6/23/10
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Psalm 53
Denunciation of Godlessness (Ps 14.1—7)
To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?
I wonder why this Psalm is so much like Psalm 14? We have been devouring one another so long we don't even know its unnatural. Devouring one another can be active or inactive. It's wonderful to spend millions of dollars to give the elephants in the Portland Zoo 200 acres in which to be free, but what about the jobless? Team driven activities proclaim we are only as strong as our weakest link.
In the public sector we turn blind eyes on the disenfranchised. An occasional handout so we can feel good about ourselves or our church is like spitting in the wind. People don't need handouts, but they do need a hand. Ruth was not given a handout. She was allowed to glean the fields. I like elephants, dogs and even cats. I like animals, clean air and clean water. I know it is a both-and situation, not an either-or situation, but I hope one day our priority will be people.
5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;
they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Psalm 60
Prayer for National Victory after Defeat
To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant.
A Miktam of David; for instruction;
when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah,
and when Joab on his return
killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; now restore us!
2 You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
3 You have made your people suffer hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
to rally to it out of bowshot. Selah
5 Give victory with your right hand, and answer us,
so that those whom you love may be rescued.
6 God has promised in his sanctuary:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
11 O grant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Psalm 75
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2 At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will rejoice forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Psalm 50 --- Psalm 53 --- Psalm 60 --- Psalm 75
Psalm 50
The Acceptable Sacrifice
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 The mighty one, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
The Acceptable Sacrifice
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 The mighty one, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
A proper understanding of the purpose of sacrifice is outlined in this psalm. This is intended to serve as a contrasting ideology to the sacrificial practices of Israel’s neighbors. Two points are emphasized here. First, God does not need to be sustained with food like the gods of Mesopotamia and Egypt (as in the Gilgamesh flood epic, where the gods flock like starving flies to Utnapishtim’s sacrifice). Second, and perhaps more important, is that the Israelites have an obligation to God to make “thank offerings” as a sign of their acknowledgment of the covenant. It is the failure of the people to differentiate between ritual and the knowledge of God that is so often condemned by the prophets (1 Sam 15:22; Hos 6:6). Micah in particular parodies these ineffectual offerings and notes that all God requires of Israel is “to act justly and love mercy” (Mic 6:8).
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : Old Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Ps 50:15.
Sometimes I like to take a word or a phrase and chew on it all day. Memorizing Scripture usually doesn't work for me, but contemplating and internalizing a personal meaning often deepens my conviction that God has much work to do in me. Micah 6:8 has often been one of those verses.
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : Old Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Ps 50:15.
Sometimes I like to take a word or a phrase and chew on it all day. Memorizing Scripture usually doesn't work for me, but contemplating and internalizing a personal meaning often deepens my conviction that God has much work to do in me. Micah 6:8 has often been one of those verses.
15 Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
18 You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.
21 These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
18 You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.
21 These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
God accuses the people of forgetting that the deity is not “just like them,” willing to look the other way when evil occurs or even able to approve of their sinful actions. This ultimate form of anthropomorphizing God is a terrible crime deserving of rebuke and punishment. Divine silence is not to be considered a sign of weakness or of disinterest. Jeremiah in his “temple sermon” (Jer 7:9–11) makes similar accusations, noting that the people of Judah seem to believe they can commit any sin and then come to the temple and proclaim, “We are safe.” He declares that God is watching them and is not blind to their deeds.
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Ps 50:21-51:2.
Try as we continually do, with our pride in technology and fantastic accomplishments, we continually fail to become like God. Humanity has some incredible accomplishments, but catastrophic failures as well. Charitable hearts have soared to lofty heights, but jaded cruelty has dragged us deep into darkness. We have the capacity for both.
We proclaim we will not forget the Holocaust, but it continues; a different place, a different people, but our inclination to inflict pain and sorrow on one another has not diminished.
In a court of law, the bystander, the witness who keeps silent is every bit as guilty as the one committing the crime. The so-called silent majority, you and me, are responsible for much of the hurt in this world.
Since the beginning we have been trying to become like God, but we always fail, therefore we attempt to mold and shape God into our own image, a superhuman person. We cannot grasp what holiness is, or understand the meaning of mercy, unless we turn and face God, ... and God is not us.
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Ps 50:21-51:2.
Try as we continually do, with our pride in technology and fantastic accomplishments, we continually fail to become like God. Humanity has some incredible accomplishments, but catastrophic failures as well. Charitable hearts have soared to lofty heights, but jaded cruelty has dragged us deep into darkness. We have the capacity for both.
We proclaim we will not forget the Holocaust, but it continues; a different place, a different people, but our inclination to inflict pain and sorrow on one another has not diminished.
In a court of law, the bystander, the witness who keeps silent is every bit as guilty as the one committing the crime. The so-called silent majority, you and me, are responsible for much of the hurt in this world.
Since the beginning we have been trying to become like God, but we always fail, therefore we attempt to mold and shape God into our own image, a superhuman person. We cannot grasp what holiness is, or understand the meaning of mercy, unless we turn and face God, ... and God is not us.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”
22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”
Psalm 53
Denunciation of Godlessness (Ps 14.1—7)
To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?
I wonder why this Psalm is so much like Psalm 14? We have been devouring one another so long we don't even know its unnatural. Devouring one another can be active or inactive. It's wonderful to spend millions of dollars to give the elephants in the Portland Zoo 200 acres in which to be free, but what about the jobless? Team driven activities proclaim we are only as strong as our weakest link.
In the public sector we turn blind eyes on the disenfranchised. An occasional handout so we can feel good about ourselves or our church is like spitting in the wind. People don't need handouts, but they do need a hand. Ruth was not given a handout. She was allowed to glean the fields. I like elephants, dogs and even cats. I like animals, clean air and clean water. I know it is a both-and situation, not an either-or situation, but I hope one day our priority will be people.
5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;
they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Psalm 60
Prayer for National Victory after Defeat
To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant.
A Miktam of David; for instruction;
when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah,
and when Joab on his return
killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; now restore us!
2 You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
3 You have made your people suffer hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
to rally to it out of bowshot. Selah
5 Give victory with your right hand, and answer us,
so that those whom you love may be rescued.
6 God has promised in his sanctuary:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
11 O grant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Psalm 75
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2 At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will rejoice forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.