August 15 — Psalm 106

“Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or declare all his praise? Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them; that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your heritage. Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, so that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.” (Verses 1-12)

In Psalm 106 the psalmist writes for a congregation whose purpose is to praise the LORD — but the beginning of praise is the recognition of the sin we have in our past and its consequences. Many of the Psalms list the ways the people have disappointed G-d in their past as their confession of sin.

The Psalmist then reminds the people that God’s wrath is followed by G-d’s salvation when the people cry out to him — and thus the concluding prayer for salvation.

Look, we long for peace, for calm, for stability. And we long for them in such a way that they will last — if not forever, at least for the next week. We long for this pandemic to pass by and the sooner the better — because this virus has taken away our sense of “habit”. But no matter how upsetting life becomes, we must remember the Lord is good and his love is everlasting.

Deep within us is that place where the essence of our essence resides — and in that same place, by grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ also dwells. We become, by his grace what He is by his nature — the essence of what it means to be a “child of G-d” — loved as the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father. He is always with us, Emmanuel, and we with Him unless, once more, we, like the Israelites, settle for the illusion of striving for our own salvation.

Let us Pray:

Merciful God, remembering your covenant, you graciously pardoned those who rebelled against you. Grant that, where sin abounds, grace may abound more; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

August 14 — Psalm 105

“O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered, O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.” When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in it, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm. He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron whom he had chosen. They performed his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words. .” (Verses 1-15, 26-28)

Seek the LORD and His strength: G-d’s people are invited to not only seek G-d, but also G-d’s strength. This strength is given to God’s people as they seek Him, as Paul would later write: Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).

Seek — we have the word three times, and though the words differ in the Hebrew, the sense is the same. It is a blessed thing to be moved to “seek the Lord”, though we know the Lord is just a prayer away.

As Lutherans we believe that G-d comes down to us — we do not need to try to work our way up to heaven. Jesus came down in the flesh, as Paul writes in Philippians 2 “Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

As such, Jesus will come again, in the flesh, to bring all people to salvation. But whenever we participate in the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism, Jesus comes to be among his people. And yet, it is a good thing to be seeking the Lord — because it reminds us to daily keep our eyes focused on the presence of G-d in our lives.

Let us pray:

God of our salvation, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ you continue to fulfill your covenant promise to redeem the world from slavery and to lead your people into the promised land. Grant us living water from the rock and bread from heaven, that we may survive our desert pilgrimage and praise you forever; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.