during his life, but sometimes we miss that these feats of strength were never part of Samson’s purpose. God had blessed him so that he could be the instrument God would use protecting Israel from her enemies. And Samson was a Nazirite, which formed a significant part of his relationship with God. The vows of a Nazirite were often taken for relatively short periods, maybe a year, and it signified a consecration to God by abstaining from alcohol, letting the hair grow long, and refraining from coming in contact with dead bodies. Samson was different because his Nazirite vows were made for the entire length of his life. There were very few lifelong Nazirites in the history of Israel, although John the Baptist may also have been a Nazirite like Samson.

The myth that we seem to have accepted is that the secret of Samson’s strength was his long hair, but that is not true. The secret of Samson’s strength was grounded in his unique relationship with God, this lifelong commitment to a Nazirite way of life. So, during the incident with Delilah, she keeps asking Samson how to negate his great strength. The truth, from Samson’s point of view, was that there was no way to make him as weak as any other man. He was Samson, and Samson was strong. And so he tells Delilah that if he was tied with seven fresh bowstrings that he would become weak. But that was a lie. Next Samson says that new ropes that have never been used would make him as weak as any other man. And that was also a lie. The next suggestion was weaving his hair into fabric would make him weak. But that, too, was a lie. It was a game that Sampson was willing to play until Delilah got tired of playing it. Samson’s next suggestion is essential to the rest of the story.

“No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man” (Judges 16:17).

I think that Samson thought that this, too, was just one more lie. It was evident that Delilah could not be trusted with the information, so why would he tell her the truth, especially when the truth was simply that the strong man was Samson, the strong man. But it was in this act that he forgot his devotion to God; he forgot the law of God and treated things of God and commitments to God with a severe lack of respect.

I have no idea whether it was Samson that the Psalmist had in mind as he wrote these words, but it is the story of Samson that comes to my mind as I read the words. Samson was bound with ropes, and they held him because he forgot about God and his laws. Samson forgot, for a moment, that it was God who was strong. He was not Samson, the strong man, he was Samson, the Nazirite. And without God, Samson was as weak as any other man.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:97-144

Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds. – Psalm 119:27

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 24, 2019): Psalm 119:1-48

Albert Einstein argued that “any fool can know. The point is to understand.” Knowledge is often easy. But understanding how all of the pieces fit into the puzzle is much harder. As Christians, it seems to be easy to go to church on Sunday and parrot the words of Jesus ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:40) and then walk out the door and forget the words as we deal with the immigrants and strangers living in our neighborhoods. We repeat the instructions from the “Sermon on the Mount” to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and then react with anger at those who are angry with us. Or maybe we listen to a retelling of the story of the Good Samaritan on Sunday reminding us that everyone is our neighbor and then react as if those who hold different political ideas than we do are the enemy and deserving of our disdain. We forget that Paul says that “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) and then treat the different races or even the women leaders who work with us as if they are “less-than.”

The problem is that we have knowledge, but not understanding. We know the stories of the Bible and the teachings that the Scripture presents, but we seem to struggle with how to apply the lessons when we are not in church, or even to those who are unlike us when we are in church. As a result, there is a swath of hurting and damaged people who have been left in the wake of Christianity. All because we know, but we don’t understand.

The prayer of the Psalmist is that we would be able to understand the teachings of God so that we can meditate on the wonderful way that God is working in our midst. But without understanding our reality is that God is at work among us, but our knowledge keeps getting in the way of the wonderful things that God is attempting to do in our world.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:49-96

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. – Psalm 118:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 23, 2019): Psalm 118

A proverb argues that “before you meet the handsome prince you have to kiss a lot of toads.” The etymology of the phrase is probably relatively contemporary, because in the original Grimm Fairy Tale of “The Frog Prince” there was no kissing involved. (Yeah, that surprised me too.) But the problem is that when you are sitting on the river bank, it is impossible to tell which toad (or frog) conceals the handsome prince inside.

I have to admit that I feel the same way during every election season. The easy copout is to vote according to your established party lines. But recently I have discovered that there are some toads masquerading as princes who are representing the political parties that I would generally support. I also have a severe aversion to name-calling and negative campaigning that seems to be the game plan of many of the populist candidates. And so I have no choice but to return to the riverbank and begin kissing toads (figuratively, of course.)

The psalmist argues that it is better to take refuge in God than to place your trust in the princes or the political leaders of this world. And part of the problem is the high probability that a political leader is likely to be a frog pretending to be a prince. But the other problem is that even the best of leaders is going to have places where they are weak. And we seem to be unable to overlook the inevitable warts that appear on any of those who lead us.

God is beyond our weaknesses and political parties. Our allegiance should never be to a political party, its leaders, or even to a particular way of thinking; our loyalty can only be to God. And it is only in him that we can truly find our refuge. And in him, we find the constants by which we need to be able to live our lives.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:1-48

Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. – Psalm 117:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 22, 2019): Psalm 116 & 117

One of the original struggles of the church that Jesus left behind had to do with its identity. Who were these people who had become worshippers of the Jewish Messiah? From outside of the church, these followers of Jesus were primarily seen as a Jewish sect. These were Jews or Gentiles who had either converted to Judaism or were in the process of converting to Judaism, who made up this group of believers who followed Jesus Christ. Outside the church, this was settled fact. But inside the church, a war was being waged. On one side were the converted Pharisees, sometimes referred to as the Judaizers, who believed that to become a Christian a person had first to adopt the laws of Judaism, including the controversial law that required that all the men had to be circumcised. On the other side of the argument was a new convert to Christianity from Judaism named Paul and a few of his close associates who asserted that while Christianity was connected to the Jewish faith because it worshiped the Jewish Messiah and because it took its historical and prophetical framework from Judaism. But Paul believed that Christianity had superseded its predecessor and become a faith on its own merits.  

The Psalmist would seem to agree. Psalm 117 is the shortest Psalm in the Psalter. In English, it consists of two verses, and in Hebrew, it is just sixteen words. And the Psalm begins with this assertion; every nation should praise God. This is not directed at only one group of people or one faith system. Yahweh is not only the national God of Israel. He is Lord over all of the earth, and his concern is for all of the people of this planet. Therefore, it follows that all of the people should praise him.

Paul insists that the promises that God gave to Abraham were for all of the world, through Jesus Christ. To the Galatian Church, Paul writes this; “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

The promises of God are fulfilled through Jesus, not just to Israel, but to all of the world. God’s purpose for Abraham was that the whole world would be blessed through him, and Paul argues that that blessing comes through Jesus. And as we are blessed, it is natural that we would want to give our praise to him. Yahweh remains the God of all of the nations, and all of the many peoples who inhabit those nations. Give him your praise.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 118

It is not the dead who praise the LORD, those who go down to the place of silence … - Psalm 115:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 21, 2019): Psalm 115

In 1973, Johnny Stevenson and Alan O’Day wrote “Rock and Roll Heaven.” The song was first recorded by the rock band Climax, but it failed to chart. The next year, the Righteous Brothers recorded the song, and it topped out at number 3 on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100. (Personally, I like the “Climax” version of the song better.) The song talks about some of the artists that we had lost from the early days of Rock and Roll. Artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin all found their place in the original song. Since then, the lyrics of the song have been adjusted to reflect other artists that have died over the years, like John Lennon. But it is the chorus that we all remember.

If you believe in forever
Then life is just a one-night stand
If there's a rock and roll heaven
Well you know they've got a hell of a band, band, band

It is a play on the idea of the heavenly choir. One day we will all go and sing with that choir, and maybe even those of us who struggle to carry a tune will be able to find our place to sing in that chorus. But there is a problem with that choir, and with the band in our Rock and Roll Heaven. We can’t hear them. They may be playing right now; the choir in heaven might be busy singing a Fanny Crosby hymn, but the music doesn’t reach our ears.  We can’t hear them.

The Psalmist calls this a place of silence. Maybe it is not that they are silent, but just that their words can never intrude into our reality. After they leave our plane, we will never hear their testimony again until we go to the place where they are. If we want our words to carry in this world, they have to be spoken in this world.

Rock and Roll heaven concludes with the words;

There's a spotlight waiting
No matter who you are
Cause everybody's got a song to sing
Everyone's a star

But, if it is a song worthy of singing, it is a song that needs to be sung here, so the rest of us can hear the message of your voice.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 116 & 117

Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob … - Psalm 114:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 20, 2019): Psalm 113 & 114

What do these things have in common: broken bones, migraines, kidney stones, gallstones, urinary tract infections, root canals, and surgery? If your “Jeopardy” answer is “What are things that hurt?” you would be correct. But according to a recent article on the “Very Well Family” website, a more precise answer is “What hurts more than childbirth?” I have to admit that sometimes I wish we would talk more about what hurts more than the pains of childbirth. I know, my women friends like to brag that a man would never be able to survive the pain, and that is why God gave the burden to the females of the species. But our bragging about the pain of childbirth can have some unintended consequences.

I have a young friend who is part of those consequences. She recently married her High School sweetheart, but she also admits that she does not want children. The reason? She is scared of the birth process. She has heard many well-meaning women talk about how painful it is to give birth, and she is not sure that she wants to put herself through that kind of pain. Why would anyone want that experience? So sometimes it is good to understand that there are ordinary things of life that are more painful than childbirth. And that the childbirth experience is not the same for any two women.

But the difference that sets childbirth apart from a migraine or a kidney stone is that there is a positive result or reason for the pain in the end. In every one of these other cases, the goal is to just get to the other side and continue with life. But in the case of childbirth, the goal is the child; a child who will stay with you enriching your experience long after the pain has ceased. The focus of childbirth is never the pain that a woman goes through in order to give birth. The goal is the child who depends on its mother for life and guidance and who will make a positive difference in our world many years down the line.

We often miss the Psalmists point in the contemporary translations of this Psalm. It is not until this point that God is actually named. Here, for the first time in the Psalm, he is Adonai, the Lord. He is the God of Jacob. Up until this point, we have only had questions. Why did the earth shake with pain as the Red Sea fled or as the Jordan River turned back on its heels and retreated? Why did the ground shake and the hills dance at Mount Sinai at the presence of God? Was it just the natural pain of the planet, or was there a higher purpose involved? This is the grand question that the Psalmist is attempting to ask.

And the Psalmist has an answer. All of this trembling of the earth had a great purpose. “Tremble, earth” or maybe better, “Exist in pain, you earth” because you are about to give birth to a nation. The God of Jacob is going to do this. Out of Egypt, like a baby traversing the birth canal, is coming Israel. And the earth will tremble in the pain of its birth.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 115

Praise the LORD. Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands. – Psalm 112:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 19, 2019): Psalm 111 & 112

I attended a church recently where every time the worship leader said “Hallelujah,” always in response to something important he had just said, the people, in turn, replied, “Praise the Lord.” I found it a quaint expression of devotion that reminded me of times long passed. I remember, as a very young child, going to a church where those who sat in the congregation would often reply with exclamations of “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” to things that they heard from the pulpit, especially those comments that particularly hit home with them. But the difference in this church was that, where in the church of my youth the praise was initiated by the congregation, here the outburst of praise was always undertaken by the speaker. It was as if the speaker punctuated his message with “this is good stuff here, will somebody say something and tell me that you think it is good too.” Maybe it is my introverted ways, but it all seemed somewhat self-serving.    

Actually, “Praise the Lord” is just the English translation of “Hallelujah.” The opening words of this Psalm, and many others, are transliterated into “Halal (Praise) Yahh (the Lord; Yahh is a shortened form of Yahweh). We have taken this Hebrew phrased and morphed it into our Hallelujah. But the reality is that our praise must go beyond our words and into our actions. So the Psalmist declares, Praise the Lord! Blessed are those who find delight in his commands or who respond to his directions. Blessed are those who do what God desires.

There is some question as to whether Psalm 111 and 112 might have been initially intended to be a single Psalm. At the very least, the author of both Psalms appears to be the same, and Psalm 111 and 112 were likely written at the same time. The reason for this assertion is because the opening words of Psalm 112 appear to pick up where Psalm 111 leaves off. Psalm 111 ends with the idea that fear, or respect, for God is the beginning of wisdom. And Psalm 112 continues that thought by saying that we are blessed when that respect for God translates into actions that reflect what God desires, both for us and for our world.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 113 & 114

He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. – Psalm 107:33-34

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 18, 2019): Psalm 107

President Trump claims that the air is clearer and the water is purer than it has been in years. And all of this was achieved by repealing several laws designed to curb our tendency to pollute and desecrate our environment. It sounds almost too good to be true. And his opponents argue that it is. The environment is continuing to deteriorate at an unprecedented rate, and if something is not done soon, well, it may be too late for life on this planet. Which leaves the average person wondering who is telling the truth?

Often, the story told by our own eyes delivers a condemnation on how we live. As I walk through my neighborhood, the garbage that people have tossed onto the ground rather than holding to place in a trash receptacle continues to increase. To a certain extent, we are lessening the hold that fossil fuels have had on us for the past century and finding cleaner ways to power our lives, but that progress is slow. Severe weather seems to be on the increase. Devastating floods in some areas balance off the severe droughts that exist in other places. The weather would seem to be growing more and more unpredictable and out of control. And right now, we do not have the answer.

The author of Psalm 107 seems to have had a view into our times. I believe that care of our planet was one of the jobs that God gave to the ones created in his image way back in the Garden of Eden. Adam named and cared for all of the animals. One form of wickedness is to act as if we don’t have a responsibility to care for our world and the plants and animals with whom we share this planet, which are all the direct creation of God. Maybe in the Christian Church, we are the most guilty of this, treating the earth as if it was a disposable item which, when things get bad enough, will be replaced by a heavenly home that will not only be much better but also permanent, existing forever in a way that the earth never could. Or possibly it is that we believe that God will get us out of this mess, much like a spoiled child who thinks that Dad will just replace the toys he has broken.

Can God fix what we have destroyed? Most definitely. Will he? I don’t think so. The state of the earth is a lesson that he is teaching us. And the Psalmist argues that rivers drying up and land that once grew food now being laid to waste is a result of our own disobedience. I get it, living in a way that destroys the planet is easier. But since when did easy become right? 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 111 & 112

The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent. – Psalm 104:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 17, 2019): Psalm 104

I am pretty sure that Genesis Chapter one is a poet’s attempt to describe what is essentially the unexplainable – the creation of the world. Part of what convinces me of that fact is the poetic dualism that exists within the six days of creation. Day One sees the creation of light and darkness, while Day Four gives us the sun and the moon. On Day Two, we see the separation between the sky and the water, while on Day Five, we have the creation of birds for the sky and fish for the sea. On Day Three, we have the emergence of land, while on Day Six, we have the creation of animals and, lastly, man. It is a perfect poetic dualism that we sometimes miss. But it has also always bothered me that God created light on Day One, but that the Sun, the primary source of light in our Solar System, waits until Day Four. As part of a logical progression, it would seem to me that Sun must have been created on Day One, providing the light that God created on that day. But as a poetical rendering of creation, the Days of creation work perfectly.

But those who argue for a literal or semi-literal six days of creation often point to the idea that God is himself, light. That for light to be created on Day One, all that is really needed is the presence of God. There is no problem with the Sun waiting to find its creation until Day Four. It wasn’t needed until then, and maybe the Sun was never required. All we need is God for physical light to exist. And in heaven, God may well be the only light available and the only light that is needed or wanted.

Psalm 104 is another poetic description of the first five days of the creation. And in this poem, the Psalmist jumps off of the latter idea of the First Day of creation. God wraps himself in light, and that wrapping is the only light that is needed at the beginning of the creation of everything. God is our light. But it should be stressed that this is a poetic expression of the idea that God is the creator of and Lord over everything.

A contemporary Psalmist rephrases these words about the first day of creation this way.

He wraps himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God … (Chris Tomlin)

What we need to remember is that the poem, both in Psalm 104 and in Tomlin’s rephrasing of the idea, is in support of one truth – How great is our God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 107

Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. – Psalm 102:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 16, 2019): Psalm 102

Glenn Pemberton in “Hurting with God” writes that “we live in a world that is beyond our control, and life is in a constant flux of change. So we have a decision to make: keep trying to control a storm that is not going to go away or start learning how to live within the rain.” Several years ago, a friend of mine moved from an inland place of the sun to a coastal space that seemed to exist in the eternal rain. He remembers his son’s adaptation to the change. Day after day, the boy would come and stand at the large living room window and just watch the rain, hoping that one day the sun would shine. Finally, my friend took him aside and quietly suggested that maybe he needed to change his strategy. Instead of waiting for the day when the sun would shine, perhaps he needed to learn how to play in the rain. It is a challenge for all of us. We have dreams and things that we want to accomplish, but inside, we are waiting for that day when the sun is going to shine and make all our wishes come true.

The Psalmist is experiencing a time of rain. Things are not going as he wishes. He wants the sun to shine, and so he cries out to God. He wants God to hear his complaint. And maybe, if God heard, then things would change. And there is no doubt that God does change our reality. Sometimes, as a direct result of our prayers, the sun does shine.

But sometimes, God’s answer is to our prayers is to pull us aside and teach what it means to live within the rain. Because no matter what the problem might be that we are experiencing in the “now,” there always seems to be another storm cloud gathering on the horizon that is bringing with it the next unsolvable problem. And, sometimes, our best testimony is to say, “see how God moved and changed my reality.” But more often, our best witness is that we have learned to live within the rain, still depending on God.

Life is out of our control. And there is nothing new in that statement. We know that. But sometimes, instead of asking God to bring out the sun, we need to simply ask him to help us as we live within the rain. We need to request from God the strength to live within the storm that we are experiencing right now, and the one which is just coming over the horizon.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 104

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. – Psalm 100:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 15, 2019): Psalm 100

A decade ago, I conducted an experiment. For one Sunday evening service, I thought we could just sing the songs that meant something to us, the ones that we never seem to sing in church anymore. And so I gave the people of the church a chance to request a song, or an unlimited number of songs, that they wanted to sing on this summer evening. The requests began to pour in, which was a good sign. Some came from people who never made it to the evening form of worship service, and I doubted whether they would make it on this Sunday evening either. The votes began to mount. It quickly became apparent that there were some favorites, requested several times by different people, or maybe they were stuffing the ballot box or campaigning for their preferences. And I didn’t care. The evening worship service came, and we gathered to sing the songs of the people. For this evening, the only criteria were that a group of people wanted to sing the song. A Christmas carol was equal to an Easter hymn, or just an old Gaither chorus that had fallen by the wayside. I wasn’t going to preach. For a few of the songs, I would tell the story of the hymn writer, or maybe a memory that I had of the song and what it meant to me, but I didn’t pick any of them. All of the songs came on little slips of paper, requested by somebody else.

Late in the service, with only a couple of songs left, one older gentleman stood up with a question. Why had we packed one service with so many funeral songs? I looked down at the last two songs of the night that we were about to sing and recognized that they, too, could be considered funeral hymns. The simple answer was that we are singing these songs because they are the ones that you chose for this service. But there was also a more profound question. Why, in the middle of a beautiful Summer, had we chosen so many songs that could be sung at any funeral.

Maybe the most obvious answer is that often our songs focus on the next life instead of this one. “I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary,” “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” “In the Garden,” and many others of our favorite songs focus on what comes after death. And sometimes the songs that deal with this life are put down as being too shallow theologically for the church.

Recently, I took part in a social media discussion around the merits of the Christian Hit “Good, Good Father” as a worship song. The song did not fare well in the debate, most feeling that theologically it did not measure up. And yet, it is a happy tune with a message that I believe that we need to hear. Consider the chorus of the song.

You're a good good father
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am 

Some in the discussion thought that the words of the song were decidedly selfish, centering more on us than on God. But I disagree. The message is not a complex one, but it is a necessary one and one that we need to hear. God is a Good Father; it is part of his essential character. And we are loved by him. We are the beloved, which again is a consequence of the nature of God. It is a joyful song that concentrates on our life here and now. And the Psalmist insists that joyful songs are always welcome in God’s presence.

Don’t throw away all of those beautiful songs that remind us that our death is not the end, but we also need to remember that God intends us to be joyful in this life, and that our joy begins here and continues there, and that our songs should reflect that fact. After all, we are the beloved of God. What more could we want?

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 102

The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. – Psalm 99:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 14, 2019): Psalm 98 & 99

Is he dead or alive? It seems like an easy question, but often it is a problematic one, especially in times of conflict for people of power. There are often political reasons that favor either the life or death of a political leader. And so the decision of whether someone is alive or dead begins to have very little to do with whether the brain is still functioning or whether the heart is still beating. There is something more.

And so, when a political leader disappears off of the world stage for a period, the questions begin to swirl. Is he, or she, still alive? Or are his advisors hiding death in order to continue their time in power, or to keep the people in line with the direction of the elite? And maybe one of the examples of this dance of death is the demise of Adolf Hitler at the close of World War II. The best explanation of Hitler’s death that we possess indicates that Adolf Hitler committed suicide, either by poison or by shooting himself, and then his soldiers burned his body. The last step is an interesting one. It prevents the body from being examined. So those who wish Adolf Hitler to be alive can claim that he still secretly walks the earth. Those who desire him to be dead have no proof that that is true. The reaction by some was swift. The Russians photographed the dead body of the dictator. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and we tend to believe what it is that we see. And so a photograph of Adolf Hitler’s unburned dead body exists, but it would have to be a fake if Hitler’s body was actually burned, as seems to be the case. Of course, others are equally convinced that Hitler never did die, or at least he did not die at the end of the Second World War.   

The psalmist opens up the Psalm with the words “The Lord reigns.” Psalm 99 is not the only Psalm that opens up with these words. Psalm 93 and 97 also open up with the same three words. But here the Psalmist doubles down. God reigns, and he sits on his throne. This is not the story of a ruler who has disappeared off of the public stage. He is sitting on his throne. He not only is reigning, but there can be no doubt that he is alive and not dead.

The Psalmist argument is directed at the “God is Dead” movement of every age. They are wrong. The Lord reigns, he sits enthroned between the cherubim, and that is all that we need to know. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 100

Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. – Psalm 97:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 13, 2019): Psalm 97

One of my favorite quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr. is that “darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” (Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches). Light drives out darkness; it creates a space around it that the darkness cannot penetrate. No matter how dim the light, there is at least a small darkness free zone around the source of the light. It is something that darkness can never do. The only way to make an area dark is to cover up the source of light. There is no source of darkness and can disperse the light.

Dr. King argues that hate functions in the same way. Hate exists only in the negative. It is the absence of love. If love exists, then hatred cannot fill that space. The only way to allow hatred to expand in an area is to cover up the source of love. So, in the Christian Church, hatred should not exist, unless we are willing to reject the teachings of God through Jesus Christ. For hatred and bigotry to live in the church, first we have to cover the source of love.

The Psalmist says that “light shines on the righteous.” Most Hebrew manuscripts have “light is sown” on the righteous, and there is a bit of a debate over which rendering is the best. My preference is to stick with the majority of Hebrew Manuscripts. Light is sown on the righteous. And my choice is not just based on the idea that this is the majority reading. I love the idea that light is planted in us. God is light, and he places his light like a seed in our lives so that, if we will let that seed grow, we become the sources of the Light of God. To carry Dr. King’s analogy a little further, God also plants his love in our lives so that we become the sources of the Love of God. Darkness and hate can never take root in a place where God has planted his love and his light.

And maybe this was exactly what Jesus was trying to tell us when he said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 98 & 99