May 9th — Psalm 69

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel. It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children. It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.” Psalm 69:1-11

In our suffering, we pray expecting relief from G-d . . . and sometimes answers are not immediate. Sometimes G-d allows us to suffer for the sake of suffering — for there must be some greater understanding that we might be privy to from that suffering — often a message that is beyond us. Part of our relationship with G-d involves waiting and seeking understanding when all things seem to be beyond our knowing, trusting that our faith is not in vain. We learn to take comfort in knowing that G-d hears our prayers and blesses us for our patience and our faith.

G-d is a G-d of love — a Lord who is good and not manipulative. G-d’s love, mercy and grace are indeed great and we will always do well to approach our Lord in trust and faith.

The Psalmist says “It is zeal for your house that has consumed me…” Zeal for the house of the Lord should always consume us — for it is the presence of the Lord that we will find comfort and strength. This is what makes this shelter in place edict so difficult. We are not used to being forced to stay away from the Lord’s house. And yet, we can continue to be in the presence of G-d through prayer, praise and thanksgiving — daily acts of giving thanks.

PRAYER

God of hope, in Christ’s passover from death to life you restore the fallen and rebuild the broken walls. Turn to us in your great compassion, and answer us with your unfailing help, for you are the strength of your people; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

May 10th — Psalm 70

“Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me! Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me. Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!”

turn back because of their shame. Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!” Psalm 70

The Psalmist has decided to give his anxieties to the LORD in the first part of this Psalm leading to some assurance that G-d has heard him and will answer his prayer. This has comforted him — and this is what our prayers should do for us — they should comfort us. As such, the Psalmist continues to pray, but with a different spirit — a comforted spirit. His thoughts are already moving toward what it means to be in the comfort of the Lord. He believes that his deliverance will not only be for his own well-being, but will also serve as an encouragement to the godly in the land.

Do we ever consider the fact that when we live in the comfort of the presence of G-d, that our lives will be a beacon for that comfort? Others will see the joy that defines our lives when we live in the Lord’s presence.

Others might also say, “God is great” (v4). In this exaltation, the Psalmist says that G-d is greater than all the troubles and all the enemies of this world. We too, are called to believe that G-d is greater, G-d is above all our troubles and all our enemies, even those like Covid-19 that remain invisible to us. Let us also live our lives shouting “God is great” every day.

PRAYER

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

May 7th — Psalm 67

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.” Psalm 67

So many people in this world are lost. They do not know where they came from, why they are here, and where they will go after death. Thus, their vision of life in this realm is solely focused on what they can get before they die. The Devil then comes along and fills their minds with his desires, misleading them with all that leads only to death. These people need to know the ways of the Lord and the Lord needs you and me to be at the forefront of this endeavor. There is nothing like a pandemic to help people feel even more lost — and to believe that the Devil has taken charge.

As such, the people of this world are also blinded by the Devils tricks. Salvation belongs to G-d alone, and nothing is more important than for the Lord to have an army of believers who know G-d. The psalmist prays that the “nations will be glad and sing for joy” as a response to the Lord’s presence — that the ways and salvation of God may be known throughout the earth.

The faith of G-d’s people must be strong in the Lord so we will resist evil and that others may be strengthened and encouraged to resist the evil one as well.

PRAYER

God of wisdom, through your power the earth has brought forth its noblest fruit, the tree of the cross. Unite all people in its embrace, and feed us with its fruit, everlasting life through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

May 8th — Psalm 68

“Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy. Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—his name is the Lord—be exultant before him. Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.

O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. The Lord gives the command; great is the company of those who bore the tidings: “The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”

The women at home divide the spoil, though they stay among the sheepfolds—the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with green gold. When the Almighty scattered kings there, snow fell on Zalmon.” Psalm 68:1-14

This Psalm in the Old Testament shows that the heart of G-d in the Old Testament is the same as G-d’s heart in the New Testament. G-d desires to save us from sin, death, the devil and all earthly desires that heap undue volumes of burdens upon us. The greatest burden that often goes unspoken is the burden of our sins — and it is our sins that crushed the Lord Jesus, who bore them on the cross. How much more will He bear the much lighter burden of our day to day troubles. Just as we trust our Lord to forgive us our sins, we must trust Jesus to bear our burdens.

Every day, in these days of sheltering in place, we have a lot of time to think, to contemplate, and to pray. As such, as we come out of our daily prayer time, we must come out free of the condemnation of sin — or in other words, when we live knowing that Jesus forgives us, then we are free from the burden of our troubles and free from the fear of death.

But we cannot do this alone. It requires the presence of the Holy Spirit and our relationship with G-d — the spirit-filled life is one full of vitality and life. The Gospels show us that sin, death and evil are nothing in the hands of our G-d who alone can save us from them. Furthermore, the keys of death and of Hades are also firmly in His hands. When we live in the presence of the cross of Jesus, then we know that when we die, we will live on in the age to come resting in the presence of Jesus. He alone can help us bear death in this world and He alone will carry us to the next — where we shall never die.

PRAYER

God of majesty, when we were in captivity your Son was lifted high on the cross to lead us into freedom. Support us day by day. May our lives praise you and our voices proclaim your good news to all people, that they may find their hope in you and live to your honor and glory; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.