Author: Daniel Westfall
Ep.231: Psalm 107: Deliverance.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Psalm 107 is a hymn of thanksgiving. It begins:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from. . .
from east and west, from north and south (vv. 1-3).
The backdrop to Psalm 107 is a joyful homecoming of exiled Israelites. Behind that backdrop is another homecoming–the return led by Moses through the Red Sea and across the desert, after the Israelites had lived in Egypt for 400 years.
The psalm tells four stories of deliverance, ending each with the encouragement:
Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love,
and his wonderful deeds for humankind (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31).
Here are the four stories:
Some people were lost in the desert, dying of thirst. They cried to the Lord, who led them to a city they could call home (vv. 4-9).
Others were prisoners in darkness and chains. They cried to the Lord who broke their chains and brought them out of darkness (vv. 10-16).
Some were sick, near death, unable to eat. They cried to the Lord who sent his word and healed them (vv. 17-22).
Some were sailors in a mighty storm. They too cried to the Lord who stilled the storm to a whisper (vv. 23-32).
Let’s pray.
Our Lord, Psalm 107 tells our story.
We are lost in a desert of modern culture, working our computers, reading endless news, worrying about politics and wars, and chasing rabbit trails on social media. In this desert, we are thirsty for truth, thirsty for life, thirsty for news of eternity. Lead us through our wilderness to a city we can call home, to a new Jerusalem where you will live with us.
We have been prisoners, chained to our narrow thinking and constricted theology, not sure how to understand evolution and the Big Bang and the expanding universe. We live in a world of decaying morals, where truth is despised and persons are measured by productivity and wealth. Bring us out of our prison into the light of Christ. May he take away our chains, reveal the shallowness of the things we trust, and establish us in his light and truth.
We are sin-sick, O Lord. Our lives are full of petty jealousy, endless selfishness, needless anxieties, daily sadness. We cry to you in our sickness, deliver us from ourselves, deliver us from our habits, deliver us to sing your praise and give you thanks.
We have been at sea. Our lives are like the Titanic, navigating confidently, heedless of storms and icebergs. O Lord, teach us wisdom on the sea of life. Teach us temperance. Teach us to put our trust in you. Be our navigator. Pilot us safely to harbor.
With the poet, we praise you:
We give thanks to you for your unfailing love,
for your wonderful deeds for mankind.
You turn our desert into pools of water,
our parched ground into flowing springs (vv. 31, 35).
You poured contempt on the nobles
and made them wander in a trackless waste.
But you lifted the needy out of affliction
and increased the families like flocks.
We see and rejoice in your works, O Lord (vv. 40-42a).
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Ep.230: How to Get Rid of Sin. Podcast.
Ep.230: How to Get Rid of Sin.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
Hebrews 10 says:
When [Christ] had offered for all time
one sacrifice for sins
he sat down at the right hand of God,
and since that time
he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
For by one sacrifice
he has made perfect forever
those who are being made holy (vv. 12-14).
It might surprise evangelicals to hear that the “substitutionary atonement” theory we learned in Sunday school and church is a relatively recent development in Christian history and theology.
In the first thousand years of Christianity, the most common view was likely the “Christ as Victor” view, which teaches that Christ died to defeat the powers of evil–sin, death, and the devil. This theory doesn’t provide a detailed explanation of how Christ shares his victory with us.
Another early view was the ransom theory: through Adam and Eve’s sin, the human race became hostages to Satan. Christ’s death was a ransom God paid to the devil to release us.
In the 12th century, theologian Anselm was offended by the thought of God paying a ransom to Satan, so he moved the atonement from a kidnapping and ransom metaphor to a debt and repayment transaction. His take was that we owe God a debt of obedience and honor, but our sin dishonored God and incurred a debt. Jesus paid the debt on our behalf and satisfied the injury done to the divine honor.
Late medieval and Reformation theologians changed the metaphor again, moving it into the courtroom. Our sin requires punishment, not just repayment of a debt. We deserve to die, but Christ stood in God’s courtroom and accepted the sentence of death, so the judge could declare us not guilty.
In other atonement theories, Christ is a suffering servant, not a sacrifice. For example, in the scapegoat theory, Christ was a victim, not of God’s wrath, but of human malice and anger. By receiving our sin, he exposed and rendered ineffective human violence.
In Mere Christianity, CS Lewis wrote, “Theories about Christ’s death are not Christianity; they are explanations about how it works.” He pointed out that we trust in Christ for salvation, not in our favorite theory about how his death works for us.
Let’s pray.
Our father, we receive the many pictures scripture provides to describe what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for us.
In Isaiah’s story, we are sheep gone astray, and the suffering servant bears our iniquities and heals our wounds.
The author of Hebrews says that sin requires sacrifice for cleansing and forgiveness. We accept Jesus’ death as the sacrifice that washes away the dirt of sin.
Like the mob under Jesus’ cross, we have vented on Jesus our anger at you, God. But now we surrender to Jesus, receiving his prayer, “Forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
In the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” We owe you an unpayable debt, and we accept Christ’s payment on our behalf.
We have been hostages to sin. We accept Christ’s ransom that sets us free.
Like the prodigal, we are lost and we need to find our way home to you, our father. We accept Jesus as our only way.
In the courtroom of your justice, we see the evidence of our sin and we plead, “Guilty as charged”. We accept Christ’s offer to take our guilt and punishment, declaring us righteous.
Like a country defeated in war, we need a commander to lead us to victory. We accept Jesus as our king, who conquers sin and death, and leads us into everlasting life.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Ep.229: Psalm 106: Bad Memories. Podcast.
Ep.229: Psalm 106: Bad Memories.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Psalms 105 and 106 present sharply different views of Israel’s history. Psalm 105 is an optimistic and uplifting account of how God made promises and protected the Israelites all the way from Abraham to the Promised Land.
Psalm 106, in contrast, is like a modern novel that deals in dysfunction, angst, and moral confusion. The psalm tells story after story of Israel’s sin and rebellion. As I present a summary of the psalm, ask yourself, “Why would a poet focus on such negative history?”
Here’s my summary.
Soon after leaving Egypt, the Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea. They promptly forgot God’s miracles in Egypt, and complained to Moses, saying, “There were plenty of graves in Egypt. Why did you bring us here to die?” (Ex 14:10).
While wandering in the desert, some Israelites wanted to be priests like Aaron, so they petitioned Moses for religious equality. But God punished them in an earthquake, and sent fire on their followers. Then the Israelites blamed Moses for God’s punishment and the needless deaths, so God sent a plague among them until Aaron offered incense to make atonement (Num 16:1-50).
When Moses was on Mt. Sinai with God, the impatient Israelites created their own god–a golden calf. God wanted to destroy everyone and start over, but Moses convinced him that was a bad idea (Ex 32).
The spies who surveyed the Promised Land reported that it was a pleasant and fruitful land. But they also reported the natives were giants who killed invaders. So the people complained to Moses again, and said, “Take us back to Egypt” (Num 13:25-33).
After the Israelites accepted Moab’s invitation to make sacrifices to the local idol, Baal of Peor, God sent a plague among them, killing many, until Aaron’s grandson, Phineas the priest, intervened (Num 25).
At Meribah, in the desert, the Israelites complained about lack of water, saying to Moses, “Why have you brought us to this wretched place?” God told Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses, in frustration, said to the people, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?” and he struck the rock with his rod.
The poet is telling us that the Israelites were so contrary and uncooperative, they provoked Moses himself to dishonor God. God responded to Moses by telling him he would die in the desert instead of leading the people into the Promised Land.
The sorry history did not improve when Israel lived in the Promised Land. They continued ignoring God, worshipped false gods, and sacrificed children to idols. It got so bad that God punished the whole nation by letting other nations conquer and enslave them. The nation that provoked Moses and God in the wilderness continued provoking God in the Promised Land.
The the poet concludes:
Many times God delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.
Yet he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;
for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy (vv. 43-46).
The poet then offers a strong and unexpected conclusion: a prayer. Let’s pray with the poet.
Save us, Lord our God,
and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise (v. 47).
Yes, Lord, with the poet we confess the history of Israel, the history of the world, and our own history. Our sins and unfaithfulness have provoked you and landed us in trouble. In our despair, we tell you our sordid history. Hear our confession and deliver us, for in every age, your grace is new and undeserved. In judgment, O Lord, remember mercy. As we experience the consequences of our sin, remember to be kind to us. Lighten our darkness with rays of hope.
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Ep.228: Appointment with Death. Podcast.
Ep.228: Appointment with Death.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
Hebrews 9 says:
Just as humans are appointed to die once,
and afterwards face judgment,
so Christ was sacrificed once
to take away the sins of many;
and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin,
but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (vv. 27-28).
This passage puts three appointments on our calendar: one with death, one with judgment, and one with Christ to receive his salvation when he returns.
A man I worked for died a couple of years ago. He didn’t want a memorial service or public ceremony. So instead of attending a funeral or a celebration of life, I attended happy hour at a pub, which a friend and colleague organized. We told a story or two and raised a glass to his memory.
How conflicted society is about death! How to deal with it? Like my boss, many people no longer have rituals to incorporate death into the meaning of life.
I wonder sometimes about my appointment with death. Will I move into an old folks home, isolated with my peers, hoping for occasional visits from younger folk? When I lose my mobility, will my weekly highlight be a sling lift into a hot bath tub? Maybe I’ll spend my last days attached to IV lines and monitors, until they disconnect me and let death deliver me.
What does it mean to die with dignity? Or is death always undignified?
Christ kept his appointment with death, naked on a cross, an undignified death. By his death he took away the sins of many. Now he has an appointment to return, bringing salvation to those who wait for him.
Here are three ways to look at our appointment with death.
First, death is an enemy. God breathed into dust, creating human life; but death dissolves that union, returning the body to dust and releasing the breath back to God. When I attend a funeral, even if it’s called a celebration of life, I feel grief that another battle has been lost, that Enemy Death won another undeserved victory, and the world a poorer place.
Death is also a friend. In her later years, my mother said, “My friends and I are not afraid of dying. We’re afraid of the journey that will take us there.” Fortunately, death limits how long our bodies and minds deteriorate, it brings an end to suffering, and it puts a boundary on the evil or the good we do.
So death is an enemy and a friend. It is also a gateway. Christ, who passed through death to a new life beyond, invites us to follow him to that place. There he will breathe new life into our dusty bodies,and invite us to eat fruit from the tree of life.
Let’s pray.
Our father, sometimes our lives are short, confusing, painful. Sometimes they are long, rewarding, and beautiful. O God, as long as your breath gives life to our frail and dusty bodies, help us live fully and worshipfully, preparing diligently for our appointment with death, waiting in hope for our appointment with Christ who will be our judge and saviour.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Ep.227: Psalm 105: Memories. Podcast.
Ep.227: Psalm 105: Memories.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Psalm 105 is a recital of Israel’s history. I used to find it rather tedious and wondered why the poet thought it necessary to versify this material. Surely the history books were adequate. Couldn’t he be more creative with his poetry?
Re-reading the psalm recently, I learned it may have been written to encourage Israelites during the Babylonian exile. Let’s observe how the poet chose stories from history to hearten the discouraged exiles.
The psalm’s history review begins with Abraham saying:
God is mindful of his covenant forever. . .
the covenant he made with Abraham
his promise to Isaac. . .
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statue,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant (vv. 8-9).
God made his promises when Abraham and his descendants were a little lost tribe in the vast land of Canaan. God protected them there, even rebuking kings, saying “Do not touch my anointed ones!” (v. 15). This sounds like the stories where Abraham passed off his wife as his sister, and God warned the local king not to take her into his harem (Gen. 20). If the Israelites in Babylon felt like a little lost tribe in a big, dangerous world, the poet’s message was, This is not a new experience for Israel or for God. He can handle it. He will be faithful to his forever promises.
The writer next cites Joseph, whose brothers became annoyed that he was daddy’s favorite, and that he had dreams about becoming the family patriarch. When they sold him to Egyptian traders, his dreams were lost in exile, slavery, and prison. But God remembered him and made his dreams come true. Joseph became a powerful Egyptian ruler and saved his family and the whole country from famine. The message for exiles is that God who remembered Joseph in Egypt remembers you in Babylon, and he will help you.
The poem moves to a third historical recital, the story of the Exodus, where Moses and God confronted Pharaoh with plagues until Pharaoh released God’s people from slavery. Then God helped them escape, taking them on an impossible journey through the Red Sea and the desert to the Promised Land. This God will one day free the exiles from Babylon and take them on their journey home.
A striking feature of this psalm is how the poet edited Israel’s history. He deleted all the sin and rebellion! There is no mention of the evil Joseph’s brothers did or, of 4forty faithless years wandering in the desert. The poem recites only larger events that ended happily. Why? I think the exiles already knew how badly things go wrong. They needed encouragement and hope.
Let’s pray.
Our father, you reminded the Israelites of their their history. You watched over Abraham when he was a stranger in a strange land. You protected Joseph as a prisoner and slave. You remembered your people in Egypt and led them to the Promised Land to worship you.
Lord, we too are foreigners and exiles (1 Pet 2:11), for our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). Lead us through danger and deserts to the land you have promised. With the poet we pray:
Bring us out with joy,
your chosen ones with singing.
Bring us to a place where we
we can keep your statutes
and observe your laws (vv. 43, 45, paraphrased).
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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