First United Methodist Church Richardson, Texas

Week 2: June 13-19

Psalms 22 (Sun), 50 - 53 (Mon), 55, 114 (Tue). 57, 145 (Wed), 60, 62, 115 (Thur). 64, 146 (Fri), 66, 68, 116 (Sat)

Sunday

Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion!

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me. I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

Background
The opening of Psalm 22 was spoken by Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The strange combination is in this psalm of the psalmist complaining of being forsake, and yet refers to God as ‘my God.’ The present bitterness is couched in reflection upon better times. The God who was experienced personally is now “far”. It certainly seems that God will answer. The psalmist is pictured as nearly dead. God’s answer comes in the midst of suffering. The psalm concludes with praise, and the psalmist as a witness to people ‘yet unborn.’

Reflection
What comfort do you find in this psalm? It concludes with an eschatological hope that a new community will result consisting of people from all nations, and all conditions.

Reflect on the times you have found yourself suffering and how you experienced (or did not experience) God in the midst of that suffering.

The faith of some people is obviously tied to their relationship with God who brought them out of suffering and difficulty. If you have experienced people who witness from this basis of rescue, do you find their faith (maybe your faith) stronger than those who have not suffered?
Monday

Psalm 50
The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds. For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers.

“You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child. These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.

“Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver. Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

Background
This psalm is referred to as a prophetic exhortation which many believe was used as a covenant renewal ceremony. This accusatory rhetoric is to call people away from self-centeredness to a proper relationships with God. It addresses two questions: 1) an misunderstanding of sacrifice and 2) the failure of the congregation to live lives consistent with their beliefs. The psalm uses names for God, Elohim and Yahweh. It is a summons of the whole of creation, witnessing against the people. The heavens “declare his righteousness.” (V 6) The proper approach to God begins with gratitude. It is God’s people who have become wicked. The people hate discipline and instruction. They have violated the covenant. The people have forgotten God. God’s will is to save those who can understand their neediness and insufficiency.

Reflection
This psalm is a ‘call to decision.’ Can you remember a time in your life when you believe you were called to decide?

God does not reprove the people for doing their ‘sacrifices’, or rituals because, they are doing them correctly. But God is saying that God has no need of their sacrifices, only them. Have we relied too heavily on ritual and not enough on our commitment to God?

The psalm is critical of the hypocrisy. They claim to be faithful and conduct rituals but then do not treat each other well. Can we be criticized for the same behavior?

Psalm 52
Why do you boast, O mighty one, of mischief done against the godly? All day long you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. Selah You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah The righteous will see, and fear, and will laugh at the evildoer, saying, “See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches, and sought refuge in wealth!”

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.

Background
This psalm is not directed to God, but to a ‘mighty one’ who practices wicked ways on the psalmist and perhaps others of the righteous. It contains an affirmation of the psalmists faith. God is addressed directly only in v 9. The instruction involves the nature of true security, wealth, and power. The mighty one has chosen to pursue security by self-assertion at the expense of others. The mighty one has no love for doing ‘good.’ S/he will do anything to get ahead. The alternative is dependence on God and God’s ‘steadfast love.’ The punishment of the wicked is that by pursuing wealth they have cut themselves off from God. While the life of the wicked is characterized by greed, the life of the psalmist is in gratitude to God. The psalmist’s relationship to others is not in exploitation but in witness.

Reflection
This psalm reflects a perpetual problem with us: the nature of enduring security, wealth and power. The temptation to live for ourselves at the expense of others. How do we trust in ourselves and our own resources rather than in God?

Living in a corrupt world was the issue for the psalmist, and is for us. Reflect on the times you have had to reject the evils in our culture to maintain faith in God?

When faced with a ‘mighty one’ such as this psalmist, how difficult is it to see him or her coming under the ‘steadfast love’ of God?

Psalm 53
Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good.

God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.

They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.

Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?

There they shall be in great terror, in terror such as has not been. For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Background
Psalm 53 is nearly identical to Psalm 14. Psalm 53 does make a suitable companion to Psalm 52, which portrays God’s judgement upon the wicked.

Reflection (same as for Psalm 14)
The psalmist associates knowledge of and recognition of God as the primary foundation for good behavior. Looking at your own moral code, is God the foundation of yours? If there is something else, what else is the foundation of your behavior?

The psalmist is calling on us to be accountable to God in our behavior. For the psalmist there is a direct relationship between acknowledging God and behaving well. Do you see this relationship?

The psalm foresees deliverance in the future. Do you share the faith of the psalmist that these ‘atheists’ can find their way?
Tuesday

Psalm 55
Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication. Attend to me, and answer me; I am troubled in my complaint. I am distraught by the noise of the enemy, because of the clamor of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me.

My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest.”

Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech; for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.

It is not enemies who taunt me— I could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me— I could hide from them. But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend, with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked in the house of God with the throng. Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

But I call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice. He will redeem me unharmed from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah will hear, and will humble them— because they do not change, and do not fear God.

My companion laid hands on a friend and violated a covenant with me with speech smoother than butter, but with a heart set on war; with words that were softer than oil, but in fact were drawn swords.

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.

Background
Psalm 55 may be the fusion of two separate laments. Vv 1 - 18a is one, and the second vv 18 b - 23. The psalmist’s life is clearly chaotic. There is a theme of betrayal. As most psalms, Psalm 55 ends with a sense of trust in God. The psalmist opens with four imperatives: ‘Give ear’, ‘do not hide’, ‘attend’ and ‘answer’. The psalmist talks of escaping. The place of refuge is in the wilderness, away from the violence of the city. The betrayer seems to be someone whom the psalmist knew well, and even trusted. There is a confidence that God will hear the psalmist’s complaints, and redeem. Human beings cannot be trusted, but God can be trusted.

Reflection
When have you felt like running away (to the wilderness) from a difficult situation?

If you found yourself in a ‘wilderness’, having run away, how difficult was it to re-connect?

Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? And has that betrayal resulted in such high anxiety as this psalmist is apparently feeling?

Psalm 114
When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

Background
Psalm 114 is a song of praise. It is a series of poetic allusions to the basic elements of Israel’s history: exodus. There are references to God’s provision in the wilderness, the crossing of the Jordan, and establishment in the promised land. Like many of our psalms, this one clearly had liturgical use. The psalm celebrates that God has chosen Judah as God’s own people and as the place of God’s dwelling. The ‘sanctuary’ (v 2) is the place where God is experienced most immediately. The reference to skipping mountains is likely an affirmation of God, the creator of the universe.

Reflection
The claim of God adopting Israel as God’s people is the foundation of Judaism. Understanding favor from God has been an historical debate among religions. How to you understand this relationship, described in Psalm 114?

Israel’s faith is based on these saving acts of God. Think about your own faith. How does your understanding of God’s saving grace in your life act as a foundation for your faith?

The tense of the verbs in v 3 and v 4 is interesting, ‘looked’, ‘fled’, ‘turned’, ‘skipped’. What the psalmist may be referencing is how God has acted to save Israel historically, but continues to save Israel in the present. This psalm can be seen as a NEW creation. Think about what God offers you in new hope, and a new creation.
Wednesday

Psalm 57
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.

They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my path, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.

Background
Psalm 57 is a lament in which the psalmist expresses immediate trust in God. “I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” (V 2) The psalmist depends on God for life and future. It is a celebration of God’s steadfast love. God’s love is the most powerful force in the universe. In the midst of enemies setting a ‘net’ for the psalmist, there is clear statement in faith. “I will sing and make melody.” (V 7) In the midst of difficulty, the psalmist makes a stand in faith. It is not clear whether the psalmist anticipates deliverance or celebrates a deliverance.

Reflection
The conviction of the psalmist that God’s steadfast love is a universal reality comes in the midst of turmoil. Reflect on this courageous stand of faith as it relates to your life, in a world full of hatred and hostility.

What is the foundation of your faith in God? Is it eschatological? “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”? Or is it based on your experience of God’s saving grace here and now? Or is it both?

What difference might it make to our lives if people could live with the same kind of faith as this psalmist, with joy and praise, and confidence?

Psalm 145
I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Background
This is definitely a psalm of praise, and one of the most beloved of the contemporary church. There are three key words of action in this psalm: ‘extol’, ‘bless’ and praise’. It speaks of God’s action, and also God’s character. God’s activity reveals God’s character which is outlined in vv 7 - 9. The experience of God’s love is witness to God’s way of exercising power. Those who acknowledge God’s sovereignty experience salvation while the wicked are destroyed. To praise God truly constitutes life.

Reflection
The message of Psalm 145 resonates with the Christian message, turning the world upside down as one lives in the compassion and love of God. Can you find the same hope in Psalm 145 that you see in the gospels?

Vv 4 - 7 indicates the generational them of the Hebrew faith. “One generation shall laud your works to another.” (V 4) Reflect on the importance of generations sharing the stories of faith?

There is judgement in Psalm 145 as the wicked will be destroyed. Yet, the central message is to lift up the faithful. “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (V 8) This is central not only to this psalm, but to the book of Psalms. How comforting is this message to you?
Thursday

Psalm 60
O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; now restore us! You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering. You have made your people suffer hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.

You have set up a banner for those who fear you, to rally to it out of bowshot. Selah
Give victory with your right hand, and answer us, so that those whom you love may be rescued.

God has promised in his sanctuary: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem, and portion out the Vale of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I hurl my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies. O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless. With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

Background
Psalm 60 is a communal lament. One of the interesting things about this psalm is that it is clear from the beginning that God is the problem. God has rejected, become angry, caused quakes and cracks, and “made your people suffer hard things.” (v 3) The misfortune of the psalmist is a result of God’s anger. At the end of the first verse, ‘restore us’ could easily be translated ‘return to us’, speaking of God, implying God’s absence. Unlike the protection from God we see in many of the psalms, here, God causes the crisis. All that the people can do is plead for help. In spite of their situation, the people continue to trust God in God’s future for them.

Reflection
This psalm illustrates that when human power reaches its limits the only salvation is from God. Can you remember a time when your life was a challenge and, looking back, you could see that you relied on your own abilities more than you should have? Did you turn to God?

The psalmist is apparently referring to a military defeat, and the prayer is for a restoration of relationship with God, because God is the problem. If you find yourself ‘defeated’ and believing God has abandon you, how difficult would it be for you to pray for the relationship with God, as opposed to wanting your enemy defeated?

The psalmist proclaims that even the enemy nations are God’s. “Gilead is mine, and Manesseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet;....” (V 7) Remember our enemies as a nation, or yours personally, and ask how easy it is to view them as under God?

Psalm 62
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.

How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.

Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.

Background
Psalm 61, 62 and 63 have similarities. There is repetition of “rock’, ‘refuge’, and ‘strong’, from the 61st psalm, and it also anticipates the content and tone of Psalm 63 with ‘steadfast love’. In short, these three are a kind of trilogy. The 7th verse is seen as the central poetic line, “On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.” Despite opposition, the psalmist will not be shaken. The psalmist can be calm because of their faith. The faith is throughout. The psalmist’s faith is explicit in the 11th verse, “that power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.” The way one lives affects one’s destiny. Psalm 62 commends the rewarding experience of finding refuge in God alone.

Reflection
Psalm contains a strong call to decision. Where is your ultimate loyalty? For the psalmist, in spite of challenges, faith and trust in God is always present. Reflect on times where this loyalty to God has challenged you.

The psalmist sees ‘making money’ as the biggest challenge to maintaining faith in God. It lures us into thinking we are self sufficient. Money is clearly a contemporary obstacle to faith as well. How has a desire for wealth affected your life of faith?

The expression, ‘my soul waits in silence’ is found both in the first and fifth verses. What do you believe the psalmist is referring to?

Psalm 115
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats. Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.

May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Praise the Lord!

Background
Psalm 115 is a combination of trust, humility, assurance and praise, along with complaint. The psalmist recognizes the cosmic nature of God, but also sees that God is not restricted to the heavens. While God ‘makes’ things happen, the psalmist criticizes idols which are ‘made’ by humans. People who make their idols will find themselves powerless. God ‘remembers’ or is mindful of God’s people and therefore “will bless us.’ (V 12) The people have not earned God’s blessings but live in dependence upon God rather than self. While God is present in a cosmic sense and in our lives, v 16 makes room for human responsibility as well. The psalm ends with the promise to offer unlimited praise to God.

Reflection
The psalm begins and ends with a focus on community, ‘us’ in v 1, and ‘we’ in v 18. Reflect on how ‘community’ has aided your faith journey.

Consider also, how your faith community is helpful in an alien and hostile environment.

Psalm 115 urges ‘the congregation’ to live in the power of God as they live among the nations (idols). How challenging is it for us to live with focus on God in our own cultural context?
Friday

Psalm 64
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from the dread enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the scheming of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless; they shoot suddenly and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see us? Who can search out our crimes? We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.” For the human heart and mind are deep.

But God will shoot his arrow at them; they will be wounded suddenly. Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake with horror. Then everyone will fear; they will tell what God has brought about, and ponder what he has done. Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him. Let all the upright in heart glory.

Background
Psalm 64 is an individual lament and complaint. Destructive speech is used to threaten the psalmist. The threat is urgent. The wicked use words as weapons. The image of a bow and arrow battle is interesting as the wicked shoot their arrows, God will shoot back. The wicked trust their own plans while the psalmist trusts in God. The psalmist’s complaint becomes an invitation to others to rejoice in God. Trust in God allows the psalmist to experience God’s protection and to rejoice amid threats.

Reflection
The image of bows and arrows may make it difficult to translate to our time. However, we are always living with anxiety and perplexity about the nature of society. So, how do you bring your faith in God to dealing with our contemporary social situations?

We seldom make accountability to God and others a major focus in our deliberations, either individually nor corporately. How can we bring a God-focus more into our decisions?

The psalm paints a picture of God’s retaliatory judgement. How does this fit into your understand of God, and justice?

Psalm 146
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

Background
Psalm 146 is the first in a series of praise psalms. (Psalms 146-150). The series closes the book of Psalms with praise. The central theme of Psalm 146 is to trust God, not human rulers because the plans of human rulers perish upon their death. The antithesis of praising God is to trust in oneself or human agencies which the psalmist warns against. Throughout the psalms, wickedness is generally associated with trusting something other than God which results in destructive behavior. Happiness is also a matter of trust. “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob.” (v 5) The psalmist lifts up God who works for justice, not simply in the abstract but in provision for human needs, liberation from oppression and empowerment.

Reflection
Psalm 146 picks up on the term ‘happy’ which we find in the very first psalm. Happy are those who live completely oriented toward God. Reflect upon your ‘happiness’ within your relationship to God.

Psalm 146 is an urgent call to praise God. It’s a call to life, to live is to praise God. Such a call may seem overwhelming. Think about what this call to praise means for you.

The psalmist (vv 3 -4) reminds us of our mortality. “Do not put our trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth, on that very day their plans perish.” The underlying theme is the eternal nature of God in whom we should trust. How, then, do you react to this call to trust God, and reminder that we are only dust?
Saturday

Psalm 66
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.” Selah

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him, who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah

Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

Background
Psalm 66 begins by bidding all the earth to praise God. This is a communal song of thanksgiving. Humans worship God because of who God is, which is revealed by what God does. The psalmist describes God’s activity as ‘awesome’. (v 3) “All the earth worships you;...” (V 4) God’s ultimate purpose, beyond the liberation of Israel, is for the sake of all creation. God has ‘tested’ (v 10) the people, but in the end, God has ‘listened’ (v 19) and kept the psalmist in God’s ‘steadfast love.’ (20)

Reflection
This psalm has popular use for Easter, often referred to as the psalm of resurrection. The psalmist proclaims God is constantly bringing new life out of death. Have you experienced ‘new life’ in God (Through Christ)? More than once?

The psalmist participates as an individual in exodus salvation of the people of Israel. The argument moves from what God has done for all God’s people, to what God has and will do for individuals. Looking at our faith history, both Old and New Testament, and events since the scriptures, how have historical saving events formed your faith?

The psalmist calls on us to pray to God, “How awesome are your deeds!” (V 3) Think about the times we praise God, compared to the times we complain or seek a change in our life’s circumstances. Can we say we praise God’s saving grace enough?

Psalm 68
Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—his name is the Lord— be exultant before him.

Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.

O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

The Lord gives the command; great is the company of those who bore the tidings: “The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil, though they stay among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with green gold. When the Almighty scattered kings there, snow fell on Zalmon.

O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, where the Lord will reside forever?

With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. You ascended the high mount, leading captives in your train and receiving gifts from people, even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah
Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

But God will shatter the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways. The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, so that you may bathe your feet in blood, so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.”

Your solemn processions are seen, O God, the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary— the singers in front, the musicians last, between them girls playing tambourines: “Bless God in the great congregation, the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!” There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in a body, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

Summon your might, O God; show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before. Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings bear gifts to you. Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample under foot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war. Let bronze be brought from Egypt; let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, Selah
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel; and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Background
Psalm 68 is the most difficult of all the psalms to interpret. The unity of the psalm lies in v 4 and then vv 32-33, singing praises to God. The righteous praise God but also pray for help. This psalm is another reminder that the righteous means living in dependence upon God. God has done everything necessary for the welfare of the people. God’s reign does not go unopposed. God’s sovereignty is revealed not in sheer force but in the power of compassion.

Reflection
The reign of God is never fully manifested; it is always opposed, and God’s weapon is love. It’s a message consistent with the Christian Gospel. Contemporary Christians would approach the issue of the warring God differently than the contemporaries to the psalmist. How do you understand the sovereignty of God vs. God’s constant battle with evil?

While the underlying message of Psalm 68 is total dependence on God, God gives power and strength to God’s people. (V 35) In the fight against our ‘broken world’, do you envision it as a partnership with God?

When the United Methodist Hymnal was being developed in 1988 there was considerable controversy over whether to include the hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers.” The psalmist has no qualms about using military imagery to understand God’s activity against the enemies. Do these images speak to you?

Psalm 116
I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I kept my faith, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; I said in my consternation, “Everyone is a liar.”

What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

Background
Psalm 116 is a psalm of thanksgiving. A prayer for help from the psalmist has been answered. Now the psalmist can look back and celebrate God’s goodness and deliverance and make a public response. The psalmist’s love of God has grown out of the realization that God saved his or her life. Motivated by compassion, God sets things right for ‘the simple’ (v 6). In good times, as well as in bad, the psalmist calls upon the name of the Lord. It ends with the public proclamation.

Reflection
Loving God is manifest in witness to God’s character, gratitude and service. How have you shown love of God in your life, and what changes should you make to be more loving of God and neighbor?

The psalmist had experienced a life changing... life giving... experience and claims that it was God who saved. It was life changing because now the psalmist is committed to loving God and proclaiming that love. Reflect on your life for times you were desperate, even close to death. What were you asking from God? What were you thinking about God? How did this act of ‘new life’ change your life and your relationship to God?

The psalmist determined that one way to repay God for this saving act was to “lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” (V 13) What this means is that the psalmist committed to sharing this gracious act of God with the congregation/world. If you have experienced such a life giving act of God, have you shared it? Should you?