Y.A.P.

       Got up waxing nostalgic this Sunday morning, March 21st. Lily and I video taped Bryan and Jean's Wedding reception (pictures thanks to Laura Simmons), last night and it made me once again thank God for Lily. My Dad passed long before I met Lily. Too bad. He would have liked her. So thinking about my Dad this morning I wanted to at least start this Father's Day page. I love Centerline New Media's video to the right. The rest of the sidebar I will finish later.

Psalm 25
Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance
Of David.

1     To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2     O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
3     Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4     Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5     Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
6     Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7     Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!
8     Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9     He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10     All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11     For your name’s sake, O Lord,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12     Who are they that fear the Lord?
He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13     They will abide in prosperity,
and their children shall possess the land.
14     The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes his covenant known to them.
15     My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16     Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17     Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me out of my distress.
18     Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19     Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20     O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21     May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
22     Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all its troubles.

Psalm 29
The Voice of God in a Great Storm
A Psalm of David.

1     Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2     Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
3     The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
4     The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5     The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6     He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7     The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8     The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9     The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
10     The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11     May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

Psalm 33
The Greatness and Goodness of God

1     Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
2     Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.

       … R. Judah said, … The harp of the messianic days has eight cords … Furthermore, it is said: Give thanks unto the Lord with harp, sing praises unto Him with the psaltery of ten strings.
       Babylonian Talmud, ’Arakin 13b.

3     Sing to him a new song;

       The phrase 'sing to him a new song' always grabs my heart. There is nothing new under the sun, but we can remix what is already there, which I love to do, and maybe come away with a greater, deeper understanding, different perspective. Does God use trials, pain and sorrow to help us have a greater appreciation for the familiar, for those people we too often take for granted?

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4     For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5     He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6     By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7     He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
8     Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9     For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10     The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11     The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12     Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
13     The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.
14     From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth—
15     he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
16     A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17     The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.
18     Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19     to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20     Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
21     Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22     Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.

Psalm 36

Human Wickedness and Divine Goodness
To the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.

1     Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.

       Dr. Kay translates, “Transgression’s oracle to the wicked is, ‘In the interior of my own heart;’ ” and understands the meaning to be that the sinfulness of the wicked man deludes him into the belief that his wickedness is known to no one but himself—it is all safely locked up in the recesses of his own heart. Professor Alexander suggests as possible, “Thus saith depravity to the wicked man, ‘In the midst of my heart, there is no fear of God before his (i.e. God’s) eyes.’ ” Others, ... “Transgression speaks to the wicked within his heart; There is no fear of God,” etc.; regarding the two clauses as perfectly independent the one of the other. This is, perhaps, the best explanation. There is no fear of God before his eyes. Either he belongs to the class of “fools, who say in their heart, There is no God” (Ps. 14:1), or he agrees with those who cry, “Tush, God hath forgotten: he hideth away his face; he will never see it” (Ps. 10:11).
       The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms Vol. I, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones, 274.
       My seminary experience has made me cautious when I encounter 'either-or' answers. 'Either-or' implies we know all the facts. We don't. Jesus was the master at illustrating this. Time after time he walked away unscathed from his detractors and their 'either-or' traps. In our western  culture we like tidy explanations, bullet lists and closure. Much is written about closure, but if you have lost anyone dear to you ... Closure is psychological mush. It does not exist. We learn to live with pain and sorrow with varying degrees of success, but a song, an image, a certain day and that wound is reopened. The idea of closure is a myth. In the east wisdom is communicated with parables, pictures, and images. Indeed, art transcends our various processes of understanding because it goes to the heart. Name it, put a real face on another race or religion and walls tend to crumble. We are all different and yet we are all so much the same. We can recover completely from a broken leg, a cut, a serious disease, but a broken heart remains broken; always tender, sensitive to anything that might return it to that same pain and sorrow. Isn't it interesting that those are the areas where God can use us most?

2     For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3     The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do good.
4     They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.
5     Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6     Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
7     How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8     They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9     For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10     O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
11     Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12     There the evildoers lie prostrate;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1     I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2     I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
3     my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4     “Lord, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5     You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.       Selah
6     Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7     “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
8     Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9     I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10     Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11     “You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath.       Selah
12     “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.
13     Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”