Psalm 122

Reading for August 31, 2012      Psalm 122

“I was glad when they said to me,

    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

And now here we are,

    standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.”

The last time I read these opening lines in Psalm 122, I was standing on the steps leading to the wall around the Old City of Jerusalem. A short time later our group walked to the Western Wall to pray. The Wailing Wall, as it is commonly called, is all that remains of the second Temple. The remains of the first Temple, King Solomon’s Temple, lie in ruins under the Dome of the Rock, just on the other side of the wall. For almost nineteen hundred years, Jerusalem was controlled by other nations, and the Jews were forbidden to go to the Western Wall. When control of the Old City of Jerusalem was won by Israel in 1967, at the end of the Six Day War, the celebration in Jerusalem was befitting the coming of the Messiah. Such is the love of the Jews for the Holy City of Jerusalem. When you arrive at the airport in Tel Aviv, you are greeted by a huge banner, “Welcome Home.” The sign could just as easily read, “Welcome Pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem.”

The psalmist longed for peace in Jerusalem. The bitter divide between Arabs and Jews remains today, accompanied by Christians fighting over their various holy sites. The psalmist calls upon the people to pray for peace and prosperity in Jerusalem. I hope all Christians will respond to the call of the psalmist, because I do not believe it is hyperbole to say that, if there were peace in Jerusalem, there would be peace in the world. Also, pray for peace in Jerusalem because one day all believers will be coming home to Jerusalem.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21: 1-4

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

This BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Reading for September 1, 2012: Psalm 123

Psalm 121

Reading for August 30, 2012      Psalm 121

“I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” (Psalm 121:1-2).

In the opening two verses, the psalmist sets the theme of this psalm: he needs help, and his help is coming from God alone. The psalmist makes his case by contrasting his belief in the LORD to the people who worshipped the god Baal, and believed Baal lived in the mountains. He is saying the Baal worshippers may look to the hills for help, but he will look to the Creator of heaven and earth.

The psalmist then affirms that his Lord is stronger than nature, evil and even death. The psalmist isn’t saying these adversaries cannot affect our lives; he is saying that ultimately, nothing is stronger than the Eternal God. The tone of this psalm is very similar to the great affirmation the Apostle Paul made in Romans 8:38-39,

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I believe we will all come to a place in our life when we will confront the question, “Is God’s presence in our life sufficient?” Can we, with peace in our heart, be still and know that he is God? (Psalm 46:10)

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

This BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Reading for August 31, 2012      Psalm 122

Psalm 120

Reading for August 29, 2012      Psalm 120

The next fifteen psalms, 120-134, are in a group titled, “A Song of Ascents.” Some translations may render the title, “A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.” These psalms may refer to the three pilgrimages the Jews were required to make to Jerusalem: Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot. All three are related to the Exodus: Passover – the beginning of their exodus from Egypt; Shavuot – God giving Moses the Ten Commandments; and Sukkot, Festival of Booths – remembering the Israelites wandering in the desert and living in tents. (See Exodus 34:24) However, I believe they relate to a spiritual ascent to God, as the psalms are calling Israel to return to their faith and trust in God.

Psalm 120 is a lament of the psalmist who is living in corrupt times. There are certainly many parallels in the psalm to this present age. There is an old joke that asks how you can tell if a politician is lying; they move their lips. A bit cynical, but very close to reality, as truth in politics and the media is a very rare commodity.

If there is only one thing you can take away from this psalm, let it be,

“I took my troubles to the Lord;

   I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.”

Psalm 120:1

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

This BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Reading for August 30, 2012      Psalm 121

Psalm 119

Reading for August 28, 2012      Psalm 119

Good News: For freedom Christ has set us free.

Bad News: For freedom Christ has set us free.

I know that seems a bit confusing, but I think you will soon see the light. First, let’s look at the structure of Psalm 119. “This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; there are twenty-two stanzas, one for each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within each stanza begins with the Hebrew letter named in its heading.” (Footnote 119:1 NLT) There are 176 verses in this psalm and at least 176 times the psalmist refers to God’s law, instructions, commandments, decrees, regulations etc.

While much of the redundancy in the psalm is due to the form of the poem the psalmist chose, I believe his motivation is revealed in verse 45: “I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.” This is indeed a noble pursuit for the psalmist; however, it is a futile pursuit.

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 7:21-25, is most eloquent when he describes our futile struggle to please God by keeping the law. The Good News is that Jesus has ended “the system of law with its commandments and regulations” (Ephesians 2:14-16). However, this is also Bad News, because freedom is hard work. It is much easier to have a check list and measure your progress in obeying the rules. The problem is, from God’s perspective, we will never adequately obey the rules. This is why He set us free; but God, while setting us free, did not lower His expectations for us. He most assuredly wants us to pursue scriptural holiness. However, in God’s grace, we are not left to try and do this in our own strength. He makes it possible for us to achieve His good pleasure: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). In God’s realm of amazing grace, we have been freed from having to work to please God, to pursue a new life where God is personally present with us:

“And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” ( 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 The Message).

In our new life, our mission is to learn to love God’s law, not as something we have to do; but something we get to do.

“For freedom Christ has set us free.

   Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Galatians 5:1 (NRSV)

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

This BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Reading for August 29, 2012      Psalm 120

Psalm 118

Reading for August 27, 2012      Psalm 118

I love the music of Chris Tomlin because his songs incorporate the beautiful prose of the Scriptures. Recently, I worshipped on a beautiful moonlit night in the Blue Ridge Mountains as Chris led us in singing this song of praise, born from Psalm 118,

Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever  Forever Forever

Much of Psalm 118 has been included in worship liturgies, especially on Easter Sunday. When the women returned to the disciples and announced they had seen the Lord (Matthew 28), the response of the disciples could well have been,

 “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

   his steadfast love endures for ever!

 Let Israel say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

 Let the house of Aaron say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

 Let those who fear the Lord say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’”

Psalm 118:1-4 (NRSV)

Jesus quoted verse 22 in his parable of the Tenants, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone” (Mark 12:10) and Peter also quoted this verse in his defense as he and John were brought before the Council. (Acts 4)

Verse 26, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” was proclaimed by the people as Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:9), and is now included in our liturgy for the sacrament of Holy Communion.

When Jesus appeared before the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, I can see him quoting portions of Psalm 118:15-18, 21-23 as he “explained from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

Because of the references to Jesus throughout this Psalm, the church, as she gathers on The Lord’s Day, proclaims, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Thomas proclaimed “My Lord and my God!” when the Lord appeared to him. (John 20:28) Ultimately, this is the response all disciples will make,

“ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

   you are my God, I will extol you.

 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

   for his steadfast love endures for ever.”

Psalm 118:28-29 (NRSV)

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

This BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Reading for August 28, 2012      Psalm 119

This Psalm is 176 verses – rather long, but I’ll try to cover it in one day.