Day 171. Psalms 90-95

Psalm 90
This psalm--#90—is a teaching psalm; its voice is that of an instructor contrasting the eternality of God with human mortality for the benefit of his students. "LORD, you have been our dwelling place in all generations," the psalmist begins (90:1), comparing God to the house in which the people of Israel live. God is has always been their refuge in the past. But there is no escaping the truth, that human life is pitifully short. In the end we "like grass" are "consumed by [the LORD's] anger," victims of our own sinfulness (7). So since human life lasts a mere seventy or eighty years, we need to be instructed by the LORD "to count our days, that we may gain a wise heart" (12). Wisdom will not greatly lengthen our lives, but it will help us not to squander those years we have been given. The wise are blessed if they are "glad [at least] as many days [as they are] afflicted" (15)—they express the modest hope that they may have at
least as many good years as bad, and that "the work of our hands" may prosper (17). This is the way that a good life is defined in Old Testament wisdom sayings like this psalm—a good life is not cut short by premature death, it is at least as happy as it is unhappy, and it affords the wise something meaningful to do, something in which they can find satisfaction and not frustration, because work is a blessing given to human beings by God to fill the brief years he has given us.
Psalm 91
This again is a teaching psalm in which the voice passes along traditional wisdom. The voice calls upon the younger generation to regard God is their "refuge" and their "fortress," the one who delivers them from whatever tight places they find themselves (91:2-3). God does not protect us from the consequences of our own foolishness, however, but he does uphold those who put their trust in him (91:9-10) and "love" him (14). He will not let them dash their "foot against a stone" (12). (The devil quotes verses 11-12 in his temptation of Jesus in the Gospels.) These verses are not an invitation for us to "test" God, but a call to faith and trust. And one of the chief blessings promised to those who live in faith and trust is a "long life" in which to experience again and again the "salvation" of the LORD.
Psalm 92
This psalm--#92—is intended to recommend to all a life of thankfulness and praise. "It is good to give thanks to the LORD," the voice of the psalm says (1), expressing praise within the context of temple worship in song and to the accompaniment of "the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre" (3). Notice how stupidity here is equated with wickedness (6-7), and wisdom is associated with righteousness. By acquiring wisdom we learn to be upright. In ancient Israel wisdom and knowledge always have a positive moral element to them. There is no knowledge for its own sake. Those who have wisdom—the insight into how to live a good life--are the righteous, and their lives "flourish like the palm tree" (12). "They are planted in the house of the LORD" (13)—in other words. they are faithful in temple worship. And their righteousness is rewarded by a vigorous and fruitful old age, in which "they are always green and full of sap" (14).
And an old age free of self-centeredness and brittleness is indeed a great blessing!
Psalm 93
This is a hymn of praise to the heavenly king that was sung at the enthronement of Israel's kings. The attributes of the divine king are given by extension to the earthly one. God is enthroned over the chaos of the "mighty waters," he establishes order over "the sea" as the king establishes order in his kingdom (3-4). The laws of God can be trusted—his "decrees are very sure--and from those divine laws flow the earthly laws of the good king. God's "throne is established from of old . . . from everlasting" (2), and he underpins the throne of the house of David. "Holiness befits [the LORD's] house" (5); he is enthroned in the temple, which is his earthly palace, and he blesses Jerusalem and its king by his presence there (5).
Psalm 94
The "God of vengeance" (94:1) to whom the psalm is addressed is the God of justice, his anger aroused by those who "kill the widow and the stranger" and "murder the orphan" (6). This psalm, which calls upon the LORD "to give the proud what they deserve" (2), also seeks to teach "the dullest of people" (8) that God is not distant or indifferent or gullible—he knows what is going on. He isn't fooled. His will punish those who break his laws. "He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to human kind, does he not chastise?" (10), the voice of the psalm asks. But discipline is not a bad thing. Discipline is, in fact, a form of love, the way in which God takes an interest in his children and prepares them to live a life of righteousness. He disciplines the ones he has chosen to be righteous, and those righteous ones are preserved and protected. God will not abandon them "in the land of silence" (17). The voice of
the psalm has experienced the LORD's salvation. When he thought his foot was slipping, the "steadfast love" of the LORD held him up (18). So the wicked are repaid "for their iniquity" (23), but the LORD is a "rock of . . . refuge" (22) for those who put their trust in him.
Psalm 95
This psalm --#95—is a liturgy sung at one of the great feasts in the temple. It is a pattern of statement and response, in which as many as three voices speak in turn. The first voice invites the congregation to "sing to the LORD" (1) and "to come into his presence with thanksgiving" (2). This voice celebrates the LORD for his power in his work of creation, for making and maintaining the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains, the sea and the dry land (5). The second voice repeats the call to worship, celebrating God's role as the "Shepherd of Israel" who protects cares for the "sheep of his hand" (7), his chosen people. The third voice cautions the congregation not to "harden" their hearts, as their ancestors did in the wilderness (8) or to put the LORD "to the proof" (9)—to test him to see if he is really God. Such behavior has terrible consequences. "That generation" suffered for their stubbornness and
insolence, but God remained faithful to his people Israel. So the God the Creator, who chose Israel as the "sheep of his hand," is celebrated because he punishes his people, all the while remaining faithful to them, even when he loathes their willful and rebellious behavior (10).

Day 170. Psalms 85-89

Psalm 85
This psalm is a liturgy in which groups and persons sing to each other in a dialogue of verse and response—in the first stanza one voice recalls how God once forgave and "restored the fortunes of Jacob" (85:1). Then in the second stanza a second voice prays for the LORD to "restore [them] again" (4), and "revive" them (6). The nation has declined in spiritual and political power. Now the worshipping community calls upon God to "show [them his] steadfast love" (7) and prove again his faithfulness by keeping his promise to David. And in the final stanza yet another voice predicts that the day will come—not too far in the future—when "steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other" (10). These attributes of God are personified as if they were angelic creatures, ready to fulfill his promise to restore the fortunes of Jacob and "give what is good" (12) to the land and the people he chose
as his own.
Psalm 86
"I am poor and needy," the voice of the psalm says in 86:1. This may not be literally true—what he is saying is the he is destitute of any other support except the LORD. He is certainly lonely and depressed, and he prays to God to "lift up [his] soul" (4). Only the LORD can do that, because whereas the psalmist is "poor and needy," the LORD is "good and forgiving" (5). The LORD is unique among the gods—the spiritual forces and powers in the universe-- because he does "wondrous things" in history (6) and saves individual persons who call out to him in faith. The psalmist prays for an "undivided heart" with which to revere God's name (11). He prays that he may not be distracted in his praise, for such a God deserves undivided glory for the "steadfast love" he shows. He has granted the psalmist deliverance from "the depths of Sheol" (13) when he was near death. Now he needs salvation from the worthless, no-good,
godless "ruffians" who "seek his life" (14). But in contrast to human beings, who can and often are unfaithful and treacherous, the LORD is "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (15). He keeps his promises when others cannot or will not. The voice of the psalm calls himself "the child of [God's] serving girl" (16)—not literally, of course. But he claims the "favor" that might be shown to the child of a secondary wife and female slave. And as "God's son" he calls out for deliverance in order that "those who hate [him] may be put to shame," and he himself may be "helped" and "comforted" (17).
Psalm 87
This little psalm praises the city of Jerusalem for the unique regard in which God holds it—he "loves" Zion particularly (87:1-2). The psalmist is uniquely blessed in being born there and experiencing the grace of living so close to the temple—the conduit through which God's presence comes to the earth. People from far-off corners of the then-known world express envy for one who was "born there" in Jerusalem (4). Maybe these voices are of Jews living in far-off countries who long for their homeland. Or more likely the voices are simply expressions of the psalmist's personal joy and pride in the city of his birth. The last verse is a problem. To whom is the psalmist referring when he says—"All my springs are in yours"? Whose are "my springs"--God's or Jerusalem's? It hardly matters, as the two are identified so closely in the psalm they are really one.
Psalm 88
This is an individual prayer for help sung in the context of temple worship. The voice of the psalm cries out to the God of the Living to save him, for he has become like the dead "whom [the LORD] remembers no more (68:5). The dead are cut off from God's presence because they are "in the depth of the Pit" (6)—that is how the psalmist feels. He is isolated from God and from his companions (7); his "eye grows dim through sorrow" (9). His vision fails. "Do you work wonders for the dead?" the psalmist asks the LORD. "Do the shades rise up to praise you?" And the unspoken answer is "no"—in the Old Testament, God is the God of Living and not the dead. To "Abaddon"—to the realm of the rulers of the dead—his faithfulness does not extend. (The Christian proclamation of the resurrection of Christ says exactly the opposite--that God has overcome the power of the death, and now nothing can withstand his love, even the grave.
Even in Death his faithfulness is known. Therefore we have a hope that transcends this life's limitations.) But the psalmist, facing the immediate possibility of dying, is "desperate" (15). And the psalm ends with the cry of soul isolated from God and other human beings, drowning in fear and self-contempt. (Been there. Got the t-shirt.)
Psalm 89
This is a royal psalm that celebrates God's "steadfast love" which is "established forever," and his "faithfulness [which] is as firm as the heavens" (89:1-2). God makes a covenant with his "chosen one"—with his "servant David"—that he will establish his throne forever (3-4) -- that one of David's descendents would reign in Jerusalem "for all generations." The faithfulness of the Lord is praised to the heavens. "Happy are the people who know the festal shout," the worshipping congregation sings—in other words, blessed are they themselves "who walk . . . in the light of your countenance" (15). God speaks "in a vision" to David, promising that his "faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him" (24). Even if his children "forsake [God's] law," they will be punished, but they will then be forgiven and the covenant will continue in force (32-34). God's covenant with David is an agreement of
unconditional love and faithfulness on God's part. Now the unimaginable has happened. (The voice of the psalm is suffering from what we call "cognitive dissonance.") The eternal house of David is deposed. There is no son of David's reigning from David's throne in Jerusalem. Now the question is—Is God no longer faithful, since his promise seems to have failed? God has "removed the scepter from his hand, and hurled [David's] throne to the ground" (44). Now the community in the temple—probably the second temple of Zerubbabel—asks "How long, O LORD?" How long until the line of David is restored? God's life goes on forever—time means nothing to him--but mortals die. They cannot wait forever. Human beings are weak. They must depend upon God to hear how the peoples "taunt the footsteps of your anointed" (51), and to respond in accord with his promises. That's where the psalm ends—with hope mixed with frustration. (And
no son of David ever did again rule in Jerusalem—political hope failed--but we Christians see the promise to David triumphantly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, son of David and risen Lord, who lives and reigns forever.)

Day 169. Psalms 79-84

Psalm 79
The ebb and flow of power in the ancient Middle East—an area that was no less volatile in the Old Testament period than it is today—meant that there was always a new crisis on the horizon for Jerusalem. The psalms are filled with cries for help against enemies threatening the very existence of the city and the temple. This time the worst fears have materialized, however. The year is 587 B.C. or thereabouts, and the Babylonians have captured the city, "defiled" the temple, "laid Jerusalem in ruins," and left so many dead there is "no one to bury them" (79:1-3). The People of the Promise have been shamed—they are "mocked and derided by those around" them (4)—but they have not been abandoned forever. At this moment of extreme crisis, the voice of the psalm begs the LORD to turn his anger away from Judah, his Chosen, to those "kingdoms that do not call on [his] name" (6) and in fact ridicule him. Punish the nations for their
arrogance, the psalmist begs, and "let the groans of the prisoners come before you" (11). "Return sevenfold the taunts with which they taunted you, O LORD!" (12) the community prays. And when the LORD has punished Israel's neighbors, then "the flock of [his] pasture will give thanks to [him] forever" (13), and future generations will remember and "recount [his] praise" (13).
Psalm 80
This is the only place in the Old Testament where God is given the title of "Shepherd of Israel" (80:1), though many times he is called upon to care for his people like a shepherd cares for his flock and save them from their enemies. What the occasion for salvation is this time we are not told. The worshipping community asks for renewed "life," and for vindication from the shame their enemies has heaped upon them (5-6). The psalm contains a parable here—a fable with a message for its hearers. God brings a vine out of Egypt (8). He "clear[s] the ground for it" (9) and it grows and thrives, sending out branches in all directions. But now God in his anger has "broken down its walls" so that the vine is no longer protected (12). (Several times in its history Jerusalem's enemies tore down its walls, making it vulnerable to any foe.) Now deprived of its defenses a "boar from the forest ravages it" (13). What or who this "boar" is we
are not told—probably some menacing foreign power—Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians or other marauding neighbors. The community feels deeply its vulnerably and prays--"Restore us, O LORD," and these words become a refrain in the psalm (3,7,19). Often individuals and nations—churches as well—experience "slippage"--a sense of having declined. Things were better once, but now a slow, wasting disease has taken hold. They feel themselves to be dying. In this psalm the worshipping community prays that the LORD will have "regard for this vine" (14)—his people-- and strengthen it, and in return his grateful people promise "never to turn back from [the LORD]" and "call upon [the] name" of the one who gives them "life" (18).
Psalm 81
Again, this is a festival hymn sung in the Jerusalem temple during one of three great feasts of the Israelite year—Passover, Pentecost (first fruits), and the Feast of Booths—accompanied by instrumental music (81:1-3). It is a liturgy—a dialogue between the congregation and leader who sings—"I hear a voice I had not known" (5b)—and then he reports the words of the LORD he has heard. The LORD recounts how he released Israel from their bondage in Egypt—"relieved [their] shoulder of the burden" (6). Now if they will listen to him and worship no "foreign God," he will bless them—"Open your mouth wide and I will fill it" (10), he says. He punished them in order to get their attention. Now if only they "would listen" to him and "walk in [his] ways" (13), the LORD promises that he would "quickly subdue their enemies" (14). He would bless them materially and spiritually, feeding them "with the finest wheat, and with
honey from the rock [he] would satisfy them" (16).
Psalm 82
God gathers the "divine council"—the angels and other spirits (remember the beginning of the Book of Job)—and scolds them. "How long" will they "judge unjustly?" he demands to know (2). They are the villains. They, not he, are the ones who are withholding justice from the "weak and the orphan" and showing "partiality to the wicked" (3). If these wayward angels do not repent, and do what is right, they will "die like mortals, and fall like any prince" (7). Earthly rulers are also put on notice; if they do not sponsor justice, they will also perish. And the psalm ends with a call to God to put an end to in the foolishness of the "gods," who "walk around in darkness" and judge the earth with justice himself.
Psalm 83
This is probably a hymn sung in the temple on many different occasions, a call for help from God suitable in any circumstances. It has a familiar theme—the wicked are conspiring against God's people. We get a laundry list of Israel's traditional enemies (83:6-7), to which the Assyrians have lately been added (8). The LORD is called upon to do to them what he did the former foes of Israel, now reduced to dust. The prayer of the temple congregation is that the LORD will protect the kingdom and make its enemies as "chaff before the wind" (13). And the vindication of God's Chosen People will be accompanied by the "disgrace" of those who wish them ill—God's enemies as well as theirs. Let them be "put to shame and dismayed forever," the worshiping community prays, that they may learn their lesson and henceforth "know that the [Lord] is Most High over all the earth" (18).
Psalm 84
This a traveling song sung by pilgrims coming to Jerusalem to attend one of the three great feasts celebrated in the temple. It is a hymn of joy and longing. Although God was present everywhere, in the temple in which his "name" dwells, he was closest to human beings. Heaven and earth meet there. And it is for the presence of God that the festal pilgrims say they long—indeed faint. The temple is the true home of those who love the LORD and seek his righteousness—even the humblest of birds—the sparrow "finds a home" there (84:3), in a place at the "altars of the LORD" where "she may lay her young" at the altars. Lucky are those who live where they can worship in the temple daily. Happy are pilgrims to come to worship there for the feasts –"they go from strength to strength" (7). One day spent in the outer courts of the temple is "better than a thousand elsewhere'" (10), the pilgrims proclaim. Even to stand outside the
gates of the temple—as a "gatekeeper'-- is better than being welcomed into the "tents of wickedness" (10). Even a distant proximity to the holiest place is good because the LORD withholds "no good thing" to those to approach him "uprightly," and bestows "favor and honor" on those who trust in him (11-12).

Day 168. Psalms 76-78

Psalm 76
The psalms were composed in response to various historical situations—sometimes we can guess at what those situations were—most of the time we cannot. But the psalms—songs of praise and lament-- are not arranged in any chronological order, any more than our church hymnals are. This psalm--#76—may have been composed in response to the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from the besieging Assyrian in 701 B.C. In any case the city and its people have been rescued from a "stouthearted" army—now "both rider and horse [lie] stunned" (6). All of this is the work of the LORD, who has risen up "to establish judgment, to save the oppressed of the earth." The faithful congregation in the temple is summoned to "make vows to the LORD . . . and perform them" (10) in response. Those who stand around his altar are bidden to "bring gifts" (11), because the LORD "cuts off the spirit of princes" and inspires fear in the kings of the
earth" (12) in order to rescue his chosen people and their city.
Psalm 77
The voice of this psalm is experiencing a time of severe testing—we are not told what it is—but in this crisis he cries aloud to God (77:1). The darkness around him is mirrored by his soul. His anguish is most deeply felt "in the night," when, deprived of sleep, he does what many of us do during sleepless hours—he remembers. He recalls the mercy God has shown in the past—how the LORD with a "strong arm" has "redeemed [his] people." And he wonders despairingly if LORD's "steadfast love [has] ceased forever" (8). Yet as he waits for the dawn he still looks for deliverance, recalling in the most dramatic terms how God saved his people Israel parting the waters of the Red Sea and leading his "people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron" (20).
Psalm 78
This psalm is composed with an instructional purpose, to teach "the coming generation" (78:4) the history of Israel "so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments" (6-7). It is a psalm about choices—God's merciful choices and the mistakes of his people. It tells the story of the Exodus and the wilderness wandering to show how in response to the faithfulness of God the people were unfaithful in testing God (18), trying to manipulate him into satisfying their wishes and doing what they wanted. They had no "faith" in God (22)—they did not trust him to take care of them. But God remained provident and patient. Though they did not deserve it, he gave them manna to eat, and "mortals ate the bread of angels" (25). They sinned and were punished; then they "remembered that God was their rock" (35), but they "were not true to his covenant" (37)—the agreement they had made to
keep the Law. Yet God "did not destroy them" 38); instead remembered they "were but flesh" (39)--in his mercy he considered their weakness. He rescued them from Egypt, and "guided them in the wilderness like a flock" (52). He "brought them to his holy hill" (54)—to Jerusalem, and taking the Land of Promise from its inhabitants, have it to his people as their possession. Yet once established there, they were "faithless like the ancestors" (57). They moved LORD to "jealousy with their idols" (58). So God used foreign enemies to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel—"the tent of Joseph" (67)--and allowed them to be taken away "to captivity" (61) and oblivion. But he did not reject the whole people. He chose the southern kingdom--"the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves" (68) to be his faithful remnant. He chose Jerusalem and its temple, where this psalm was originally composed and sung, as his dwelling
"forever" (69). And he chose King David "to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance" (71) to be his faithful remnant. And David "tended them" and guided them with skillful hand" (72) giving to the generations the "coming generation" an example of how human beings should respond to all God's great acts of goodness and mercy.

Day 167. Psalms 72-75

Psalm 72
The kings of Israel were never priests—remember that King Saul got in trouble with the prophet Samuel because, before a crucial battle and in the absence of a priest, he, a layman, presumed to offer a sacrifice. The offices of king and priest were not to be confused--but both were holy and ordained by the LORD. The king was anointed--set apart for a purpose--to be the embodiment of God's justice and faithfulness on earth. Some of the kings of Judah and a rare few in Israel took this role seriously. But the expectation that an anointed king—a Messiah--would establish justice and equity continued to be expressed by the congregation of worshippers in the temple long after there was no king of the house of David on the throne of Israel. This royal psalm--#72—asks that God's attributes be poured out upon the king. If the LORD is the protector of widows and orphans, the king should also "give deliverance to the needy and crush the oppressor"
(72:4). The psalm is dedicated to Solomon, and it reflects the splendors and accomplishments of his reign. (Verses 10-11 are part of our worship on the Feast of the Epiphany.) But all the kings of the house of David were expected to live up to the ideal of kindness and compassion the psalm describes—"from oppression and violence" he should redeem the weak and needy, and in his sight "their blood"—their lives—should be as "precious" as his own (14). (That is a wonderful description of Jesus Christ, by the way.) I went to a church the other day where prayers for the president of the United States were pointedly excluded—obviously for political reasons. In our profoundly divided and partisan age we need to be reminded that the people of God are called upon to pray for their rulers, whether they care much for them or not. Government is given to us by the grace of God, and it is an insult to the grace to belittle our rulers because in
incidental things we disagree with them. The welfare of the nation's citizens and its rulers are bound to each other by the God of history—these royal psalms remind us of that.
Psalm 73
This psalm is an instructional one intended to defend belief in God's justice in the face of confusing appearances. The psalmist sees the prosperity of the wicked and hardships of those who follow God's law, and he is tempted to wonder if he might be better off to abandon the LORD's family—those who worship in the temple-- and live as if God did not exist. Then, in the midst of his confusion he goes "into the sanctuary of God" (73:17). What exactly happens there is not disclosed, but afterwards his mind is changed and he realizes that he had been "stupid and ignorant" (22). And the one who had wavered in his faithfulness to the LORD realized that even in his doubts, the LORD's love toward him had remained rock solid. "Whom have I in heaven but you?" the psalmist asks God (25); the answer, though unspoken, is self-evident. And although he is weak and his "flesh" and his "heart" may fail, "God is the strength of [his] heart
and [his] portion forever" (26). It is "good" for him "to be near God," who is his refuge" (28)—indeed, it is life itself.
Psalm 74
Something traumatic has happened, not just to one individual in the community but to the entire congregation of worshippers. Perhaps it is the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.—indeed it could hardly be anything less. It seems as if in his anger God has forgotten his "congregation," and together they beg him to "remember Mount Zion" (74 :2). God is invited to come down and look at what has happened there, at "the perpetual ruins" and to see how "the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary" (3). This part of the psalm has all the earmarks of a firsthand witness to the events described. The temple worship has been disrupted. There is no prophet who can reveal how all this will end. When will God revenge this sacrilege to his house? How long will he "hold back" his hand? And yet the congregation, now bereft of a sanctuary in which to worship, still recalls the mighty works of God in creation, how he
subdued the chaos of "sea" and overcame "Leviathan," the sea monster, in order to make the world. The creation is recounted poetically—the creation of light (16), of the firmament and the seasons (17). In the midst of destruction and violence, the congregation of his faithful people, who have been shamed by defeat and reduced to poverty, find hope in the "covenant" (20), the agreement which God made with his people Israel to be its LORD. That covenant has never been broken by a faithful God, and now in the midst of chaos—the clamor of [God's] foes and the "uproar of [his] adversaries" (23)-- they pray for a new creation for the people of the promise.
Psalm 75
In the light of the previous psalm, this one provides an answer. God is indeed faithful. His "name" still dwells in his temple, and he speaks to assure his people that he still judges the nations "with equity" (75:2). He is still the source of the order and stability he established in creation—"When the earth totters, with all of its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady," the voice of the LORD says (3). The "cup with foaming wine, well mixed" (8) is a symbol of God's judgment—the wicked will "drain it to the dregs." Horns are symbols of power and strength—the horns of the wicked will be shorn off, the psalmist affirms, and the "horns of the righteous shall be exalted" (10). The God who executes judgment will finally and completely be vindicated in the vindication of his people.

Day 166. Psalms 68-71

Psalm 68
How do we know God? We know God through reflection upon his guidance of our lives. We look back upon the twists and turns our lives have taken, and with thanksgiving we see the hand of God at work in them—faith comes from seeing that of deliverance. That's what this psalm—#68—does. It begins by portraying God riding upon the clouds as he comes to the rescue of those who in one way or another are oppressed. "Sing to the LORD, sing praises to his name," the psalmist sings (68:4), as he imagines the "father of orphans and protector of widows" (5) coming to the help of the helpless. The first line of this psalm is sung by the people of Israel as the Ark of the Covenant is carried before them through the wilderness—see Numbers 10:35. The psalmist remembers that "when [the LORD] went out before [his] people, when [they] marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked, [and] the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of
Sinai. . . ." (7-8). God is the one who guides the people through the wilderness of Sinai. God is the one who gives rain which provides an abundant harvest and food for the multitude. God is the one who defeats the kings of Canaan, and "when the Almighty scattered kings there [in Canaan], snow fell on Zalmon" (14). Snow and rain are compared to the grace of God which rescues his people and provides for the "desolate" and needy. The LORD acts again and again to help and support his own. God chooses Zion to be "his abode" as opposed to the "mountain of Bashan" (15-16)—some other unknown place--and the Ark of the Covenant is carried as a throne as the procession of the people "ascend[s] the high mount" (18) of Jerusalem. When they are threatened by foes, the LORD's deliverance takes the form of annihilation of the ruthless—he "scatters the heads" of the enemies of his people (21), the voice of the psalmist says. Then he
describes the Ark being carried shoulder high at the head of a "solemn procession. . . to the sanctuary, the singers in front" (24). God is being enthroned in the sanctuary, so that his people call upon him there and "summon [his] might´ as they have done before. The temple is the place of the LORD's revelation to the nations—nations from far away are called upon to bring tribute to the God who is enthroned (31). The God who once rode through the heavens on the storm now dwells in his sanctuary in Jerusalem, where he "gives power and strength to his people" (35). He is their God, and they are his people forever.
Psalm 69
This prayer is offered by one who is in danger of being overwhelmed by his circumstances—"waters have come up" to his neck (69:1), he says. He is caught in a situation beyond his control—an absurd, chaotic mess--and his "eyes grow dim with waiting" for his God to help him (3). He is hated without cause by numberless foes; he is dishonored by his faithfulness, and he begs the LORD to turn the "shame" of those who trust in him into honor (6). He calls out for vindication. His "zeal" for God's house has made him look ridiculous to his godless enemies. Their hostility is compared to the forces of chaos in the universe—the formless "mire," the "deep waters," the raging "flood," and "the Pit," which represents death itself (13-15). The psalmist "in distress" calls upon the LORD to "draw near" to him, "redeem"—buy him back--and "set him free" from his enemies (18), from bondage and from the "shame and
dishonor" into which he has fallen (19). (The early church saw the prediction of the suffering of Jesus in verse 21b–see Matthew 27:34.) The voice prays that God will "blot out" the names of those who have treated him so badly "from the book of the living" (28)—this is a way of asking God to forget them—and those whom God forgets do not exist. Then the psalm changes direction in verse 30—deliverance has come to him at long last and now the voice promises to "praise the name of God with a song" and "magnify him with thanksgiving" (30). A psalm of thanksgiving will please him more than sacrifices. God loves to help the needy and free those "that are in bonds" (33)—it is his nature to do these things. And this psalm, which begins as a personal plea of one who is being overwhelmed by hostile enemies, ends with the promise that God will "save Zion"—Jerusalem—from its surrounding foes. God pledges to "rebuild"
its cities and renews his covenant promise to give the land to "those who love his name" so that they may "live in it" (36)
Psalm 70
Again the voice of this psalm calls upon God in a time of trouble. He has been dishonored, and he prays that those who ridicule him may "turn back because of their shame" (70:3). All those who seek God and worship him in the temple rejoice when they see how he helps and delivers those who are poor and needy (5). And the psalmist ends with a call for God to "hasten"—hurry up and help him without delay that he may again praise him.
Psalm 71
The word "refuge" is repeated again and again in this psalm. In the midst of a storm of troubles, the voice calls upon the LORD, who is his "rock" and his "fortress" (3). He has trusted the Lord "from his youth" (5), he says, and now he prays that God, his "refuge," will not cast him "off in the time of old age" (9). He has been faithful, and now he calls upon God to answer with faithfulness. Things have come to a desperate pass—he begs God to "make haste to help" him (12). And when his he is he will testify to God's "righteous acts" on his behalf in the congregation; he will comes to the temple "praising the mighty deeds of the LORD God" (16). His life has been a stream of continuous praise "from his youth" until now (17), and in his "old age and gray hairs," he asks upon God not to "forsake" him (18), until he gets a chance to "proclaim" his goodness "to all the generations to come." His life,
like the history of Israel, is a record of the "great things" God has done. He has been brought low only to be raised up again; he has known dishonor in order to experience "comfort . . . once again" (21). As so often in the psalms, this one ends with music sung in the temple "with the harp" and with the "lyre" (22). In his song the psalmist—who represents the whole worshipping congregation--will praise God because he has been "rescued" (23). And again his song of thankfulness will be accompanied with verbal testimony—proclamation. "All day long" he will "talk of [God's] righteous help" (24), how he has been rescued from dishonor and how those who "tried to do [him] harm" have been "put to shame" (24).

Day 165. Psalms 61-67

Psalm 61
This is a psalm of longing sung by one who feels isolated from the presence of God. Maybe he is physically far from the temple--at "the end of the earth," as he puts it (61:2)--separated by a great distance from the earthly place where God's name dwells. Or maybe he is simply in that place where all of us find ourselves sometimes, where God seems remote and indifferent. In either case the psalmist feels "faint" from lack of contact with the source of his strength. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I," he prays. The "rock" is the rock of Zion on which the temple, which he calls his "refuge" is built. He longs to find "shelter" there under God's wings (4) and claim the "heritage" he has among "those who fear [God's] name" (5) and worship him there. The prayer for the "life of the king" (6) that ends the psalm is a prayer for order and preservation of the people and their temple. The psalmist realizes that
political peace and stability are necessary for the spiritual health and peace of the nation.
Psalm 62
The psalmist calls upon God—God alone (62:2 and 5)-- in time of crisis. He himself is alone--he has no other support. His existence is like a "leaning wall" (3) upon which the wicked batter. He has done nothing to merit their hostility; they just want to bring down "a person of prominence" (4). But the psalmist tells the "people" who hear his words to "trust in [God] at all times" (8) and not fear wicked and powerful enemies. There is no difference between those who are of high estate and those who are in low—all their lives are just a breath and a delusion (9). In the balance they are "together lighter than a breath" (9). The only stability and permanence come from the "steadfast love" of the God who renders justice to all "according to their work" (12).
Psalm 63
The longing for God is the sure sign of having been found by God. The psalmist expresses his thirst for the LORD in an almost physical sense (63:1). Then thirsty and hungry for God's presence he goes to the temple to experienced worship "in the sanctuary," lifting "up his hands" and calling upon God's name (4). And now he is refreshed "as with a rich feast" (5). Participation in temple worship is the difference between spiritual hunger and contentment, between inward faintness and "joy" (7). The voice ends with an affirmation of God's justice, which is always at work in the world punishing the wicked and rewarding the good. The king "shall rejoice in God" (11)—he is the embodiment of God's justice on earth, and all who obey him will be blessed.
Psalm 64
The psalmist prays for protection against his "dread enemy" (64:1). The wicked are convinced that no one can see them—they do not believe in God—and so they are capable of anything. No one can anticipate to which depths they may descend, "for the human heart and mind are deep" (6). The wicked shoot arrows at the "blameless; they shoot suddenly and without fear" (4), convinced that God will not punish them. But God is even now taking aim and "will shoot his arrow at them," (7). "Everyone" will be terrified and "shake with horror" when they see the "ruin" of wicked—"they will tell what God has brought about" (9), but the righteous will "rejoice in the LORD, and take refuge in him" (10), for he is their "glory."
Psalm 65
God does not need our praise, but praise is "due" to him, because he answers prayers and forgives "our transgressions." But those whom he chooses to bring near him "to live in his courts," and satisfy with his presence in his "holy temple" (65:4) are especially bound to praise him. He creates all things, bringing order out of chaos, silencing "the roaring of the waves," and making a place for human beings to live. He continues his work of creation by calming "the tumult of the peoples" (8) and making peace among them and by watering the earth and making human life possible by bringing forth flocks and grain. The righteous worship the LORD in the temple, echoing the praises the earth itself gives him (13).
Psalm 66
All the earth is called upon to the praise Israel's God—"Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth" (66:1), the psalmist commands. Everyone—the whole earth—is invited to see what God has done in rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt and parting the waters to bring them safely through the Red Sea and river Jordan (6). And the work of creation continues as he refines his people through their sufferings and trials (10). Even times of defeat and national humiliation have served to strengthen and temper them—"through fire and through water," the LORD has brought his people "out to a spacious place" (12) and established them there. He has created his people Israel as his crowning achievement. So in response to all he has done the worshippers of the LORD will offer burnt offerings in the temple, and tell "all who fear God" what the LORD has done for Israel. God has "listened" to them, and has not rejected "the words of [their]
prayer." God is worthy to be blessed because in no circumstances he has "removed his steadfast love" from his people (20).
Psalm 67
Many of the psalms are very narrow in their focus—they center upon the political life of Israel and its kings, and the worship of the temple community. A sharp distinction is often drawn between the Chosen People and their pagan neighbors, who are neither chosen nor loved by God. But here the circle of blessing is widened and "all the peoples" are called upon to praise the God of Israel. "Let all the nations be glad and sing for joy," the psalmist says, because God works through history to "judge the peoples with equity" and "guide the nations upon earth" (4). And also he is worthy to be praised because he works through nature so that "the earth [yields] its increase" and the needs of all are provided for (6). "May God continue to bless us," the worshippers in the temple sing, but not us alone, but all the peoples with whom we share his concern and care.

Day 164 Psalms 55-60

Psalm 55
This psalm is a prayer for help offered by someone who has been betrayed by an "equal," a "companion," a "familiar friend" (55:13). The treachery and infidelity of his friend cuts him deep. We do not know who this friend is, but in the modern world it might be an unfaithful spouse or a disloyal boss or co-worker. His first instinct is to run away. The voice wants is to escape the pain--to take "the wings of the dove . . . , fly away and be at rest" (55:6). In powerless rage he wishes God would send those who "bring trouble" upon him "down alive to Sheol" (55:15)—into the dark underworld—where they could feel the desolation he experiences. He is helpless to defend or revenge himself. All he can do is call upon God to "redeem" him, rescue him "unharmed from the battle" he wages. It is an unfair fight "for many are arrayed against him" (55:18). He is alone, apart from his God. His betrayer is one with whom he had
made "a covenant"—a mutual agreement based upon trust, like a wedding vow (55:20). Now his faith in human beings is shattered, and now all he can do us tell him himself—"Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you," (55:22), because the LORD is faithful when friends and spouses are false--in his trustworthiness he is incapable of betrayal.
Psalm 56
Again we find a voice facing persecution from those "who trample" on him with provocation (56:1). The psalmist uses the word "trample" twice—he is being crushed by his enemies. But he is "not afraid"—he says this twice (in verses 4 and 11). He is unafraid not because the danger is illusory—the danger is all too real and present. But God's steadfast love—his power to save-- is even more real and present than any peril. With God at his side, the psalmist asks—"What can flesh do to me?" (56:4) and again, "What can a mere mortal do to me?" (56:11). And the answer to both questions is the same—Nothing. He has a friend and a guardian who cares what becomes of him. His troubles do not go unheeded—God has "kept count" of his tossings and turnings in the night. God has saved his "tears in a bottle" (56:8). Now the psalmist promises to "perform" his vows in the temple and give his "thank offerings" to the
LORD, because God in his steadfastness has saved his unsteady "feet from falling," so that he may "walk in the light of life" (56:13) unafraid.
Psalm 57
This psalm is a call for help that develops into a song of thanksgiving. In the first stanza (verses 1-4), faced with persecution the psalmist begs for God's mercy and takes refuge in the temple "under the shadow of your wings" (57:1)—this refers to the carved golden cherubim in the Holy of Holies whose extended wings represent the protection of the LORD. God extends that protection to the psalmist—he fulfills his purpose for him (57:2). God provides himself as the goal and meaning of the psalmist's life. Therefore, he is able "lie down with lions" and not be afraid. The refrain—verse 5—lifts up the one who is faithful and always able to offer refuge to those to trust him—this refrain is repeated in verse 11 to reinforce its message. In the second stanza (verses 6-10) the psalmist is "bowed down" by the plotting of his enemies. He is bowed—but not broken. "My heart is steadfast, O God," he says (57:7), and his faith
gives him victory over the hostile forces that seek to crush him. And he gives thanks for his deliverance with singing and the music of harp and lyre—"I will awake the dawn," he says (57:8). He exults the "faithfulness" of God that rises above the earth and "extends to the clouds" (57:10).
Psalm 58
This is a angry little psalm. It begins by addressing the pagan gods of Israel's neighbors who "devise wrongs" and "deal out violence on earth" (58:1-2). Israel is surrounded by pagan nations that behave like reptiles and vicious wild animals. The psalmist calls upon God to "break the teeth in their mouths" and "tear out the fangs of the young lions" (58:6)—destroy the weapons they use to oppress his people. The psalmist's reaction to this oppression and injustice is violent anger—"The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked" (58:10). God is just and he will reward his people with vindication and freedom from those who threaten them—both the pagan nations and the false gods.
Psalm 59
In this psalm the king prays for deliverance from his enemies as part of the temple worship. He pleads his own innocence—"For no transgression or sin of [his]" they lie in ambush for him (59: 3-4). He compares the enemies of Israel to a pack of wild dogs "prowling about the city" (59:6)—and they show as much humanity as vicious animals. But God "in his steadfast love" will keep his promise to his anointed one. He will "let [the king's enemies] be trapped in the pride" (59:12) and brought down, so that the LORD's power may be resound to the ends of the earth. The enemies of the king are pack of vicious curs--they howl and yap in the night (59:14). Their growling means nothing. But in the temple the anointed king "sings aloud" to the LORD "in the morning" (59:16). And he has good reason to sing, because God in his "steadfast love" keeps his promises to the one who trusts in him.
Psalm 60
God is angry and he has allowed the nation to be defeated in battle; the impact of it is compared to an earthquake (60:2). Now the worshipping community in the temple prays that God will repair the damage that the nation has suffered and "give [them] victory" in order that "those whom [the LORD loves] may be rescued" (60:5). The community recalls that God has made a promise "in his sanctuary" to give the land to his people Israel (60:6-7). The land is sacred because it represents the fulfillment of God's promise. It is the evidence that Israel is a chosen people. While they possess the land, God is with them. The land is their guarantee. But if they should ever lose the land, then they would no longer have proof that they are his chosen one. Their meaning would be lost. They would be only another among many. So this psalm begs God not to reject them, but rather to "tread down [their] foes, and confirm the land as their possession. "

Day 163. Psalms 49-54

Psalm 49
This psalm addresses all of human society—"both low and high, rich and poor together" (49:2)—all manner of men and women to impart wisdom to those who might worry about the "iniquity" of their wealthy and powerful "persecutors" (49:5). The psalmist testifies that the only thing of value any of us have—whether we are rich or poor-- is life, and life itself is so precious that "there is no price one can give God for it" (49:7). The wise die, and so do the stupid. Death is the great leveler. Those who are foolhardy enough to put their trust in riches also perish—"Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death will be their shepherd," the psalmist says. Death will take them there. (This is a remarkable twist of Psalm 23 which says--"The LORD is my shepherd.") So the point of the psalm is this—don't worry about those who become rich and try to lord it over you. "When they die they will carry nothing away" (49:17), the
psalmist says. It is a sober truth that the wealth and pomp of human beings does not outlast them—they die like animals and are forgotten. Dust to dust. . . . (The difference between the psalms and the hymns we sing in church is that the psalms are totally without sentimentality. They deal so frankly with the concrete problems of life that they are often disturbing, and at times shocking.)
Psalm 50
This psalm is composed and performed in the temple at one of Israel's three great festivals where sacrifices were made—the feast of unleavened bread—Passover, the festival of harvest—Pentecost—and the festival of ingathering—called Sukkot or the Festival of Booths. The psalm celebrates the God who suddenly breaks into the worship service to speak a rather unwelcome word of judgment to some of those who come to the temple bringing their sacrifices. He appears "out of Zion, the perfection of beauty" (50:2) as a "devouring fire" and "a mighty tempest" (50:3) shouting —"Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!'" (50:5). Blood sacrifice in the temple seals the agreement made between God and his people. But the people have not lived up to their end of the covenant. Therefore, God does not want their sacrifices. He has all the animals of the earth—he does not require their bulls and goats. He is
not hungry for meat. What he desires is to be thanked for his mercies and called upon "in the day of trouble" (50:15). People are coming who "hate [the] discipline" of the Law. They keep company with thieves and adulterers. They do not even treat their own families decently. "Mark this!" God says to the wicked--probably through the voice of a priest or worship leader--pay attention, "or I will tear you apart" (50:22) like the animals you bring for sacrifice. He means it. The LORD does not desire the blood of bulls and sheep, but rather that his people live a decent, righteous life by keeping the law. Those who do that will be saved; those who do not . . . well, the less said the better.
Psalm 51
This is a penitential psalm such as David might have spoken after he was rebuked by the prophet Nathan for his adultery with Bathsheba—the story is found in 2 Samuel 12:1-15. Often in the psalms the voice will plead his case with God on the basis of his own righteousness and innocence. There is no such self-justification here. The voice--the head-note suggests it is David himself —begs forgiveness entirely on the basis of God's mercy, and not on any merit of his own. Too well he recognizes his sinfulness—"I know my transgressions," he says, "and my sin is ever before me. (51:3). And he realizes that it is against God alone that he has sinned, so God is justified in any sentence he chooses to level. "I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me," (50:5) the voice confesses—and this is probably the closest the Old Testament comes to the Christian doctrine of original sin. But here it is not a theological statement, but an
existential one—the voice realizes how corrupt he is in his "inward being." He begs for forgiveness that will "purge him"-a very bodily image indeed!—and "wash him" that he may be "whiter than snow" (50:7). He desires more than anything else to start over—"Create in me a clean heart, O LORD," he prays. And he begs that God will not withdraw from him his "holy spirit"—the charisma that marks him as a Chosen One. He realizes that no amount of sacrifice will avail to set him right--what God desires from a sinner is not a "burnt offering," but rather "a broken spirit, and a broken and contrite heart." But honest confession and a sincere change of life is the sacrifice God "will not despise" (51:17). (Verses 18-19 are probably a later addition, tacked on by some pious and well-meaning soul who thought that perhaps all this about God not wanting blood sacrifice goes too far in undermining the sacrificial system of
the temple. "Right" sacrifices are still efficacious and necessary, and God accepts them if those who bring them "do good" to Jerusalem.)
Psalm 52
This psalm is unusual in that it is directed not to the LORD but to some influential but wicked person, "a worker of treachery" who has attacked the psalmist with slanderous words. The psalmist can give as good as he gets, that's for sure! He tells his enemy in no uncertain terms that God "will uproot [him or her] from the land of the living" (50:5). "But I," the voice says, "am a green olive tree in the house of God" (50:8)—the temple. There he has found a refuge in the "steadfast love of God" (50:8)—in the promise the LORD has made to save those who pray to him in his house. And the psalm ends with the promise the voice makes to "proclaim" the LORD's name "in the presence of the faithful" (50:9)—to testify to his deliverance before those who worship in the temple.
Psalm 53
This psalm, except for very minor differences, is identical to psalm 14-- both speak of the dreadful fate of those who in their folly live their lives without reference to God.
Psalm 54
In the mist of "insolent" people the voice of the psalmist is confident that God will take his part against his enemies. And in thanksgiving for his certain and complete vindication he will sacrifice a "freewill offering" to the one who has "delivered [him] from very trouble" (54:7).

Day 162. Psalms 43-48

Psalm 43
Remember--this is the second part of Psalm 42. Together they form a longer psalm which laments the psalmist's isolation from the community of worship. In a place distant from Jerusalem, the psalmist returns to a recurrent theme—the oppression of enemies. If we wonder why this theme is so prevalent in the Book of Psalms, we need to remember that the world of the Old Testament was much smaller and less populous than our own. People were thrust together with same people all the time in small traditional communities. In that world you would, of necessity, have to interact with the same people day after day for a lifetime. The independence and anonymity of modern society were impossible. The system of justice relied heavily upon vengeance and vendetta for satisfaction. Whatever the reason for his isolation, the psalmist finds himself among people he considers "deceitful and unjust" (43:2)—perhaps they are pagans. And he longs for the larger society
of Jerusalem and for the worship of the temple. He prays for the LORD's "light" and "truth," to bring him to God's "holy hill"—the city of Jerusalem—and his "dwelling"—the temple (43:3)., where he will go to the "altar of God" with "exceeding joy." There he will praise the LORD "with the harp" (43:4), taking part in the worship of the temple, the singing of psalms with musical accompaniment. The refrain—verse 5—again underlines his dejection and isolation, and his hope that God will soon reunite him with the worshipping community.
Psalm 44
We do not—as usual—know the exact nature of the crisis that lies behind this psalm, but is a national and not a personal danger. The first voice to be heard—the voice of the people—recalls the great acts the LORD did for their ancestors, how God "in their days" rescued them, bringing the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to "set them free," and then driving out "the nations" to plant them in the Land of Promise. It was not the strength of human beings that did this, but the power of God. And remembering all this, the voice of the people anticipates the LORD's deliverance in the present (44:1-3). Then in verses 4-8 another voice speaks, this time a representative of the people—a king perhaps—expressing his conviction that it is not "in his bow" that he trusts, nor in his "sword"—only the LORD to "command victories for Jacob." But Israel is not victorious. The king laments that things are not going well on
the national front—the LORD has made his people "sheep for slaughter" (44:11). (Remember that in Judah the king is often pictured as a royal shepherd—like David.) Foreigners "taunt" them—all day the king says that his "disgrace" is before him. He does not say it in so many words, but the disgrace of Israel and its king is shared by Israel's God. The LORD is being called upon to restore his honor. The calamities that have befallen the nation have occurred because of sin, because the people have "been false " to their covenant with God (44:17). They have "spread out" their hands to "a strange god" in worship (44:20)—probably Baal. But having acknowledged the corporate failure of the nation to keep the covenant, the king nevertheless calls upon the LORD to "rouse" himself and remember that Israel is his chosen people. See our abject condition, the king says: restore our fortunes. God is called upon to "rise up"
and help his people, not so much because they are deserving of it, but "for the sake of [his] steadfast love" (44:26)--because he is a God who keeps his promises.
Psalm 45
This is a psalm composed for a royal wedding and sung as part of the ceremony, perhaps by a chorus the young women. It addressed directly to the Davidic king and his new queen, and is a mixture of political and sensual language. The king, "the most handsome of men," rides on victoriously "for the cause of truth and to defend the right" (45:4). He goes forth into the world like a knight errant to defend justice. "Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity," the people sing; "you love righteousness and hate wickedness" (45:6-7). Whether this is really the case—there were some pretty wicked kings David's dynasty--does not matter so much. What matters is that the people express the hope that it will be so. This psalm is intended to remind the king on his wedding day what he should be as God's anointed one (45:7). But the voice addresses the queen as well. "Hear, oh daughter, consider and incline your ear," they sing. "Forget your
people and your father's house" (45:10)—rejoice in your new role as queen. The glamour of a royal wedding procession is fully described, but the purpose of all the pageantry is not forgotten. The king and his new queen are called upon to "have sons" to carry forward the line of David. It is for the continuity of that line and for the fulfillment of his promises that God is praised. (This psalm, particularly verses 7-8a are used in our worship on the Feast of the Baptism of Our LORD.) A royal psalm like this one was sung and remembered long after the royal house of David had ceased to rule because the people continued to hope that God would one day send a perfect king, the Messiah, his anointed one, who would indeed fight "for the cause of truth and defend the right."
Psalm 46
This is a hymn of praise to the God who remains constant in the midst of violent changes; "though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea" (46:2), he is always the same. Therefore even in the midst of chaos and dissolution "we will not fear" because God is trustworthy. Then the psalmist turns from the faithfulness of God to the stability of God's holy city, Jerusalem—for Jews of every time "the navel of the universe." Jerusalem also "shall not be moved," because God dwells there in a special way in the temple among his people. That is the meaning of the refrain in verse 7 and 11—"The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob us our refuge." It is God who gives permanence to the city—"He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear: he burns the shields with fire" (46:9). He destroys the weapons of war. Above all the noise and confusion of history, he "is exulted" (46:10), and the true and
eternal king not only of Israel but of the whole earth.
Psalm 47
It seems to me that those very traditional Lutherans who object so strongly to applause in the church—oh, yes, there are such people, beloved—should read this psalm and be reminded that clapping was part of the temple worship in Jerusalem long before there were Lutherans (47:1). This psalm is hymn of unmixed praise in which God's role as the creator of Israel is celebrated. He chose for himself a people and established them in the Land of Promise. This psalm was used in temple worship, perhaps when the Ark of the Covenant, the throne upon which God was thought to sit, was bought into the sanctuary. So in a sense this is an enthronement psalm—God is enthroned as the king "of all the earth" (47:7), and of his people Israel specifically. This psalm may also have been used at the enthronement of Israel's kings. God is the "king of the nations" (47:8), the Davidic king is God's viceroy on earth, through whom he reigns. The LORD is worthy
to be praised by the whole earth, but particularly as the "God of Abraham" (47:9) by Abraham's children. (This psalm, particularly verses 5-7, is used in our worship on the Feast of the Ascension.)
Psalm 48
This psalm celebrates the establishment of Jerusalem—Zion—as the place where God is enthroned. It is the point of contact between heaven and earth. God protects the city as his own, and he preserves the line of David that rules from Jerusalem. The response of kings and other earthly powers to the holy city "which God [has established] forever" (48:8), is—or at least should be—fear and trembling. It is not so much military power that distinguishes Jerusalem—Israel was never more than a minor power in the ancient Middle East—but rather the "the steadfast love" of God which preserves the city. It is his faithfulness to his promise that makes the LORD worthy of praise that extends from the temple to the "towns of Judah" to "the ends of the earth" (48:10). Jerusalem is the place where God is experienced on earth. "Walk about Zion," the psalmist invites us, and "consider well its ramparts." "This is God" (48:13), he
says-- God is identified with Zion more than any other place on earth. So far as those who worship him in his temple are concerned, the city of Jerusalem is heaven of earth—the place of God's nearer presence.

Day 161. Psalms 38-42

Psalm 38
The Book of Psalms takes for granted a direct causal relationship between sin and sickness. "There is no health in my bones because of my sin" (38:3), the psalmist says, and he goes on to describes his ailment to God almost as one might to a physician (38:5-8). Only he diagnoses his illness quite differently. He is "utterly spent and crushed" because of his "foolishness" (38:5). But then, perhaps he is not far wrong considering how many of our ailments are attributable to foolishness and carelessness—smoking, drinking too much alcohol, lack of exercise. But the voice more is direct--God is angry, and therefore he suffers. Jesus pointedly rejected this belief—see John 9:1-3—nevertheless, the breaking of God's law is not without consequences for our health, as does keeping it. The psalmist also blames his sickness upon his sins—"My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction, and my neighbors stand far off" (38:11), he
says. Perhaps—as sick people often do—in his isolation he has developed feelings of persecution. But the "bell jar" emptiness he feels is real—"I am like the deaf, I do not hear; like the mute who cannot speak" (38:13). Cut off from everyone else, he has but one companion in his misery, the LORD, who alone will answer (38:15). In his pain and isolation, he acknowledges his sin—"I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin" (38:18)—and waits for deliverance. He can expect no human help-- he asserts that he has been wronged by "those who hate me wrongfully" (38:19). The psalm ends not with his healing, but with a prayer that the LORD will "make haste and help" him (38:22). His body has failed him; his friends have failed him; he has no other to give him hope.
Psalm 39
Beset by troubles, the voice of Psalm 39 tries to stay silent and not complain—he is "silent and still" (39:2). But as his distress becomes more acute, he can contain himself no longer—it is as if the fire in him must break out or consume him. It is different with our relationships to other people—there sometimes silence is golden--but words are always better than silence when it comes to our relationship to God. It is better to talk to him, whatever you say--even if your outcry is the despair and doubt of Job. And when he does speak, what the psalmist says is quite remarkable—"LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is" (39:4). He expresses his desire that God keep him mindful of how short his life is. But what he really wants is for God himself to remember that the psalmist's time is "as a mere breath" (39:5)—it is that fleeting. And in consideration of the shortness of his
life, he begs the LORD to forgive him—"Deliver me out of all my transgressions" (39:8) and "to remove your stroke from me" (39:10). After all he is only a short-term visitor on the earth—"I am your passing guest, an alien, like my forebears" (39:12)—a wanderer like Abraham and the other patriarchs. So he begs God to look away from him, turn his scrutiny from his sins, so that he may smile once again, before he departs and is no more" (39:13). A rather melancholy thought, but beautifully put!
Psalm 40
The psalmist pictures his predicament in life as a "miry bog" into which he is helplessly sinking, but then God pulls him out and sets his "feet upon a rock" (40:2). He moves from despair to hope, from doubt to faith, from sadness to joyful worship—"He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God" (40:3). (As we read them we need to always keep in mind that the psalms are not private, spoken meditations, but public praises sung in the context of temple worship.) So when the voice declares that God desires honest communication, not "sacrifice and offering" (40:6) he is making a remarkable statement in the context of temple worship where sacrifice figures so largely. Indeed the temple was a machine which functioned to turn animal lives into forgiveness. So when the psalmist says that obedience to the law is more acceptable than "burnt offering and sin offering," he is voicing quite a radical sentiment, especially in the
context that he says it. Besides sacrifice and the singing of psalms , temple worship also apparently included personal testimony—so the voice says that he has not concealed the LORD's steadfast love and his faithfulness "from the great congregation" (40:10), he is saying that he has publicly told his story. Such proclamation of God's faithfulness and salvation would have filled the place occupied in our worship by preaching. The psalmist has not contained his proclamation, and he asks the God not withhold his mercy (40:11). Aware of his sinfulness in the presence of God, conscious of the fact that he is "poor and needy," he rejoices that the LORD has taken thought of him, and prays for further help without delay (40:17).
Psalm 41
This wisdom psalm seeks an answer the question—Who is happy? That is the object of wisdom literature in the Bible—to answer that question--What makes a happy life? And the psalmist answers in quite a novel way—He says that those who are happy are the ones who "consider the poor" (41:1). In the Old Testament God is the protector of the poor—he is a parent to those who have no other support--and those who share God's concern for the needy are blessed with life, protection against their enemies, and healing . And the psalmist who is sick (41:4), beset with enemies (41:5), and alone (41:9), prays to the Lord for healing on the basis of his own generosity. And he asks--in a not very becoming way, we might say—for the opportunity to "repay " his enemies for their ungratefulness and malice (11:10). And he looks forward to God's salvation because he remembers God's mercy in the past, and how his own "integrity" has been rewarded with
blessing.
And this first part of the Book of Psalms—Psalms 1-41--ends with a benediction--"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen." The word "amen" is the emphatic form of "May it be so!" May all the praises be heard and all the prayers be answered.
Psalm 42
Remember that all the psalms are intended for use in communal worship. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of community in the Old Testament world. To be separated from the community and exiled from the worship of the temple is for a righteous a fate little short of death. The desire for worship in the voice of Pslam 42 is like an intense physical thirst—"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (42:2), he says. He gives life as water gives life. To "behold the face of God" in the context of the psalm means to experience the LORD's presence in temple worship. The psalmist remembers with intense longing the "procession to the house of God" (42:4)—and we will remember how many of psalms are liturgies designed to be sung on these occasions. He is far off. The psalmist looks to Jerusalem from a great distance. His "soul"—and by this he means not his "immortal soul" but his inner self—is "cast down within
me" (42:5). This refrain—verse 5—with its mention of hope changes the mood of the psalm. He commands himself to "man-up" and hope in the LORD. In the temple, in the community of faith he will "again praise him," the one who is his help and his God. Now his memories of that temple, which had depressed him before, offer encouragement. In the night he remembers a "song," "a prayer to the God of life" (42:8)—far from Jerusalem he recalls one of the psalms that are sung in the temple there, and he is encouraged, but not satisfied. In the midst of a hostile environment and "adversaries who taunt" him and ask him "continually, 'Where is your God?'" (42:10), he has no answer. All he can do is ask his soul—his "nephesh," in Hebrew, his inner self—why he is so "disquieted" (42:11). And the refrain found in verse 5 is repeated.
The reason that this psalm--number 42—ends in such an unsatisfactory way is that it is completed by the next one—they are, in fact, one psalm. We'll take up Psalm 43 in our reading tomorrow.

Day 160. Psalms 35-37

Psalm 35
We have had occasion to note before that the society of early Israel—much like the modern state of Israel—was very militaristic. War and battle figure very largely in the imagery of the psalms, and violence is a fact of life taken for granted. The commands of Jesus to forgive your enemies and turn the other cheek, which are so central to Christian ethics, would be very foreign to the mindset of the psalmist. So we should not try to read the teachings of Jesus about revenge back into the psalms. And although for us revenge would not be a proper theme for prayer, we hear the psalmist say—"Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me" (35:1). It reflects the psalmist's unshakable belief that the only way to save him from the circumstances in which he finds himself is for the LORD to reduce his enemies to "chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them on" (35:5). They are
ingrates, after all. They did not return the psalmist's goodness toward them; he prayed for them and mourned for their sorrows. But now they hunt him like lions (35:17). Apparently lions of the Asiatic variety—now hunted to extinction--were still fairly common in Israel in Old Testament times and constituted a lively danger to those who lived there. In our psalm when the voice prays for rescue from the ungrateful and treacherous enemies, he compares their ferocity to that of lions. They seek to devour him, but if the LORD will deliver him, he will "thank [the LORD] in the great congregation," and "in the mighty throng he will praise" him (35:18). He asks for vindication so that "those who exalt themselves [will] be clothed in shame and dishonor" (35:26). There again is that word "shame"—the Old Testament world, like most traditional societies, placed the highest value on personal honor. The psalmist asks the LORD to "save his
face," and he will respond with "praise all day long" (35:28).
Psalm 36
Why are bad people bad?—that is the question that lies at the heart of this psalm. The voice prays for the LORD's help against the "wicked," who have given themselves over to the power of evil. They are possessed by an evil spirit called "transgression," which has worked its way "deep in their hearts" (36:1). It is that spirit of transgression that urges them to act without reference to any fear of the LORD's judgment. They have given themselves over to transgression, rejecting the God who shows "steadfast love" and faithfulness, reaching out to "save humans and animals alike" (35:6).He gives refuge and guidance to all who seek him—"With you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light" (36:9), the psalmist says. To the righteous God gives his own light to those who love him—we would call that light the Holy Spirit—so that they do not stumble. But the wicked reject his guidance and live and act as if he did not
exist. So the real opposition is not between those bad people and the psalmist himself; the real opposition is between them and God. God is the one who has "a bone to pick" with them. So when he prays that the LORD will not "let the foot of the arrogant tread" on him, he is really praying that God will vindicate himself by laying those bad people in dust once and for all (36:12).
Psalm 37
This long instructional psalm is intended to impart the traditional wisdom that the good are rewarded and the evil punished. The voice of the psalm is that of a wise elder, who says, "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread" (37:25). This elder tells his younger listeners not to envy the wicked, because they will get theirs, but rather "trust in the LORD, and do good" (37:3). If they do they will "enjoy security." And when they see the evil prosper momentarily they are not to "fret"—this word is said twice for emphasis (37:7, 8). Do not worry about it--let it go. The LORD is just and will reward the humble. Jesus quotes verse 11—"The meek shall in inherit the land"—among his beatitudes—Matthew 5:5. The wise voice tells his younger listeners to "wait patiently" (37:7) and believe God's promises—even when their fulfillment is delayed. The LORD is
faithful, however, and his steadfast love will not fail. And those who wait upon the LORD will "not be put to shame in evil times" (37:19)—there is that word "shame" again. Even in bad times, the righteous will experience honor, not shame. Even though they may "stumble," they will "not fall headlong," for the LORD will hold them "by the hand" (37:24)—this is a tender image of a loving parent caring for a small child so that it does not fall. And those who have "the law of their God . . . in their hearts" will not "slip" (37:31) and fall. The wicked stand like a tall tree one day, and the next day they are not there (37:35-36)—you look for them and they are gone forever. But in the LORD's help the righteous find permanence and peace (37:37).

Day 159. Psalms 31-34

Psalm 31
This psalm follows that pattern that so many of the psalms share--it begins with a desperate call for help and ends with a shout of thanksgiving to the one who saves his faithful ones from tight places. In the midst of a grave crisis, the voice is the psalmist begs the LORD for "refuge" so that God will "not let [him] ever be put to shame" (31:1). The word "refuge" occurs again and again in the psalm, although we are not told the exact nature of the danger in which the psalmist finds himself. But he must regard it as life-threatening. "Into your hand I commit my spirit," (31:5), he says, and Jesus utters this line at the point of his death on the cross according to Luke 23:46. And yet even in this time of extreme stress he still trusts in his eventual deliverance, that the LORD will "set [his] feet in a broad place" (31:8). He contemplates how empty and "broken" his life is—both his soul and his body are wasting away. He
hears—or imagines that he hears—"the whispering of many—terror all around!—as they scheme together against [him], as they plot to take [his] life" (31:13). Don't let him be "put to shame," he prays; instead "let the wicked be put to shame; let the go dumbfounded into Sheol" (31:17). And then, from being an outcry of distress, at verse 21 it becomes a exclamation of thanksgiving. Clearly something is radically altered—though we are not told what. The crisis has passed, the siege is lifted (31:21). God has "heard [his] supplications" (31:22). And at the end of the psalm the faithful "saints"—the members of the worshipping community-- are called upon to "love the LORD" and "be strong," for he helps those who "wait" for him—as the voice can heartily testify.
Psalm 32
Those who are forgiven are called "happy"—blessed, fortunate, chosen by God—that is the theme of this psalm, which combines penitence and praise. At the beginning of the psalm unacknowledged sin is causing the psalmist's body to waste away. Presumably he suffers from an illness that had been caused by his sins—a strong belief in the Old Testament. But when he acknowledges his sins—he tells it all and stops trying to hide his "iniquity" anymore. And having repented he is forgiven and at the same time he is healed by the LORD. (The word for "saved" is the same as the word for "healed"—in the Bible to be healed is to be saved.) Now the voice who had been isolated and near death is again restored to the fellowship of the people of God—he is surrounded "with glad cries of deliverance" (32:7). Deliverance and healing reunite the individual with the community of the promise. It is worth noting here that the wicked are not
distinguished from the good or the pure, the wicked are contrasted with those "who trust in the LORD" (32:10). God's chosen ones are not perfect—examples abound of this!--God's chosen are the forgiven. And it is these saints—the "upright of heart"—who are called upon to "shout for joy" and "be glad in the LORD" in the context of temple worship (32:11).
Psalm 33
The theme and purpose of this psalm is the praise of God. "Praise befits the upright" (33:1), we are told; it is what we were created to do. And in the work of praising of the LORD, we again note the importance of music—both vocal and instrumental—the sound lyre and "harp of ten strings" (33:2). It should be done and done skillfully, because the music and words of the psalm comprise the vehicle that carries the "word of the Lord." His "word" is how God speaks and reveals his "steadfast love" (33:4-5) to humankind. It is by the word of the LORD that he creates the heavens and gathers the seas "as in a bottle" (33:6-7). He spoke his word at the moment of creation, and "it came to be" (33:9). And it is the word of the LORD that creates God's people Israel "whom he has chosen as his heritage" (33:12). Happy—blessed and lucky—are those who realize this. It is not the great army that saves a king; it is not the war
horse—the king's cavalry—that gives him victory. It is the "steadfast love" of the LORD for those who "fear" him. It is the word of the LORD that gives protection, refuge, and hope, and it is hope that gives us life.
Psalm 34
This is another acrostic poem—a word game as well as an outburst of praise in response to a marvelous deliverance. The voice calls upon the congregation to "magnify the LORD" with him (34:3) because the LORD has answered him and saved him. The psalm focuses on the concrete experience of grace—"Look to him, and be radiant" (34:5), he says, and "taste and see that the LORD is good" (34:8). Grace is as real as those things perceived by the senses. If this thanksgiving was accompanied by a sacrificial meal—which is very likely—the words "taste and see" may comprise an invitation for the worshippers to take part in the feast the kings has provided to celebrate the faithfulness of God in providing every good thing. "The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing" (34:10), the psalmist says. Again we hear the voice of an elder speaking to younger audience of worshippers—"Come, O children,
listen to me" (34:11), he says, and goes on to impart wisdom. We all have our share of trouble, he says--"many are the afflictions of the righteous" (34:19). But in the end that hardly matters, because "the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous" (34:15), and he is "near to the brokenhearted" (34:18). Those who "take refuge" in him are never "condemned"—they are always saved and rescued in the end (34:22).

Day 158. Psalms 25-30

Psalm 25
This is another acrostic psalm—the ancients loved these. These are poems written so that letters—often the initial letters of the first words of the lines—form a word or a phrase. In this psalm the voice expresses his trust that God will deliver the righteous—he himself—from shame. "Do not let me be put to shame," he prays, not once but three times (25:2, 3, 20). Instead, may God shame those who deserve it—his enemies; "let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous," he says. Individual shame is an important concept in the Old Testament—and particularly here in the psalms, which are so deeply personal in nature. Ancient Israel did not know what we Christians call "the doctrine of original sin"—that idea developed in a much later time. Original sin is a deep seated feeling of guilt which is attached not so much to any particular act, but rather to our very being. We confess what we are "by nature sinful and unclean," as
the old liturgy put it. It is something we are born with; it is the way we are. Selfish. Rebellious. It has to do with our corrupt relationship to ourselves. Original sin separates us from our true selves and thus from God. God's grace in Jesus Christ reconciles us to him and thus to ourselves. The Old Testament talks about guilt too—don't get me wrong. The psalmist says—"For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great" (25:11). But the primary way in which sin is felt in the Old Testament is as shame. Shame is always for something we do—some misdeed—some infraction of the law—which fractures the individual's relationship to other people, to the community, and thus to God. Shame was what Adam and Eve felt when they sinned and realized that they were naked. They covered themselves to hide from each other and from God because they were ashamed. Forgiveness, which comes through repentance and sacrifice, reconciles the
individual with the community, and so with the LORD. But the goal of life is to be "righteous," to keep the law, to live without shame—as the psalmist says, "May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you" (25:21). He prays, not so much for forgiveness, but to be kept from shame in the first place.
Psalm 26
This is a prayer for help from a person who proclaims his righteousness—"Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity" (26:1). It is not exactly self-righteousness, but it is close. He has lived a good life in accord with the law of Moses; he has faithfully and willingly taken part in the rituals of purification and temple worship—"I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O LORD, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds" (26:6-7), he says. And because of his "faithfulness" (26:3) and his love for the "the house in which" the LORD dwells, because his "foot stands on level ground" (25:12) he makes his claim upon God's "steadfast love" (26:11). And thus redeemed and helped, he joins with the worshipping community in the temple--"the great congregation" to bless the LORD (26:12).
Psalm 27
The greatest problem all of us have is fear. It is both a sin itself and also the result of our sinfulness. Threats, real or imagined have disturbed the psalmist's peace of mind. But in this psalm he assures himself that God is his light, his salvation –his means of escape—and his stronghold (27:1). Therefore he will set aside his fear and live with boldness. Even though evildoers "encamp against him," he is "confident" (25:3). He does not ask for much, only for everything that matters—to take refuge of the LORD's house, and there "offer in his tent sacrifices of joy," and taking his part in the worshipping community, singing and making "melody to the LORD" (27:6). The voice of the psalmist—David—begs the LORD not to cast him off, even if his "father and mother forsake" him. The psalm ends with magnificent testimony—"I believe that I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living" (27:13). The
by-products of this faith are the strength and courage all of us need to "wait" patiently and serenely for whatever the LORD has in mind for us.
Psalm 28
The silence can be a terrible thing—and yet all who live in relationships experience silence. In the psalm the voice—which seems to be that of the king-- prays "toward [his] most holy sanctuary" (28:2) for an end to God's silence. People in Bible times were much more aware than we are of "communal guilt," and here the psalmist worries that he might be "lumped" with sinners and dragged away with his wicked neighbors (28:3-5), who work against the LORD rather than with him. He wants to be considered alone, as a righteous individual. And assured that he will be, he rejoices in being singled out for deliverance; he is helped—he personally--and his heart exults, and with this psalm he gives thanks to God, "the saving refuge of his anointed (28:7-8).
Psalm 29
This psalm of praise calls on the "heavenly beings"—the other gods—to "ascribe to the LORD glory and strength." It seems an odd idea to us, but ancient Israel believed in the existence of other spiritual beings—gods--which in later times were transformed into angels and demons. But here these powers are called to acknowledge the superiority of the LORD, the God of Israel, in authority and splendor. The appearance of God—the Theophany—is compared to a raging thunderstorm, filled with dynamic energy and destructive as well as creative potential. The psalms are at their most sublime and magnificent in these descriptions of divine manifestations—"The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl," the voice says, "and strips the forest bare, and in his temple all say, "Glory!" The overwhelming glory of the Creator is experienced in temple worship by those who sing this a psalm, which celebrates the enthronement of the LORD. He
sits in triumph "over the flood," the Bible symbol of chaos. He gives order to the universe, and he gives meaning to the lives of his worshippers.
Psalm 30
Only those who have experienced a return to health and strength after a life-threatening illness or escaped a near brush with death can truly understand the grace of God. The psalmist is on his way to Sheol, the place of the dead, when he cries to the LORD and the LORD heals him; his healing is not seen as a natural process, but a personal act of redemption of the part of God. The illness was an expression of God's anger, and his healing was a sign of his forgiveness. Illness sometimes comes to the righteous, but for them misfortune and tragedy are momentary—"Weeping may linger for the night," the voice says, "but joy comes with the morning" (30:5). Joy is the proper response to the about-face the psalmist's life has taken. God has changed his direction from death to life, and so he feels constrained to testify aloud to what has happened to him with worship—"You have turned my mourning into dancing," he sings. "You have taken off my
sackcloth, and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent" (30:11-12).

Day 157. Psalms 19-24

Psalm 19
This psalm speaks of the two ways by which God reveals himself to human beings-through the language of creation and through the Law revealed to Moses—the Torah. "There is no speech, nor are their words," the psalmist says, "their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth" (19:3-4). So exactly how does creation speak? What language does it use to tell "the glory of God?" (19:1). The glories of the physical world communicate in the indirect wordless language of emotion their praise of the creator. The language of creation is closer to music than to the spoken word. (Some of you may be familiar with Joseph Haydn's glorious setting of Psalm 19 in his oratorio The Creation.) We human beings do not always hear the wordless music of creation, and when we do, we do not always understand what we are hearing. But occasionally by the grace of the Holy Spirit we do catch a phrase or a line of that ravishing divine music.
Although the physical universe speaks of the LORD in terms of beauty and grandeur, it speaks indirectly, and it tells us nothing of how to live our lives in accordance with God's will.
That is what the law does; it addresses us directly, revealing God's will for our lives. The psalmist says that the law of God is perfect, sure, right, clear, pure, true, and righteous altogether. It is God's other great creation. It is able to make the simple wise (19:7). By the law God's servants are warned, and in keeping the law they find great reward. So the law makes explicit what creation suggests about God, his glory and majesty. Psalm 19 links the two together as God's greatest acts, and ends with the benediction with which so many sermons have begun—"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (19:14).
Psalm 20
This is a prayer for the king on the eve of a battle. It is a prayer for national victory spoken in unison by the worshipping community in the temple or by a priest alone as the representative of that community. We often forget that our welfare as individual citizens depends upon the welfare of our leaders. But when we fail to pray for office holders in performance of their duties, we neglect for pray for our own welfare, because our lives and fate are bound up in theirs. The voice of the psalmist prays that the anointed king may receive victory from the LORD in answer to the prayers of his people. That victory comes from God alone, not from the force of arms--"Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses," the psalmist says, "but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God" (20:7). The name of the LORD revealed to Moses is Israel's secret weapon. It gives the people of the promise access to their God in times of trouble and war; he has
promised to hear them when they call out using his name. God's name dwells in his temple, and there the community gathers pray for their ruler, who fights for them—"Give victory to the king, O LORD," they say, "answer us when we call" (20:9).
Psalm 21
This is another prayer for a victory--or rather a thanksgiving for a victory already. Again it is spoken by the people "en masse" or a priest speaking for them. It ascribes all that the king has—life, dominion, majesty, and now victory—to the LORD. The whole nation affirms this to be true. It is in the LORD that the king trusts, and he relies to the "steadfast love of the most High" (21:7), not his own power. Both the king and the whole worshipping community are convinced that God will keep his promises to David and his house to establish it forever, and trust in that promise gives cohesion to the nation. All who oppose the anointed king will be found out by God and swallowed up "in his wrath" (21: 9). The psalm ends with an outburst of praise to the one who does all this—"Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength. We will sing and praise your power" (21:13). The power of God flows from God through the Davidic king to the community he
rules in God's place.
Psalm 22
Again we have another cry for help in the midst of hostility and under extreme stress. We recognize the first line is as the cry of Christ from the cross (see Matthew 27:46). But notice that although the psalm begins in desperation and despair it moves toward hope. The voice, which might be that of anyone going through a time of isolation and rejection, speaks with shocking frankness about his own feelings of worthlessness—"I am a worm," he says, "and not human, scorned by others, and despised by the people" (22:6). Yet the voice is not alone even when there "is no one to help." The God who took him "from the womb" is still his God (22:9-11). His enemies encircle him. They take the form of dangerous animals—strong bulls, lions, packs of wild dogs. His body wastes away and dries up. His possessions are stripped from him. (The early church saw verse 18 as a prediction of how the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing at the
foot of the cross. Indeed this whole psalm has been closely associated with the suffering and passion of Christ.) His cries for help become more and more desperate as the psalm progresses—"Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! (22:20-21). It is a prayer for deliverance from vicious and predatory people acting in ways that are cruel and sub-human. (We have all experienced some of that.) But in verse 21b the whole tone of the psalm suddenly changes from desperation to relief. And the remainder is a joyous praise of the LORD "in the great congregation" (22:25). The one who was isolated and despised is now vindicated "in the midst of the congregation." The psalm concludes with an inclusive vision of God's praise being sung in "all the ends of the earth" and his "dominion" being acknowledged by "all the families of the nations" (22:27-28). Even the dead—and this is
a very revolutionary idea in ancient Israel—shall "bow" down to the Living God (22:29). Christians have seen this last part of Psalm 22 as a prediction of the preaching of the Gospel of Christ's resurrection to the whole created world—to all families and nations—to all the living and even to the dead—giving new life to all. Great psalm!
Psalm 23
And speaking of great psalms, this one in all its simplicity ranks among the greatest—it is the popular favorite at least, judging from the number of times it is used at funerals. It is a psalm of trust. The shepherd is an image often used in Israel for the king—and here the LORD is pictured as a shepherd king who cares for his people, taking special care of their creaturely needs—providing comfort, leading them in safe paths, far from danger and temptation. Even in times of danger and darkness, the voice says—"I will not fear, for you are with me" (23:4). The rod and staff (23:4) are symbols of God's shepherdly care—the rod is a weapon to keep predators at bay; the staff keeps the sheep from wandering off with a gentle whack. The pastoral imagery of the psalm changes at verse 5. We are now at a feast that God hosts—in the Bible that is what God does, he sets a feast before his people. We see that in the Christian sacrament of Holy
Communion—God sets a banquet before us that promises a greater banquet to come. The anointing of the head with oil is a sign of joy. And the joy and acceptance will not end, they will "follow" the psalmist all the days of his life, during which he will dwell in the house of the LORD—the temple—in communion with the worshipping people of God as long as he lives.
Psalm 24
This is another liturgy—a pattern of verses and responses—intended to be used in worship at the entry into the temple. It begins with a short praise of the creator. Then the leader asks the question—"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?" who may rightly take part in the worship of the creator in the temple, "his holy place." Then congregation replies--those who are worthy are those who come "with "clean hands and pure hearts" (24:4). This is not ritual purity—or at least not just ritual purity—this is moral uprightness, the attitude those who refuse to compromise themselves with "what is false" or "swear dishonestly" (24:4). They belong to the "company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob" (24:6). As the congregation enters the temple, the LORD also enters, carried upon their praises. The voice of the leader exclaims—"Who is the King of Glory?" and the congregation of worshippers
reply—"The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle" (24:8). The gates are commanded to open. Then the question is repeated for emphasis, and the same response given. It is a splendid entrance hymn.