Psalm 138

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

Preserve, deliver, and fulfill are verbs often associated with God.

To chayah is to sustain, restore, or revive.

To yasha is save, liberate, and to give victory.

To gamar is to complete, bring to an end, or cease.

I wonder if this is often a sequence: We encounter difficult days, but are revived; from the mix of trouble and restoration we are liberated from many old fears and impediments; which facilitates fulfillment.

Psalm 138

Psalm 77

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints.

Absence troubles me. The loss of one I love, the disappearance slowly or suddenly of what gave meaning, the fading of relationship, of context, of identity. But as that which is familiar passes away other opportunities emerge.

Psalm 77

Psalm 34

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

We are each broken in some way, but we are meant for wholeness.

To be righteous is to know ourselves, to be in creative relationship with our community, to have integrity.

God is against those who break, shatter, and divide.

God reaches out to those with a broken spirit and restores those whose identity has been crushed.

We may be broken but in God's love are one.

Psalm 34

Psalm 27

One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.

I will ask. I will sha'al, I will ask, inquire, beg, borrow.

I will seek. I will baqash, ask ,desire, require.

I will inquire. I will baqar, seek, inquire, reflect upon.

Psalm 27

Psalm 106

Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, וְקַבְּצֵנוּ, מִן-הַגּוֹיִם
לְהֹדוֹת, לְשֵׁם קָדְשֶׁךָ; לְהִשְׁתַּבֵּחַ, בִּתְהִלָּתֶךָ.

Liberate us, free us.

Choose us, gather us.

May we cast our lot with you.

Finding soothing calm in singing.

Psalm 106

Psalm 74

We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name for ever?
Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in your bosom?

There is reassurance in symbols, in signs, and in ritual.

But our relationship with God does not depend on such.

God did not create us to be sheep, but as eagles.

Psalm 74

Psalm 122

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
‘May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.’
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

Many claim Jerusalem for their God.

But God does not need their help.

God has claimed Jerusalem and calls on us to keep its peace.

Psalm 122

Psalm 68

Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

There was an error in the online tool I use to help me translate Hebrew.

The word translated in the first line as "enemies" and in the second line as hating God was said to mean one who excels, is bright, or who directs.

It was an error. The actual Hebrew is straightforward, enemies are enemies.

But it is often the case that those who find earthly success tend to disdain or simply dismiss God.

The psalmist continues: let the righteous be joyful, let the one with just purpose rejoice, the one who fulfills and is thereby fulfilled will exult, those who are filled up by giving away will exult.

Psalm 68

Psalm 65

You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

Jesus said, "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly."

So that we may have a life that overflows with goodness and beauty and truth.

May we drink of the cup that has been given to us; and offer thanks.

Psalm 65

Psalm 84

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

Zion is literally "parched place". Jerusalem is very dry.

The location of the Baca or Bakkah valley is uncertain, but it literally means place of weeping. The implication is of another very dry place that is made verdant by faith.

The highway to Zion, the pathway to fulfillment, includes times of tears and infertile places.

Psalm 84

Psalm 138

The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

In Hebrew the first line is:

יְהוָה, יִגְמֹר בַּעֲדִי

A computer-generated translation produces: "Lord, be over for me."

A more literary, yet literal translation might be: One Who Exists, complete my existence or One Who Is fulfill my being.

When I read "purpose" I am inclined to hear intention, goal, Aristotelian teleos. The Hebrew is much ontological than teleological.

I am reminded of Jorge Luis Borges. He wrote, "Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment - the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is."

Psalm 138

Psalm 51

Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgement.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

I sin and sin and sin.

I act out in pride. I am motivated by envy.

I fail to listen. I fail to respond. I fail to love.

The image by Marc Chagall shows David with Bathsheba. Psalm 51 is ascribed to David in response to Nathan's accusation.

Psalm 51

Psalm 59

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.

Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready...

Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words on their lips—
for ‘Who’, they think, ‘will hear us?’

The psalm was originally written by David after King Saul had ordered David's house be watched in order to capture and kill him.

I know a different pack of dogs, a different enemy, an even more insidious threat that each evening comes back.

Like David I can sing, God you have been a fortress for me and a refuge on the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 59

Psalm 49

When we look at the wise, they die;
fool and dolt perish together
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes for ever,
their dwelling-places to all generations,
though they named lands their own.
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.

Most of this psalm reads as if death is the ultimate end.

Not only an end, but a happy release and equalizer.

One of twenty lines departs: "But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me."

God will ransom, will redeem, will save, will פָּדָה (padah). This the same ransom with which the people of Leviticus could claim their livestock. Isaiah proclaimed that righteousness and justice could ransom Zion.

Are we each and all ransomed from our foolishness?

Psalm 49

Psalm 47

Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy...
God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.

I like to sing. I especially like to sing with a congregation.

At its best singing takes me outside myself.

Singing brings me closer to God.

There is nothing practical about singing.

Singing can be difficult and I sometimes fail... badly.

But even in failure there can be joy in the effort and learning.

With the right song in the right range there is a taste of glory.

The image is a detail from the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck.

Psalm 47

Psalm 44

Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not cast us off for ever!
Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For we sink down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

Affliction and oppression do not signal God's absence.

God is with us especially in troubles.

God's presence does not guarantee our success.

Troubles do not prove God's failure or our own.

Redemption comes through our acceptance of God's steadfast love.

Psalm 44

Psalm 103

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.

A thousand years before Jesus God's grace was proclaimed.

Despite missing every goal and twisting reality, still God is kind, patient, and good to us. We have been as rebels, yet God receives us as friends.

Yet we continue to doubt God's love. Even after the teaching and example of Jesus, we are anxious.

God gives and keeps giving. It is up to us to accept with gratitude.

Psalm 103

Psalm 42

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

For no good reason my soul has been cast down, for several days I have experienced a deep disquiet.

So too the psalmist. Rather than trying to know why, action is advocated.

Hope in God, praise God.

Recognize and celebrate our relationship with ultimate reality.

Have confidence in God's intention and purpose.

Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42

Psalm 105

Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

These few lines encompass forty years in the wilderness, including:
The rebellion of Dathan,
Idolatry at Horeb,
Thirsting and testing at Meribah,
and in the words of the next psalm:
"they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds and a plague broke out among them."

Even in the midst of bitter struggle and failure, God was with them and is with us.

Psalm 105

Psalm 37

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Do not fret, literally do not burn.
Do not be angry, literally do not twist up your face.
Do not have wrath, literally do not spit venom.

Be still, be quiet.
Be patient, dance and whirl and bring forth.

That is a unique kind of patience.
Maybe I am more patient than I realized.

Psalm 37

Psalm 119

My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.
When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.

The unbearable lightness of being suggests the heavy burden of working to reach beyond being.

Outside this very moment is sorrow, regret, fear, and fretting.

In this very moment may be pain or joy or fascination, but there is no space left for sorrow or other maladies that come from stepping out of the present.

In this moment there is you and me and God.

This is enough.

Psalm 119

Psalm 36

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

The buttercups are in bloom and roses are beginning to open.

Cool nights give way to bright days.

Birds sing, squirrels frolic, deer glide across the meadow.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

What an abundant feast you have provided.

Psalm 36

Psalm 27

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

The Hebrew translated here as wait is קָוָה or qavah. This means to eagerly anticipate, hope for, or actively expect.

The Germanic origin of wait suggests to watch with hostile intent as when ambushing. Waiting has become more passive in out times.

But it is worth considering: How would you go about ambushing God. How would you prepare, what would you do, what signs would capture your attention?

Psalm 27

Psalm 115

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to human beings.

It is a great gift we have received.

But we too often fail to care for the gift.

Our shared ownership can prompt competition rather than cooperation.

Generous God, gracious God, we return thanks for the gift.

We ask your help in receiving the gift with wisdom.

Psalm 115

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!

There were three readings assigned for this evening.

In one the Lord is extolled for making the psalmist's enemies his footstool.

In the next the Lord is extolled for saving the life of the psalmist.

I can imagine that each of these causes might well prompt me to praise God.

But surely steadfast love and faithfulness is due praise, whatever our circumstance.

Psalm 117

Psalm 134

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the Lord.
May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.

To be blessed is to be caused to kneel.

Some suggest an obscure connection with the kneeling of camels to drink.

In any case we are blessed when we are caused to kneel in prayer, in thanks, and in seeking forgiveness.

Psalm 134

Psalm 18

You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.

My principal enemies are of my own creation.

Fear, envy, pride... these and a host of others threaten.

With scripture, the Church, written works of wise men and women, and through prayer, song, and worship I have been strengthened and sharpened to confront my enemies.

Psalm 18

The image above is a medieval rendition of King David in Battle.

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

I am inclined to sorrow, melancholy, a kind of chronic depression.

In a roundabout way this is related - not exactly caused - to not achieving my mother's expectations (and for many years my own expectations) and the tension between these old expectations and my own still emerging sense-of-self.

I am shaken. I am uneasy. I am, in real ways, diseased.

Despite pain, sorrow, and failure, God has dealt bountifully with me. I am blessed by opportunity, creativity, and a wide array of meaningful relationships. My eyes see the light of God and it brightens my sometimes troubled journey.

I rejoice. I sing. I give thanks.

Psalm 13

Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’

In times of trouble I have found God very near, but I have not always listened.

I have chosen to stand far off from God, and step farther away with each approach of God. Who is hiding?

"Here I am Lord, send me." (Isaiah 6:8)

Psalm 10

Psalm 7

See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.

When I have chosen badly, there is a tendency to persist.

To dig the pit even deeper.

So much better to recognize early my error.

To restore what I have dug.

And walk away giving thanks.

Psalm 7

Psalm 112

It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice...
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures for ever;
their horn is exalted in honour.

Language can be expansive and in so doing extend its meaning.

Language can be specific and in so doing sharpen its meaning.

"It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice."

As accurately, this could be translated as, "It is good, pleasant and joyful with those who empathize with the unhappy and poor even to the point of sharing their financial and emotional vulnerability, who determine their decision and action by what is best in context for the full community."

God is calling. Will I listen?

Psalm 112