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>Psalm 103:1-14

In Psalms,Theology on August 21, 2007 by mstevensrev

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103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

Bless the Lord. That is a funny phrase. To think that I can give something to God, for me is hard. Isn’t the nature of God that he doesn’t need anything, yet he can be blessed by me? Well, yes. When my heart is in line with who he is and what he is doing, we call that worship, he is blessed. There are good reasons for doing this: 1. he forgives our iniquity, 2. he heals our disease, 3. he redeems our lives from death, 4. crowns us with love and mercy, 5. Satisfies us with good, and 6. he renews our youth.

The list continues to go on, but shift into what he does and what he has done. 7. Works righteousness, 8. justices for oppressed, 9. made known his way to Moses. 8. merciful and gracious abounding in steadfast love. This is one that I like to camp out on. That God does not give us what we deserve, but gives us blessing and that blessing is his love. Knowing that you are loved is one of the most important things in this life. If the love is perverse and calls you to do crazy things, okay, that’s bad. But then that isn’t love it is manipulation. Love is the key. Everything in this list and the rest of it is based on God’s love for us. He knows who we are, where we come from, and he is loving and gentle with such fragile frames like ours.

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Articles

>Psalm 102:18-28

In Psalms,Theology on August 20, 2007 by mstevensrev

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18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
throughout all generations!”

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.

The story is not just for you but for those to come. It is up to us to pass it down, that is one of the great shortfalls of God’s people in the bible is they went through generations not telling the story. He sets the prisoners free, he brings life so that all will worship him.

It’s not easy though. Just because you serve God does not mean life will work out in your favor or you will simply be ‘happy’. There is a harsh reality that sometimes knowledge of God makes dealing with the brokenness in this world even harder. Because you believe there is a point to it all but we aren’t there yet, to get the point. God pushes us, and sometimes in the Bible that lead to not being able to have children, jail, and even death.

The Psalmist isn’t going to let you get too far down that road without coming back to God’s faithfulness. He will be around longer than all of us, it is in his favor to work things out for the good. We may pass on, but he will remain and he will continue to raise up the faithful. I know that this is God’s work, if it were just up tot he people in the church to keep it running it would of failed ages ago, remember I worked in one and know how crazy it is.

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Articles

>Psalm 102:1-17

In Psalms,Theology on August 19, 2007 by mstevensrev

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102:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!

3 For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.

It is hard to keep believing when God is silent. Silent areas of my life are where they become the most questions. While those questions can be good, and lead us to deeper faith, it doesn’t feel good. What feels good is having a response. Answer quickly, when I call. Karin and I went for years without cell phones, and we had many frustrated friends who wanted us to respond immediately!

Even with such great demands being asked of God, the Psalmist doesn’t forget his position in the world. It’s not very high. Really what is being created each day that will last? How many of the people who make headlines today will be remembered in 100 years, much less 50, much less 10. We are not even them, just normal people doing normal things. We feel the entire spectrum of emotion. And our days are like an evening shadow (you know during the best light), or withering like a blade of grass.

Then we look to God. Amazing. He has been there and seen it all. Sort of the way we think of vampires living throughout so many generations, experiencing all sorts of sights and sounds. That is God. Yet he does not feed upon people like prey, but rather cares for them. He is reaching out to them when they cry and offering them hope.

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Articles

>Psalm 101

In Psalms,Theology on August 17, 2007 by mstevensrev

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101:1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord.

Love and justice are where the two most profound ideas of God come together. So much that I have a really hard time explaining it because there is a mystery. Love is what mothers feel for their son no matter if they are great people or lacked up in jail, they will always be their baby boy and the mom will always love them. Justice is the idea of righting wrongs, always doing what is good and right on behalf of others. Often times these two ideas in my limited wisdom and insight are incomplete, yet with God they are perfect. The come together at the cross, was their another way God could have done it, of course. Why did he choose to do it this way? I have a few answers but none of them seem complete.

Once these two things meet in your life, it changes you. While selfish motives might hijack the program occasionally, they become the exception. Rather we desire to do good, walk with integrity, and seek that which is of value. This means to trust that things will be okay even if I don’t get my way. That’s hard. I had a situation last night at work where I asked someone for a favor and they said no. I have never asked anything of this person and I simply wanted to write them off, I was so frustrated. Then I had to trust. There is no need to be more of a butt to this person, they are already enough of a butt. Just trust.

God is working out his plans. That plan is good for those he loves, and not so good for those he is showing justice for their actions. When you are in his love, that justice has been satisfied through the cross, that leads us to a conversation on atonement which we don’t have enough time for.

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Articles

>Psalm 100

In Psalms,Theology on August 16, 2007 by mstevensrev

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100:1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

You know the Geico marketing campaign, “So easy a caveman could do it.” This Psalm is that easy. It is the first Psalm I ever memorized, and our family memorized it together when my daughter was only three.

This is a party Psalm. God is inviting us to enjoy, to experience his goodness. Like the sheep at a rave, we are in the courts of God, no longer held out of the gate by the bouncer, we are singing and dancing and enjoying him.

I love that this Psalm reminds us that this blessing is not just for us. Everyday I go through my life thinking it is all about me, and at my best thinking it is all about those in my life. God’s plan is much bigger than that. It is for all generations. I am just one part of that huge mysterious story.

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Articles

>Psalm 99

In Psalms,Theology on August 15, 2007 by mstevensrev

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99:1 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he!
4 The King in his might loves justice.
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.

8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!

Perhaps it is because it is in poetry, but the fear of God this Psalm is talking about seems more ritualistic or a part of a drama, rather than a moment where the Psalmist is actually scared. Again we come back to the royal image of God, people should fear/respect the king for his has great power, and this is the image coming across to me.

Moses and Aaron, were among the priest. Now there would be some discussion regarding Moses, but again poetry therefore the point is to remember the story and know that he functioned as a priest. Samuel the prophet called upon God. The listed to God and God was faithful to them. Remember the story.

Gos answered them, he forgave them when they messed up, he took their side against those who were doing them wrong. Remember that, he can do the same for you and me. There is nothing more comforting to know that someone is on my side, I can risk, be bold, and live as free.

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Articles

>Psalm 98

In Evangelist,Psalms,Theology on August 14, 2007 by mstevensrev

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98:1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the Lord, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

Most of the songs we got have need to be changed.  One of my favorite authors, Anne Lamont, says we have records playing in our heads…one says we are the greatest thing ever to exist and the other says we are worthless and it is only in those moments when those stop and we have silence that we actually know who we are.  The Psalms say sing a new song, because God is good.

We join in with the earth, creation is celebrating the return of God because what is happening to it isn’t all that great. C.S. Lewis pictured in in The Chronicles of Narnia, as forever winter but never Christmas, and upon the kings return the snow began to melt. 

We join our instruments and voices with that of the hills and rivers to celebrate the return of our God the king.  He is good and will judge, rightly mind you, all people with equity.  I don’t know the full extent of what that means, and I am sad of theologians who believe they do.  Often they are merely promoting their own idea of equity and claiming it is God’s.  Sadly I know I am not equitable, I watch out for myself, those I like, and especially those I love often in ways that are not good.  So thankfully it is not me who gets to judge at the end of time, I would do a horrible job of it.  My hope is in a God who can do it, better than I could ever imagine.

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Articles

>Palm 97

In Psalms,Theology on August 13, 2007 by mstevensrev

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The Lord Reigns

97:1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

When was the last time you saw a storm roll in? The clouds the wind when it is a really bad one you can be feeling uncomfortable if you really think about what is ahead of you. My friends in Brooklyn felt this the other week when a tornado touched down in their neighborhood. This picture would have really stuck in the Ancient Near East (ANE). These folks were much more effected by the weather than we normally are. So picture God sitting on a throne with roaring clouds around him, pretty sweet. Reminds me of a set for some rock band, perhaps Spinal Tap?

This God is alive and rock’in those who are worshiping a piece of wood, or a tree, or an old picture of their grandfather are missing out on the show. The entire show makes the followers happy, they are really rock’in out. Their lives are being preserved, they don’t have to live in darkness, and for that they are thankful.

All of us are looking for a rock star around to follow. The sad part is the makeup, smoke and mirrors often makes these people. Our hopes are set up and smashed. And of course deep down most of us want to be one, but we look in the mirror and are reminded each day we wouldn’t make it. I am thankful that we have songs (Psalms) about God being this way because he should be sexy (not sexist, ha), but it is the ordinary things he does for me that blow my mind. That each day, bone head mistake after bone head mistake, he continues to love me, and bless me. When my fears get the best of me, he settles me down.

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Articles

>Psalm 96

In Psalms,Theology on August 9, 2007 by mstevensrev

>96:1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,for he comes to judge the earth.He will judge the world in righteousness,and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Praise and Lordship. In the last Psalm it was remember what God has done for you that lead to praise. This Psalm it is looking at who God is that brings about praise. Creator, whereas the other gods are idols. He is strong, beautiful, full of splendor and majesty. He is royal.

Again this is something I often have a hard time with, thankfully creation and pslamist didn’t. What it means for God to be king means all obey him, all of creation. People and trees, forests. Everyone is thankful for his judgement beause it is good.

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Articles

>Psalm 95

In church,Evangelist,Psalms,Theology on August 8, 2007 by mstevensrev

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95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”

Praise flows from a grateful heart.  In order to praise God you must know what he has done for you.  I love how this Psalm commands, sings, and provides the story!  There is nothing too high or too low for God, it is all his.

Sheep is one of those images that cuts both ways.  They are beautiful on the hillside, important to the economy, yet they are stupid and take lots of work and attention to maintain.  We are the sheep of God’s pasture.  God also warns us about those who have gone before and blown it.  Remember.  Take your time, long to enter into God’s rest.

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