Ep.295: Two Great Evils.

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

Today, as we begin a short series on the problem of evil, consider two great evils that stalk our world: the forces of nature and human choice. 

We know the forces of nature randomly kill thousands in so-called “acts of God”–hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes. The insurance industry doesn’t like God’s name cluttering up their policies, so they call natural disasters “force majeure”–grand forces beyond human control, against which there is no insurance.

Other natural evils include starvation, pandemics, cancer, drought. Nature can be a hard master. 

What about the second great evil?  Human choice. Murders, wars, genocide, and accidents are everywhere. Illegal drugs rob people of health and hope. The threat of nuclear war casts a shadow on the world. Today the Doomsday Clock reads one-minute-and-forty-seconds to midnight for the human race.

Useful inventions create evil outcomes. The Wright brothers had a wonderful idea. Which inspired the military to create new forms of violence and destruction. Three years ago, that semi truck broadsided a Saskatchewan hockey bus, killing 16 and injuring 13. 

This is “The Problem of Evil”. If God is loving and powerful, why doesn’t he stop the damage? Is our world his idea of reality TV? Doesn’t he care who gets injured or voted off the island? 

But suppose you don’t believe in God. Does that make things better? If all that exists is the universe as we know it, if only the fit survive, then there is no good or evil. It’s just the way things are. We are stuck with the fate nature assigns us. Complaining gets us nowhere. 

If there is no God and nature sends storms and earthquakes, how would you know it’s bad when they kill people? 

If wolves eat lambs and humans are genocidal, what’s the evil when the fit survive and the weak are removed from the gene pool?

My answer is that of Hamlet–a deep human feeling that something is rotten in the State of Denmark. I want to be free to live my best life. I want my family protected from murderers and thieves, from floods and famine and disease. The world should be safe and friendly, not a fight for survival. 

That feeling leads me past nature’s cruelty and human evil to God. Why? Because in him I see a standard of right and wrong, a statement of good and evil. I don’t find them anywhere else. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we call it the problem of evil. But it’s really the problem of good and evil, because so much of the world you created is good. I rejoice when dawn colors the sky in pinks and purples; I am amazed at mountains, stark against the clouds; I am astonished by the moon and stars at night. 

Human goodness is wonderful too. Some people seek justice for the oppressed, homes for the homeless, food for the hungry. Human ingenuity and science have conquered plagues, smallpox, and polio.

Wherever we look good and evil are present together: in nature, in civilization, in culture and politics and people. Give us eyes to see and believe what is good, hearts to discern and resist what is evil. In our short lifetime may we come to know you, and to believe that you alone are good. 

Amen. 

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

Ep.294: What Have We Learned from the Psalms?

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

Three years ago in January I prayed Psalm 1, the beginning of a project to pray each of the psalms. Last week I arrived at the end, Psalm 150. That makes three years praying a psalm a week, with time off for holidays, vacations, and other excuses. 

Now that I’m done, let’s reflect. What have we seen in the psalms? How have they impacted us?

The first thing I notice is that these ancient poems are as current as Google News.Three thousand years ago the poets were writing headlines for today, complete with chaos, violence, disaster, corrupt politicians, war, and pandemics. The genius of the psalms translates human experience into poetry rather than focusing on specific events. Google News supplies the details of today’s disasters, but the psalms describe the experiences and emotions that disasters and successes evoke whenever they occur. The names and faces change, but the news stays the same.

Another striking feature of the psalms is the backdrop of darkness and evil. When I started this project in 2019, I expected to find more praise, more optimism. But the psalms give as much attention to darkness as to light, to difficulty as to ease, to complaint as to praise. But they don’t paint a static picture of gloom. Usually, the poet pushes through the darkness to light. Perhaps then, as now, joy and hope are hard-won attitudes, rewards for struggling against doubt and despair. 

The Harper-Collins Book of Prayers is 400 pages of prayers by 200 authors spanning 3000 years. (Robert Van de Weyer, ed. Castle Books: Edison, New Jersey, 1997) One small section of prayers stands out to me above all the others. It is a selection of psalms. When I read Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” I was taken aback by its rawness, its power, and eloquence. I thought, “That’s why the psalms are in the Bible. They speak more simply and powerfully than thousands of prayers from lifetimes of experience.” 

The psalms also tap into my emotions. I tend to live stoically, soldiering on through thick and thin, consulting my will, not my emotions. When I am tense and annoyed, my family knows it long before I do. The psalms teach me that emotions are crucial in my relationship with God and others. Love is not just behavior, it is a feeling. It is affection, it wishes others well, it informs our relationships, it desires the best for others. 

But the scary part of emotions is that I don’t get to choose what I want to feel. If I lift the trap door and peer into the root cellar of my feelings—the whole crowd of them come jostling to the light, threatening to overwhelm me. What can I do with all that anger and love, the sadness and gladness, the feeling that God has abandoned me or the feeling that he is present? The psalms teach me to receive and feel and express each emotion to God. Perhaps when the psalms have done their work in me, I will be transformed from a soldier trudging through endless twilight to a dancer and singer greeting dawn in the mountains, singing dirges in the valleys, awake to the full range of human emotion. 

And finally, I have been surprised at how often the psalms criticize God–he’s not listening, he’s not helping, he’s sleeping. He’s not living up to his reputation for love and faithfulness, he’s abandoning the righteous, he’s not punishing evil. The poets have many complaints and they deal with them by complaining–complaining to God! This is faith at work, bringing all of life to God, reminding him of our need, calling him to exercise his love and faithfulness, waiting to see what he will do.  

In Hebrew, the Book of Psalms is titled “Songs of Praise.” I have wondered about that title, since so much of the book is anything but praise. But now, I like it. The poems and prayers and songs lead me from darkness to light, through despair to hope, through doubt into joyous faith. They are songs of praise.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, in our need, in our pain and joy, you are there for us in the psalms. You shelter us under your wings. You lead us to green pastures. You walk with us through the valley of shadows. You are our king, bringing justice and righteousness. 

Thank you for the psalms, for the images they furnish our imagination and the words they teach us to pray. Thank you for the journey they take us on, from fear to courage, from isolation to community, from darkness to the light of your presence. Hallelujah.

Amen.

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

Ep.293: Psalm 150: Hallelujah Forever.

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

Psalm 150 closes the Book of Psalms with an exuberant call to praise the Lord. In six short verses, between the opening and closing hallelujahs, there are ten commands to praise the Lord.

Where should people praise God? The poet says, do it in the temple and do it in nature, in the mighty heavens (v. 1). 

What should people praise God for? The poet suggests for God’s acts of power and surpassing greatness (v. 2). 

What kind of noise should we make praising God? The poet suggests an orchestra with stringed instruments, woodwinds, and percussion–trumpets, harps, flutes, and lutes (vv. 3-5),

What body position does the poet suggest? He encourages dancing with a tambourine (v. 4). 

Who does the poet invite to this chorus of praise? He says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (v. 6).

Let’s pray. 

Our father, the poet said, “Let everything that has breath praise you.” That means us. We join the chorus of praise. 

The winds that blow praise you–howling blizzards of winter; warm breezes that promise spring; hurricanes and cyclones that shatter the earth. Praise be to their creator. 

The animals praise you: coyotes serenading the moon, frogs croaking in their ponds, songbirds singing sweet melodies. Praise be to their creator. 

The heavens praise you, declaring your glory: The sun that warms our northern cities; the constellation Orion dominating our night sky; black holes hiding their power behind an event horizon; vast reaches of space soon to be explored by the James Webb  telescope. Praise to you from the heavens.

The people praise you, Lord: farming and shopping; building and tearing down; warring and making peace. The human comedy and the human tragedy together raise a voice of praise to their creator. 

The cities praise you, Lord. Beijing hosting a pandemic winter olympics; Mexico City struggling with pollution and crime; New York City offering the best and the worst of America; Toronto with cold Canadian winters, and a population from all over the world. Praise be to the creator who made a world that supports cities.

The agricultural lands praise you, Lord. Subsistence farms in Africa and Asia, where backbreaking labor barely supports the farmers; large-scale agriculture in developed countries with equipment and fertilizers and pesticides and fears that climate change will reduce profits. Praise be to the creator, who made a world fit for farming. 

The invisible world praises you, O Lord. The world where microbes hide and viruses multiply and human genes reside; the world where electrons frolic around atoms, and quirks and quarks appear and disappear. These too praise their creator.

And we who are your people praise you. Joined together in that mystical body, the church; servants of  Christ who lives in us; pray-ers to the God we cannot see. As Peter said, we are filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory, for we are receiving the goal of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1 Pet 3:8-9).

We praise you, God. Hallelujah.

Amen

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.292: Psalm 149: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.

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

Psalm 149 is the fourth Hallelujah psalm at the end of the Book of Psalms. Like its companions, it begins and ends with “Hallelujah”, or “Praise the Lord!” 

The first half of the poem says the Lord delights in his people (v. 4a). This certainly gives cause for optimism and praise. God is not an impatient parent, annoyed with his children, wishing they would just shut up and sit down. No, he is a delighted parent, enjoying his children’s activities when they use the world to farm, raise families, build, and worship. The poet responds to God’s pleasure with vigorous worship, dancing, and music. 

Then at verse 6, this hymn of praise changes tune. The poet says,
  Let the high praise of God be in their throat
      and a two-edged sword in their hand,
  to execute vengeance on the nations
      and punishment on the peoples (vv. 6-7). 

Don’t just talk. Pick up your sword and exact vengeance on your enemies. Praise God and pass the ammunition. The poet assumes that Israel’s cause is right and just, that God takes their side in the argument, that he approves of the desire to execute violent justice on the earth. Israel learned from painful experience that God was not always on their side. Sometimes God used other nations to execute violent justice on Israel.

But this is a “Hallelujah” psalm. It doesn’t reflect soberly on the line between Israel’s good and evil. Rather, it rejoices exuberantly in the God who has cared for his people, who has helped them in past military victories, who promises to judge the nations in righteousness. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, with Israel of old, we rejoice in you as God and king. We don’t dance in worship as they did, but we do play loud music on YouTube and sing songs to celebrate your salvation.

The poet tells us you delight in your people and crown the humble with victory (v. 4). Perhaps our lives are humble. We work long hours at menial tasks to earn a living. We drive about in iron chariots, spewing noxious fumes. We are hunt and gather in the supermarket. We attend church in weatherproof denominational temples. Look on us in the dismal drabness of our modern culture, delight in us, give the humble victory.

Look on our unremarkable lives. Accept the service we offer. Enjoy our stammering words of praise. Receive our hearts as we rejoice in you. 

Give us, we pray, victory over our own sins and over the sins of our culture. As we lose the culture wars, give us your favor. As our world slides into violence, grant us the victory of your righteousness and justice. As our nation loses all knowledge of holiness, draw us into the life of Christ. 

You are God who will give us the victory. You are God who will set the world right. Praise be to your name forever. Hallelujah. 

Amen

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.291: Psalm 148: Hallelujah Number Three.

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

Psalm 148 is the third of five Hallelujah psalms that take us to the end of the Psalter. Like its four companions, it begins and ends with “Hallelujah”, which means “Praise the Lord!” 

Psalm 148 has two parts. The first encourages everything in the heavens to praise the Lord. Angels, stars, planets, even the water above the blue dome of the sky.

The second half of the psalm encourages everything on earth to praise the Lord: weather events like hail, snow, and storms; domestic and wild creatures on land, sea, and sky; mountains and trees; even people, young and old, politically well-placed or, like me, politically unplaced. 

Psalm 148 is a summons for everything in creation to praise God. Surely he who made it all, and rules over what he made, is great. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we live by the cycles of the sun and moon–by seasons and tides, light and darkness, warmth and cold. Our earth is not some random planet in an improbable universe, but our home designed and built by you, our wise and loving God. 

You created the climate, and you watch over it. Our modern technology can barely predict today’s weather, much less manage it.The pollution we pour into earth, sky, and seas drives the weather and our tomorrows mad. But as the poet says, lightning, hail, clouds, tsunamis, volcanoes, and tornadoes are your servants. We remember Jesus who stopped the wind and calmed the waves.

You filled the earth with life. Microbes and elephants, water bugs and blue whales, gentle ferns and mighty trees were not created by random evolution operating through endless ages. Your hand has guided creation and history to where we stand today. Soon, your hand will sweep our future into your eternal plan. 

Our father, you who watch the universe expand, you who watch humans stumble and fumble from age to age, you who will resolve history when Jesus comes to earth again, have mercy on our short, short lives. Teach us to enjoy the world you created. Teach us to eat well and sleep well and pray well and live well by the help of your spirit and the guidance you give us in scripture. 

Bring us through this life with thanks and praise. Usher us into the next life with clear vision, obedient faith, and holier lives than we have known. 

We praise you, our forever God. Hallelujah. 

Amen

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube