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found*a*tion

When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?" (Ps 11:3)

When is a foundation destroyed? When something stands upon it that it cannot support; something too heavy to bear. When the foundation is destroyed the righteous must know it was not the true foundation.

In The Morning

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
       in the morning I lay my requests before you
       and wait in expectation. (Psalm 5:3)

David has slept in some odd places. Places we could not imagine. And his eyes have opened in those places too. He has awakened in caves with kings and armies searching for him. He has awakened in green pastures with sheep greeting him. He has opened his eyes to the morning sun streaming through the the windows of his own palace. He has risen to a new day in the midst of his army preparing for another day of war. He thought God heard him in the morning and he spoke to God about being with him at night. Why should he say this about morning time when he had such a comprehensive view of the presence of God? (Psalm 139) What is different about morning? It doesn't seem God is the answer. It must be David. How do we wake up? How do we return to consciousness? What are the layers we pass through before we know we are again? When we are again present in the world – when we know we are alive? How does David know God hears his voice at this point? i.e. How does he know that God is awake too? Usually the way we know someone is awake and listening is to say, "Hey, you awake?" They answer, "Yeah." Then you can go on talking and know you aren't wasting breath. David must wake up and remember his God is with him and hear His voice. Why in the morning? Because the longer we are awake the more competition there is for our attention. At first we only have an alarm clock or a few words – get up after that we feel the flood. What day is it, what time is it, what do I have to do today, how do I feel, is it cold outside, will it snow, where are my glasses… This is before anyone else speaks too much to us. The morning is the best time to speak to God not because He doesn't listen all the time, but because we don't. David is sure God hears him in the mornings because it is the time David hears God most clearly.

Pick four times in any day and try to hold a thought in your minds (or have a conversation) giving it your full attention. Fifteen minutes after you wake up, noon, five p.m., and fifteen minutes before you go to sleep. When will you be able to do it best? David is most assured in the morning for the same reason we would be most assured we were heard in any conversation – we can hear the other person responding.

In the morning God assured us we were heard – in the morning we saw the full attention of God. In the morning we came running to the tomb. In the morning we found the nightmare ended, the grave destroyed, life victorious and our Jesus available. He rose first thing, our rising from sleep each day can replay for us that day when our graves will be empty as His is empty and we can remind ourselves our God has heard our requests – our deepest desires and then we can array our requests for this day in battle lines (I lay my requests), knowing we should pray for the renewal of all things and hope expectantly for glorious action on the part of our God.

Limits on Evil

1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
       which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
       so the LORD surrounds his people
       both now and forevermore.

3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
       over the land allotted to the righteous,
       for then the righteous might use
       their hands to do evil.

4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
       to those who are upright in heart.

5 But those who turn to crooked ways
       the LORD will banish with the evildoers.
       Peace be upon Israel.

It is the Lord who knows what the righteous can endure and the Lord who limits the reign of wickedness. The righteous must remain in the land allotted to them, it is the place God has chosen for them even when they are not ruling. Being righteous doesn't mean living in a righteous place with righteous rulers. But when the wicked reign those who are righteous are exposed by the contrast (Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego). Here God's promise not to give more than the righteous can endure (1 Corinthians 10.1) is explained while simultaneously reminding the righteous they aren't the ones who make themselves that way – the righteous themselves would do evil if the Lord didn't provide the way out of evil and the way to stand up in trying times.

Jesus brings an end to the reign of the wicked. He is the way we can remain in the land allotted to us because He is the way out of wickedness for any who embrace Him. At all times the righteous may run to Him. He surrounds His people now and forevermore. He makes us good and then does good to us.

Our hands are released from evil because His hands were pierced by it.

it moves

1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62)

Be careful where you set your life. Some places feel secure, as if they will never move, as if they could never move. It would be good to evaluate what you stand on before it moves. People, principles, precepts...take a hard look and see if you've left yourself where a sudden and cataclysmic shift will topple everything.

strength on strength

May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die. (Psalm 79:11)

Your arm Father, is strong.  Your weakness is stronger than the strength of men.  Men use their strength to prove they are strong or to gain more strength.  You have no need to do either.  Men must maintain their own strength.  Your strength knows no limits and doesn't diminish.  You use your strength to preserve us; the prisoners of our own strength.

Jesus is the strength of God on display.  God's strength can only be broken by God.  The cross is the breaking point of God's strength.  Strength on strength.  Two ultimate things colliding.  The righteousness of God intersecting the mercy of God.  Infinite strength broken becomes infinite strength sown like seed into all the world.  When God breaks God, his strength is multiplied not lessened.

shake it up baby

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

Nobody does these things. We all fall somewhere in this poem. There are pitfalls throughout. You can conclude then, all will be shaken. All will be moved. The author himself, while holding the title 'a man after God's own heart' doesn't make the cut. Are we told these things to exhort us, to tempt us to try living an unshakeable life? Should we break it down into a list and measure ourselves by our steadfastness in keeping it? Before the impossilbe commands of Christ were ever uttered in human hearing, the Psalmist gave us impossible goals. None may dwell in Zion on their own. None may live on the hill of holiness - there is none righteous no not one. The one who makes the list and keeps it most fastidiously, making loud noises about their obedience is the least righteous, having become the most self-righteous. No, the holy hill, the resting place is reserved only for those who are already whole, already resting, already right. The time and energy expended in making yourself something only proves you are not that thing. Your movement, your shaking, proves you are not whole, not at rest, not right.

The only way we may live in rest and wholeness is through Jesus who left the holy hill to give us what He alone possesses. His walk was blameless. He always did righteousness. He always spoke truth from His heart because he knew both the Truth and his heart. He never slandered, never wronged a neighbor, or cast slurs on others. He despised the vile man in a way that wasn't vile, and honored God in a way that was honorable. He kept his oath at the cost of his life, poured out his riches with his blood, and accepted no interest. He lends everything he has to anyone who asks. He will not accept a charge against those he has declared innocent - nothing will move him from his love for us, his faithfulness to his father or his determined movement to redeem all things in heaven and in the earth. We have Jesus. He does these things. In Him we will never be shaken.

Open says me

"You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing." (Ps 145:16)

All it takes is for God to open His hand. All it takes for us is the same. Because His open hand was nailed to a piece of wood, my empty hand can be filled with every good thing...if only my fingers will release their grip on nothing.

Still God

"O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still."  Psalm 83:1

It seems I live among a people who either want God to be silent or want to tell Him what to say.  We want Him to be still or only do what we tell Him to do.  This prayer, this cry, is to the God who may speak and act in any way He chooses.  It is a call to the God who's enemies are the same as the enemies of His people.  It is a shout from the heart of men and women so identified with God that they are convinced anything He says or does will be in their best interests.  It is the cry of an insistent child to it's good father.  My prayers are more calculated than this.  I think about what I want God to say and do for me too much.  I want to move into childlike prayer like this: "It hurts!"  "I'm scared!" "There are dark shadows on my wall!"  "Speak to me Father...do something, do anything, all that you do and say I will trust!"

see SEE

"For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light." (Ps 36:9)

We don't see light.  Light is the means by which we see.  Our eyes can only comprehend things touched by light.  In a manner of speaking light creates the things we see.  God's light, His illuminating insight, is the means by which we come to have illumination and insight.  Things untouched by God's light must remain in darkness.

the Silent Treatment

"Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages." (Ps 50:3)
                                                                     

A good test to see if your god is The God:  how easy is it to keep your god from speaking?  how long can you keep your god silent?

Psalm 62 Once and Twice

"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:"  (Ps 62:11)

One word from God is worth twice as much as any word you may hear from anyone else.

escape

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (Selah) Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death. (Ps 68:19-20)

What kind of God is this anyway?  Why get so excited about a God?  Here is a God who enters into our daily burdens.  A God who saves.  A God who provides an escape from death.  The Lord God is a Savior from death, escape from living today buried beneath the creeping death.

Ps 97 without an end

"My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure." Ps 71:15

Setting out to praise God is to set out upon a journey which cannot end - which in fact will not end.  There will always be new things to praise about God, new mercies, new unfolding of His character.  Like an old married couple who for a lifetime rediscover and deepen in love for each other will be the people of God both rediscovering and renewing our love for an endless God.

Great God

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Ps 34:18

The greatness of God is found in His willingness to consort with the lowly, to draw near to the brokenhearted, to listen to the song sung in private.

Ps 86 Made or Maker

"Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.  All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name." (Ps 86:8-9)

Nations make gods but God makes nations.

Ps 89 Shared Glory

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.  They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. Ps 89:15-16

Where do you see this kind of activity in everyday life?  A fan living in the glory of their team.  They put on the garments of praise.  They boast in their team's conquests.  They feel the exultation of everything being 'right' in the world because their team is on top.

Ps 95 seven - 11

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice....11 So I declared on oath in my anger,  "They shall never enter my rest." Ps 95: 7&11

A people who will not trust God cannot enter His rest.  If you can't see vs 7 you can't lay down in vs 11.

Ps 99 Them?

"O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds." Ps 99:8

You answered them?  Well I have the same hope of being heard and answered.

Ps 99 EO

"you have established equity."  Ps 99:4

Does the world have the quality of equity to your eyes?  What is equity?

Ps 102 The Course of Brokeness

"In the course of my life he broke my strength."  Ps 102:23

if you are going to walk with God He will break your strength in due course, He must, for without this authentic brokeness of our strength we will never embrace His.

Ps 119 What Offenses Reveal

"Great peace have they who love your law; nothing shall offend the or make them stumble." Ps119:165

When someone offends you their character is revealed, but your response reveals your character and God is interested in you.

Ps 105 Pathos

"and he sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave." Ps 105:17

Only God would think of sending a slave to free slaves.

Ps 105 Falling Heir

"he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for" Ps 105:44

Would you rather be a self made man or an heir?  An heir who boasts is a fool.  There is no other way to be an heir than this - to fall into it.  Where then is the glory in it?  There is none, there is only weakness, humility, and gratitude.

Ps 139 2 for 1

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Ps 139:23-24

How far can you get by examining yourself?  What does it accomplish?  You begin with a dirty magnifying glass or worse a broken one.  The best of us can't clearly see the complete truth.  When we do discover the things we are looking to fix we have limited resources to fix them.  It's like having a lawyer taking apart a car engine in order to repair it.  He may get to the problem but he has to do it with less than ideal tools and he can't fix it even if he finds the problem. David had it right; Search me oh God.  With Jesus you get 2 for 1.  You get someone who can see the problem clearly and who also has the resources to permanently and completely repair what is broken.

Ps 110 Have a Seat

"The LORD says to my Lord:        "Sit at my right hand        until I make your enemies        a footstool for your feet."" Ps 110:1

Sit.  This doesn't sound too active - sit here and I will get the job done.  Rest at my right hand and when I'm through everything opposing you will end up under you.  Your enemies have a use - they are good places to rest your feet IF you are sitting at the right hand of God Almighty.

Ps 112 Some Good Bad News

"He will have no fear of bad news;        his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  His heart is secure, he will have no fear;        in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."  Ps 112:7-8

Having no fear of bad news doesn't mean there is never any bad news, it means because you trust the Lord your heart can be steadfast in the face of bad news.  We must be willing to let the years speak against the days and the weeks.  You can never tell the end by looking at the beginning of a story.  Eternity will have the last last word.

Ps 119 A Way that Works

"I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches." Ps 119:14

What would cause someone to feel like this?  It must work somehow.  Following these statutes must really work.  It must be like a person showing you how to hold and swing a golf club and then you follow their advice and actually hit the ball correctly over and over again.  This must be like finding a sweet stroke for life.

Ps 119 A Chosen Path

"I have chose the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws" Ps 119:30

The way of truth can be chosen.  It is the choice anyone can make.  It isn't an easy way to take.  Have you ever been told something and knew it was true and at the same time wished you didn't know it?  Some of us will deliberately chose the way of not truth.  It is easier.  It just doesn't lead anywhere.

Psalm 119

"I will walk in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts."  Ps 119:45

Isn't this the opposite of the view typically presented of God's commandments?  They are put forward to restrict freedom, not create it, right?  The truth is the commandments of God aren't written for God, they are written for me.  To free me from pain and to lead me to life.

Ps 119 The Contrast

"Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right I hate every wrong path." Ps 119:127-128

Hating the wrong path for the sake of hatred itself makes no sense.  The wrong path can only be wrong because there is a right path and can only be hateful because there is a lovely path.

Ps 119 Understanding on the Way

"I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes." Ps 119:125

Serving God goes beyond intellect, in fact intellect can only come in the wake of serving God.  The Psalmist says, 'I am serving you Lord, and in the process please lead me to understanding.'

Ps 119 Hear Me This Way

"Hear me according to your love"  Ps 119:149

What kind of translator is love?  How does it interpret our voice?  I want to be heard according to love.  I want the words to be interpreted in the way which gives me the most benefit.  Don't listen to my words, love me and then hear me according to your good heart, God.

Ps 120 Where I Live

"Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!  Too long have I lived among those who hate peace."  Ps 120:5-6

Meshech is on the edge of the promised land...Kedar is homeless yet so close to the land of peace.  This is me.  This is my self.  Too long have I lived in the land of Self and pitched my tent in the midst of the dead Ego.  I must move and up to Zion is the way I must move.

Ps 119 Look at what I am, not what I do

"I have strayed like a lost sheep.  Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands." 
Ps 119:176

Inside I know what is good.  Inside I know what is God.  I haven't forgotten the way, I just haven't been walking on it.  God, I know you see me, you see the way, and you see where I am.  Seek me because inside I'm still yours, not because my outsides look like it right now.

Ps 124 If the Lord

Ps 124:1-6
If the LORD had not been on our side-let Israel say- if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

Notice the people of God were attacked.  People were angry with them.  People wanted to swallow them whole.  Floods came and so did raging waters.  All these things and more do come even to the chosen ones.  Looking back we give praise.  Looking back we see the teeth marks and the grooves cut into our landscape by the torrents and realize we stood firm because we have a God.  Can you find praise for the Lord even in the aftermath of painful circumstance?

Ps 126 Weeping and Sowing

Ps 126:6
He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.

Why is weeping associated with sowing?  Sowing involves throwing dead things on the ground and trusting in the earth/growth process to produce something later.  The dead things are harder to throw on the ground because once they were part of the joyful reaping; they were alive. 

Ps 131 Stilled Soul

Ps 131:2 
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

The weaned child is still and knows there are other sources of nourishment and contentment besides the mother's milk, but the weaned child must still be fed and must trust someone to feed him.  Weaning only means becoming content to wait upon a different mode of provision from the same hand.

Ps 127 Unless

Ps 127:1-2
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Nothing is built unless the Lord builds it.
Nothing is safe unless the Lord guards it.
If you have a God you can rest.