Verse Six: Psalms 14:7

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! Psa 14:7

(verse 6 of the 44 H1523)

I like doing this blog :) it gets me studying so much better than I have in the past! I used to be a lot better about my scripture knowledge, its nice to be getting better about it again because one of the things I always feel a little personal conviction about it when people say one of those verses everyone "knows" but I have no idea what book it's even from. Someone could misquote that thing, say it supports whatever they are pushing and I wouldn't know it; and that's not a good place to be. I say this because Psalm 14 is one of those passages that gets quoted kinda often. Take verse one for example:

The fool [fn] says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

Its one of those verses that encourages you not to be an atheist, so it comes up a lot. (by the way "the Hebrew word for fool in this verse "denote one who is morally deficient.") The rest of the psalm goes on to talk about the abundance of evil in the world, that when God looks down to see if there are any seeking Him "All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." (verse 3). To me, this puts us all on a level playing field. To realize hope fully you have to get off of your own prideful pedestal! You're human, you sin, you do things that hurt others, mess up, feel hatred and anger, lash out at others in your pain, want to inflict harm out of anger. You might be able to control yourself, practice patience and be getting better as you go but the truth is that we have all sinned. None of us have passed the test with flying colors and have therefore won our salvation on our own awesomeness. In order to progress we need to admit that, because within that we admit we need help just as much as the next guy. We might be able to see his problems and discern that he's blowing it big time in his life by some sin or another, but we shouldn't condemn him for it. We're not perfect either. Get your heart right and you can find what is offered by God.   

In the next three verses of the psalm, David reveals an answer to this. "Will evildoers never learn," he wonders in verse four, "Those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord?" Verse four isn't just another description of the fools he's been describing, its another clue to what we can do to not be fools. He's already mentioned one, in verse three: Seek God. Now we have a few more: Treat people with respect and don't use them for your own survival (consuming them);  call on the Lord; and also, there is the opportunity for change by learning. There is hope! You're not just doomed to being a sinner.

Verse five says, "There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous." This implies that, deep down, these men know the truth and it frightens them. Verse six goes on, "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." Hope again, because when we are no longer on the side of doing evil we will feel the attack that it is. The Lord is our refuge, not just a place to hide but a place to heal and strengthen to get through another attack when it comes.

Finally verse seven, is a hopeful plea that someday the salvation for Isreal will come out of Zion (Zion--God's abode, from which He revealed His purposes of mercy, as He now does by the Church (compare Psa 3:4 20:2 ), and which He rules and in which He does all other things for the good of His people ( Eph 1:22 ). When that happens, David hopes that the nation will rejoice.  But it doens't have to be a hoped for joy any longer; we can rejoice in it now because we know what came later, that God sent his Son from Zion to be that salvation. What better reason to rejoice :)  

Verses Four and Five: Psa 13:4-5

Psa 13:4-5 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. (NIV)

(4 and 5 of the 44 H1523)

Hi btw, I know it's been a while. Moving, Christmas, new stuff to get used to, losing my list and not having a printer...you get the idea. Thanks for hanging in there though, if you have been! Ok so back to the project, shall we? 

This Psalm is so short its almost worth putting the whole thing in there just to save me some time on explanation :) But at the same time these two verse sum it all up nicely because what strikes me the most about this is that what David, the author, knows overcomes what he feels. He feels the attack from the enemy, he feels a disconnect between his soul and God, a distance. He feels as though the Lord is "hiding (His) face" from him. He feels forgotten. He is wrestling with sorrow. But then in verse four, its as if he goes from pouring his fears out to God and begins to declare what he knows to be true. This is how he is able to get through the emotional turmoil. 

He knows that enemy is there and he knows that enemy will rejoice in his failures as a flawed human being. Something we can all relate to. But he doesn't stop there. He also knows a greater truth, which is what he states in verse five, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."

Unfailing Love: When there is unfailing love, there is no doubt that despite all you've done wrong, you're still loved. Seems almost stupid to say. "Hey did you know that when something doesn't fail it means it never dies/goes/away/ends?" Uh...yeah...thanks kinda put that one together all by myself. But let that sink in! I mean, this is exactly what David needs, he has FAILED and not only is the world seeing it, but the underworld is seeing it and mocking his, torturing him with regret and shame. His self-worth is utterly shattered. The only thing that is going to save him is Love. A love that he has to take a leap of faith and trust is unfailing. Eternal. The existence of that love along with his acknowledgment, faith and trust in it, is what saves him form himself and his enemies. It is then that in verse six we can read that David  "will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."

Amen to that. 

NoooooO!!!!

you know how you like....move....and you lose all kinds of random stuff?

yeah.

yay for that.

Its ok though, just a minor set back on the road to making this a blog, wooo!

bleh.

Transitions...

Nope, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth and I also haven't given up on this project :) However we are in the process of moving from one state to another so I am pretty much entirely distracted by this and other personal matters going on with extended family. There is love and support but not much joy in those matters. Somehow, it just seemed appropriate to take a break. I'll be back in a week, unless otherwise inspired. Peace to you all <3

Verse 3: Psalm 9:14 (H1523)

Psalm 9:14 "That I may show forth all thy praise. In the gates of the daughter of Zion I will rejoice in thy salvation."

(3 of the 44 H1523)

In Psalm 9 David praises God for His righteous involvement in ruling the country. It acknowledges God as King forever, the ultimate judge and yet also a refuge for the oppressed. It gives God credit for the nation being above it's enemies. By the end, when we get to verse 14, he has gotten more acute with his praises. He doesn't just mention the nation and it's enemies, he turns to talking about himself and his own salvation through God's interaction. In verse 13 David says, "Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; Behold my affliction which I suffer from them that hate me, Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death;" and for what purpose? Verse 14 says it is to "show forth all thy praise." 

God is a relational God. In the midst of all this war between two nations, David recognizes that he has been snatched from the hands of death by God personally. And that is not just the reason he praises God, he claims that praising Him is the whole reason he was saved in the first place. 

When I see this, I'm just going to be honest but I get a few questions. Did God save him because He knew David would praise Him? And why would that matter to God to be praised? Is He just a people pleaser with the desire for a gold star? Is he just sitting up in heaven getting ideas about how to earn love? "Oh! I know what I'll do, he'll really like this! I'll snatch him from death and THEN he'll really love Me. He'll tell everyone and I'll be so cool then!"

Yeah. Something tells me God's not so codependent as me. Yeesh, its kind of hard to look at myself so honestly! Isn't it so horrible how we do things like that? I am sure I am not alone in struggling with "Approval Addiction." Sucha sneaky little booger too, that one. Anyway, back to David and God.

It's clear there is a purpose to God's actions and all the analysis in the world won't reveal the full extent of purpose in those actions. But we do have the benefit of hindsight here, being in the future and all. We know David doesn't have a clean slate kind of life, he commits some pretty raunchy sins at some points. And we also know he is considered a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Even though this is said before David's reign, I am pretty sure the all knowing God knew it was coming. 

He also knew all the ways David would acknowledge Him. Think of how many Psalms there are! And how many belong to David himself, no matter the circumstance, he cried out to God for help or in praise or both. He sets a supreme example for all of us about relationship and God. God doesn't just play chess with the armies of nations, removed from our own everyday lives. He is in them, involved, and desiring our interaction. This, to me, makes sense of the claim that David makes, that he is saved from death to praise God and rejoice in His salvation. When David does that, it lets us know something God seems quite determined to let us know: that He loves us enough to save us from death. So then it makes sense why He would save a man He knows will praise Him for it, publicly. I think it's because there's that hope that, maybe, if we aren't listening to His voice telling us then we will listen to David's.  And I think maybe He's right :)

Verse Two: Psa 2:11, H1523: 2 of 44

"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling."

Psalms 2:11

(verse 2 of the 44 H1523)

The Context: In Psalm 2, the psalmist is talking to the "rebel-kings," who have decided to throw off the bonds of God and his anointed people. He calls it a vain act and cautions them against it, since it will only lead to their destruction. And so in verse 11 we find his recommendation. Another version, The Message, states, "Worship God in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe." 

The Modern Application: The psalmist is encouraging them to run to God, rather than from Him. Though it's a little intimidating to think of God getting angry if you go against Him, I think that in terms of perspective this is how consequences can seem. There are consequences for everything, good actions are more likely to reap good consequences and vice versa. 

As a side note, I say "more likely" because I don't think there is never a guarantee, despite our best efforts, that the effect of our actions will be a match to them. An example of this, quite simply, is good parents with bad kids. This lack of a guarantee seems to be a source of much anxiety for those folks who think things ought to be fair, "But I did everything right, why didn't it work out?" or "I'm a nice person, I don't deserve to be treated like this." Really, it's an issue of control and fear, they want an equal return on their actions so that they can have a sense of security that their efforts are then controlling their future. 

There also seems to be a conception that if God were a good God then life would be fair. I think in order for that to happen you would have to take away free will. Whether you believe in Sin or not, you have to admit that a major factor of any human life are the external choices of other people, which are entirely out of your control, even with efforts of manipulation, and that really when you say you wish life to be fair, you selfishly wish God to trump another person's free will in order for their to be something better happening, because you think it is deserved and God obviously doesn't know how to dole out the rewards properly. And ironically that, in and of itself, is "unfair" to that person who will you wish to be trumped. Really God is being fair because He offers the same freedom to all people to make the choices they do, which in turn affect other aspects of other peoples lives, whether they like it or not and whether they give a crap or not. Its a tremendous responsibility to act in the best interest of others, or Love, and few take that action in our culture of selfish indulgence and material attachment. 

And how does that tie into the verse? To me, it's saying you have a choice of action: 1) Deny God or 2) Worship God. What happens if you deny God? Bad things. You won't be in his favor and protection anymore and so you're at the mercy of... everything else. What happens if you turn your eyes on Him and see Him for the giving, protecting God that He is? You'll have reason to worship and rejoice, to the point of trembling. In a way, then, it comes down to perspective. How will you choose to see God? As a slave holder, wrapping you in bonds, or as a protector and provider who desires to, as verses 7 through 9 puts it, treat you like a son on his birthday, offering him whatever he wishes? Since there is bad in the world and it's not fair, and denying it certainly doesn't make it go away, I am more inclined to get whatever help I can to get through it.  I have an option besides my strength to do that. I can rest and have peace in the storm because I have the choice to detach from a selfish controlling nature and trust God to take care of it, even if i don't understand how or why He does it the way he does. I encourage you to see the good in God and appreciate it. Its a much better way to live. 

The first verse! or H1523: 1 of 44, 1 Chronicles 16:31

Hello again! Its been a while but for good reason. After taking some time to think this out a bit more I have decided that, since I have the original greek and hebrew at my disposal at theblueletterbible.org, I would prefer to go about this project looking at those words, versus the way we might interpret a word now. perhaps then nothing is lost in translation....i dunno i guess its really not all about the numbers (sorry to burst your bubble) in the end, its about an aspect of God's character, as I have discussed before. i'll still do spreadsheets so i don't get repetitive and all that, but really, i just want to know what is said. And try to understand what it means even.  

There isn't much to be joyful over in these days of overwhelming hype, sensationalism, offense and negativity. Maybe that's why I'm curious. What could God possibly offer as a reason to combat all of this? What comfort is there? How can He expect that of us? Do we have it in us to be joyful despite the external factors?

And thats what brings me to the first verse. OH MY GOSH BIG MOMENT! haha! yes, yes it is. So here we go:

We are starting with the Strong's  H1523- giyl. According to the lexicon, there are 44 occurrences of this form of the word, which translates into rejoice, glad, joyful, joy, and delight throughout the KJV. The original hebrew meaning is 1) To rejoice, exult, be glad 2) to tremble from fear. The first verse we find it in is: 1 Chronicles 16:31.

"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let (men) say among the nations, The Lord reigneth."

Context: This verse is part of King David's exultation when the Ark of the Covenant is placed in the Tabernacle. Almost the entire chapter is one of thanksgiving to God for this. 

Modern Application/Main Take-away: the external circumstances are not one we are going to get on a day to day basis, but that's not the reason David gives us. Instead, he is saying that we should be thankful and rejoice because "The Lord Reigns." Thats something that doesn't change daily, and, when remembered, that can be a very encouraging reality to recall. We might feel it more when things are good, like David, but we need it more when things are bleak and out of control. Knowing He reigns, really knowing it, helps us keep faith because it's a consistent stability in the chaos. Despite how things seem now, the Lord reigns, and if that is constant then that means He is never defeated and if he is never defeated then ultimately He conquers these circumstances that seem to overtake us. That is why Paul can later proclaim that we are "more than conquerers" in Christ.