Psalm 30 - Garments of Joy

Psalm 30

A psalm - a song used at the dedication of the temple; by David.

​ I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,

and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.

O Lord my God,

I cried out to you and you healed me.

O Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol;

you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.

Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers of his;

give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a brief moment,

and his good favor restores oneʼs life.

One may experience sorrow during the night,

but joy arrives in the morning.

In my self-confidence I said,

“I will never be upended.”

O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.

Then you rejected me and I was terrified.

To you, O Lord, I cried out;

I begged the Lord for mercy:

“What profit is there in taking my life,

in my descending into the Pit?

Can the dust of the grave praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty?

Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!

O Lord, deliver me!”

Then you turned my lament into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.

So now my heart will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always give thanks to you. NET Bible

Back when I was struggling to come out of a difficult situation and was beginning to follow the Lord, we used to sing verse 11; 

"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:

thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;"

Emotionally I was a mess, trying to recover from my wife leaving me and failing an oral exam that forced me to change from one university to another one.  It was also during this time that my father died, so I had much to mourn.  However, the Spirit of the Lord was with me and was teaching me to dance in the midst of all of that.  I was much more comfortable in sackcloth (metaphorically), but the Lord was teaching me to put on the garments of gladness.  That is still something I struggle with from time to time, but I'm so grateful that the Spirit is with me to lead me out of those times of mourning when I get down on myself.

As is says in verse 5 "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." most of life's troubles will pass.  It's alright to weep during the dark night of the soul, but once the night is over, you need to embrace the joy that comes in the morning.  For me, the key to finding that joy is reading the Psalms and playing worship music.  For others, it's spending time in prayer of spending time fellowshipping with the saints.  Whatever it is that helps you find the joy, you need to embrace it and remember that there is a way to find joy again.

So that leads us to end at the beginning:  

    "1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, ..." 

We thank you and praise you Lord, for the times of darkness and the times of light; the times of mourning and the times of joy.

And now for one of my favorite interpretations of Psalm 30 by Sons of Korah, "Garments of Joy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcceI6j1Z9U

Psalm 29 - Give unto the Lord

Psalm 29 - Give unto the Lord

Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,

give unto the Lord glory and strength. 

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name;

worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters:

the God of glory thundereth:

the Lord is upon many waters. 

The voice of the Lord is powerful;

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars;

yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 

He maketh them also to skip like a calf;

Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 

The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. 

The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness;

the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 

The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve,

and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 

The Lord sitteth upon the flood;

yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever. 

The Lord will give strength unto his people;

the Lord will bless his people with peace. KJV

Psalm 29 is back to basics.  No abstract discussions of time and eternity here, just basic worship.  Back in the 70's we used to sing verse 1 and 2 in an exuberant fashion; singing, shouting, dancing and generally having a wonderful time in the Lord's presence. "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

Some psalms weren't meant to be deep of philosophical, but were just written to be sung as praise and worship, or read as poetry.  This is a classic example of Hebrew poetry that uses repetition and parallels to make the point that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised.  Note the many descriptions of "the voice of the Lord", the many actions of the Lord, and even the things that happen when the Lord sits. 

This type of psalm really needs to be read aloud or sung to be appreciated.  Can you imagine the choir of Levites singing this in the temple accompanied by the tambourines, trumpets and stringed instruments?  Oh what a glorious celebration it must have been to be with the congregation of the Lord's people worshiping in the temple. 

And the result?  It is now, just as it has ever been, that:

"The Lord will give strength unto his people;

the Lord will bless his people with peace."

I found two interesting interpretations of psalm 29.  The first is a a song, and the second is a visual presentation.  Enjoy:

Psalm 29 by HeartSong from Cedarville University

Catchfire 2012, Psalm 29

Psalm 28 - Cry unto the Lord

Psalm 28 - Cry unto the Lord

1-2 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector, do not ignore me!

If you do not respond to me,

I will join those who are descending into the grave.

Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands toward your holy temple!

...

6-9 The Lord deserves praise,

for he has heard my plea for mercy!

The Lord strengthens and protects me;

I trust in him with all my heart.

I am rescued and my heart is full of joy;

I will sing to him in gratitude.

The Lord strengthens his people;

he protects and delivers his chosen king.

Deliver your people!

Empower the nation that belongs to you!

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms at all times! Net Bible

What do you do when the heavens seem like brass and it seems that your prayers are bouncing off of the ceiling?  Do you feel that you are unworthy or that the Lord doesn't love you?  The beauty of the Bible is that it is real and talks about normal people just like you or me.  The Bible characters, like King David, who wrote this psalm, are real people with real problems.  If the king of all Israel could feel that God was ignoring his plea, then can we know that there is nothing wrong with us?  If even kings and psalmists feel that way from time to time, then there is nothing abnormal about us, for us to feel that way.

The key here is to keep reading to see what David did.  Even though he felt like he was being ignored and put upon, still he persevered.  He felt so despondent that he felt that he might as well just die and get it over with, but he didn't stop there.  He kept crying out and lifting his hands towards the Lord, even when it didn't seem like the Lord was anywhere near.

Finally, (after a little more complaining in verses 3-5) the psalmist gets his answer.  Now he is in a mood to praise the Lord, because he has persevered and pushed through until he got his answer. Strength, protection, deliverance, empowerment, a shepherd's care, all these things and more came to him because he didn't give up on God.

We don't know how long it was from verse 1 to verse 9.  Sometimes the Lord answers quickly and sometimes He answers after a long delay.  The old church saying was " don't know when the Lord will come, but He will be on time!" We don't like to hear that our answer may not come for years or even decades, but sometimes that is just the way it is. Our time is not the Lord's time.  (see previous blogs on the relationship between time and eternity) 

So when we wait, how do we keep going?  I'm not sure I can even answer that as I'm not any kind of expert in waiting!  The only answer that I know is that you keep on going by keeping on going- you just refuse to give up!  Certainly the Bible characters give us numerous examples of this from the trials of King David with his family to the legendary patience of Job, and even Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness.  So what is the bottom line?  Take heart, don't give up; have faith- the Lord does hear and He will answer, in His time.

Psalm 28 "Unto You I will Cry", by Randy Gordon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Crf6HY-0A

Psalm 61a - I will sing forever

Psalm 61a - I will sing forever

Psalm 61:8a

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, KJV

I my previous post, I was musing on waiting, and the relationship between time and eternity. That got me to thinking about music.  Time is an integral part of music. Not only do you have time signatures and tempos, but the fundamental nature of sound is a movement of a medium (air, string, etc.) in time.  And sounds that have a simple mathematical relationship are harmonics and sound harmonious to the human ear. The question then is, what is the nature of music in heaven?  If there is not time, can there be music?  Or perhaps, in eternity there is still time, but eternal creatures are not trapped to follow the constant pace of time like we are in this world.  

The psalmist exhorts us to sing praises forever, so how can that be?  Maybe in eternity time is more like the other 3 dimensions here.  Think of a washboard road.  Just looking at it you might not notice that the surface of the road is undulating, but when you travel over that road at speed it will make a racket and shake your teeth! If time is like that in eternity, then you could choose to travel in time at a certain pace to make a melody, which means you could travel at a different pace to make a different melody.  How wonderful would that be! 

None of us can really know what eternity is like, but from the descriptions in the Bible, I am confident that it is filled with sounds of praise and worship, singing and shouting and all sorts of other joyful activity. Being forced to live in this world with a constant flow of time, and learning to wait for the appointed time, must train us for something important in the world to come.  It's just wonderful to contemplate what wonders await and to imagine what it will be like to participate in the angelic choir singing holy, holy, holy; holy is the Lord of hosts, for ever, and ever, and ever!

Psalm 27e - Wait

Psalm 27e - Wait

8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee,

Thy face, Lord, will I seek

…

13 I had fainted, unless I had believed

to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

14 Wait on the Lord:

be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:wait, I say, on the Lord. KJV

What is it about waiting that so goes against the human character?  It’s like it brings out the great rift between time and eternity. Our allotted 3 score and 10 years passes quickly, and it seems such a waste to spend much of that time waiting.  But on the other hand, in eternity, time, or at least the passage of time, is immaterial. But somehow, in the Lord's infinite wisdom, there is something about waiting, while we are subject to the inexorable march of time, that prepares us for eternity. We can not understand the role of time in eternity.  Perhaps we will be able to move about in time then, like we move about in space now. It is a mystery.

So then, one of our tasks in this life is so seek the Lord, and that seems to always come with waiting.  There is something about the intersection of and infinite God and a finite human life that seems to demand that we wait.  Is it some sort of preparation for eternity?  A purposeful setting aside, for a moment, the importance of time.  We can grow desperate, as we see our allotted time on earth being consumed, but something about waiting teaches us that these 70 years are not so important, that there is a more important eternal period awaiting.  Our finite mind can not comprehend.  Not even the mind of a physicist, trained in the abstract principles or relativity and quantum mechanics, can fully comprehend.  We can describe mathematically the progress of time and relate time and as three of the four dimensions of space, but we can not really comprehend time as God sees it.

"... unless I had believed...", there is a promise in that that our waiting is not incompatible with our limited time, but that God will answer us while there is yet time, "... in the land of the living."  But in the waiting, and in the receiving from God, we are trained to be a bit more patient, a bit more understanding, maybe a bit more compassionate. (well, maybe those who are not totally analytical like some scientists that I know!) 

So do not despair. Do not grow weary.  Do not lose heart, but seek His face, and wait on the Lord.

Sons of Korah, Psalm 27 part e - Wait

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCw1x1TDnjs

Psalm 27b - One Thing

Psalm 27b - One Thing

4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

… 

6b therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy;

I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice:

have mercy also upon me, and answer me. KJV

The beauty of the Lord...

Who has seen or who can comprehend the beauty of the Lord?  As I write this, I'm looking over the Gulf of Mexico, blue skies, white sane, soaring birds and sea oats swaying in the breeze..If you can judge the beauty of the Lord by examining the beauty of His creation, then He is beautiful indeed. The more I grow in my appreciation of the Lord and HIs goodness, the more I am like King David, and desire to spent time in His house and seek after Him. After a few decades of living, nothing else seems to really matter. It's not that I don't appreciate the things that I've been able to do, and the people that I've met along the way, but that will all pass, and only the beauty of the Lord will remain.

"Offer... sacrifices of joy"... What other response can we give? Nothing else matters in the end than seeking the Lord and worshiping His holy name.  One of the things I've leaned in my 6 plus decades on this earth, is that one of the main purposes of our time here is to be in choir practice.  Done right, all of a Christian's life gives glory to the Lord.  It's choir practice for when we will have all eternity to glory in His presence and worship Him in fullness.  Oh happy day when we will gather with the hosts of heaven around the throne and join with the cherubim is singing "Holy, Holy, Holy.  Holy is the Lord God almighty..."

So in the meantime, I'll "cry with my voice", calling on the Lord's mercy, and try to learn my lessons well so that I will be more able to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.  Now we see  in part, but one day... !!!

Sons of Korah, Psalm 27 part b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBC4UrT_G4E

Psalm 27a - Light and Salvation

Psalm 27a - Light and Salvation

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, 

came upon me to eat up my flesh,

they stumbled and fell.

3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:

though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. KJV

Light and Salvation... What could that mean?

When I was a wee lad, we sang "This little light of mine" in Sunday school. Like everything else, our understanding grows as we mature.  Our understanding of God grows from "this little light" to "I am the light of the world" who said "let there be light".  He is the creative power of the universe, the author of light itself.

I have been a student of light since I played with prisms and lenses as a kid.  I've studied the abstract properties of light as a physicists, and the artistic properties of light as a photographer.  It's a wonder of nature that the sky is such a beautiful blue, due to scattering theory, and that you can capture those shades of blue with a camera.  It is a testament to God's goodness that He has created the world to be so beautiful, and that the light that He created allows us to see it.  As a photographer, I take it as my task to use that light to capture the beauty of God's creation in such a way that others can appreciate it.  Not everyone stops to see the intricate beauty in God's creation in both large a small things.  The physicist can explain why it is the way it is, and the photographer can capture that beauty in a way that many others can appreciate it.

Personal note: I'm also more appreciative of being able to see the light, since I nearly lost that ability twice.  Fortunately, modern medicine was able to repair the cataracts and diseased corneas, so I am able to see now; thanks be to God!

But what kind of light is great enough to accomplish salvation?  This question got me to thinking about a book I read recently about the development of the atomic bomb in the Manhattan project and the pilots who trained for the first atomic mission.  When the bomb was dropped, the overwhelming impression of the crew of the Enola Gay was of overbearing and overwhelming light;  A light not imagined in man's creation before that time.  But that atomic explosion is but a pinprick of light compared to the light of the sun, which is but one of the smaller stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and that light is small compared to the light spoken into creation "In the beginning..." Even so, the atomic light from from that first bomb, and it's sister at Nagasaki,  brought salvation to nearly a million soldiers who could have lost their lives if we had invaded the Japanese home island.  How much more a salvation has been brought to mankind by the Son of God, who came and died for us that we may live. He is the one who can say, "I am the light of the world".

As always, The Sons of Korah have put together a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the first part of Psalm 27.  Enjoy...

Sons of Korah, Psalm 27 part a

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOwxTJzt2Kw