5/22/11
Psalm 56 --- Psalm 120 --- Psalm 140-142
Psalm 56 I wonder if we read Psalm 56 too quickly? Do we apply it to ourselves? What if it was in the mouth of someone else? What if it were in the mouth, the heart, the spirit of the homeless? This morning when I was reading I suddenly imagined a homeless man reading this Psalm to God and it took on a whole new meaning to me. It was both a revelation and an affirmation that we have a long way to go in this thing we call culture. Both the environment as well as animals are more important to us than the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the homeless. Will God forgive us? What does Scripture say? Is God more concerned about the marginalized or how we separate ourselves from one another based on what we believe? Psalm 120
Trust in God under Persecution
To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths.
Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.
O Most High, 3 when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps.
As they hoped to have my life,
7 so repay them for their crime;
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will retreat
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Prayer for Deliverance from Slanderers
A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I cry to the Lord,
that he may answer me:
2 “Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you?
And what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech,
that I must live among the tents of Kedar.
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war.
Psalm 140
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from those who are violent,
2 who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah
4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent
who have planned my downfall.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net,
along the road they have set snares for me. Selah
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
7 O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot. Selah
9 Those who surround me lift up their heads;
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil speedily hunt down the violent!
12 I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,
and executes justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.
Psalm 141
Prayer for Preservation from Evil
A Psalm of David.
1 I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.
Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
Psalm 142
Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1 With my voice I cry to the Lord;
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see—
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
Devotionals, Videos and more ...
by Bill Federer
A Signer of the Constitution who was licensed to preach? That was Hugh Williamson, delegate from North Carolina, who died this day, May 22, 1819. At age 24 he studied theology in Connecticut and was admitted in the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He preached two years, visiting and praying for the sick, but it became apparent that a chronic chest weakness would not permit him to continue public speaking. He attended medical school, and eventually became Surgeon General, distinguishing himself in the Revolutionary War. Dr. Hugh Williamson helped his friend Dr. Benjamin Franklin conduct many electrical experiments.
Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.
by whoever
Why attack God?
He may be as miserable as we are.
--- Erik Satie
Are you wrinkled with burden?
Come to God for a faith lift.
--- Author Unknown
... from here, there and everywhere
by D.H. Stern
Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.
Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands
is one who deceives another, then says,
"It was just a joke."
Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.
A Daily Devotional by Oswald Chambers
Now this explains it
That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us. --- John 17:21.
If you are going through a solitary way, read John 17, it will explain exactly why you are where you are—Jesus has prayed that you may be one with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or have you some other end for your life? Since you became a disciple you cannot be as independent as you used to be.
The purpose of God is not to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God, and this is revealed in John 17. There is one prayer God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus—“that they may be one, even as We are one.” Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?
God is not concerned about our plans; He does not say—‘Do you want to go through this bereavement; this upset?’ He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men and women; or they are making us more captious and fault-finding, more insistent upon our own way. The things that happen either make us fiends, or they make us saints; it depends entirely upon the relationship we are in to God. If we say—“Thy will be done,” we get the consolation of John 17, the consolation of knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom. When we understand what God is after we will not get mean and cynical. Jesus has prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far off it, and yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him, because Jesus has prayed that we may be.
Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas
The Fair
The idiot goes round and around
With his brother in a bumping car
At the fair. The famous idiot
Smile hangs over the car’s edge,
Illuminating nothing. This is mankind
Being taken for a ride by a rich
Relation. The responses are fixed:
Bump, smile; bump, smile. And the current
Is generated by the smooth flow
Of the shillings. This is an orchestra
Of steel with the constant percussion
Of laughter. But where he should be laughing
Too, his features are split open, and look!
Out of the cracks come warm, human tears.
Thomas, R. S. Selected Poems, 1946-68
Avodah Zarah 17a
On the highway, there is an overpass: Spraypainted across the concrete is the message "John loves Mary." We are either annoyed or amused by the graffiti. Then, we suddenly consider "how" this was done, and we realize that John was probably hanging upside down, thirty feet over busy traffic as he scrawled this letter to Mary. Of course, we know "why" he wrote the message; it was love.
There is a well-known story of a man who left a strange stipulation in his will: "My son will not inherit a penny from me until he has gone crazy." No one could figure out what the deceased could possibly have had in his mind when he wrote such an unusual condition. Finally, the mystery was solved when someone came into the son's home and saw him, on the floor, on his hands and knees, pretending to be a horse, neighing and galloping around the room, with his little boy riding on his back. It was suddenly clear: The old man wanted his own son to become a parent before he inherited the estate. The old man understood that parenthood—and love of all kinds—causes us to be a little crazy at times.
Hatred can do the same thing to us. A man discovers that his wife has been having an affair, and their marriage breaks up. Yet instead of burying the past and making a new life for himself, he becomes obsessed with trying to punish her for her betrayal. Years later, he continues to spend a great deal of time, money, and energy in vindictively trying to get even. His friends tell him: "You're only making a fool of yourself," but he cannot hear them. Hatred has taken over his life.
Swastikas and messages of hate are painted all over a synagogue. The quiet community is shocked. Then the police arrest two teenagers, former Boy Scouts, bright, clean-cut, all-American types. The neighborhood is stunned. How could these boys have done such a terrible thing, not only to a House of God, but also to their neighbors? Given the shame and the criminal record they will now carry with them, how could they have done this to their own families, and to themselves? Hatred, too, can make us do things that are out of character and that do not make much sense.
Love and hatred are powerful emotions that can radically change the way we see the world. They can also drastically alter the way that we behave. It is important for us to understand these different factors and how they affect us. Whenever possible, we must strive to control them so that they don't control us. And like Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai, we also pray that in our personal lives, as well as in the larger world around us, the power of love be strong enough to overcome the power of hate.
There are those who achieve their world in a single hour.
Text / It was taught: They said of Rabbi Elazar ben Dordia that there was not a single prostitute in the world that he had not gone to. Once, he heard that there was a prostitute in the towns by the sea who took a purse of dinars as her payment. He took a purse of dinars and crossed seven rivers to get to her. While having sex, she passed wind. She said: "Just as this wind will not return to its place, so too Elazar ben Dordia will not be accepted if he returns in repentance."
He went and sat between two great mountains and hills. He said: "Mountains and hills! Plead for mercy on my behalf!" They said to him: "Before we can plead on your behalf, we have to plead for ourselves, for it says: 'For the mountains may move and the hills be shaken' [Isaiah 54:10]."
He said: "Heaven and Earth! Plead for mercy on my behalf!" They said: "Before we can plead on your behalf, we have to plead for ourselves, for it says: 'Though the heavens should melt away like smoke, and the earth wear out like a garment' [Isaiah 51:6]."
He said: "Sun and Moon! Plead for mercy on my behalf!" They said: "Before we can plead on your behalf, we have to plead for ourselves, for it says: 'Then the moon shall be ashamed, and the sun shall be abashed' [Isaiah 24:23]."
He said: "Stars and planets! Plead for mercy on my behalf!" They said to him: "Before we can plead on your behalf, we have to plead for ourselves, for it says 'All the host of heaven shall molder' [Isaiah 34:4]."
He said: "The matter depends on me alone." He put his head between his knees and wept until his soul departed. A voice from heaven proclaimed: "Rabbi Elazar ben Dordia is invited to life in the World-to-Come." Here is a case where he died committing a sin. There, it was because he was so addicted to immorality that it was similar to heresy. Rabbi cried and said: "There are those who achieve after many years, and there are those who achieve their world in a single hour." Rabbi said: "Not only are those who return accepted, they are also called by the title 'Rabbi.' "
Context / You will recall from above in the text from Sanhedrin 44a that Rabbi Abba bar Zavda said: "Even though he sinned, he is still 'Israel.' " Our text seems to contradict what was taught there. It is quite common to find contradictory opinions in the pages of the Talmud. These divergences reflect differences of time, place, and philosophy. Jews have taken this diversity not as a sign of weakness but of strength.
The story of Elazar ben Dordia comes as part of a discussion of the meaning of a verse in Proverbs: "All who go to her cannot return and find again the paths of life" (Proverbs 2:19). The Rabbis interpret "her" as referring to minut or heresy, by which they generally meant those Jews who were attracted to a variety of different religious groups. These particular Rabbis took a very hard line towards those Jews: Anyone who joined these sects was unable to return to the Jewish fold; what is more, those who tried to return to normative Judaism after having flirted with heresy would die as a result of their sin. The vehemence of the Rabbis towards apostasy hints at how great a threat they felt it was to first- and second-century Judaism, and why they were willing to go beyond the usual principle that even a sinning Jew is still Jewish.
The Gemara then goes on to ask whether there are other sins that carry the same severe penalty as heresy does. The answer seems to be that heresy is unique; for it alone would the sinner suffer death and be unable to return. But then the case of Elazar ben Dordia is brought up. He was guilty of sexual immorality, not apostasy. He attempted to repent, but he died, without being given additional years of life. This objection to the Gemara's point (made by reference to a story that seems to contradict it) is answered by the Rabbis: the case of Elazar ben Dordia is unique. He was so addicted to his sin that it was equated with heresy. (One could say that he committed it "religiously.") Yet even in his case, we are told, his repentance was effective: A bat kol, or voice from heaven, assures us that he was invited into the World-to-Come. Sincere, heartfelt contrition does make a difference.
At the beginning of the story, we are led to believe that Elazar ben Dordia is a Rabbi. At the end of the tale, we learn that the title "Rabbi" is conferred upon him only after his death. He has become a Rabbi, a teacher, because he showed us that it is never too late to repent. The prostitute's interpretation of the verse in Proverbs, "all who go to her"—to a woman like me—"cannot return" is proved to be wrong.
The other Rabbi in our story is Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nasi ("the prince"), the great sage and leader of the Jewish people in the third century C.E. We wonder why he weeps at the end: Is it because he is so moved by Elazar ben Dordia's act of contrition, his acceptance to heaven, and his being given the title "Rabbi"? Or is it out of jealousy and frustration, that such a scoundrel could achieve in one hour what it would take another individual (Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nasi?) an entire lifetime to achieve? Being human, perhaps he felt a little of both.
Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving
by Diana Wallis
One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?" --- Ruth 3:1
There were three tragic contingencies in which the legal redeemer and avenger was bound to interpose. The Book of Ruth (A Devotional Commentary)
Even in him who was "gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29), we may find the avenging function of the Hebrew goel. Christ came to destroy as well as to redeem, to destroy that he might redeem. He, of whom the Hebrew avenger of blood was a type, pursued that great enemy of our souls. To avenge the world for all that it had suffered at the hands of evil, to redeem it from enslavement, he disarmed the powers of evil.
One feature of the goel comes out markedly, whatever [his] function—whether redeeming an alienated inheritance, restoring liberty to a captive, or hunting down a homicide. He is one of the nearest kin. Kinship with the redeemed, in short, is an unvarying law and condition of redemption. And this law holds of the divine Goel. No stranger could interpose for us, only one who is our nearest Kinsman. Hence the Son of God became the Son of Man.
In thus speaking of the redemption wrought by our divine Kinsman, it must not be supposed that we are playing with mere figures of speech. Under this image, we have presented to us the truths that have most profoundly entered our spiritual experience. No Hebrew who had been compelled to part with the fields he inherited from his fathers suffered a loss comparable with ours, when, by sin, we had lost the righteousness in which we were originally placed by the Father of our spirits. No Hebrew selling himself for a slave ever endured a bondage half so bitter and shameful as that into which we fell when, sold under sin, we sank into bondage to our own lusts. No deliverance wrought by a Hebrew goel is worthy to be compared to that by which Christ made it possible for us to possess a righteousness more stable and more perfect than that which we had cast away.
With a fervor and a triumph infinitely transcending that of Naomi, we may exclaim, "Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left us without a Kinsman-Redeemer."--- Samuel Cox
(27). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.Teacher's Commentary
When we look at the different Hebrew words translated "praise" and their use in the Psalms, we gain further insight into how you and I can worship and praise the Lord. Here are the primary Hebrew words, and their meanings, as discussed in Zondervan Expository Dictionary of Bible Words
Each of the Hebrew words, while with its own emphasis, shares common elements. These are:
(1) Praise is addressed to God or His "name." God
Himself, His attributes, or His acts are the
content of our thoughts, words, and songs.
(2) Praise is linked with the believing community's
joy in the person of God. Most praise in the
Old Testament is corporate, though an
individual certainly could praise God in private
God in private. Most praise comes from those
who are filled with a sense of joy in who God is
and in how deeply He is committed to His
people.
(3) Praise exalts the Lord. It is in praise that the
believer implicitly acknowledges creaturely
dependence on God and explicitly
acknowledges God's greatness and goodness.
Among the Hebrew words that share in this common core of meaning are these.
Hallel. In various forms this word means "to acclaim," "to boast of," "to glory in." The word expresses a deep satisfaction to be found in exalting the acts and the qualities of the Person being praised.
This verb is used primarily in the plural. This suggests that the joy of recognizing God's greatness is to be shared by God's people. Those who love God come together to rejoice in the Lord, and to exalt Him together.
We sense this particularly in Psalm 65, which expresses how good it is to exalt God and to sense His greatness.
Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion;
to You our vows will be fulfilled.
O You who hear prayer,
to You all men will come.…
You answer us
with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Saviour,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by Your power,
having armed Yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
Those living far away
fear Your wonders;
where morning dawns and evening fades
You call forth songs of joy.
--- Psalm 65:1–2, 5–8
Yadah is translated "to praise," "to give thanks," and "to confess." This word and related terms emphasize our acknowledging of God's works and of His character, often in contexts which emphasize human failure and need.
Psalm 107 illustrates this emphasis in its opening verses.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this
—those He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those He gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way to a city
where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men,
for He satisfies the thirsty,
and fills the hungry with good things.
---Psalm 107:1–9
Typically, yadah is praise as an acknowledgment of God's goodness. The sense of exultation implicit in it is seen in Psalm 118.
Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The Lord's right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord's right hand is lifted high;
the Lord's right hand has done mighty things!"
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but He has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give You thanks,
for You answered me;
You have become my salvation.
Psalm 118:15–21
Zamar means "to sing praise," "to make music." This word suggests the use of musical instruments in praising God, and is found only in Bible poetry. Once again, songs of praise focus on who God is and on what He has done. So David called on Israel in Psalm 9:11 to:
Sing praises to the Lord,
enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations,
what He has done.
Sabah, in certain forms, means "to praise or commend." This too is directed to the Lord. The word suggests adoration, the deepest kind of loving praise. Both who God is in His essential nature and God's wonderful works for us.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
His greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend
Your works to another;
they will tell of Your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor
of Your majesty,
and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.
They will tell of the power
of Your awesome works,
and I will proclaim Your great deeds.
They will celebrate Your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
--- Psalm 145:3–7
And so in these words, illustrated in praise songs, we sense the nature of praise as praise is revealed in the Old Testament and particularly in the Psalms. Praise is God's people, gathered to adore and to give glory to God, for all that He is and for all that He has done. Praise is God's people, gathered to remember His works, and to focus attention on Him. Praise is the overflowing joy of a people whose vision is filled with the beauty and the glory of their God.
(323). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.