133) PSALMS OF A NATION RESTORED Psalm 78, Psalm 107, Psalm 116, Psalm 118, Psalm 125, Psalm 126, Psalm 128, Psalm 132, Psalm 147, Psalm 149 September 30 This entry covers three days of reading and topics such as PASSING DOWN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, SPIRITUAL HEALING, FEELING ENSNARED BY SIN, RE-LEARNING HOW TO TRUST LEADERS, and HOW FINDING STRENGTH IN THE LORD SAVES US. After reading the psalms of the exile, which were so sad, it is a breath of fresh air to read these psalms of restoration. These are the last of the psalms that we will read – remember that we have been going in chronological order, so the psalms have been spread out throughout the Old Testament journey. In fact, some of these psalms were written earlier, but Dr. Smith believes that they would have been sung now, during the time of rejoicing! We begin with Psalm 78, the longest of these Psalms, which tells of God’s faithfulness to a rebellious nation. This prayer opens with the idea that God’s people would pass down His word to their children, and they would in turn tell their children. This is what God intended from the beginning. Think of Deut 6 – we should talk to our children about God when we get up, when they go to bed, when we walk down the street together – any time is a good time to talk about God (in some way or other, not just quoting verses or sounding religious!) – meaning attribution, as it is sometimes called. So that later, our children will think, “Oh, no wonder mom did that!”, etc… The writer of the prayer was hopeful that his grandchildren wouldn’t harden their hearts the way the Israelites had done in the desert. It is full of “God did this & that and so & so, but they still didn’t learn their lesson!” He talked about how the very people for whom God had done miracles questioned him and rebelled, with no gratitude for all their blessings. The psalm ends on a joyful note, remembering how David was the new king for a newly repented people, and that he led the people in a great way. Surely the freshly returned exiles hoped for more of the same as they re-established life in Jerusalem. Psalm 107 is a psalm of repentance and healing. The writer began with a familiar line – “give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.” Then he spoke of different ways that God’s people had been suffering and how the Lord saved them and healed them. See if any of these sound familiar: 1. Some wandered in the desert hungry and thirsty – directionless spiritually 2. Some sat in darkness, in gloom and iron chains – depressed emotionally 3. Some became fools, bringing suffering on themselves – rebelled spiritually 4. Some put their heart into their work, (or other pursuits) only to see that they couldn’t escape God Wow, doesn’t this sound like the spiritual exile that many entered after the ICOC crisis? I probably was guilty of all four categories (but not at the same time!) during 2003-4. Well, the good news is that the psalmist also said that no matter how spiritually hungry and thirsty God’s people became, or how emotionally low and chained they were, or how sinfully rebellious and foolish they got, or how far they tried to escape from him by sailing farther (or working harder or jogging longer or eating more, or whatever), God was and is big enough to save and heal them! “He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love!” The last verse is awesome – “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.” Psalm 116 is about feeling like God has delivered us from death. I have always personally liked this psalm. I am the sort who gets addicted to things easily, so it has always been easy for me to visualize myself being entangled in death, needing to cry out, “Save Me!” and God being the only one who could get me out! The bible says that he protects the simple hearted. I don’t think that means we should park our brains and be simpletons for Jesus, but I do believe we should have simple faith that trusts and obeys. Halfway through this prayer, the writer spoke of feeling very betrayed by others, and said, “All men are liars.” (Back in my campus ministry days, when my roommate and I were both going through unpleasant break-ups at the same time, back in the early 80’s, we were known to mutter on occasion, “All men are jerks”, but that had a different meaning!) But seriously, some of us have felt betrayed by disciples, even by leaders, and we felt, “well, if they lied or misrepresented or were not transparent about that one area, how can I ever trust them again?” Now the truth is, they shouldn’t have lied! Or misrepresented, or been less than transparent. Speaking as a human being and not as a leader, however, I can say that, sadly, there have been times I have lied to get out of getting in trouble, or so that I didn’t look so bad, or whatever. It is horrible, and I am ashamed of it, and I hope I am not going to do it again, but I can’t promise you that I won’t. Now if that makes me a pathetic leader who has no business in the full-time ministry, then so be it. I hope that it doesn’t. (I suppose if I get fired after this comes out in print, we’ll know.) I think that it just makes me human, who is sometimes weak and has had lapses of moral judgment. I don’t think we are supposed to categorize sin, but maybe I do. I am not talking about stealing money, or looking at porn, or cheating on my husband or anything like that. But I have eaten things I haven’t admitted to eating, (yes, I know it is pathetic. That is why it is good to write a sin list – cause it looks worse in print!) All I am really trying to say is, just because you got burned by a leader doesn’t mean that all leaders are useless, and maybe even that leader is actually a great guy who was just in a bad situation. When it comes to forgiveness, I always think of the verse in Luke 6 that says, “Give and it will be given to you…with the measure you use, it will be measured to you…” – I know I need to be very giving! The psalmist also spoke of heaven and of fulfilling our vows. Which reminds me, have I made any vows to God that I didn’t fulfill? Hmmmmm…. Psalm 118 praises God for a renewed life. Surely we can do that when we repent. I especially love the part of not fearing mere man, but instead taking refuge in the Lord. Amen! (The same college roommate mentioned above once wrote out this psalm for me, substituting the words “dogs” and “rats” for the word “man” to help me have a sense of humour about my phobias!) The writer said that he was about to fall, but that finding strength in the Lord saved him. That is one of the reasons I write this “blog” – in order to make sure that I find strength in the Lord. The writer also said that even though he was close to death, he didn’t die! And that is true for those of us who have been to the edge spiritually – we aren’t dead! God still saved us, and we can move on! How positive – “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Speaking of that same college roommate again, as I type this, I am listening to 1951 recording of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg variations – something that she taught me to appreciate. Thanks, Mern!) Psalm 125 is one of several “songs of ascents” in this grouping. It is a short prayer of protection for Jerusalem and for God’s people. Psalm 126 is very obviously a post-exilic psalm, as it specifically mentioned being brought back from captivity. One can only imagine the joy with which this specific psalm was sung! Psalm 128 contains some promises that I would call “general promises”. That is, not every single person will see that exact promise fulfilled, but in general it will be true of God’s people. (Having lots of kids, being prosperous, etc). Psalm 129 is for those of us who have felt that ploughman made furrows in their backs. Now I have to say that I have never felt “oppressed” in that way, so I cannot quite relate to that, but if you can relate, then take comfort that God is there to comfort you! Psalm 132 reminds us that God keeps his promises long term! Amen! Sometime we need to remember this when we are impatient for God to do something NOW! Psalm 147 lets us know that it is ok to be weak, that it is not a bad thing to be broken- hearted. God is there for you and wants to bind up your wounds! Our only job is to praise Him. Psalm 149 ends out this grouping with three reminders: that God takes delight in us (hooray!), that he crowns the humble with salvation (Lord help me to be humble) and that we should praise Him for the new king and for Zion, which could also be us praising God for the Messiah and for the church – not a bad place for us to stop for the day! [email protected] .