Tsadhe
Eighteenth letter of the Hebrew AlephBeth
You are righteous, LORD,
and your laws are right.
Maybe one of the more obvious statements of this poet; he knows that what One is constitutes what one creates. Whether as a parent, as a leader, as a teacher, as a friend, as an artist, as a lawmaker - who you are becomes infused in what you do and make. Thankfully our God always does what is right and good, so he and his words/works are "fully trustworthy."
For me, this has become the central issue for belonging to God: is He and his words/works trustworthy? The poet goes on to note that the LORD and his words/works are everlasting and true. Those two ideas may inspire you, but for me, my soul wants to experience God's loyalty, faithfulness, and trustworthiness. Will he keep his promises? Will he abandon me? Will he live up to what He claims of himself? Can I see enough of his handiwork in this world to sustain the trustworthiness? With the hardships that I have intertwined into my life, can I still believe that God is trustworthy?
For this psalmist, following the instructions of the LORD, keeping the Torah is where trustworthiness is fleshed out; if I do what God requires, will I receive the benefits that He promised? Jesus is the new Torah, and so in Him trustworthiness is truly fleshed out; will we follow the Way of Jesus, do we trust that the Way of Jesus will "give me delight?"
The final benefit remembered by this songwriter is this: "Your statues are always righteous; [they] give me understanding that I may live." Going the Way of God in Jesus will help me see what is right, help me do what is right, and help me rightly understand this world that I am born into, a world created to be good, a world being redeemed from evil.
One of the great pains in my life is the overwhelming sense of misunderstanding I have about how the world works, why it is the way it is, and what is the next right thing to do in light of how messed up everything seems to be. What is the next right step to take, a step of rebellion against what is wrong in this world, and a righteous step that furthers God's reconciling and redemptive work for those that reach out and take His strong and extended hand.
Oh LORD, please give me understanding that I may live; the instruction of Jesus is always righteous and gives me delight.
Showing posts with label Psalm 119. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 119. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Let No Sin Rule Over Me
Pe
Seventeenth Letter of the Hebrew AlephBeth
Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
It strikes me as odd, the manner in which this poet gushes over the Torah. I don't know of anybody who gushes over our Constitution in a similar way. Both documents are revered, but there is something divine about the Torah that draws out something beyond. This poet remarks astutely that the Torah gives light in a dark land, a place where other laws are suspect to bribery and tend to favor the wealthy or powerful. But for the simple, the hardworking laborer, the honest and plain citizen, there is a law which one can come under which will give wisdom and understanding. No one I know says that about our imperfect American law system. So what is it about God's Instructions to His People that elicits this kind of marvel, gratitude, and hunger?
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may obey your precepts.
Ahhh...it would seem that what elicits this poet's response to God's Way is the condition of his soul. I doubt that the one who penned this song had serious sin issues...but it does seem that he had deep understanding of his own self, that he was seriously honest about what factors influenced his decisions and attitudes and beliefs. Maybe this author is so focused on this Law because by it he can find a freedom from something that other laws can't provide. Maybe because this author wants The Author of the Law to pay attention to him, to notice his plight, to regard his life, to bring mercy in response to his faithful and honest love.
The poet knows that letting God's Wisdom direct his steps will break the fetters of sin that shackle hands and heart; he also knows that the sins of others can hinder the coming of the wisdom. Note his prayer, the double effect he is seeking: God direct my steps; God remove the oppressors so I can choose to step in the paths you direct. What's his motivation for redemption from human oppression? So he can go the Way of God, so he can Love his Lord, so he can Follow His Instructions. There is something inherently good about getting out from under the rule of sin - both my own and the oppressive or lingering effects of others - and it is a result of God's ongoing direction of my daily steps throughout the week.
Make your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.
Deep at the core of this poem is this desire: that God would smile at his chosen one; that God would notice me and be glad because of me. Why would God shine his face upon me? Because I am willing to let him teach me His Way, and I work hard at keeping his commands, letting him constantly help me. This writer so much wants God to be pleased with him that his human heart breaks when he finds himself unwilling or unable to do what God asked of him.
What a contrast to my heart, which tries to downplay my disobedience, or ignore the transgression. And what about my reaction to the sins of others? Does their disobedience elicit disgust and disdain for me, or tears? Does the downward trend of our culture make me angry, despondent, or indifferent? Or are there tears for the neighbors and fellow citizens who are oppressed and burdened under the rule of their sin and the sins of others?
When I let no sin rule over me, through me God is able to let no sin rule over you; and together God is able to let no sin rule over another.
God, please smile at me; draw out tears from my heart, through me bring redemption and wisdom.
Seventeenth Letter of the Hebrew AlephBeth
Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
It strikes me as odd, the manner in which this poet gushes over the Torah. I don't know of anybody who gushes over our Constitution in a similar way. Both documents are revered, but there is something divine about the Torah that draws out something beyond. This poet remarks astutely that the Torah gives light in a dark land, a place where other laws are suspect to bribery and tend to favor the wealthy or powerful. But for the simple, the hardworking laborer, the honest and plain citizen, there is a law which one can come under which will give wisdom and understanding. No one I know says that about our imperfect American law system. So what is it about God's Instructions to His People that elicits this kind of marvel, gratitude, and hunger?
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may obey your precepts.
Ahhh...it would seem that what elicits this poet's response to God's Way is the condition of his soul. I doubt that the one who penned this song had serious sin issues...but it does seem that he had deep understanding of his own self, that he was seriously honest about what factors influenced his decisions and attitudes and beliefs. Maybe this author is so focused on this Law because by it he can find a freedom from something that other laws can't provide. Maybe because this author wants The Author of the Law to pay attention to him, to notice his plight, to regard his life, to bring mercy in response to his faithful and honest love.
The poet knows that letting God's Wisdom direct his steps will break the fetters of sin that shackle hands and heart; he also knows that the sins of others can hinder the coming of the wisdom. Note his prayer, the double effect he is seeking: God direct my steps; God remove the oppressors so I can choose to step in the paths you direct. What's his motivation for redemption from human oppression? So he can go the Way of God, so he can Love his Lord, so he can Follow His Instructions. There is something inherently good about getting out from under the rule of sin - both my own and the oppressive or lingering effects of others - and it is a result of God's ongoing direction of my daily steps throughout the week.
Make your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.
Deep at the core of this poem is this desire: that God would smile at his chosen one; that God would notice me and be glad because of me. Why would God shine his face upon me? Because I am willing to let him teach me His Way, and I work hard at keeping his commands, letting him constantly help me. This writer so much wants God to be pleased with him that his human heart breaks when he finds himself unwilling or unable to do what God asked of him.
What a contrast to my heart, which tries to downplay my disobedience, or ignore the transgression. And what about my reaction to the sins of others? Does their disobedience elicit disgust and disdain for me, or tears? Does the downward trend of our culture make me angry, despondent, or indifferent? Or are there tears for the neighbors and fellow citizens who are oppressed and burdened under the rule of their sin and the sins of others?
When I let no sin rule over me, through me God is able to let no sin rule over you; and together God is able to let no sin rule over another.
God, please smile at me; draw out tears from my heart, through me bring redemption and wisdom.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
It is time for you to act, LORD...
Ayin
Sixteenth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The poet of this psalm declares with humility and gratitude: "I have done what is righteous and just;" and I consider all your precepts right". It is refreshing to be around others who take to heart and live out God's commands. He knows what it is like to get pushback when one follows the LORD to intensely, "do not leave me to my oppressors" and do not let the arrogant oppress me." By focusing on himself, he acknowledges his own need for the LORD to deal with him "according to your love", which means "teach me your decrees." He knows himself, he knows that there is so many more commands to memorize and abide by - which is a sign of love and devotion to God and neighbor. He admits: "I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statues." I like that, an honesty about his own status - he doesn't always understand what God is getting at, and he doesn't always know what to do. But rather than get defensive, he stays authentic and seeks the LORD's help in obeying Him...which is the way it is supposed to work.
Then there is this interesting twist in the song: "It is time for you to act, LORD; your law is being broken." To some, they might point to the removal of the Ten Commandments from schools as a perfect illustration of our moral dilemma and need for God's intervention. Maybe. But I think the heart of his request is based on his experience - both personal and community: when the LORD's law is broken, unrighteousness, injustice, arrogance, poverty prevail. Israel was bound to obey the LORD's laws, it is what made them special - and when they disobey, they break the covenant, and thus are making themselves enemies of God - not a good position to be in. This poet wants to see God act in the hearts of the lawbreakers, that they might be saved and that those they oppress might be delivered. That is not how I typically pray, but maybe I should start...
He ends it with an appropriate line for me: "I love your commands more than gold." Do I? Have I a golden calf hidden in my home? Which takes up more of my attention: obedience to God or accumulation of material possession and financial sustainability? Jesus says: Seek first my kingdom and its righteousness, and I'll take care of everything else. Will he? I think of Zaccheus, who let Jesus into his home, and then at the end of the meal essentially said: "I will do what is righteous and just; I love your commands more than all my gold - therefore I hate all my wrong paths." Amen.
Sixteenth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The poet of this psalm declares with humility and gratitude: "I have done what is righteous and just;" and I consider all your precepts right". It is refreshing to be around others who take to heart and live out God's commands. He knows what it is like to get pushback when one follows the LORD to intensely, "do not leave me to my oppressors" and do not let the arrogant oppress me." By focusing on himself, he acknowledges his own need for the LORD to deal with him "according to your love", which means "teach me your decrees." He knows himself, he knows that there is so many more commands to memorize and abide by - which is a sign of love and devotion to God and neighbor. He admits: "I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statues." I like that, an honesty about his own status - he doesn't always understand what God is getting at, and he doesn't always know what to do. But rather than get defensive, he stays authentic and seeks the LORD's help in obeying Him...which is the way it is supposed to work.
Then there is this interesting twist in the song: "It is time for you to act, LORD; your law is being broken." To some, they might point to the removal of the Ten Commandments from schools as a perfect illustration of our moral dilemma and need for God's intervention. Maybe. But I think the heart of his request is based on his experience - both personal and community: when the LORD's law is broken, unrighteousness, injustice, arrogance, poverty prevail. Israel was bound to obey the LORD's laws, it is what made them special - and when they disobey, they break the covenant, and thus are making themselves enemies of God - not a good position to be in. This poet wants to see God act in the hearts of the lawbreakers, that they might be saved and that those they oppress might be delivered. That is not how I typically pray, but maybe I should start...
He ends it with an appropriate line for me: "I love your commands more than gold." Do I? Have I a golden calf hidden in my home? Which takes up more of my attention: obedience to God or accumulation of material possession and financial sustainability? Jesus says: Seek first my kingdom and its righteousness, and I'll take care of everything else. Will he? I think of Zaccheus, who let Jesus into his home, and then at the end of the meal essentially said: "I will do what is righteous and just; I love your commands more than all my gold - therefore I hate all my wrong paths." Amen.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sustain Me According to Your Promise
Samek
Fifteenth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The poet introduces two interesting, intertwining themes: God "rejects all who stray from [his] decrees", yet God is the one who "sustain[s] me" and "uphold[s] me". Of course keeping the commands of God is vital to going His Way, of experiencing the blessings of His Covenant, but the only way to not stray from the decrees is to rely on the LORD's help to stay obedient. This pious poet pleas with the LORD: "do not let my hopes be dashed; uphold me and I will be delivered."
There is something to be said for wanting to go God's Way in everyday life, there is also something to be said for the man or woman who actually does it through ongoing and expectant reliance on Him. It strikes me - both in myself and most of the Christians I know - that there is a disconnect between doing their life and doing their life God's Way. There is the Christian stuff they do, and then there is everything else. But it would seem that God's Way ought to permeate every relationship, every schedule, every task, every concern, every burden.
This songwriter shouts: "Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" Have you ever read through the commands of the LORD? They are very much concerned with the everyday stuff of life: how to purchase stuff in the marketplace, how to treat your animals, how to relate to your family and friends, how to pray and worship, how to treat your neighbor, how to work, etc. The evildoer is the one who goes about their week driven by their own whims and worries, with no actual reliance on the LORD for help to keep his commands in everyday life.
This psalmist ends his song with: "My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws." I just don't know many Christians who fear/revere God in Christ; and that nonfear/respect of God is evident in how they spend their week/energies - disconnected from God. There is no or little input from God on how to spend the day, who to contact, what to say in a conversation, how to respond to someone in need. It seems that people just respond to their gut - which is another way of saying that their belly is their god?
My hope is that I and so many other of the Christians I know would take up this psalm: You are my refuge and shield; I have put my hope in your word."
Fifteenth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The poet introduces two interesting, intertwining themes: God "rejects all who stray from [his] decrees", yet God is the one who "sustain[s] me" and "uphold[s] me". Of course keeping the commands of God is vital to going His Way, of experiencing the blessings of His Covenant, but the only way to not stray from the decrees is to rely on the LORD's help to stay obedient. This pious poet pleas with the LORD: "do not let my hopes be dashed; uphold me and I will be delivered."
There is something to be said for wanting to go God's Way in everyday life, there is also something to be said for the man or woman who actually does it through ongoing and expectant reliance on Him. It strikes me - both in myself and most of the Christians I know - that there is a disconnect between doing their life and doing their life God's Way. There is the Christian stuff they do, and then there is everything else. But it would seem that God's Way ought to permeate every relationship, every schedule, every task, every concern, every burden.
This songwriter shouts: "Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" Have you ever read through the commands of the LORD? They are very much concerned with the everyday stuff of life: how to purchase stuff in the marketplace, how to treat your animals, how to relate to your family and friends, how to pray and worship, how to treat your neighbor, how to work, etc. The evildoer is the one who goes about their week driven by their own whims and worries, with no actual reliance on the LORD for help to keep his commands in everyday life.
This psalmist ends his song with: "My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws." I just don't know many Christians who fear/revere God in Christ; and that nonfear/respect of God is evident in how they spend their week/energies - disconnected from God. There is no or little input from God on how to spend the day, who to contact, what to say in a conversation, how to respond to someone in need. It seems that people just respond to their gut - which is another way of saying that their belly is their god?
My hope is that I and so many other of the Christians I know would take up this psalm: You are my refuge and shield; I have put my hope in your word."
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet
Nun
Fourteenth Letter of the Hebrew AlephBeth
Tanakh
Your word is a lamp to my feet,
a light for my path.
The Torah as a lamp is not of much use when the sun is out, the sky is clear, the clouds have rolled away, and the brightness of the day fills my eyes. It still has its uses, but not as a lamp. Ah, but when dusk comes, and the stars do not come out, and the wind picks up, the chill sets in, and darkness prevails - then the Torah has its use as a lamp. When the heart is dark, when the soul has lost its light, and it needs to know which way to go; when it can't rely on its own common sense of direction, then the Torah as a lamp is the perfect tool. There is so much that is uncertain to me about the Scriptures themselves, and thus any theology derived from them; yet I choose to believe that the Word is a trustworthy lamp. Because I choose to follow it, it will direct my feet along the path of wisdom and life. I don't have to understand it all, but I do need to trust it...even if it is mixed with some doubts.
I have firmly sworn
to keep Your just rules.
Ha, if only I had that much integrity and character. It's not that I'm in favor of keeping unjust rules, but to firmly swear to keeping all of the LORD's just rules...well that seems so definitive. Where is the wiggle room? But if I'm not vowing to keep God's way, whose way am I upholding? Anything else is tainted and corrupted. So what keeps me from knowing God's rules and vowing to abide by them?
I am very much afflicted;
O LORD, preserve me in accordance with Your word.
This ought to be my prayer every morning. Pastoral life, lately for me, has been a crucible of affliction. I suppose it is an affliction of the mind, the anxious uncertainty of not knowing how a decision is going to play out. I want so much to succeed as a pastor, but I won't settle in my mind what "success" looks like. I want so much to see lives changed, but then I don't seem to know how to go about contributing towards that, since it doesn't seem to be happening much around my church. Where are the conversions? Where are the baptisms? Where is the life-turn-around? Where is the radical committment? The absence afflicts my soul and faith. Am I a failure? Am I in the wrong profession? Did I misread my calling? Do I still believe? The doubts are so treacherous and overwhelming, yet the teachings of my Lord preserve me. Jesus, I believe; help me in my unbelief.
Accept, O LORD, my freewill offerings;
teach me Your rules.
There is much I am thankful for, much that I thank you for; when I open up my soul to you in praise, continue to illuminate my mind about your Way.
Though my life is always in danger,
I do not neglect Your teaching.
Fear can have a crippling effect; my life is not in danger of death everyday - unlike our brothers and sisters in Iraq, Sudan, India, Pakistan and other sites around the world. I don't fear death, but I do fear failure, and sometimes in a weird way I fear success. My life is in danger of succumbing to fear; yet I continue to read and study and apply Your teaching to my life. May my fear for You overcome my fear of me.
Though the wicked have set a trap for me,
I have not strayed from Your precepts.
Always there is the temptations to buy into the materialistic, secular, deterministic values of our culture. There are those that pump out the fumes of this pollution that they may sway and confuse, that they may distort truth and lead astray. Don't let me buy into lies, but help me to join those millions who seek the truth. May those who desire truth find the Way. I have tried to not stray from Your precpts, though I am full of doubts of what others have articulated as our teaching.
Your decrees are my eternal heritage;
they are my heart's delight.
May this come to be true for me. May there be a day when the Torah, the Writings, the Prophets, the Gospels, The Epistles are my heart's delight. Now, for me, they are a challenge to understand, a locked up mystery box of truth; may there be a day when they are a delight to me and not a text of doubt.
I am resolved to follow Your laws
to the utmost forever.
Deep down, this is the way it is for me; as a doubter, as one who is unstable in my ways, as one who seeks wisdom and doesn't seem to get it, I am still resolved to follow. Someday the doubts may drift away, someday wisdom will take its place. In the meantime, I'll keep my resolve, even if it is by a thread; I will follow Your Way.
Fourteenth Letter of the Hebrew AlephBeth
Tanakh
Your word is a lamp to my feet,
a light for my path.
The Torah as a lamp is not of much use when the sun is out, the sky is clear, the clouds have rolled away, and the brightness of the day fills my eyes. It still has its uses, but not as a lamp. Ah, but when dusk comes, and the stars do not come out, and the wind picks up, the chill sets in, and darkness prevails - then the Torah has its use as a lamp. When the heart is dark, when the soul has lost its light, and it needs to know which way to go; when it can't rely on its own common sense of direction, then the Torah as a lamp is the perfect tool. There is so much that is uncertain to me about the Scriptures themselves, and thus any theology derived from them; yet I choose to believe that the Word is a trustworthy lamp. Because I choose to follow it, it will direct my feet along the path of wisdom and life. I don't have to understand it all, but I do need to trust it...even if it is mixed with some doubts.
I have firmly sworn
to keep Your just rules.
Ha, if only I had that much integrity and character. It's not that I'm in favor of keeping unjust rules, but to firmly swear to keeping all of the LORD's just rules...well that seems so definitive. Where is the wiggle room? But if I'm not vowing to keep God's way, whose way am I upholding? Anything else is tainted and corrupted. So what keeps me from knowing God's rules and vowing to abide by them?
I am very much afflicted;
O LORD, preserve me in accordance with Your word.
This ought to be my prayer every morning. Pastoral life, lately for me, has been a crucible of affliction. I suppose it is an affliction of the mind, the anxious uncertainty of not knowing how a decision is going to play out. I want so much to succeed as a pastor, but I won't settle in my mind what "success" looks like. I want so much to see lives changed, but then I don't seem to know how to go about contributing towards that, since it doesn't seem to be happening much around my church. Where are the conversions? Where are the baptisms? Where is the life-turn-around? Where is the radical committment? The absence afflicts my soul and faith. Am I a failure? Am I in the wrong profession? Did I misread my calling? Do I still believe? The doubts are so treacherous and overwhelming, yet the teachings of my Lord preserve me. Jesus, I believe; help me in my unbelief.
Accept, O LORD, my freewill offerings;
teach me Your rules.
There is much I am thankful for, much that I thank you for; when I open up my soul to you in praise, continue to illuminate my mind about your Way.
Though my life is always in danger,
I do not neglect Your teaching.
Fear can have a crippling effect; my life is not in danger of death everyday - unlike our brothers and sisters in Iraq, Sudan, India, Pakistan and other sites around the world. I don't fear death, but I do fear failure, and sometimes in a weird way I fear success. My life is in danger of succumbing to fear; yet I continue to read and study and apply Your teaching to my life. May my fear for You overcome my fear of me.
Though the wicked have set a trap for me,
I have not strayed from Your precepts.
Always there is the temptations to buy into the materialistic, secular, deterministic values of our culture. There are those that pump out the fumes of this pollution that they may sway and confuse, that they may distort truth and lead astray. Don't let me buy into lies, but help me to join those millions who seek the truth. May those who desire truth find the Way. I have tried to not stray from Your precpts, though I am full of doubts of what others have articulated as our teaching.
Your decrees are my eternal heritage;
they are my heart's delight.
May this come to be true for me. May there be a day when the Torah, the Writings, the Prophets, the Gospels, The Epistles are my heart's delight. Now, for me, they are a challenge to understand, a locked up mystery box of truth; may there be a day when they are a delight to me and not a text of doubt.
I am resolved to follow Your laws
to the utmost forever.
Deep down, this is the way it is for me; as a doubter, as one who is unstable in my ways, as one who seeks wisdom and doesn't seem to get it, I am still resolved to follow. Someday the doubts may drift away, someday wisdom will take its place. In the meantime, I'll keep my resolve, even if it is by a thread; I will follow Your Way.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Your Word...Sweeter Than Honey
Mem
Thirteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
"Oh how I love Your teaching!" This author is exuberant over the Torah; I don't know that I've ever expressed that kind of delight over the details of Deuteronomy. For my part, when I'm looking through Leviticus, the effect is more a of a dull fog on my mind; I'm reading about ancient rituals and covenant commands that are so far removed from my postmodern 21st century life. But this student savors the Word, it's sweeter than honey...? If honey was a delicacy, a food of high value, then the Torah is valued even more than food, even more than the most valued treasure of the plate. Is it for me? No...
For this poet's part, his experience has been wonderful: his studying has resulted in greater wisdom than his enemies, more insight than his teachers, more understanding than his elders, and avoidance of every evil way. Hmmmmm...sounds like a little exaggeration going on...but that's what you do when you try to put words to the object of your deep affection. I can't fault him, I've not expressed that kind of love for God's Word; not even for honey - even the Canadian kind.
What is it about the Torah, the instructions and commands of the LORD, that fascinates this man? Other ancient nations had commands and regulations given to them by the gods. Others had rituals and rites given to them from the heavens; what made Yahweh's word superior? Truth; Righteousness. Following the laws of the LORD, the faithful student avoids falsehoods, they gain a deeper grasp of reality, of what is right and good. This knowledge enables them to create a vibrant community of families, of individuals committed to doing what is pure, noble, lovely, beautiful, wise, good - something to be savored like the sweetest honey. All that is wicked, loathsome, evil was to be abandoned, rejected, avoided.
Just the other day an accountant friend of mine commented on the giving patterns of her clients: Christians and Jews are more generous than the non-religious. Even when we don't love the Torah like we should, even when we don't devour the Gospels like we could, what we do know gets inside of us like leaven in bread, and raises up in us a sweetness through which God feeds and blesses the world.
"How pleasing is Your word to my palate, sweeter than honey.
I ponder your precepts; therefore I hate every false way."
Thirteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
"Oh how I love Your teaching!" This author is exuberant over the Torah; I don't know that I've ever expressed that kind of delight over the details of Deuteronomy. For my part, when I'm looking through Leviticus, the effect is more a of a dull fog on my mind; I'm reading about ancient rituals and covenant commands that are so far removed from my postmodern 21st century life. But this student savors the Word, it's sweeter than honey...? If honey was a delicacy, a food of high value, then the Torah is valued even more than food, even more than the most valued treasure of the plate. Is it for me? No... For this poet's part, his experience has been wonderful: his studying has resulted in greater wisdom than his enemies, more insight than his teachers, more understanding than his elders, and avoidance of every evil way. Hmmmmm...sounds like a little exaggeration going on...but that's what you do when you try to put words to the object of your deep affection. I can't fault him, I've not expressed that kind of love for God's Word; not even for honey - even the Canadian kind.
What is it about the Torah, the instructions and commands of the LORD, that fascinates this man? Other ancient nations had commands and regulations given to them by the gods. Others had rituals and rites given to them from the heavens; what made Yahweh's word superior? Truth; Righteousness. Following the laws of the LORD, the faithful student avoids falsehoods, they gain a deeper grasp of reality, of what is right and good. This knowledge enables them to create a vibrant community of families, of individuals committed to doing what is pure, noble, lovely, beautiful, wise, good - something to be savored like the sweetest honey. All that is wicked, loathsome, evil was to be abandoned, rejected, avoided.
Just the other day an accountant friend of mine commented on the giving patterns of her clients: Christians and Jews are more generous than the non-religious. Even when we don't love the Torah like we should, even when we don't devour the Gospels like we could, what we do know gets inside of us like leaven in bread, and raises up in us a sweetness through which God feeds and blesses the world.
"How pleasing is Your word to my palate, sweeter than honey.
I ponder your precepts; therefore I hate every false way."
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Your Word Stands Firm in the Heavens
Lamedh
Twelfth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The whole of Psalm 119 is one long song of a man belonging to the decrees, commands, promises, word of God. Made up of 22 stanzas of eight verses each (the verses being an acrostic of Hebrew letters, eight verses starting with the same letter), the poet works hard to find just the right word to express reality.
But what he describes is not always easy to understand...how does God's Word stand firm in the Heavens? It has not legs, how can it stand? A word is first a sound - does he mean that it can be heard in the Heavens? The Universe is enormous...mindboggling in its vast scope...does God's word find footing on just one planet or star, or does it stand firm as it fills up our millions of galaxies?
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...God said...let there be light...and it was good.
God's Word/Command/Promise/Decree is what brought life to reality, is what put the billions of stars and planets and comets and moons into their blazing place. Just as a sun stands in the sky as a testament to God's word, so God's word shines into our life as a promise of His good work.
What God has spoke endures until the End of All Things. His word will outlast my life on this Earth-as-it-is...but His word is what breathed life into me, and it is what will save me. To know the words of God, to delight in them, to seek them out, to listen and follow them...the words that bring light and put darkness in its place, that push back the floods and put me on dry ground, that enrich soil which gives birth to the sustenance of birds and beasts, the words that give me life and a partner.
The Way of God is navigated by the starlight of his Word, when life is dark - find your next step in this beautifuly, terribly vast universe by hearing His command/promise for you and all people.
Twelfth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The whole of Psalm 119 is one long song of a man belonging to the decrees, commands, promises, word of God. Made up of 22 stanzas of eight verses each (the verses being an acrostic of Hebrew letters, eight verses starting with the same letter), the poet works hard to find just the right word to express reality. But what he describes is not always easy to understand...how does God's Word stand firm in the Heavens? It has not legs, how can it stand? A word is first a sound - does he mean that it can be heard in the Heavens? The Universe is enormous...mindboggling in its vast scope...does God's word find footing on just one planet or star, or does it stand firm as it fills up our millions of galaxies?
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...God said...let there be light...and it was good.
God's Word/Command/Promise/Decree is what brought life to reality, is what put the billions of stars and planets and comets and moons into their blazing place. Just as a sun stands in the sky as a testament to God's word, so God's word shines into our life as a promise of His good work.
What God has spoke endures until the End of All Things. His word will outlast my life on this Earth-as-it-is...but His word is what breathed life into me, and it is what will save me. To know the words of God, to delight in them, to seek them out, to listen and follow them...the words that bring light and put darkness in its place, that push back the floods and put me on dry ground, that enrich soil which gives birth to the sustenance of birds and beasts, the words that give me life and a partner.
The Way of God is navigated by the starlight of his Word, when life is dark - find your next step in this beautifuly, terribly vast universe by hearing His command/promise for you and all people.
Monday, April 16, 2007
When Will You Comfort Me?
Kaph
Eleventh letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The writer is wringing his hands, his soul is weary and his eyes are weak.
"My soul faints with longing for your salvation, My eyes fail, looking for your promise."
Though I don't often feel that kind of deep despair, I have felt it. I've mostly felt it in mourning the death of my two brothers. I also feel twinges of it when I hear compelling stories of the kind of suffering fellow believers endure around the world.
Suffering at the hands of vicious militias, suffering for lack of clean water and nourishing food, suffering in the absence of a sustainable economy and bustling marketplace, suffering with no school, suffering under an oppressive regime that lies, tortures, ruins and gobbles up natural resources. Suffering in the aftermath of wretched tsunami's and hurricanes. Suffering under the whistling bullets and deafening suicide bombs. How often those believers must feel faint, must look at the world with failing eyes.
My trials have not been even close to being as horrible as many martyrs and others who suffer as Christians, who suffer as humanity. In fact almost two billion men, women, children suffer what was just described above. And many of those are Christians. And Christianity is thriving in these awful conditions. For many of the believers sing with the psalmist: BUT I have put my Hope in your Word. What a tough hope they possess, though they ask hard, hard, hard questions of God: When will you comfort me? How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?
It seems that Christianity thrives amongst the soul-weary, the bone-tired, the hope-starved, the heart-whipped, the mind-crushed. When all the gods of this world have wrecked their havoc on humanity, when they have fled their scene of slaughter, the cries of humanity reach the ever-present, ever-listening, ever-redeeming, ever-rescuing God in Jesus.
When will you comfort me?
That's the haunting questions that so many of humanity cry out to God in Jesus. Sudan's Darfur; Iraq's Baghdad; America's New Orleans; Asia's Indonesia; India's Calcutta. They also cry out to us. And for some of us, we will be God's answer to that question. How long will we let them wait?
Eleventh letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
The writer is wringing his hands, his soul is weary and his eyes are weak.
"My soul faints with longing for your salvation, My eyes fail, looking for your promise."
Though I don't often feel that kind of deep despair, I have felt it. I've mostly felt it in mourning the death of my two brothers. I also feel twinges of it when I hear compelling stories of the kind of suffering fellow believers endure around the world.
Suffering at the hands of vicious militias, suffering for lack of clean water and nourishing food, suffering in the absence of a sustainable economy and bustling marketplace, suffering with no school, suffering under an oppressive regime that lies, tortures, ruins and gobbles up natural resources. Suffering in the aftermath of wretched tsunami's and hurricanes. Suffering under the whistling bullets and deafening suicide bombs. How often those believers must feel faint, must look at the world with failing eyes.
My trials have not been even close to being as horrible as many martyrs and others who suffer as Christians, who suffer as humanity. In fact almost two billion men, women, children suffer what was just described above. And many of those are Christians. And Christianity is thriving in these awful conditions. For many of the believers sing with the psalmist: BUT I have put my Hope in your Word. What a tough hope they possess, though they ask hard, hard, hard questions of God: When will you comfort me? How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?
It seems that Christianity thrives amongst the soul-weary, the bone-tired, the hope-starved, the heart-whipped, the mind-crushed. When all the gods of this world have wrecked their havoc on humanity, when they have fled their scene of slaughter, the cries of humanity reach the ever-present, ever-listening, ever-redeeming, ever-rescuing God in Jesus.
When will you comfort me?
That's the haunting questions that so many of humanity cry out to God in Jesus. Sudan's Darfur; Iraq's Baghdad; America's New Orleans; Asia's Indonesia; India's Calcutta. They also cry out to us. And for some of us, we will be God's answer to that question. How long will we let them wait?
Monday, April 09, 2007
In Faithfulness You Have Afflicted Me
Yodh
Tenth letter of the AlephBeth
Affliction is a theme that runs throughout the twenty-two acrostic poems of this Psalm 119. It is affliction that gets my attention, it is through hardships that God shapes my heart, it is pain that God uses as a megaphone - to paraphrase C.S. Lewis. This author understands his suffering like this: I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
WHAT!?!
In faithfulness you have afflicted me?
He goes on to write - almost paradoxically: May your unfailing love be my comfort. In faithfulness, God afflicts me; by unfailing love, God comforts me. Why would God afflict me, and then comfort me?
God afflicts me when I don't love my neighbor...when I grow apathetic, lazy, indifferent, haughty, mean towards any neighbor, God may need to afflict me...make sure my sins find me out so that I can be humbled, become merciful, and love my neighbor.
When would God comfort me? When my neighbors are apathetic, lazy, indifferent, haughty, mean towards me. I need my neighbor to love me. I can't make my neighbor love me, and God can't make my neighbor love me, but he can induce my neighbor to love...but not out of vindictiveness or pettiness. God is good, so whatever hardship he brings, it is such that it is good, and can produce good, if I don't fear it or hate it.
So if you find yourself mired in affliction, take a moment to consider how it is connected to the neighbor(s) you are apathetic, lazy, indifferent, etc towards. And then be the answer to their prayer: Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.
Tenth letter of the AlephBeth
Affliction is a theme that runs throughout the twenty-two acrostic poems of this Psalm 119. It is affliction that gets my attention, it is through hardships that God shapes my heart, it is pain that God uses as a megaphone - to paraphrase C.S. Lewis. This author understands his suffering like this: I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
WHAT!?!
In faithfulness you have afflicted me?
He goes on to write - almost paradoxically: May your unfailing love be my comfort. In faithfulness, God afflicts me; by unfailing love, God comforts me. Why would God afflict me, and then comfort me?
God afflicts me when I don't love my neighbor...when I grow apathetic, lazy, indifferent, haughty, mean towards any neighbor, God may need to afflict me...make sure my sins find me out so that I can be humbled, become merciful, and love my neighbor.
When would God comfort me? When my neighbors are apathetic, lazy, indifferent, haughty, mean towards me. I need my neighbor to love me. I can't make my neighbor love me, and God can't make my neighbor love me, but he can induce my neighbor to love...but not out of vindictiveness or pettiness. God is good, so whatever hardship he brings, it is such that it is good, and can produce good, if I don't fear it or hate it.
So if you find yourself mired in affliction, take a moment to consider how it is connected to the neighbor(s) you are apathetic, lazy, indifferent, etc towards. And then be the answer to their prayer: Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.
It Was Good For Me To Be Afflicted
Teth
Ninth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth.
Good is the main word of this acrostic song, in Hebrew the word "good" begins with the letter teth...the word is "tov".
The poem begins with a plea: Do good to your servant...; it continues: Teach me knowledge and good judgment. He reminds himself: You are good, and what you do is good; It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees.
What is the definition of good?
Good is personal: it is God.
Good is objective: it is commands, decrees, prcepts, law, word.
Good is existential: it is what God does.
Good is...good: I delight in your law.
We live in a messed up world. There are things I have messed up. I share a last name with those who have messed up. I pastor messed up people. I carry wounds because of others who are mess-ups. But for all the ways that our world is messed up, there is a way that is good...there is a good judgment to be found, a good God to be reconciled with, a good deed to be done. As hard as it may be to know and do what is good, like the psalmist we go to God often and intensely: Do Good To Your Servant.
My mess ups may mess me up for awhile, but I - like many of my friends who have messed up...we will someday say (hopefully sooner than later) It was good for me to be afflicted...so that I would learn from my mess ups and learn your good decrees/commands/judgments/law/word.
Ironically, my mess ups are my means of attaining what is good...if I take what God gives...in his timing, from his people that he sends to me.
Ninth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth.
Good is the main word of this acrostic song, in Hebrew the word "good" begins with the letter teth...the word is "tov".
The poem begins with a plea: Do good to your servant...; it continues: Teach me knowledge and good judgment. He reminds himself: You are good, and what you do is good; It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees.
What is the definition of good?
Good is personal: it is God.
Good is objective: it is commands, decrees, prcepts, law, word.
Good is existential: it is what God does.
Good is...good: I delight in your law.
We live in a messed up world. There are things I have messed up. I share a last name with those who have messed up. I pastor messed up people. I carry wounds because of others who are mess-ups. But for all the ways that our world is messed up, there is a way that is good...there is a good judgment to be found, a good God to be reconciled with, a good deed to be done. As hard as it may be to know and do what is good, like the psalmist we go to God often and intensely: Do Good To Your Servant.
My mess ups may mess me up for awhile, but I - like many of my friends who have messed up...we will someday say (hopefully sooner than later) It was good for me to be afflicted...so that I would learn from my mess ups and learn your good decrees/commands/judgments/law/word.
Ironically, my mess ups are my means of attaining what is good...if I take what God gives...in his timing, from his people that he sends to me.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
I Have Sought Your Face With All My Heart
Heth
Eighth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
It seems that a part of life is living with a deep void within oneself, like there is always something missing...no matter how good life is at the moment. That's how I've experienced life so far, and probably one of the reasons why I listen to U2's old song over and over again: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.
Listen to what the Psalmist writes in similar fashion: I have sought your face with all my heart...I have considered my ways.... These are the words of a seeking, yearning, striving, deeply thoughful/deeply feeling man...or woman. And so who do I invite along with me in my seeking? Many people...including the LORD. I want to say like the Psalmist: you are my portion.
In a way, I'm telling myself: there may always be voids...and you will spend the rest of your life looking for what you haven't found yet...so calm down, soak up the tension of being content and restless with the voids. And soak up what the LORD will give you for the moment...even if it doesn't erase the voids.
The voids I'm talking about can range from little scheduling issues with family or work, all the way to trying to remember why my life matters and what do I want to do with my life. I feel voids of inadequacy in being a husband or father - especially in being a son and brother, and alot in being a friend...I'm just not a very good friend (sorry friends...). I feel voids in my skills and talents, in my accomplishments and knowledge. I feel voids in in not knowing what to do next with ministry opportunities and situations. I feel voids...do you?
The psalmist gives some good but difficult points on what to do with these voids: promise to obey God's word, turn my steps to his statues, obey his commands, not forget his laws. Pick one of those: turn my steps to his statues...go the way of Jesus every day...this requires deep feeling about others, deep thought about implications of actions, deep wisdom on how to spend my time, energy, and resources. The deeper I go, the more voids I feel...and all of a sudden I'm back to where I started.
And then I read what the Psalmist does: he gets up at midnight to give thanks to God for helping know what is the right thing to do...he interrupts his sleep to say a prayer of gratitude; he works hard at being friends with all those who respect and honor God...he puts up with annoying personalities, grating stories, difficult people because they have Jesus in common...wow! And he chooses to see the Earth - as polluted, desecrated, bloodsoaked, oilsoaked as it is- filled with the LORD's love. Hmmmmmm....
There are voids...life is not perfect and there is plenty of pain...but how diligent do I want to be in filling voids in such a way that I can soak up all the love God has apportioned into this beautiful, groaning Earth? And how willing am I to do the hard, wise work of soaking up the tension of content and restlessness?
"LORD, teach me your decrees."
Eighth letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
It seems that a part of life is living with a deep void within oneself, like there is always something missing...no matter how good life is at the moment. That's how I've experienced life so far, and probably one of the reasons why I listen to U2's old song over and over again: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.
Listen to what the Psalmist writes in similar fashion: I have sought your face with all my heart...I have considered my ways.... These are the words of a seeking, yearning, striving, deeply thoughful/deeply feeling man...or woman. And so who do I invite along with me in my seeking? Many people...including the LORD. I want to say like the Psalmist: you are my portion.
In a way, I'm telling myself: there may always be voids...and you will spend the rest of your life looking for what you haven't found yet...so calm down, soak up the tension of being content and restless with the voids. And soak up what the LORD will give you for the moment...even if it doesn't erase the voids.
The voids I'm talking about can range from little scheduling issues with family or work, all the way to trying to remember why my life matters and what do I want to do with my life. I feel voids of inadequacy in being a husband or father - especially in being a son and brother, and alot in being a friend...I'm just not a very good friend (sorry friends...). I feel voids in my skills and talents, in my accomplishments and knowledge. I feel voids in in not knowing what to do next with ministry opportunities and situations. I feel voids...do you?
The psalmist gives some good but difficult points on what to do with these voids: promise to obey God's word, turn my steps to his statues, obey his commands, not forget his laws. Pick one of those: turn my steps to his statues...go the way of Jesus every day...this requires deep feeling about others, deep thought about implications of actions, deep wisdom on how to spend my time, energy, and resources. The deeper I go, the more voids I feel...and all of a sudden I'm back to where I started.
And then I read what the Psalmist does: he gets up at midnight to give thanks to God for helping know what is the right thing to do...he interrupts his sleep to say a prayer of gratitude; he works hard at being friends with all those who respect and honor God...he puts up with annoying personalities, grating stories, difficult people because they have Jesus in common...wow! And he chooses to see the Earth - as polluted, desecrated, bloodsoaked, oilsoaked as it is- filled with the LORD's love. Hmmmmmm....
There are voids...life is not perfect and there is plenty of pain...but how diligent do I want to be in filling voids in such a way that I can soak up all the love God has apportioned into this beautiful, groaning Earth? And how willing am I to do the hard, wise work of soaking up the tension of content and restlessness?
"LORD, teach me your decrees."
Your Decrees are the Theme of My Song
Zayin
Seventh letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
There are basically two kinds of songs, happy ones and sad ones. Almost every song can at some point come under one of those broad, flexible categories. Happy songs are the ones you can dance to, hum along with on a sunny day with the windows down and the wind in your face, sing over and over again at birthday parties and Sunday School. Sad songs are the ones that move you, change you, grab you by the throat and confront you, bring to life what is laid buried under unspeakable words.
This psalmist is going through a bad time - and bad times are great times for writing sad songs that endure. He is writing a sad psalm, of bad people doing bad things to him and those he cares about in his neighborhood. He is at a loss at what to do with the bad people. Not that he is just laying down and letting bad people do bad things to innocent people, but he deeply feels the pain they inflict on him and others. It really really bothers him that they get away with bad stuff, especially when he works so hard to do what God commands, instructions and decrees for the blessing of the nation and all the world.
He writes: "Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law." Wherever he goes, he sees powerless people reduced, selfish people prospering. With the pain that his eyes endure, he sighs: "Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge." I like that...no matter where he goes, no matter what he sees, no matter what he endures, he will sing...he will not let bad people and bad circumstances crush his soul. He will sing in pain, sing a song that endures, a song that grips a man and confronts his mind and heart. And what fuels his song? God's decrees, his instructions for how to live a blessed, good, righteous life that brings about blessings, goodness and righteousness for all people and creation.
What a song...
What's fueling your sad song?
"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."
Seventh letter of the Hebrew Alephbeth
There are basically two kinds of songs, happy ones and sad ones. Almost every song can at some point come under one of those broad, flexible categories. Happy songs are the ones you can dance to, hum along with on a sunny day with the windows down and the wind in your face, sing over and over again at birthday parties and Sunday School. Sad songs are the ones that move you, change you, grab you by the throat and confront you, bring to life what is laid buried under unspeakable words.
This psalmist is going through a bad time - and bad times are great times for writing sad songs that endure. He is writing a sad psalm, of bad people doing bad things to him and those he cares about in his neighborhood. He is at a loss at what to do with the bad people. Not that he is just laying down and letting bad people do bad things to innocent people, but he deeply feels the pain they inflict on him and others. It really really bothers him that they get away with bad stuff, especially when he works so hard to do what God commands, instructions and decrees for the blessing of the nation and all the world.
He writes: "Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law." Wherever he goes, he sees powerless people reduced, selfish people prospering. With the pain that his eyes endure, he sighs: "Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge." I like that...no matter where he goes, no matter what he sees, no matter what he endures, he will sing...he will not let bad people and bad circumstances crush his soul. He will sing in pain, sing a song that endures, a song that grips a man and confronts his mind and heart. And what fuels his song? God's decrees, his instructions for how to live a blessed, good, righteous life that brings about blessings, goodness and righteousness for all people and creation.
What a song...
What's fueling your sad song?
"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."
Sunday, March 18, 2007
I Will Always Obey Your Law... and Walk in Freedom
Waw
Sixth letter of the Hebrew alephbet
What an uplifting song, this sixth poem the extols the unfailing love of God and his delightful commands. Only in the Scriptures do you put those two words together: delightful & commands. I don't know about you, but I have an intrinsic resistance to being commanded to do anything. People can suggest stuff to me, they can instruct me, they can influence me, they can explain to me, they can try to convince me, but once they try to TELL me what to do...I put up my wall. But this poet says that he delights in God's commands/decrees/law.
He makes, what seems to be, a contrasting point: within God's laws/commands I can experience freedom. Huh?
The working definition of freedom that I live/breathe is: I can do whatever I want. No boundaries. Have it your way. Break the rules. But this author asserts, from a much deeper, authentic reflection: freedom can't be sustained in that kind of abyss. Even as I write this, I wince. It is hard for me to conceive of freedom as something I experience because of commands, not outside of commands.
Maybe another way to conceive of freedom is: able to live a kind of life with just one master who loves loyally. The implication is, that without having one master that we choose, we end up having multiple masters we don't choose, and thus freedom becomes an illusion, rather than a limited reality. Freedom under God's rule may not seem to be as boundless as what advertisers promise their product can deliver, BUT freedom does not come based on the next purchase we make, but on the ONE purchase that God made on our behalf. God purchased our freedom from the enslavement of sin, and bought us to be not his slaves, but his sons and daughters. That is the kind of freedom we can have, and we learn how to live within that freedom through His instructions in Scripture.
Ah LORD, I do reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees...for then I will be able to walk about in freedom.
Sixth letter of the Hebrew alephbet
What an uplifting song, this sixth poem the extols the unfailing love of God and his delightful commands. Only in the Scriptures do you put those two words together: delightful & commands. I don't know about you, but I have an intrinsic resistance to being commanded to do anything. People can suggest stuff to me, they can instruct me, they can influence me, they can explain to me, they can try to convince me, but once they try to TELL me what to do...I put up my wall. But this poet says that he delights in God's commands/decrees/law.
He makes, what seems to be, a contrasting point: within God's laws/commands I can experience freedom. Huh?
The working definition of freedom that I live/breathe is: I can do whatever I want. No boundaries. Have it your way. Break the rules. But this author asserts, from a much deeper, authentic reflection: freedom can't be sustained in that kind of abyss. Even as I write this, I wince. It is hard for me to conceive of freedom as something I experience because of commands, not outside of commands.
Maybe another way to conceive of freedom is: able to live a kind of life with just one master who loves loyally. The implication is, that without having one master that we choose, we end up having multiple masters we don't choose, and thus freedom becomes an illusion, rather than a limited reality. Freedom under God's rule may not seem to be as boundless as what advertisers promise their product can deliver, BUT freedom does not come based on the next purchase we make, but on the ONE purchase that God made on our behalf. God purchased our freedom from the enslavement of sin, and bought us to be not his slaves, but his sons and daughters. That is the kind of freedom we can have, and we learn how to live within that freedom through His instructions in Scripture.
Ah LORD, I do reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees...for then I will be able to walk about in freedom.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
For There I Find Delight
He
Too often the Mosaic Law is percieved as archaic and burdensom. The way some reference it, we should be relieved that we are set free from these commands. But I can't get over how this poet of psalms again and again articulates his blatant delight in this Mosaic Law.
"Direct me in the paths of your commands, for there I find delight."
It's an interesting phrase: God must direct my steps so that I will attain what is delight-full...on my own, I am unable to gain what is most gladdening. This poet finds delight in both in the experience of being directed, and also in the place he finds himself having walked the way of the Creator and Father.
There is this ongoing appeal to desire and delight in the OT. For as much as we find the OT cumbersome, the unwaveringly appeal to what is most beautiful about God's Way as revealed in Deuteronomy. Ironically, I don't find many people delighting and celebrating the Gospels...rather they are picking and pulling what they like out of it justify their own ways, or using it to burden others. Which is what happened with Deuteronomy and the rest of the Torah. Interestingly, Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it...why? Because it is so delight-full...it preserves life and through its fulfillment in Him he will produce in us abundant Joy, a life that overflows with contagious love, hands that serve with such skill and beauty that Creation, rather then always groaning under the weight of our sins, begins to sing with us about the coming redemption of All Things.
Jesus, may you give me understanding that I may have the delight you promised to us...a delight in your instruction which I will follow to the End of All Things.
Too often the Mosaic Law is percieved as archaic and burdensom. The way some reference it, we should be relieved that we are set free from these commands. But I can't get over how this poet of psalms again and again articulates his blatant delight in this Mosaic Law.
"Direct me in the paths of your commands, for there I find delight."
It's an interesting phrase: God must direct my steps so that I will attain what is delight-full...on my own, I am unable to gain what is most gladdening. This poet finds delight in both in the experience of being directed, and also in the place he finds himself having walked the way of the Creator and Father.
There is this ongoing appeal to desire and delight in the OT. For as much as we find the OT cumbersome, the unwaveringly appeal to what is most beautiful about God's Way as revealed in Deuteronomy. Ironically, I don't find many people delighting and celebrating the Gospels...rather they are picking and pulling what they like out of it justify their own ways, or using it to burden others. Which is what happened with Deuteronomy and the rest of the Torah. Interestingly, Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it...why? Because it is so delight-full...it preserves life and through its fulfillment in Him he will produce in us abundant Joy, a life that overflows with contagious love, hands that serve with such skill and beauty that Creation, rather then always groaning under the weight of our sins, begins to sing with us about the coming redemption of All Things.
Jesus, may you give me understanding that I may have the delight you promised to us...a delight in your instruction which I will follow to the End of All Things.
Cause Me To Understand...For You Have Set My Heart Free
Daleth
Apparently this poet is having a bad day, "I am laid low in the dust...". We all have days like that sooner or later. This poet, though, prays that God will be the one who gets him through the day (as opposed to a stiff drink, a violent movie, a extra scoop of ice cream, etc.)
As the poet is scrolling through his recent past, trying to get a grip on why things came to this difficult situation, he finds a gaping need for God to instruct him about reality.
And then he states this fascinating request: "Cause me to understand the Way of (Jesus) your Precepts...that I may Meditate on your Wonderful Deeds."
Cause me to understand...what does that imply? Life is difficult and the link between our actions and the resulting consequences is often obscure - and God is mostly unseen and very mysterious. There is much that does not make sense of this life. That doesn't stop me for straining to understand it, hence my interest in philosophy, history, theology, culture, etc. But all this seeking will be in vain if I'm trying to understand God's reality independent of God's help. The scientific method may not be the most valid form for understanding the LORD, though it is really helpful when it comes to his creation, in a limited sort of way (which is inherent in the method). So God, please keep causing me to understand you and your Reality.
Why receive this understanding? So that my heart can be set free. What is the link between God's caused understanding and a free - heart? Understanding God's Way is also referenced as Remembering God's Wonder-Full Deeds. To remember the good God has done - in you, around you, to you, through you - is to reflect on it, its impact on you and the world around you. What is the good that God has done/been doing? Only God can help you discern, and in the discerning you discover that your heart has become free from the dark despair that has infected this beautiful world.
God, cause me to understand how good and great and glorious you are in this Creation - and set my heart free to run your Way.
Apparently this poet is having a bad day, "I am laid low in the dust...". We all have days like that sooner or later. This poet, though, prays that God will be the one who gets him through the day (as opposed to a stiff drink, a violent movie, a extra scoop of ice cream, etc.)
As the poet is scrolling through his recent past, trying to get a grip on why things came to this difficult situation, he finds a gaping need for God to instruct him about reality.
And then he states this fascinating request: "Cause me to understand the Way of (Jesus) your Precepts...that I may Meditate on your Wonderful Deeds."
Cause me to understand...what does that imply? Life is difficult and the link between our actions and the resulting consequences is often obscure - and God is mostly unseen and very mysterious. There is much that does not make sense of this life. That doesn't stop me for straining to understand it, hence my interest in philosophy, history, theology, culture, etc. But all this seeking will be in vain if I'm trying to understand God's reality independent of God's help. The scientific method may not be the most valid form for understanding the LORD, though it is really helpful when it comes to his creation, in a limited sort of way (which is inherent in the method). So God, please keep causing me to understand you and your Reality.
Why receive this understanding? So that my heart can be set free. What is the link between God's caused understanding and a free - heart? Understanding God's Way is also referenced as Remembering God's Wonder-Full Deeds. To remember the good God has done - in you, around you, to you, through you - is to reflect on it, its impact on you and the world around you. What is the good that God has done/been doing? Only God can help you discern, and in the discerning you discover that your heart has become free from the dark despair that has infected this beautiful world.
God, cause me to understand how good and great and glorious you are in this Creation - and set my heart free to run your Way.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Open My Eyes That I May See
Gimel
This is the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the third stanza of Psalm 119 - eight verses that all begin with the letter Gimel.
The author makes two requests that reveal our dependence upon God's initiative in our life, he writes:
"Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word...
"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
He is making a request that God is already at work doing...he is invoking the Genesis Story, and in one sense prophetically the Jesus Stories.
All that God has ever made is Good. All that God has ever given is Good. But wouldn't you know it, we have a hard time seeing what is Good in this world, in the Creation, in the neighbor and annoying family member, even ourself.
So we have the next obvious, crucial declaration: open my eyes - even in my blindness, even in the darkness, even in my foggy yearnings I can sense a goodness not yet touched, feel a goodness which is just beyond my grasp. God - Open My Eyes!
I want to see what is good, beautiful, inspiring, deeply satisfying and delightful. God spoke the Creation into existence - all that God has ever said is Good, terrible at times - and tragic, but Good. Thus if God speaks to us in the form of instruction, command, decree, law, etc, it is Good, and we need it to really live, and we need him to open up our eyes, our soul, our heart to his Word.
God Open My Eyes That I May See the beautiful truth of your good words which create a new beginning in the world of people around me.
This is the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the third stanza of Psalm 119 - eight verses that all begin with the letter Gimel.
The author makes two requests that reveal our dependence upon God's initiative in our life, he writes:
"Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word...
"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
He is making a request that God is already at work doing...he is invoking the Genesis Story, and in one sense prophetically the Jesus Stories.
All that God has ever made is Good. All that God has ever given is Good. But wouldn't you know it, we have a hard time seeing what is Good in this world, in the Creation, in the neighbor and annoying family member, even ourself.
So we have the next obvious, crucial declaration: open my eyes - even in my blindness, even in the darkness, even in my foggy yearnings I can sense a goodness not yet touched, feel a goodness which is just beyond my grasp. God - Open My Eyes!
I want to see what is good, beautiful, inspiring, deeply satisfying and delightful. God spoke the Creation into existence - all that God has ever said is Good, terrible at times - and tragic, but Good. Thus if God speaks to us in the form of instruction, command, decree, law, etc, it is Good, and we need it to really live, and we need him to open up our eyes, our soul, our heart to his Word.
God Open My Eyes That I May See the beautiful truth of your good words which create a new beginning in the world of people around me.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
I Seek You With All My Heart
Beth
No, this is not a love song by Celine Dion. It is an ancient poem written by a wise rabbi named Ezra, a man who had grown up frustrated with the seemingly absence of God. Ezra was a responsible for completing the rebuilding of the temple after the Exile, the fulfillment of a life-long dream, an act that symbolized the return of God to his people - God was no longer absent.
Do you ever feel like God is absent from your life?
Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my Starbucks working on my sermon, I'll look out the windows and watch cars drive by, people walking towards the mall, the traffic rushing by on Illinois Road, and I'll wonder: if this is real life - why does there seem to be such a disconnect with the kind of life described in Scripture.
Where does God fit in with my normal life: get up, get the kids up, get ready for work, go to work, work, run some errands on the way home, come home, get dinner ready, play with the kids, get the kids ready for bed, put the kids to bed, clean up the house, take care of personal business, connect with my spouse, get ready for bed, go to bed, wake up, start the day over again.
This psalmist, Ezra envisions a kind of life where the heart, in whatever place if finds itself - at home, at work, out shopping, with the kids or spouse, playing or sleeping - the heart is seeking God, looking for signs of God's presence, the heart is reciting His poetry of life and love, the heart is remembering his works of generosity and creativity, the heart is envisioning a response of forgiveness and grace to whomever comes across my way.
There is the kind of life that happens to you. And then there is the kind of life that you make happen. God invites us to seek him, to delight in his instructions, to meditate on his ways, to rejoice in his interventions, to keep his Words wrapped around our mind. This is how one makes a life that one calls blessed, this is how one makes a life that blesses others.
So when I wonder where God is, when I wonder how God fits in with my regular life, I remember what He has done to me and others, and I keep seeking.
Someday I'll find what I'm looking for.
No, this is not a love song by Celine Dion. It is an ancient poem written by a wise rabbi named Ezra, a man who had grown up frustrated with the seemingly absence of God. Ezra was a responsible for completing the rebuilding of the temple after the Exile, the fulfillment of a life-long dream, an act that symbolized the return of God to his people - God was no longer absent.
Do you ever feel like God is absent from your life?
Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my Starbucks working on my sermon, I'll look out the windows and watch cars drive by, people walking towards the mall, the traffic rushing by on Illinois Road, and I'll wonder: if this is real life - why does there seem to be such a disconnect with the kind of life described in Scripture.
Where does God fit in with my normal life: get up, get the kids up, get ready for work, go to work, work, run some errands on the way home, come home, get dinner ready, play with the kids, get the kids ready for bed, put the kids to bed, clean up the house, take care of personal business, connect with my spouse, get ready for bed, go to bed, wake up, start the day over again.
This psalmist, Ezra envisions a kind of life where the heart, in whatever place if finds itself - at home, at work, out shopping, with the kids or spouse, playing or sleeping - the heart is seeking God, looking for signs of God's presence, the heart is reciting His poetry of life and love, the heart is remembering his works of generosity and creativity, the heart is envisioning a response of forgiveness and grace to whomever comes across my way.
There is the kind of life that happens to you. And then there is the kind of life that you make happen. God invites us to seek him, to delight in his instructions, to meditate on his ways, to rejoice in his interventions, to keep his Words wrapped around our mind. This is how one makes a life that one calls blessed, this is how one makes a life that blesses others.
So when I wonder where God is, when I wonder how God fits in with my regular life, I remember what He has done to me and others, and I keep seeking.
Someday I'll find what I'm looking for.
Oh That My Ways Were Steadfast...
Aleph
The first word of Psalm 119 is "blessed". It is the description of those that go the way of God, of those that listen to his instruction, who do what is good and right and noble and true and loyal.
It is the most desirable kind of life - one where God gives in abundance, gives through you generously, gives to you shalom.
And in a moment of honesty, the author writes: Oh that my ways were blessed, oh that my life would be shalom...Oh God do not forsake me.
I think of alot of my friends at church, they have tough decisions to make as parents, complicated decisions to make about their jobs, schooling, finances. They are trying to figure out how to get an unreliable car fixed, or afford a different one; they are trying to figure out how to get a different job that will help them make ends meet as well as bring some kind of fulfillment.
But the way is foggy. And there is not this sense of blessedness.
The psalmist, being in similar predicaments takes control of what he can: doing what God has laid out as his Way. He states: I will obey your decrees. I can at least do that. If I determine up front to know and do what you have asked of us, then I will trust you to help me find a way that helps me not only make ends meet, but provide me with opportunities to give and bless others.
The first word of Psalm 119 is "blessed". It is the description of those that go the way of God, of those that listen to his instruction, who do what is good and right and noble and true and loyal.
It is the most desirable kind of life - one where God gives in abundance, gives through you generously, gives to you shalom.
And in a moment of honesty, the author writes: Oh that my ways were blessed, oh that my life would be shalom...Oh God do not forsake me.
I think of alot of my friends at church, they have tough decisions to make as parents, complicated decisions to make about their jobs, schooling, finances. They are trying to figure out how to get an unreliable car fixed, or afford a different one; they are trying to figure out how to get a different job that will help them make ends meet as well as bring some kind of fulfillment.
But the way is foggy. And there is not this sense of blessedness.
The psalmist, being in similar predicaments takes control of what he can: doing what God has laid out as his Way. He states: I will obey your decrees. I can at least do that. If I determine up front to know and do what you have asked of us, then I will trust you to help me find a way that helps me not only make ends meet, but provide me with opportunities to give and bless others.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Psalm 119 - Letter "He" (pronounced "hchay")
I just finished up my Old Testament class on the Prophetic Books. My professor has been elaborating the point that one cannot understand the New Testament apart from the Old Testament. At first this may sound somewhat biased...of course an OT guy is going to say that to be true. But a simple reading of Jesus and Paul should quickly alert the reader that the OT is important, it is quoted directly and indirectly repeatedly throughout their teachings. As this class progressed, it became clearer and clearer to me how muddled my understanding of the Scriptures is, even after all of my studies. At first this sounds discouraging, but it is actually inspiring. Like you, I want to know my Bible better. And like you, I have so much more to learn. And like you, the more I get into it and study, the more I understand, and the more I understand, the more illumination I receive upon the truth.
This takes me to our Psalm 119 reading this past Sunday. In the ESV reading, it goes "Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statues, and I will keep it to the end". That is what Jesus did...he says in John that He only did what the Father instructed him to do...and he taught us the way of God, that we might follow it to the end. Verse 34 ends with "observe it with my whole heart" which sounds like the Great Commandment.
Basically, the more you understand the Old Testament, the more you'll understand the New Testament. Right now, in your Scripture reading, you are reading a lot of OT stuff...just know that the more you "get" the OT stuff, the more illuminating will be your NT readings. When you read the NT, be looking for OT connections.
If you have questions, post them...others are sure to have similar ones.
Tim
This takes me to our Psalm 119 reading this past Sunday. In the ESV reading, it goes "Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statues, and I will keep it to the end". That is what Jesus did...he says in John that He only did what the Father instructed him to do...and he taught us the way of God, that we might follow it to the end. Verse 34 ends with "observe it with my whole heart" which sounds like the Great Commandment.
Basically, the more you understand the Old Testament, the more you'll understand the New Testament. Right now, in your Scripture reading, you are reading a lot of OT stuff...just know that the more you "get" the OT stuff, the more illuminating will be your NT readings. When you read the NT, be looking for OT connections.
If you have questions, post them...others are sure to have similar ones.
Tim
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