Psalm 79 In the aftermath of catastrophe

Psalm 79

This is a Psalm of Asaph, I'm not sure who he was, but from context it appears to have be written after the fall of Jerusalem.

The Psalm starts with a call for God to observe what has happened, Jerusalem, the city where God has his dwelling on earth, has been defiled, the dead are lying with nobody to bury them, being slowly consumed by birds.

Jerusalem has become an object of scorn and contempt the people abandoned by God.

How long will the anger of God burn against his people? 
How long will it be before God turns his attention to the other nations that do not know or acknowledge him? For they have invaded the land promised of old to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

God is implored to overlook the sins of the past, of previous generations, and come quickly to the aid of the suffering people now for the Glory of his name so that people would not ask "where is their god?"

I don't know that I totally agree with the sentiments of this Psalm - the Psalmist asks God to visit the fate of Jerusalem seven fold on their enemies for the contempt they have shown.

Then Israel will rejoice and praise God forever.

When bad things happen (and trust me, they do), I think it is better to trust God that he knows what he is doing and that he will eventually bring it to an end.

I don't necessarily think that suffering of others is required for us to praise and worship God, even if they are not very nice people.

Certainly justice should be carried out and there is a definitely place for justice, but not for vengeance or gloating.

Psalm 78 Word of mouth

Psalm 78

There is an old joke when an RE teacher asked his class a question "Who destroyed the walls of Jericho?"

Nobody in the class knew the answer. The teacher sent word to the parents, one of whom wrote back "It wasn't our Kevin, I'm sure, but if you can show it was him, I'll make it good."

Word reached the headmaster who contacted the local authorities the nobody knows who destroyed the walls of Jericho - the council sent back to get them repaired and the bill would be settled.

Not a very good joke I know, but many people do not know the stories or message of the Bible.
One of the people who inspired me to write this blog was a guy called David Plotz who had never heard the tale of Dinah and Shechem, which is in Genesis 34.

This Psalm is not too dissimilar, it starts with
"My people, ear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter things, things from of old - 
Things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us."

"We will not hide from them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD."

There are a lot of people who seem to despise the idea of oral tradition, preferring presumably that written tradition that has led to the likes of twitter, facebook and , ironically, this blog!
There is something to be said about telling stories-pretty much the whole movie and TV industry does the same thing!

In the Torah (the law books) the people of Israel are encouraged to think about and chat about the law of God "Talk and discuss these things while travelling - bind them to your wrist and forehead - write them on the posts of your doors - talk about them to your children.

In my humble way I think I am trying to make sense of the story of God and men - and the story of my faith, I'm not married and have no children myself, but I hope that I can tell what I know of God.

Psalm 77 To a silent God

Psalm 77

Sometimes I feel that I am quite close to God, but there are times when God seems a million miles away and that he really either does not care or is particularly angry.

This Psalm appears to be from the distant place.

The Psalmist cries out to God, seeking God in his distress.
He cannot sleep, and thinking about God is difficult, and remembering the good times only leads to the question - has God rejected me forever? Has God forgotten mercy?

In his book "A short history of nearly Everything" By Bill Bryson, he examines existence in the light of scientific understanding and knowledge - In the light of the mere improbability of our existence there is a meaning - this is something that the psalmist kind of echoes - 

He will remember the works of God in making the world. And in the events of the birth of the nation of Israel - the escape from slavery in Egypt.

I find it somehow interesting to consider that, but for either remarkable genealogical co-incidence or the grace of God we can read and write these things on a Google blogging site, rather then taking in a lungful of breath and diving for another mouthful of that delicious plankton!

In the apparent absence of God, sometimes it is as well thinking about the really big picture 

Psalm 75 A close God

Psalm 75

This is a Psalm written by Asaph to the tune of "Do not destroy".

We praise you, God, we praise you for your name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.

There is a telling word in the start of this Psalm - "We".
I've heard hundreds of times over the years that somebody I am talking to "Is a Christian, but doesn't go to church". 
I'll happily admit that I'm in absolutely no position to judge other people and it is possible to be a Christian without going to church just as much as going to church does not mean that you are a Christian.
However there has always been a corporate sense to faith and worship and that the things you don't like about church may be outweighed by the positive things you do get from being a part of a group of believers.

The other thing from this first sentence that struck me is "your name is near" - God is not some distant concept, abstract and hard to understand like some of the particles they are trying to discover in experiments like the Large Hadron Collider.

God is recognised here as the just judge of the earth and that he can tell the arrogant to stop boasting and the wicked not to try their strength against immortal God.
People cannot exalt themselves before God - As I write this the Queens Birthday Honours list has been published, many of the people on the list have been recognised for their work and honoured for their contribution - I don't imagine that any one of them wrote to the Queen suggesting that they deserve an honour, it is not their choice, it is the gift of the Queen.

The judgement of God is described as a cup of spiced wine that the wicked drink down to the dregs. Again, when Jesus was praying just before his arrest and death he prayed "take this cup from me". As a Christian I believe that Jesus drank the cup of God's judgement.

The Psalm ends with a commitment to praise the God of Jacob who destroys the strength of the wicked but gives strength to the righteous.

We are now half way through the Psalms and nearly half way through the Bible.

Psalm 74 O God Why?

Psalm 74

People with faith never need to despair, Right? 
Wrong - totally wrong in fact, faith does not make the questions go away, nor does it always answer them - I think of myself as a person of faith and if you have read much of my blog you will know that I have a shed load of questions, a bucketful of doubts and a whole mountain of things I don't know!

This Psalm is written from the point of a person of faith I think, Asaph, the author I don't know much about - if anybody knows his story please share it.

O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed - Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has bought on the sanctuary.

Verse 9 
We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.

It seems to me that Asaph and this Psalm date from the time that Judah has been finally destroyed. The Bible falls silent for about 400 years.

Verse 12 - 17 talk about the acts of God in the past during creation.

The Psalm ends with a request that God rescues the and not to ignore his enemies.

For me the big thing in this Psalm are the questions and, almost anger to a God who does not appear to care with a vital central section in verse 12 that starts with "But"

But God is my king from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth.

Among the questions there is a rock of certainty that is Immortal - Sometimes we land on the rock with a heck of a thump and sometimes we have nothing else but to cling tight to the rock amid the turmoils of life falling to pieces.

Psalm 73 The Pure in heart

Psalm 73

Surely God is good to Israel , to those who are pure in heart.

This is book 3 of the book of Psalms, and this particular Psalm is one of Asaph.

The psalmist admits to nearly falling- "my hand had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.

The psalm goes on to tell how the arrogant and wicked have things so easy and continues
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

The Psalmist goes on 
When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God then I understood their final destiny 

My flesh and heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

As for me it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign LORD my refuge I will tell of all your deeds.

Note to self - stay close to God and don't worry about those other who have it too easy.

Psalm 72 Long Live the King

Psalm 72

This is a Psalm of King Solomon - there is a rather royalist bent to this particular Psalm.

The prayer is that God would endow the king with his justice and his royal son with righteousness.

The prayer of the king is that the land would bring prosperity to the people, defend the allficted among the people and save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.

May he rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth

For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help, 
He will take pity on the weak and the needy.... 
He will rescue them from oppression and violence for precious is their blood in his sight

This is the kind of ruler that I can respect to be honest - and I think that this psalm does kind of point to Jesus - the descendant of David.

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen

The Psalm ends with a note that this is the last Prayer of David son of Jesse in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 71 Faith that lasts a lifetime

Psalm 71

On what do we base our life foundation? Jesus talked about wise and foolish builders making wise or silly changes on foundations.

If all else goes down, what do I have left? 

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame....
Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go.

God is not only a refuge, and a rock, verse 2 talks about God in his righteousness rescuing and delivering - giving commands to save his cared for one - delivering from the grasp of the evil and cruel.

Personally I first became a Christian (Decided to follow Jesus and ask him to be Lord of my life) when I was aged 9 - it is now 34 years later and I still do my best to follow his teachings and examples. (And all too often doing it very badly!)

The Psalmist has also had faith in God from a young age, having relied on God from his birth and before, and because of this he will praise God.

Have you ever come across the book by Bill Bryson "A short history of nearly everything" which is pretty much a history of science as we know it. 
When I came across the introduction to this book it blew me away - using science he explains how unlikely it is that we are alive using terms like wonder, under-appreciated, and miracle.

I am also lucky enough to have parents and grand parents who are Christian, my grandfather and grandmother are now in their 80s but still follow the God of their youth - verse 9 of the Psalm talks about God not casting the writer away when they are old, and not forsaking when earthly strength fails

The psalmist here has always got hope (I wonder why that word is used not faith?) and will praise God more and more.

Sometimes I struggle to elucidate the things God has done in my life, yet God has been teaching me his ways, and I expect to still be learning and talking about what I have learned for a long time to come.

Verse 20 describes that he has seen his share of bitter troubles, yet God sustains and restores him.

The Psalm finishes with praising God on musical instruments and being so full that shouting for joy is a very real possibility.

I admit that all too often I don't feel like shouting for joy, perhaps I should!