Threads from Henry's Web

Tag: Psalms

  • Psalm 119:150 – Conspiracy!

    Psalm 119:150 – Conspiracy!

    My enemies have formed a conspiracy against me,
    they are far from your instruction!

    Who is it that tends to get angry at what you are doing?

    That may seem like a question with negative assumptions, but you can learn quite a lot about someone by looking at the nature of their enemies. You can learn a great deal about yourself by looking for the folks who don’t like you.

    The problem with this approach is that it is often difficult to know just what it is about your actions that is making enemies. I have been aware of cases in which I made an enemy, not because of what I really intended to accomplish, but because of the abrasive way I went about accomplishing that. It would be easy for me to assume that the person(s) who became annoyed hated the good things I was trying to do, and thus became my enemies. In fact, it’s frequently the case that the way I’m going about trying to do good is stirring up opposition.

    Psalm 119 doesn’t identify David as the author, but David is often viewed as “the Psalmist.” David himself could be an abrasive character and make suboptimal decisions in how he went about things. Read the story of Absalom’s rebellion and you’ll see any number of cases in which David managed to rub people the wrong way, but wasn’t really aiming at something good.

    I’ve seen pastors come into a church with some very good ideas, and then see a wall of opposition built up against them because they are stepping on beloved traditions of that church, often without good preparation for necessary changes. “Machine-gunning the sacred cows,” is how one pastor of my acquaintance referred to this practice.

    Our verse presents a very clear distinction. We have bad guys who are coming after the writer. These bad guys are far from God’s law. Good guys and bad guys. Clear boundary lines. If you’re a good guy you know who to support.

    In reality, we rarely run into such a situation. We are rarely proposing perfect plans and our opponents are rarely opposing them because they are terrible people who know nothing of God’s law. Rather, things get tangled up in the gray area.

    And this makes our verse all that much more important. We should examine our activities to see if we are, in fact, working in accordance with God’s laws. We should also look carefully at our enemies, as horrible as they may appear to us, and ask if they are really the kind of reprobates we imagine them to be.

    If we can recognize the good and the bad in ourselves and others, we can often find much better ways to work together and accomplish God’s work.

    How can you make your approach less abrasive today?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:149 – Mercy and Life

    Psalm 119:149 – Mercy and Life

    Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness (hesed).
    Oh LORD, give me life according to your judgments.

    This is a very interesting verse. I think it is also challenging.

    We see two aspects of God’s grace and mercy working together here. First, the psalmist asks for mercy from God, and so should we. Listen to us as one who is merciful.

    But what is the result of this mercy? We often think mercy as the part where the authority cancels punishment or removes other negative effects of something one has done. But here mercy leads to the next part, giving life, and this life is according to God’s judgments. Those judgments call on us to be merciful. (See Hosea 6:6 in the Hebrew scriptures.) Jesus used this very concept in the beatitudes, with Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

    But this goes back to the call of Abraham in Genesis 12, where Abraham is told that God will bless him and others will be blessed through him.

    It’s easy to get this in reverse. We like to feel that we earn things. But the starting point is receiving God’s mercy, and one of the results is that we will learn to become merciful ourselves. We can think of this as a special action by God, but I would suggest that it is built into the fabric of the universe God created. We find this as the law of sowing and reaping. If we sow mercy, we reap mercy. That is, we help create an atmosphere in which mercy rules.

    Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged,” should likely be read in a similar sense. Don’t sow judgment and condemnation. Sow grace and forgiveness. Do this because you have received grace, and do it because grace is a good thing, and you can spread it to others. One of the best ways for someone to learn of God’s grace is to see God’s grace working in one of God’s professed (and hopefully real) followers.

    When we cry out to God, as this section of the Psalm has been describing, God doesn’t merely waive a penalty for things we have done. Yes, God does that. But God does much more. God begins to work, according to God’s judgment, on giving us life.

    And in all this we become partners with God in creating this life and this atmosphere of mercy and caring. We’re not God’s partners because we came with something new to contribute. Rather, we can give because we received.

    I want to add something the Psalm is not addressing. Mercy and caring are not economic goods. That means they are not scarce. You can care about additional people without running out. Caring about one person doesn’t mean you have to despise another. All people, not just the ones you or I happen to like, can receive God’s mercy and God’s care. And all people should receive our care.

    Who can you have mercy on today as God has had mercy on you?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI. First try, too!)

  • Psalm 119:147 – Before Dawn

    Psalm 119:147 – Before Dawn

    I got up before dawn and cried out.
    I put my hope in your words.

    I’ve said in some of these posts that there were many ways I could go, but, of course, I choose one. With today’s text, though there are doubtless a number of ways I could go, I really kept thinking of one thing: What’s with the early morning thing?

    Many people talk about their morning devotions, and emphasize prayer before you get up, and the importance of meeting God as you begin your day. This is supposed to make your day better. One of the side effects of this emphasis on morning devotions is that many who are not morning people simply decide devotions are not for them.

    Let me start with the procedure that I have used in producing these meditations. It starts in the evening, generally shortly after I go to bed. I read and begin thinking about the text I’ll write on the next evening. Then I look back at it through the day, especially if, as has happened multiple times, I actually forget which verse I’m meditating on while I’m working. In the evening I write my post on the text and schedule it to be published the next day at 7 am, at which point I will be meditating on the next one.

    Any number of times, this procedure has failed me. I’ve been so tired some evenings that I went to sleep without looking at the text first. A couple of times, I’ve forgotten until after work, and started meditating around dinner time. Once I completely failed in following my procedure, and sat down to write about the text and read it at the same time. Oddly enough, I still found a meditation, even though it was “speed meditation”!

    While I like a morning prayer time, that time is infrequently the most important time of prayer for me in the day. For me there will be various times during work. Lunch time is one of the better times for reading scripture. Prayer is more likely to come multiple times during the work day at my desk. I’m pretty sure a strong majority of my prayer time over the last 30 years has occurred at my desk at work.

    I believe the psalmist when he said he got up before dawn and cried out. I believe that was a good thing for him. But everyone approaches their day differently. The pattern we impose on our meditations can be itself a work, and a dead tradition.

    I would suggest spending some time in prayer and meditation at any time that strikes you as valuable. Then watch what happens. I have found that if I don’t take breaks during the day and do something to keep my spirit in shape, the day will go badly. I have found it doesn’t matter if I pray right at the moment I get up. Now sometimes I do, because I feel called to pray about something specific.

    No matter when you call out to God, you can apply the second half of this verse and hope in the divine words, whether on the pages of scripture or spoken to you in your heart.

    What time will you spend with God today?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:146 – Save Me

    Psalm 119:146 – Save Me

    I have called out to you! Save me!
    that I may keep your testimonies.

    We can miss the point of God saving us in two very different ways. First, we can see God’s salvation as a simple ticket out of our current situation. This applies whether we are being saved from a potentially deadly accident or ultimately from our sins. Second, we can see God’s salvation as setting us on our feet so that we can move forward and get it right ourselves.

    Neither of these gets the message. God’s call opens to us the possibility of being holy. There is no possibility outside of that. Further, God’s call puts God in the driver’s seat, making us into the people we were designed to be.

    We read about this in Romans 8:29-30:

    For those whom he foreknew, he also determined to be the same in form as the image of his son, so that he could be the firstborn of many brethren. And those he determined, he also called, and those he called, he also make righteous, and those he made righteous, he also glorified.

    As a note to those who may see my translation “determined,” rather than predestined as a more Wesleyan translation here, I think the verse itself makes it clear that we’re talking about God’s action, and by grammar, “determined” comes before “called.” Dealing with this theological detail is not within the cope of this post.

    What is within the scope is that the initial call invites entrance into a process, all of which is accomplished by God, all the way to final glory. In other words when we cry out “Save me!” we’re inviting God to take us on a complete journey. That call is the one opening to actually observe God’s law. That too comes as God’s gift.

    It’s also outside the scope of this post to discuss why we actually come to cry out in the first place. Suffice it to say I believe that even that is God’s gift, right along with our very life.

    Crying out to God is a serious thing. You’re entering a one way street, heading out on a ride to eternity.

    Are you ready for the ride?

  • Psalm 119:145 – Answer Me

    Psalm 119:145 – Answer Me

    I cried out with all my heart.
    Answer me, LORD!
    I will observe your statutes.

    If you have spent any time in prayer, you have likely spent time wondering if an answer was coming, and if it was coming, when would that be.

    This is not just our experience in prayer, but our experience in almost any relationship. The time between a request and response seems very long.

    I suspect this is inevitable. Everything takes time, but we like to see results immediately. Waiting in line is difficult for us. We wonder why the line doesn’t move faster, or why the store doesn’t take action to open more checkout stations.

    Near my home there is a railroad track that leads into a nearby chemical factory. Frequently we have trains going in and out of the plant, often adding more loaded cars over a period of time. As a result, one can wait quite a long time for these trains to get out of the way. Traffic can line up for a long ways down the road on either side.

    I am not so patient. I’ll frequently take a detour around the train, crossing the track some ways away. Sometimes this gets me to my destination faster, but frequently by the time I’ve completed my detour, I find that the traffic has dissipated, and I took longer getting around the delay than I would have taken just living through it.

    There’s this natural desire to make things happen if they aren’t happening. We’d like everything to work on our timetable. But when we’re waiting on God and going on our own detour it’s possible that, like I do with the train, we might miss what’s going on because we’re so busy working our way around. We are seeming to accomplish things when we’re just occupying time on detours.

    With the psalmist, we cry out with our whole heart. We ask for an answer. We promise God our obedience, our observance, our careful attention. But it’s easy to play busy, rather than to wait.

    There are times to be busy. We don’t want to miss those. But there are also times to watch and wait, to look to the Lord for the answer. Like Habakkuk (2:1), we need to climb up on the watchtower, stand guard, and wait to see what the Lord says.

    Can you manage to wait for God today?

  • Psalm 119:143 – Trouble!

    Psalm 119:143 – Trouble!

    Trouble and anguish have found me,
    Still I delight in your commands.

    I’m going to let a Psalm take over commentary for today.

    1 In you, LORD, I take refuge.
        Never let me be disappointed.
    2 Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me.
        Turn your ear to me, and save me.
    3 Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go.
        Give the command to save me,
        for you are my rock and my fortress.
    4 Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
        from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
    5 For you are my hope, Lord GOD,
        my confidence from my youth.
    6 I have relied on you from the womb.
        You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb.
        I will always praise you.
    7 I am a marvel to many,
        but you are my strong refuge.
    8 My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
        with your honor all day long.
    9 Don’t reject me in my old age.
        Don’t forsake me when my strength fails.
    10 For my enemies talk about me.
        Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
    11   saying, “God has forsaken him.
        Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
    12 God, don’t be far from me.
        My God, hurry to help me.
    13 Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed.
        Let those who want to harm me be covered with disgrace and scorn.
    14 But I will always hope,
        and will add to all of your praise    .
    15 My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
        and of your salvation all day,
        though I don’t know its full measure.
    16 I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord GOD
        I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone.
    17 God, you have taught me from my youth.
        Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.
    18 Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me,
        until I have declared your strength to the next generation,
        your might to everyone who is to come.
    19 God, your righteousness also reaches to the heavens.
        You have done great things.
        God, who is like you?
    20 You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles,
        you will let me live.
        You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
    21 Increase my honor
        and comfort me again.
    22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God.
        I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
    23 My lips shall shout for joy!
        My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you!
    24 My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long,
        for they are disappointed, and they are confounded,
        who want to harm me.

    Psalm 71, World English Bible, slightly modified by me.
  • Psalm 119:142 – Eternal

    Psalm 119:142 – Eternal

    Your righteousness is right forever,
    and your instruction is reliable.

    I commonly use the phrase “God’s eternal law” in discussing the absolute, eternal, immutable law of God. This is what defines who God is and the purpose of the universe, and is not subject to our perspective. That is to say, objective law. God’s law which is forever, in the words of this verse.

    Our problem is that we cannot really comprehend eternal things, nor can we truly comprehend things objectively. There is always an element of our own experience in what we do. It is a statement of faith when we claim that God’s law is, in fact eternal.

    Each individual law contained in scripture, or expressed in any other way is a derivative of God’s eternal law. A particular expression of God’s law is never the same as God’s eternal law, though it derives its authority from that eternal law. Just as I understand God as without beginning or end, and as trinity, things which are not empirically observable, so I understand God’s law as eternal, again something which cannot be objectively demonstrated.

    Growing up, I regularly heard the ten commandments described as God’s eternal law. This was to be distinguished from various other laws, largely ceremonial, in Torah, which are temporary. (Note that this is growing up in a Christian, Seventh-day Adventist home. This is not the understanding of Judaism.)

    The problem here is that Torah itself does not make this particular distinction. All of the laws given by God are binding. They may be binding at different times, on different people, and under different circumstances, but they remain divine law.

    I maintain that all expressions of law that we can receive an understand relate to particular times and circumstances. Some are much more eternal and broadly applicable than others. All derive from God’s eternal law. None are, themselves, eternal in form and expression.

    I’m going to embed two videos here that come from my series on Paul from some years ago. The first begins a discussion of reading about law in scripture.

    The second follows up with more detail.

    Now there are a few sessions between these two, so if you are very determined, you can view the playlist.

    But now we jump to the second half of the verse. “Eternal” is daunting and impossible to reach. Sometimes we have a tendency to dismiss the things we cannot fully understand. But with this statement we get the other side. We can rely on God’s instruction. We may not be able to fully comprehend the source, but we can rely on what we have.

    In real life we learn to accept what works. We get on airplanes and travel without having a full conception of how that aircraft works. We don’t often think about it, but that aircraft is also not perfectly made. It would be hard to even conceive of what perfect means. Every part is tested, not to some absolute perfection, but rather to certain tolerances. We live with this sort of thing every day.

    One way to discover that you can rely on certain things as a way to live is simply to try them. Taste and see that God is good. Try it. Don’t get shaken by what you can’t understand. You can understand enough.

    Take the challenge to adventure with an incomprehensibly great God!

  • Psalm 119:141 – Despised

    Psalm 119:141 – Despised

    Though I am small and despised,
    I do not forget your precepts.

    There are two times when it is difficult to stay on the right track: When things are going well and people are praising you, and when things are going badly, and people look down on you. Either of these can make you turn away from the right path.

    Well, then there’s the third option, which is that things are going moderately well. Well enough for you to be comfortable, but not so well that people are coming and praising you. Then there’s a major temptation to apathy, to contentment with things being not so bad.

    In real life, we may be confronted with any of these situations. We can find that ridicule prevents us from doing what is right or speaking of what is right. Or when things are going well, we find pride taking over, and we start to think too well of ourselves, and often speaking too highly of ourselves to others.

    Then there is the way that is simple, but very hard. That is to think of ourselves as we ought to. Paul speaks about this in Romans 12:3 —

    I tell all among you through the grace that has been given to me that you shouldn’t think of yourselves as better than you are, but you should think of yourselves properly {or wisely}, each according to the wisdom God has measured out to them.

    This verse doesn’t tell you that you should always think of yourself poorly. You don’t have to say that you are small and despised as did the psalmist. It’s likely you’ll feel that way sometimes, but that’s not some type of “holy” goal. Nor should you consider yourself more important than others. Rather, you’re supposed to think of yourself as you really are, as God sees you.

    This invites a change of vision, a change of perspective. And the psalmist tells us where we need to be. We need to be looking at what is right. He speaks of God’s precepts, as he has elsewhere spoken of God’s word, God’s testimonies, God’s statues, God’s judgments, and God’s commands.

    That’s all the long version of saying, “What’s right.”

    That is often our problem. We aren’t concerned with what’s right, but rather with what other people think of us. That is never a good place to be. Sometimes the person whose opinion matters to you is himself out of sync with what is right, and may be despising you for the things you won’t do in order to get ahead.

    How are you going to look at yourself today?

  • Psalm 119:140

    Psalm 119:140

    You’re word is thoroughly tested.
    Your servant loves it.

    Several translations use “promise” rather than “word” here. There is some reason to do that, but in this case I like “word” as having a broader meaning that includes “promise.”

    In what way is God’s word thoroughly tested? We talk about being sure of God’s word, of it being true, of God being faithful, but what drives us to believe that?

    This is a case where experience is very important. Many people play down experience as less reliable than scripture, and in one important way it is. The reason your experience is less reliable than scripture is that it has not had the same testing that God’s word given in scripture has.

    Scripture is a recounting of the experience of lots of people with God. Even when scripture records a specific statement with “the Lord says this,” that is an experience of God. If you don’t think hearing from God is an experience, then I hope you’ll have a chance to experience it. If you don’t remember such an experience, read that of some of the prophets, such as Ezekiel 1 or Isaiah 6.

    So if you have an experience of hearing from God, what’s the difference? The difference is testing. God’s word in scripture has been testing over the centuries over and over again and we have found it secure. We’re not questioning this any more. It has become the experience against which you can test your everyday experience for validity.

    I personally believe that God can still speak today. How will you know if that happens? There are many things I could mention, but the key one is this: Read that tested word in scripture and become so familiar with with it that you know God’s voice beyond doubt.

    Try listening for God’s voice today. Remember to check out the tested word as well!

    (Featured image generated by Adobe Firefly using a prompt created by Gemini AI. Yes, I’m experimenting.)

  • Psalm 119:138 – Righteous and True

    Psalm 119:138 – Righteous and True

    You have sent forth your testimonies righteously,
    And very truthfully.

    I have been treating the word I translate here as “testimonies” as focusing on the stories contained overall in Torah, and also throughout scripture and our experience. The other day I saw a question posted on Facebook regarding a certain aspect of Christian ministry. The person asking the question said specifically that he wanted an answer based both on scripture and experience.

    The story is important. We often look at stories and wonder if they are factually true. We wonder if they are absolutely accurate in every detail. The idea here is that the key message to get is what precisely happened. On the other hand, we can look at stories as metaphorical, always carrying some message, but with the actual details totally irrelevant.

    Most stories, however, are true in multiple ways. They can also be false in multiple was as well. When you see a meme posted on social media, you should always ask the question: Is this based on actual events or data? Beyond that you should also ask whether that information is being used to convey a true result, or to produce valid, effective, and morally good results.

    In all cases, I’m ignoring details. Details are the playground of critics. Stories we like will be excused for minor, inconsequential errors. Stories we don’t like will be picked apart for every possible error of detail in order to diminish the message.

    The stories in the Bible are frequently important in multiple ways. Rarely are stories present in scripture in order to satisfy curiosity. They are there to present a narrative of God’s actions. This means we can study them from multiple angles. We can try to understand God’s intent in the stories. We can learn about God’s laws and how they might apply by meditating on the stories of how those laws came to be.

    We live as part of a story of faith that extends back into prehistory and looks forward to the consummation of all things. God is still sending out–commanding, if you will–righteous testimonies.

    He is sending them out with you today. What message are you sent forth to convey?

    (Featured image generated by Adobe Fireflly from a prompt created by Gemini based on my input.)