All my life long I'll praise Yahweh (146:1)
He always does what he says - he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. (146:7)
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we'll never comprehend what he knows and does. (147:5)
He made your city secure, he blessed your children among you. He keeps the peace at your borders, he put the best bread on your tables.(147:13-14)
Praise Yahweh from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops...praise him, sun and moon, praise him, you morning stars... (148:1, 3)
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky; he's built a monument - his very own people! (148:13)
Sing to Yahweh a brand-new song, praise him in the company of all who love him. (149:1)
Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness...(150:2)Although these psalms are undated, they are believed to have been written after the exile and after the rebuilding of the Temple - after the Israelites have been through a long season of difficulties. The context is the beautiful praise that emanates from the harshness of life; the love that pours out after living through tragedy; the devotion that moves forward from tried and tested hearts. This is different. This is not optimism or positive thinking. This is God's new song, His severe mercy.
"The more clearly you see Me, the more gladly you will sing a new song that can never be sung by those who live on the broad road of seeking Me for blessings. You will dance before Me with all your might, in moments now, in endless joy forever. 'I will sing praise to my God as long as I live...the Lord reigns forever... Praise the Lord' (146:2, 10)...
"God, kill everything in me that keeps me from an authentic encounter with You. Your plan is hard but it is good. You are severe, but You are merciful. I want to know You. Shine Your light on the narrow road so I can live in this world the way You want me to live." (66LL)God, we have read about Your severity in the Old Testament and we have experienced Your severity in our own lives. We do not praise You because You have kept us from it, but because in it we can truly know You and know Your mercy. This requires death - death to myself, death to my dreams that have become idols, death to all that usurps You. And that is the severe mercy, that You allow the death of these things so that I don't miss You.
“A severe mercy--the phrase haunted him: a mercy that was as severe as death, a death that was as merciful as love.” (Sheldon VanAuken, A Severe Mercy)As we leave the Psalms, what is God mercifully severing from your life so that you might encounter Him? What "new song" are you singing?
[Sidenote: I highly recommend this book, A Severe Mercy. He was a close friend of C.S. Lewis and wrote this book about his wife and their search for faith.]
4 comments:
Psalm 146:3-5 Don't put your life in the hands of experts... . Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them.
Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing! Seems like I'm hoping for the next book, the next conversation, the next worship to shed Light on my darkness, vindicate me. No, God is inviting me to Himself and severing my props---no music, no connections, no solutions, no explanations MORE than Him. The God of Jacob is here in July and looking for me and you. My New Song---I am alive, far worse than I thought, and hold more Hope than ever!
PS - Came back to say that I'm not putting down reading books or going to counselors. I'm reading 3 books at the same time right now and a counseling manual. And I loved A Severe Mercy---oh my! But, what do I want MORE than the Love of God? What do I want from the experts?
I think God has been stripping away many of the things that I put my identity in - leadership, ability to crank out work, a well-managed life, being identified as an influencer.
This has been going on for the past few years but especially since I had kids. It's been difficult, to say the least, but in some ways, God has felt closer and more real in the midst of it than He had in awhile - probably because I have a better appreciation for how much I desperately need Him. I see myself more clearly now; I used to think I was pretty good! :-) I'm learning more and more that He really is the God who holds me together. (Psalm 57:2)
Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well! (Psalm 90:12)
Can't believe we're done psalms! LOVE them. I know I'll be coming back and coming back to Psalms.
As I encounter God these days, I am seeing Him mercifully severe my need for control. In order to trust Him and know Him better. It's amazing because more and more I want to have on my open hands, everything. But it's just natural for me to want to be in control, or direct things in my life. As I let go and know more and more what kind of loving God I follow. It's easier to trust Him. It's a faster turning back to Him because I know I have nowhere else better to go. But than to my God! And graciously, He's giving me a heart of praise. I am thankful.
Soaking up His love. So in need of my Lord every day, every moment. And I am so thirsty to come back for more. God is good. He is sovereign. He is loving!!
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