Psalm 124: If the Lord is For Us

Today’s reading is Psalm 124.

How Did WE Get Here?

We’ve followed the pilgrim on his journey one step at a time. One psalm at a time. He began in Meshech and Kedar. More significantly, he began among warmongers. When he was for peace, they were for war. Over the hills he traveled into the city. Even still the taunts of enemies chased him. In Psalm 124, he stopped to consider, “How did I get here?” His answer?

The LORD.

If not for the Lord, the Kedarians and Meshechians, the warmongers who hate peace, would have swallowed him alive. They would have conquered and crushed him. But the Lord was on His side. The Lord was for him.

The Psalms repeatedly express trust in the Lord’s aid.

In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
…
In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Psalm 56:4, 10-11 (ESV)

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
Psalm 118:6-7 (ESV)

And already in the Songs of Ascents:

From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1b-2 (ESV)

Paul takes up this same theme for us in Romans 8:31:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (ESV)

Paul asks what can separate us from God and His love? Can tribulation? Distress? Persecution? Famine? Nakedness? Danger? Sword? Nope! “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

We travel alongside the pilgrim. Each step of the way, both we and the pilgrim hold on to the hand of our Helper. No matter what we face, He will carry us through.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 124.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 124 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 123: The Ultimate Humility

Today’s reading is Psalm 123.

Do as I say, And As I dO First

Some say familiarity breeds contempt. Perhaps. On a more surprising note, familiarity breeds ignorance. That is, being so familiar with a person, topic, principle, institution leads us to assume we know things we don’t actually know. Familiarity can cause us to cut corners and take shortcuts which make us miss important details and take issues for granted. Psalm 123 provides a good example of the principle.

We who grew up in the Bible, hearing Bible teaching, among Bible believers, see the familiar, comforting term “mercy” in Psalm 123:2, 3. We love that term, believe we understand that term, and quickly jump to discussions of that term. After all, we know of the mercy of Jesus and how important that is.

Folks unfamiliar, however, might get snagged on different terms: servant, slave, master, maidservant, mistress. Those familiar with the Bible grow accustomed to those terms and read past them without thinking of their significance. When unbelievers bring them up, we wish they would look at “mercy” instead.

But let’s face it. This psalm calls pilgrims slaves. I understand why someone new to the Bible would balk at this. Why travel out of Meshech and Kedar into Jerusalem if doing so leads to slavery? Can you believe God expects us to do anything like that?

Before we get too put out by the notion, let’s notice God is not asking anything of us He hasn’t been willing to do Himself. In fact, in Philippians 2:5-8, we discover God, in the person of Jesus Christ, left the throne of heaven, came into our world, and took the form of a slave. The Son enslaved Himself to the Father, being obedient to the point of death on a cross. At the same time, He enslaved Himself to us, going to the cross because He viewed us and our needs as more significant than His own. He didn’t go to the cross merely to obey the Father, but to save us from our sin.

In other words, God doesn’t command us, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Rather, He encourages us, “Do as I say, and as I did first.” He did first. He sacrificed first. He acted the slave first. He loved first. Then He calls us to follow in His footsteps.

This is the ultimate humility: Jesus living Psalm 123. He left His home. He made a pilgrimage to the world and then into Jerusalem. And there, He placed Himself completely in the Father’s hands, facing the scoffing and contempt of those at ease. And, as a slave, looked to the Father’s hand for mercy. What came first did not seem like mercy. The people He came to save arrested Him, mocked Him, tortured Him, then crucified Him. The Father watched while all that happened and did nothing. Then Jesus was buried. It seemed the Master did not extend mercy. But, on the third day, Jesus rose. Mercy abounded. Now, the Son sits at the Father’s right hand with the name above all names, watching as every knee bows and listening as every tongue confesses Him as Lord.

Yes, Psalm 123 is a big ask. It is also a big promise. Jesus blazed the trail, showing us how to make the journey. May we follow in His humble footsteps.

Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is Psalm 124.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from Psalm 123?

Psalm 120: Dwelling in Meshech and Kedar

Today’s reading is Psalm 120.

Dwelling in Enemy Territory

The lament of vs. 5 is admittedly odd. The Israelites never dwelt in Meshech or Kedar. Meshech was a descendant of Japheth (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5), whose people dwelt far north of Israel by the Black Sea. Kedar was a descendant of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13; 1 Chronicles 1:29) who dwelt in the Arabian desert southeast of Israel. To my knowledge, there is no connection with these locations and either the exodus from Egypt or the exiles in Assyria and Babylon. The point seems to be metaphorical. As the statement “from Dan to Beersheba” was often used to try to metaphorically encompass all Israel, it seems Meshech and Kedar are used to refer to opposite extremes of being stuck outside the Promised Land.

When the psalmist cries, “Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!” we discover the first step of pilgrimage. We have to realize we don’t dwell where we truly want to dwell. We have to look at our surroundings and believe they are lamentable. “Woe to me, I am not on God’s holy hill.” This may be one of the most difficult steps. If we have grown up in Meshech or Kedar, we likely won’t recognize the curse of dwelling there. What a shift to look at the place we were raised and decide some place else is better.

Again, I appreciate the insight of Eugene Peterson in his comments on Psalm 120 as the start of our pilgrimage. When we move out of the metaphor of Meshech and Kedar and move into the practical reality of our lives, this recognition that where we live is not where we should live, that actually we need to take a long journey to a different dwelling place is what we call Repentance.

I really hate to quote the same book two days in a row, but I simply can’t say it better than this:

Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision. It is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you were wrong in thinking that you had, or could get, the strength, education and training to make it on your own; it is deciding that you have been told a pack of lies about yourself and your neighbors and your world. And it is deciding that God in Jesus Christ is telling you the truth. Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace.

Eugene Peterson, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction,” IVP, Downers Grove, 2021, p 24

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Meshech and Kedar are awful. They hold nothing for you worth any value. This world is not our home. We are just sojourners here. Let us throw off the lies of the world and its ruler, grab hold of Jesus’s garments, and start the pilgrimage to God’s holy hill. Yes, this first step is hard. It is even painful. The liars around us will mock us and belittle us. It will seem unnatural and abnormal. We will experience pain. But the journey will be worth it. I promise you.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 120.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 120 prompt or improve your hope in God?