Monthly Archives: October 2019

Psalm 31

Just south of the church I pastor sits Roberts Mountain, peaking at 1,896 feet. I see this mountain every day as I travel. The South Umpqua River runs at the base of the mountain creating a beautiful river valley in which to live.

The psalmist prays, “Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me.” (Psalm 31:2, HCSB). One thing about the mountain just out my office door: it hasn’t moved in over 28 years. Certainly, there have been changes on the mountain – vegetation has changed, animal life has changed, the face of the mountain has changed (there was an active quarry at the foot of the mountain when I arrived in Winston in 1991). But every morning when I head south on Thompson Street towards the day’s activities there it sits – Roberts Mountain.

The mountain can changes wind patterns, and the mountain provides an interesting echo chamber when fireworks are ignited for community celebrations. As a permanent presence, the mountain reminds me that there are unchangeable truths. These truths aren’t simply things that are true for me, but facts that are true for everyone. First among them: there is a God who is distinct and different from any other object or person that people worship. You may or may not agree. The fact is, God is.

It is also true that God can and does protect. You might think that means those who trust God are free from fear, free from disgrace, free from frustration. The psalmist prays from his or her fear and frustration. God’s presence to protect isn’t a guarantee of a challenge-free life. Rather, His presence and power to protect enable us to find strength and courage in the midst of fear and frustration.

Finally, it is true that, like Roberts Mountain, when I wake tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, God is still present.

Psalm 30

Teeter-Totter Faith

In most elementary school playgrounds sits a teeter-totter. Using simple physics two people can go up and down repeatedly only requiring a minimum expression of physical energy. Something about the feeling of traveling up and down can be quite mesmerizing.

Many believers live on a teeter-totter. Today they may be experiencing the heights, “Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. Lord, You brought me up from Sheol; You spared me from among those going down to the Pit.” (Psalm 30:2–3, HCSB). Tomorrow the same believer may cry out, “Lord, I called to You; I sought favor from my Lord: “What gain is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your truth?” (Psalm 30:8–9, HCSB). Up, then down.

I have spent much time on this teeter-totter. Up now, but wait a few hours and then I’ll be down again. Certainly our adversary pushes back when we are up. ‘Is this the pattern for which God designed us? Is this the way He would choose us to live?

The title of the Psalm, “A psalm; a dedication song for the house of David” hints that these words may be David’s prayer after some grievous challenge to his faith. Sickness, family rebellion, enemies from the nations surrounding Israel – any of these could have been the cause of a sense of failure and a call for rescue.

We don’t always choose to be up or down on the teeter-totter. Circumstances beyond our control confront us regularly. The key to a successful teeter-totter is the center point. For David, and his faith descendants the pivot point is the unfailing power and presence of God. Whether up or down, God is present and able.

PSALM 29

Sometimes God speaks in thunder and trumpet sound as He did when Moses led the Israelites to Mt Sinai. Other times God speaks in the whisper of the wind as He did to Elijah after the defeat of the prophets of Baal. In the New Testament, we read of at least one occurrence when God spoke and some heard thunder (see John 12:29).

We agree with the New Testament author who wrote: [I]n these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1–2, HCSB).

I wonder though. If God were to speak as the psalmist describes in Psalm 29 how would I respond? The psalmist describes God’s voice as powerful enough to be heard above the raging floodwaters, strong enough to destroy entire forests, capable of causing entire groups of people to react, potent enough to cause animals to give birth, and forceful enough to eliminate the woodlands.

The psalmist isn’t describing God’s voice. Rather he describes the result of God’s voice. Maybe we should stop seeking to hear the voice of God, listen more carefully to what He has already spoken and let His all-powerful word once for all delivered and ask ourselves, what has changed in my world because of the word God has spoken?

Psalm 28

From waking to falling asleep we are bombarded with noise. Traffic on the streets, music playing in public spaces, televisions demanding our attention. Most people, it seems,  are wearing some sort of earpiece as we navigate our way to work, home, and running errands. We arrive home and turn on the television, we ask Alexa to play our favorite music, or we switch on our favorite radio station. If we avoid those then we hear the noises our home makes or the happy (or unhappy) noises of our family.

But when God is silent?

The psalmist prays, “Lord, I call to You; my rock, do not be deaf to me. If You remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the Pit” (Psalm 28:1, HCSB). To not hear from God is to find one’s self totally cut off from life. This silence is not comparable to the absence of sound. This silence is, as the psalmist understands, the absence of life.

Creation itself exists only because God spoke. God spoke, and whatever He spoke came into existence. He speaks and we are called to be.

Note that the psalmist does not celebrate having heard from God but rather that his prayer has been heard (vs 6). Jon Bloom, writes

The silence, the absence is phenomenological. It’s how it feels, it’s not how it is. You are not alone. God is with you (Psalm 23:4). And he is speaking all the time in the priceless gift of his objective word so you don’t need to rely on the subjective impressions of your fluctuating emotions.[1]

Take a moment. Quiet your world. Listen carefully. God is speaking. God is not silent.

[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-god-seems-silent, accessed on 10/9/19.