Tag: Psalms

Scripture Focus: Psalm 92.4-7, 12-13
For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, 
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 
13 planted in the house of the LORD, 
they will flourish in the courts of our God. 

Reflection: Destiny of Grass vs Cedars
By John Tillman

There are purposes for the flourishing of the wicked and one of them is that one day the world will see them fall. 

The success of the wicked is like grass that will spring up and then be destroyed. There are purposes for suffering and lowliness and one of them is that one day the world will see the humble exalted. The righteous are not likened to grass but to a “cedar of Lebanon” planted in God’s house. The cedar and the grass may seem a similar height when they sprout, but the cedar’s growth and longevity are much different. 

The psalmist recognizes that wickedness will often flourish in this world. So should we. The writer sees through the illusion that worldly power and success indicate heavenly endorsement. So should we. Whether prospering or suffering, thriving or failing, surviving or dying, gains in this world are meaningless.

The psalmist testifies that senseless people, fools, do not understand this. So we should ask God for wisdom, and he will answer us with understanding.

We should cry out to God to deal with the wicked according to his justice, but let us not wish for a tit-for-tat God. If we got what we deserved, all would be destroyed.

We should praise God for what he has done, but not only for seeing the wicked brought low. We should praise him that despite our wickedness we can be raised up in the righteousness of Christ. 

It is only in emptying ourselves in confession that we can be filled with his righteousness. There is joy and love that God has for us in Christ Jesus. 

The wicked will fall because they will not kneel before Christ. When we fall to our knees in repentance, there is strength to lift us up, carrying us to sanctification. Our arms are too short to grasp what we need but Christ is the arm of the Lord. This powerful arm, bared before the nations, is never too short to save. 

With the psalmist, may we sing for joy at what his hands have done, working righteousness, showing mercy, and being with us in suffering.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
You are my hiding place…you surround me with shoults of deliverance. — Psalm 32.8

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 41  (Listen – 4:40)
Psalm 92-93 (Listen – 2:09)

Read more about Emptiness Filled by Love :: Worldwide Prayer
Compassionate God, we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The emptiness within us can only be filled by your love.

Read more about The Thriving Tree
Our path to salvation and restoration follows the steps of the suffering, crucified servant, Jesus.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 89.46-49
46 How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? 
How long will your wrath burn like fire? 
47 Remember how fleeting is my life. 
For what futility you have created all humanity! 
48 Who can live and not see death, 
or who can escape the power of the grave? 
49 Lord, where is your former great love, 
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?

Reflection: A Prayer for Crisis—Guided Prayer
By John Tillman

Scholars are divided on whether Psalm 89 was written by the same “Ethan the Ezrahite” who was a contemporary of David or whether it was written later by a contemporary of Ezekiel and other exiles. Regardless of when it was written, it shows us a helpful and repeatable pattern of prayer for those in suffering, doubt, frustration, or crisis.

The psalm contains three distinct movements of thought. In the first section, the psalmist praises the power of God over the cosmos. From the highest court of the heavens, he rules over things seen and unseen.

In the second movement, the writer describes God’s vision and purpose for humanity. The Lord promises an intimate, fatherly, guiding relationship. David stands in as a symbol for both the nation of Israel and for the role of Jesus who will be the “Son of David” to whom those longing for deliverance will call. (Mark 10.46-52)

In the third, the writer laments the sin of his people and that God seems to be abandoning them to suffering and allowing his purposes for them to fail. Despite this lament, or perhaps because of it, the writer ends with a challenging view of hope. The psalmist trusts that God will save, that wrongs will be forgiven, and justice will be done. 

A Prayer for Crisis — Guided Prayer
Praise God for who he is and acknowledge him as the king and creator of all. He is more than just the source of all life but the source of all joy, love, and justice.

Review for yourself the assurances we have in his promises to us. That we will be made like him. That we will suffer, but with him and in his power. That we will be forgiven. That we will be his images, his sons and daughters, representing him.

Express to him your doubts and fears. Tell him what you don’t believe and ask him to help you believe. (Mark 9.23-24) Tell him how you feel without fear of rejection. Tell him what you fear without being shamed.

Praise him that he is the Lord, forever. Eternal life is not just in the future. It is now. Abundant life is not just pie in the sky. He is with us now. Praise him that he is with us forever.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
The heaven of heavens is the Lord’s, but he entrusted the earth to its peoples. — Psalm 115.16

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 38  (Listen – 4:23)
Psalm 89 (Listen – 5:29)

Read more about Forgiveness to Soften the Hardened—Worldwide Prayer
There is no level of spiritual achievement or growth at which one is not susceptible to hardening of the heart and the spirit.

Read more about Meditation in Spiritual Rhythm
A few hundred years ago, meditation was not considered radical or strange, but simply a prudent, practical, and effective Christian discipline.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 85.10
Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Reflection: Kiss of Righteousness and Peace—Guided Prayer
By John Tillman

When love and faithfulness meet, righteousness and peace kiss each other. But before that happens in today’s psalm, there is confession and justice, mercy and redemption.

Today, we repeat this meditative prayer based on Psalm 85. Confession, justice, mercy, redemption, righteousness, and peace are just as vitally needed today as they were two years ago. 

Psalmists were familiar with sinful leaders and scandals. Like today, horrendous consequences were paid by the people for the poor leadership of kings and high officials. Sheep always suffer for the sins of shepherds, but yesterday’s passage was also clear that the sheep are not innocent and too often turn on each other.

May we bring righteousness and peace together in our lives and communities.

The Kiss of Righteousness and Peace
We cannot reach the kiss of righteousness and peace without passing through wrath and anger via forgiveness.
You, Lord, forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.
You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger.
We waste no energy on denial. We will not rise in anger when accused.
On our knees in humility, we thank you for your forgiveness.
Restore us again, God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
Every generation blames others.
The old blame the young.
The young blame the old.
And young and old, turn together,
to blame those long dead and those not yet born.
By your watch, Lord, generations are meaningless.
A ticking of the second hand of God.
We will deny no longer the sins of the past.
We will decry no longer the sins of the future.
They are all ours. The blame is on us.
We confess now that there is no “other” generation to blame.
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
We are like Lazarus, lain dead in the grave.
You let him die in his sickness,
So that he could be raised.
Raise us, Lord. Bring us back to life.
Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.
May we meet with you and you with us.
May our steps follow in your righteousness.
May we bring your kiss of peace to our world.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Come now and see the works of God, how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people. — Psalm 66.4

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 35  (Listen – 2:21) 
Psalm 85 (Listen – 1:25)

This Weekend’s Readings
Ezekiel 36  (Listen – 6:40), Psalm 86 (Listen – 1:39)
Ezekiel 37  (Listen – 5:07), Psalm 87-88 (Listen – 2:45)

Read More about Praising Christ’s Righteousness
We cannot save ourselves. Praise God. God specifically tells Ezekiel that not even the greatest, most righteous men he might trust in would be able to save the nation.

Read More about Battered with Love :: Worldwide Prayer
Oh Lord…You battered me with love, you assaulted me with mercy,
You pierced me through with compassion
and turned my sorrows into peace.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 77.2-3
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

From John: The world has gotten even more anxiety-inducing since we originally posted this in 2018. Many suicides of Christians and Christian ministers in the intervening years testify to this.

Christian meditation and prayer is still an important discipline to help us in distressing times but some problems you can’t pray away. Ask Paul. Ask Jesus. If you need the help of a counselor or doctor you are not being unfaithful. See the resources at the end of this post for help and more information. 

Reflection: Discipline for the Anxious
By John Tillman

We live in distressing times. If there are corners of our world not touched by division, aggression, worry, and angst, you probably can’t get email there.

Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues are on the rise—especially among younger adults. National Survey of Children’s Health researchers found a 20 percent increase in diagnoses of anxiety among children ages 6 to 17, between 2007 and 2012. The American College Health Association found that anxiety, rather than depression, is the most common reason college students seek counseling services and that in 2016, 62 percent of undergraduates reported “overwhelming anxiety” in the previous year. (An increase from 50 percent in 2011.)

Studying this, science is discovering things that are not exactly new under the sun. A recent Harvard study found that church attendance paired with spiritual disciplines such as meditation and prayer have a beneficial effect on mental health. In a Forbes article, study author Ying Chen noted that being raised religiously, “can powerfully affect [children’s] health behaviors, mental health, and overall happiness and well-being.”

The psalmists would not express surprise at these findings. Though we think of our society as facing pressures unknown to humanity until now, we would be mistaken to think of ancient times as idyllic and calm.

David and the other psalmists certainly knew what it was like to live under threat, under financial pressure, under the constant weight of political instability and the wavering loyalty of an unpredictable government.

Amidst such pressures, they had a safe haven. Their help for the stresses of life was meditation and prayer.*

The psalmist writes of being “too troubled to speak,” yet he cries to God. He writes of insomnia, yet he rests in God. He writes of doubts and of feeling that God has rejected him, that his love has vanished, that he had forgotten to be merciful. Yet in the midst of doubts and fears, he remembers God’s faithfulness in the past. He meditates on these memories in the heated moment of stress.

Although the benefits of meditation can help in a crisis, meditation is not a quick fix. It is not a fast-acting antidote for the world’s venom, but an inoculation to be taken ahead of time.

When beginning (or returning to) meditative prayer, start small and short. Use the prayer provided at the end of this devotional (Psalm 119.147) as a start. Spend two to five minutes simply re-reading the prayer with an expectant heart, asking God to be with you.

*We are in no way implying that meditation should be pursued in lieu of proper medical treatment. If you are in need of counseling and professional services, please consider the following resources:
Mental Health Grace Alliance
Not A Day Promised Resource Page
Life Recovered (Resources for Ministers)
Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
Suicide Prevention Resource Center

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me.
You speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.” Your face, Lord, will I seek.
Hide not your face from me, nor turn away your servant in displeasure. — Psalm 27.10-12

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 28  (Listen – 4:32)
Psalm 77 (Listen – 2:12)

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 29  (Listen – 3:43) Psalm 78:1-39 (Listen – 7:12)
Ezekiel 30  (Listen – 4:07) Psalm 78:40-72 (Listen – 7:12)

Read more about The Practice of Meditation :: Running
One way of thinking of meditative prayer is exercise to expand your spiritual lung capacity, allowing you to breathe in God’s spirit more naturally at any time—including during a crisis.

Read more about The Practice of Meditation :: Tea
Allow the scripture to soak in your mind, repetitively dip it in your thoughts as you would a tea bag into warm water.