Psalm 37
David writes this psalm like a series of proverbs around a common theme: the righteous will be blessed and the wicked will fail. This is a teaching psalm more than it is a psalm of praise, althout it definitely speaks of God's character: he values righteousness, faithfulness and is just. The main instruction is: do not fret, words which are repeated a few times in the psalm, when you see the wicked attaining success for their success will be short lived.
Perhaps David was concerned because he was seeing his people becoming so frustrated by the wicked that they were beginning to employ wicked means to stand against them. In any case, he warns them not to become like the wicked. He indicates that the beginning of wickedness is fretting because, I believe, it indicates a lack of trust in the Lord and the beginning of taking matters into our own hands.
This is one of the things I needed to be reminded of from this psalm. Do not fret - it leads only to evil. It means that I have lost trust in the Lord. The only conclusion to draw is that I am afraid that the Lord can't handle the situation. The other indication is that I am more worried about me, my reputation and my comfort than I am about the kingdom of heaven. In other words, I acknowledge that Jesus is in control but I fret about what that could mean for me. This means that I have become the center of my life or that I have lost confidence in the Lord's goodness.
The other thing that struck me from this psalm was the line, "those the Lord blesses will inherit the land" (v.22). This reminds me of the beatitudes in Christ's sermon on the mount: "blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth." David is aware in a general way that inheritance of the land is at the perogative of the Lord. Jesus tells us the qualities he is looking for in those he wants to bless: meekness. I don't think I have a good understanding of this word. It conjures up ideas of humility, quietness, and submission. It has a bit of a negative connotation. In fact, dictionary.com defines it as overly compliant. It is clear that meekness is not necessarily something we value in our society and yet Jesus promises that those who are meek will be blessed.
So, my prayer from this psalm is two fold: one, that Christ would remind me that he is good and he is King so I do not fret. I want the Spirit to make me aware of those times when I am fretting and stressing and then move me to re-orient my thinking to recognize that Christ is still in control. Two, that the Spirit would make me meek even though it is not something that will be valued by this world. I long to want the affirmation of Christ more than the affirmation of this society and so, again, I acknowledge my dependence on the Spirit to re-orient my priorities and focus.
Showing posts with label God's character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's character. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Fountain of Life
Psalm 36
The psalm starts with a unique title: For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. I haven't seen this title so far in the Book of Psalms. I wonder if something happened to make David particularly humble in the writing of this psalm or I wonder if he establishing his credentials as someone who can speak a message from the Lord.
The message he has is concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. He focuses on what the wicked see (themselves) and what they say (wicked and deceitful words). The main message is that they are so focused on themselves that they are completely unaware that they are violating a standard of righteousness. They may even be unaware that such a standard exists.
The theme of the psalm abruptly switches to the character of the Lord. I think David is trying to show the contrast between the depravity of the wicked and the beauty of the Lord's character. Perhaps David's goal is to call the a group of people, perhaps the whole nation, to turn away from their wickedness and toward the Lord. In this capacity, David is acting as a prophet or servant of the Lord.
I need to be reminded of the beauty of the Lord's character. Like the wicked in this psalm, I get distracted and my focus shifts from the beauty of the Lord to the cheap substitutes that this world has to offer. I need to be reminded that the love of the Lord reaches to the heavens, his faithfulness reaches to the skies, his righteousness is like the highest mountains and his justice is like the mighty oceans. I need to be reminded that his love is precious. I know that I do not value who the Lord is to the extent that I should. I long to long for him.
The psalm starts with a unique title: For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. I haven't seen this title so far in the Book of Psalms. I wonder if something happened to make David particularly humble in the writing of this psalm or I wonder if he establishing his credentials as someone who can speak a message from the Lord.
The message he has is concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. He focuses on what the wicked see (themselves) and what they say (wicked and deceitful words). The main message is that they are so focused on themselves that they are completely unaware that they are violating a standard of righteousness. They may even be unaware that such a standard exists.
The theme of the psalm abruptly switches to the character of the Lord. I think David is trying to show the contrast between the depravity of the wicked and the beauty of the Lord's character. Perhaps David's goal is to call the a group of people, perhaps the whole nation, to turn away from their wickedness and toward the Lord. In this capacity, David is acting as a prophet or servant of the Lord.
I need to be reminded of the beauty of the Lord's character. Like the wicked in this psalm, I get distracted and my focus shifts from the beauty of the Lord to the cheap substitutes that this world has to offer. I need to be reminded that the love of the Lord reaches to the heavens, his faithfulness reaches to the skies, his righteousness is like the highest mountains and his justice is like the mighty oceans. I need to be reminded that his love is precious. I know that I do not value who the Lord is to the extent that I should. I long to long for him.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Trust
Psalm 25
Trust is the theme of this psalm of David. This is an interesting psalm because it is so much about the character of God and a surrender to God but the occassion for writing it is that David has been reminded of a past sin. However, David recognizes that God is good, upright and loving and therefore David's relationship to God does not have to be defined by his previous sinfulness. He can enjoy a restored relationship because God has forgiven his sin.
I like the contrasts: Remember your mercy and love, not the sin of my youth. This is not easy grace. David recognizes the greatness of his iniquity. In fact, verse 16-19 indicate that he feels the pain of his sin keenly. David also recognizes that forgiveness from God cannot be earned or based on merit. It is only according the name and character of the Lord that he will be forgiven.
My prayer could very often echo this prayer of David:
"God, I trust in you. Show me your ways, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and lead me for my hope is in you always. Remember your mercy and love and not my sinfulness for you are good.
You will instruct, guide and teach sinners like me for, even though I am not good, you are. For the sake of your name and because of your loving faithfulness forgive my sin, though it is great. I will look to you alone for help, for guidance and instruction.
I feel the full weight of my sin and the triumph of my spiritual enemies. Please turn your face to me and be gracious to me. Don't let me be put to shame for I take refuge in you. My hope is in you."
Trust is the theme of this psalm of David. This is an interesting psalm because it is so much about the character of God and a surrender to God but the occassion for writing it is that David has been reminded of a past sin. However, David recognizes that God is good, upright and loving and therefore David's relationship to God does not have to be defined by his previous sinfulness. He can enjoy a restored relationship because God has forgiven his sin.
I like the contrasts: Remember your mercy and love, not the sin of my youth. This is not easy grace. David recognizes the greatness of his iniquity. In fact, verse 16-19 indicate that he feels the pain of his sin keenly. David also recognizes that forgiveness from God cannot be earned or based on merit. It is only according the name and character of the Lord that he will be forgiven.
My prayer could very often echo this prayer of David:
"God, I trust in you. Show me your ways, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and lead me for my hope is in you always. Remember your mercy and love and not my sinfulness for you are good.
You will instruct, guide and teach sinners like me for, even though I am not good, you are. For the sake of your name and because of your loving faithfulness forgive my sin, though it is great. I will look to you alone for help, for guidance and instruction.
I feel the full weight of my sin and the triumph of my spiritual enemies. Please turn your face to me and be gracious to me. Don't let me be put to shame for I take refuge in you. My hope is in you."
Saturday, February 6, 2010
loving money
Hebrews 13:5-6
I dealt mostly with verse 4 in my previous post but there is a lot to explore in these two verses as well. Here, the author is focusing in on money, giving instructions not to love money. Again the exhortation is tied to the character of God. In this case, the audience does not need to love money because God is faithful, omniscient, immanent, good and sovereign. The author quotes two passages: Deuteronomy 31:6 talks about God's immanence, omniscient and faithfulness and Psalm 118:6-7 talks about God's goodness and sovereignty.
The argument the author is making is that the audience doesn't need to love money because they can trust the fact that God wants to provide for them (he is good), he knows what they need (he is omniscient and immanent) and he has the ability to provide for them (he is sovereign or omnipotent).
This is a good reminder for me. I need to be a good steward and faithful to God in the way that I use my money but, I should not stress about finances because of who God is. When I stress about finances it shows that I am casting doubt on God's character and that I am too focused on money. The author is exhorting us to keep money from being the center of our focus and to make sure that God is.
I dealt mostly with verse 4 in my previous post but there is a lot to explore in these two verses as well. Here, the author is focusing in on money, giving instructions not to love money. Again the exhortation is tied to the character of God. In this case, the audience does not need to love money because God is faithful, omniscient, immanent, good and sovereign. The author quotes two passages: Deuteronomy 31:6 talks about God's immanence, omniscient and faithfulness and Psalm 118:6-7 talks about God's goodness and sovereignty.
The argument the author is making is that the audience doesn't need to love money because they can trust the fact that God wants to provide for them (he is good), he knows what they need (he is omniscient and immanent) and he has the ability to provide for them (he is sovereign or omnipotent).
This is a good reminder for me. I need to be a good steward and faithful to God in the way that I use my money but, I should not stress about finances because of who God is. When I stress about finances it shows that I am casting doubt on God's character and that I am too focused on money. The author is exhorting us to keep money from being the center of our focus and to make sure that God is.
Monday, October 26, 2009
the anchor
Hebrews 6:16-20
The key words in this passage are: oath, hope, anchor, high priest. The author is continuing his thought about the certainty of God's promise of Sabbath rest. The author's argument that humans swear by something greater than themselves to confirm their statements. There is nothing higher than God so when God makes a promise, he swears by himself. This makes the promise doubly guaranteed: the first guarantee is that God cannot lie and the second guarantee is the oath that God made.
There are a couple of really interesting images. The first is the image of fleeing to take hold of the hope. There's a sense of urgency, even emergency. As if there is imminent danger and the readers and the author have sensed this danger and have fled to find refuge in the hope of Sabbath rest. The second image is that of an anchor that is secured in the Most Holy Place. The anchor speaks of security, the theme of this section. The fact that is secured in the Most Holy Place indicates that the disciple's security is tied to the unchanging character of God. The author also brings up the idea of Christ being a high priest in the order of Melchizedek again. This is something the author will explore more fully in the next section.
This passage reminds me of the unchanging nature of God's character. Part of being able to trust God is the fact that God never changes. He is eternally constant. He is and was and is to come. My understanding of God will change - hopefully continually growing fuller and deeper - but he is constant. This gives me great confidence in my salvation in that it depends on the unchanging character of God. I can rest assured that I will enter God's promised, future Sabbath rest - not because of my own character, abilities or accomplishments but because of God's. That takes the pressure off!
The key words in this passage are: oath, hope, anchor, high priest. The author is continuing his thought about the certainty of God's promise of Sabbath rest. The author's argument that humans swear by something greater than themselves to confirm their statements. There is nothing higher than God so when God makes a promise, he swears by himself. This makes the promise doubly guaranteed: the first guarantee is that God cannot lie and the second guarantee is the oath that God made.
There are a couple of really interesting images. The first is the image of fleeing to take hold of the hope. There's a sense of urgency, even emergency. As if there is imminent danger and the readers and the author have sensed this danger and have fled to find refuge in the hope of Sabbath rest. The second image is that of an anchor that is secured in the Most Holy Place. The anchor speaks of security, the theme of this section. The fact that is secured in the Most Holy Place indicates that the disciple's security is tied to the unchanging character of God. The author also brings up the idea of Christ being a high priest in the order of Melchizedek again. This is something the author will explore more fully in the next section.
This passage reminds me of the unchanging nature of God's character. Part of being able to trust God is the fact that God never changes. He is eternally constant. He is and was and is to come. My understanding of God will change - hopefully continually growing fuller and deeper - but he is constant. This gives me great confidence in my salvation in that it depends on the unchanging character of God. I can rest assured that I will enter God's promised, future Sabbath rest - not because of my own character, abilities or accomplishments but because of God's. That takes the pressure off!
Monday, June 25, 2007
good news = gospel
Romans 3:21-26
Observation:
The key words are: righteousness, law, faith, justifies. They are repeated through out these verses. The contrast is the righteousness that comes from the law vs. the righteousness that comes from God.
There is a small word picture that most readers would have picked up on comparing the death of Jesus to the atonement sacrifice in the OT.
Interpret:
The phrase that connects this to the rest of the chapter and the book is "But now..." indicating that there is a change in the present that alters everything. Up to this point, Paul points out that all of us are guilty, whether we have the law or not. All of our religious ceremonies and arrogance will not save us from God's wrath. But now...
Up to this point, Paul has proven that we are not declared righteous by observing the law adn therefore the just do not live by the law. In this passage, he proves how we can be declared righteous through the death of Jesus Christ - adding to his thesis that the just will live by faith (or, we are declared just/righteous by faith).
The main argument of this passage is that righteousness comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ. None of us could attain righteousness on our own because we all (whether Jew or Gentil - there is no difference when it comes to righteousness) fall short but we all (whether Jew or Gentile) can be declared righteous by God's grace through the sacrifice of Jesus. In Jesus, we see the justice and the grace of God.
Apply:
God's exceptional and indescribable mercy is seen clearly in this passage: because I could not attain his standard of righteousness, I deserve punishment but he gives me righteousness through Jesus. Wow! I also see God's justice - he could not let sin go unpunished but in his grace allowed Jesus to take the punishment for me. Wow (again)! My response should be complete surrender to God and a complete humbling before him. He saved me - it wasn't my merit or effort or attractiveness (and I know I'm pretty attractive...). It was his character that moved him to act on my behalf. My salvation depends on God, not on me.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
the advantage of circumcision
Romans 3:1-7
Observe:
Now it seems like Paul is shifting to address the Gentiles (he speaks of the Jews in the third person instead of in the second person as he has done in the previous section).
Paul is contrasting God's character to human character and basically saying that God's character is seen more clearly when contrasted to human character but that doesn't get us off the hook from facing God's judgement.
Paul starts a list in v. 2 of all the advantages that a Jew has over a Gentile. However, he only gets to number one and then he interrupts himself (a classic Paul tactic). According to my study Bible, he doesn't pick up the list again until chapter 9.
Interpret:
First, Paul is saying that Jews have an advantage over Gentiles because they have been entrusted with the word of God. This advantage also carries responsibility with it - to live according to the revelation they have been given through the words of God.
Paul then goes on a bit of a side track by saying that even if some Jews do not believe the word of God, it does not change the fact that God is faithful. We tend to think of God being faithful to us but Paul says that he is faithful to his own character - his judgement of sin exhibits his faithfulness to himself (in other words, he will never act outside of his character).
Paul goes on to destroy an argument that people were making: God cannot be just when he judges us because his character is seen most clearly in contrast to ours (i.e. his faithfulness in contrast to our unfaithfulness). This is similar to an argument that people make today that God cannot be just in judging those who don't have access to the gospel of Christ. God is just and he will judge in righteousness (Paul argues this in the previous chapters).
Apply:
As a Christian living in a free country, born to Christian parents and having access to many different versions of the Bible in my first language, I have been entrusted with a huge responsibility before God to live up to and take care of his words. I have been given many of the same advantages that the Jews had in Paul's day. This means that I must read, study, treat with respect, teach and live out the words of Christ as they have been given to me and as they are taught to me by the Holy Spirit.
Thankfully I don't hear too much of the argument that Paul was fighting against (let's do bad so God's goodness can be clearly seen). I have heard a variation of it once from a friend of mine who was a terrible driver (passed on the shoulder, 1.5x the speed limit, etc.) who saide he couldn't wait to get pulled over so that he could show the police officer respect and humility and be an example of Christ to the officer. I think God would rather have my friend be an example of Christ in the way that he drove. This passage reminds me that I am to display God's faithfulness, justice, truthfulness, etc. not by contrasting it against my own unfaithfulness, etc. but by allowing the Spirit of God to produce the character of Christ in me. I should represent, not be an anti-example of, God's character.
Observe:
Now it seems like Paul is shifting to address the Gentiles (he speaks of the Jews in the third person instead of in the second person as he has done in the previous section).
Paul is contrasting God's character to human character and basically saying that God's character is seen more clearly when contrasted to human character but that doesn't get us off the hook from facing God's judgement.
Paul starts a list in v. 2 of all the advantages that a Jew has over a Gentile. However, he only gets to number one and then he interrupts himself (a classic Paul tactic). According to my study Bible, he doesn't pick up the list again until chapter 9.
Interpret:
First, Paul is saying that Jews have an advantage over Gentiles because they have been entrusted with the word of God. This advantage also carries responsibility with it - to live according to the revelation they have been given through the words of God.
Paul then goes on a bit of a side track by saying that even if some Jews do not believe the word of God, it does not change the fact that God is faithful. We tend to think of God being faithful to us but Paul says that he is faithful to his own character - his judgement of sin exhibits his faithfulness to himself (in other words, he will never act outside of his character).
Paul goes on to destroy an argument that people were making: God cannot be just when he judges us because his character is seen most clearly in contrast to ours (i.e. his faithfulness in contrast to our unfaithfulness). This is similar to an argument that people make today that God cannot be just in judging those who don't have access to the gospel of Christ. God is just and he will judge in righteousness (Paul argues this in the previous chapters).
Apply:
As a Christian living in a free country, born to Christian parents and having access to many different versions of the Bible in my first language, I have been entrusted with a huge responsibility before God to live up to and take care of his words. I have been given many of the same advantages that the Jews had in Paul's day. This means that I must read, study, treat with respect, teach and live out the words of Christ as they have been given to me and as they are taught to me by the Holy Spirit.
Thankfully I don't hear too much of the argument that Paul was fighting against (let's do bad so God's goodness can be clearly seen). I have heard a variation of it once from a friend of mine who was a terrible driver (passed on the shoulder, 1.5x the speed limit, etc.) who saide he couldn't wait to get pulled over so that he could show the police officer respect and humility and be an example of Christ to the officer. I think God would rather have my friend be an example of Christ in the way that he drove. This passage reminds me that I am to display God's faithfulness, justice, truthfulness, etc. not by contrasting it against my own unfaithfulness, etc. but by allowing the Spirit of God to produce the character of Christ in me. I should represent, not be an anti-example of, God's character.
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