Psalm 69
We looked at this Psalm, another of David's, a song to the tune of "lilies", last night in my small group from Church.
The Psalm begins with David out of his depth in trouble, sunk in the mire and about to be flooded, worn out asking for help and tired of looking for God.
He is surrounded by people who hate him numbering "more than the hairs of my head" (In my case the hairs on my head are what might be termed well spaced) and David is forced to give back things he did not take in the first place.
I'm not sure where David was when he wrote this Psalm, but I guess it is not a particularly happy place!
David is sure that God knows his folly and his guilt is not hidden in verse 5 - David is described as a man devoted to God, yet he knows that he is not perfect.
In the church recently there has been a lot of scandal about child abuse and other things, David is aware of similar problems and asks God in verse 6
"May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; ...may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me"
In recent weeks the international media has been in a tizzy over the destruction of priceless treasures by ISIS/Islamic state who believe that they are pagan and blasphemous (a crime also aimed at Christians if I may say that several hundred years of Christian occupation of these areas before the birth of Islam did not destroy these areas - obviously we are not that good at wiping out alternative views as they are around to be destroyed today!)
If you admire God and Jesus, please don't be put off by the fallible people who try and follow him!
I'm going to jump to the end of the Psalm now and note a couple of things - Verse 29 David is in pain, and afflicted, praying for God's salvation to protect him.
Yet in spite of this David makes a concious decision, in spite of his current condition rather than because of his condition "I will praise God's name in song, and glorify him with thanksgiving"
One of my favourite poems is IF by Rudyard Kipling "If you can force you heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them "Hold on!"
I think that praise and worship of God is honoured by him from this kind of position - praising God through gritted teeth as it were.
We looked at this Psalm, another of David's, a song to the tune of "lilies", last night in my small group from Church.
The Psalm begins with David out of his depth in trouble, sunk in the mire and about to be flooded, worn out asking for help and tired of looking for God.
He is surrounded by people who hate him numbering "more than the hairs of my head" (In my case the hairs on my head are what might be termed well spaced) and David is forced to give back things he did not take in the first place.
I'm not sure where David was when he wrote this Psalm, but I guess it is not a particularly happy place!
David is sure that God knows his folly and his guilt is not hidden in verse 5 - David is described as a man devoted to God, yet he knows that he is not perfect.
In the church recently there has been a lot of scandal about child abuse and other things, David is aware of similar problems and asks God in verse 6
"May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; ...may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me"
In recent weeks the international media has been in a tizzy over the destruction of priceless treasures by ISIS/Islamic state who believe that they are pagan and blasphemous (a crime also aimed at Christians if I may say that several hundred years of Christian occupation of these areas before the birth of Islam did not destroy these areas - obviously we are not that good at wiping out alternative views as they are around to be destroyed today!)
If you admire God and Jesus, please don't be put off by the fallible people who try and follow him!
I'm going to jump to the end of the Psalm now and note a couple of things - Verse 29 David is in pain, and afflicted, praying for God's salvation to protect him.
Yet in spite of this David makes a concious decision, in spite of his current condition rather than because of his condition "I will praise God's name in song, and glorify him with thanksgiving"
One of my favourite poems is IF by Rudyard Kipling "If you can force you heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them "Hold on!"
I think that praise and worship of God is honoured by him from this kind of position - praising God through gritted teeth as it were.
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