NO STRINGS ATTACHED (Psalm 61:6-8)

6 Increase the days of the king's life, his years for many generations. 7 May he be enthroned in God's presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him. 8 Then will I ever sing praise to your name and fulfill my vows day after day. (NIV)

“If you love me” is a phrase my wife and I mutually agreed to ban from our relationship early in our marriage. It smacks of manipulation and conditional love because something is always going to follow “If you love me…” You wouldn’t leave your dirty underwear on the bathroom floor. You wouldn’t use my razor to shave your legs. You’d do the dishes without being asked. You’d understand why I have to work late. The list goes on. The love we receive from God is unconditional, given freely and graciously, with no strings attached. His love is more than a gift; it’s a model for how we are to love others. So no “If you love me’s” allowed around our house. However, verses six through eight in today’s psalm almost sounds like one of these statements. The psalmist petitions God to give the king and his descendants’ long and prosperous life and then seems to promise that if God follows through, he’ll reciprocate with worship and the completion of his half of the bargain. While it my sound like an “If you love me” moment, there’s a fine line between manipulation and motivation. Instead of trying to manipulate God into answering his prayer, the psalmist is actually motivated by what he is already confident God will do according to his request in verses six and seven. He is so sure that God is listening, responsive and willing to give us what we ask for that he wants God to know how he will respond – with praise and by being as faithful to God as he is sure God is faithful to him. Our confidence in God adopts a new catch phrase into the household vocabulary: “Because I love you” replaces “If you love me”.

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (Psalm 61:5)

5 For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. (NIV)

One of my favorite bumper stickers is usually seen adorning the rear of a sports car or an R.V. and reads, “We’re spending our kid’s inheritance.” I guess I’ve always liked it for two reasons (besides the fact that it’s funny): First, it applauds enjoying life now. In my opinion, too many people are waiting for that elusive day when they’ve dotted the last of their “i’s” and crossed their final “t” to start living life. I’m very much a carpe diem type of guy. Second, its message flies in the face of the idea that we ought to leave our wealth, if we have any, to our children so they won’t have to work as hard as we did. Sure, we all want our kids to have a good life, but a financial inheritance doesn’t guarantee that. Besides, in today’s passage the psalmist is not speaking of wealth regarding the bequest he’s received from God. Heritage includes both inheriting the land promised to God’s chosen people and the enjoyment of the benefits from living the covenant life. When you consider the blessings of being a child of God, a follower of Christ, you can’t put a price tag on forgiveness, joy, God’s kingdom, eternal life and living a life full of grace. They are treasures beyond value. Which would you rather bequeath to your children, friends and neighbors – money which will flow like water through a sieve or faith that will have an eternal impact on countless lives? Spend your inheritance, but leave behind a legacy.

ROAD TRIP (Psalm 61:4)

4 I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. (NIV)

Nothing is as long as the drive of a family vacation or a cross-country road trip. No sooner than you’ve started down the road than someone is hungry, thirsty or has to go to the bathroom. The miles drag by until “I spy”, license plate tag and twenty questions have lost all their limited appeal. As much as dads want to set a new land speed record between home and the “happiest place on earth” they still come in a sad second to the excited and impatient kids cooped up in the back. They’ve anticipated, dreamed about and yearned for this adventure for weeks or months and even if you had access to the starship Enterprise’s transporter it still wouldn’t be quick enough for them. We’ve all heard, and dreaded those four little words on trips before and cringe in painful anticipation of the mantra we know is pre-programmed into their little heads. Finally, in a moment of quiet, pregnant with boredom, they whine “are we there, yet?” One inquiry is not enough so it is reiterated with regular frequency, a metronome ticking off the miles, testing patience and shortening fuses. You can sense this same urgency and yearning from the psalmist’s words in today’s verse. He is fed up with the now, with the waiting, with being told “someday”. He wants to be there already, in the presence of and living with God. Not just to escape the trials, difficulties, sadness and hardships that assail him, but to be in that happiest of places, to be with God. It’s not enough to only be in the same place with him, though. The psalmist longs to be permanent roommates, to know the comfort and intimacy of having God’s wings hug him. When you think about it that way, doesn’t your heart cry out “are we there, yet?”

HIGH ENOUGH (Psalm 61:2, 3)

2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. (NIV)

In 2005 the world watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city was flooded with some parts under 15 feet of water. Words failed me as I watched hurricane winds and rising flood waters hungrily consume New Orleans and her surrounding neighbors. My chest tightened and tears threatened to stream down my face as I watched hundreds, thousands, of people flee their ruined homes. I gazed numbly at my wife and children as news anchors shared story after story of those that didn’t survive and loved ones forever separated. In an effort to avoid the deluge victims looked to higher places for refuge – trees, cars and rooftops – only to find them, too, disappearing under the ever-rising waters. The lucky ones were shuttled off by boat or snatched into the sky by rescue helicopters even as murky water lapped at their feet. We’re reminded by today’s verses that God is our harbor; he is our sanctuary. When life’s waters rise, when all we once thought was so important is washed away, God will always be there, taller and more dependable than any storm raging around us. While we may be tempted to rely on our own strengths, our own abilities and our own wisdom we can be thankful for the hurricanes of trouble that, if nothing else, serve to remind us that there is one who is higher than us.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? (Psalm 61:1)

1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. (NIV)

Is anyone listening? Look around you. It doesn’t matter where you are or what time of day it is, just take a minute and look around. We’ve all become our own little islands. Blue-tooth enabled cell phones make it impossible to tell who’s having a conversation with who and whether or not you’re suppose to be included. Surround sound speakers drown out vain attempts at conversation. And Ipod umbilical cords firmly anchored in ears make it possible to be virtually alone in a crowded mall. All of us are either plugged in or tuning out something or someone other than those we’re with a large majority of the time. I’m not blaming technology, either. The problem isn’t new. Nearly thirty years ago when I was in high school and working part-time at our small town grocery store my boss demonstrated this to me. He responded to customers’ automatic “how are you?” with his own monotone, “terrible”. Ninety percent of the time they replied “that’s nice” and breezed ahead with their order at the meat counter he managed. What a rare and precious commodity it is to have someone give you their 100 percent, undivided attention! That’s why the psalmist’s plea in today’s verse strikes a chord. He just wanted to know that someone was truly listening to him, really hearing what was on his heart and giving him their complete attention. What a good reminder: sometimes it’s enough for us to just know God is there. To know that someone is listening. And that He cares.

BUS BULLY (Psalm 1:6)

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

(NIV)

Riding the school bus is one of those few childhood memories that contains a scene I like to replay in my mind. Only the “big kids” were allowed to sit in the back seats of the bus. It was a time-honored tradition that was enforced with iron-clad fervor like only the rules of childhood can be. As the bus neared the end of its route and seats emptied, older students relocated to the rear of the bus, claiming the coveted seats. They sat tall with one leg stretched out on the seat and their arm resting across the back, an emperor of their own little islands of green Naugahyde and paint-chipped steel tubing. Because our house was on the end of the route, there were always more empty rear seats than there were riders. So one day I decided that even though I wasn’t one of the “big kids” there was no reason I couldn’t shift to the back. My move didn’t go unchallenged, however and I soon found myself on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from an overzealous sixth-grader. Out of nowhere, my older brother appeared, bloodied the sixth-grader’s nose and made it clear to everyone on the bus that his little brother “could sit anywhere he wanted.” Up to that point, my brothers had always pretended I didn’t exist at school and I had grown accustomed to my invisibility. I was a little brother, an embarrassment when they were around their friends. It wasn’t something we talked about. It was just understood. I never realized until that day that they were watching out for me. Again and again, through middle school and high school there were subtle reminders of their protection and, yes, even love. The psalmist ends Psalm 1 with the reminder that God is watching out for us. Not out of some legalistic obligation, but because he knows us and loves us. Even when we aren’t aware of it, even when we’ve gotten use to thinking of ourselves as invisible, God is there. And he’s ready to come in swinging and tell the whole world that his child can sit anywhere we want.

LIFE LIGHT (Psalm 1:4, 5)

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. (NIV)

I slept with my head under the covers until I was sixteen years old. With three older brothers whose favorite game was “Let’s Scare Jeff”, I had good reasons to fear the dark! When they weren’t scaring me, I was busy terrifying myself. Moonlight peeking through the curtains and wind-bounced branches combined with my imagination to create the scariest monsters since Dracula. In the light of day or under the glare of a flashlight, these creatures were revealed for the innocent objects they were and it was easy to laugh at them, and myself. The only power my nighttime marauders really had was the power I gave them, in my own mind. It’s interesting to note the imagery the psalmist uses to describe the wicked in verse 4 of today’s reading. Does he describe them as horrible warriors mounted on thunder-pounding steeds or towering giants wielding bloody clubs? In the words of the psalmists, the wicked are chaff. That’s right - chaff. That stuff that covers the seeds of grain that gets blown away in the afternoon breeze and nobody ever sees again. Webster’s also defines chaff as “something comparatively worthless.” Yet when we think of the wicked, of our enemies, of those marshalling their forces against us don’t we envision them as hulking monsters, bigger than us, more powerful and intimidating? The psalmist reminds us that the only power they have is the power we give them, in our minds. In reality, they are nothing more than seedpods, husks, kindling for the hearth. It’s time to stop hiding under the covers. God has turned on the light.

TREE TRUTHS (Psalm 1:3)

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (NIV)

What are you afraid of? There have been several “Top Ten Fears” lists floating around the last few years. I was surprised to note that fear of failure wasn’t in the top ten. Yet, I’m sure it’s not only one of the more universally shared fears, but is also one of the most debilitating. Think about it for a minute. If you could do anything…ANYTHING…with no fear of failure, wouldn’t that change your life? Wouldn’t that be freeing? In verse three the godly are described as a tree that is free of failure; it produces fruit and doesn’t dry up. As a matter of fact, the psalmist goes on to tell us that “whatever he does prospers.” Doesn’t sound like failure to me. Right away our “but…” thinking kicks in to refute God’s promises to us. But… that sounds like the questionable prosperity gospel where believers are told to “name it and claim it” and everyone has a Cadillac and a mansion on the hill. But… prosperity only comes if you’re “planted by streams of water” and most of the time I feel far from God, not planted next to him. First, the prosperity God promises us isn’t limited to financial success. Psalm One is about being blessed and God’s blessings come in many sizes, shapes and forms. Secondly, the phrase translated “streams of water” means man-made watering canals specifically constructed for irrigation. These are located where they are FOR the trees; the trees don’t have to go looking for them. They’re already at their source of nourishment. We’re promised that we will: bear fruit, not wither, prosper whatever we do and are even planted right on the riverbank to guarantee our success.

So… What are you afraid of?

A JOYFUL TUNE (Psalm 1:2)

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (NIV)

This weekend it was “Achy Breaky Heart”. When our kids were younger it was Barney the purple dinosarus' “I love you” song. You know what I’m talking about. Those annoying tunes that get in your head, looping over and over again until you catch yourself caught in the trap of humming along. Aggravating as that can be, though, it does have its positive counterpart. The “alphabet song” lays the foundations for reading and writing. Wrinkled golden-agers still tear up to the spiritual primer, “Jesus loves me.” It’s a simple way of teaching eternal truths. Contrasting Psalm 1:1 with verse 2, the psalmist tells us how the godly should spend his days. It includes meditating on the law of the Lord, which, if we’re bluntly honest, doesn’t really sound too exciting. It dredges up the image of smoking incense, sitar music, squatting sages and chanting. Or at best, we see it as a chore, something on our “honey-do list”. We know we ought to do it and should do it. It’s good for us like a bitter medicine, but we’d really rather not have to take it. Of course, the problem is that we have the incorrect ideas both about what law means and what it is to meditate. The law as it is used here isn’t the Torah or even the Old Testament scriptures. It refers to instruction, or revelation, from God. It isn’t limited to God’s written Word, but includes his everyday communication with us. Simply put, the law is God – all that he is and all that he wants for us, his children. The Hebrew word for meditate (hagah) alludes to animal sounds or moaning. It means to murmur or mutter. It captures the way God’s word was communicated and repeated orally from generation to generation before his written word was widely available. So he who delights in the Lord has the refrain of God’s love song playing in his head all day and all night. No offense to Barney or Billy Ray, but now that’s a tune I can live with.

FOLLOWING THE LEADER (Psalm 1:1)

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. (NIV)

Before the birth of Nintendo DS, Playstations and satellite TV there was “follow the leader”. At the risk of sounding like my dad (an official old person), kids today have too many toys. I miss the good ole days! We use to spend hours trailing after whoever’s turn it was to be the leader. Balancing along logs. Leap-frogging over bushes. Skipping from stone to stone across a stream. Swinging like monkeys from tree branches. The game was boundless in its simplicity. The only rule was mimicking the leader and their antics. However, as the psalmist reminds us in today’s verse, it isn’t always a good idea to follow the leader. It all depends on the leader. In verse one of Psalm one, we read not a specific list of forbidden behavior but an example of a way of life to avoid. “Don’t walk.” “Don’t stand.” “Don’t sit.” Everyday actions that add up to habits, to a lifestyle. The tense of the verbs in the original Hebrew isn’t talking about a one-time instruction, but would be more properly read as “never”. Never listen to advice of those with questionable motives. Never imitate rebels. Never hang out with those who ridicule God. The Lord doesn’t have anything against following; he just wants us to know who we shouldn’t follow...and who we should. And not because if we do he’ll have to hate, crush, annihilate, or destroy us. But because he wants us to experience joy – his blessings. He wants us to be happy. Following, by definition, implies we’ll end up at the same destination as the person we’re following. God simply wants to make sure we end up with him.

FAIRY TALE ENDING (Psalm 30:11-12)

11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. (NIV)

“Once upon a time…” Cinderella goes from wearing rags and sleeping in the hearth to being adorned in an elegant gown, complete with glass slippers, and married to royalty. Pinocchio is transformed from an unfeeling, wooden puppet into an honest-to-goodness flesh and blood boy. A warty frog is revealed to be a handsome prince and an ugly duckling matures into a beautiful swan. Fairy tales always end with –happy endings. Yet another poor casualty of youth along with Santa Claus and the Easter bunny as adulthood yanks us into the harsh truth of “the real world.” It’s beaten into us that it’s time to grow up and put such childish things behind us. Stop chasing silly dreams and outrageous fantasies. Life isn’t really like that. Prince Charming won’t show up to rescue you and there is no gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet, God’s fairy tales do come true. They aren’t fairy tales after all; mournful wailing becomes wild dancing and sackcloth garments are exchanged for robes of joy! God’s promises aren’t empty. He comes through for his loved ones and comes through in such an overwhelming way that we aren’t able to contain ourselves. Like all good stories, it ends the way it ought to: “And they lived happily ever after!”

WHO WILL PRAISE YOU? (Psalm 30:8-10)

8 To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 "What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help." (NIV)

“If you take away my car privileges, you’ll have to drive me to school and band practice and I won’t be able to run errands for you.”

Can’t you just hear a grounded teenager using that argument against being punished? As if the real concern is about how it will inconvenience you and he’s only thinking about your best interests! That’s the way the words of the psalmist in verse 9 come across. Is he really concerned about God getting praised or is he trying to manipulate God into being merciful? Regardless of the motives or sincerity of the psalmist’s argument, it does reveal a remarkable truth: God needs us. Really, he does. Sure, we know we need him. We need him for forgiveness. We need him to make sure we have food, clothes, and a place to live. We need him to have meaning. We need him for hope. We need him for eternal life. We tend to define our relationship with God from our perspective, from how it affects us and what we get out of it. But do we realize God needs us? God yearns to spend time with us because he loves us. He needs someone to love. He isn’t involved in our lives out of obligation or just because he’s God and that’s what God has to do. He truly enjoys being with us, listening to us, talking, laughing, crying and hanging out with us. Just as each of us have a God-shaped hole that only God can fill, God also has a place in his heart that only each of us can fill.

WINNING THE LOTTERY (Psalm 30:6, 7)

6 When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken." 7 O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. (NIV)

One of my favorite t-shirts reads “God, let me prove to you that winning the Lottery won’t ruin me.” But, I know better and God knows me well enough to also know better. In verse six of today’s reading, the psalmist hints at the dangers of self-sufficiency. When we’re prosperous and everything seems to be going right we begin to think we got there solely because of our abilities and our own doing. Pride, arrogance and independence start to take root. We forget the One who poured out the blessings, who gave us our talents, skills and gifts. So God gives us a reality check. See verse seven, “You hid your face.” Read it again...slowly. Close your eyes and repeat the verse to yourself, making a picture in your mind. Now imagine how it would feel to have your spouse, your parent, your child - someone you love deeply - refuse to look at you or allow you to see their face, to look into their eyes. When we begin to think we don’t need God, he gives us a taste of what that would really be like. He hides his face from us. He lets us experience his absence so we are reminded of how lonely, how empty, how fragile and dependent on Him we truly are. After all, we don’t need to win the lottery. We already have.

FATHER KNOWS BEST (Psalm 30:4, 5)

“4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (NIV)

Being a parent and raising children has given me invaluable insights into God as my heavenly Father. I now better understand how my rebellious disobedience wounds God and I know the pain of seeing sin needlessly hurt the ones I love. I also know that it is love that motivates me to discipline my children and teach them right from wrong in order to protect them from the consequences of misbehavior. When I was a child and on the receiving end of my share of spankings, I was sure my parents relished and anticipated every opportunity to discipline me. It was, I was convinced, their favorite hobby and the national pastime of adults everywhere. However, as a parent, I’ve come to experience the truth of “this is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.” No good parent looks forward to punishing their children, nor do they want the punishment to last a minute longer than it has to – as much for them as for the child.

The psalmist understands this and in verse 4 tells us saints what we are to do – praise our LORD – and verse 5 reminds us why – God doesn’t abandon us to suffer in a lifetime of punishment. Sin, disobedience and a fallen world will bring pain and tears into each of our lives until Jesus establishes his perfect kingdom. But in the meantime God is not gleefully standing over us with a sledgehammer waiting for opportunities to smash us, as we may be prone to imagine. Instead, being the faultless parent he is, God snatches us up into the safety of his arms without a moment to spare and showers us with joy and peace, making a shadowy memory of our past aches and suffering.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (Psalm 30:1-3)

“1 I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.” (NIV)

When I was ten years old growing up on the family farm, I once fell into a rainwater-filled half-dug well while trying to capture frogs with an empty ice cream bucket. The hole was ten feet deep, the water level was several feet below its mouth and I couldn’t swim. Not a good combination. In spite of my cries for help and a panicked wish to see my dad lowering a rope to my rescue I soon realized no one was coming to help me. Gaining two feet and slipping back one with every effort, I clawed and kicked my way up and out until I collapsed on the ground, sobbing and gasping, relieved to be alive. That isn’t the only pit I’ve encountered and I’m sure you’ve all had your share of them, too. Pits come in many different shapes and sizes, literal and otherwise. Sometimes we fall into the pit dug by others and sometimes we dig our own. In today’s reading, the psalmist sings the praises of God because He is the Rescuer. The psalmist thanks God for rescuing him from enemies and their gloating (vs. 1), healing him from illnesses and disease (vs. 2) and even from the grave (vs. 3). The phrase “you lifted me” in verse 1 is a metaphorical usage of the Hebrew verb meaning “to draw up out of the water” and paints the picture of a bucket lowered down into a well and then raised to draw up water. Regardless of the pit in which you find yourself, even if you’ve dug it with your own two hands, God still stands at the top with a rope in His hands waiting to lift you out of the depths.