Psalm 22

Peace

Posted on by Betsy

What does the word peace mean to you? Does it include a personal perspective of your spiritual and emotional well-being? Is it an image of a family sitting around a dining table enjoying a meal together without any arguing or hard feelings? Does it indicate a global environment where countries are not at war with each other? I think it is all of that and much more.

When Jesus left this earth, he said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace be with you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Jesus reminds us that he desires us to have a peace that can come only from a relationship with him. And his peace passes all understanding.

Do you have that kind of peace?

In the 22nd Psalm, we are encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. If you know the history of the Middle East, you can appreciate what a big ask that is. The psalmist is on a pilgrimage to the spiritual center of his religion and his heart, and his hope are focused on finding that Jerusalem can be a place of peace in the troubled world of conquests and kingdoms. He is excited to go to the temple to worship, and proud of its fortifications and strength:

Psalm 122 (Common English Bible)

 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let’s go to the Lord’s house!”
2 Now our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem is built like a city
    joined together in unity.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
    the Lord’s tribes!
It is the law for Israel
    to give thanks there to the Lord’s name,
5     because the thrones of justice are there—
    the thrones of the house of David!

The halls of justice were located in Jerusalem, as the Hebrew Law made its home within its walls. The people went to this beautiful city on the hill as the law required to pay their alms and tithes at the temple and revel in its beauty. It was a spiritual and emotional home for them.

6 Pray that Jerusalem has peace:
    “Let those who love you have rest.
7     Let there be peace on your walls;
    let there be rest on your fortifications.”

We might take a cue from this and pray for peace in our spiritual homes as well. Do you pray for your church? For your denomination? Is there peace in your pews, or does dissension live there? A pastor friend once said that church was like visiting the sausage factory … everybody loves to eat sausage, but you might not want to know what goes in it. Ever feel that way?

If that resonates with you today, take heart. Every institution made of people is bound to have conflict, differences of opinion, and the occasional (frequent) unpeaceful moment. But never mind all that. Where God is present is the only place to be. We are called to make the pilgrimage despite its flaws. Just remember to pray for peace and never cease to pray for your church’s good.

8 For the sake of my family and friends,
    I say, “Peace be with you, Jerusalem.”
9 For the sake of the Lord our God’s house
    I will pray for your good.

Let There Be Peace on Earth by Michelle Robertson

Listen Up

Posted on by Betsy

God gave us two ears and one mouth. Do you think that might be a hint that we should listen twice as much as we speak? I think this applies to everything we do with our ears…our conversations, our arguments, our discussions with our family, our debates, our prayers…there is nothing we do that wouldn’t be improved by more listening and less talking.

Listening is a way of God. Did you ever think about that? No matter what you take to him, he is guaranteed to listen to you. There is NOTHING you can say, no evil or destructive behavior you need to confess, no grudge so petty, no angry word expressed, that he won’t hear with loving concern.

As the psalmist says, “He didn’t hide his face from me. No, he LISTENED when I cried out to him for help.”

Psalm 22 (Common English Bible)

All of you who revere the Lord—praise him!
    All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him!
    All of you who are all Israel’s offspring—
        stand in awe of him!
24 Because he didn’t despise or detest
    the suffering of the one who suffered—
    he didn’t hide his face from me.
    No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.

For this alone, God is worthy of our praise. He inclines his ear to our suffering. He is found by those who seek him. He is worthy of the worship of all nations.

25 I offer praise in the great congregation
    because of you;
    I will fulfill my promises
    in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
    Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
        I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
    will remember and come back to the Lord;
    every family among all the nations will worship you.
28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
    he rules all nations.
29 Indeed, all the earth’s powerful
    will worship him;
    all who are descending to the dust
    will kneel before him;
    my being also lives for him.
30 Future descendants will serve him;
    generations to come will be told about my Lord.
31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness
        to those not yet born,
        telling them what God has done.

What can we do in response? We can listen to people in his name. We can incline our ear to suffering. We can come back to him with repentant hearts. We can refuse to hide our faces from people who need help.

We can hear the way God hears.

Find someone today who simply needs to be heard, and offer them the gift of your time and your presence. There is a teenager with a broken heart, an overwhelmed business owner, an anxious school mom…somebody out there needs to talk. Incline your ear toward their hurt.

And remember to listen twice as much as you speak.

God Speaks by Michelle Robertson

The Art of Listening

Posted on by Betsy

In a sermon I recently preached on the subject of prayer, I reminded the congregation that God gave us two ears and one mouth, which perhaps might be a hint that we should listen twice as much as we speak. I was applying this to prayer, but I think it could apply to everything else…our conversations, our arguments, our discussions with our family, our debates…there is nothing we do that wouldn’t be improved by more listening and less talking.

Listening is a way of God. Did you ever think about that? No matter what you take to him, he is guaranteed to listen to you. There is NOTHING you can say, no evil or destructive behavior you need to confess, no grudge so petty, no angry word expressed, that he won’t hear with loving concern. As the psalmist says, “He didn’t hide his face from me. No, he LISTENED when I cried out to him for help.”

Psalm 22 (Common English Bible)

All of you who revere the Lord—praise him!
    All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him!
    All of you who are all Israel’s offspring—
        stand in awe of him!
24 Because he didn’t despise or detest
    the suffering of the one who suffered—
    he didn’t hide his face from me.
    No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.

For this alone, God is worthy of our praise. He inclines his ear to our suffering. He is found by those who seek him. He is worthy of the worship of all nations.

25 I offer praise in the great congregation
    because of you;
    I will fulfill my promises
    in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
    Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
        I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
    will remember and come back to the Lord;
    every family among all the nations will worship you.
28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
    he rules all nations.
29 Indeed, all the earth’s powerful
    will worship him;
    all who are descending to the dust
    will kneel before him;
    my being also lives for him.
30 Future descendants will serve him;
    generations to come will be told about my Lord.
31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness
        to those not yet born,
        telling them what God has done.

What can we do in response? We can listen in his name. We can incline our ear to suffering. We can come back to him with repentant hearts. We can refuse to hide our faces from people who need help.

We can hear the way he hears.

Find someone today who simply needs to be heard, and offer them the gift of your time and your presence. And remember to listen twice as much as you speak.

Listen Well by Michelle Robertson

Great Assembly

Posted on by Betsy

OK, here’s the truth. I am tired of everybody’s online worship. I am tired of watching myself on TV on Sunday mornings in my jammies, with a cup of coffee in my hand. We are all tired of trying to think of new and creative ways to tell the story of Jesus while making eye contact with the cold, hard lens of a camera.

I guess I’m just tired of the isolation of attending church in my living room. I bet you are, too. I need my people.

I believe we were created for corporate worship. I believe heaven rejoices when God’s people gather in a place and raise their combined voices as one melody of adoration. I believe kids should be noisy and fidgety, older people should snooze, and young people should text each other during church…like we normally do every Sunday!

(Look, I’m like Santa sitting up there in the front….I see you when you’re sleeping, I know when you’re awake…)

I also believe we should listen with open hearts and minds, and in my church, that is what we do every Sunday together. I miss my congregation’s attentiveness to the Word as it is spoken, proclaimed, sung, and experienced. You see, I also see people leaning in when the Word is offered.

So today’s Psalm sent a ping straight to my heart with the very first verse:

Psalm 22 (New King James Version)

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!

But then we get to a verse that reminds us that we worship as all the families of the nations. In that context, we couldn’t possibly be together in one place, and thus we are reminded that God’s kingdom is so much larger than the sanctuary that we are all missing:

27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

So what do you suppose our children are learning from this? Parents, what you are doing right now is teaching your children, who are the “posterity and the next generation,” about what YOU really feel about worship. Are you finding it less and less convenient to set Sunday morning aside for family worship? Is the beach, a sunny walk, picking strawberries, a bike ride to the woods, etc. more enticing to you as this pandemic wears on? Be careful with your priorities. The children are watching.

30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.

If you are a regular church goer, please hang in there. Your pastor did not receive training as a televangelist in seminary. We are doing the best we can. God still requires that we keep the Sabbath holy, even in a pandemic.

The good news is, the great assembly will return! So in the meantime, let us continue to set Sunday mornings aside for “corporate” worship. God is still here, and he is worthy of our praise.

New Normal