Psalm 49
The Psalmist is troubled at the prosperity of those who “boast of their great riches” (verse 6).
There is more here than just wrestling with his own lack of riches. There is honest spiritual reflection here on what an eternal perspective on relative material wealth should be.
The reflection hinges on the trust factor. Those who trust in their riches will find they have put all their eggs in the wrong basket. Rich and poor alike die. But then that’s not quite the issue. Being rich is not wrong. Trusting in riches is. By the same token, poverty itself is not a virtue. On the contrary, it is an urgent aspect of ministry and mission. The spiritual poverty that Jesus would later commend (Matthew 5:3) means we know our strength lies in someone other than ourselves. That attitude of need may be more elusive for those who feel themselves to be self-sufficient. The Biblical perspective is that this is a danger more for the materially rich than the materially poor.
A further thought, one that doesn’t come directly out of this text, but is prompted by it: Why is it when we speak of heaven we tend to think of its delights as being extensions or fulfillments of earthly enjoyments? You know, the golf course to end all golf courses, and when you play it your slice is gone - that kind of thing. All we really know is that we will be with God and enjoy complete union with him and all those who have trusted in him. It’s about an indestructible relationship, in and through his Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:38-39). As for what we will be like, Scripture focuses on the complete change in us, rather than any sort of continuation of what we now know (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:35-53).
There is a truth in this Psalm that is a commonplace observation: Death is the great leveler. But Scriptural faith goes beyond that to something more powerful. We are made for eternity. What kind of eternity that will be depends in no way on the values we get from life in this world. That’s a hard lesson for the rich of experience, the rich of knowledge, the rich of wisdom accumulated through life. For the mature of faith, all those things are tools of service, perhaps means of edification and enjoyment in life. They count for nothing for eternity (see Philippians 3:7-9). We all depend on one thing and one thing only: belief in the risen Lord Jesus (Romans 10:9).
Prayer:
God, give me a right perspective on, and enjoyment of, the things of this world. Through Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
What's a Meta Phor?
Psalm 48
When trying to express the inexpressible, we make use of what is available. When trying to convey some big reality, I fumble around for an “It’s like” – otherwise known as a metaphor. I find myself doing that in trying to explain something my sons ask me (although I find more and more they are helping me understand at lot!).
There is a concern within this Psalm to pass on what is most valuable to the next generation and beyond. What is most valuable is to know the Lord. After a celebration of the Lord’s power in history and over against the world’s mightiest rulers, the scene focuses in on Jerusalem and the temple, where the people gather to experience God together. This gathering together has always been vital to the Judeo-Christian community. In early years of the church, Christians gathered in homes, or wherever they could, for teaching, communion, and empowerment. But the apostles still went to the temple. This was at this point still a part of Judaism. But it became just as important for those little groups with their own worshiping lives and learning and serving to come together for the celebration of worship together as it was in Old Testament times. Christians might say there was even more to be called together to celebrate. The traditional Presbyterian worship service begins with a “Call to Worship” – and we still need to acknowledge somehow that we are called together in this way.
Anyway, having that kind of experience in the temple and looking around at its impressive features, this became the “It’s like” for the older worshipers instructing the younger ones. It was intended to point to the limitless power of the God acting on earth. And even in the pre-resurrection faith expressed here, it hints at the eternal life we are intended for with Him (verse 14).
Prayer:
Great God, expand my perception of you in the multitude of ways you reveal yourself. You make the impossible happen by allowing us to see and experience in tangible ways what is your glory. Help us develop ways of celebrating you and sharing you with whatever means that can help. About the worst sin your church could commit, apart from outright heresy and hypocrisy, would be to be boring. Let us do our utmost to give expression to the wonder of you in this generation, and for the next. Through Christ. Amen.
When trying to express the inexpressible, we make use of what is available. When trying to convey some big reality, I fumble around for an “It’s like” – otherwise known as a metaphor. I find myself doing that in trying to explain something my sons ask me (although I find more and more they are helping me understand at lot!).
There is a concern within this Psalm to pass on what is most valuable to the next generation and beyond. What is most valuable is to know the Lord. After a celebration of the Lord’s power in history and over against the world’s mightiest rulers, the scene focuses in on Jerusalem and the temple, where the people gather to experience God together. This gathering together has always been vital to the Judeo-Christian community. In early years of the church, Christians gathered in homes, or wherever they could, for teaching, communion, and empowerment. But the apostles still went to the temple. This was at this point still a part of Judaism. But it became just as important for those little groups with their own worshiping lives and learning and serving to come together for the celebration of worship together as it was in Old Testament times. Christians might say there was even more to be called together to celebrate. The traditional Presbyterian worship service begins with a “Call to Worship” – and we still need to acknowledge somehow that we are called together in this way.
Anyway, having that kind of experience in the temple and looking around at its impressive features, this became the “It’s like” for the older worshipers instructing the younger ones. It was intended to point to the limitless power of the God acting on earth. And even in the pre-resurrection faith expressed here, it hints at the eternal life we are intended for with Him (verse 14).
Prayer:
Great God, expand my perception of you in the multitude of ways you reveal yourself. You make the impossible happen by allowing us to see and experience in tangible ways what is your glory. Help us develop ways of celebrating you and sharing you with whatever means that can help. About the worst sin your church could commit, apart from outright heresy and hypocrisy, would be to be boring. Let us do our utmost to give expression to the wonder of you in this generation, and for the next. Through Christ. Amen.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Dig This Whole
Psalm 47
So at certain times the people would have this big celebration like they were putting God on his throne. Only they knew they weren’t really doing this, and couldn’t. This was one time to say, “It’s about me.” By ‘putting’ God on his throne they were putting themselves in their place: “He’s God and we’re not.” Also it would serve as a way of putting together the two parts of their national life. Israel was, after all, both a religious and political entity.
So by ‘putting’ God on the throne of my own life, by this gesture of submission I also necessarily have to look at the various parts of my life to try to make sure they are parts in function only, and not compartments of varying subjection to God’s oversight and will. That can be ethically convenient, but disastrous to living.
In personalizing this song, though, I should not overlook the call to the nations to clap their hands. Even a s figure of speech, it’s tantalizing to conjure up what that would look and sound like: All peoples, all leaders, putting hands together to praise rather than to strike or to grab (as in grabbing supplies meant for cyclone victims).
For you, me, and for all peoples, the key to integrity is acknowledging who has charge of life as whole.
Prayer:
God, have I made you the Lord over my whole life, so that my life will be therefore whole? In Christ. Amen.
So at certain times the people would have this big celebration like they were putting God on his throne. Only they knew they weren’t really doing this, and couldn’t. This was one time to say, “It’s about me.” By ‘putting’ God on his throne they were putting themselves in their place: “He’s God and we’re not.” Also it would serve as a way of putting together the two parts of their national life. Israel was, after all, both a religious and political entity.
So by ‘putting’ God on the throne of my own life, by this gesture of submission I also necessarily have to look at the various parts of my life to try to make sure they are parts in function only, and not compartments of varying subjection to God’s oversight and will. That can be ethically convenient, but disastrous to living.
In personalizing this song, though, I should not overlook the call to the nations to clap their hands. Even a s figure of speech, it’s tantalizing to conjure up what that would look and sound like: All peoples, all leaders, putting hands together to praise rather than to strike or to grab (as in grabbing supplies meant for cyclone victims).
For you, me, and for all peoples, the key to integrity is acknowledging who has charge of life as whole.
Prayer:
God, have I made you the Lord over my whole life, so that my life will be therefore whole? In Christ. Amen.
Friday, May 09, 2008
He Who Is Closer than Chaos
Psalm 46
It’s like there are three stanzas here, with a refrain appearing in verses 7 and 11 – once also after verse 3 but lost through handing down?
The first stanza of this song (verses 1-3) celebrates resistance against the one-step-away-from-disaster sense about life. You know, one more unexpected bill and you’re done; one more fight between the kids and you’re going to really lose it. Or maybe every time you hear about an illness you think you’ve got it or will get it. Or every time your spouse commutes to work you think of the last crazy driver you encountered or heard about. Chaos is ready to pounce on your life with just one little opening.
No, the Psalmist says, we don’t give in to those fears, however real they may be. Why? Because
The Lord almighty is with us (read ‘me’ if you like);
The God of Jacob is our/my fortress.
The God who held back the watery chaos to make a place for creation to flourish (Genesis 1) intended life for us from the beginning, and he’s not about to give up that purpose and desire for us. Trouble may come, but chaos and darkness will not overtake us.
Similarly, (verses 4-7); the rage of the world can assault the center of our faith (in this case seen as Jerusalem, the City of God), but the powerful forces of nations and history cannot prevail against a people who trust in the Lord and his purose and destiny for them. Try reading verses 4-5, substituting “my heart” for “city of God.” This doesn’t speak of a geographical river anyway. So try it, yes now … “There is a river that makes glad my heart …”
And, for a people embattled by spiritual warfare and the struggle of their basic humanity rising up within their redeemed life …
The Lord almighty is with us;
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
And then (verses 8-11), there is this great summation, anticipating the living of life now in the character of the life to be brought by the coming Lord, the effect of kingdom life lived in the midst of the chaotic world: Yes, it is living hope. Why? Because of our unrealized potential? Because we haven’t yet used what is within us? Because there is a basic goodness we just have to let loose from within us? No. It can be realized because
The Lord almighty is with us;
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
And throughout cyberspace God’s people say,
“Amen.”
It’s like there are three stanzas here, with a refrain appearing in verses 7 and 11 – once also after verse 3 but lost through handing down?
The first stanza of this song (verses 1-3) celebrates resistance against the one-step-away-from-disaster sense about life. You know, one more unexpected bill and you’re done; one more fight between the kids and you’re going to really lose it. Or maybe every time you hear about an illness you think you’ve got it or will get it. Or every time your spouse commutes to work you think of the last crazy driver you encountered or heard about. Chaos is ready to pounce on your life with just one little opening.
No, the Psalmist says, we don’t give in to those fears, however real they may be. Why? Because
The Lord almighty is with us (read ‘me’ if you like);
The God of Jacob is our/my fortress.
The God who held back the watery chaos to make a place for creation to flourish (Genesis 1) intended life for us from the beginning, and he’s not about to give up that purpose and desire for us. Trouble may come, but chaos and darkness will not overtake us.
Similarly, (verses 4-7); the rage of the world can assault the center of our faith (in this case seen as Jerusalem, the City of God), but the powerful forces of nations and history cannot prevail against a people who trust in the Lord and his purose and destiny for them. Try reading verses 4-5, substituting “my heart” for “city of God.” This doesn’t speak of a geographical river anyway. So try it, yes now … “There is a river that makes glad my heart …”
And, for a people embattled by spiritual warfare and the struggle of their basic humanity rising up within their redeemed life …
The Lord almighty is with us;
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
And then (verses 8-11), there is this great summation, anticipating the living of life now in the character of the life to be brought by the coming Lord, the effect of kingdom life lived in the midst of the chaotic world: Yes, it is living hope. Why? Because of our unrealized potential? Because we haven’t yet used what is within us? Because there is a basic goodness we just have to let loose from within us? No. It can be realized because
The Lord almighty is with us;
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
And throughout cyberspace God’s people say,
“Amen.”
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
With the Caring of the Lord
Psalm 45
The psalm celebrates a king who is divinely appointed and fulfills his role in such a way that he can been seen as a representative of Lord, with the Lord’s own care and love for the people. God gave humanity this kind of care over the life of the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). This is a more specific kind of stewardship of a people.
It would now seem sexist, if not also an example of nationalistic chauvinism, that the king’s foreign bride is told to forget her own people and dedicate herself totally to her husband and her new setting (verses 10-11). In the context, it is a sign of the worthiness of the king. The ancient church saw this marriage as a sign of the submission of the church to the authority and purpose of Christ as King over the church and the world.
The kind of genuine care for people in modern government seems only to be evident in a time of tragedy. The ruling generals of Myanmar (or Burma, whatever it is most properly called), hardly fit the description of kingship in the psalm. We can help, through, among other avenues:
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
Red Cross
World Vision
On another plane, in times of such a monumental tragedy, there is the “why” or “why them or us” type of question. With some discomfort at being overly reflective in the midst of down-to-earth human misery, I recall something I wrote after the Asian Tsunami, which came to mind again in thinking of all the thousands devastated by this cyclone.
Each beating heart got its start from You,
There’s no life apart from Your power and your cue,
But this is one cry through a sudden wave’s wall:
Why them, not I; do You love us all?
Some suffer more from the powers of earth,
What is this for, are there some of lesser worth?
How do you choose who will get the call,
Are some meant to lose, or do You truly love us all?
There’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as You love us all.
Your power can move in any latitude,
Show us your grace of greater magnitude.
By loving mighty fire and your reign installed
May no one need inquire, or ever doubt, if You love us all.
‘Cause there’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as You love us all.
Though the earth will quake, skies will be torn,
Our bond will not break with a new world that’s born
‘Cause there’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as you love us all.
As You Love Us All, Copyright © 2006 James Kitson
Prayer:
God, thank you that you hear the cries of your children throughout the earth. You are the unchanging God, but you are not unaffected or unmoved by the circumstances of people, when they call out to you, or others call to you on their behalf. Thank you for those who care; speed the efforts of those seeking to help people now undergoing disaster. Through Christ. Amen.
The psalm celebrates a king who is divinely appointed and fulfills his role in such a way that he can been seen as a representative of Lord, with the Lord’s own care and love for the people. God gave humanity this kind of care over the life of the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). This is a more specific kind of stewardship of a people.
It would now seem sexist, if not also an example of nationalistic chauvinism, that the king’s foreign bride is told to forget her own people and dedicate herself totally to her husband and her new setting (verses 10-11). In the context, it is a sign of the worthiness of the king. The ancient church saw this marriage as a sign of the submission of the church to the authority and purpose of Christ as King over the church and the world.
The kind of genuine care for people in modern government seems only to be evident in a time of tragedy. The ruling generals of Myanmar (or Burma, whatever it is most properly called), hardly fit the description of kingship in the psalm. We can help, through, among other avenues:
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
Red Cross
World Vision
On another plane, in times of such a monumental tragedy, there is the “why” or “why them or us” type of question. With some discomfort at being overly reflective in the midst of down-to-earth human misery, I recall something I wrote after the Asian Tsunami, which came to mind again in thinking of all the thousands devastated by this cyclone.
Each beating heart got its start from You,
There’s no life apart from Your power and your cue,
But this is one cry through a sudden wave’s wall:
Why them, not I; do You love us all?
Some suffer more from the powers of earth,
What is this for, are there some of lesser worth?
How do you choose who will get the call,
Are some meant to lose, or do You truly love us all?
There’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as You love us all.
Your power can move in any latitude,
Show us your grace of greater magnitude.
By loving mighty fire and your reign installed
May no one need inquire, or ever doubt, if You love us all.
‘Cause there’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as You love us all.
Though the earth will quake, skies will be torn,
Our bond will not break with a new world that’s born
‘Cause there’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as you love us all.
As You Love Us All, Copyright © 2006 James Kitson
Prayer:
God, thank you that you hear the cries of your children throughout the earth. You are the unchanging God, but you are not unaffected or unmoved by the circumstances of people, when they call out to you, or others call to you on their behalf. Thank you for those who care; speed the efforts of those seeking to help people now undergoing disaster. Through Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The Only Power Over You
Psalm 44
The Psalmist reflects that in times of victory, the real power was the Lord’s, fulfilling his purpose. Things have turned sour in the context of writing. There’s been some sort of national defeat. The intensity of the anguish involves seeing the Lord in this turn of things (verse 9). He protests that the nation has not turned on or away from the Lord.
The hope in this comes at the point of the most pain. This situation might be easier to wrestle with if it were not seen as the hand of the Lord. But where would that leave him? Where would it leave us if the attacks in life were things the Lord were completely separated from? It would mean those things would be what have power over us. As it is, he at least is acknowledging God’s control over things. If there is to be any hope in circumstances beyond our control, where is strength, help and hope going to come from? From the circumstances? From us? What/Who does that leave? Exactly.
The reason for trials is usually and frustratingly impervious to our perception. We yet have the Lord. Even if he has had a hand in our trials, the maturity of faith knows that that ultimately can only be good.
Prayer:
Grow me up Lord, to trust in your workings, and to begin to see even the outline of your shape in my life. Through Christ. Amen.
The Psalmist reflects that in times of victory, the real power was the Lord’s, fulfilling his purpose. Things have turned sour in the context of writing. There’s been some sort of national defeat. The intensity of the anguish involves seeing the Lord in this turn of things (verse 9). He protests that the nation has not turned on or away from the Lord.
The hope in this comes at the point of the most pain. This situation might be easier to wrestle with if it were not seen as the hand of the Lord. But where would that leave him? Where would it leave us if the attacks in life were things the Lord were completely separated from? It would mean those things would be what have power over us. As it is, he at least is acknowledging God’s control over things. If there is to be any hope in circumstances beyond our control, where is strength, help and hope going to come from? From the circumstances? From us? What/Who does that leave? Exactly.
The reason for trials is usually and frustratingly impervious to our perception. We yet have the Lord. Even if he has had a hand in our trials, the maturity of faith knows that that ultimately can only be good.
Prayer:
Grow me up Lord, to trust in your workings, and to begin to see even the outline of your shape in my life. Through Christ. Amen.
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