Contentment
(NIV) Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud, LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
3 Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.
Do you know what it means to be content? The dictionary definition is to be pleased, happy, or satisfied. In this short psalm, David not only declares his contentment, but acknowledges being content is a learned behavior. And David says he learned contentment by not giving in to pride, and by calming himself.
David’s youth spent as a shepherd caring for his father’s sheep provided a great backdrop for the person David was to become. He learned that when the sheep became agitated, they needed to be quieted, and he learned the way to help them was to sing and play soothing songs on his harp.
In this passage, David compares himself to a weaned child. We understand that the process of weaning a child is not easy, but it is necessary. Once the process is completed, the child wants to be with his mother not because of what she can give him, but because of who she is. David had learned to desire God, not for what He had given David, but for Who He was. He finishes by counseling Israel to put her hope in God.
Paul speaks of contentment in his letter to the Philippians, 4:11-13, when he says he has learned to be content in all things. Again, Paul says such contentment is a learned behavior.
Consider how we have learned to quiet the fears and concerns in our lives. Is it something physical such as gardening or cooking, or is it spending time in prayer and meditation? Whatever our situation, may we know, believe, and understand that God is our source of contentment, and our very reason for hoping. May we approach Him early and often.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord, Hear My Voice
(NIV) Psalm 130
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
I have read this psalm more than once, allowing its message to penetrate my soul. Do you need mercy? Go to the Lord. Do you need forgiveness? Go to the Lord. Do you need hope? Go to the Lord. Do you need redemption? Go to the Lord.
When we have taken everything to God, then wait. We can have a confident expectation that God, our Creator, and Jesus, our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and our Guide, will meet our needs. Rest in the assurance that comes from the Scriptures, our past experience, and our future hope.
May today be a day of blessed assurance.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Free Indeed
(NIV) Psalm 129
A song of ascents.
1 “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”
let Israel say;
2 “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory over me.
3 Plowmen have plowed my back
and made their furrows long.
4 But the LORD is righteous;
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”
5 May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
6 May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;
7 a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
8 May those who pass by not say to them,
“The blessing of the LORD be on you;
we bless you in the name of the LORD.”
One of my favorite pictures is one Larry took in Iceland. It is a house in a country setting and the roof is grass. Not a thatched roof, but green grass. But the grass in today’s scripture is not green, indicating health, but is dying.
In this passage, the psalmist remembers the oppression of the Isaraelites but cannot forget God’s faithfulness in freeing them from their captors. But then the psalm moves into the kind of prayer that makes me more than uncomfortable. Verse 5 moves from a prayer of thanksgiving to one cursing the wicked, or an imprecatory prayer.
I have not always suffered graciously. I recall writing a poem more than twenty years ago where I said perhaps I needed a glass of wine to accompany my whine at the end of the day. Whether the pain is physical or mental, self inflicted or brought about by illness or other of life’s circumstances, it has taken me a lifetime to learn that thanking God, whatever my situation, is always the better choice.
May we be quick to remember the “goodness of God in the land of the living,” Psalm 27.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Blessed are the holy
(NIV) Psalm 128
A song of ascents.
1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the LORD.
5 May the LORD bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel.
If we needed a reason to seek holiness, this chapter would be it. Fearing God is not trembling before our Creator. Nor is it praying as Job did, asking forgiveness for his children in the event they sinned. No, the fear of the Lord is recognizing His power and being in awe of Him. When we are face to face with the holiness of God, our only response should be to fall at His feet, not because we fear what He will do, but because His holiness reveals to us the extent of our sinfulness.
We are told that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. If someone were to ask me how to learn the fear of the Lord, I would not know how to respond. For me, the recognition of God as holy is as natural as breathing, and such recognition elicits one response—to fall on my knees and cry “Holy!”
This psalm assures us that recognizing Who God is leads to obedience which in turn leads to blessings. May we purpose each day to seek a deeper relationship with the One, true and living God.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Go With God
(NIV) Psalm 127
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
This psalm, attributed to Solomon, teaches that we will not be successful if we attempt to live out lives apart from God. I have known people who, when building their house, wrote scripture on the exposed beams. As a pastor I have been asked more than once to bless a house shortly after a person took possession. Some may see such practice as superstition. For me it is an affirmation that is akin to Joshua instructing the Israelites to “choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Josh 24:15. Solomon knew whether he was pitching a tent or building a temple, none of his efforts would be successful without God.
He goes on to assert it is a blessing to have many children, for when you are old they will care for you. It may surprise some people to learn that children have not always been treasured. In agricultural societies children were put to work in the fields at a young age. My father, born shortly after the start of the 20th century, picked cotton when he was seven years old, living his life with only a second grade education.
In my parents’ generation, now known as The Greatest Generation, it was not uncommon to have up to ten children. There was a decided shift when Baby Boomers, born shortly after WWII, began families. As the first quarter of the 21st century is drawing to a close another shift has occurred. Young people are waiting longer to have children, or choosing not to have them at all. Solomon’s proclamation that having many children is a blessing has all but been forgotten.
I find comparing children to arrows to be an apt description. Once an arrow is sent out from the bow, it’s direction can no longer be changed. Thus the proverb “train up a child in the way he will go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” becomes a valuable piece of advice.
So what does this psalm mean to us today? To me, success in life is built upon a solid relationship, first with God, then with family. The English “good bye” is a contraction from “go with God,” so I end today’s devotional with a sincere “go with God.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 