Today’s reading is Psalm 123.
Confident
I don’t know where your heart, mind, and spirit have been while reading the past two posts. I’ve tried hard not to make this psalm too easy. I’ve tried hard not to take short cuts and miss the depth of meaning in the pilgrim’s poem. I think about the time Jesus told 5000+ people if they really wanted to have salvation, they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood. He didn’t let up on them. In fact, the more they pushed back, the more He doubled down on the shockingly gruesome metaphor. If they wanted to get to the calming, pleasant part of His teaching, they had to work at it. If Jesus had too quickly told them, “Guys, I don’t literally mean you have to practice cannibalism with My body and blood. I’m really talking about believing Me and My words,” they would have missed the point. We must approach this psalm precisely the same way. If we came to today’s point too quickly, we would have missed the meaning of our pilgrimage.
Our journey into Jerusalem is a journey into slavery. Sure, we will be set free from the Meshechians and Kedarians, but we will be enslaved to God. Further, slavery in all forms is marked by desperate vulnerability. Slavery is not pleasant. Slavery is being wholly dependent upon another, putting our lives in the hands of another. That is risky. We must not miss how risky that is. We must appreciate why so many are unwilling to do so. If we don’t recognize that, we who have grown up in a Christian milieu may think we are willing to be slaves of Jesus all while only being pretenders to it.
The pilgrim voluntarily pursued slavery to YHWH. He left the environs of Meshech and Kedar, traveling to Jerusalem where the LORD held the reins. He walked into God’s city and knelt in submission before King YHWH. Why?
Mercy.
YHWH is master. Being anyone’s slave is a vulnerable risk. But the risk is worth it with the LORD because He repeatedly demonstrated Himself merciful. His mercy is greater than that of any other god, king, lord, or master. In fact, enslaving ourselves to the merciful YHWH provides greater blessing than we can possibly gain for ourselves pursuing our own freedom and self-mastery.
The term translated “mercy” in the ESV (“favor” in some other translations) is part of the word family of one used in Exodus 34:6: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and *gracious,* slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…” (ESV). Yes, in a frustrating display, the word in the ESV translating our target word is “gracious,” not “merciful.” But the connection still gets made. God is gracious. God is merciful. We can confidently enslave ourselves to God because He neither abuses nor neglects. He is neither cruel nor fickle. He consistently provides mercy. Therefore, we can look to Him. We can keep our eyes on Him because He will bestow mercy on us.
This term also connects, as did the earlier Songs of Ascents, to the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. When Aaron blessed Israel saying, “The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be *gracious* to you” (ESV), he used the same word the pilgrim does. The LORD will have mercy on His people.
However, note one point. The pilgrim says he will keep his eyes on the LORD “till he has mercy.” That is, the psalmist believes the promise of mercy. He knows the blessing of mercy is real. But for a time, he does not feel the mercy. The slaves looks by faith at Master YHWH’s hand, not by sight. The only source of mercy is YHWH’s hand. Yet, as the pilgrim dwelt in Meshech and Kedar, traveled to Jerusalem, and even stood within the gates of Jerusalem God’s mercy had not yet banished contempt and scorn from the pilgrim. The pilgrim, however, does not look away. Like a slave, he keeps looking to his Master’s hand, waiting for the promised mercy. But what slave has the freedom to do what the pilgrim does? What slave can demand mercy from his master? Only the slave of YHWH can have that kind of confidence and only because he trusts the covenant promise of the Lord. That is an incredible amount of confidence coming from a slave. It is the kind of confidence slaves of the merciful YHWH can have. It is the kind of confidence we can have.
Praise the Lord! He is merciful.
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 123.
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PATHS:
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How does Psalm 123 prompt or improve your hope in God?
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