Web Theologian

>144:1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

3 O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

All my war is metaphorical. Unlike David or the Psalmist if it was not him, I have not fought to destroy another person, something that in a strange way would need a power greater than we possess in and of ourselves. The war that rages around me is mostly relationally. Perhaps that is why a movie light Fight Club has so much appeal.

My battles are fought with words. Recognizing the feelings and drives of myself and others and attempting to create positive change around them. But what does it all amount to? Even a breath? Even all our struggle and strife the only thing that truly makes a difference in this world is a new Kingdom established by God. Where all the work I am doing and have done has signficance, where the true meaning of it all is exposed, and where all my unrigheous motivation melts away.

May that day come! The kings will celebrate, the people will sing, ther will not be a people who do not know the wonder and glory of God. Children will grow in strength with plenty of food to eat, not a toss up whether they survive (like lots of places in the world) or end up strung out or crazy. The land will not be violated, but will bear fruit and food without effort. The street will be a safe place.

>143:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge!
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

“For no one living is righteous before you.” This is a hard reality that I find keep a number of people from faith. It is nearly impossible for them to see themselves as not good.

The Psalmist describes the first thing that has messed up our righteousness. The actions of others have harmed us. And as I have learned and hear many wise people say, hurt people hurt other people. We all live with wounded hearts, whether we can name the abuse we suffer or if it is merely living everyday life. It is there.

This and my own actions don’t keep me from God, actually it leads me to seek him more! I look back on all that I have done, and God’s faithfulness over that time. i sing songs thanking him and ask that his Spirit would lead me more deeply into a life that honors him.

>142:1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.

3 When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.

5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.

Snitch or tattle tale, there were really bad things when I grew up. You did not want to be the one giving someone else up. And yet part of maturing and growing up is being able to express your needs and problems to people without selling out others.

God is there to hear our complaints, worries and needs. He loves us and he loves everyone he has created therefore you don’t have to worry about him being convinced to do something he doesn’t want to do. He will surround us with people who have our good in mind. The righteous are available to us.

>141:1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.

We all love things that smell good. Just last Friday I came home from work and Aidyn and my mother-in-law had baked cookies. Needless to say it made me happen. May our requests to God be the same…hopefully he doesn’t then get hungry and eat us.

I like this second prayer about our lips. I talk, talk alot, and could use God’s protection with the words that I use. This could keep me out of trouble, as well as staying away from those who are evil.

I want to be like that guy in the Atari game PitFall. Remember swinging and jumping over all those things? Then while those who were trying to trap others get what’s coming to him.

>140:1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the Lord, You are my God;
give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
7 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into fire,
into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Calling out to God because you need help is natural, it is probably part of the reason you came to believe in the first place. Thankfully it might begin there but it doesn’t end there. Yet just because it doesn’t end there doesn’t mean it still not true. God loves us and wants us to look out for our good.

Which leads us to profess our belief. You are my God! You are my strength! God cares for those who are down and out, the afflicted. He watches out that then needy are not taken advantage of. One of the most basic questions related to believing is, “Do you think you can do it on your own, or do you need/want help?” Once you taste the help God offers surrender is easy. It’s like being married to an amazing person, you trust them and it is easy to do what they want.

>139:1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

When Karin and I went for marriage counseling, I was suspicious. Probably not for the reasons you think, I had studied counseling already. I understood the value, I just know that there are lots of clowns out there telling people what to do with their life and I didn’t want to deal with one of them. So as we sat in the waiting room and were handed the packet of forms to fill out, there was a recommendation on the first page of the paperwork from Larry Crabb, who I greatly respect, for the counselor we were going to meet with. It was a great experience, one even today, five years later Karin and I still reference things we learned. One of the things that stands out the most, and our counselor would always say to us is, “It sounds like your missing each other’s hearts.” That blew our mind. Our attention was on the words we were saying to each other and the details of the situation, we were unable to see past that to the great reality.

This is one of the things that makes God so great. He does care for the details, no a hair falls from our heads without his knowing, yet that is not all with him. He understands us, sees us for who he created us to be…his children. The great thing about children is their honesty, even when they screw up. I am amazed that when confronted with her actions, sometimes Aidyn will just begin to cry. When I ask her why she’s crying she express something like this is not how I want to act…but I feel like I can’t help it. As her parent I see that she longs to be good, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!” Sometimes when I am faced with my actions I just cry, because down deep, really deep my desire is to please my heavenly Father.

He knows that because he has given me that. It is a gift. At a very young age I made statements like, “Where I come from…” Still not sure what that meant but I had a clear awareness of something more. Then as I got older I would go for long walks and talk with God. I didn’t know that this was the God of the Bible, it was just my friend. The one who heard me, knew me, and probably kept me from great harm. Only later did God reveal himself to me through Jesus in worship. He placed a desire in my heart from my beginning. He knows me and leads me in his righteousness.

>138:1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Giving of yourself, generosity is one of the new themes that I am finding capturing my heart, and thought. It is exactly what the Psalmist speaks of here. In his book “Never Eat Alone”, Keith Ferazzi tells a story of his dad stopping at a house and asking for big wheel out of the person’s trash. Keith’s comments are about what humilty and boldness it took for his hard working father to go up to a total stranger and say I am so poor can I have your trash, and he also said how good it made the person feel when they gave not only the trashed big wheel away but also a bike that they were saving. In that story it is easy to imagine being each person and how it would feel. It also makes me think about how Jesus has rescued us from the garbage heap, he became poor to save us from the dump. What generosity has been shown to us, and the natural response is for me to offer my life. When you stand you don’t stand alone, the kings will join in, and the Lord will uphold you.

>137:1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!

7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!

Not all the songs are positive, there are tough times and situations. When you are not free and those who have done it to you rub your nose in it. It is hard to not be at home, even worse when it is not by choice. The exile is a great picture for us and the lives we have, we get into trouble when we start to believe that this is it. God does not forget, he shows u for his people. He uses those who do this to us to teach us but then he saves us when we get the point.

>136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
15 but overthrew [1] Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

17 to him who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed mighty kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to Israel his servant,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

One of the best movie lines and deliveries comes in Moulin Rouge when it is screamed at the climax of the movie, “The greatest thing in life is to love and to be loved in return!” God made us this way, and provides for this deep need inherit in the human condition as we are reminded in this Psalm!

This love is the reason we give thanks, it is directed to Him who has done wonderous works of love on our behalf, who has been there throughout history, and who remembers us in our suffering. This is clearly a beautiful liturgy that would have been sung, read, and echoed back and forth by the people of God, and still should be!