Psalm 37

Once, while having coffee with a friend and talking about the sad state of affairs in our world, my friend looked at me and said, "The sad truth of the matter is that there are people who are going to do very evil things today and sleep soundly in their comfortable beds tonight." Those words stuck in my mind and they come back to me as I read this psalm.

Israel also knew these words well. After all, compared to the empires of Assyria and Babylon around them, along with united tribal powers before the empires, Israel was very small. The entire nation is smaller than Rhode Island, and they constantly dealt with invaders of many kinds. Not the least of which would be the Philistines, a five-city kingdom that boasted the most advanced weapons and technology (as well as an advanced civilization/religion) of the time. Goliath, for example, was carrying an iron-tipped spear at the beginning of the iron age. The Philistines were loaded. And oppressors constantly moved in on the people of Israel.

Similarly, there are people all across the world who are bearing the brunt of the wicked. People scoff at righteousness and justice (the same word throughout much of the Bible). And schemes to commit injustice happen everyday, and the perpetrators sleep soundly in their beds. What gives?

This passage gives us hope. This passage reminds us that the "justice of our cause shall shine like the noonday sun" (vs 6), that the world belongs to the meek and that God cares about these things. So we do not need to envy the people who profit from others' suffering, we do not need to be scared that God will never act. Indeed, Christ lives through us and allows us to act, and we know that injustice has no part in the Kingdom that Jesus brought to Earth. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.

Psalm 36

I'm sorry that this didn't come out yesterday. An internet error caused the entire post to be deleted, and in my frustration I decided not to post yesterday. However, I am back today with either a fresh look at Psalm 36 or I will be accidentally rewriting my post from yesterday.

Come to the fountain. I read this psalm and that's the invitation I get. Come to the fountain (vs 9). Despite my objections, I come to the fountain.

But where is the fountain? Where do I go to be cleansed from my own self-deception? Where is the fountain that will let me see light in God's light? When I was baptized, I was introduced to the water from this fountain. Ten years later I said (to the best of my young ability) that I wanted the living water that came from the fountain. And today, do I still search for the fountain? Or could it be that I have been soaked in the fountain so long I have forgotten that I'm wet? Is it okay to splash and play in the fountain, or am I supposed to take my sip and go along my merry way? I wonder. Is it okay to swim in the fountain, or will that dirty the water for everyone else? Is it okay to enjoy God? Is God big enough to play with and be trusted with the entire universe? I wonder. And I hope so. Please wonder with me at the bigness of God as you go through today.

Psalm 35

This psalm found new meaning for me when I recognized something in verse 18. I saw that verse and thought of a verse in Hebrews chapter 2 which sounds very similar. I found that the verse I was thinking of quoted a different psalm, but a very similar spirit. And the verse in Hebrews was talking about Jesus. And so I read this psalm wondering if Jesus had similar thoughts on the cross.

Certainly, Jesus was so close to humanity that he mourned when bad things happened (including Lazarus and others). And although Jesus came to bring salvation to all people, all people united in one moment on the side of Jesus' execution- repaying evil for good (verse 12). And at the crucifixion, Jesus was finally beaten by all of his enemies... where was Jesus' vindication?

We find that on the third day- Jesus rose from the dead. In our human-ness, we often want bloodthirsty revenge. Just think about the rise of the revenge movie- almost all superhero movies are really revenge movies in disguise. And they are some of the most popular movies out there. And we love the idea that God will step in and clear our enemies out.

A popular Talmud reading is a story about the crossing of the Red Sea. As soon as the Israelites are across and Pharaoh's army is destroyed, the angels rejoice. God's response to the angels is basically "Why do you rejoice? Those Egyptians were my children too." Let us realize today that our enemies are children of God and long for reconciliation and the day when there will be no more enemies (Isaiah 65:25).

Psalm 34

Now here is a great psalm located in a particular time. David meets up with Abimelech, a feared enemy, and doesn't know what to do. So he pretends to be insane, even foaming at the mouth. Abimelech pities him and sends him away, causing David to write this psalm.

How many of us have been at our wits' end? How many of us have been up between a rock and a hard place? We know the situation of David, even if we haven't faked insanity to escape. As the psalm progresses to its worshipful end, remembering promise after promise, we begin to see words that echo in our hearts. "God is near to the brokenhearted" (verse 18) is one phrase that sticks in my heart. I pray I never forget it. It reminds me of God's care for those who live persistently brokenhearted, and also that God is gracious to me when I have a broken heart.

This psalm also reminds me that God can be this comforting presence through me. When I "turn from evil and do good" and "seek peace and pursue it," it is not I that lives but Christ living in me. Thank you Jesus, for acting through our actions to be near to all who are hurting.

Psalm 33

This passage offers us comfort and a history lesson in the same moment. This psalm encourages us to worship because of the great deeds of God. Whenever we see God intersect with our story, it is a cause for worship. And so I reflect on my story and I wonder where I've seen God intersecting with my story. I look to see where I have seen God at work.

Heather is involved in a photography activity that I marvel at. She creates words using letters that are actually common, every day things. For example, a sink faucet could be an "r" and a power line could be an "E." This hobby forces her to see the world differently, finding letters when we only see common objects. I think this psalm invites us to a similar way of viewing the world. God's activity is already there, but sometimes it is so subtle that we need to have eyes to see it. God, grant me eyes to see your mighty acts in the world today. Amen.

Psalm 32

In thinking about forgiveness, I have to admit that I've never thought about being surrounded by songs of deliverance (verse 7). I imagine the Underground Railroad, where delivered slaves sang songs of freedom and worship to God. It reminds me that forgiveness is a community experience. We often think of forgiveness as a one-on-one experience with God. Yet we are the redeemed people of God, a community called together by God under the common banner of God's redemption.

We can celebrate this redemption together as a community when we come together and worship. We acknowledge the brokenness of the world, the strength-sapping circumstances of life (verse 4). We lift up this brokenness and acknowledge our contribution to it, and we too receive God's blessing. As you go to worship this week, wherever it may be, I pray that you are surrounded in songs of deliverance and experience the power of God in the community of God. Amen.

Psalm 31

Here is another psalm that Jesus quoted from the cross "Into your hands I commit my spirit" (verse 5). Interestingly, Jesus does not finish the quote and ask for redemption from the cross. Certainly, the rest of the psalm captures the moment of the cross quite well. Jesus had never placed trust or hope in having a crowd of followers or in miracles on His own behalf- Jesus always found a refuge in God. It was that refuge that gave Jesus the strength to do the miracles that He did.

Jesus despairs at the worthless idols that find such a willing audience in our world. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, Jesus overturns the Temple's idols of wealth and power, Jesus is executed on a symbol of shame and rejection. And for the moment, it seems that God has handed Jesus over to the cross of shame and the power of Jesus' enemies. Yet in that moment on the cross, when Jesus forced out the words "Into your hands, I commit my spirit," Jesus subverted the power of the day. Jesus' Kingdom was not hampered by the cross, it was defined in the cross. It is why each of us may come to the cross- not to bask in the violence in it but to see the world-transforming power of it.

It is a strange thing to say that we have found refuge in the cross. The cross does not seem like a place to hide. It seems like something to hide from. But we have no fear of evil or suffering, because we know that Jesus has been there and invites us into a Kingdom where eventually suffering will be finished. Amen.

Psalm 30

This psalm is a song of faith and hope. After all, it is introduced by the curious two phrases "for the dedication of the temple" and "of David." David was dead long before the Temple was completed and dedicated. Solomon is the one who dedicated it. Yet David could see God's intended future and just hoping for the day inspired him to sing. This psalm sings of Gods un-ending grace and abiding presence. Even when God is absent, says David, that absence does not last forever.

For the people of God, the Temple would be that place where God's presence would abide. Although few would go into the deepest room where the presence of God rested, people could see the flames on the altar (which God lit) and they could still stand in God's presence. There are days when I wish I could go back to the days of the Jerusalem Temple and have a physical place to stand and worship.

Yet things are difference now. They are somewhat de-centered in physical space. We are told in the New Testament that God's Holy Spirit dwells inside us and we are now a temple for the presence of God. This means that where we go, people ought to see God working out in us. Wow, that's a tall order. It's a lot easier to fix some bricks on a physical Temple building than to live out the presence of God for other people. But that is our challenge. So perhaps you can open this psalm to start your day, and dedicate yourself to God with these words. After all, you are a temple. Amen.

Psalm 29

If you are looking for a good Psalm listening experience, find this passage on Biblegateway.com. Then click on the "listen button" and hear a very deep voice read this passage. When he gets to the "the God of glory thunders," you definitely believe it. The power of the Lord is great here. Anyone who has any power in the world can only ascribe it to God, for God is the Almighty One, the Ancient of Days whose voice can strip the bark off the trees and yet has beautiful majesty. God uses power and glory for one particular purpose in this psalm- giving strength and peace.

The ancient gods of David's day often used their power to conquer and destroy. People today use power to control and hoard. Power is abused and it corrupts. It only makes sense, then, that ultimate power rests in the One who is incorruptible. We don't have to worry that God will destroy all but the voices God most wants to hear. We don't have to worry that God will accept bribes. Indeed, we can trust that the power of God will empower us to continue God's mission and it will ultimately bring about a never-ending peace. Amen.

Psalm 28

This is a beautiful progression in the psalm. We find David in the depths (the same place we find him often), pleading with God to hear just a whisper of God's voice. He compares God's voice to life itself, and we see a complete transformation in David when he hears God's voice.

And isn't God's voice life for us? If God had never breathed the words to create, nothing would exist. And we are dependent on that same breath today. After all, Jesus Christ is the one in whom we live and move and have our being. It is because the Spirit lives inside us that we experience the new life of Christ. It becomes my prayer, then, that we hear God's voice today. Amen.

Psalm 27

Now here is a Psalm I can identify with! Last psalm, as you may recall, was a struggle for me, but this psalm speaks right into my heart. The beauty of its words, the promises of God bursting out of every verse with a haunting yet awesome promise at the end- I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Sometimes, people are so low on hope that they are unable to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, content only about the heaven yet to come. In fact, history shows that when a group of people are marginalized and oppressed, they will often focus on heaven and Jesus coming back (one can see some of this in the slave community during institutionalized slavery in the US).

The good news of the Kingdom of God is that salvation is for the here and now and for the day yet to come. So I pray you see the glimpses of the goodness of the Lord today, so that you can hope for today and for tomorrow.

Amen.

Psalm 26

First of all, happy 100th post with "A Moment with Andy." Thank you for joining me on this journey.

But on to the point- I have a hard time connecting with the emotion of Psalm 26. I can wrap it in theological language, talk about Jesus as the blameless one (which I have done before and certainly believe that in Jesus we are graced with blamelessness), or talk about rigorous self-improvement (a phrase that gives me shudders for many reasons). But at the end of the day, I cannot imagine myself speaking this psalm to God. I can't imagine talking about how awesome I am, nor would I challenge God to find a fault in me.

Yet there is one part of this psalm that I can say with full passion- "I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells." That part I could say any day. In the Old Testament, so few people actually got to walk into the place where God's glory dwelt. And now, as we are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), God dwells with us and God's glory is growing here on earth. I look forward to the day when God's glory will heal all of the scars of creation and when we will finally be re-united fully with God (Revelation 22). Amen?

Psalm 25

The Bible has a way of creating and relieving tension, and sometimes creating without relieving tension. Psalm 25 creates tension. Certainly, there is plenty of praise in this psalm, but there's also a theological quandary that David finds himself in. You can see this tension best at verses 10-11. On the one hand, David seems to be pretty strict that one has to rise to meet the "demands of the covenant" (verse 10), yet David in at least two places (verses 7 and 11) confesses and repents from his past. Holiness and grace are held in tension. It's a tension I hope we all feel, because falling to one side or the other can be somewhat dangerous.

How do we handle to the Jesus who says at one moment "Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest" and at another moment says "Take up your cross and follow me" to His disciples? How do we live in the tension of radical obedience and unrelenting grace? I'm not sure I fully know. I suppose that what God has taught me in the trying times is that sometimes obedience is coming to Jesus when I am weary and taking His rest. How do you live in the tension of radical obedience and unrelenting grace?

Psalm 24

Here is another psalm that is quoted often. Not by the New Testament, per say, but by songwriters throughout the century. I think of songs that say "Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts... let us not lift our souls to another..." or "O God let us be | a generation that seeks... that seeks your face, O God of Jacob" or "Lift up your heads, O gates | lift up your heads, O ancient doors | prepare the way, prepare the way, the King is coming through..." or even a song that begins "Who is this king of glory?" Whether you know it or not, we love this psalm. We sing of this psalm often and in many ways, as we should. This psalm talks about the world as God's beloved creation, God's people are called to holiness and an attitude of seeking God's face. And God is given the glory and credit that God deserves.

I pray that as we read this psalm, that we may find appreciation for all creation. I pray that we may seek God's face and be open to finding a God beyond our imagination.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 is one of those psalms you can't go wrong reading. When people are going through hard times, Psalm 23 gives them comfort and hope about God's presence in the valley of the shadow of death. Those grieving a loss can be comforted that God's presence is forever. When people are harried and stressed out, Psalm 23 is the comfort of quiet waters and green pastures. And for those of us who long for reconciliation and peace wait for the day when we can sit a table in the presence of our enemies (if you want to see a story of how this works out, click here). Psalm 23 is a versatile psalm- what do you think of when you read it?