Living to Leave? Or, Living to Behold?

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Pete

Psalm 17 is another of those prayers of David when he’s on the wrong side of the battle . . . the losing side. And while David wasn’t a perfect or pure man, in this case he cries to God to “hear a just cause” (v.1). In this particular matter he is confident that God has tried his heart, has dug deep into the secret places, and, having tested him, knows he is above reproach (v. 3). David has guarded his mouth and watched carefully his steps (v.4-5) and so calls out to God to arise and deliver his soul from the wicked (v. 13).

And what catches my attention is the contrast David makes between himself and those who oppose him.

Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.

(Psalm 17:13-15 ESV)

David’s enemies were of those who lived for this world, whose portion was in this life. Those who lived for the material and viewed success by what could be seen, acquired, used, and left to others. Though not recognizing God’s good hand in their accumulated treasures, for He is the Giver of every good gift (James 1:17), their when-all-is-said-and-done satisfaction came from what they could leave behind for their children and their children’s children. To die with abundance was to die successfully. To leave a great inheritance, their great legacy. They were of that sort of person who, in essence, was living to leave.

But as for David, he was living to behold.

Though the going was getting tough, David didn’t lose site of what lay ahead. Though justified in this matter, if things just didn’t get any better, his hope was in what was yet to come. For the songwriter looked forward to that day when he would awake and behold Jehovah’s face in righteousness. His satisfaction not tied to any material treasure left behind, but to the eternal reward of seeing face to face His God’s likeness.

While David cried out to God for present help, he did so mindful of his promised future. Though his enemies sought his life unjustly, he had been justified by faith. Though they sought his possessions that they might place them in their storehouses, he sought God’s presence that he might find himself in the shadow of His wings (v. 8). Though they lived for what they could accumulate and leave as their legacy, David lived for what he could anticipate and receive as his reward.

They were living to leave. He was living to behold.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

(1John 3:2 ESV)

It has not yet appeared but when we it does, we will be satisfied. Satisfied because we shall be like Him awaking with His likeness as David believed. Satisfied because we shall see Him, beholding His face in righteousness as David anticipated.

And this, by our God’s unfailing grace. And this, for our God’s everlasting glory.

Amen?

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Jehovah-Yaats

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Pete

Not gonna lie. I kind of get jazzed when something new pops off the passage in the morning. Not that it’s “new”, but that I haven’t really taken notice of it before. But it’s not being jazzed like little Jack Horner who sat in the corner eating his Christmas Pie, and I’ve put in my thumb and pulled out a plumb and I’m thinking, “What a good boy am I.” No, I’m jazzed because I know it has been divinely served up. Wasn’t looking for new discovery this morning. In fact, if I’m honest with myself, I’ve actually been more in a rush mode as I’m kind of pressed for time. Instead, the Spirit freely and graciously pops it out of the written word and serves it up for me as a living word and says, in effect, “Here! Chew on this a bit.”

So here it is. It’s another one of those names of God that I think of as one of the lesser known Jehovah’s. The better known ones are:

Jehovah-Jireh – the LORD will Provide (Gen. 22:14)
Jehovah-Rapha – the LORD who heals (Ex. 15:26)
Jehovah-Nissi – the LORD is my banner (Ex. 17:15)
Jehovah-Shalom – the LORD is peace (Ju. 6:24)
Jehovah-Raah – the LORD is my shepherd (Ps. 23:1)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu – the LORD is our righteousness (Jer. 23:6)
Jehovah-Shammah – the LORD is there (Ezek. 48:35)

Well how about Jehovah-Yaats?

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

(Psalm 16:7 ESV)

The LORD who gives me counsel. Jehovah-Yaats (pronounced yaw-ats).

The One who is ready to advise. Our Counselor. Ever present, available for consultation twenty-four-seven. Able to directly impart wisdom, devise plans, provide instruction, give direction, and, when necessary, encourage redirection, as He gives heavenly counsel via our earthly hearts. He is Jehovah-Yaats.

So how amazing a reminder is that? Pretty!

We are not left to our own smarts, our own intelligence, or our own wisdom to navigate the stuff in life that needs to be navigated. Instead we have the mind of the Son of God (1Cor. 2:16) activated in us through the Spirit of God that we might know the things of God (1Cor. 2:12).

Mine is to ask for counsel. Mine is to listen for the still small voice of instruction. Even in the night, alert to possibility that what I may simply think is MY heart’s prompting, MY inner voice, is really HIS Spirit’s directing and HIS Counselor’s voice.

Jehovah-Yaats.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel.

Kind of jazzed!  Bless the Lord!

Because of His grace. Only for His glory.

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DIDO

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Pete

Been a long time since I’ve hung out in the computer programming world. So long that I don’t think its called computer programming anymore. Now it’s about software development. So I don’t really know if in that world they still talk in TLAs and FLAs the way we used to (Three Letter Acronyms and Four Letter Acronyms). But in my day, why use words when letters would do?

One of those FLAs regularly referred to, at least in the day, was GIGO, Garbage In Garbage Out. Essentially stating the fact that bad input can only result in corrupted output. That flawed data coming into a system will only produce even greater flawed responses from the system.

And this morning, continuing to read in Jesus’ sermon on the mount, I’m reminded of the truth of GIGO. But in this context, it’s DIDO.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”  ~ Jesus

(Matthew 6:22-23 ESV)

DIDO. Darkness In Darkness Out.

In the world of light, the eye is the portal. It is the entry point. And so, a healthy eye will result in a whole body full of light. But corrupt the eye; reduce the light; increase the darkness; then the body is going to operate in darkness. And its output, its behaviors, will be characterized by darkness. Darkness In Darkness Out.

But Jesus’ eye talk is but an analogy, an illustration, of a more pointed truth He wants to convey to His followers. The DIDO truth concerning the eye is a warning of what can plunge a heart into darkness thereby corrupting soul, spirit, and everything a person does.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. . . . No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”   ~ Jesus

(Matthew 6:19-21, 24 ESV)

Let our lives be fixated on accumulating earthly treasure and know that it has a way of choking out the light and increasing darkness. Set your thoughts, your energies, and your priorities around filling up houses and storage units and know your affections are gonna follow. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If the eye is the lamp of the body, then the heart is the lamp of soul. That’s why God regenerated our hearts when He redeemed our souls. But regenerated hearts are not hearts immune from corruption. Nor, because they have been made hearts of flesh attuned to the things of heaven (Eze. 36:26), are they unable to again calcify and function again more in line with the old hearts of stone attached to things of earth. For no one can serve two masters.

So Jesus warns His disciples. Treasure on earth, when acquiring them becomes the master of our lives, will choke out the light of heaven in our hearts. And DIDO. Darkness In Darkness Out.

O that we, as God’s people in this land of plenty, would hear afresh the call to be people of light and resist the darkness, the darkness of prioritizing earthly treasures above kingdom investments. That our focus would be on laying up treasures in heaven, and keep our hearts clear of the entanglements of this world. That light might shine into our heart unhindered so that light might come forth from our very being abundantly. LILO.

And this only by His grace. And this only for His glory.

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The Right Reward

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Pete

Mission accomplished isn’t always success. Winning the race doesn’t necessarily mean getting the gold medal. Hitting a bullseye may still mean you missed the mark. Getting your reward may not be much of a prize at all if it’s the wrong reward. That’s what I’m picking up this morning from what Jesus is laying down in the first part of Matthew 6.

It’s been said before but bears saying again: Right theology will determine right behavior. Don’t know your God? Then it’s gonna be hard to serve your God?

Case in point?  The hypocrites.

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. . .

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. . . .

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

(Matthew 6:2, 5, 16 ESV)

The hypocrites. They’re actors. Stage players. Pretenders. And Jesus says, don’t be like them. Don’t play games. And certainly don’t play them on the wrong stage before the wrong audience.

They give to be praised by others. They pray and they fast to be seen by others. And guess what? They’re successful. Their generosity is the talk of the synagogue. Their eloquence in prayer demonstrates to all who hear them that they must be heavenly because of their heaven-ese. The depths of their piety evident by the almost visible cloud hanging over their pained countenances as they go without food for hours, even days, on end.

Mission accomplished. Race won. Bullseye! Jesus Himself acknowledging that they have received their reward. That people will take notice. That praise, admiration, and veneration from many will be deposited to their ego accounts.

But big deal! Who cares?

Fleeting acknowledgement. No eternal significance. Passing praise from dying people. And all because of bad theology. All because they don’t know that their God is a God who sees in secret.

And three times Jesus declares one of the foundational operational laws of the kingdom: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

When you give, give in secret. “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (6:3-4)

When you pray, go into your room and close the door. “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (6:6)

When you fast, cover it up so no one knows. “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (6:17-18)

We’re not to be actors. And we certainly need to beware of playing to the wrong audience.

Rather, we are to be disciples, followers of Christ, the real meal deal. And our audience is an Audience of One. The One who sees in secret. The One who rewards for what is done in secret. And that, with a heavenly reward, a prize that is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Pet. 1:4).

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 6:1 ESV)

Live for the praise of others on earth and we may very well be quite successful in achieving our goal. But the response will be fast fading. The recognition fleeting. The reward a non-reward.

But live for, and before, our Father who is in heaven, the One who sees in secret and rewards with eternal rewards, and truly, we’ll live for the right reward.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Be Perfect. Really?

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Pete

It’s a verse that, at first read, I’d just as soon skip over. Mark it “not applicable.” After all everyone knows nobody’s perfect.

Jesus is setting the bar pretty high in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:21-47). Angry with your brother? Insult him as an “empty head”? Call him a foolish, impious, godless moron? You might just as well have murdered him. Look on a woman with lustful intent? You’ve already committed adultery with her in your heart. Divorce unjustly and remarry? That’s adultery too. What’s more, don’t make idle promises. Be a straight-shooter. Your yes, yes. Your no, no.

And if that list of “to do’s” isn’t already too much, when it comes to those who slap you in the face, turn the other cheek. If they sue you for the clothes on your back, give them your outer clothes as well. If they want you to go one mile, go two. And give to whoever begs and lend to those who want to borrow (now that’s really getting uncomfortable).

But the Teacher’s not done yet. Pray for those who persecute you, He says. Love those who hate you. Greet those who set themselves against you.

And then, the cherry on top! Be perfect. Really?

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Matthew 5:48 ESV)

But nobody’s perfect I think. And especially not that perfect–not God-like perfect. That’s why I need Someone else’s perfection in my place. Why I need the Savior’s righteousness credited to my account. And, to be sure, that’s true. But it doesn’t allow me to check “not applicable” beside these high and holy standards.

Because perfection also has the idea of completeness. Of something having been brought to its end with nothing lacking. And so, Jesus says in effect, be complete and seek to do it all. Curb your anger. Deny your lust. Be just. Be honest. Be willing to be walked on a bit. And take the high road, even with those who want to take you out at your knees. Do it all. Be perfect, because it’s who you are in Christ. Be complete, be mature, because you are children of the God of heaven (5:45).

No, I’m not perfect. But I do have power. Not my own, but His. And so, by His enabling, shouldn’t I aspire to be complete, to be mature, to be walking with a holy determination to live as the Master says people of the kingdom should live? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Be perfect. I need to resist the temptation to let my eyes glaze over those words and think that such a high standard is somehow an irrelevant standard. That because I know how imperfect I am, that His power is somehow insufficient. Instead, believing that I am a new creation in Christ, and can do all things through Christ, I embrace the high and holy calling of the kingdom of Christ and desire with all my heart to be perfect, just as my heavenly Father is perfect.

And that only by His grace. And that only for His glory.

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The Opposite of Hate

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Pete

I once heard it said that the opposite of love isn’t necessarily hate as much as it is indifference or apathy. The argument being along the lines that if a father saw their child in imminent danger and, though not hating them per se, did nothing to intervene, that would be unloving. I get the argument. But, not gonna lie, if someone turned the question around and asked me what the opposite of hate was, I’d probably be pretty quick to respond, “Love!” That is until a verse in Psalm 11 gave me something to chew on this morning.

The LORD tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

(Psalm 11:5 ESV)

I’m no Hebrew poetry scholar–not even close–but have been exposed a little to those who are and so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some fancy-schmancy name for the literary structure in this verse. Something like contrasting literary structure. Nah, not fancy-schmancy enough.

Anyway, there’s a pivotal word here. The word but. And it divides the verse into two sections putting them, by the very nature of the word but, in contrast with one another. That it’s dealing with contrasting opposites also seems evident in that the first part of the verse deals with the righteous and the latter part with the wicked.

So, given that the last part of the verse talks about the verb to hate, seems logical that the first part of the verse would deal with the opposite of hate. And what I’m noodling on is the fact that the verb there isn’t love but the verb to test.

The wicked God hates, but the righteous He tests. He examines them. He scrutinizes and proves them. Like a precious metal, He assays the righteous, trying the quality of their righteousness and turning up the heat in order to drive out the impurities.

True statement? Born out by other “witnesses” in Scripture? I’m thinkin’ . . .

For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. . . . For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

(Hebrews 12:6, 11 ESV)

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(1Peter 1:6-7 ESV)

So David says, in effect, the opposite of hate is testing. And that because being tried by God is evidence that not only does God love us just the way we are, He also loves us so much He can’t leave us just the way we are.

The righteousness He imputes to us through Christ, is the righteousness He lovingly cultivates in us through trials. Thus, He allows the crucible of trial and suffering to prove the reality of His regenerative work in us. By permitting the heat to be turned up in our lives, He reveals the dross and, through the sanctifying work of His Spirit, continues to skim off the impurities.

Only as we truly believe that God loves us by testing us can we “endure hardship as discipline” (Heb. 12:7 NIV).

Only as we trust in His loving purposes for us as His children would we dare to pray:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

Love me, O God, and test my righteousness.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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On My Account

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Pete

Hovering over the Beatitudes this morning. Simple laws of the kingdom. Laws concerning what renders someone blessed, what makes someone happy. Not laws as in edicts to be followed in order to reside in the kingdom, but laws as in dynamics which are at play for those who have been brought into the kingdom. Kind of like the laws that govern the natural, these are the laws of cause-and-effect in the supernatural.

Poor in spirit? Blessed . . . for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mourning? Blessed . . . for they shall be comforted.
Meek? Blessed . . . for they shall inherit the earth.
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Blessed . . . for they shall be satisfied.
Merciful? Blessed . . . for they shall receive mercy.
Pure in heart? Blessed . . . for they shall see God.
Peacemakers? Blessed . . . for they shall be called sons of God.
Persecuted for righteousness’ sake? Blessed . . . for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Reviled and persecuted? Blessed . . . for your reward is great in heaven.

And what catches my attention in particular is the last beatitude. Or is it the last two beatitudes? Said differently, are there nine beatitudes or actually eight with the last one repeated for some reason.

And if the last beatitude is actually stated twice, how come? Could it be that the kingdom law of persecution is repeated at the end in order to, at least in part, provide a key to understanding all the Beatitudes?

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven . . . ”  ~ Jesus

(Matthew 5:11-12a ESV)

“On My account.” That’s what I’m noodling on. Is that the key that the unlocks the promised blessings in God’s economy?

Is the last beatitude repeated in order to shed light on a foundational truth for all the beatitudes? That not everyone who suffers for some righteous cause will see the kingdom, but for those who do so because of Jesus. Who do so “on My account.”

That not everyone who mourns will know comforting, now and into eternity, just because they mourn. But the promise is for those who mourn for the sake of Jesus.

The kingdom of heaven not necessarily assured for anyone and everyone who is contrite in heart and broken in spirit regardless of the reason or motivation, but for those who are poor in spirit on His account.

Meek because of Jesus? Hungering for righteousness just as He is righteous? Merciful in His name? Desiring to be pure in heart for the sake of Christ? Peacemaking in order to emulate the One who made peace for us? Then blessed are you. Happy are you. For the life of Jesus flows through you. The dynamics of the kingdom are in you. And the promises of blessing are for you.

I don’t know. Maybe there are two persecution beatitudes. But I’m chewing on them this morning as though they are one. One great promise revealing one important key to how the kingdom of heaven operates. And that, “on My account.”

Blessed always on account of His grace. Blessed only for the sake of His glory.

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A Great Recipe

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Pete

Okay, I’m not really into spiritual recipes. You know, take so much of this, add so much of that, sprinkle with a pinch of this other thing, let bake for so long, and, voila, you’ll have a winning outcome every time. Don’t really think that’s the way it works. Not that quantifiable or that predictable. But, not gonna lie, a couple of verses in Acts 4 this morning are screaming to me of a combination of ingredients that, when they come together, I’m thinkin’ God’s gonna bless.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

(Acts 4:32-33 ESV)

Great Community + Great Power + Great Message = Great Grace. Sounds like a great recipe.

The full number of those who believed were one. Not just some of them, all of them. And not just in alignment on an accepted statement of faith, but knit together in heart and soul as to the implications of such a faith. Brothers and sisters in the truest sense. I got your back, you got mine. The family looking after the family. A great community, obeying the Lord’s great command, and providing a great witness to the reality of the gospel.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
~ Jesus ~

(John 13:34-35 ESV)

What’s more, the Lord had promised that, when He left, He would send Another, just like Him, to empower them–the Spirit of truth (Jn. 14:6). One who would teach all things to them (Jn. 14:26). One who would bear witness of Christ’s redemptive work through them (Jn. 15:26). A community eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3) is gonna know something of the reality of the power of the Spirit. A great power upon a great community.

And that great community, with such great power, stewards no greater message than the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Behold the grave clothes lying flat! Talk to the 500+ who encountered the risen Christ. Want proof that the work on the cross was sufficient? that it really was finished? Hear God’s, “Amen!” to Calvary as it echoes through the walls of an empty tomb.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

(Luke 24:5b-6 ESV)

Great community. The evidence of the life-changing dynamic of the gospel. Great power. The Spirit sourcing the life-invading power of the gospel. Great message. The resurrection an unshakeable foundation for the life-giving reality of the gospel.

. . . and great grace was upon them all.

The favor of God. And favor with the people.

God’s blessing the gospel where the gospel is lived out and proclaimed. People drawn by the Spirit to the gospel where gospel implications are evident and authentic.

And we, as the church, get to participate. By His enabling, we get to live in great community. Through His presence, we get to be conduits for great power. According to His word, we get to be ambassadors of reconciliation sharing a great message. And in all this, experiencing His great grace.

Not really into spiritual recipes. But thinking this is something worth chewing on.

Because of His great grace. Only for His great glory.

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An Egyptian Servant, A Hebrew King

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Pete

They couldn’t have been any more different. First, she’s a her and he’s a him. Furthermore, she was an Egyptian. He was a Hebrew. And she was bottom of the food chain, a servant of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. While he was the big kahuna, king of Israel, a son of Abraham who served no one but God alone.

But in my readings this morning what hits me is their similarities. Both were in dire straits.

She was forced to flee the safety of her place of employment after her mistress “dealt harshly with her” (Gen. 16:6). And that because she had “looked with contempt” on her barren boss after having been required to conceive a child by her boss’s husband. Baby wasn’t her idea. Being arrogant about it, though, wasn’t such a good move. And so she finds herself homeless, helpless, and in desperate need.

As for the king, we aren’t told the specifics of his situation. Whatever the cause, he takes responsibility, accepting the need for rebuke and discipline (Ps. 6:1-2). But that it was also desperate is made crystal clear (6:6-7). He was weary with groaning. Every night he flooded his bed with tears. His couch was drenched with his weeping. His eyes wasted because of grief. Whoever his enemies were, and whatever they were doing to him, this descendant of Abraham, ascended to the throne of Israel, was at the end of himself–just like the nobody house servant of Abraham was at the end of herself.

Seems trials and tribulations are a great equalizer. But I’m also thinking they are a place ripe for an encounter of the divine kind with the God who listens to our affliction.

And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. . . .” So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.”

(Genesis 16:11, 13 ESV)

. . . for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.

(Psalm 6:8b-9 ESV)

God had listened to her affliction. He had heard the sound of his weeping. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

She was in the wilderness thinking she was alone (Gen. 16:7). He was in his palace crying out to God, “But LORD, how long?” (Ps. 6:3b). But both became keenly aware of the God who sees and the LORD who listens.

For her, it was through an angel. For him, it was by faith. She came to know more about Abraham’s God. He grew to know more of what it meant to trust in the God of Abraham.

Different people. Different life stories. But the same God . . . the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).

The God who listens to afflictions. The God who sees our hardship. The One who looks after us.

Sometimes seemingly silent, but always hearing the sound of our weeping. Sometimes taking longer to intervene than we’d like, but the One who is not deaf to our pleas and is ready, willing, and able to accept our prayer.

Behold our God!

The God who is gracious to me (Ps. 6:2).

The God to whom all glory is due.

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An Old Song

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Pete

Hovering over the opening verses of Psalm 5 this morning. Familiar and yet, thanx to the Spirit, surprisingly fresh this morning.

In 1975 a guy by the name of Bill Sprouse Jr. put the first three verses of Psalm 5 to music. (I know, David had done that a few years before then, but David didn’t have the Authorized Version to work with.) A few years after that, the guy in this chair was regularly singing Bill’s version of Psalm 5 with a group of “young people” whenever they gathered. I’m guessing that, next to John 3:16, probably among the first portions of Scripture I ever memorized.

Meditating on it this morning and I realize (I think for the first time since switching from the NKJV to the ESV in 2011) that the translation I’m reading now is different than the lyrics I sung years ago.

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto Thee will I pray. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.

(Psalm 5:1-3 KJV)

Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray. O LORD, in the morning You hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

(Psalm 5:1-3 ESV)

It’s that last phrase that I’m chewing on. Directing my prayer vs. preparing a sacrifice. Looking up vs. keeping a watch.

I do a bit of e-enabled comparison of translations and some e-enabled Hebrew lexicon work and am thinking the ESV is probably the more accurate translation. And it’s got me thinking again about the importance of morning prayer when it comes to setting things up for the rest of the day.

Asking God to consider our meditation or groanings in the morning; petitioning Him to hearken or give attention to our words; believing that our God is a God who desires to be engaged in our lives and is ready, willing, and able to hear our voice; should compel us each morning to lay out the pieces of our lives on an altar in His holy presence and then watch closely for His interaction with those pieces.

More than just looking up and directing our prayers heavenward, so often feeling like they never really get past the ceiling, we instead set forth our praise and petitions for God to descend upon and make contact with as He wills. Rather than trying to force things up, we simply arrange our stuff before Him–all our stuff, the good, the bad, and the ugly–and ask that His fire come down and envelope it.

And then we watch. We look out for. Like a watchman we set ourselves to observe closely. We lean into the day, peering into what is yet to transpire, expectantly looking for how the God who hears our prayers will interact with our pieces.

We watch. We wait. We trust. Having entered His house again through the abundance of His steadfast love (5:7), the love manifest in and through His Son. Taking refuge in His promised protection (5:11). Blessed as we rest in the covering of His all-sufficient, shield-like favor (5:12). Rejoicing as, under our breath, we sing again that old song, if even in the old way . . .

O Lord, in the morning, will I direct my prayer. Unto Thee and will look up.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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