Day 202. Isaiah 17-21

All nations nourish the myth that they are eternal, but nations, however rich and powerful, are mortal as we are. They live longer than we do, but eventually the LORD "rebukes" them and they "flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind" (17:13). In our reading for today we continue with the prophet Isaiah's series of oracles against the nations that have oppressed Judah and Jerusalem. Each in turn—the nations that Judah had feared or had looked to for protection--is "rebuked" and "chased away" by the hurricane force wind of the Almighty.
Syria with its capital at Damascus (often call Aram in our text) was a powerful and aggressive state in Isaiah's time. It had joined in an alliance with the northern kingdom of Israel (called Ephraim in our text) to overthrow Ahaz, the king of Judah, and set up a puppet regime in Jerusalem. This assault against God's people and Jerusalem will not be forgotten. On "the day" of the LORD's vengeance, both Syria and Israel will be conquered and depopulated (17:6). "Damascus will cease to be a city," and will become "a heap of ruins" (17:1). On "that day" the people of Israel will turn their backs on their pagan altars and "their eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel" (17:7). But to no avail-- "the day" will be for them "a day of grief and incurable pain" (17:11)
Ethiopia was another power to be reckoned with Isaiah's time. The armies of the powerful Nubian empire at the headwaters of the Nile were "feared far and wide" (18:2). The Nubians are described in our text as "a people tall and smooth" (18:7), because they were tall by ancient standards and smooth-shaven. But for all its strength, Nubia, "mighty and conquering" will itself fall victim to the all-prevailing Assyrian army.
As will Egypt, in the Bible a symbol of oppression. The LORD will stir up civil war among them (19:2) to empty out "the spirit of the Egyptians." Then he will deliver then "into the hands of a hard master, a fierce king will rule over them" (19:4) and oppress them, as Pharaoh once oppressed the children of Israel in the time of Moses. The Lord will dry up the ancient source of Egyptian prosperity, the waters of the Nile ( (19:5-6), and the wisdom of Egypt, legendary in ancient times, will be reduced to "a spirit of confusion." The wise advisers of pharaoh will stagger "as a drunkard staggers around in vomit" (19:14).
All these things will happen to the nations that have despoiled and plundered the kingdom of Judah (17:14) and harassed the house of David, but on "that day" the "land of Judah will become a terror" not only to the Egyptians, but "to everyone to whom it is mentioned . . . because of the plan that the LORD of hosts is planning against them" (19:17). The LORD is about to do terrible things to the nations—but not all of his acts will be destructive.
On 'that day," Isaiah says, there will be five cities in Egypt, including Heliopolis, the City of the Sun." that will "swear allegiance to the LORD" (19:18). In an unprecedented oracle, Isaiah says that on "that day" the LORD will send the Egyptians "a savior, and will defend and deliver them" (19:20), and they will "know he LORD." This new universalism is quite a startling development in the history of Israel's religion. Isaiah predicts a day when the LORD will not only "strike and heal" Egypt (19:22), but also Assyria—the hated aggressor. The terrible and ruthless Assyrians will worship the LORD with the Egyptians. Israel, God's chosen people, on "that day" will be a third with Egypt and Assyria. And the LORD of hosts will say, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage" (21:24). These are titles reserved in the past for the children of Abraham alone. Now it appears that
God's love and concern extend beyond Israel and the house of David to the whole world.
But the time of turmoil is not over. In Chapter 20 Isaiah is instructed by the LORD to make a visual parable of himself, walking "naked and barefoot" (20:2) in order to show what the Assyrians will do to the Egyptians and Ethiopians, when they are conquered and led away into captivity. The wealthy desert tribes of Arabia and the Negeb will not escape; they too will be swept before the onslaught of the Assyrian host (21:16). News comes that Babylon has fallen to them (21:9). All in Jerusalem who see what has happened to the nations they had feared and hoped would protect them will ask—"And we, how shall we escape?" (20:6)--because they will realize that they are as defenseless against the powers the LORD has unleashed upon the world as the naked prophet.

Day 201. Isaiah 14-16

In today's reading we begin a series of oracles directed against Israel's enemies. One by one they will be brought low.
First the whole earth exults over the coming fall of the king of Babylon. The cedars of Lebanon that were in danger of being cut to build his palaces will exult in their newfound safety (14:8). The spirits of the dead in Sheol will chirp with excitement--"You too have become as weak as we!" (14:10). The king of that great city presumed to call himself, "Day Star, Son of Dawn" (14:12), but now the full irony of that title is revealed. The Day Star has fallen "to the depths of the Pit" (10:15), never to rise. (The name "Day Star" is Lucifer in Latin; Jesus uses the imagery of Isaiah to describe the fall of Satan in Luke 10:18.)
The king of Babylon, who clothed himself in glory, will be denied even a decent burial; his body will be treated like "loathsome carrion" (14:19). (For Jews of the Old Testament period this was worst possible fate one could suffer, to be cast out of the grave.) But this is what will happen—and soon-- to the mighty king of Babylon. The Lord will sweep that once mighty city "with the broom of destruction" (14:23).
The Assyrians, the other great super-power of the time, will soon come to destruction as well—The Lord's "hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back" (14:27). Even such lesser powers such as Philistia, which had been a danger to the people Israel since the time of judges, will soon be destroyed. Not long now and Israel's ancient enemy will fall before the LORD of history who, like a shepherd, will cause "the first born of the poor will graze and the needy will lie down in safety," but will make the "root" of the Philistines "die of famine" and kill its "remnant" (14:30).
The people of Moab, though related ethnically to Israel, had often been its on and off again adversaries in regional wars. But now, in the face of imminent destruction, refugees—"lambs" (16:1)-- from that land come to Judah seeking asylum. God himself is moved with compassion at their plight, and the prophet urges the king to give shelter to them and to "be a refuge to them from the destroyer (16:1-5). And in a remarkable passage, he promises that the Messiah, the righteous king who is coming from "the tent of David," will give justice to Moab as well to the people of Israel.

Day 200. Isaiah 10-13

Again in our reading for today we see that pattern of catastrophe and reversal we have already noticed in the prophecies of Isaiah, who is always alternating words of terrible judgment and glorious expectation. God reveals himself in history—that is the consistent message of the prophet, who can see hand of the LORD at work in the ebb and flow of Israel's fortunes.
First Assyria is singled out as a weapon in the hand of the LORD to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel, "a godless nation" (10:2). But when the LORD has finished using Assyria to destroy Samaria and bring Jerusalem low, God assures the prophet that "he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride" (10:12). That ruthless tyrant has been used by the LORD to discipline his people, but the LORD will not allow "the ax [to] vaunt itself over the one who wields it" (10:15). He will become a fire that will "burn and devour" the forest and fruitful land of Assyria until the trees "will be so few that a child can write them down" (10:19). God may use foreign empires to do his will, but there is no question of who is in charge.
So the people who live in Jerusalem should not be afraid of the Assyrians, who will "beat you with a rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did" (10:24). God will soon lift their burden from the people Judah and free them from the threat they now feel, doing to Assyria what he once did the Pharaoh's army.
And having disciplined them, he will raise up for his people a "shoot" from the "stump of Jesse" (11:1), a branch springing from house of David. The "spirit of the LORD will rest" on this new king (11:2), as his forefather David was anointed with greatness. The "messiah"—the anointed one--will judge with righteousness, without being swayed by appearances (11:3), giving justice to the "meek of the earth" (11:4). His reign will bring in a new order of things in which even the animosities embedded in nature will be transformed. Predators and prey will live together in peace. Might will no longer be right. Human alienation from nature will end. Obedience will replace rebellion, and the animosity between the snake and the child will be erased (11:8), canceling the effect of the fall of humankind (Genesis 3:14-15).
Under the auspices of this peaceable kingdom, the remnant of Israel will be gathered from the whole earth, where it has been scattered, and the hostility between the two Israelite kingdoms, north and south, will be healed. Rivers and seas will be dried up by the hand on the LORD so that the "outcasts of Israel" may be able to walk home as their ancestors did when he parted the Red Sea. And chapter 12 closes this first book of the prophecies of Isaiah with a psalm of trust and thanksgiving such as these returning exiles might sing on their new Exodus.
Then again the direction of the wind changes, and now in chapter 13, Isaiah's prophecy is directed toward Babylon and the terrible judgment that awaits it. Babylon has also served as a weapon in the hand of the LORD of history to execute his anger" (13:3). But now his anger is turned upon his former instrument. "See, the day of the LORD comes," says the prophet, "with wrath and swift anger, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it" (13:9). The conquerors will themselves be conquered, the prophet predicts, and Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms . . . will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them" (13:19). The great city will be a wasteland where "ostriches will live, and [where] goat-demons will dance" (13:21). Then God will again choose Israel, and "will set them in their own land" (14:1). And "they will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them"
(14:2).
So the pattern of punishment and forgiveness, catastrophe and reversal continues. God is working in history, unseen and unheeded, but for the prophet, who is there in the midst of the action to explain its meaning in words that are never fully understood until the events are long past.

Day 199. Isaiah 7-9

The reading for today is made up, like all of Isaiah's prophecies, of equal parts doom and radiant hope.
The historical situation is this: The king of Syria (called Aram in the text) and Pekah, the king of the Israel, the northern kingdom (called Ephraim in the text), have made an alliance against the rising power of Assyria. They first invite King Ahaz of Judah to join them, and when he hesitates, they seek to make war on the southern kingdom in order to put a candidate of their choosing on the Judean throne. When word reaches Jerusalem of impending invasion, the prophet tells us that "the heart of [Judah's] people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (7:2).
But at this crucial moment the Lord commands the prophet Isaiah to take his son Shear-jashub (this impossible name means "a remnant shall return") and go to king Ahaz with a message of encouragement and hope—"Take heed, be quiet, do not fear" (7:4). The two nations that are arrayed against him are the "smoldering stumps of firebrands"--they are already going out. The northern kingdom will only last one more generation. There is nothing to fear from them; their fate is sealed. But king Ahaz is also given a warning--"If you do not stand firm in faith; you will not stand at all" (7:9). (This is a word we need near hear in our own personal situations.)
Then in order to further encourage the frightened king, through the prophet Isaiah the LORD offers to give him a sign in order to show that all will come to pass. Ahaz piously refuses—elsewhere in the Bible testing God is deemed a great sin (see Luke 4:12). But this time is different--this time God himself has offered a sign, and he bristles with anger when Ahaz refuses it.
But God persists, offering him the sign of Immanuel. A young woman will be with child and have a son. (In the Greek translation of the Old Testament "young woman"—in Hebrew "alma"—is translated with the Greek word "virgin." So the Gospel of Matthew 1:23 uses this passage from Isaiah as a prediction of Mary's virginal conception of our "God with us," Jesus.) But before the child Immanuel knows the difference between good and evil, he will eat "curds and honey" in a land depopulated by "the king of Assyria" (7:21).
The prophecy of the destruction of Syria and Israel is further underscored by the birth to Isaiah and his wife, "the prophetess," of another child with another sinister, prophetic name—in English "the spoil speeds, the prey hastens" (8:4). The significance of the name is this—"before the child knows how to say 'My father' and 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus [the Syrian capital] and the spoil of Samaria [the capital of Israel] will be carried away by the king of Assyria" (8:4). And because the people of Judah feared their enemies rather than trusted in the LORD, the Assyrian flood will sweep over them too, reaching "up to the neck" (8:8). They will be spared the utter destruction marked out for the northern kingdom—but just barely--by Immanuel—"God with us" (8:10). And thus they will learn to put their trust in the LORD rather than fearing their enemies, however strong.
So for Israel there is danger and near disaster in the near future, but beyond the Assyrian storm, the long-range forecast is for radiantly good weather. For those who survive a further prophesy is made of the appearance of a righteous king arising from the house of David. He will come, strangely enough, not from Jerusalem but from "Galilee of the nations" (9:1). The reign of this "messiah" will be marked by endless peace and justice his titles suggest (9:4-7). The early Church saw in this a clear prophecy of the appearance of its Messiah, "Nazorean" from Galilee (Matthew 2:23).
Though a remnant of Judah will be spared, the judgment will fall most heavily upon the northern kingdom of Israel for its injustice to the needy and the poor (10:1-2) and because it turned against its sister kingdom and against the house of David. For its sin and pride, Israel will be "cut off . . . head and tail" (9:14). Isaiah's prophecy foretelling the destruction of the northern kingdom (9:8-10:4) ends with the pathetic question: "To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain?" (10:3-4). Not to the LORD, who has resolved upon their destruction. Each stanza of the prophecy foretelling the annihilation of Israel ends with the refrain—"For all this [the LORD's] anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still" (9:12, 17, 21, 10:4). The sentence is pending, but still sure. God's hand remains stretched out until his will is completely
done.

Day 198. Isaiah 4-6

Isaiah's oracles—his prophetic utterances—veer back and forth—often very abruptly--between words of condemnation and hope. Obviously they were delivered at various times and in a variety of circumstances. The promise of a purified and glorious Jerusalem over which the presence of the LORD will hover in cloud and fire and (4:2-6) is followed hard by words of condemnation in the famous "Love-song of the Vineyard" (chapter 5). The love-song is actually a parable in which the prophet tells how his "beloved" carefully planted and loved a vineyard, which he assiduously tended in the hope that it would produce grapes. But having done all that he can, the beloved is disappointed when it bears only "wild grapes" (5:2)—inedible and useless. So in his regret and anger he determines to break down the wall of the vineyard and make it a waste. Then comes the interpretation of the parable—the "beloved" is God, and "the vineyard of the
LORD of hosts is the house of Israel" (5:7), from whom "he expected justice but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry."
The only fruit Israel produces is injustice and hypocrisy. The prophet bitterly condemns those who "call evil good, and good evil" and "deprive the innocent of their rights" (5:23). And for their offenses and stubborn disobedience the LORD's anger is "kindled against his people" (5:24), and he has resolved to send a foreign enemy to ravage the land—"he will whistle for a people at the ends of earth. Here they come, swiftly speedily" ((5:26). The word picture the prophet paints of the ruthless invaders is a chilling one. We feel the inevitability of their approach in this remarkable passage (5:27-30), and "the light grows dark with clouds"
Then in chapter 6 we hear one of the greatest stories of spiritual transformation in all of literature—the Isaiah's account of his vision of God in the temple. It takes place "in the year that King Uzziah died" (6:1). Uzziah had ruled Judah for a generation, and the year of his death would have been a time of national uncertainty and unease. Then at that crucial moment the prophet Isaiah, worshipping in the Jerusalem temple, sees a vision of the Lord, enthroned on high, attended by "seraphs" (6:1-2). These appear to be winged serpents or dragons, and they sing "Holy, holy, holy!" to the LORD who is so utterly different and apart from all of his creation that nothing else can be compared to him. (The song of the seraphs is echoed in the Book of Revelation (4:8) by the eternal hymn of the "living creatures" of the same kind who hover around the throne of the Almighty.)
The prophet's vision is accompanied by an earthquake—a not uncommon occurrence in that part of the world—that makes the pivots of the doors of the temple squeal and shake. Smoke-- clouds of incense--fill the temple, and reveal the LORD's presence at the same time it hides his face, which none can see and remain alive (see Exodus 33:20). The vision is overwhelming in power and majesty and the prophet is crushed by a sense of shame and cries out-- "Woe is me!" He feels not only his own shame in the presence of such purity, but also a painful sense of the sinfulness of the "people of unclean lips" among whom he dwells. (An experience of the divine always makes human beings feel their own unworthiness—remember the reaction of the disciples when Jesus stilled the storm.)
But in response to the prophet's cry one the winged creatures flies to him holding a live coal from the altar with tongs and touches it to his lips, symbolically cleansing him and enabling him to speak the painful message he is about to be given. Then he hears the voice of the LORD asking for a volunteer—"Whom shall I send?" And the prophet replies—"Here am I; send me" (6:8). It is the response of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:4) and Mary (Luke 1:38), and of all who respond in obedience to the call to do the difficult things God asks of us.
And Isaiah's call is to do among the most difficult things of all—to fail. He is to warn Israel of the terrible approaching fate, but they will not heed his warning. He will call them to repentance, but they will not repent. God has already made "this people dull" (6:10) so they will not "turn and be healed." It is too late for reconciliation, the doom of Jerusalem is sealed, the vineyard will be uprooted, but the prophet is to preach repentance nevertheless. The people will go into captivity, and "vast [will be] the emptiness in the midst of the land" (6:12). It will be cut down like a tree, and the only hope will be "its stump" (6:13)-- the new growth that will appear unexpectedly from its utter destruction.

Day 197. Isaiah 1-3

Moving so suddenly from the Song of Solomon into the world of the prophet Isaiah, we experience what must be called a seismic shift in meaning and mood. The prophet condemns the sensuality of the pastoral love song in favor of lamentation upon the decadence and indifference of the southern kingdom of Judah and its kings. Active between 742 and 700 B.C., Isaiah son of Amoz takes on the voice of a prosecuting attorney, presenting God's lawsuit against the elites of Judean society—"The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people" (3:14) for "grinding the face of the poor" (3:15). Through his prophet the LORD says—"Come now, let us argue it out" (1:8).
And that is what the first portion of the Book of Isaiah-- chapters 1-33 which contain the words of First Isaiah or Isaiah of Jerusalem--is—God's indictment of a rebellious people, who are called to return to the LORD and fulfill their covenant obligations or face a terrible fate. They have been "estranged" from God (1:4) by their refusal to keep the Law of Moses—and particularly their gross indifference to justice. Indeed the word "justice" is the key to understanding the writings of all prophets. They are less concerned with ritual purity and more with mercy and fairness.
The failure to do justice has already brought the nation near ruin. The southern kingdom is described by Isaiah as desolate and depopulated, little better than Sodom and Gomorrah (1:9), the two cities God had destroyed for their wickedness.
Isaiah implies that the sins of Sodom were not sexual but social—sins of indifference. And if Judah and Jerusalem were not to share the fate of those cities, the people and their leaders must "cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" (1:16-17). And they must not rely upon the temple for their deliverance. Isaiah and the other prophets, though often closely attached to the Jerusalem temple, are nevertheless critical of shallow worship and perfunctory sacrifice. Through the prophet God tells the people that he "cannot endure" their assemblies any more (1:12-13). Elaborate worship without justice is worse than meaningless. Sacrifice will not save them—Jerusalem "will be redeemed by justice" or not at all," and the people who repent, "by righteousness" (1:27) and the keeping of the Law.
God has a plan for this people and for the city of Jerusalem, a purpose that involves the whole earth--this is another message common to the prophets. Jerusalem is intended to be the place where the nations will come to learn the ways of the LORD (2:3), to receive judgment according to the Law, and where the LORD will arbitrate disputes so that peace may be established and warring people may "beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." In that new order established by obedience to the LORD "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (2:4).
But in order for that high destiny to be realized, the house of Jacob must forsake darkness and "walk in the light of the LORD" (2:5). But if they fail to do so, the LORD has "a day." On that Day the terror of the LORD will be revealed to humble "all that is proud and haughty" (2:12); "the LORD alone will be exulted on that day" (2:17). So the people and their leaders are called to choose—obedience or destruction. This is always the fundamental choice the lies behind the words of the prophets.

Day 196. Song of Solomon 5-8

The imagery of the Song of Solomon is likely to seem a bit bizarre to the modern reader—"Your neck is like an ivory tower," the man's voice says at one point (7:4). But as you read along you begin to notice patterns in these elaborate metaphors and similes—an elaborate code is at work. Animals represent passion. Jewels and precious metals suggest dignity and wealth. Mountains evoke majesty and splendor. Food and eating bring to mind other kinds of satisfaction. Images of fruit conjure up notions of fertility and sexual "knowledge." This is quite explicit in a passage like this one: "How fair and pleasant you are, O loved one, delectable maiden! You are stately as a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches. O may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples, and your kisses like the best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding
over pigs and teeth" (7:6-9). Well, you get the idea.
The climax of the book comes in chapter 8:6 where the bride says—"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave." In the ancient Near East a seal on a ring or a stone cylinder worn as a bracelet was used to sign documents or to mark property as one's own. To be sealed upon the heart means to be permanently and publicly linked to the other. The Song of Solomon is a hymn in praise of physical love. To those caught up in the ecstasy of being in love it seems that their feelings can and must triumph over everything else—what they are experiencing could never end.
But here physical love transcends itself and rises to the level of the spiritual, and love challenges the power of death and struggles for supremacy over all of human life. We see this struggle played out in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we as Christian believers proclaim that God in raising Jesus from the dead proved forever the truth that love is indeed strong as death—stronger, in fact. The love of God for his children cannot end with physical dying—it is indestructible. And that love raised Jesus and will raise us as well.
So in a certain way the Song of Solomon is indeed about the love of Christ for the Church, and the love of the Church for the Lord after all.

Day 195. Song of Solomon 1-4

There are two things to keep in mind about the Song of Solomon right from the beginning. First, it was not written by Solomon. It comes from a much later time and was attributed to him. Why?--because he had so many wives—numbering in the hundreds according to scripture—so he was naturally assumed to be a great lover. Solomon was also a poet, or so we are informed by 1 Kings 4:32. But he did not write this love poem--and that is the second thing to keep in mind, that the Song of Solomon is a love poem—or a series of loosely linked love poems of a frankly sexual and nature. So why is it in the Bible?
Because it was ascribed to King Solomon, we suppose. The Christian Church, finding it among the writings it inherited from the Jewish scriptures and embarrassed by the sensual nature of its content, treated it otherwise—notably, as an allegory of the love of Christ for his bride the Church, and the Church's longing for its Lord. But it is really not that. It is, however, about love. And it does imply that human love in its most passionate forms is a shadow of the "steadfast love" of God, who is himself love and the source of love. "Rightly do they love you," the bride tells the bride-groom, speaking of her maidens. And rightly do we love God for who he is. But the Song itself is a struggle to express in poetical metaphors the depth of the physical love—coupled with friendship and mutual respect--that can exist between a man and women. And that is how we should treat it—as a pastoral love poem of the highest order.
Although a world apart in feeling and subject matter and not by the same writer, there are thematic parallels between Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. Both exult in the enjoyment of the pleasures of the flesh—though the writer of Ecclesiastes is more interested in the pleasures of the table, while the Song of Solomon, sometimes called the Song of Songs, is passionately concerned with the pleasures of sexual love. "I am faint with love," the bride says at one point (1:5). And there is a breathless quality to the poem. (The poem is a pastoral colloquy—a pattern of assertion and reply among the bride, the bridegroom--who is sometimes called a shepherd--and a chorus of friends.)
The Song of Solomon is a series of poems about the reconciliation of things that are radically different—male and female, the shepherd (1:7) and the keeper of the vineyards (1:6), the "rose" (2:1) and "the apple tree" (2:3). Love brings opposites together and reconciles them, and for that reason it reminds us of God and humanity, reconciled by love. But that reconciliation is achieved only through a struggle, which also reminds us of the history of God's dealings with humanity as well—a struggle to understand each other, to live together in harmony and mutual respect, to fulfill each other's deepest needs, to truly "'know" each other. And that is what the Bible is, the story of that long love-struggle.

Day 194. Ecclesiastes 9-12

The Book of Ecclesiastes ends as it begins, with a somber pessimism about human destiny, combined with a vigorous affirmation of earthly life as the good gift of God. The experience of the philosopher-king has taught him to regard human beings very unenthusiastically --"the hearts of all are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (9:3). They are capable of goodness and wisdom—but it hardly matters. The same fate waits for all. Nevertheless, life is always better than death—"a living dog is better than a dead lion" (9:4).
So to what conclusions does the wisdom of the philosopher lead him? Not to any concrete insights into the nature of the universe or the mind of God. After "examining it all" (9:1), he can only repeat the conclusion he had reached before he began—"Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart" (9:7). The good life consists in merely enjoying whatever pleasures existence offers you to the fullest. You are justified in doing do because "God has already approved what you do." So don't stint. "Whatever your hand finds to do" don't stint, don't hold back. "Do it with [all] your might" (9:10).
Use every moment of the time God gives you—"those who love many years should rejoice in them all" (11:8). Yet all of us live in death's shadow, and death reduces every part of human life to "vanity." Ecclesiastes ends with one of the masterpieces of world literature—a poem about old age (12:1-8). Here the philosopher-king poetically describes the decline of the faculties with age as only one who is experiencing it could. Fear increases and strength decays. And we are left with the conclusion that life is better at its beginning than at its end—that is the message that the poem conveys—and yet life is always life. The inevitability of death—"when the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken" (12:6)--sharpens its joys with poignancy and makes each moment of it immeasurably precious.
Our further reading of the scriptures will give us moments of triumphant hope of a life beyond life to balance the somber pessimism of the philosopher-king. The Bible is an honest book—the only honest book, when it comes right down to it. It contains the darkest dark and the brightest light. Shadows are what make the sunlight radiant, and the honest pessimism of the Book of Ecclesiastes is what prepares us to see the cool brightness of God in the face of Christ.

Day 192. Ecclesiastes 5-8

The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes returns again and again to the same theme—"This is what I have seen to be good," he says. "It is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot" (5:18).
There are many relative "goods" mentioned by the philosopher king of Ecclesiastes. Keeping the law is good (5:1)—it is better than the sacrifices of fools. Discretion in speech is good (5:6)—it keeps you out of trouble. The sound sleep of laborers is good (5:12)—indigestion is the lot of the rich. But the highest good we can expect in this life—which is the only life the philosopher expects to live--is to get pleasure from the gifts that God has given us. Two things are worthwhile--earthly blessings together the capacity to enjoy them, and a meaningful job we like to do. Everything else is "vanity."
But philosopher's idea of enjoyment is not mindless hedonism. It is the considered, grateful response of one who knows there is nothing greater than enjoyment to be expected from life. Enjoying life is the fullest praise of the One who gives it. Everything besides enjoyment is bound to futility. Wisdom, reputation, wealth—nothing lasts. Enjoyment does not last either, but God has given it to those whom he blesses; it is their "lot."
Not everyone receives the opportunity to enjoy life to the fullest—that is part of the "vanity" the philosopher sees all around him. Some who should receive it don't--for reasons God only knows. And no one, no matter how wise or how righteous, gets enjoyment unmixed with sorrow. Therefore, "in the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider," the philosopher says—"God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them" (7:14). Life is a mystery. We will not know what the future will hold, for ourselves and those who come after us.
So don't ask questions for which there is no answer. When enjoyment is offered, accept it humbly, simply, and thankfully as the pure gift of grace that it is. It fills up our lives so that we do not have time to brood on that which we cannot understand, let alone change (5:20).
There is plenty to brood about, heaven knows. Injustice abounds, as the philosopher-king is quick to point out. The wicked are praised and buried with honor, while the righteous "are treated according to the conduct of the wicked" (8:14). But faced with all that the voice of Ecclesiastes commends "enjoyment" to the wise above all else, because enjoyment alone "will go with them in their toil and through the days of life that God gives them under the sun" (8:15). Nothing at all lasts—and only simple enjoyment of the good things matters.

Day 192. Ecclesiastes 1-4

Ecclesiastes is not a sad book, as some have thought—it is an honest one. Thousands of years old, it is still relevant, because it confronts the fundamental delusion we hide behind—the false impression that we find meaning for ourselves in our own pleasures and accomplishments. The voice of Ecclesiastes says that in order to find any purpose in our existence, you and I first have to face head-on its apparent futility. We have to acknowledge that all our striving and winning counts for nothing, and only when we surrender ourselves to the will of God do we discover meaning as a pure gift from him.
The writer of Ecclesiastes is identified with King Solomon, but it certainly belongs to much later period of Jewish history. It was one of the last books of the Old Testament to be written, dating about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus. It is an old man's book. The voice of the philosopher is not exactly bitter, but it certainly is disillusioned. Having done it all and seen it all he concludes that "all is vanity"—emptiness, meaninglessness—the Hebrew word "vanity" means "mist." Everything that people strive to make substantial and purposeful with their toil and worry is only a vapor that vanishes as if it had never been. The problem is impermanence—things go on and on in the same way (1:6ff), but nothing lasts. The pursuit of wisdom is vanity, as are madness and folly (1:17). Self-indulgence is likewise vanity, as are creativity, building, the amassing of wealth, and sexual pleasure. The voice has tried them all, without
losing his wisdom--his critical awareness—and found than nothing lasts. "I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it," he says, "and again, all was vanity and chasing after wind" (2:11). Wisdom is better than foolishness, but both the wise and the fool die (2:16). Both perish. Nothing lasts, so in the end nothing is gained—all is vanity. God has assigned a time for "every matter under heaven" (3:1), but you and I cannot find out when those times are—they are hidden in his inscrutable mind and we don't know God's purpose "from the beginning to the end" (3:11). If there is a meaning in "every matter under heaven" we cannot know it.
So what about meaning? The philosopher concludes that in the light of the impermanence of things, "there is nothing better [for human beings] than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live." It seems to be God's intention that they should "eat and drink and take pleasure in their toil" (3:13). These are good things, but beyond the temporary joy they give, the fate of humans and the fate of the animals seem to be the same—"as one dies, so dies the other" (3:19). "Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?" the philosopher says. And without hope of surviving death to find some meaning beyond this life, there is only absurdity in living.
Friendship offers a temporary comfort. 'Two are better than one," the philosopher says, "for if they fall, one will lift up the other" (4:9-10). But in the end all hope founded on human life "is vanity and chasing after wind." The purpose of life must be found elsewhere.

Day 191. Proverbs 29-31

The Book of Proverbs is exceptional in the Bible in seeking to give us a picture of what the peaceful, balanced life could be like-- a life of moderation lived between the extremes of wealth and poverty, of indifference and fanaticism. Wisdom is what makes this serene, moderate existence possible. It is the kind of life many of us long for, especially as we get older. In our reading for today, among the sayings an otherwise unknown sage named Agur, we find a modest little prayer that goes like this—LORD, "two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die: Remove from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, 'who is the LORD?' or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:7-9). In order to live that kind of life we need to purge ourselves of our illusions—all "falsehood and lying"—and tell ourselves
the truth about ourselves. There is no point in pretending when we know better. Then we need to learn the meaning of that petition of the Lord's Prayer we have said so often—"Give us this day our daily bread." By the grace of the Holy Spirit we need to free ourselves—as much as is possible in this life--from fear and desire—the fear of having too little and the desire to possess too much. We need to conscientiously seek the middle ground between poverty and riches. It's like my father used to say—If you're poor and your shoes are too small, your life will pinch you and you will always be in pain. If you're rich and your shoes are too big, you will always be danger of stumbling and falling over your own feet. Seek the middle ground, beyond wishing and fearing, because that is where peace is—in what Emily Dickinson called "the stillness ultimately best."

Day 190. Proverbs 26-28

As we noted yesterday, there are many parallels between the wise sayings in the Book of Proverbs and the teachings of Jesus, especially as they are recorded in Matthew. Matthew's Gospel is the most closely related to the Jewish world of the Old Testament, and Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is portrayed not only as the Great Rabbi, the New Moses, but also as the Teacher of Holy Wisdom.
In Proverbs 27:1 it says: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what tomorrow will bring." This saying speaks to the general uncertainty of human life. Tomorrow belongs to no-one, and so acting as if it were a certainty—depending upon it as if it were your "ace in the hole"--only gets us into trouble. It is upon the "now" that we should concentrate our attention. Living in the now without banking on the future is difficult, but it is necessary if we are to find any peace in our existence.
That is the essence of what Jesus says to his followers in Matthew 6:34: "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today." This saying is the conclusion of the Lord's discussion about anxiety in his Sermon on the Mount. Worrying about physical things is profitless and meaningless, because our "heavenly Father knows [we] have need of these things." Pursue the Kingdom of God instead, the Teacher of Holy Wisdom tells us, and everything we require will be provided for us. Things will come together in due time. But live in the now—that is where the Kingdom of God is to be found. That is where the risen Christ is for us. Now is where we meet him. Deal directly and forthrightly with the things that confront you—"today's trouble"—do it now!—and then let go of your fears and wishes.
Let the Lord prove his power and his love by taking care of the things that worry you.

Day 189 Proverbs 23-25

The sayings found in the Book of Proverbs come from many sources and traditions. Scholars say, and you and I are in no position to dispute it, that this portion of Proverbs--22:17--23:12—closely parallels an ancient Egyptian text called "Instruction of Amenemope." These adages represent the Egyptian branch of the enormous tree of wisdom, and the compilers of the Book of Proverbs make free use of them, at the same time giving these thirty clusters of sayings—called "houses"—their own "twist." We note that in most of the sayings in this section the voice addresses the reader directly as "you"; they are intended as a little handbook to disclose to the aspiring student of wisdom "what is right and true" (22:21)--as well as practically useful.
Like all wisdom sayings these Egyptian "houses" dispense what we would call "good sense." Some of them are frankly humorous—"When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what (or who) is before you," the voice tells us, "and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite" (23:2). Be prudent and moderate—especially in the presence of "quality." It can be dangerous--or even fatal--to gorge yourself on the king's delicacies; greediness in high places can be dangerous to your health on several scores. The voice calls for moderation in everything. He gives a vivid picture of drunkenness—"it is like one who lies down in the midst of the sea" (23:34), he says—quite accurately. Too much wine causes foolishness and confusion and leaves one with no other purpose in life than to have "another drink" (23:35).
Instead of overindulging in anything, the voice recommends proportionate living—"Do not wear yourself out to get rich," he advises, "be wise enough to desist" (23:4). Don't knock yourself out in the pursuit of money—after all, "when your eyes light upon it, it is gone" (23:5). Instead he tells those who aspire to wisdom to take responsibility for themselves and for others (24:10-12). God sees and judges those who walk by on the other side of the road when they see their brother in danger. Instead the voice, in words that remind us of the teachings of Jesus, warns the searcher after wisdom not to rejoice when he sees his enemies fall (24:17) and not to seek to get revenge for wrongs suffered (24:29).
Let God take care of it, and practice detachment. Do not fret because of evildoers (24:20)—they have no future. So cultivate your own garden (24:30-34) and practice detachment in the face of the apparent injustices of life. Don't snooze your life away. (Sounds like my mother talking.) Mind your own business, "fear the LORD and the king, and do not disobey either of them" (24:21). And again, practice moderation and detachment.
The Egyptian wisdom sayings we have been reading illustrate the "ecumenical" nature of wisdom literature. It was primarily an oral tradition, passed down generation to generation, freely crossing borders and infiltrating other cultures. Then chapter 25 gives us wisdom sayings from yet another source—these are proverbs, attributed to wise King Solomon, were gathered and edited under the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, some hundred years after Solomon's death. Apparently they had circulated orally until then. They include a saying about humility that is quoted almost word for word by Jesus in the Luke 14:7-11. Jesus was apparently part of that wisdom tradition too. We see the influence of that tradition in his advice not to resort quickly to the law courts found in Matthew 5:25. The one whom St. Paul calls "the wisdom of God" passed on to his followers the teachings about moderation and detachment represented by the Book of Proverbs. We could
only wish that more of his followers would heed those teachings.

Day 188. Proverbs 20-22

How do we go about making ethical decisions? What is the "lamp" that guides us amidst the moral perplexities of the world?
The world of the Book of Proverbs was in its own way as morally perplexing as our own. And at times Proverbs is strikingly modern in its way of dealing with that perplexity. The Law of Moses in ethical matters demands unconditional obedience. What is right is right because it is right. The authority of the LORD of the covenant makes it so. In the Book of Proverbs moral choices are made on quite a different basis. I call it pragmatic realism.
The Proverbs of Solomon do not contradict the Law—at times they closely echo it. What is right does not change. But what underlies the Proverbs is morality based upon enlightened self interest. Take for instance the attitude of the wise teacher toward strong drink—"Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler," he says, and "whoever is led astray by it is not wise" (20:1). Note that the drinking of spirits is not condemned absolutely, as bad in itself, but rather as a practical concern. Those who imbibe too freely lose their self-control, say too much, act rashly, and get themselves into trouble. Look at what Proverbs says about gossip—"A gossip reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a babbler" (20:19). Gossip is condemned in itself as cruel and destructive behavior; it is disapproved of because association with people who gossip is dangerous to a successful professional life, where discretion is so crucial. And on a more
positive note—"Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor" 22:9). Generosity is approved not so much because it is good in itself, but because it yields rewards from the LORD.
The Book of Proverbs views human nature itself with guarded skepticism. "Who can say", the wise teacher asks, "I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin" (20:9). There is no such thing as absolute goodness—everyone is to some degree corrupted. It is this kind honesty that a modern reader cannot help finding refreshing. Forewarned is forearmed, by mother used to say. People can be trusted only when their self-interest is at stake. So the voice says—"Many proclaim themselves loyal, but who can find one worthy of trust?" (20:6)
All that having been said, we find in the Book of Proverbs the first reference to what we might call conscience—a modern idea if there ever was one. The Law provided ancient Israel all the guidance necessary. If you broke the Law you felt shame; if you kept it you experienced that uprightness in the sight of God and the community the Bible calls "righteousness." But conscience is something apart from shame and righteousness. "The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD, searching every inmost part" (20:27). Note that it is not God's Law that is the lamp, but something deep within the human spirit that reveals what is right and wrong. The growth of the idea of moral conscience is a subject about which we will have much more to say as we travel together through the scriptures.

Day 187. Proverbs 17-19

The wise voice of Proverbs takes for granted something of which we need to be reminded, beloved, that happiness is only possible for the individual in the context of a tidy, well-organized society in proper running order. So much of the Book of Proverbs deals with how to grease relationships so that the social machine is works properly. For instance, in order for things to go smoothly forgiveness is necessary. So we are told that "one who forgives an affront fosters friendship, but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend" (17:9). Authentic friendship is recommended not only because it is pleasant in itself, but also because it is the foundation of harmony in the social order—"Some friends play at friendship," the wise voice says, "but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin" (18:24). There are always pragmatic concerns just under the surface.
Sometimes the advice that is offered is more than just pragmatic—it seems more than a little bit amoral. The voice seems to recommend bribes as a way to grease the system and keep in going in your direction: "A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it: wherever they turn they prosper" (17:8), he says. It is undoubtedly true, but still a bit shady to say that "gift opens doors; it gives access to the great" (18:16). What is a gift and what is a kickback? Then at other times the voice condemns bribery fiercely: "The wicked accept a concealed bribe to pervert the ways of justice" (17:23). (Actually, as we noted before, there are many voices here in the Book of Proverbs, from many cultures and times, speaking from many moral points of view—some dogmatic, others pragmatic.)
And the principle emphasis is not so much on what is right—although religion and morality are commended--but on how to get along. There is a great deal of advice offered on governing the tongue and not giving way to anger. Think what you will, everything depends on what you say--"Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (18:21). So watch what you say, and you will get credit for all the wisdom you have—and then some. "One who spares words is knowledgeable; one who is cool in spirit has understanding" (17:27)—don't talk too much and learn how to control your anger, the wise voice says. "Those with good sense are slow to anger," he tells his students, "and it is their glory to overlook an offense" (19:11). So keep your cool and don't blame others for your mistakes. There is profound truth in the proverb—"One's own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the LORD" (19:3). How often have all of us blamed God
for our own failures—I know I have more often than I care to remember.
In the orderly society that the wise voice of Proverbs imagines the virtuous always prosper, the wicked are punished, and fools live in destitution. Everything is fit and neat and as it should be. But that is not how reality is, and that presents a problem for the proponents of the wisdom tradition—this is that "cognitive dissidence" we talked about in the Book of Job. What do you do with untidy reality? Virtue is not always rewarded in this world. The wise are not always rich, and often fools are. "It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes" (19:10), the voice says—but it happens. And here we encounter the problem of evil in yet another instance. Where do these chaotic elements come from, and why doesn't an almighty, tidy, well-organized deity take care of them? Or he is not so almighty and tidy and well-organized as we had been led to believe? Is the Creator more like his creatures than we
ever thought? Is he also a victim of evil? It is a question that always lies in the background waiting to be answered. . . .

Day 186. Proverbs 14-16

It is a little tempting to treat these proverbs like those little fortune cookies you get at the end of Chinese meal—and there is some superficial similarity between the two. But these proverbs, unlike fortune cookies, are the distillation of generations of thought and experience, and they demand to be approached with respect and thoughtful consideration. "A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain," the wise teacher says, "but knowledge is easy for one who understands" (14:6). The search for wisdom is a discipline that demands thought and meditation. So a proverb like this one—"Where there are no oxen, there is no grain; abundant crops come by the strength of the ox" (14:4)—is not about farm animals, as it may seem at first reading. When you approach it with respectful concentration it reveals itself to be about the dignity of those who do hard manual labor, who are too often taken for granted by the rest of us. But the abundance of any society is
based upon the "strength of the ox"—the hard work of those who toil in the hot sun in order for the rest of us to eat.
They are profound, and these proverbs, once learned, linger in your mind for a lifetime. When I was in fifth grade I had a teacher named Mrs. Fettig. She had had an interesting life--married at an early age to a professional rodeo bull rider, who abused and abandoned her with daughter my age named Sandra. Mrs. Fettig supported herself and her daughter by teaching school in Alexander, North Dakota—a hard row to hoe any standard. But she had her consolations. Mrs. Fettig was a devout Roman Catholic, and she loved the Book of Proverbs, quoting it more often than it was really appropriate to do so, actually. It is hard to imagine now, in a time when the Bible is pretty much banned from public education, but she had us learn many of them by heart and recite them in class. Of course, education was the original intention of proverbs, and so learning them by rote was completely in line with the intention of Solomon, who whoever compiled this book. I still
remember several I learned by heart under the—none to gentle, actually—tutelage of Mrs. Fettig, like this one—"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (15:1). And this one—"Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure and trouble with it" (15:16). And this one, which must have appealed to Mrs. Fettig on the basis of her own unhappy domestic history—"Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it" (15:17).
Chapter 16 dwells on the subject of God's sovereign reign over the universe and the world of human affairs. God is at work in even those things that seem in a superficial way to be only the twists and turns of arbitrary fortune and blind luck—"The lot is cast into the lap," the teacher says, "but the decision is the LORD's alone" (16:33). Human beings plot and plan, "but the LORD directs the way" (16:9). Or as we have all heard it put--man proposes, but God disposes. Everything is made for a purpose, "even the wicked for the day of trouble" (16:4). Nothing is outside the power of the LORD, and if we "commit our work to the LORD, our plans will be established" (16:3). It is a comfort really to consider that, beloved, and worth the struggle we sometimes have to believe it. But it is no such comfort to be told that "gray hair is a crown of glory" (16:31)--I knew it had to be good for something.

Day 185. Proverbs 11-13

These proverbs are not presented any particular order—none that I can detect anyway. Some are tied closely to their time and ethos. Others are universal in their application and prove again how changeless human nature really is. In Bible times wisdom literature was part of the course of study required of aspiring professionals and servants at royal court. It teaches rising young men the importance of personal integrity and honest dealing in business. For instance --"a false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is his delight" (11:1)—speaks to the use of false weights in measuring commodities in the marketplace, which was a recurring problem in Biblical times. The prophets often excoriated merchants for using weighted balances to cheat the poor. Here is it made the clear the LORD not only condemns sharp business practices, but loves and rewards honest dealing. Other proverbs sound a bit like the kind of advice handed out
at assertiveness training—"The timid become destitute. Bu the aggressive gain riches" (11:16). If you want to rise you can't be shy.
Since they are often given as advice to young men, many proverbs deal with the choosing of wives who will be an asset to their careers—"A good wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones" (12:4), for instance. And since prudence and discretion will always be valuable to a young man in business and to bureaucrats in the royal court, it is important to know how to keep your mouth shut for your own good. "One who is clever conceals knowledge, but the mind of the fool broadcasts folly" (12:23), the wise king Solomon tells his students. And it is wiser to listen to others than to use your own initiative in many situations-- "Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice" (15).
Very few of these proverbs, as you have probably noticed, are explicitly "sacred" in nature—there is little mention of God, and it is often perfunctory. But some few of them speak very directly to the connection between how we treat other people and our relationship to God—"Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him" (14:31), the wise king says. And many of his sayings recommend generosity as a way of life and condemn stinginess—A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water" (11:25). And many his proverbs commend the justice that is built into the universe—"If the righteous are repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner" (11:31), he says.
Many of these ancient proverbs are remarkably humane and enlightened for their time. For instance, kindness to animals is commended—"The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel" (12:12). And since they are designed for an educative purpose, it is not surprising that many deal with the raising of children and reflect an old-fashioned notion of the importance of physical discipline therein—"Those who spare the rod hate their children" (13:24). (My father frequently quoted this one, being a strong advocate of what he referred to as "getting kids' attention.) But some of the reflections offered here fall under the "it would nice to think so" category—"A wise child loves discipline" (13:1), for instance.
Yet some of these proverbs are so dazzlingly true we cannot keep ourselves from nodding in agreement when we read them. "Those who trouble their households will inherit the wind" (11:29) is a good example. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (13:12) is another. Better still is this—"Some pretend to be rich to be rich, yet have nothing; others pretend to be poor, yet have great wealth" (13:7).
Some of these proverbs are poignant—"Even in laughter the heart is sad, and the end of joy is grief" (14:13), the wise king says. And some of them are just plain funny—"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without sense" (11:22). I hope you aren't tired of these proverbs yet? There are a lot more—and I for one think they are just great.

Day 184 Proverbs 8-10

Again in our reading for today we hear Lady Wisdom speaking, calling out "on the heights, beside the way" (8:2) offering wisdom that is "better than jewels" (8:11). The Law of Moses is offered to Israel in particular, and more generally to those who are willing shoulder the weight of the covenant God made with Israel, but Lady Wisdom's call is to "all that live" (8:4). She gives "knowledge and discretion" to all those who would otherwise have none (8:12); she makes herself accessible to all of humanity. She offers her "love" to those who love her, and without exception "all those who seek [her wisdom] diligently find" it (8:17).
Wisdom, according to our text, is the oldest thing in the universe; she was created by God "at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago" (8:22). The meaning of this passage—8:22-36-- is very difficult to grasp, but it was intensely debated by early Christian theologians, who identified personified Wisdom with Jesus Christ himself. A heretic named Arius used this passage to support his belief that Jesus Christ was only a created being—albeit the first and highest created being—and not God. Arius's teachings were challenged by orthodox theologians like St. Anthanasius, whose understanding of the person of Jesus Christ, was later codified in the Nicene Creed, which says that Jesus Christ "as true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father, through whom all things were made."
The Book of Proverbs, however, is certainly not concerned with subtleties of the Christian Trinity. It is instead interested in exulting Lady Wisdom above all the rest of creation. It tells us that she "was beside" the LORD during his work of creating the universe "like a master worker" (8:30). Creation is then a cooperative effort between them, Wisdom taking the part of a skilled foreman—or fore-woman, if you will. We might say that Wisdom is that rational order within creation, which is reflected in the harmony of society and in the sound management of individual lives. Wisdom is the principle that "fits everything together." Whoever finds this principle of wisdom "finds life," the text tells us—not eternal life, but a complete and satisfying earthly life—"and obtains favor from the LORD" (8:35).
In chapter nine, Lady Wisdom and The Loose Woman both appear again; this time they have prepared meals consisting of wisdom and foolishness respectively. Lady Wisdom sends out "her servant girls" to invite the "simple" and immature to come and eat, and The Loose Woman also calls to "those who pass by" to partake of her feast. But all that she can offer are "stolen bread" and "bread eaten in secret" (17-18), and her other guests are "the dead." But the feast the Lady Wisdom offers is rich and delicious and gives life and insight to those who eat it (5-6).
And chapter ten gives us a sampling of wisdom's feast. These proverbs speak to all sorts of life situations. Here are a couple of my favorites. "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech"(19). Those who know they have done something bad betray themselves by talking all the time, but the wise know how to keep their mouths shut. Another good one and I'll call it a night. "Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so are the lazy to their employers"(26). And that one needs no explanation. . . .

Day 183. Proverbs 4-7

The voice of Solomon in the Book of Proverbs is that of a concerned parent, a fatherly teacher passing along to a student the "insight" (4:1) he himself received from his parents and teachers (4:3-4). Insight is an excellent word for what is being imparted—it is practical knowledge about how to get along in the world. The voice is both stern and affectionate, like a father giving his son advice about women and other "facts of life."
The voice contrasts two women in our passage. There is the good woman—who is associated with Lady Wisdom herself (1:20-33)—and there is The Loose Woman, who is associated with all manner of reckless and wicked behavior. The student is advised to be faithful to the good woman—Lady Wisdom—and avoid the other kind. "Keep hold of instruction; do not let go," the voice says. "Guard her, for she is your life" (4:13). Two different and mutually exclusive ways are presented here—the way of wisdom, which is associated with light (4:18), and the way of wickedness, which is associated with darkness (4:19). The call of wisdom is to walk in the light, and avoid the darkness—(see the words of the Risen Christ in John 3:19-21). Foolishness and wickedness have all the charms and allurements of The Loose Woman—she is not what she seems. She drips honey and yet in reality she "is bitter as wormwood" (5:3-5). Consider the consequences before
acting upon your impulses, the voice of Solomon tells his young student. Do not be seduced and drawn into a disastrous lawsuit; do not act without due consideration and see your promising future destroyed (5:13-14).
To avoid this outcome, the young man is instructed to remain faithful to Lady Wisdom and do as she teaches: be wise and prudent in his financial affairs (6:1-5), work hard and like the ant be provident, not lazy (6:6-11). By doing these things he will remain faithful to Lady Wisdom and resist the wiles of the seductress. Foolish and wicked actions have disastrous, self-destructive consequences for those who do them, just by being caught in the act of adultery with another man's wife. "He who commits adultery has no sense," the voice of Solomon says. "He who does it destroys himself '(6:32). He loses wealth, honor, respect-- everything of value that he has.
Chapter 7 paints a colorful picture of a young man is being snared by the adulteress. This passage is lurid. The seductress knows her power. The young man succumbs, acting without counting the cost of his foolishness. "He is like a bird rushing into a snare," the voice says, "not knowing that it will cost him his life" (7:23). The Loose Woman is a representation not just of sexual sins but of all those thoughtless and irresponsible actions that lead to ruin, shame, and death. She is alluring but deadly. "Her house is the way to Sheol," the voice warns, "going down to the chambers of death" (7:27). Stay away from that kind, the fatherly voice says, and he calls upon the student to "say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and call insight your intimate friend, that they may keep you from the loose woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words" (7:4-5).

Day 182. Proverbs 1-3

When I was kid growing up in the Lutheran church, lessons from the Book of Proverbs showed up much more often in the Sunday readings than they do today. They were often heard in the summer months during those endless Sundays after Pentecost. The wisdom of Proverbs made pleasant, light "summer reading," and summer seemed like a good time to consider how to live a peaceful, fruitful life. But these days the Book of Proverbs, like many other good things, has gone out of fashion in the church—which is too bad, in my opinion, considering its importance in the Bible. Wisdom literature was never regarded in Israel as highly as the Law of Moses (the Torah), of course, but it continued to be very important, right down to New Testament times. You can clearly hear echoes of the Book of Proverbs in the teachings of Jesus, whom St. Paul calls "the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Wisdom is the form that philosophy took in the ancient Near East. Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle were interested in questions about the "being of being." What is the universe composed of? Why is there anything at all?—and knowledge—How do we know what we know? What can we prove—if anything—to be true? Wisdom literature--of which the Book of Proverbs is the prime example--is concerned with the much more practical question—What makes for a good life? What attitudes and actions promote success in the broadest sense? How do I relate to my neighbors, to society as a whole, to God?
Hebrew wisdom literature always presupposes the existence of a God, who reveals himself in history, and trust in that God is regarded as the foundation of wisdom. It is "the LORD who gives wisdom" (2:6). It is the greatest foolishness to "rely on your own insight," and the highest wisdom to "trust in the LORD with all your heart" (3:5). Even God used "wisdom" to create the earth and the heavens (3:19). "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge," the voice of Solomon says (1:7).
We will call the voice that speaks to us in the Book of Proverbs Solomon (1:1), and probably the some of the material in this book does indeed date back to the reign of that fabulous monarch. But this book is the sum of hundreds of years of the thought and experience, of countless sages and teachers of many cultures, and it did not reach its present form until the fourth century before the birth of Christ—long after Solomon's time. It is more ecumenical than any other part of the Old Testament. The Law of Moses is unique and particular to Israel alone, revealed to the chosen people by the God who claims them as his own among all peoples. But wisdom literature is a river that flows from many sources—from Egypt and Mesopotamia and perhaps from further off still. It is part of a great body of received knowledge that was passed down from elders to children—especially to sons—intended to get keep them away from bad company and out of trouble (see
1:8-19) and shepherd them into a happy marriage and a long and respectable life (see 2:16-19).
Those good things come to those whose hearts are open to the teachings of wisdom, who is personified in Proverbs as a woman. She is Lady Wisdom, and those who are willing to learn from her "will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster" (1:33). "Long life is in her right hand," the voice of Solomon says. "In her left hand are riches and honor" (3:16). In the Proverbs 1:20-33 Lady Wisdom advertises her wares and asks, "How long, O Simple Ones, will you love being simple?" Lady Wisdom will have a long and illustrious life. She will later be identified with the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. But enough of this for now--tomorrow we will continue our pursuit of wisdom together.

Day 181. Psalms 145-150

Psalm 145
This psalm—number 145—is another acrostic poem in praise of the God who "unsearchable" in his greatness (3). Far from flattering God with empty praises, this hymn is intended to witness—to proclaim—his "awesome deeds" in history and "sing aloud" of concrete instances of his righteousness (7). Verse 8—"The LORD is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love"—amounts to a statement of Israel's faith. God is not remote or arbitrary, like the gods the pagans worship. He is as present to us as today's news. He is as immediate to us as we are to ourselves. He compassionate to his whole creation and to each of his creatures individually. And the proper response to such a God is to "give thanks" to him (10) and "speak of the glory of [his] kingdom" (11) to whoever will listen. God's "kingdom" is the place where he is fully present; everything we can see is only a shadow of it. But his
kingdom is present in creation in his bountiful care and concern for all his creatures, especially the "bowed down" (14), the needy and the hungry. God feeds us in every way. (Luther suggested the use of verses as a table prayer.) And his kingdom is near to us when we pray, and he reveals who he is when he responds our cry with compassion. The psalmist feels bound to join with "all flesh" to "praise the LORD" and "bless his holy name" (21) for being what he is.
Psalm 146
This psalm of praise—number 146—extols the creator "who made the heaven and earth," and yet takes interest in the human world—executing "justice for the oppressed" and giving "food to the hungry." In verses 6-9 the voice of the psalmist lists the marvelous ways in which the LORD "lifts those who are bowed down" in one way or another. But the greatest marvel is the LORD himself, the transcendent God who enters the obscurest, humblest corners of human life with care and concern.
Psalm 147
The psalms struggle to capture the experience of life in relationship with the God who is not like us and yet reveals himself to us in his "steadfast love" (11). In the end, all the psalms are "praises" of the one who enters the tragic and joyous events of our lives to give them meaning. In response to the interest God takes in us "a song of praise is fitting" (147:1). In the psalms there is always a mixing together of the actions of God in the natural world—"he determines the number of the stars" (4)—and his involvement in the human world—"the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him" (11). The psalms display a sense of the unity of the natural and the human worlds that modern people have lost and struggle to recover. The same power is simultaneously at work feeding "the young ravens when they cry" (9) and in declaring "his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel" (19). The same one who gives order to
creation gives order to human life through the Law of Moses. The one who makes heaven and earth also creates a nation for himself, Israel, unlike any other because it alone possesses the Law (20).
Psalm 148
As we drawn near the end of the Book of Psalms the outbursts of childish anger and the cranky complains about enemies die away and the songs are about the LORD alone. There is a clarity in these last psalms that is really wonderful. This psalm—number 148-- calls all the creation from the top to the bottom—from the highest orders to the lowest-- to "praise the LORD" (1). First the members of the heavenly court—the angels (2)—are called to "praise the LORD from the heavens" (1), then the celestial bodies—the sun, moon, and stars (3), then the sea and its creatures (4), then the earth—its wildlife, vegetation and weather (5-10)—all are summoned to praise him. Then last of all, the human creation—"kings of the earth and all peoples" (11)—are called upon to praise God for his greatest miracle of creation, the one that gives meaning to all the rest-- for creating "the people of Israel who are close to him" (14). So the top
of creation and the bottom and everything in between are invited to join the faithful people of God, who witness to the world who God is.
Psalm 149
And who is God exactly? That question is never really answered by the Book of Psalms. It never asks why there is anything and not nothing. It is a collection of responses to God that "is," and those praises become louder and more joyfully abandoned as the book nears its end. In this psalm—number 149—the people are gathered to rejoice—"to praise . . . with dancing"--a God who "adorns the humble with victory" (4). The God of the psalms is found in the human experience of forgetting ourselves, letting go of what we are, and becoming part of something—some one—infinitely greater. Notice that the last line of each of these last psalms (146-150) is the same—"Praise the LORD!" What we know about God is not captured in propositions; it is the experience we have when he comes close to us and we praise him for what he is.
Psalm 150
And so the Book of Psalms ends with one final great doxology—a "doxology" is a song of praise--in which the sound of praise is extended beyond the community of worshippers in the temple, beyond the small city of Jerusalem in an obscure time long past, beyond the little nation of Israel—the often unfaithful remnant-- to an audience more appropriate in its vastness —"Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!" (6), the psalms end. "Praise the LORD!" And someday everything will.

Day 180 Psalms 139-144

Psalm 139
This psalm—number 139—is about creation-- specifically the creation of the human person. Its first stanza (1-6) deals with the LORD's absolute, inside-out knowledge of the psalmist. In some ways it is a comfort to be known so completely. And in another way it is an uneasy thought to consider, and the voice acknowledges that that probing, oppressive knowledge of his thoughts and motives hems him in, "behind and before" (5). Everything is naked before God—he knows this. But such knowledge as God has of him "is too wonderful" for him—he cannot imagine or grasp it. It is so high that "he cannot attain it" (6). Stanza two of the psalm (7-12) asks the question—How could I escape the probing knowledge of God? Again there is something comforting and at the same time disquieting about the fact that he cannot. If like sea bird, "I take the winds of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea," the psalmist says in a
particularly beautiful line, "even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast" (9-10). He can never be alone—not completely. God is always there, more present to him than he is to himself. The third stanza of the psalm (13-18) deals with the infinite complexity of the human body. It affirms that each human being is not a biological process, an accident, but an individual act of creation, "fearfully and wonderfully made" (13). A human life is created in potentiality before it ever exists; God knows all our days before we exist. His thoughts are complex and wonderful beyond contemplation. The psalmist says—"I come to an end—I am still with you" (18). The last stanza (19-24) prays for the annihilation of the wicked. "I hate them with perfect hatred," the voice of the psalmist says (22). The psalms deal frankly about the subject of human hatred. It can be quite embarrassing to the modern reader, but only
because we are used to sentimental hymns filled with sanitized emotions. But the psalms are raw stuff. The psalmist's hatred is real—but so are his love and awe. He does not try to hide either, because what point would there be in doing so. These songs are addressed to God, who knows both our most sublime and out basest emotions. And the psalms prove, if proof were still necessary, that we can say anything to God and be understood. He does, after all, know us inside-out and beginning to end.
Psalm 140
In this psalm—number 140—the voice of the psalmist cries out for help against the "violent" and the "arrogant," who have "hidden a trap" for him (5). He prays that God will foil "their evil plot" (8). They scheme against him; they slander him in order to destroy his honor (11). The wicked feel that they have license to do anything they wish because they do not believe in God or his justice. But the psalmist prays that God will show them their error—to their great sorrow—and allow "evil [to] speedily hunt down the violent" (11). This is a frequent theme in the psalms. God uses evil to punish evil—making the wicked fall into its own traps-- and thus he proves again that he "maintains the cause of the needy and executes justice for the poor"( 12).
Psalm 141
In this psalm—number 141—the psalmist, separated from the worshipping community in the temple and therefore unable to offer incense at the evening service, asks that this psalm be accepted "as an evening sacrifice" of praise (2). Far from Jerusalem, he prays that God will keep him from sin, and "set a guard over [his] mouth" (3). He is mindful that only the grace of God can keep him from sin. He prays for the guidance of the righteous—"let the faithful correct me" he says (5). Far from home in the midst of temptations, nevertheless his "eyes are turned toward" the LORD (8), praying that he will not be left defenseless against the traps and stratagems of ruthless people. Let them "fall into their own nets," he prays, while he alone escapes (10).
Psalm 142
This psalm—number 142—is the desperate "cry" of one who has been "brought very low" (6) by some unnamed predicament that has isolated him from the community. He feels he is utterly alone—"no one takes notice" of him, he has no place of refuge, "no one cares" for him (4). Only the LORD is his refuge "in the land of the living" (5). And he prays to be delivered from the fix he is in—what he calls his "prison" (7)--that he may once again be surrounded by the righteous.
Psalm 143
Most of the time in the psalms the voice is involved in a vigorous self-defense. In this psalm—number 143—the voice cannot even pretend to be righteous. No one living can (2). All have sinned and fallen short of the ideal of the Law. So he prays for forgiveness, which represents the difference between life and death to him. He begs for forgiveness and life, not because of anything he has done, but only because of the LORD's "steadfast love" and mercy and for his "name's sake"—because of who God is (11).
Psalm 144
When the nation was danger it was the business of Israel's king to lead the army in battle and also to offer appropriate prayers for victory in the temple. This psalm—number 144—is such a royal prayer, in which the king—he is identified as David—prays that God will "send out [his] arrows and rout" his enemies (6). He promises that if the LORD, his "rock" (1) and his "fortress" (2) will give Israel the victory the king will "sing a new song" to the LORD. "Upon a ten-stringed harp" he will play to "the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David" (9). He will sing a psalm—which is, in fact what he is doing. The rationale for war, the king says, is not plunder or conquest, but to preserve the security and prosperity of his people, so that there may "be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets" (14). "Happy" is the people who have peace secured by strength, "whose
God is the LORD" (15), ruling through a king who is both just and mighty in battle.

Day 179. Psalms 132-138

Psalm 132
This psalm—number 132—is another "Song of Ascents," a hymn sung by pilgrims going up to the temple in Jerusalem—God's "dwelling place" (7)--to worship at one of Israel's great national feasts. In it the voice gives an account of the covenant God makes with King David—the guiding reality of Israel's national life. The LORD swears to David—his "anointed one" (10)—"a sure oath from which he will not turn back," that as long as the they keep his covenant "one of the sons of [David's] body" will reign in the royal city of Jerusalem. God has lighted a "lamp for [his] anointed one" (17), which will never go out. And just as God has chosen the house of David and established it "forever" to rule over his chosen people, he has also chosen Jerusalem to be "his habitation" (13) among them. The house of David and the city are joined together by the LORD; their destinies are inseparable. Long after there was no son
of David ruling in Jerusalem, psalms like this one reminded the people of the hope that God will someday " cause a horn to sprout up for David"—a Messiah, who will restore Jerusalem to its greatness and free the people from their manifold enemies. As a Messiah, no wonder Jesus proved a disappointment.
Psalm 133
This little psalm—another pilgrim song—celebrates the "unity" of the people of God and rituals of hospitality that bind them together. One of those rituals of hospitality was to pour oil on a guest's head or feet—there are several instances of this in the Gospels. Anointing also set apart priests (2) and kings, symbolically giving the charisma—the spiritual power necessary to lead the people. The oil of hospitality is compared in this psalm to the sacramental anointing of kings and priests—both impart the spirit of God, bringing blessing to God's people, and promising "life forevermore" (3).
Psalm 134
This is "night" hymn (1) is composed to be sung by pilgrims on the way to worship in Jerusalem. It anticipates with excitement the night services in the Jerusalem temple, which must have been marvelously impressive--a great multitude standing in the courts of the "holy place,' hands raised in a adoration of the "LORD, maker of heaven and earth" (3) and singing the LORD's praises. What a sight!
Psalm 135
This song of praise, obviously intended for use in "the courts of the LORD's house" (2), celebrates the greatness of the Creator, exalted "above all gods" (5), who chooses "Israel as his own possession" (4). The voice recounts in brief the great moments of the Exodus and the conquest of the Promised Land. God is the God who chose the nation and acted through history on its behalf to deliver and preserve it. The voice of the temple worshipers ritually taunts the inferior gods of other nations, mere idols who are dumb, blind, and deaf. They are dead objects, made by human hands, "and there is no breath in them" (17). Soon those who make them and worship them will become like them. But the LORD is a living presence, who acts with and for his people. He has a past, a present, and a future, and his people have those too—in relationship to him. The psalm ends as it begins with the command to "praise the LORD" (21), which is the right
response to make to the creator of the whole universe (7), who chooses to reside in Jerusalem (21) among his chosen people.
Psalm 136
This liturgical psalm, sung as a series of verses and responses, celebrates the "steadfast love" of the LORD which "endures forever," demonstrated in creation (136:4-9) and in the salvation history of Israel (10-24). The last stanza (23-25) brings things into the present. The community praises the LORD, who has saved the nation (23), rescuing them from their foes (24), and continues his work of creation by giving food to "all flesh" (25). By all this he demonstrates his "steadfast love," which will not let him break his promises.
Psalm 137
This psalm begins as a lovely lament of an exile in Babylon. The psalmist, who was musician in the Jerusalem temple, is taunted by his captors. "Sing us one of the songs of Zion" (3), they mock him. He refuses, saying, "How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?" (4). But ironically that is exactly what he doing. Singing this psalm represents his firm resolve never to forget Jerusalem (5). He would rather have his right hand wither (5)—the one he would use to play a harp or lyre—or have his "tongue cling to the roof of his mouth" (6). He must sing, because to sing for him is to remember, and to forget would be to renounce Jerusalem, "his highest joy." Silence would be the ultimate betrayal of the city and the God whose name dwells there. The psalm becomes pretty nasty and vengeful towards the end, but a forced exile among nasty foreigners is bound to make one bitter, I suppose.
Psalm 138
This psalm of thanksgiving—number 138—celebrates some crisis in which the psalmist—who is identified as David—called out to the Lord and the Lord answered, thus exalted his name by keeping his promise—his "word" (2). He is the God who keeps his "word" (2), and because the LORD keeps his promises, "all the kings of the earth shall praise" the LORD when they hear of it (4-6). The psalmist calls himself "lowly" (6), but the LORD is remarkable in his marked preference for the humble. He pays attention to those whom the world ignores. And now that the LORD has fulfilled his "word", the psalmist is even more convinced that God's "steadfast love . . . endures forever" (8). The final request that God "not forsake the work of [his] hands" (8) is also a statement of faith that he will not.

Day 178. Psalms 120-131

Psalm 120
This psalm, together with all those in today's reading, are "Songs of Ascents," hymns sung by pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem to celebrate the great feasts of the Jewish year. In this psalm—number 120—the voice says he lives as an "alien in Meshech" and "among the tents of Kedar" (5) Meshech is in Asia Minor near the Black Sea; Kedar is in the Arabian Peninsula. They are nowhere near each other, but both are very distant from Jerusalem and the temple. And the voice of the psalm laments that as a Jew living far from his homeland he constantly faces hostility toward himself and his faith. Those he daily deals with are deceitful and dishonest. He is "for peace," but his bellicose neighbors are always "for war" (7). This is a song of homesick exile in a foreign country; he longs to go home. And those pilgrims who sang this psalm as they journeyed to Jerusalem to worship in the temple were in the most real sense going home.
Psalm 121
This psalm—number 121—is a dialogue. "From where will my help come?" the first voice of the psalm asks (1). (We can clearly hear the answer and response pattern of liturgy.) Help does not come from "the hills," but from the one who "made heaven and earth" (1-2). "The Lord is your keeper," the second voice answers the first. The LORD "watches over" those who look to him for help. He will take care of you your whole life through, your "going out" and "coming in" (8). Whatever happens on your journey, he is with his pilgrim people.
Psalm 122
This psalm—number 122—is a perfect example of the "Song of Ascent," a journey hymn expressing the joy of those who look forward to being in the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem. To Jerusalem "the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD," the psalmist says. The people of Israel—males especially--were commanded to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year, if possible (see Exodus 23:14-19). "There the thrones of judgment were set up" (5)—there the king of the "house of David" arbitrated disputes and dispensed justice. The psalm ends with an ecstatic blessing upon Jerusalem, where God's name dwells. It is the place where heaven and earth meet, and the pilgrim voice of the psalmist prays for its "peace" because upon the peace of Jerusalem depends the peace of the whole earth—and that is still as true today as it was then.
Psalm 123
This psalm—number 123—is a communal plea for help—communal because the voice refers to itself as "we." "We have had more than enough of contempt," the voice says (3). Together the people have suffered "the scorn of those who are at ease" (4), and now they wait for the vindication of the LORD. As his servants, they look with expectation and impatience for God's help in the face of the oppression "of the proud" (4).
Psalm 124
Again in this psalm—number 124—we hear the call and response pattern of the liturgy. What would have happened if the LORD had not been on our side "when our enemies attacked us?"—that is the question that is being asked here. And the answer is forthcoming—"They would have swallowed us up alive" (3). The psalm celebrates Israel's history of crisis and deliverance. "We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers," the pilgrims sing. "The snare is broken and we are escaped" (7). We would be swallowed up, swept away, drowned, caught in a snare, if the LORD had not been on our side, they sing. But we are alive and free because "our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth" (8).
Psalm 125
The community of pilgrims who sing this psalm—number 125—as they journey to Jerusalem, compare "those who trust in the LORD" to Zion, the temple mount itself; they are unmovable and firm (1). And their song compares the LORD's protection to the mountains that surround Jerusalem, all-encompassing and worthy of trust (2). The power of the wicked—their "scepter"—shall not continue to oppress the land that rightfully belongs to these who trust the LORD (3). "Do good, O LORD, to those who do good," the pilgrims pray (4). And they end with shout--"Peace be upon Israel!"
Psalm 126
The first verse of this Song of Ascent—Psalm 126—probably refers to the return of the exiles from Babylon. That was a moment of unadulterated joy when even the pagan "nations" celebrated the return of the exiles as an act of God. Now the pilgrim voices pray that the Lord will "restore [their] fortunes" as a nation, and again turn their tears into "shouts of joy" (5). Once God miraculously renewed the world for their ancestors—like rain renews the desert—may he do it again in this present time, they pray.
Psalm 127
This little wisdom psalm—number 127—which is ascribed to Solomon, speaks of the futility of trying to build anything permanent—a house, a city, a home, a family—without the support and help of the LORD. If he is not involved in our projects, we may "rise up early and go late to rest"(2), it will not matter. All human effort is useless without God's blessing; only what is done for the LORD lasts.
Psalm 128
What does it take to have happy family? This wisdom psalm—number 128—answers that question by saying that everyone is happy "who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways" (1). If you do that, the voice says, "everything will go well with you" (2). You will be blessed with a fruitful wife and many children—in Bible times this is the definition of happiness—and you will "see your children's children" (6)—living long in the land of promise surrounded by the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem.
Psalm 129
Notice the call and response structure of this psalm—number 129. The worship leader says a phrase, and the worshipers repeat it. The "me" of the psalm is the nation of Israel. Many have "attacked' Israel since the nation came into existence, but they have gotten nowhere (2). Those who curse God's chosen people will always be "put to shame" and have their curse turned upon themselves (5-8). They will be like withered grass, useless and sterile. But those who bless them will be blessed.
Psalm 130
In this psalm—number 130—the voice cries "out of the depths" for forgiveness and waits anxiously for an answer. In his suspense, however, he still firmly hopes, knowing that "with the LORD is steadfast love" (7). God keeps his promises to his people, and "with him is great power to redeem." The whole experience of Israel proves this, and the memory of God's mercies to his people fills that psalmist with hope that he too will be helped.
Psalm 131
In this little psalm of trust—number 131—the psalmist humbly professes his utter dependence upon God. He is like a "weaned child with its mother" (2), sitting in her lap, filled with quiet trust. And he calls on the worshipping community to adopt a child-like faith and humbly "hope in the LORD from this time on forevermore" (3).

Day 177. Psalm 119

Psalm 119
This is a long—very long—teaching psalm focusing upon the burden and joy of keeping the law and is arranged as an acrostic poem. Ancient people delighted in such word games. Each of the 22 stanzas of the psalm begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza has eight lines and each of these also begins with a different letter. In a time when written texts were rare and literacy limited, people depended on their memories. Devices like acrostics were aids to memory. And as we will see, this is a very, very long psalm to recite without a text--"a written memory"--to guide you—and the word game was useful as a "prompt."
Stanza 1
The psalm begins by talking about the happiness of those who "walk in the law of the LORD" (119:1). The word "happy" is a clue that we are dealing here with wisdom literature--writings that are intended to teach a person how to live a successful life in relationship with God and with other people. In the broadest sense wisdom literature gives advice. Here the study and keeping of God's precepts "diligently" (4) is recommended as the way avoid "shame" (6) and achieve a full and meaningful existence.
Stanza 2
How shall the law be studied? It is a lifelong process, but it should begin with "young people" (9) and be pursued for a lifetime. The Law is something to learn (12) and also something to teach. "With my lips I declare all the ordinances of our mouth" (13), the psalmist says. The Law is a living tradition to be passed down from one generation to the next, to youth from the aged.
Stanza 3
Those who keep the Law will always be a minority (19), and keeping it creates hostility among "insolent, accused ones" who ignore it. Some of these people are politically powerful, and obedience to the law of God always creates tension with those in power. The voice of psalmist, whose delight is in God's decrees, prays for protection from such people.
Stanza 4
Human beings were created out of the dust, and our soul—our being—still "clings to the dust" (25). We are pulled downward by our mortality. The psalmist prays that through God's teaching, he may be revived—brought to new life—and overcome the "entropy of mortality." The keeping of the law makes it possible for those who follow it to rise above "sorrow," weakness, and "false ways" to a closer relationship with the LORD, who gives the Law in order to make it possible for those who follow it to live a truly human life.
Stanza 5
There are any number of trivial concerns with which we can waste our lives, but the psalmist prays that the LORD will "turn [his] eyes from looking at vanities" to the keeping of the Law, and give [him] life in [his] ways" (37).
Stanza 6
"I shall walk at liberty," the voice says, "for I have sought your precepts" (45). The Law gives freedom, because it tells those who hear and keep it exactly what to do in order to please God. And having pleased God and lived up to his expectations they will not be "put to shame" even in the presence of kings (46).
Stanza 7
The psalmist finds in the law a "comfort in [his] distress" (50), because through it he knows that he is indeed righteous—acceptable to God and put right because he has "kept [God's] precepts" (56).
Stanza 8
"The LORD is my portion," (57) the psalmist says. He is satisfied with what has been given—the Law of the LORD and the guidance it provides. The voice of the psalm may be a priest, and "my portion" may refer to the "portion" allotted to priests and Levites by the law of Moses for their maintenance. But the Law of the LORD is a possession that makes all others unimportant by comparison. The Law makes those who keep it "a companion of all who fear" God—it creates a community based upon the love of his "precepts" and obedience to his commandments (63).
Stanza 9
Human sin flows from our pride and independence, but the Law calls us to the attitude of an obedient servant. "Before I was humbled I went astray," the voice says (67). It may be painful to our wounded pride, but it is a "good" thing to be humbled because it clears the way for us to "learn [God's] statutes" (71) and follow them. And following the commandments leads to a fulfilled and fulfilling existence.
Stanza 10
The purpose of human intellect is to "learn [God's] commandments" (73). Meditating upon the Law and teaching it to others gives "delight" (77), "honor" (80), and purpose to life.
Stanza 11
The psalmist watches in hope for the fulfillment of God's promise--he "languishes"-- until his "eyes fail" (82). But he is sustained by God's "steadfast love" (88)—the memory of promises made and kept. He pleads for help against "the arrogant," so that he may continue to be faithful in keeping "the decrees of [God's] mouth."
Stanza 12
"I have seen a limit to all perfection," the psalmist says in a particularly wonderful line, "but your commandment is exceedingly broad" (96). In other words, everything the psalmist has ever experienced has fallen short in goodness to the Law, which is truly perfect and through which the LORD has given him life (93). "The LORD exists forever" (89), the psalmist says, and his devotion to God's word—will endure as long as he does.
Stanza 13
The commandments of the LORD are perfect and sufficient, and meditation upon them causes the psalmist to exclaim—"How I love your law!" (97). God's precepts can give him understanding exceeding that of his enemies (98), his teachers (90), his elders (91), of all save God himself. They are altogether sufficient to instruct him on how to lead a good life. "How sweet are your words to my taste," he says, "sweeter than honey to my mouth" (104)!
Stanza 14
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!" (105) the voice of the psalmist says. God's spirit working through his word provides sure guidance in all of life's situations.
Stanza 15
"I hate the double-minded, but I love your law," the psalmist says (113). Having given himself whole-heartedly to following God's precepts, he despises those who are ambiguous and "soft' in their commitment. In this his attitude mirrors God's own, who spurns "all who go astray from [his] commandments" (118). Commitment to the law must be total and unconditional.
Stanza 16
As the LORD's faithful "servant," the psalmist cries out for justice and salvation from his "oppressors" (121). And now "is the time for the LORD to act," because his "law has been broken" (126). God is called upon to hurry to judgment on his servant's behalf.
Stanza 17
The psalmist again expresses regret because by some "God's law is not kept" (136). He hungers and thirsts for righteousness, as Jesus says in the beatitudes, and longs to be satisfied. His desire is almost physical in its intensity—"With open mouth I pant," he says, "because I long for your commandments" (131).
Stanza 18
The life of the psalmist—spiritual and physical—is tied to his keeping of the commandments (144). "Small and despised," he finds strength and vindication in God's word (141). God reveals his true nature perfectly in the law. His goodness shines through it. (We as Christians would agree—up to a point. But we acknowledge that the perfect keeping of the law is beyond us. It only accuses us of our failures. But in Jesus Christ God perfectly reveals himself in his love and mercy, "apart from the Law," as St. Paul says.)
Stanza 19
We can feel in these words the psalmist's sincere struggle to keep the law. God's commandments "are true," and he is drawn to them as truth. But he has to cry out to God constantly to "save" him on the basis of his keeping the commandments (146), rather than resting in the assurance that he has been saved. He has difficulty finding the rest that truth should bring.
Stanza 20
If God is just, he will save those who call out to him (156). And yet, it seems, he must be asked, begged, pleaded with again and again to do just that. There is no end to the need for rescue from the psalmist's "persecutors" and "adversaries" (157). The commitment of the voice is genuine enough, but the struggle to keep the Law is an endless one—and exhausting.
Stanza 21
The psalmist has enemies in high places, but he remains steadfast in his obedience to God's commandments. "Great peace have those who love your law," he says (165). That peace comes from the knowledge that if you can keep the Law you have done all that God commands. You have satisfied him. And obedience to his will draws human beings into relationship with the LORD.
Stanza 22
"I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant," the psalmist says. The scriptures are the story of God's search for lost sinners. The Law is the way that the LORD reached out to rescue Israel, his chosen people. It represents the first stage of his rescue program. Through the Law of Moses he taught them his statutes so that they could know his will and obey it. He did not fail—we did. The law only further establishes our inability to please God with our flawed obedience—Jesus Christ came not to dissolve the law, but to satisfy its demands through faith in him.