Psalm 4 is an evening prayer that sets us up for a good night’s sleep with these closing words. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. Psalm 4:8 But that’s not how the psalm begins at all. The opening words are a cry of personal lament. Answer me when I call to you, O righteous God. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1 The…
Psalm Three . . . is a personal prayer of desperation: Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me! The title says that this is a song of David, the shepherd-poet who became Israel’s king. But now his son Absalom has turned traitor, turned the whole country against him, forcing David to flee for his life. That’s the background that triggered this desperate prayer. I’ve never had to deal with betrayal this close to home,…
Psalm two is an unlikely story about hope. It begins with an enclave of powerful kings, warlords and captains of industry plotting to take over the world. It’s the universal dream of powerful leaders and it’s the oldest game in the world, the survival of the fittest. Power tends to corrupt, but powerful people don’t get it. They’re not just self-serving, they are actually defying God. But on this psalm, this rebel plot is met by a counter-plot. There is…
The opening song in Israel’s Psalter begins with a most positive word describing the truly happy person. In fact, it conveys a sense of enviable privilege: “oh, the Joy!” of being blessed like this. But immediately after setting this uplifting tone, comes a dire warning about how vulnerable this happy state is because of the power of negative social influence that functions like moral contagion. Talk about ancient truth being relevant for today’s world. Just as hand hygiene and social…
The tiny powerful Coronavirus has brought the world to its knees. Perhaps that is a good posture for us to begin fighting back. I find myself praying often for nurses, doctors and government officials working overtime every day to get us through this time. I’m grateful too for the grocery store clerks and media people and garbage pick-up guys who can’t work from home. I love the stories of Care-mongering FB groups and other strategies that are trying to ‘spread…
Even in the bizarre Corona virus environment of today, our bleakest prospects have the potential to blossom into beauty in ways we can hardly imagine at the time. MEMORY and LEGACY are gifts that transform our bleak losses into joy. And in the new creation our memories, legacies and life itself will be made new in the beauty of God’s love.