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Psalm 21

“May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.” (Psalm 20:4, HCSB) and “You have given him his heart’s desire and have not denied the request of his lips.” (Psalm 21:2, HCSB). What we seek we find.

Sometimes what our heart desires does not align with God’s purpose. What then?  Perhaps the answer is found as we pause and ask ourselves, What is God’s ultimate purpose? Are the victories we celebrate really all about us? Are the enemies we stand against truly arrayed against us and us only?

I can’t help but read the Psalms in the context of my other regular reading of God’s Word. Currently, I am reading in Ezekiel, whose messages are primarily about judgment, about how God will act against His people for the sake of His name (see Ezekiel 20).

Yes, we celebrate victories. We honor those who stand firm against the enemy. However, what we are to find is summarized in these words:

“Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your might.” (Psalm 21:13, HCSB)

Psalm 20

According to one website, 30 countries are currently experiencing some kind of warfare (www.warsintheworld.com). Perhaps believers in some of these countries are using the words of this Psalm as they live in the midst of continual conflict.

For me, however, the conflict is internal. As John, one of Jesus’ earliest followers describes, For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions … (1 John 2:16 CSB) is my adversary. Since rupturing my Achilles tendon and living with a cast on my left ankle, the enemy has changed tactics. Busyness was a constant enemy. I was overscheduled. Now, with limited mobility, I find myself battling different enemies – doubts about my worth (after all, even showering requires assistance), anxieties about my ability to serve as pastor (aren’t pastor’s supposed to be in their study 40 hours a week, and visiting all the folks in the church 40 hours a week, and visiting lost people sharing Jesus for some hours during the week, as well as leading prayer meetings, worship services, counseling people, making hospital visits…), and frustrations about just getting around (getting from my home to my study is an interesting experience).

However, the Psalmist’s prayer resonates deeply in my heart and sould:

Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.   Lord , give victory to the king! May he answer us on the day that we call.

Psalms 20:7-9 CSB

Psalm 19

What do you hear when you are outside? I’m sitting at my dining room table, leg elevated (I fell and ruptured my Achilles tendon and am in a cast for nearly a month), listening to the sounds of the neighborhood. It’s quiet. Most of the neighbors have left for work or running errands. If I listen carefully enough I can hear the sky proclaiming the work of God’s h hands, or so the psalmist claims. If should be able to hear the joy of the sun as it runs its course, according to the psalmist.

I am not proficient in listening to the sound of the sky or the joy of the sun. Yet God speaks whether I hear or not. I am an expert in discerning the stars and the messages they proclaim.

So, God speaks through His Word. In the Holman Christian Standard translation of the Bible the psalmist reminds me that God gives instruction, He testifies, He expresses precepts, He gives commands, He communicates ordinances. These I can hear. These I can train myself to hear, analyze, examine, remember, and think upon.

The psalmist closes with a prayer:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, HCSB)

For my words to be acceptable, for my thoughts to meet His criteria challenges me to learn to listen to the sky, listen to the way God speaks through the natural environment. God’s word, revealed in what we call ‘The Bible’ serves to underline what God is saying – even if we aren’t proficient in listening to the sky, hearing the joy of the sun.

Psalm 18

If this was the only written prayer of King David’s we’d think that he experienced some temporary trouble and then God intervened in some powerful and unpredictable way. Starting in the depths and rising to the heights this prayer celebrates David’s victory over Saul and the forces that had sought to keep him from ascending the throne as God had promised.

But, (and you knew this was coming) this momentary victory gives way to family fractures, desperate acts of deceit, and constant challenges to his leadership from enemies within and without.

Some seasons last too long. Others don’t last long enough. Psalm 18 celebrates the end of a long season in David’s life. Saul and his son Jonathan have died as a result of a battle. David could step into the role that God had anointed him to fill. The season of David’s life from his anointing to claiming the throne was confusion and uncertainty that deepened as the years passed. Now, David remembers how God as rock and shield has delivered.

Seasons come and go. Seasons of victory are sweet. The songs of our faith can be sung with exuberance and enthusiasm. But seasons change regularly. Be prepared for the change.

Psalm 17

In one 24 hour period two cities have been devastated by mass casualty events (El Paso, TX on Aug 3, and Dayton, OH early morning of Aug 4). Almost four years ago Douglas County was rocked by a mass casualty event at our local community college (Oct 2015). The psalmist, though living in different times knew what it was to live in violent times.

Our hearts are broken by the violence surrounding us. For some, the violence destroys the very fabric of their families as loved ones are killed, injured, or severely traumatized. How do we pray in violent times?

Cry out to the Lord, acknowledge that God indeed has investigated the true motives of our heart. Choose to live differently than those surrounding us.

Call out to God, certain that He hears and that He will answer. Trust that He will do as promised, even as violence rages around us and even when violence disrupts our own life.

Let God confront those who plan and devise violent. That doesn’t mean law enforcement officers must stand back. As Paul wrote in the NT, they carry weapons for a reason (Romans 13:4). The psalmist knew that God uses human means to advance His cause.

Calm your heart with the certainty that God’s presence is enough. Even when our fears overwhelm our hearts God’s promise stands constant. We will see Him. And that will be enough.

Psalm 16

Having been bombarded with advertisements since birth, I am reminded regularly of products I really need in order to up my productivity, books I should read in order to keep up with current Twitter conversations, foods I should eat for health, strategies for insuring my retirement funds are adequate and so on. One estimate is that the average American (whoever that may be) sees around 4,000 ads daily (https://www.redcrowmarketing.com/2015/09/10/many-ads-see-one-day/, accessed on 7/29/19).

Eugene Peterson’s translation The Message has Psalm 16:4 like this: “Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names like brand-names.” (Psalm 16:4, The Message).

When I am shopping for productivity tools, foods, books, and other products, I choose the ones that meet my needs most effectively and efficiently. Many people – in the PSalmst’s day and our own – shop for gods like they shop for clothing. Does it fit? Does it flatter me? Does it communicate that I am stylish?

The psalmist affirms his commitment to the God who has revealed Himself in the day to day dealings with His people. The psalmist acknowledges that he is not alone, that there are others who are choosing to stand fast in their choice of obeying the God if their ancestors, the God who has spoken to them and through them.

Daily I am dazed with the advertisements for products I never even knew I needed. But one choice I never need  make again is expressed by the psalmist: “Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.” (Psalm 16:8, The Message).

PSALM 15

In the Netherlands, “groups of children, generally pre-teenagers, are deposited in a forest and expected to find their way back to base … Children are taught not to depend too much on adults; adults are taught to allow children to solve their own problems. Droppings distill these principles into extreme form, banking on the idea that even for children who are tired, hungry and disoriented, there is a compensatory thrill to being in charge.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/world/europe/netherlands-dropping-children.html). I wonder. Is the thrill ‘being in charge’ or ‘finding one’s way back home to family, safety, security?

The Psalmist asked a similar question in Psalm 15. Who can truly dwell ‘at home’ where we belong – in the presence of God? Who is capable of living on the ‘mountain’ the Israelites experienced as a place of darkness, thunder, lightning, smoke, noise, and shaking (see Exodus 19)?  God Himself forbid the Israelites from even touching the mountain. Only Moses and a few selected others actually were able to ascend the mountain.

The Psalmist describes a life of integrity, a life of honor, a life of equity and justice as requirements for ‘dwelling’ on God’s holy mountain. The requirements are challenging. Our first ancestors lived in God’s presence. They couldn’t resist the forbidden fruit and were ‘dropped’ far from home. We’ve been trying to ‘get home’ ever since.

In the New Testament, we are reminded that the mountain of God the Israelites experienced is not our destination. Rather, “…you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the Judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant ), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22–24, HCSB).

Home, where God created us to live, is wherever Jesus is. He is our righteousness, the One who had opened the path back home. If you feel you’ve been dropped far from home, turn to Jesus. He will take you home.

Psalm 14

John Piper writes, “ Standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating your own greatness is pathological. At such moments we are made for a magnificent joy that comes from outside ourselves…” (https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-the-grand-canyon-teaches-us-about-ourselves/).

What does God see when He views the world and what we have done to it? The 14^th Psalm offers an answer. From God’s (POV) point of view He sees a world of human beings consumed with their own pleasures and preferences (see also Romans 1:18-following). The people of God, those who seek to understand the mind and heart of God recognize themselves in this dark view of humanity. We also see that the presence of God is the only place where we can actually thrive.

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden they were cast out of the place God had created specifically for them. From that moment forward, God’s people have made choices that cause God to ask, Will evildoers never understand (Psalm 14:4)?

The prayer of the psalmist, seeking deliverance, comes from a POV that compares with how we respond to the magnificent sight of the galaxies spinning above us in the night sky, the sheer beauty of creation. God’s POV, described darkly by this Psalmist is through grace-tinted lenses. He sees us, in all our selfishness not as hopeless but as those for whom He has provided redemption.

We are tempted to view the world through the lenses of despair and hopelessness. Let us see that the future is one in which God will recreate the heavens and the earth. Let us firmly hope in the promise of our redemption. Let our point of view be informed not by the immediate challenges of our circumstances. Let our point of view align with the POV of God. Jesus once reminded His followers, “…stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near!”” (Luke 21:28, HCSB).

According to reliable data from the National Institute for Mental Health, 19% of American adults suffer from an anxiety disorder at any one moment. Further, their studies reveal that over 30% of all American adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives (see https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder.shtml for more information).

Count me as one of the 19%. I am in good company by the inclusion of this psalm in our Bibles (see also Psalm 77). Anxiety attacks have paralyzed me at times. Anxiety rules my life at times. When anxiety runs rampant it is difficult to think or act positively. Self-destructive behavior often results. Most anxiety sufferers don’t contemplate suicide, but from personal experience, I can state that anxiety often causes behaviors that almost certainly guarantee failure in the daily routines of life and in one’s ability to maintain healthy relationships with others.

The psalmist is desperate. Death seems only a breath away (vs 3). Defeat seems guaranteed (vs 4). Is there any hope? Can anxiety be overcome?

The writer expresses an ongoing trust in the faithfulness of the covenant God who has acted decisively in Israel’s past. Even in the depths of despair, the psalmist affirms their commitment to the assurance of deliverance. Instead of wallowing in self-pity the psalmist ‘sings’ to the LORD who has proven Himself by completing what He has begun.

I may never be totally free of anxiety. I may once again be stricken by an anxiety attack. God never fails. God always finishes what He begins. I will trust in God’s covenant loyalty.

Every news cycle (i.e. about 24 hours) brings another illustration of how that which is worthless is celebrated by humans. (Since it’s not college football season yet I can assure you that football wins by the college team of your choice is important and significant in some historical way.) Sports teams win and news coverage is extensive. Financial markets change and the news cycle thrives.  Politicians make brilliant or not-so-brilliant statements, and the news cycle parses every word. Just this afternoon I received a news bulletin regarding an earthquake in the San Francisco, CA area. Shortly after that news another story regarding action the US House of Representatives took on prominence. I wonder what the next hour might bring?

Reading one day’s worth of news stories often reinforces the Psalmist’s plea in Psalm 12:1: “Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; the loyal have disappeared from the human race.” The daily news by its very definition seeks to be sensational, provocative, and eye-catching. Loyalty, faithfulness are typically not eye-catching or provocative terms.

The psalmist responded by praying – “Help!” Too often our response to the rapidly changing news cycle is to complain, to criticize, to communicate our response. But prayer? Seriously?

Praying as a response reminds us that as self-important as we think we are, this world does not belong to us. In prayer, we acknowledge that what matters most is not what we think or say. In prayer, we are reminded that God’s Words are the only words that matter. His promise, expressed in His written word, is our best response to the celebration of worthlessness, that which is morally filthy.