Pour out Your Heart

Day 140.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah (Psalm 62:8 ESV)

The more I read the Psalms, the more enamored with them. You see the psalmist doing the vert thing he calls us to do here – “pour out your heart before him.” You see him confess his sin, utter his frustration and confusion, even with the slowness of God to answer, curse the evildoers. We see him in pain and in despair and on the heights of joy with the beatific vision. In so doing you begin to see the relational side of God through him. God is not just a far away judge to help you when you are oppressed or to judge you when you mess up. He is intimately close and a trusted friend. Isn’t that what we need if we are to pour out our hearts? Of course, he is more than that too, which is good because we need more than that. His presence always “re-centers” the experiences and the emotions of the psalmist. Pouring his heart out to God always brings the psalmist’s perspective back into the bigger picture where God’s justice and covenantal love are in view. It draws the emotions back into view of the joy and peace always found in God’s covenantal care.

So, pour out your heart before him.

Oaths and Bloodguilt

Day 139.

Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. (2 Samuel 21:1-2 ESV)

The people of Israel had made a treaty with them way back during the time of Joshua, more than two centuries earlier. Even though the treaty was made by them through the deception of the the Gibeanites, it stood in the eyes of God. If God brings famine on all the land because a 200+ year old oath is broken, how serious do you think God considers oaths? It certainly shows how committed He is to the oaths or promises he makes to us. And it should convict us regarding the flippant way we take oaths today. I think of marriage oaths and church membership oaths and oaths of office.

What oaths have you made?

Snails into Slime

Day 138.

Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun (Psalm 58:8 ESV)

This week I am preparing to talk about the curses in the Psalms. There are some pretty interesting curses! Since the Psalms are meant for public prayer we need to know how it is that we are to pray these. They seem to contradict the New Testament teaching to bless those who curse you and pray for those who persecute you. Is this the kind of prayer that we are to pray for those who persecute us? It is hard to imagine that we are to pray like this, at least not because of personal attack. We may feel like this but it is hard to reconcile with the compassion that we are called to have on the lost. There must something bigger going on that would justify such cursing so lets examine the rest of the psalm.

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth…
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun…
The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.” (Psalm 58:1, 2, 8, 10, 11 ESV)

It seems that the men who have taken power, referred to as “gods” do not judge uprightly. They “deal out violence.” This reminds me of Jesus’ statement about those who cause others to sin, “it is better that he have a millstone around his neck and be thrown into the sea than cause one of these to stumble.” I think this gets us close to understanding the concern of the Psalmist. The kingdom of Israel is at stake. Evil men have seized control and David, the anointed of God, has fled for his life from the city. This cannot be a curse coming out of personal vendetta, but a curse derived from the greater concern of the anointed and his rule over the kingdom for the sake of justice and equity.

There is more to it than that, but that is a good start I think.

The Forest of Ephraim

Day 137.

So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword. (2 Samuel 18:6-8 ESV)

I can’t help but think of the Forest of Fangorn from the Lord of the Rings that defeats the Orcs. It is hard to know exactly what this means (the next verse describes how Absolom is caught in the branches by the hair), but it does show how even the rocks and trees do the Lord’s bidding. How foolish we are to think that God does not see or intervene in the lives of men. The Westminster Confession explains, “God ordains whatsoever comes to pass.” This is a comfort to those who trust the Lord and a denial of freedom to those who still cling to their own way.

What is it for you?

What do you do after God’s help?

Day 136.

Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7  The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him. (Psalm 28:6-7)

I know a couple that has faced some big challenges and they sought the Lord and counsel to get through it. They seemed serious about turning to the Lord. But as God delivered they have gone back to their old habits. I do not see them turning to the Lord anymore. It seems he served his purpose and now they have no need of him. Even as I shake my head in dismay over them as they merely use God for their own ends rather than pursue God as their ultimate end I am convicted for doing the same thing. Yes, I know I’m a pastor and spend regular time in prayer and the Word. But I still recognize my own attitude as the same. I ask for help in putting together a sermon or a lesson and God answers. But when do I return to Him and give thanks and rejoice with Him? I do, but not always right away. I forget and simply enjoy the blessing people received, as though it were the work of my hands.

The Psalms of David are such good reminders to give thanks and rejoice with God over the answers He provides, for He is much more to me than the things he can do for me. Lord, protect me from myself!

Let the Lord do What Seems Best to Him

Day 135.

Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” (2 Samuel 15:25-26 ESV )

David is fleeing the city because of His son, Absolom’s rebellion. The priests loyal to him bring with them the Ark of the Covenant but David sends it back. In so doing he risks never getting to enter the house of God again, that which has been his greatest joy (e.g. see Psalm 16 and 84). But he also knows that the.kingdom is more important than even his own life. This is reflected in his statement,

If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”

It is such a powerful statement. David loves the Lord and His kingdom more even than his own life. It is reminiscent of Jesus’ own betrayal which took place in much the same place, the Mount of Olives, and gives insight as to Jesus’ attitude. He did not consider his life even more important than God’s purposes for His kingdom.

Why Does God Forgive?

Day 134.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions. ( Psalm 51:1 ESV )

Though I may not say it, lingering in the back of my mind is the idea that God will only forgive me if I have some pledge of doing better or some work to make up for it. Even though I know that God’s forgiveness comes only on the basis of His mercy; the only sacrifice enough to cover my sin the one that He provided in Jesus, this thought wants to creep in. How much I need the Psalms to pound it into me that my only appeal for forgiveness is God’s love. What a wonderful pounding!

The Aaronic Blessing

Day 133.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:1-3 ESV)

The first part of this verse comes from the Aaronic blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26 and is often the benediction upon God’s people at the end of worship services. That blessing, taken out of context, can easily be seen as a blessing for personal privilege and prosperity. The psalm gives us the rest of the story, “that your way may be known on earth…”. When God’s blessing comes, it comes for a bigger purpose than just you. It comes for you, yes, but by extension it is meant for all of God’s people and bigger still that the glory of God might be known throughout the world. Tis is not a knock on the individual blessing, either. It helps us to see that our blessing is that we are part of a much bigger purpose and part of a much bigger people. This runs counter to American individualism. Nonetheless, it is a good thing!