“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
he has prepared for him his deadly
weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.”
Verses 12-13
A couple of years ago I taught a student who was absolutely unique among our school’s population, for he always told the truth and never transgressed any of our rules. At least that was his story every time he got in trouble! His loud and repeated claims of innocence were always accompanied by finger-pointing and accusations against classmates.
Psalm Seven is attributed to David from a time when he was being unjustly persecuted by a man identified as “Cush.” In ancient Israel this prayer would have been used frequently by those who believed themselves to be the victims of injustice. When the courts and judges of the nation failed to see false accusations for what they were the wrongly accused and persecuted could appeal to the LORD who could be relied upon to judge all people in righteousness. (Verse 11)
In our modern world, where false accusations and persecutions are yet rampant, and hardly a day passes without spurious lawsuits being instituted, and many parts of the world innocent people arrested and beaten for no other offense than their faith, the encouragement and hope of this psalm of David is as needful as ever.
But, in verses 3-4 and 12-13, there is a caveat of sorts, a warning to the unrepentant and deceitful, who when justly accused often put up a vigorous defense of denial and claims of righteousness—God perceives their heart as well. Courts and judges can be as easily taken in by false pleas of innocence, as they can by false claims of guilt. But God is no more moved by the unrepentant who deny their guilt, than he is persuaded by the wicked who institute false claims.
It has been observed that one rarely talks to a guilty man in prison, as very few indeed are ever willing to acknowledge their fault, either persisting in denial or attempting to place blame for their actions on others, “It wasn’t my fault, I am the victim!” Admittedly, there are undoubtedly some innocent men and women who are unjustly punished; they can be certain of God’s vindication one day. Just as certain will be God’s condemnation and punishment of all who, by virtue of skillful deceit and prevarication, successfully dupe the law.
Some faith traditions, recognizing how pervasive are the practices of falsely accusing a brother, and falsely claiming innocence, along with all other sins that beset humanity, include a corporate Prayer of Confession as part of their service of worship for the Lord’s Day. Even if that is not the practice where we worship, we all do well on the Lord’s Day, and every day, to search our own heart and repent of our transgressions before God. And doing so in the name of Jesus Christ, who died paying the penalty for our sins, permits us to confess freely our faults, knowing that in Christ God has already forgiven us.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A Real Peace March
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
Psalm 122.1
The infantry does not often receive an invitation to a Peace March. Most of the time foot soldiers tramp long and exhausting miles only to have a desperate battle waiting for them at the end. We can well imagine how little a soldier looks forward to an order to “March!” But the author of Psalm 122 belonged to an entirely different sort of army, if you will, an army of worshipers.
So, when the word came to move out, it really was a summons to move up, to rise and climb the dusty paths and roads that led to Jerusalem, and to the temple, the house of the LORD. And this, far from danger, was an occasion for celebration and joy. The people of God, his troops (The Psalmist identifies them as the tribes of Israel), were summoned to assemble in the presence of the commanding general at his personal headquarters. And the purpose of the gathering was not battle, but thanksgiving, and the worship and praise of God. Rather than a desultory journey to a violent clash, all Israel would have walked with a spring in its step, already engaging in worship as it sang this, and the other Songs of Ascent, while on the march to Jerusalem.
And, when assembled, there would not be cries for war, but prayers for peace. What other army in history can you think of that regularly fell-in in order to conduct a peace vigil?
Sadly, the Psalmist’s, and all Israel’s, hopes for peace would repeatedly be frustrated, no few times because of the nation’s sins and the fatal decisions of kings who warred like the kings of nations who knew not God. Even when Israel’s Messiah, the Prince of Peace himself, arrived, the peace of Jerusalem would be broken by the shedding of his blood on a cross just outside the city’s walls. Nonetheless, this is a hopeful, and hope-filled song. May its words inspire and direct our steps.
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
Psalm 122.1
The infantry does not often receive an invitation to a Peace March. Most of the time foot soldiers tramp long and exhausting miles only to have a desperate battle waiting for them at the end. We can well imagine how little a soldier looks forward to an order to “March!” But the author of Psalm 122 belonged to an entirely different sort of army, if you will, an army of worshipers.
So, when the word came to move out, it really was a summons to move up, to rise and climb the dusty paths and roads that led to Jerusalem, and to the temple, the house of the LORD. And this, far from danger, was an occasion for celebration and joy. The people of God, his troops (The Psalmist identifies them as the tribes of Israel), were summoned to assemble in the presence of the commanding general at his personal headquarters. And the purpose of the gathering was not battle, but thanksgiving, and the worship and praise of God. Rather than a desultory journey to a violent clash, all Israel would have walked with a spring in its step, already engaging in worship as it sang this, and the other Songs of Ascent, while on the march to Jerusalem.
And, when assembled, there would not be cries for war, but prayers for peace. What other army in history can you think of that regularly fell-in in order to conduct a peace vigil?
Sadly, the Psalmist’s, and all Israel’s, hopes for peace would repeatedly be frustrated, no few times because of the nation’s sins and the fatal decisions of kings who warred like the kings of nations who knew not God. Even when Israel’s Messiah, the Prince of Peace himself, arrived, the peace of Jerusalem would be broken by the shedding of his blood on a cross just outside the city’s walls. Nonetheless, this is a hopeful, and hope-filled song. May its words inspire and direct our steps.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Try Softer
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46.10
O.K. All you “Type A” folks out there, please raise your hand…Hmm all right, no, keep them up now for a second. I have to tell you that you might take exception to what I am going to say, but please, understand; the Lord has a word for me today as well as for you. You can put your hands down now.
There once was a Type A woman by the name of Martha. She was a doer. Big-time doer. The Bible depicts her as one of the world’s all-time doers. I believe it would be safe to say if Martha had been given the opportunity to create her own bit of advice to all the world’s Type As she might have said something like this:
“If at first you don’t succeed, you weren’t doing enough!
So try, try again, and this time, try harder and do more.”
What do you think? Sound like Martha? Sound like you?
Now, many of you are going to be remembering Martha by now, and no doubt recall that she had a sister by the name of Mary. Mary was more of a “be-er” than a “doer.” And there were times when Mary’s be-ing kind of bugged Martha when she got a little overwhelmed with all her do-ing. That’s right, you remember the story now, from Luke 10.38-42, Martha busy doing her thing, rushing around trying to be the perfect hostess. Mary just sitting there at the feet of Jesus, simply being where she needed to be. And Martha tried to get the Lord to make Mary get up and lend Martha a hand, for Martha was working as hard as she could, and was about to wear herself out. And Jesus said to Martha, in so many words, “Martha, there’s no one I know who tries harder than you, but Mary understands that I want her to try ‘softer,’ and you need to try softer too sometimes.”
Try softer? Isn’t that the same thing as not trying at all? Well, no, trying softer means being still long enough to know that God is God, and that he is the real doer, not you. Not that we should all sit back and just idly watch as God does his thing, he does not want us, after all, to be mere hearers of his Word, but doers. But we’ve got to be hearers of the Word first, before we can even begin to pretend that we are doers of the Word.
This is not to indict all the folks who had their hands up a few moments ago. But it is some advice, if you’ll permit me. Try, just try, to ease up on all your do-ing. Instead of harder and harder, give softer a try. Be still, and let God be God, and listen and watch him long enough to maybe hear and learn something he wants to teach you today. The truth is, God will get you to slow down one way or another. He might take the direct root, as he did with Martha, and tell you that you need to sit down at his feet and chill for a bit. Or, if you are hard of hearing like I am, he might take more drastic steps. I remember a particularly nasty stomach bug he once used when I was particularly busy doing too much do-ing; it got me to stop and give him my full attention while I was lying on the floor of the bathroom. As rotten as I felt, I remember lying there thanking him.
So, all you hard case Type As out there, with your Day Timers overflowing with things to do, all geared up to try harder today, do yourselves a favor, and take a few moments this morning and try softer, be still as your day begins, and know that the Lord at whose feet Mary sat, he is God, and set a spell yourself. Being still first is the key to doing faithfully the things God wants us to do.
Psalm 46.10
O.K. All you “Type A” folks out there, please raise your hand…Hmm all right, no, keep them up now for a second. I have to tell you that you might take exception to what I am going to say, but please, understand; the Lord has a word for me today as well as for you. You can put your hands down now.
There once was a Type A woman by the name of Martha. She was a doer. Big-time doer. The Bible depicts her as one of the world’s all-time doers. I believe it would be safe to say if Martha had been given the opportunity to create her own bit of advice to all the world’s Type As she might have said something like this:
“If at first you don’t succeed, you weren’t doing enough!
So try, try again, and this time, try harder and do more.”
What do you think? Sound like Martha? Sound like you?
Now, many of you are going to be remembering Martha by now, and no doubt recall that she had a sister by the name of Mary. Mary was more of a “be-er” than a “doer.” And there were times when Mary’s be-ing kind of bugged Martha when she got a little overwhelmed with all her do-ing. That’s right, you remember the story now, from Luke 10.38-42, Martha busy doing her thing, rushing around trying to be the perfect hostess. Mary just sitting there at the feet of Jesus, simply being where she needed to be. And Martha tried to get the Lord to make Mary get up and lend Martha a hand, for Martha was working as hard as she could, and was about to wear herself out. And Jesus said to Martha, in so many words, “Martha, there’s no one I know who tries harder than you, but Mary understands that I want her to try ‘softer,’ and you need to try softer too sometimes.”
Try softer? Isn’t that the same thing as not trying at all? Well, no, trying softer means being still long enough to know that God is God, and that he is the real doer, not you. Not that we should all sit back and just idly watch as God does his thing, he does not want us, after all, to be mere hearers of his Word, but doers. But we’ve got to be hearers of the Word first, before we can even begin to pretend that we are doers of the Word.
This is not to indict all the folks who had their hands up a few moments ago. But it is some advice, if you’ll permit me. Try, just try, to ease up on all your do-ing. Instead of harder and harder, give softer a try. Be still, and let God be God, and listen and watch him long enough to maybe hear and learn something he wants to teach you today. The truth is, God will get you to slow down one way or another. He might take the direct root, as he did with Martha, and tell you that you need to sit down at his feet and chill for a bit. Or, if you are hard of hearing like I am, he might take more drastic steps. I remember a particularly nasty stomach bug he once used when I was particularly busy doing too much do-ing; it got me to stop and give him my full attention while I was lying on the floor of the bathroom. As rotten as I felt, I remember lying there thanking him.
So, all you hard case Type As out there, with your Day Timers overflowing with things to do, all geared up to try harder today, do yourselves a favor, and take a few moments this morning and try softer, be still as your day begins, and know that the Lord at whose feet Mary sat, he is God, and set a spell yourself. Being still first is the key to doing faithfully the things God wants us to do.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Psalm 121
"My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121.2
I couldn’t believe the headline this morning, Congress, in trying to master the deficit, is considering slashing defense spending by 50%! They are proposing that all our Armed Services go part-time. On even days we will all be well protected, but on odd days soldiers and sailors will be working at McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. You know I’m joking of course. A part-time defense is no defense. Now, don’t jump to wrong conclusions, I am not about to compose some hawkish diatribe to justify profligate defense spending.
You know, it would have been comforting for the residents of the city of Jerusalem to look up at the hills surrounding the city and see the armies of Israel keeping watch 24-7.(Verse 1) But the author of Psalm 121 took far greater comfort in the knowledge that he was protected by the One who made the hills themselves.(2) And Psalm 121, the second of the great “marching songs” of ancient Israel, was a reminder that, regardless of how much, or how little, the nation’s kings spent on defense, in the end it was God alone who shielded the country.
God holds the line, we never have to worry about retreating so much as one footstep with the Lord.(3a) And with God there is never a question of anything less than complete, around the clock, vigilance. Israel’s defender, and ours, never rests or nods off.(3b-4) It does not matter if it is noon or midnight, God is there shielding us.(5-6)
Evil may be rampant in the world. Peoples and nations may plot our demise. It matters not, because God keeps between us and evil, guarding each precious life of his saints.(7) From now until forever, the Lord watches over all our comings and goings.(8)
All this is not to suggest that we do Congress one better and slash defense spending 100% to rely on the Lord. God puts the sword in the hands of those in authority for our protection, and to turn back and punish evil. (See Romans 13) But a national defense budget, regardless of its size, is wasted on a nation that rejects God. Would that when we look to the hills our comfort would not come from the size of our armies manning their posts, but from knowing that God is watching over us. I could march to that tune all day.
I couldn’t believe the headline this morning, Congress, in trying to master the deficit, is considering slashing defense spending by 50%! They are proposing that all our Armed Services go part-time. On even days we will all be well protected, but on odd days soldiers and sailors will be working at McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. You know I’m joking of course. A part-time defense is no defense. Now, don’t jump to wrong conclusions, I am not about to compose some hawkish diatribe to justify profligate defense spending.
You know, it would have been comforting for the residents of the city of Jerusalem to look up at the hills surrounding the city and see the armies of Israel keeping watch 24-7.(Verse 1) But the author of Psalm 121 took far greater comfort in the knowledge that he was protected by the One who made the hills themselves.(2) And Psalm 121, the second of the great “marching songs” of ancient Israel, was a reminder that, regardless of how much, or how little, the nation’s kings spent on defense, in the end it was God alone who shielded the country.
God holds the line, we never have to worry about retreating so much as one footstep with the Lord.(3a) And with God there is never a question of anything less than complete, around the clock, vigilance. Israel’s defender, and ours, never rests or nods off.(3b-4) It does not matter if it is noon or midnight, God is there shielding us.(5-6)
Evil may be rampant in the world. Peoples and nations may plot our demise. It matters not, because God keeps between us and evil, guarding each precious life of his saints.(7) From now until forever, the Lord watches over all our comings and goings.(8)
All this is not to suggest that we do Congress one better and slash defense spending 100% to rely on the Lord. God puts the sword in the hands of those in authority for our protection, and to turn back and punish evil. (See Romans 13) But a national defense budget, regardless of its size, is wasted on a nation that rejects God. Would that when we look to the hills our comfort would not come from the size of our armies manning their posts, but from knowing that God is watching over us. I could march to that tune all day.
Friday, January 22, 2010
How Do We Overcome "A Failure to Communicate"?
"What we have here, is a failure to communicate." Remember that classic line from "Cool Hand Luke"? Actually, when I survey the turmoil among nations, I am drawn to the conclusion that what we have here, in the mess of international relations and warfare, comes down to a failure to communicate. And we have no one to blame but ourselves.
There was a time when men had no trouble understanding one another, when all humanity was one big family, so to speak. The trouble was, our ancestors were so successful in communicating and working together that they thought they might be able to dispense with God, or at least, climb to a place where they could be on a level with God. So they set about building a tower. A big tower. A tower that would have its top in the heavens. Now, a tower than big would be hard to miss, and God himself saw what was up, and put an end to the construction project, and human beings' ability to communicate effectively among themselves. And the face of the earth has been covered with a lot of confused and angry people failing to communicate ever since. We just don't understand one another, can't see eye to eye, if you will. And this had led, and continues to lead, to all kinds of problems, big and small, between neighbors and nations.
I wonder, what language did our ancestors speak pre-Tower of Babel? Was it any language of man, or could it perhaps have been the language of angels, if you will? Might it be a language we will one day speak again in heaven? Idle thoughts, I suppose, but then, this is just a blog.
The other thing I think about related to this whole failure to communicate problem, is if there is any possibility of overcoming it this side of eternity? I am not suggesting that, like the movement towards one world-wide currency, there be a push to re-establish one language for every nation and people. But what if there were words, a book even, that, regardless of what language it were translated into, it said the same thing to everyone? Hmm, there might be some hope in that. And what do you know, I believe that book already exists, and it has been overcoming lots of communication failures and bring peace on earth to a lot of folks for nearly two thousand years. I must also admit, that men have taken the book and manipulated its words to serve personal, racial, national, and ideological ambitions, rather than the will of its author. But the book itself, its every word, has the potential to re-establish a blessed communication among men. And, believing in this potential of the book, I think I'll go and study by Bible some more.
There was a time when men had no trouble understanding one another, when all humanity was one big family, so to speak. The trouble was, our ancestors were so successful in communicating and working together that they thought they might be able to dispense with God, or at least, climb to a place where they could be on a level with God. So they set about building a tower. A big tower. A tower that would have its top in the heavens. Now, a tower than big would be hard to miss, and God himself saw what was up, and put an end to the construction project, and human beings' ability to communicate effectively among themselves. And the face of the earth has been covered with a lot of confused and angry people failing to communicate ever since. We just don't understand one another, can't see eye to eye, if you will. And this had led, and continues to lead, to all kinds of problems, big and small, between neighbors and nations.
I wonder, what language did our ancestors speak pre-Tower of Babel? Was it any language of man, or could it perhaps have been the language of angels, if you will? Might it be a language we will one day speak again in heaven? Idle thoughts, I suppose, but then, this is just a blog.
The other thing I think about related to this whole failure to communicate problem, is if there is any possibility of overcoming it this side of eternity? I am not suggesting that, like the movement towards one world-wide currency, there be a push to re-establish one language for every nation and people. But what if there were words, a book even, that, regardless of what language it were translated into, it said the same thing to everyone? Hmm, there might be some hope in that. And what do you know, I believe that book already exists, and it has been overcoming lots of communication failures and bring peace on earth to a lot of folks for nearly two thousand years. I must also admit, that men have taken the book and manipulated its words to serve personal, racial, national, and ideological ambitions, rather than the will of its author. But the book itself, its every word, has the potential to re-establish a blessed communication among men. And, believing in this potential of the book, I think I'll go and study by Bible some more.
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