Ep286_Psalm143. 

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 143 begins:
  Hear my prayer, Lord,
    listen to my cry for mercy;
  in your faithfulness and righteousness
    come to my relief.
  Do not bring your servant into judgment,
    for no one living is righteous before you (vv. 1-3). 

Frequently, in the psalms, the poets appeal to God as judge, asking him to decide in the poets’ favor and to condemn his enemies. For example, Psalm 7 says,
  Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
      according to my integrity, O Most High (v. 8). 

So why is the poet in Psalm 143 asking God not to bring him into judgment? Why isn’t he confident, like the poet in Psalm 7, that God will see his righteousness and exonerate him? 

I give the usual answer, when faced with the complexity and depth of the psalms. Those poets pray honestly and authentically whatever is on their heart and mind. It’s a come-as-you-are prayer party. No need to dress up and look respectable. When they feel they’ve been doing a good job of living according to God’s covenant with Israel, they boldly claim their righteousness, castigate God for not doing his part, and call him to uphold his end of the covenant. 

But when evil surfaces in the poets’ heart, they ask forgiveness, basing their prayer entirely on God’s mercy instead of their own righteousness. 

Let’s pray. 

Our Father, with the psalmist we pray, “Don’t judge us quickly, because no human can stand before you.” We need your help, not your judgment.
  Do not hide your face from us,
    or we will be like those who go down to the pit (v. 7). 

We do not point to  the good things we have done. We point only to your love. Accept our faltering service, our stumbling ways, and the inadequate praise we offer. Because of your love, raise us up and set us on the way of eternal life.

With the poet we pray:    
Rescue us from our enemies, Lord,
      for we hide in you (v. 9).
We are crowded and cast down by our old enemy, the devil. Our enemy, the world, is always near, inviting us to a table of Christmas without Christ, of food without thanksgiving, of pleasures without joy. The enemy within tempts us to a feast of unbelief, of cynicism and doubt, questioning whether you rule the world in love. Our God, we ask: Are the randomness and violence we see your servants or your master? 

  Teach us to do your will,
    for you are our God;
  may your good spirit
    lead us on level ground (v. 10).
Yes, Lord, make it simple for us. We do not aspire to climb a spiritual Everest. We are amateur trekkers on this journey, looking for  level and well-marked paths. Teach us the path to take, help us follow the lead of your good Spirit, keep us from stumbling. 

We are your servants, Lord, we need your protection and guidance. 

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 142 follows the poet from trouble to hope, from a fainting spirit to resounding praise, from isolation to community.  

The psalm is titled “A poem of David, a prayer when he was in the cave”. It’s a psalm for when you feel like you’re stuck in a cave, crowded into a cold, dark corner; when your enemies harass and threaten, when your mind sinks slowly into depression, when you can’t pull yourself out. 

You are not alone. The poet complains,
  I have no refuge;
      no one cares for my life (v. 4b). 

The poet has no escape from his enemies, no friend who cares if he lives or dies. Let’s join the poet in praying our way out of the cave.

Our father:
  You are our refuge,
      our portion in the land of the living (v. 5). 

When we are stuck in a cave, when darkness crowds us, when enemies pursue, we turn to the simplicity of faith. You, O Lord, are our refuge, our helper, our bodyguard. You defend us from enemies, you shield us from their arrows. You protect us from their slander. 

Save us from darkness in our minds. The cold northern winter seeps into our hearts, brings bleakness and lethargy. Light up our lives with the song of the angels and the testimony of the shepherds and the light of the new-born Christ. 

Save us from darkness in our community. When we are friendless, teach us to be friendly. When discouraged, teach us hope. When overworked, teach us to rest. When others are weighed down with life, help us share their burden. 
Save us from darkness in the world. As America retreats from the role of global peacekeeper, as Russia and China expand their influence, we look for a Messiah to bear the weight of government on his shoulders, a Savior whose name will be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). 

With the poet we pray,
  Set us free from our prison,
      that we may praise your name.
  Let the righteous gather together
      because of your goodness to them (v. 7). 

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 141 says:
  Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
      keep watch over the door of my lips.
  Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
       so that I take part in wicked deeds
  along with the evildoers;
      do not let me eat their delicacies (vv. 3-4).

Don’t let me eat their delicacies? Does the poet imagine great evildoers lounging around the pool,sipping wine and sampling hors d’oeuvres? Does that lifestyle attract you? What’s more pleasant than good food and good wine in civilized company? But the poet prays, Don’t let me be drawn into their evil society.

He goes on to say,
  Let a righteous man strike me–that is a kindness;
      let him rebuke me–that is oil on my head.
  I will not refuse it,
      for my prayer is against the deeds of evildoers (v. 5). 

Let a righteous man strike me? Yes, if that’s the only way to learn wisdom. Proverbs says fools are not interested in second opinions, but it’s a wise person who searches out good advice. She welcomes news she is wrong, and listens to those who correct her. One proverb says:
      Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
         rebuke the wise and they will love you (Prov 9:8). 

In Psalm 141, the poet says, I’m ready for good advice, whether given with a stinging blow or rebuking words. It’s more important to make good decisions than to preserve my self-importance and dignity.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, with the poet, we pray against our predilection to evil.
  Guard our mouths so we don’t slip into evil speech–slandering the righteous, parading our tongues through the earth, planning evil deeds.
  Guard our hearts, for they love unkind words and unholy thoughts.
  Guard our friendships for we love the rich, the famous, and the socially competent, even when they reject you, scorn others, and plot  evil.
  Guard our appetites for we love the delicacies of Christmas–chocolates and eggnog and fruitcake and butter tarts. 

Teach us self-control in what we think and what we do. As Peter wrote, “Be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Pet 4:7). 

With the poet:
  We call to you, Lord, come quickly;
      hear us when we speak.
  May our prayers be incense before you;
      may the lifting of our hands be like the evening sacrifice (vv. 1-2). 

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 140 is the first of five lament psalms that describe the poet’s enemies and their evil deeds. The poet moves through lament to faith. Faith that God will save him by overthrowing his enemies and setting his world right. 

The psalm opens like this:
  Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from the violent,
  who devise evil plans in their hearts
    and stir up war every day.
  They make their tongues sharp as serpent’s;
    the poison of vipers is on their lips (vv. 1-3). 

It looks like the snake from the Garden of Eden is still at work. The poet’s unscrupulous enemies speak sharply and falsely, they plan violence and war, they threaten the poet’s life. His only recourse is to God:
  Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from the violent,
    who devise ways to trip my feet (v. 4). 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we stand in a long line of believers who have studied how to be faithful when evil is everywhere. As our weary world plods on, as power corrupts leaders, as the Internet distributes the snake venom of divisiveness and lies, as entertainment grows more violent and pornography more hardcore, we pray to you, our God, to protect us from the ruin of our society, from the ruin of the world, from the ruin of unbelief. 

When we look at ourselves, we hear Jesus’ words, “From within, out of the heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit” (Mark 7:22). Perhaps as Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us” (Walt Kelly, Pogo (comic strip), April 22, 1971. 

With the poet, we pray against all our enemies, those within and those without; those who are subtle and well-spoken like the snake in the garden; and those who are forthright and violent as they run roughshod through the world. 

We believe that you,Lord, will rescue and redeem us. As the poet says:
  Keep me safe from the hands of the wicked;
      protect me from the violent,
      who devise ways to trip my feet (v. 4).
    Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,
      you shield my head in the day of battle (v. 7).
  I know that you secure justice for the poor
      and uphold the cause of the needy.
  Surely the righteous will praise your name,
      and the upright will live in your presence (vv. 12-13). 

O God, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Christ carries the world’s sin on his cross. The Spirit shines in all dark corners, bringing light and truth.. 

Teach us to live in the truth. Expose the lies of the snake. Confound his conspiracy theories. Paralyze the hands of the violent. Stop the tongues of rage and slander. In the strong name of Jesus, protect the upright. Build your church into a community of life and truth. 

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 139 is popular for the poet’s description of himself as Exhibit A of God’s amazing creation. He says:
    I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
      wonderful are your works,
      I know that full well (v. 14).

But the poem is not so popular for the poet’s attitude toward his enemies. He says:
    Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord. . . .
    I hate them with perfect hatred,
        I count them my enemies
(vv. 21a, 22; KJV translation “perfect hatred”; see also Walter Brueggemann). 

How does the poet transition from wonder to hatred? Let’s follow his trajectory by praying parts of the psalm. 

Let’s pray.

   Lord, you have searched me
    and you know me.
  You know when I sit and when I rise;
      you know my thoughts from afar.
    You search out my path and my lying down,
      you are familiar with all my ways.
    Before a word is on my tongue
      you know it completely, O Lord.
    You hem me in behind and before,
        you lay your hand upon me.
    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
        too lofty for me to attain (vv. 1-6).

O Lord, we keep our inner lives hidden, where evil thoughts lurk, where unclean desires rule and unkind words arise, where we judge our neighbors and excuse ourselves. But all is visible to you, for you search us and know us. To you “all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden” (“Collect for Purity”, Book of Common Prayer). As the poet says,
    Where can I go from your Spirit? 
        Where can I flee from your presence?
      If I go to the heavens, you are there;
        If I make my bed in hell, you are there.
      If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
        and settle on the far side of the sea,
      even there your hand will guide me,
        and your right hand will hold me fast.
    If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,’
      and the light becomes night around me,
    even the darkness will not be dark to you;
      the night will shine like day,
      for darkness is as light to you (vv. 7-12).

O Lord, this is our comfort and our fear. We have nowhere to hide, no darkness for cover, no location too distant, no place of escape in heaven or hell. Teach us to bring our lives willingly into the light of your presence, to rejoice that you have wonderfully created us, to trust that you think well of us. As the poet says:
    You created my inmost being,
      You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
    I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
      your works are wonderful,
      I know that full well.
    Your eyes saw my unformed body;
      all the days ordained for me were written in your book
      before one of them came to be.
    How precious are your thoughts to me, God,
      How vast is the sum of them (vv. 13-15, 17). 

And then, surprisingly, the poet changes direction,180 degrees, asking you to destroy the wicked:
    If only you would slay the wicked, God!
    They speak of you with evil intent;
        your adversaries misuse your name.
    Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
        and abhor those who rebel against you?
    I hate them with perfect hatred;
        I count them my enemies (vv. 19a, 20-22). 

With the poet we celebrate you as the God who sees. You created us in the womb, you formed us into human beings, you watch over us forever. 

But one thing still mystifies and confuses the poet, and us. If you are so good and great and life-giving, why don’t you deal with your enemies: those  death-dealers who speak maliciously against you, who want to destroy your creatures and your creation. 

The poet, and we with him, identify ourselves with your cause, God. Your honor is our honor; your judgments are our judgments. You are our friend, God. Your enemies are our enemies. We reserve our hatred for their evil ways, their misuse of your name, their opposition to all that is good.

Finally, in the last stanza, we join the poet to rest peacefully in your presence, to receive your intimate knowledge of us, to turn from the sins we know and the sins we don’t yet know. We affirm you as our everlasting guide:
    Search us, O God, and know our hearts;
        test us and know our anxious thoughts.
    See if there is any wicked way in us,
        and lead us in the way everlasting (vv. 23-24). 

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

In Psalm 137, the poet refused to sing for his captors in Babylon. Psalm 138 places the poet in Jerusalem, singing, praising, and worshipping in the temple.

Psalm 138 follows a trajectory we have come to know and love in the psalms. The poet opens with thanks and praise because God heard and delivered him (vv. 1-3). Then he says that God is worthy of world-wide praise because he looks after the world, not just Israel (vv. 4-5). Finally, the poet gives a personal testimony, saying:
  Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
      you preserve my life.
  You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
      with your right hand you save me (vv. 6-7).

The psalm ends with hope and a request: 
   The Lord will vindicate me;
      your love, Lord, endures for ever–
      hold fast the works of your hands (v. 8). 

The poet’s prayer is that this God of everlasting love will hold him tight, and never let him go. 

Let’s pray. 

We praise you, Lord, with all our hearts,
  before the gods we sing your praise (v. 1). 

We praise you above the gods of consumerism that rule our greedy society. Black Friday sales and Christmas discounts and Boxing Day extravaganzas are nothing compared to the glory of your name. As Jesus said, “Is not life more than food and your body more than clothes?” (Mat 6:25). 

We praise you above the gods of violence that rule the military-industrial complex. Armed drones roam the skies. Satellites spy on the earth. Ballistic missiles are armed and ready. But you are God of the world, king over the presidents of America, China, and Russia. 

  May the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed (v. 4). 

  Though you are exalted, God, you look on the lowly. As the poet says,
    Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
      you preserve my life (vv. 6a, 7). 

Thank you for not running credit checks to determine if we’re worthy. Thank you for not charging interest on our outstanding balance. Thank you are not mercenary, your motives not mixed, nor your advertising false. Thank you that as we walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve us.   

Thank you that your love endures forever,
    That you do not abandon the work of your hands (v. 8). 

We are the work of your hands, you are the breath that we breathe, you are the light in our darkness. Heal us of our sin sickness. Give our churches light and life. Restore our nations to sanity, our leaders to reality, our philosophers to wisdom. Do not forsake the world you made. Then with the poet:
  We will praise you with our whole heart,
      singing your praise before the gods (v. 1).    

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 137 begins,
  By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
      when we remembered Zion.
  There on the poplars
      we hung our harps,
  for there our captors asked us for songs,
      our tormentors demanded songs of joy
      saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
  How can we sing the songs of the Lord
      in a foreign land? (vv. 1-4).

The psalm ends shockingly with the poet’s fantasy about revenge:
  Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
      happy is the one who repays you
      according to what you have done to us.
  Happy is the one who seizes your infants
      and dashes them against the rocks (vv. 8-9).

Psalm 1 started with a beautiful blessing
  Blessed is the one
      who does not walk in the way of the wicked
  or stand in the way of sinners,
      or sit in the company of mockers. . .  (v. 1-2a). 

The poet of Psalm 137 is captive in Babylon, powerless, defeated, refusing to sing after the cruel destruction of Jerusalem, the obliteration of the temple, and the violence of war. Using the same word “bless” that occurs in Psalm 1, he says to Babylon, the evil empire:    
    Blessed is the one who repays you
        according to what you have done.
    Blessed is the one who seizes your infants. . . (vv. 8-9).  

The poet uses the word “bless” to introduce his most vicious curse against Babylon. I make four comments:

First, the psalm is realistic about the brutality of war. Genocide is not a modern invention, mass graves are not new. When Pharaoh feared his Israelite slaves might turn against him, he ordered the death of newborn boys. When Herod feared a new king had been born in Bethlehem, he ordered the death of infants. Babylon may have used a similar strategy to prevent a new generation of warriors in Jerusalem.

My second comment is about retributive justice. We have all wished someone would get a taste of their own medicine. When my brother poured pepper into my mouth, my mother grabbed the pepper shaker and poured pepper into  his mouth. Sweet, eh! Retributive justice at its finest. The poet of Psalm 137, awash in pain and injustice, fantasizes about Babylon getting a taste of its own violence.

Does the poet’s violent suggestion paint a picture of the world as God wants it? No, he paints the world we live in, the real world. Which leads to my third comment: the poet brings his world and his cause to God. He does not plan a regime of violence and revenge, he asks God for justice. And the poet paints a brutal, vengeful picture of the justice he seeks. I think God receives the poet’s pain and his suggestion, without agreeing to implement it.

And finally, Jesus said that those who live by the sword will die by the sword (Mat 26:52). The Babylonian empire, born and nurtured in violence, was destined for a violent end. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we live among evil empires, singing your songs in our land of exile. Like the poet, we fantasize about revenge and victory. Where is our Luke Skywalker who will unmask and destroy Darth Vader?  

We submit our cause to you, God. In the Book of Revelation, you prophesy the doom of the evil empire,  saying:
  Give back to her as she has given;
       pay her back double for what she has done.
       Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
  Give her as much torment and grief
      as the glory and luxury she gave herself (Rev. 18:6-7).

Lord, somehow, some day, we trust you to set this violent world to rights. Until then we wait patiently for you.  

Amen. 

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube