PSALM 13

1-2 Long enough, God— you've ignored me long enough.  I've looked at the back of your head long enough. Long enough
I've carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies have looked down their noses at me.
3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God; I want to look life in the eye, so no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face.
5-6 I've thrown myself headlong into your arms— I'm celebrating your rescue. I'm singing at the top of my lungs,  I'm so full of answered prayers.

Week of March 1  Psalm 13

This short psalm is a classic “how long, o lord” prayer for attention. The author seems to think that god has been ignoring him, and that if he can get god’s attention things will be different. (see verse 3.) Does it help to keep after god? Or is it a sign of our own impatience?
I still like the way most psalms finish—with an expression of trust (verse 5). How much do you trust in god? Is your trust contingent on things going well in your life? Talk to god about trust.

March 8, 2009

    The writer of Psalm 12 seems discouraged and disappointed with the world he sees.  He laments:  “The godly are no more; the faithful have vanished.  Everyone lies to his neighbor, their flattering lips speak with deception.” (v.1-2) It sounds a bit like our world today.  What can we do to keep the outside world from dragging us down? 
  “A retired dentist, living in the same building in New York City where my wife, Glory, lived for a while, told me this story one afternoon.  Growing up in the Bronx, Fred’s family did not have money to spare.  His mother walked everywhere and spoke little English.  One day, when Fred was six years old, his mother stopped him in front of a shoe repair’s shop.  He read it again, and he did. Then, Fred recalled, she said to him, “Shine inside, son.  Always shine inside.”
   With Jesus as our Savior we can “shine inside.”  God is with us, and others will notice how we live and shine for Him.

PSALM 12

 1-2  Quick, God, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depended on gone.  Everyone talks in lie language; Lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues.
 3-4  Slice their lips off their faces! Pull the braggart tongues from their mouths!  I'm tired of hearing, "We can talk anyone into anything!  Our lips manage the world."
    5  Into the hovels of the poor, Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks: "I've had enough; I'm on my way to heal the ache in the heart of the wretched."
 6-8  God's words are pure words, Pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, Pure on earth as well as in heaven. God, keep us safe from their lies,  From the wicked who stalk us with lies, From the wicked who collect honors for their wonderful lies.

Week of March 8   Psalm 12

some psalms appear out of date to us, but here is one that seems to deal with our world today. the old problems of gossip, lying, and faithlessness are the same ones that we see around us (although corporate greed, white-collar theft, and internet fraud give them a modern face). sometimes do you feel as the psalm 12 writer in verses 1 and 2? what things bother you most?
the words of psalm 12:5–6 may be the assurance of a priest or worship leader as a formal act, stating that god will arise on the side of the poor and those who speak truth. the final two verses are a prayer for god’s continued protection. what is your prayer for our world and those victimized?

March 15, 2009

  As we study the Lord’s Prayer Jesus’ teaching on how we should communicate with God, the words “Our Father” remind us of the importance of our relationship with God.  Psalm 11 describes God with several father-like qualities.
  Father Knows Best was a popular television show when I was growing up.  Mr. Anderson was the loving father of three, successful in work, devoted husband.  The assumption, played out week by week, was that no matter what problems came along in life, he could provide solutions.
Some of us had wise fathers, kind fathers, good fathers.  Some fathers were funny and made us laugh.  Other fathers were serious and taught us how to think and how to figure things out.  For some of us, our father was neglectful or cruel and mean.  Some of us had no father in our lives at all. Our relationships with our father are unique.  A father can be as close to us as God was to Jesus.  A father can also be as damaging or as absent as anyone could ever imagine.  Some of us come to God because of our fathers.  Some of us come to God in spite of our fathers.
  But God is our heavenly father, always there, keeping us close, working for our good.  Praise God!

PSALM 11

 1-3   I've already run for dear life straight to the arms of God.  So why would I run away now when you say, "Run to the mountains; the evil bows are bent, the wicked arrows aimed to shoot under cover of darkness at every heart open to God. The bottom's dropped out of the country; good people don't have a chance"?
 4-6   But God hasn't moved to the mountains; his holy address hasn't changed.
He's in charge, as always, his eyes taking everything in, his eyelids unblinking, examining Adam's unruly brood inside and out, not missing a thing.  He tests the good and the bad alike; if anyone cheats, God's outraged. Fail the test and you're out, out in a hail of firestones, drinking from a canteen filled with hot desert wind.
    7   God's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, Setting us straight. Once we're standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.

Week of March 15   Psalm 11

Psalm 11 is a “song of trust,” perhaps an expansion of the song of trust that is usually a part of most lament psalms. The psalmist rejects the advice of others (that the only solution is running away from the problem—see v. 1–3) in favor of trusting in God and facing the issues. Do you sometimes avoid problems when, with GOD’S help, you might overcome them?
Does God punish those who do violence and acts of wickedness? If so, how? Does God reward you for acts of justice and mercy? If so, how? Pray, thanking God for the good God has done in your own experience.

March 22, 2009

Psalm 10

   1-2  God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?  Full of hot air, the wicked are hot on the trail of the poor. Trip them up, tangle them up in their fine-tuned plots.
   3-4  The wicked are windbags, the swindlers have foul breath.  The wicked snub God, their noses stuck high in the air. Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
"Catch us if you can!" "God is dead."
   5-6  They care nothing for what you think; if you get in their way, they blow you off.  They live (they think) a charmed life: "We can't go wrong. This is our lucky year!"
   7-8  They carry a mouthful of hexes, their tongues spit venom like adders.  They hide behind ordinary people, then pounce on their victims.
      9  They mark the luckless, then wait like a hunter in a blind; When the poor wretch wanders too close, they stab him in the back.
10-11  The hapless fool is kicked to the ground, the unlucky victim is brutally axed. He thinks God has dumped him, he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
12-13  Time to get up, God—get moving. The luckless think they're Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they'll never come up for audit.
READ VERSES 14-18

Week of March 22  Psalm 10

This psalm is a prayer for deliverance from personal enemies. The first 11 verses describe the way we often feel when we see criminals go unpunished, corporate greed rewarded, and bad people prosper. We have joined the psalmist in crying out against injustice. What bothers you most today?
Verse 12 changes the tone, and is a prayer for God’s action. This week we remember Jesus being persecuted, arrested, and crucified. Contrast the Psalmist’s prayer with Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–46).

Psalm 9 is a good hymn of praise.  Like many others, it contains an unusual word: Selah.  It is a relic of ancient times, probably a direction for singers or a warning for readers.  It is a difficult word to translate, but some say it means “stop and listen” or “pause and think about that.”  Stop and reflect on God.  Do it when you read Psalms or any scripture.  Do it everyday in the small moments of your life.  God is in nature.  God is in the air you breathe.  God is in acts of justice and deeds of mercy.  God is everywhere that righteousness finally triumphs over evil.  God is with you.  God is around you.  God is in you, present in the Freedom and Salvation of Jesus Christ.  Selah! Selah! Stop.  Listen.  Take notice. Think about that!

Psalm 9

1-2 I'm thanking you, God, from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders.  I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song, High God.
 3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran, they stumbled on you and fell on their faces. You took over and set everything right;  when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.
5-6 You blow the whistle on godless nations; you throw dirty players out of the game, wipe their names right off the roster. Enemies disappear from the sidelines, their reputation trashed, their names erased from the halls of fame.
 7-8 God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world's mess right.  He decides what is right for us earthlings, gives people their just deserts.
 9-10 God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.
 11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God, tell his stories to everyone you meet: How he tracks down killers yet keeps his eye on us, registers every whimper and moan.
13-14 Be kind to me, God; I've been kicked around long enough.  Once you've pulled me back  from the gates of death,  I'll write the book on Hallelujahs;
on the corner of Main and First  I'll hold a street meeting;  I'll be the song leader; we'll fill the air with salvation songs.
     READ VERSES 15-20

Week of March 29   Psalm 9

Here is another prayer for deliverance. It seems appropriate that it matches the Lord’s Prayer petition—”Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Psalm 9 is a little hard to follow since it intersperses prayers for deliverance with expressions of trust. Which verses are which?
Easter is just a couple weeks away. In Christ’s resurrection we have been delivered once and for all from evil, sin, and death. Give thanks to God in prayer. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.