September 12 — Psalm 134

“Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD! Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the LORD. May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.”

This is the last psalm of the collection or group called “Songs of Ascents,” and it is of the nature of a doxology. As with many of the Psalms, the author is unknown. The psalm is a summons to praise, and it is probable that it was designed to be sung by alternate choirs – the first two verses representing the people approaching the sanctuary, calling on those including the ministers of religion – to lift up their hands in the sanctuary and to praise the Lord; the second and remaining verses are the response of the priests or the ministers of religion, pronouncing a blessing on the people – a blessing as proceeding out of Zion.

This Psalm actually follows the format of our worship experience — the people come to the house of G-d to offer up prayer, praise and thanksgiving; and they leave having heard the word and having received the sacrament of the table, leaving as people who have been blessed.

We should praise G-d continually each and every day, and look for the reasons to do so. There are many reason why we should be offering prayer, praise and thanksgiving to G-d. Spend time each morning first in thankfulness. Open your heart to the intricate unending love that we all receive through Jesus Christ. Truly, all of our requests will come into alignment with G-d’s will when we have done so.

It is in this presentation of Psalm 134, a short but precise example of praise and worship, that we see the benefit of reading the Psalms and meditating upon them often. Not only do they form our spiritual life, but they inform our worship life as well.

Let us Pray:

Lord God, where two or three gather in your name, you promise to be with them. Look upon your family gathered in your name, and graciously pour out your blessing upon us; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

September 13 — Psalm 135

“Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; give praise, O servants of the LORD, you that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for he is gracious. For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both human beings and animals; he sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings—Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan—and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel. Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. For the LORD will vindicate his people, and have compassion on his servants.” (Verses 1-14)

I know there are people who pray in their car, or pray as they’re getting ready to go to work, and even pray every single place that allows such devotion. These are good habits for those who can focus, but for people like me, it often is not that easy. I must have longer moments of quiet time to remain focused. It’s how my brain works within the structure of my day. More importantly, it’s what I need. You however, you may be able to use that time more efficiently than I — for that may be how your brain works.

And now, in this Covid19 soaked world, the reality is that our concerns for getting through each day may outweigh the praise we can offer on a daily basis. We get consumed and overwhelmed with rotating school schedules, work from home distractions, or anxiety attacks about this virus that if we are going to get any time to pray or hold devotions, we are going to need to force ourselves to reflect.

There are many times throughout my week where I sit down at my desk and before the first key is pressed on my IPad, I sit back and offer up a prayer as my heart feels the need. And opening with praise, as Psalm 135 does, offering up praise before we even think about what it is we need, or who needs our prayers that day, well, that little offering of praise can change the course of our thinking. It changes the mindset of the burdens of the day.

For each of us, there are many reasonable and logical reasons why we should praise G-d. There is purpose to why the psalmist opens and closes with praise. For it pulls back the veil of our needy thinking and draws all attention to the One who holds the answers, who has the capability to intervene, and most of all, unconditional love for all.

Let us Pray:

Lord God, great are your deeds; you have shattered the powers of evil and have shown compassion to your servants. Keep us from being deceived by idols, for there is no god like you, and your renown endures from age to age. Blessed are you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

September 10 — Psalm 132

“O LORD, remember in David’s favor all the hardships he endured; how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, “I will not enter my house or get into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool.” Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy. For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one. The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.” For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation: “This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread. Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy. There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”

Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.

The Ark of the Covenant — it was a “frightening device” — one to be regarded with awe and fear all of the time. It did contain the original tablets of the “Decalogue”, the Ten Commandments, and yet it also produced energy that would kill. This sacred object was revered but it could not be controlled by people. The interesting part of the Ark was that though it “represented” G-d, yet G-d was not “in the box”. It merely represented G-d’s presence among the chosen people.

The Ark was constructed and kept in the Tabernacle during the wilderness wanderings following the captivity in Egypt. When the Jews reached the Jordan River, the priests walked into the river with the Ark, and the waters parted. The people followed, entering the Promised Land on dry ground. Because of this miraculous event, the Israelites regarded the Ark with awe, with superstition, and as I said before, with fear. They later took it into battle as a secret weapon, hoping it would bring them good luck.

It is unclear when the Ark disappeared, but it ceases to be mentioned sometime in 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to have the Ark (in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, in Axum). It was entrusted by Solomon to the Queen of Sheba and their son Menelik for safekeeping, according to Ethiopian royal chronicles. The Ark allegedly resides in a sanctuary in Axum (the original capital of the Biblical land of Cush), where priests guard it, and no one is allowed to see it.

Hashim Ahmed, an Ethiopian Christian and journalist, writes: “I do believe the Ark is in Axum. It is not tradition; it is factual. It was moved several times during the Italian invasion.”

Whether the Ark does reside in Axum in Ethiopia, or if it is hiding somewhere else, the Ark of the Covenant continues to be an object that produces awe and fear. However, G-d continues to be ever-present in the world through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Let us Pray:

Faithful God, we remember your promises to David, and how you continued to keep them in Jesus Christ. Make our hearts your dwelling place, clothe your people with holiness, and give bread to the poor, that we may rejoice and sing to you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

September 11 — Psalm 133

“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.”

There are few things as precious in this world as believers who worship together, who pray together, and who choose to live together in unity. And one of the marks of a great church is the sense of fellowship and unity we experience in the body of Christ.

Have you ever gone on a road trip with your family? My family did so one year — and by my family I am speaking of my siblings, all of our collective children, plus my Aunt and my parents. It was a long, trying week. But this is how road trips are — they can be really, really good; or they can be really, really bad. Now imagine instead of just your family if you packed in all your relatives and all of your neighbors as well. I am not so sure anyone would want to sign up for that trip today.

But that is what was happening with the annual feasts in Jerusalem. The people would travel to Jerusalem for the feasts along with their neighbors, family and relatives. And as they drew closer to Jerusalem more and more people would come together, people from different regions and different tribes, but all coming together for one common purpose – to worship the Lord at Jerusalem.

Psalm 133 celebrates the goodness of the life with which the Lord blesses those who are assembled together. Augustine claimed that the psalm gave birth to the monasteries; at the least, it was an important text for these brotherhoods assembled by the vocation of G-d. In services of Christian unity, the psalm is a witness that G-d is at work building a family that transcends all the given and instituted barriers that separate and diminish life.

Let us Pray:

Gracious God, you have poured into our hearts the precious oil of your Spirit. Make of us one heart and one will, that as members of the body of Christ, we may be united in the bonds of love; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.