Bible Reading: Psalm 131(132)14-18

While thinking about the suffering of Haiti and preparing for a Bible commentary, I opened to this passage.

"Sion will be my resting place forever; in her will I dwell, for I prefer her. I will bless her with abundant provision, her poor I will fill with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her faithful ones shall shout merrily for joy. In her will I make a horn to spout forth for David; I will place a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon him my crown shall shine."


These are actual words spoken by God to King David, the pact where God promises that King David's descendants will always rule in Sion. You need to understand that God is always speaking of the present time and also the future, so there is the "here and now" meaning to King David and the Israelites, but also the "here and now" for their spiritual heirs and descendants. Thus Christians, such as those in Haiti, who are suffering today from the woes of the world can take some comfort in knowing that The Almighty God will never leave them, so long as they do not leave Him. Sion is now the spiritual Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, which since Jesus Christ is no longer a physical place but the place of global faith in God.

Rather than turning their back on God, I see the Haitians seeing Him with even greater clarity since the earthquake tragedy. Those who honor the pact with God, sworn by King David, will find that God never leaves them.

In the Bible the horn often symbolizes power and authority, as the King and the priests use it to make the great sound. But it also represents the cornucopia, the outflowing of abundance and goodness. The horn that spouts forth for David is not of noise but of the arrival of Jesus Christ. The more that one puts one's faith in God and in Jesus Christ alone, the more that the goodness that only Christ can bring will flow forth from that horn.

Worldly well being ultimately depends on human rationality, righteousness, charity and neighbor-first priorities... all of which are very much needed in the chaos that has delayed for an unacceptable amount of time the delivery of goods and assistance in rescuing to the Haitians. The more that everyone embraces the pact, so that not only those who suffer turn their faces to Jesus Christ in hope and solace, but also those who are empowered with worldly means to help them, the more that the horn with overflow with what is needed to live, but also with eternal life and righteousness. Honoring the pact with God is the job of not just those who suffer, but also those who do have what they need, and more. I hope that Haiti softens and converts the hard and arrogant hearts of many bureaucrats, aristocrats, politicians, and professional "do-gooders," such as NGO's.

When one does not turn one's own hands and feet over to Jesus Christ on an ongoing day to day basis, one stumbles over one's own bureaucratic and selfish thinking (even when "doing good") when disaster strikes. That is because one is not truly prepared to drop everything and let Jesus be Lord. How can one find a way around shipping and airport obstacles, and fallen concrete, on the first day, if one does not have hands already open in anticipation of the need?

I hope this helps.

More about John 12:34

Another scripture source from which the Jews who questioned Jesus misunderstood-but in mostly good faith-what the Messiah would be like is the entire Psalm 110. I leave that for you to read on your own because now you can understand the difference between the description of a human ever living Messiah, as they imagined, and the actual Messiah that God promised who, "Like Melchizedek you are a priest forever." Jesus is the eternal priest and also judge, but in heaven "Who, robed in splendor, judges nations, crushes heads across the wide earth" (Psalm 110:4, 6). From this most of the Jews imagined an actual forever living human being dressed as an awesome king and dispensing justice with God's authority. They were tempted into this imagining by being too tied down by the reality of Roman invasion and rule. Thus they mixed yearning to be free from Rome with then limiting what God's Messiah would be like and would do since they of course imagined his first job would be to defeat the Romans through God's "princely power."

This is again the temptation of the Jews to believe a human forever living Messiah based on Isaiah 9:1-6. Before we discuss it let me explain again why their disbelief is a response to temptation.

Temptation can be understood as not only being urged to do something sinful, wrong and unjust, but to either disbelieve in God or to "cut him down to size." When humans have problems, BIG problems, such as wars, oppression or occupation, they become very subject to temptation to think of God's words as applying narrowly to their current circumstances. They forget that God is on a scale far vaster than they can imagine, and easily sees and prophesies down all the generations of humanity. So it is a temptation to puff up the importance of the calamity that humans are in within one or two generations and assume-or even distort or force-scripture applies to exactly that time, rather than to the ultimate reign of God's Kingdom through all time and circumstances. Thus the Jews were particularly tempted to cut down and minimize the scope of what they imagined the scriptures to be because it resonated with their own daily hopes and wishes. So now read Isaiah 9:1-6, which does indeed describe the Christ, who would be Jesus, but through temptation the Jews came to believe he would be the defeater of the Romans in their time. Notice how the scripture opens with the statement about the light that you read my commentary about, where Jesus very clearly identifies himself. The Jews of the time totally missed that connection because of their blinders due to temptation to look for the Roman defeating human king.

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing.
As they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as men make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
And the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor,
God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
From David's throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this! (Isaiah 9:1-6)

See, if someone is thinking of God's greater plan, which is to bring knowledge of him to not only the Jews but the gentiles, to bring his peace upon the world, and to prepare people for receipt of grace after remission of their sins of unbelief and idolatry, that person can read this passage and have a broader vision of what the Messiah will truly be like. When, however, people are suffering under a specific crisis or oppression, as the Jews were with the Romans, they were too easily tempted to believe that the Messiah would be an earthly king who would kick the Romans out of occupied Palestine/Israel of the day.

Because of the military imagery they also totally missed that the Messiah would be "NOT military." Read that carefully and you will see what I mean. They were tempted into thinking, erroneously, as you carefully read what it says, that "forever peaceful" comes after a great blood letting by the Messiah. That is a total misread that was in their minds during the time of Jesus for three reasons 1) the military imagery made them think that the Messiah would start with military action 2) the rest of chapter 9 discusses specific military campaigns, and so they taint what is in 9:1-6 as also being of a military campaign, kind of the aftermath of bloody battles and 3) they do not understand that the "child is born to us" is one who smashes, rather than imposes, "the yoke," "the pole" and "the rod" on humans. Notice that Jesus explains that his yoke is light, his burden sweet, and there is no mention of the rod with which he will rule (it is only observed in the Final Judgement by the Apostle John who witnesses Jesus in the Book of Revelation during the Apocalypse). In fact, read how Isaiah 11 follows the same tempo where the beginning is clearly about military imagery BUT of the Messiah's bringing of grace, not swordplay.

See, someone reading Isaiah 9 would understand the two different tempos of the prophecy. The first part, Isaiah 9:1-6, is the "someday this will happen" future looking tempo. But then with Isaiah 9:7 you have a brisk "here and now" tempo shift, which is why it opens with "The Lord has sent word against Jacob, it falls upon Israel" (Isaiah 9:7). So God comforts the people with the promise of Isaiah 9:1-6 before lowering the boom on them in the rest of Isaiah 9 that they are going to be punished for their sins (and this description of soon to come righteous wrath continues through Isaiah 10 before the Messiah is prophesied again in Isaiah 11). But remember, people didn't have copies of scripture outside of the temple or the places of scholars AND just as today, people spoke in slogans and sound bytes. So when Jesus actually arrives, the promised Messiah, the people totally missed the checklist of fulfillment of prophecy that Jesus actually delivered.

I hope you have found this helpful and some useful material for further contemplation.


Isaiah 11:9
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
as water covers the sea.

Bible reading and commentary: John 12:34

One of the reasons that the Jews did not recognize that Jesus was the Messiah can be easily understood looking at this passage. A crowd of people had gathered around Jesus, asking him questions and listening to what he taught and replied. Here is the passage to look at:

So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" (John 12:34).

When the Jews say, "the law," they mean what is written in the Torah, in their scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament. So they have the impression from some scripture that the Messiah will live forever, remaining with the people until the end of time. Where have they seen this written? Look to Psalm 89:4-5.

"I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will make your dynasty stand forever and establish your throne through all the ages" (Psalm 89:4-5).

This is one of the places in scripture where the Jews have the impression that the Messiah will be a man, a descendant of David, who will be just like David (a king with the throne of the Israelites), who will "stand forever." So you can understand that with these words of prophecy from God most Jews thought that another David, but this time one who rules on earth forever, was to be the Messiah. Thus they are confused and dismayed when Jesus says that he, the Son of Man, would have his time of death, and then resurrection into heaven. When Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, he is reminding people that he is indeed in a human form, that he is not just occupying a body, or an illusion of being one of mankind. The crowd gets that, but then figure that the Son of Man must be a different person than the expected Messiah.

This is one reason why the Jews did not recognize Jesus. They developed a certain mental image based on scripture (and done so in good faith), but then did not have sufficient trust of God that he can and will work marvels and deliver the Messiah in ways they cannot imagine, visualize, or comprehend.

Jesus tries to explain to them how this is by comparing himself to the light (not "a" light, but the light of God).

Jesus said to them, "The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light" (John 13:35-36).

Now, Jesus is not trying to confuse them or be obscure. He is with a few sentences giving them a lot to think about, knowing that there is not much time left for him, as he says this shortly before the Last Supper. So Jesus is leaving those in the crowd with a few powerful images to refute the stereotype expectations they had of what the Messiah would be like, and then left them to think about it. Some would have understood his words, looking back on them just a matter of days later when Jesus' death and resurrection unfolded. Others would never have understood.

What Jesus was saying is that yes, as Son of Man, he is there as a real human being, a member of the human race, but that as Son of God, he is also of God's light, and that light is of course eternal. Jesus is thus saying he is not at all in contradiction of the scripture, just, actually "above and beyond," so to speak, their expectations. They expected a Messiah who would be completely a human man, but one who would live and rule forever, and bring their faith to the entire world. Jesus is exactly that, but not one who is going to do so as a man living forever among humans.

You may wonder why God did not "opt" to, in fact, have Jesus do just that: to live as a human among humans forever. The answer is simple. The Messiah is needed to draw humans closer to God, not to provide a living intermediary that would, in fact, be an additional "layer" between God and humans. Jesus brought the face of God to humans but the intention is that humans have the New Covenant with God which brings them closer to God, an upward reaching toward God, rather than God sending a governor, for lack of a better world, to "rule," while God is more distant, rather than closer. This is why Jesus often explained that the Kingdom of God is at hand. By "at hand" Jesus meant both "now" but also "within reach." The Messiah makes God more, not less, accessible to humans.

The Jews, in all fairness, could not have easily imagined that this is what God planned. They would have needed a lot of faith to understand that God would fulfill the scriptures in a way that they simply had not expected. Like the square peg in the round hole, the Jews who disbelieved were continuing to walk around with their square or their circular image of the Messiah, and when they did not see a match they would move on looking for the next "Messiah candidate" (and there were plenty, though not a single one performed the miracles that were Jesus' alone as only he had God's authority).

So Jesus is explaining to them that yes, he is the descendant of David, and yes, he has the throne, from God, but that the "forever" of it is when Jesus returns to God in the light of his eternity, not as his bodily Son of Man form. Jesus is explaining that the light of God is there with them, for a short time, while Jesus lives and walks among them. While the light will go back to God, those who believe in Jesus and follow him completely will therefore still benefit from the light, even though the light has gone back to God, because they are now become "children of the light." Jesus as the light of God that God has sent does indeed return to heaven, and the light itself does not stay on earth, nor can any human claim to have it, but instead, those who believe and heed what Jesus taught about God's expectations, God's Kingdom and the New Covenant are "children of the light" and therefore know the way and are not in darkness. It's like when you have memorized your way through the rooms of your home and can walk through them even in the dark, just to use a broad analogy. You "know the way" even though you don't have the light on. The children of Jesus "know the way" even though the actual light of Jesus has returned to heaven, and thus the children of Jesus do not walk in darkness, as do those who never believed in the light that he is and brought. Thus even when the light has returned to God those who believe in Jesus retain the knowledge of how to find God and the way just as if the light were still there, even though it is not.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Watching rocking Psalm reading

While preparing to blog some more I saw on the TV the rocking version of Psalms 102(103) during the Papal mass in Czechoslovakia. LOVED IT!

Latin for musicians :-)

Came across the Latin for these passages about music from one of the Psalms.

Praise Him with sound of trumpets: praise Him with psaltery and harp.
Laudate eum clangore tubae, laudate eum psalterio et cithara.

Praise Him with timbrel and choir: praise Him with strings and organs.
Laudate eum tympano et choro, laudate eum chordis et organo.

Praise Him on high sounding cymbals: praise Him on cymbals of joy.
Laudate eum cymbalis sonoris, laudate eum cymbalis crepitantibus.

Those of you who know English, French, Spanish or Italian can all easily recognize in these phrases as examples of their origins (or in the case of English, heavy extraction from) the "mother language," so to speak, of Latin.

For example, to laud, or laudatory meaning to praise is an English word, so "laudate" is easily recognizable. Many of the musical terms are very close to the English, since English drew upon Latin (and Greek) for the creation of new words as vocabulary and things needing to be named or concepts to be expressed increased in number. The grammar of Latin is difficult to learn, but building vocabulary in Latin is remarkably easy, for that reason.

How to get out of deep trouble

Many people have, in their personal lives, their work, or in their "beliefs," have gotten themselves into a lot of trouble, and wonder how to extricate themselves. They also worry about their children, particularly to protect them from making the same mistakes or, as is also true in many cases, how to help extricate the children from the same mistakes the adults had made.

One can receive no better advice for this problem than consulting the first Psalm. Here it is and I will comment on specifics.

Psalm 1

1 Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent,
2 but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade. [Whatever he does prospers.]
4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore in judgment the wicked shall not stand, nor shall sinners, in the assembly of the just.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.

This is one of my favorites psalms, even though it is not full of beautiful song and imagery, even though it is only six lines long, and even though it seems obvious on the surface. It is one of my favorite psalms because I can point to it to advise people who are in serious messes how to get themselves out, in a very practical step by step way. You can also think of this psalm as being like an abstract, a summary of what is in the rest of the psalms. It is also like a prescription for an ailment.

If you and/or your children are enmeshed in a bad situation, here is how to follow the "prescription" of Psalm 1, step by step.

1. "Follow not the counsel of the wicked"- no longer take the advice of the troublemakers and that includes stopping both conversations and also your reading of their writings.
2. "Nor walk in the way of sinners"- no longer emulate any part of the behavior of those who you had been either associating with or looking up toward.
3. "Nor sit(s) in the company of the insolent"-no longer hang around with not only the troublemakers listed above, but also anyone who has a sneering, irreverent attitude toward ANYTHING, since insolence is contagious and a barrier to further development and understanding.
4. "Delight in the law of the Lord"-this means to start to understand how God's unmeasurable love for each human being is the source of all of his instruction, even the "don'ts" that people do not easily understand. So read scripture and other (authentic) religious writings and practice understanding that the source of all the "law" of God is founded in his love for each person.
5. "Meditate on his law day and night"-This does not mean give up your job or your activities and just sit around thinking about God. It means that your awareness of God and his sayings and instructions should be like a constant companion who is valued, not something brought out of the closet only once a week during worship service.
6. "He is like a tree planted near running water"-Recognize that if you are to be a good tree, you need to be near constantly running, new refreshed water. Thus "plant" yourself where you can receive this type of constant encouragement in goodness and renewal. This may mean transferring from a low morals school to one of higher spiritual goodness, for example, as a practical step. This could mean changing jobs or co-workers, so that you are surrounded by those who constantly refresh with positive attitude toward each other and life, and not the negative. New friends who bring constant refreshed goodness into even the small parts of life (like shopping, sports activities, etc) should be cultivated and surround yourself with them, rather than those who recycle the same stale water of depressiveness and negativity.
7. "The wicked...are like chaff which the wind drives away"-To explain the image, when one harvests wheat for making bread, the outer layer must be removed from the grain, and this paper thin coating is called the chaff. Wind (from hand held fans) is one way that people in Bible times separated the heavy good grain on the ground from the light chaff which blows away and is discarded. So goodness is "heavy weight" while the wicked are "light weight," even though it may not seem that way because of the power of the assets and persuasiveness of the wicked. Thus this advice means to start withdrawing any assets you have invested in the wicked, whether it be actual assets (money and time) or virtual assets (the attention that you pay to them and their messages). When you withdraw your money, your time and your attention from supporting the wicked, you move your assets to the good and "lighten" the wicked, so they can be blown away, by removing their base of operation. So do not donate your money or time to "causes" that the wicked advocate (even those that are supposed or even legitimate charities) because your good intended donations keep the wicked weighed down in place. As you pull away you and your children's involvement with even "good" activities that the wicked pursue, you will start to lighten the anchor of the wicked, and they will more easily topple when it is their time.
8. "The Lord watches over the way of the just"-You must remember EVERY DAY and also teach your children that God knows absolutely everything you have ever thought, to say nothing of what you have actually done, whether in secret or open, whether openly aggressive or passively aggressive: God knows ALL of it, even before you do it. It is important that your children and YOU understand that, because that will give you the knowledge and strength to pull away from wickedness NOW and not "later." God's knowledge is not delayed.
9. "But the way of the wicked vanishes"-When support for wickedness is withdrawn, it vanishes. Think of all the evil people who have existed in history whose names don't even exist in history books, etc. Life is good and forward looking, and if left alone, wickedness dries up on the vine, blows away, and vanishes for good. HOWEVER, humans have a temptation, which is to do "research" and record the deeds of the wicked (and write "suspense" fiction novels about wicked people, both real and fictional) which hinders the natural drying up and disappearing of evil. You must wean yourself and your children away from documentation, either fictional or non fiction, of wickedness. Stop producing such works and stop consuming them.

Now, more about point 9. I'm not an old party pooper who is trying to censor. I enjoy a good murder mystery novel, such as by Agatha Christie, as much as anyone. But it is the dosage that is the problem. Normal human beings living during normal times are not supposed to be immersed in the constant awareness, study and entertainment that are created based on wickedness! It's like the debate about TV. In a normal life, unless there is war, most humans never saw except maybe once in their life the criminal killing of a human. Yet within a few years after TV was developed children have seen dozens of killings, both real and imagined, a DAY on TV. It is a matter of dosage, whether in reality or entertainment.

Understand that humans have short memories for a reason: that is part of God's plan to allow wickedness to dry up on the vine and blow away in the wind. People hinder their own health and God's plan when they chase the evil "chaff" in the wind, capture it, put it on film or laminate it, so that people can be "entertained" or "never forget" or "learn about history." You must wean your children-and your selves-away from contemplation of the works, either fictional or real, of wickedness, so that in the natural cycle of things they dry up and vanish. Water yourselves with the constant flow of goodness (or at least reality based normalcy!) Do not chase after or feed the works of the wicked, and let them vanish as their support does. Do not succumb to the hubris and temptation (like Saruman in the "Lord of the Rings") of "studying" or, worse, as people do today, are "entertained" by rehashing and recycling wicked deeds in the past, the present news, and certainly not the flood of "entertainment." It is like judicious salt, once in a while, sure, read such a book or produce such a movie, but in the way it is now, the wheat is trampled underfoot while the chaff is glorified, put on digital or other media, and floods the lungs and the air of everyone who is trying to follow the way of good, but is saturated by echoes of wickedness.

I hope that this helps! It will if you just do it!

Bible Reading: Psalms 50(51):12

The numbering of the psalms and the verses differs from one Bible to the next and I don't make it easier by using only one Bible, ha. That is why I always type the text in here on the blog rather than just cite a passage and have you look it up, since often the numbering or the translation varies.

This one line from David's famous psalm of repentance is an example of how people can take one line from the Bible and use it as a prayer to God. Those of you who are going through some sort of personal reformation might find this one line to be a very helpful prayer to God as you make progress in your inner work.

Psalm 50 (51): 12

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

Bible Reading: Psalms 52:7

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings.

Announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
"Your God is King!"

Bible Reading: Psalms 42:9

At dawn may the Lord bestow faithful love
that I may sing praise through the night,
praise to the God of my life.

Bible Reading: Psalms 114 (116A)

I love the Lord because he has heard my voice in supplication, because he has inclined his ear to me the day I called. The cords of death encompassed me; the snares of the nether world seized upon me; I fell into distress and sorrow, and I called upon the name of the Lord, "O Lord, save my life!"

Gracious is the Lord and just; yes, our God is merciful. The Lord keeps the little ones; I was brought low, and he saved me.

Return, O my soul, to your tranquility, for the Lord has been good to you. For he has freed my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living.

Bible Reading: Psalms 118:161-168

Princes persecute me without cause but my heart stands in awe of your word. I rejoice at your promise, as one who has found rich spoil. Falsehood I hate and abhor; your law I love. Seven times a day I praise you for your just ordinances. Those who love your law have great peace, and for them there is no stumbling block. I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and your commands I fulfill. I keep your decrees and love them deeply. I keep your precepts and your decrees, for all my ways are before you.

A favorite Psalm

Psalm 18

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge;
nor a word nor a discourse whose voice is not is not heard;
through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message.

He has pitched a tent there for the sun, which comes forth like the groom from his bridal chamber and, like a giant, joyfully runs its course. At one end of the heavens it comes forth, and its course is to their other end; nothing escapes its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are all true, all of them just; they are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb.

Though your servant is careful of them, very diligent in keeping them, yet who can detect failings? Cleanse me from unknown faults! From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me. Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin. Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.


(For the leader. A psalm of David.)

Bible Reading and Commentary: Psalm 55:9

Psalm 55: 9

My wanderings you have counted; my tears are stored in your flask; are they not recorded in your book?

***
This is a psalm directed to God by someone who is in great need, enduring much suffering and persecution. I wanted to point out to you this one line, which shows the psalmist's great insight into God.

The psalmist knows that God is aware of the precise amount of his suffering, and he describes it with the beautiful image of God storing every tear that the sufferer has shed in his "flask." Thus, like water in the desert, or like a precious beverage, each tear is known to God and kept by him. This does not mean that God enjoys the suffering, far from it. The psalmist means that God is all knowing, and does not consider even a few tears to be a trivial thing for anyone to suffer. God considers each tear that every human sheds in suffering to be something that must be accounted for.

And this is why the second part of the imagery is when the psalmist wonders if the number of his tears, while in the flask, has not achieved yet God's book. This means the psalmist wonders when God will act, for the imagery of the tears being "recorded in the book" connotes that God will act to redeem the sufferer from his circumstances, and afflict and smite those who have caused him to suffer.

So this one line beautifully describes how God is aware of every tear of a person's suffering, and does not neglect or dismiss human suffering at all. Rather, there will be the time those tears are recorded in God's book, which you can think of as the time when he takes action.

Bible Reading: Psalms 119:97-104

How I love your teaching, Lord!
I study it all day long.
Your command makes me wiser than my foes,
for it is always with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
because I ponder your decrees.
I have more insight than my elders,
because I observe your precepts.
I keep my steps from every evil path,
that I may obey your word.
From your edicts I do not turn,
for you have taught them to me.
How sweet to my tongue is your promise,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I gain insight;
therefore I hate all false ways.

***
This section called "Mem" (for the psalm is divided into sections according to the ancient Hebrew letters of the alphabet) describes the wisdom and joy that are both received by those who love the Lord God's teaching.

The devout of all three Abrahamic faiths demonstrate this love of God's teaching in their own ways. Orthodox Jews show continual tremendous devotion and love of the word of God on a daily basis. The word of God is the treasure of the sanctuary in all synagogues in the form of the Torah scroll, whether reform, conservative or orthodox.

Christians also demonstrate great love for Bible reading. While Catholics tend to read the Bible less than some other Christians, the daily Mass is comprised of three readings from the Bible, as was the Apostolic tradition. Remember, dear Christians, the first followers of Jesus had no "bible" to read and study, as books and writing for the common people simply did not exist. The Catholic Church developed following the actions of Jesus Christ, first priest, and the Apostles so that the Gospel could be preached and the Kingdom of Heaven understood by those who could not read and write, which was virtually everybody. It is an unfair swipe at the Catholic Church to therefore claim that the church "controls" Bible reading by "only" doing so during Mass. Mass is two thousand years old and for one thousand five hundred years of the Christianity there was no printing press, no Bibles for the common people at all. I've explained this in other postings here that the stained glass images in churches and the structure of the liturgy of the Mass was developed to be totally inclusive not "exclusive." The most poor and illiterate peasant could enter the grandest church and belong there, be welcome in God's home, learn the Bible stories and Gospel by looking at the stained glass, and for those who attended Mass daily, listened to, as a result, at least twenty-one readings from the Bible.

Having said that, I believe Catholics must read the Bible more, which is why I emphasize it so much in this blog. The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI agrees, and next week he will start the televised reading of the entire Bible as he is the first of the series of readers to each read a section. So on October 5 he will start with the beginning, Genesis.

This brings me to mention my Muslim brothers and sisters who even continue the tradition of memorizing parts of or the entire Qur'an, even by very young children! This is a precious gift, devotion and tradition and I enjoy reading about children who are sponsored to be able to spend time doing what they love, which is learning each word of God in the Qur'an.

Bible Reading: Psalm 127

Unless the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the Lord guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
It is vain for you to rise early
and put off your rest at night,
To eat bread earned by hard toil-
all this God gives to his beloved in sleep.

Children too are a gift from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb, a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children born in one's youth.
Blessed are they whose quivers are full.
They will never be shamed
contending with foes at the gate.

Bible Reading: Psalm 8, for the leader

A psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
You have set your majesty above the heavens!

Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have drawn a defense against your foes,
to silence enemy and avenger.

When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place-

What are humans that you are mindful of them,
mere mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them little less than a god,
crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them rule over the works of your hands,
put things at their feet:

All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!

Bible Reading: Psalms 57:7

They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves! ...Selah


***
A psalm written by King David. This psalm (plus several others) is actually annotated with the name of the melody that accompanying musicians were to use for this psalm, which was "Do not destroy." Interesting to imagine what that melody might have sounded like.

By the way, one thing I am soooooo tired of are these evil fruitcake "New Agers" and "spiritual" people who constantly talk about "karma" and "what goes around comes around" as if that is something that is "of the universe" and not of God.

This excerpt from sacred scriptures indicates quite clearly that the concept is original to God, not to flaky spiritualists. Those who dig a pit for the innocent are likely to fall into it themselves ("what goes around comes around") except that this is of God's will, if it takes place, because only God knows the entire picture of when to allow those to fall into their own traps, and when to extend one more time mercy to allow for repentance, remediation and conversion. The idea of "karma" is like a machine and is soul less, and therefore totally in error. By understanding that "what goes around comes around" is ultimately in an all-knowing God's hands, one realizes and should be humbled that when such "comeuppance" is not delivered then God in his wisdom is allowing for the work of spirit and mercy to take place. The pseudo-ancient but definitely modern "karma new age" view of this is machine-like and not acknowledging that God extends many chances for those who may deserve chastisement to avoid it so that they can feel his wisdom and mercy and repent.

Bible Reading: Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord's and all it holds,
the world and those who live there.
For God founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.

Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?
Who can stand in the holy place?
"The clean of hand and the pure of heart,
who are not devoted to idols,
who have not sworn falsely.
They will receive blessings from the Lord,
and justice from their saving God.
Such are the people that love the Lord,
that seek the face of the God of Jacob." Selah

Lift up your heads, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.
Who is this king of glory?
The Lord, a mighty warrior,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.
Who is this king of glory?
The Lord of hosts is the king of glory.

Selah

Another example of St Paul and Bible reference

1 Corinthians 15:31

Every day I face death; I swear it by the pride in you [brothers] that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here Paul is declaring his pride in both individually and in community with the faithful that he faces death every day for the sake of Jesus Christ. Paul means this both literally (the danger of martyrdom) and symbolically, for death no longer has fear for those who follow the one who conquered death, Jesus Christ.

We have no way of knowing if Paul was actually thinking of this passage in Psalms when he wrote the above passage in Corinthians, but here you see that King David had a very similar thought and feeling. The footnote points the reader to Psalm 44:23.

Psalm 44:23

For you [God] we are slain all the day long, considered only as sheep to be slaughtered.

King David is here, as he always did, referring like Paul to both physical danger but also the symbolic role of the faithful as sheep to experience the slaughter for God at the ends of their lives, and also the day to day surrendering of their clinging to life. So while David wrote this psalm during a time of trouble, he did not mean that literally the faithful were being killed in battle or something all day. Like Paul or, rather, centuries before Paul, David articulated the embracing of constant exposure to the danger of death in the glory of trust in God.

So here, whether St. Paul was actually drawing upon his memory of this psalm in his writing or not, you can see the identical inspired mindset separated by centuries between David and Paul. This gives you a better understanding of the continuity of inspirational thought and the shared metaphor for both of these holy men's comprehension of the new definition of death for the faithful who trust in God, as David personally avows, and in Jesus Christ, as Paul avows and exhorts others.

Example of St. Paul quoting from Psalms

I've written before how if one is diligent and follows footnotes one can see how Jesus and the Apostles quote from scripture. I looked for a really easy and obvious example by St. Paul to show you and here it is.

1 Corinthians 15:23-26

But each one in proper order: Christ the first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Paul took line 25, bold in italics, from Psalm 110:1, which was a very well known passage.

Psalms 110:1

The Lord says to you, my lord: "Take your throne at my right hand, while I make your enemies your footstool."

Even though this is a simple and obvious example, there is a wealth of insight to obtain from it. The psalm is one of King David's, and it refers to both how David was appointed by God to be both King and priest, having victory over his enemies, and also to the Messiah, because "The Lord" refers to God and "my lord" refers to someone greater than King David. So with his prophetic gift from God King David sang his praise of God about his gift of authority to David but also frames it as being just a foreshadowing of what would be greater to come, which is the Messiah triumphing over all.

The expression of making enemies "one's footstool" comes from the pagan practice of victorious kings putting their feet on the prostate bodies of their enemies. So it is an expression, much like slang today, that was very well understood for hundreds of years, from the time of David to the time of St. Paul's writing. (Oh no! Quick, tell the atheists! Here is another example of where "the Bible copies from the pagans!")

St. Paul's divinely inspired brilliance allowed him to make the linkage between King David's psalm and the ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ over all "enemies," which are not the literal enemies that David faced, but the greatest enemy of humanity, which is sin and death. Thus St. Paul envisions at the end of times Jesus Christ placing his feet upon death itself, in triumph over it on behalf of all the faithful.