Opossum Screed: August 2018

Fight! UofL

⚜

Louisville opens its football season against Alabama tomorrow. The last time these two teams met was in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl, which Louisville won 34-7. In fact, Alabama has not beaten Louisville in 41 years!

alabama • crimson tide • roll tide

louisville fight song

⚜ Go ⚜ Cards! ⚜

Once Upon a Time

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old...

✑ Ps 78:2

✑

"Once upon a time..." When these words are spoken, we know a story has begun. We often call these stories myths, and in the modern age the word myth has come to be synonymous with lie. But in reality, a myth is the deepest of truths; it is the truth at the root of reality as a people understands it. The sharing of myths through the ages has taught children, encouraged adults, and bonded societies. And so when we see the ominous words of Psalm 78:2, that is how we should receive them: What I am now going to hear is the truth at the root of all other truths; it is my people's raison d'être. And then the psalmist begins to recount Israel's struggles and victories, and the thread that runs through it all is the steadfast love of God.

The dual identity of AHS (or PGBHS)
is reflected in many of its symbols

I was surprised to receive something in the church mail the other day. One of the parishioners found a 1960's postcard (see below) of my alma mater and mailed it to me. Paul G. Blazer was the CEO of Ashland Oil back in the day, and he donated money toward the building of a new high school in Ashland, Kentucky, so they named the school after him. Though the school's name officially changed from Ashland High School (located downtown on Lexington Avenue) to Paul Blazer (located at the opposite end of town in South Ashland), most people (both within and outside of town) still referred to the school as "Ashland" and its teams were never called the Blazer Tomcats, but to this day remain the Ashland Tomcats. Moreover, the letter A has always always appeared on uniforms, school rings, etc.

Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary: who is so great a God, as our God! ⚜︎
Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

⚜︎ Ps 77:13, 19

⚜︎
Today's meditation is a bit of a departure, in that I'm dealing with two non-consecutive verses: vv 13 & 19 of Psalm 77. I'm using the Geneva Bible, because modern translations all seem to agree on a grammatically impossible interpretation of the Hebrew בקדש—the ב at the beginning being the preposition in, which makes קדש its object. It might make sense to say, "Your way, O God, is in holiness," but a literal translation places God's ways in a place, and that place is the sanctuary. If it is to be interpreted beyond its literal meaning, then instead of in the sanctuary, I might say, "Your way is in heaven." It is similar, I think, to the opening of the prayer our Lord taught us: "Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowèd be thy Name..." And the two prayers serve a similar purpose—that of raising my mind above my current condition, and of reminding me (through the use of first person plural pronouns) that my faith is not mine alone, but is the faith of an entire community of people, the faith of all God's children:

Rating: ⚅

Two College Friends by Fred. W. Loring (Boston: A.K. Loring, 1871) is a brief (about 160 pp.) but extremely intense work that I know few people will read (though I highly recommend that you do). So I'll give a spoiler alert here at the beginning, because I'm going to divulge the ending of this book in the review.

Friends is the story of Ned and Tom, two friends who attended Harvard at the outbreak of the Civil War. They originally met in the home of a professor, who remains unnamed throughout the novel. The account of this meeting is quite interesting, and comprises the second chapter of the book. Tom comes to the professor's quarters because he is homesick and needs someone to talk to. The professor is surprised to find out that he is the son of the woman he once loved and who turned down his marriage proposal. He never divulges this fact to Tom, but takes him under his wing.

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.

In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.

I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints.

✛
You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.

I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit:

“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?

Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time?

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”

✛ Ps 77:1-9

✛
The first half of Psalm 77 is the prayer of the pitiful, the prayer of the sore oppressed. But at the end of this half—or in the middle of the Psalm, if you're reading the whole thing at once—comes a very odd verse:

Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.

☁︎ Ps 76:10
☁︎

This is a rather odd verse at first glance, and I don't like the modern translation, because it seems to have the binding in reverse—I read the Hebrew as God surrounding the wrath, not the wrath being around God. Maybe I might interpret it this way: Human wrath shall acclaim you; you'll even embrace our fury until none of it's wasted.

To make sense of this verse, a Christian need only think of the crucifixion, the ultimate in human wrath. Nailed to a cross, the recipient of all the wrath humanity could muster was embraced by God. His death was transformed into death's defeat; the grief of the graveside became the joy of new life. Psalm 56 speaks of God putting our tears in a bottle. Thus, every last bit of evidence of human cruelty is saved until the day of transformation when hopelessness is turned to hope and death itself dies.

There is nothing I can do, Lord, that you will not surround and transform by your loving embrace. Sin is forgiven, fallen nature is lifted up, what's stagnant is renewed, weakness is made strong, and death is translated to life. Thank you that you do not leave me as I am, nor do you allow what's done to me to be the last word; through the Crucified One, who taught me to pray...

Crimes of Preachers

Rating: ⚀

In checking out the latest uploads at Gutenberg, I found a book called Crimes of Preachers (New York: Truth Seeker, 1914) that I thought might be interesting. The table of contents looked very interesting:

Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.

✛ Ps. 76:4

✛

What soul can gaze upon majestic mountains and not be moved? The believer looks at such sights, and is reminded of the One who created them. It's hard, however, to remember that the Unseen is more majestic and glorious than the thing we're seeing. A patriotic English hymn, originally called The Two Fatherlands, helps me with this, however. The first stanza is a vow to give all for love of country. But then the second stanza puts love of nation into perspective:

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And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
and soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
and her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

✛ Cecil Spring Rice

Wide Open Spaces

If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

❧ Galatians 5:25

❧

One day a rope walked into a bar and ordered a beer. The bartender took one look at him and said, “We don’t serve ropes in this bar.”

And so the rope got up, went outside, messed his hair up, and tied himself up. He then went back into the bar, sat down, and ordered a beer. The bartender stared at him impatiently, and said, “Hey aren’t you the rope who was just in here a minute ago?”

“No,” he replied, “I’m a frayed knot.”

❧

This joke was by no means pointless, but is actually a pretty decent way to remember the meaning of this morning’s lesson from the New Testament. The point at which I ended the reading is really just the beginning of what one scholar calls “the most impassioned defense anywhere in scripture of the sufficiency of the Spirit to guide the community of faith.” [1]

On this day in 1789, the National Assembly of France adopted The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It was written by General Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, and Honoré Mirabeau. Though it was a magnificent document, the sexist language was intentional, in that women were not given equal rights in revolutionary France. A little over two years after the adoption of this declaration, Olympe de Gouges wrote another, entitled The Declaration of the Rights of Women and of the Female Citizen (watch this space on September 5).

Here are the 17 articles of the Declaration:

When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady.

✵ Ps 75:3

✵
Hebrew words have roots. And prefixes and suffixes are added to those roots to give new or enhanced meaning. So the word the NRSV translates as totters is נְמֹגִים. It is built around a root that includes the letters מ and ג, and might have meant melt—but might also have implied agitation. The question of the root's real meaning is evident in older translations (Geneva & KJV) of Psalm 75:3, which use the word dissolve. But whether the true meaning is totter or dissolve, the implication here is similar to what we saw in the 46th Psalm, where we find the psalmist trusting in God despite earthquakes and tsunamis.

Of Psalm 75, Calvin believed that it predicted the coming of Christ. Specifically, he said, it predicted the destruction of the old creature, who is immediately replaced by the new creation. It is, Calvin wrote,

A few years ago, I was contacted by a gentleman in Queensland, Australia who'd found my family tree on a genealogy website. The reason he'd been looking was an interesting one. He'd discovered a dog tag long buried in the sand of a beach on the island of New Guinea. Specifically, he found it at Milne Bay, where a battle was fought from August 25 to September 7, 1942. This battle pitted Australians and a small contingent of Americans against the Japanese. It is commonly believed in Australia that, had the Allies lost the battle, Japan's next step would've been the invasion of their continent.

The above dog tag belonged to one of the Americans at Milne Bay during that battle.

Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.

▫︎ Ps 74:19

▫︎
The Hebrew of Psalm 74:19 is practically beyond my abilities. The word חַיַּת (it sounds sort of like the English word heat, but pronounce the h gutterally) occurs twice in it, and is interpreted to mean two very different things. It is a thing that in this single verse appears to oppose itself:
▫︎
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the חַיַּת, do not forever forget the חַיַּת of your poor.▫︎
▫︎
There appear to be three meanings to the word חַיַּת: life, multitude, and beast. and the NRSV above has ignored the possibility of multitude in both clauses. But here's an instance where I think the Authorized (King James) Version actually gets it (almost) right:

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.

But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.

▻ Ps 73:27-28

▻
Fewer and fewer people in the world express faith in God. Even fewer express that faith in a way that estranges them from earthly power and material wealth. Churches that preach not just faith, but humble faith, are few and most often small in membership. And yet, for those of us who profess such a faith, we know what nearness to God means to us. It is enough in this life to experience it and to fearlessly preach the gospel of the One who wandered the earth without a roof over his head, with no possessions save the clothes he wore, and he did not fear what the powerful could do to his body, for his soul belonged to God.

Keep me true to your word, Lord, and keep me close by your side. It is a lot to ask, but I ask for nothing beside. In Jesus' Name, who taught me to pray...

The Strength of My Heart and My Portion

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

▻ Ps 73:25-26
▻

When they stand alone, these words from near the end of Psalm 73 are beautiful. But their meaning is made that much deeper in context. The psalmist has just admitted to being jealous of those who have left no room in their lives for God. Such people seem always to be healthy, wealthy, and respected by others. But as the psalm draws to a close, the writer sees clearly that we all come to the same end, and as that end draws near, it draws forth terror in those who have lived for this life only. For the believer, the response is different: ▻

All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.

If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.

Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.

How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!

They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,

I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.

Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.

✥ Ps 73:10-24
✥

I suppose I might look at this part o Psalm 73 as a threat: the destruction of those who disregard God and who live selfish lives. But I don't think it's like that at all. The end is before all of us. We can cower in terror of it, or we can trust God that the end as we perceive it will be but a new beginning. To fear God (i.e. to respect God and to be aware of God's awesomeness) is to be relieved of terror. Absent that fear, we lack wisdom and for all our refinement and riches, are no better than brute beasts who are only concerned with material things.

Father, imprint upon my heart that because I belong to you no one can pluck me from your hand, and because I fear you I need fear no other. In the Name of the One who taught me to pray...

✥ A New Zealand Prayer Book

Louie vs Big Al

After our Heisman winning quarterback departed for the pros, nobody knows what to expect of the Louisville Cardinals this season. With Puma Pass as our new QB, we're all very curious to see what happens. But one thing's for certain: Our first game (in just ten days now) is getting some attention, probably mostly because it's a neutral site (Orlando FL) game against the reigning national champs. So I guess that's why ESPN commissioned a Marvel comics cover for the kickoff issue of their magazine. It features Louie taking it to Big Al. Below is a video with some cool background info about this design. Watch it, if you have time.

By the way, the last time these two teams met was the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. Louisville won 34-7.

Always at Ease

Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.

Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.

Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

✣ Ps 73:1-12

✣
I love this psalm. It speaks as directly to the human condition in the 21st century as it did thousands of years ago. The psalmist acknowledges the truth of God's will, but then admits to looking around and noticing how good life is for the arrogant and wicked. Like so many of us since these words were penned, the psalmist wondered what was the good of following the right path, when the wrong path was so tempting. The unrighteous have health, possessions, and even the respect of their neighbors. They appear to have lost nothing by turning their backs on God.

It's 12 days till the start of football season. So, attempting to be as objective as possible, here are the fight songs of Louisville's 12 regular season opponents ranked from best to worst:

⚜⚜⚜

#1. To prove how objective I'm trying to be, I'm not a fan of the school my Number One belongs to. I really don't like Wake Forest at all, in fact. But I have to admit their fight song's the best of the twelve. It's original, has cool words, and a catchy tune. If this were a ranking of all fight songs nationally, it would definitely be in the Top Ten... maybe even the Top Five. What I'm not fond of, however, is the bridge between stanzas. But I didn't allow that tackiness to lower its ranking. Lesser songs were not so lucky when it came to things having nothing to do with the actual tune.

Hungarians trace the foundation of their state to the coronation of Stephen I as king in the year AD 1000. He was the first Christian ruler of Hungary and is considered a saint. The crown placed on his head was sent by Pope Sylvester II. This "Crown of St. Stephen" (or the Holy Crown of Hungary) has been the symbol of Hungary throughout its history, is considered to have personhood, and is the equal of the state itself. As such it is superior to the head upon which it sits, and the kings of Hungary ruled not in their own names, but in the name of the crown. When the crown passed to the Hapsburgs, the Emperor of Austria also became the King of Hungary, and the Empire was known as the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Many Hungarians—especially during the failed revolution of 1848—despised the emperor, but were loyal to the king, even though they were the same person.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious Name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.

✛ Ps 72:18-19

✛
The 72nd Psalm extols the king nearly from beginning to end. I say nearly, because at the very end, we read words that put the king's glory into perspective. No matter how great the ruler, God alone is the worker of wonders, and is the source of any greatness to which humans might aspire. The psalmist, therefore, "with good reason prays that the glory of the divine Name may fill the whole earth, since that kingdom was to be extended even to the uttermost boundaries of the globe, and that all the godly, with earnest and ardent affection of heart, may unite with him in the same prayers, there is added a confirmation in the words, Amen, and Amen."

✛

Thank you, Lord, for wise rulers. But forgive me when I glorify them, and not the Source of their wisdom. And forgive me, too, for despairing when rulers are selfish or unworthy; for you are greater than their schemes, and your will will be done. Bring me, my country, and all peoples through to the end, when you are all in all, and peace reigns throughout the earth; in the Name of the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Prince of peace, even Jesus Christ my Lord, who taught me to pray...

The Grace of Disgrace

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:

There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me." So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.'"

So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

But the father said to his slaves, "Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!" And they began to celebrate.

—Luke 15:1-3, 11-24

Part One: The Younger Brother

If I were to ask you all how many of you ever used the word prodigal, I bet just about everybody in this room would say they had. And I also bet that if I asked you to use the word prodigal in a sentence, just about everybody that said they’d used the word at all would make a sentence about the prodigal son. The word prodigal has a meaning outside this parable, but for most of us, that meaning has been lost. So closely do we relate it to this story, that just about all of us think of prodigal as meaning wayward, or perhaps lost.

What’s interesting is that the parable we’re looking at today is defined—in English at least—by a word that doesn’t occur in the story at all: Prodigal. Another instance of this is in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.

✙ Ps 72:12-14

✙
Calvin said of these verses that "the psalmist again affirms that the kingdom which he magnifies so greatly will not be tyrannical or cruel. The majority of kings, neglecting the well-being of the community, have their minds wholly engrossed with their own private interests. The consequence is, that they unmercifully oppress their miserable subjects; and it even happens that the more formidable any of them is, and the more absorbing his rapacity, he is accounted so much the more eminent and illustrious. But it is far different with the king here described. It has been held as a proverb by all mankind, 'That there is nothing in which men approach nearer to God than by their beneficence'; and it would be very inconsistent did not this virtue shine forth in those kings whom God has more nearly linked to himself."

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.

May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

✧ Ps 72:1-7
✧

Psalm 72 is painful for me to read. It is very much a messianic psalm, and Christians see in it a prayer for the reign of Christ. But it also points to the biblical ideal for what a ruler should be—and this is an idea that has not only been rejected by my own people, but most specifically by the very people who claim to derive their faith from the words of the Bible.

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.

❦ Ps 71:20

❦
Psalm 71:20 is very much about resurrection, for I can easily imagine the cross and the empty tomb when I read these words. But I must remember that this psalm is also for me all through the course of my life. To paraphrase Calvin:
❦
If I enjoy nothing but a uniform course of prosperity, I'll no doubt have good reason to be happy. But in that case I would never experience what it is to be delivered from destruction by the stupendous power of God. I must be brought down even to the gates of death before I can see God as my deliverer.
❦
I know that to some this is a poor explanation for the problem of pain. But I have to admit that it works for me. It's not the only explanation. It's not even the best explanation. But it's a good explanation, because even somebody who resists it has to admit it's true: I cannot appreciate goodness if goodness is all I experience. If I eat nothing but candy, I will never appreciate how good chocolate or caramel are, since they're all I'll know.* Moreover, a diet of candy is so unbalanced as to be unhealthy. And the same can be said about joy: If I only know joy, I'll never appreciate what joy actually is. Moreover, it is unhealthy to know only joy, for then how could I coëxist with those who suffer? Such people would be so foreign to me that I couldn't even communicate with them, let alone be of any help to them. My life would lose meaning.

Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)

Aretha Franklin, born March 25, 1942, joined the church triumphant today.

Saint Rocco's Day

This may or may not be a photograph
of the actual 14th century saint ❦

Today's the feast day of Rocco (Roch), the patron saint of dogs.

Billy Currington • Like My Dog

In Bolivia, today is considered to be the birthday of all dogs.

The Wisdom of Age

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.

❦ Ps 71:9

❦
Look, I get it. Congregations want younger people. A church that has no young people may have to shut its doors in a generation. But that doesn't mean I like seeing the blurbs in the denomination's employment opportunities section stating explicitly that a particular congregation wants a pastor who can "attract young families."
❦
Most older people also like seeing younger people in the church. But let's not cast our seniors off in the process. It was often their vision and hard work that built the community of faith into something substantial, and it's even more often their gifts that keep it going in its present form. So I think they deserve more respect than we often give them.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness deliver me.

✜ Ps 71:1-2a

✜

Psalm 70 ended with a very impatient prayer: "Don't delay." And about the opening verse of Psalm 71, Calvin says that the one "whose mind is in a state of constant fluctuation, and whose hope is divided by being turned in different directions, in each of which he is looking for deliverance, or who, under the influence of fear, disputes with himself, or who obstinately refuses the Divine assistance, or who frets and gives way to restless impatience, is unworthy of being succored by God."
✜
But wasn't "restless impatience" the whole point of Psalm 70:5?
✜
I suppose the answer is Yes and No. Impatience, yes. But the impatience was single-minded. It was focused on God alone, and if the prayer were not answered as immediately, the psalmist's mind would not flit off to some other possible source of help. It was God or nobody.

Take On Me

This song was big in the mid-80's when I was still in grad school. I think its official music video was probably one of the cleverest of all time. For obvious reasons, the group, A-ha, reminds me of yesterday's portion of the psalter. In reading about A-ha yesterday morning, I discovered they were Norwegian. I never knew that before.

Do Not Delay

But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!

❧ Ps 70:5

♡ ❧

There are lots of hymns that use the phrase, "Do not delay." But in every case, the words are directed at people coming to God. For example:

Let ev’ry heart leap forth and rejoice; and let us freely make him our choice; do not delay, but come.

❧ G. Root

Oh, sinner, come, do not delay, but come to God, no longer stay.

❧ W. Mahone

If you from the Savior have wandered away, return to him quickly, O do not delay.

❧ E. Barnes

Here in Psalm 70, however, these same words are directed at God. This is a double surprise: Usually we're told not to delay in going to God, and just as often we're told to wait for God. So why is this situation different?

What I note here is register. We speak in different registers to different people, depending on our relationship with them. The way I speak to a child differs from how I speak to an adult. The way I speak to a friend I've known since I was a child differs from the way I might speak to the Queen of England (if I ever actually spoke to her). I speak in a different register depending on where I stand on the social ladder compared to where the person I'm speaking to stands. I might tell my sister or an old friend to hurry up. But I would never speak that way to another country's ambassador to Washington.

Longer

...by Dan Fogelberg. This song was a hit when I was a sophomore in college. I'd forgotten that he died of cancer over a decade ago. Today would've been his 67th birthday.

An Aha! Moment

Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” turn back because of their shame.

Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

✙ Ps 70:3-4

✙
In Hebrew, Aha! is הֶאָח (pronounced hey-ach, the second part rhyming with Johann Sebastian Bach), and every time it's used in the Bible, it's directed outwardly as an expression of derision.

✙

In English, of course, we might also use it as a way to verbally point at someone. Aha! Now I've caught you—you are as bad as people say you are! And this is pretty much what's going on at the opening of Psalm 70. The psalmist is being persecuted and held in derision. Everything they do is used as evidence of the fact that their cause (which here is equated with God's cause) is wrong.✙

From Sour Grapes to Green Eggs and Ham

The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

❦ Jer. 31:29 ❦

I do not like them, Sam-I-am, I do not like green eggs and ham.

❦ Dr. Seuss ❦

I am particularly thankful this morning to live in a free country. I am free to live anywhere I want. I am free to say anything I want. I am free to do anything I want.

For example, I could, with no government interference, sell my house in southeast Huntsville and buy an historic home in Twickenham. I am free, if I want to, to preach this sermon in Albanian. And I am free at any moment to stop what I’m doing and solve a problem using calculus.

But I have to admit that my freedom to do all those things is somewhat tempered by the facts at hand. I can’t afford an historic home in Twickenham, I cannot speak a word of Albanian, and I don’t actually know what calculus even is.

I will praise the Name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.

♒︎ Ps 69:30-33

♒︎
It's very common among those who claim to take the Bible literally to believe that the Bible speaks with one voice. But the best argument against such literalism is the Bible itself, for it debates itself. In some places in the Bible (e.g. Ezra 10), foreigners are thought of as an impurity and blessing is promised to Israel if foreign spouses and children are sent away. In others (e.g. Isaiah 56), foreigners are specifically included among God's people. Another example of a debate being carried out within the pages of the Bible is adherence to God's law. I'm not talking about a debate going on between the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, but within the Hebrew scriptures themselves. In the Pentateuch (the first five books), ritual is the most important component to worship. In the prophetic tradition, however, adherence to ritual is all but condemned if it is not accompanied by justice and integrity of heart. One of the most oft-quoted examples of this belief is found in Psalm 51—a prayer prayed every Ash Wednesday in most churches. And here in Psalm 69 we see it again. Not only can praise and thanksgiving take place without ritual sacrifice, but they are clearly to be preferred to ritual. As I said on July 2, the psalms and the prophets remind me that ritual is a resting place, but not a permanent home.

But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.

✙ Ps 69:19-29

✙ When commenting on this little verse, Calvin reminds me that David "assures himself that the very thing which others considered as a ground for despair, would prove to him the cause of his salvation." I like this. We are taught that meekness is bad, that we must put ourselves forward in order to succeed. Our culture does not teach us that patience and kindness and humility might do our spirit good. And yet the message of the scriptures we claim to believe in is quite different. It is not the proud that God takes note of, but the humble. After all, the proud need no salvation: they think they can save themselves. Those who are in pain and who know they're unable to save themselves—those who go unnoticed by the world—they are God's little ones, those whom God protects, the ones to whom Christ came, with whom Christ identified, and for whom Christ died.

✙ Make me one of your little ones, O God. But may I not wallow face-down in my helplessness, but cast my eyes upward to you, and know that you made me who I am and will in your own time complete what is lacking; in Jesus' Name, who taught me to pray.

There's Always Something

Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

❧ Ps 69:15-16

❧ Sometimes the psalmist describes a situation which is beyond my ken. Here we have David saying that he's being threatened with annihilation—and since David fought verified wars against flesh-and-blood enemies, I have to believe the threat is real. I suppose I can only relate to Psalm 69 in a figurative sense.

But as shallow as my comparison may seem, I can, in fact, relate to it. For in this era of constant communication and easy contact, I encounter people every day who feel like they're on the verge of being swept away in a flood or who feel they're sinking fast. Heck, I feel like that sometimes.

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

♥︎ Ps 69:9

♥︎ Early in John's Gospel, the disciples remembered the first part of this verse when Jesus drove the merchants and the money changers from the temple: "He told those who were selling the doves... 'Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!' His disciples remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for your house will consume me.'” (John 2:16-17)

The second part of Psalm 69:9 certainly applied to Jesus later in his ministry, so here we must take the psalmist's words a bit more prophetically: Jesus is not being persecuted yet, but his strong reaction to the insult of turning God's house into a bazaar will be one of the main reasons he is, in the end, arrested. (This is more evident in the other three gospels than in John.)

Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample under foot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.

✙ Ps 68:30

✙ This verse is a difficult one to translate, since it's probably the case that the "reed animals" (חַיַּת קָנֶה) mentioned at the beginning are (in my humble opinion) probably a metaphor for soldiers with spears. This is reïnforced by the "herd of bulls" mentioned in the next clause, accompanied by calves, which are plainly people. They're fighting for reasons of greed, and are for that reason to be debased.

But what inspires me here is the dissipation or scattering of those who delight in attacking others. Yes, the most obvious offenders here are warmongers. But are there not warmongers who set their sights on much more humble targets. They have no power to attack nations, but they can certainly lay into individuals. They may not even attack them physically, but they do what they can to ruin reputations or morale.

Rating: ⚄

❧ Today is a Colombian holiday called the Battle of Boyacá. So in its honor, I'm posting my review of Marie Arana's Bolívar: American Liberator; which, as the title indicates, is a biography of El Libertador of much of South America (and the winner of the aforementioned battle). Though I lived in Colombia for two years, I admit to a great deal of ignorance as to who its revolutionary hero was, and even of the very nature of the nation he created, Gran Colombia.

The most striking thing about this book is the vast difference between the North and South American wars of independence. I was aghast at the savagery described in Spanish America, especially in the way the crown treated its subjects in Venezuela. I was also surprised at the way the revolutionaries sometimes responded with similar violence and oppression against those loyal to the viceroy.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.
Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

⁌Ps 68:19-20⁍

Arabic speakers say something quite frequently that I can't help but admire: إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَٰه, or inshallah. It means "God willing," which is an expression that exists in English. But unfortunately, we usually only use it these days in the rather silly expression, "God willing and the creek don't rise."

The Spanish use the expression on a daily basis, probably without realizing it. The word ojalá, which means hopefully—or, more emphatically, especially when used alone, I wish!—is actually a corruption of the Arabic إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَٰه. This is more evident in its Portuguese counterpart oxalá, where the x is pronounced like the Arabic letter ش (sh).

Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

☂︎ Ps 68:7-10

☂︎ In talking about rain as a way God's providence is made known, the psalmist, I think, is reïnforcing the notion that God—not humans and not even the cycles of nature—is the true source of blessing. Rain comes down from heaven and is beyond our control. The people did not restore themselves, nor was the land responsible. It was God. Those who depend on God are then described as God's flock—a perfect description of those who are loved by God and who depend on God. So how else can we describe God's people than as "the needy"—for those who truly depend on God can be described in no other way.

Those who ignore the needy, or take advantage of them, or hold them in derision, cannot by the very definition offered here be thought of as part of God's flock, or number themselves among the people of God.

Wilderness Transformed*

Can God spread a table in the wilderness? ❦ Ps 78:19 ❦

Usually, it’s enough just to read the headlines:

Wildfires blaze in California
Violence breaks out at a neo-Nazi rally in Oregon
The government refuses to reunite immigrant children with their parents
An assassination attempt in Venezuela
Dozens killed at a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan

I almost never read the actual stories anymore. The headlines are upsetting enough. And I admit I won’t turn on television news. It seems the world is out of control, and hope seems a long way off.

The Bible actually has a word for this, and it’s a word that often has a positive connotation in our culture. That word is wilderness. We often think of wilderness as land set aside where animals and trees and natural formations are left alone by civilization, a place where we can see things as they once were, before humans wrought changes in the earth. In the Bible, the word often means the same thing, but it never has a positive connotation.

Sing to God, make melody to his Name! Rejoice before him who makes of the heavens a highway—Jah is his Name, and rejoice before him. Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

⁌Ps 68:4-5⁍

These two verses are among the most telling in the scriptures. They give God's Name quite explicitly—something that is rare by itself. But the sharing of that intimate knowledge is directly connected to what follows—meaning only God's Name is more inherently (if such a word can be used for the Uncreated) a part of God's nature than God's identity as Parent of orphans and the One who gives justice to widows.

Once again I will invoke the Imago Dei, for how can creatures who bear God's Image mistreat children or treat the elderly unfairly, when it is the very nature of God to care for them and defend them. Perhaps I am not worthy to claim God's Image as long as my tax money pays for detention centers for children who've been separated from their parents and for single mothers who are fleeing violence. They, however, are the ones who can claim the Imago Dei. And if they bear the Image of God, then is it wrong of me to picture the holy habitation mentioned in Psalm 68:5 to be a cage administered by ICE? A border detention center filled with mistreated refugees?

When I seek you, O God, help me to look beyond the walls of my church, and beyond my own house, to find you in the unlikeliest of places: the homeless shelter, the detention center, the cross on the hill... Amen.

French Revolution

Ah! Ça Ira!

🎼 On this day in 1789, feudalism ended in France.

The Earth Has Yielded

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.

May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

✜ Ps 67:5-7

✜ Both traditional and contemporary name-it-claim-it theologians make false claims for this psalm. Charles Spurgeon, speaking specifically of Ps. 67:6, is a good example:

"The Church of God needs to get into a better state with regard to her praising her God. When mercy is received, if we accept it silently and without gratitude, we cannot expect to have more. But when every drop of favor makes us bless the Lord who gives to such undeserving ones, we shall soon have more, and yet more, and more!"

✜ Sermon preached on July 5, 1868

Yet I see nothing at all in Psalm 67 connecting the earth yielding its increase to the volume of—or even quality of—our praise. There's no conditional verb here. The only cause and effect lies not in our praise bringing about blessing, but in quite the opposite: The earth has yielded and God has blessed, so let us praise.

God's grace—whether particular grace to those who believe, or general grace to all people—would not be grace if it were earned by our praise or by our good deeds. God does not need my action to bless me, but certainly, in every case, God's blessing requires my response of faithful adoration.

✜ When I am cognizant of your blessing on my life, Lord, let my response be praise. But when I am not cognizant of your blessing, let my response be first to seek out what I have missed, and then to praise all the more. Amen.