Tag: Psalms

Scripture Focus: Psalm 31.1-2, 16-17
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; 
let me never be put to shame; 
deliver me in your righteousness. 
2 Turn your ear to me, 
come quickly to my rescue; 
be my rock of refuge, 
a strong fortress to save me. 

16 Let your face shine on your servant; 
save me in your unfailing love. 
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord, 
for I have cried out to you; 
but let the wicked be put to shame 
and be silent in the realm of the dead. 

Reflection: From Shameless to Blameless
By John Tillman

In many psalms, experiencing or avoiding shame is connected to the absence or presence of God. The shame David prophesied for his enemies is caused by being separated from God. And even though, in life, David will experience slander and shame, ultimately, his accusers will be shown to be liars and he will be vindicated.

God’s face shining on us is assurance against shame. But how can we see God’s face and live? How can we stand before God without shame? Shouldn’t we still feel the same sinful shame that drove Adam and Eve into the shrubs, naked and afraid, hiding from God and each other?

And what of David? Was he sinless? Did he not take vengeance, commit war crimes, commit adultery by taking multiple wives and concubines in addition to taking (and possibly raping) Bathsheba? Did he not commit murder? Did he not both order the death of his enemies by his own power and plead with God for divine vengeance against others? Is there a crime his accusers could name that would NOT be true? Why should he be vindicated? How can he, or we, be blameless? 

Those unashamed of sin, reveling in and defending their sin, will be shamed. These people argue that their sins of pride are just walking in their gifting, their sins of lust are just following desires God gave, and their sins of greed are just rejoicing in God’s financial blessings. They call God culpable and themselves innocent.

We cannot shamelessly sin and stand before God. Those who acknowledge their sins before God, instead of defending them, will find acquittal instead of condemnation. David’s only hope and refuge from shame is being delivered into the righteousness of God. So is ours.

Christ was shamed that we could be called righteous. Christ destroyed the mechanism of shame by taking the full force of its blows on the cross yet rising victorious forevermore. The glory and righteousness he gained, he gives to the humble and repentant.

It is into Christ’s righteousness that we flee for defense against shameful sin. There we are remade into the likeness of his righteousness. 

Who are we today? 
Are we shamelessly sinful, defending our sins?
Or are we humbly repentant, called blameless ONLY in Christ?
Let us come to him confessing and mournful, that we may go out rejoicing and professed as righteous.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. — Psalm 51.8

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

Today’s Readings
Leviticus 24 (Listen – 2:58)
Psalms 31 (Listen – 3:11)

Read more about In the Face of Mockery and Shame
To some crucifixion is simply extreme punishment…But crucifixion carries another, important implication—shame.

In the Face of Mockery and Shame

Read more about The Crux of Repentance
We often are so unwilling to renounce anything. So unwilling to part with anything. So unwilling to lay down anything.

The Crux of Repentance

Scripture Focus: Psalm 19.1-4
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; 
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; 
night after night they reveal knowledge. 
3 They have no speech, they use no words; 
no sound is heard from them. 
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 
their words to the ends of the world.

From John: The day before this devotional publishes, Sunday, April 11th, is the scheduled first flight of the Mars helicopter. May we continue to allow wonder at our universe to inspire humility and thankfulness to its creator.

Reflection: Spiritual Instruments
By John Tillman

Whatever scientific instruments we use, whether looking at evidence of black holes, at video from a helicopter on Mars, or deep within our own DNA, we find the fingerprints of God.

In Psalm 19, David tells us that the fingerprints of God are on the stars. Speech about God pours forth from the heavens in an unhearable voice that echoes through the Earth and to the “end of the world.” 

David wasn’t writing about the realities of physics but about spiritual realities. However, there are subatomic vibrations, unhearable to human ears, that do seem to testify to the creator. In an April interview with Steven Colbert, physicist, Michio Kaku, said while explaining string theory, “The mind of god is cosmic music resonating through hyperspace.” (Interview, Part One; Interview, Part Two) 

Kaku is not a devotee of any religion and the “god” he describes is an impersonal “god of order” not the God we know. However, the complexity and interconnectedness of what he can see, tells him that there is more to see. What he can know, tells him that there is more to know. 

Wonder about our universe is returning. With wonder comes seemingly contradictory truths about our humble state and our eternal destiny. We seem to be insignificant specks in the universe, yet the maker of that universe considers us not meaningless or trivial, but glorious and of eternal worth.

This week, or whenever you look to the heavens, pray this prayer from 2019, reflecting on Psalm 19.

Humbled by the Heavens
God, we stand in awe on our tiny planet.

You have placed us here among deserts, seas, and mountains that seem incredibly vast, yet they are just imperceptible ridges on the tiny ball of our planet.

And, in the vast darkness of space, our tiny blue dot of light seems so insignificant compared to the other great lights of the sky that you have created.

Thank you for heavens that humble us, Lord.

Without words, let us hear your glory, see your law, experience your touch and your love.

Yet you gave us more than wordless wonder, Lord. You send your Word, your Son, Jesus, to clarify your commands and enlighten our understanding.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,
   giving light to the eyes.

Give our eyes your light, our actions, your love, our words, your persuasive persistence. 

Make us spiritual instruments through which the world can detect your magnificent presence.

Image: The image in today’s devotional is of Sirenum fossae, a geological feature of Mars.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
O God, you have taught me since I was young, and to this day I tell of your wonderful works. — Psalm 71.17

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

Today’s Readings
Leviticus 16 (Listen – 5:36)
Psalms 19 (Listen – 1:52)

Read more about Humbled by the Heavens
David’s ancient psalm tells us where to learn about our “unobservable” God—in the heavens.

Humbled by the Heavens :: A Guided Prayer

Read more about The Materialist Cosmos
If the cosmos of the materialist is the real cosmos, it is not much of a cosmos. — GK Chesterton

The Materialist Cosmos :: Throwback Thursday

Scripture Focus: Psalm 15
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? 
Who may live on your holy mountain? 
2 The one whose walk is blameless, 
who does what is righteous, 
who speaks the truth from their heart; 
3 whose tongue utters no slander, 
who does no wrong to a neighbor, 
and casts no slur on others; 
4 who despises a vile person 
but honors those who fear the Lord; 
who keeps an oath even when it hurts, 
and does not change their mind; 
5 who lends money to the poor without interest; 
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. 
Whoever does these things 
will never be shaken. 

From John: After reflecting on holiness as separateness and not superiority, this post from 2019, shows us how the gospel will never stop working its way into our lives to make every part of us holy. The picture used today is one from a hike my wife and I took in the Guadalupe Mountains. A rock had been tumbled to the floor of the wash that we were hiking up, and the marks of the roots of the tree that split the rock were still visible on it. 

May the roots of the Holy Spirit penetrate the hardness of our rock-like hearts and crack us open, leaving his mark upon our lives.

Reflection: Overgrown by the Gospel
By John Tillman

Psalm 15 lays out what David sees as God’s requirements for his holy people.

Reading it, we can deceive ourselves into thinking God is describing us. But if we are humble and honest, we will be struck by how far short we fall, and how rare even one of these qualities is in our world, much less all of them together.

How then, can we ever hope to dwell with God? How can we become his people and live in his kingdom and its city?

This list is not intended to be a list of ways we must prove or earn our way into God’s kingdom. Those who will live with God, as described in the psalm, are those who respond to his call, and to whom he responds by sending the Holy Spirit. Paul describes the Holy Spirit as both a down payment and a renovator of our inner being.

The gospel can be accepted in an instant, but it works in us a transformation that accelerates over time. The qualities of the people of God are cultivated by God. They are the blossoms and blooms of actions that the Holy Spirit will plant in us when we surrender to him.

When the seed of the gospel begins to grow in us, it is like the springing up of a tree from a crack in our hardened, concrete heart. As it grows, the concrete doesn’t stand a chance. The roots swell and crush the rock, cracking it open to expose the earth beneath. Soon the concrete structure is unrecognizable and covered with green growth.

Cultivation begins with destruction. May the gospel make ruins of our pride and selfishness. May we be overgrown by the gospel.

May our concrete hearts be cracked open by the swelling roots of the gospel in our lives. 
May parking lots for our possessions become parks to share with our community. 
May every sealed off vault of sin with reinforced concrete walls be ruined by the invading growth of our new nature. 
May our self-worshiping architecture be overgrown, cracked open, and torn down by the persistent growth of what the Holy Spirit cultivates in us.

May our controlled environments become reclaimed land that is transfigured into the wild beauty of the garden of God.


Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Everyone will stand in awe and declare God’s deeds; they will recognize his works. — Psalm 64.9

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

Today’s Readings
Leviticus 13 (Listen – 9:34)
Psalms 15-16 (Listen – 2:03)

This Weekend’s Readings
Leviticus 14 (Listen – 8:11), Psalms 17 (Listen – 1:58)
Leviticus 15 (Listen – 4:59), Psalms 18 (Listen – 5:47)

Read more about Cultivation Starts With Destruction
Cultivation often begins with the smell of fire, the wielding of sharpened metal tools, and the sounds of chainsaws.

Cultivation Starts With Destruction

Read more about Cultivation Is Supernatural
Cultivation is not natural. It is supernatural. We give plants a safer, healthier place to grow than exists naturally, and they give us better food in greater quantities.

https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/cultivating-is-supernatural/

Scripture Focus: Psalm 1.1-3
1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

Reflection: Jesus, Our Blessed One — A Guided Prayer
By John Tillman

Psalm 1 can be prayed as a framework for the working of the gospel in our lives. It is less an aspirational claim that we can strive for righteousness, but a recognition that only in Christ, grafted into his stream-planted trunk, can we yield fruit.

Blessed is the One
May we be among those who bless your name, Lord.
May we walk with you through the cheering crowds
Guiding a humble donkey that carries our king,
And also through the narrow streets of suffering, 
Carrying our cross, stepping in your bloody footprints of sacrifice.

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord

Lord, guide our walk, day to day 
Shape our steps, words, and actions
Differentiate our gait of faith from that of the world.
May our steps follow your grace.
May our words tell of your love.
May our actions emulate your servanthood and sacrifice.

Watch over our way, Lord, but we know that we stumble…

The Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction…
They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand

We are not blameless. We are not righteous.
When we honestly and humbly look in our hearts we find wickedness there.
Burn up our chaff with your breath
Separate us from sin so that we will not be separated from your presence.

Blessed is the one
    whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

We aspire, Lord, to fulfill this psalmist’s prayer.
We aspire to delight in your law.
We aspire to meditate day and night.

But we rely, Lord, not on our striving, but on Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Blessed One, who delights in your law.
Jesus is the Blessed One, whose leaf does not wither.
We are merely grafted in branches, partaking of his righteousness.
Our fruit, our flourishing, and our faith are drawn up from his roots.
It is he who makes us prosper, and spreads the seed of his gospel over the earth.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me. — Psalm 101.6

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle
Today’s Readings
Leviticus 4 (Listen – 5:17) 
Psalms 1-2 (Listen – 3:05)

Read more about Praise from a Stump :: A Guided Prayer
We, in Christ, can see ourselves in both the unworthy and shamed stump, and in the new supernatural growth.

Praise from a Stump :: A Guided Prayer

Read more about Family Tree
We can be grafted in to the family tree of Christ and bear the same fruit that he wants to bring about in our lives.

Family Tree