A Meditation on Psalm 145

May 9, 2024 Saint John's Lutheran

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”

— Psalm 145, selected verses

Who was your role model growing up? I didn’t look up to anyone in particular, if I’m honest. I was too busy living in the moment, being a kid, to think too hard about trying to be like my parents or those I was around. Yet I look back and realize that I’ve picked up on things from my childhood. One such thing is the Common Table Prayer: “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.”

Martin Luther used the words of Psalm 145 as his own table prayer in the Small Catechism: “The eyes of all look to you, Lord, and you give them their food at the proper time.” The words remind us where we look at all times and in all circumstances, just as all of Psalm 145 does. What is the point of praising God forever?

We see “the point” everywhere and in everything. We think that food comes from our parents, or from the grocery store, or even the farms. But who created the plants that we eat? Who created the animals we care for? God did. He shows His grace to us in these ways, and more!

This psalm is attributed to King David. David was likely thinking of how God had shown him and his subjects, the Kingdom of Israel, grace and mercy for hundreds of years already. He quotes Moses’ description of the LORD in Exodus 34, “slow to anger and rich in love.” Food given at the proper time recalls years spent in the desert, where Israel’s only supply of food was manna and quail from heaven. Even when it seemed that they would die in the desert or that they would be better off in Egypt, God fulfilled His promise to their father Abraham that they would have their own land – and now David had seen that promise fulfilled.

Our faithful God continues in His faithfulness, not only in David’s day but beyond to the present day! And as God Himself ensures that we see and know His faithfulness, He also makes use of us to show the love of God and our love for Him in return to the next generation. God does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17), and neither does Jesus (Hebrews 13:8). He isn’t just David’s God; He is Creation’s God. He isn’t just Savior of the twelve disciples; Jesus is the Savior of the world! What Jesus did, he did for everyone – even for those who have yet to be born!

Hopefully, you’ve had good role models in your life. But even our role models aren’t perfect. Even if Jesus is our role model, we know that we can never be like him; and that’s okay. Because even when I falter and fail, Jesus remains faithful. He pulls me out of the grip of my sins by casting them all away. Because of Jesus, we will be in heaven with our God!

Now that’s someone we can look up to.

Prayer: Lord, who can fathom your greatness? Our limited human minds cannot comprehend a God who is all-powerful, eternal, ever-faithful, and compassionate. Give us faith to grasp these truths and proclaim them to every generation; for you live and rule with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

A Meditation on Psalm 24

November 28, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.”

— Psalm 24:7-10

“Why Palm Sunday?” This question is often asked by members in the church. Why do we start the season of Advent where we normally begin Holy Week? Aren’t we focusing on the arrival of the baby Jesus at Christmastide?

The word “advent” comes from the Latin verb advenio, meaning “I arrive.” The season of Advent is a time of preparation for Christ’s arrival. But this focus isn’t just seen in Christ’s arrival as a little baby in a manger. We prepare for Christ’s arrival by focusing on the meaning behind his arrivals - the “why?”

Why are we preparing for Christ’s arrival? He has already come down to earth, born of the Virgin Mary. He has already arrived into Jerusalem to fulfill his saving work, a work that Jesus himself has told us is finished. But these are not the only advents for which we prepare.

We are preparing for our Lord’s return! But we do not know the day or the hour. When he comes, he will come not as a lowly baby in a bed of hay, nor as a respected teacher riding on a donkey, mistaken as a political revolutionary. Instead, he will come as he rightly is: the king of glory, the Son of David who rules over his Father’s kingdom.

The mighty king, who has indeed won the battle, will soon return in victory to announce the end of the war. He will put an end to our struggles and sufferings. He will come to take us with him to his eternal kingdom!

But until that day comes, we are left to wait and prepare. It’s not always easy, as the hymn says, for “every heart to prepare him room.” Yet we do just that, carrying out our work, preparing ourselves spiritually, all while keeping watch for our king…because we know who our king is and what he has done for us, we eagerly anticipate his arrival, praying, “Come Lord Jesus!” Our hearts are prepared because the one who is coming has prepared them for us.

And when he does come, we will gladly lift the gates and welcome our king.

Prayer: Lord God, though heaven and earth are yours, the human heart has no room for you. Open wide the gates of our hearts, that your Son may enter and rule there as king. Let his life of clean hands and a pure heart rest on us that we may always live with you; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Meditation on Psalm 103

September 13, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases...
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

— Psalm 103, selected verses

We praise the Lord God for lots of things, and rightly so! He has done so many wonderful things. He created the world, and He gives us food to eat. He provided for His people Israel by leading them out of slavery in Egypt. The Psalm even recalls Moses’ confession of who God is, “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

Psalm 103 includes many of these blessings, but it focuses especially on God’s gift of forgiveness. How great this gift is, that it is almost impossible to describe! “As high as the heavens are above the earth.” David would have thought the heavens to be miles above, the mountains holding it up. Yet for us today it has even greater effect - the heavens go well beyond a few miles, well into the millions and billions of miles! “As far as the east is from the west…” As if going in opposite directions for all of time - that is how far God will remove our sins from us! It’s as if they don’t exist!

But how is this possible? Because of who God is and what He does. That’s the compassion He shows to us. And it’s not just a one time thing - verse 17 of Psalm 103 says that the Lord’s love is "from everlasting to everlasting.” That covers all of eternity!

We treasure this beautiful gift from God, especially as we find ourselves struggling with sin. Each time we fall into sin, for every struggle that comes up in our lives, for every time we fail to resist those temptations, God forgives us. What wonderful forgiveness it is, that God, who has every right to hold us accountable, chooses instead to forget what we have done against His holy will for us. His forgiveness is undeserved…but it’s more than welcome!

We can only pray that the love God shows us in forgiving our sins will lead us to forgive each other when we sin against one another. It proves difficult to forgive. But God’s forgiveness of our sins encourages us to forgive one another. It isn’t always that easy. It doesn’t always end with forgiveness in this life. But whether we forgive each other on earth or not , may we never forget the forgiveness God has given to us, a forgiveness that is for all people and through which we may enter heaven.

Prayer: We praise you, O Lord, from the depths of our soul for the awesome blessing of your forgiveness. As far as the east is from the west, so far have you removed our sins from us. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is your love for us who fear you. May all creatures in heaven and on earth join in a song of praise; for you live and rule with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

A Meditation on Psalm 32

September 5, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

— Psalm 32, selected verses

Have you ever experienced the need to get something off your chest? It seems that many Americans experience this “pressure cooker” effect, particularly when it comes to stress and anxiety. When we experience confusing situations, our uncertainty builds up. When we fail at something we think we should’ve succeeded in doing, we bottle up the pain. We may try to hide those failures or play them down as just mistakes. But our memory keeps track of the truth - what really happened is always in the back of our minds, ready to play over and over again. It becomes too much, and the truth comes out.

It’s fitting that the LORD wants us to confess our sins to him in worship each day. It’s not that He wants us to feel weak or worthless but that He wants us to realize many things, both about us and about Him. First, we are sinners. We do not want to be sinners. We do not want to receive what sinners deserve. But that is who we are. But confessing our sins to God is always followed by absolution - God declares the forgiveness of our sins to us! The truth is that we rely on God to help us. When we confess our sins, we do so knowing that only God can help us.

There is beauty and comfort in forgiveness, especially a forgiveness that does not depend on us. God is eager to make His forgiveness known to all people. He is eager to hear from His children in prayer, to remind them of all the blessings in their life; but most importantly, to remind them of the blessing that all their sins are forgiven in Christ.

Dear friend, never forget that even when you feel like you’re wasting away and hopeless from yet another day of falling into temptations, you can go to your God in prayer. Recall the words you hear from your pastor each Sunday: “As a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the [✙] Son and of the Holy Spirit.“ You are forgiven in His eyes.

Prayer: Lord, whenever we feel the crushing burden of our sin, show us again how blessed we are. You have lifted our transgressions from us. You have covered our sins with the robe of your Son’s righteousness. You no longer count our misdeeds against us. For this great deliverance, we rejoice and sing your saving name. Amen.

A Meditation on Psalm 31

August 28, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.
Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.
My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.”

— Psalm 31, selected verses

This past weekend we heard Peter’s confession in Matthew 16 that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. It was on the rock of that gospel confession (and not Peter) that Christ has built his church. This week’s psalm shares a similar idea - David recognizes his Lord as his refuge and rock, a safe place to dwell. We get another picture at the kind of struggles and suffering David was experiencing, struggles that lasted from his days as a shepherd to his final days as king of Israel. These struggles, or “crosses,” often got the better of David, leading him to seek God for help.

Do you see your own struggles in David’s words? Do you feel anxious over certain problems that have come up in your life? Perhaps your eyes are tired from crying over the stress you find around every corner as you fail to find peaceful sleep. While people tell us to be strong, to believe in ourselves, we cannot always find the strength to do it. Our bones and muscles falter. We, like David, cannot be the strength we need, not on our own.

But the parallels don’t end there. We, like David, go to God for help. We know that where we are weak, He will always be strong enough to handle the crosses that are put in our way. Our enemies will not get the best of us with God on our side. He is our strength, our protector. We trust in His plan for us, that even as these crosses are placed in our lives, even to the moment where death seems to close our eyes forever, we will awaken to deliverance in the great city of heaven and receive the crown of eternal life our Father has prepared for us.

Even Jesus related to Psalm 31. As he faced his own (literal!) cross, on the brink of death, Jesus uttered the words of Psalm 31:5 - “Into your hands I commit my spirit.“ As he suffered an undeserved death, Jesus trusted in his Father’s plan of salvation. The Savior’s time was in God’s hands. They could be in no better place than that! So too we trust in God, who holds our times in His hands. We trust in Him, knowing that what He did for David and what He did for His Son, He will do for us too.

Prayer: Lord, in the burdens of our crosses we are in constant danger of being felled by the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh; but you provided your only-begotten Son to be our righteousness. Drive us to flee to him for refuge whenever our enemies threaten, for he alone is our rock and our fortress. In his name we ask it. Amen.

A Meditation on Psalm 138

August 23, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“I will thank you with all my heart.
By day I called, and you answered me.
You have made my soul strong.
Yes, you made your word even greater than your name.
All the kings of the earth will thank you, Lord,
when they have heard the message from your mouth.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.
Lord, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of the works of your hands.”

— Psalm 138, selected verses

This psalm is one of the strongest psalms of thanksgiving in Scripture, and it’s not hard to see why. King David speaks of personal thanks to the LORD, and he invites other kings to do so. He expects that they would once they had heard God’s Word for them.

If you’ve ever been a leader in some respect, you know that leading a group isn’t easy, even when it’s in an area you’re experienced in. Being the head of your department isn’t easy. Being a principal or a school administrator isn’t easy. Being in government isn’t as easy as it may seem. Even being a pastor isn’t easy! There are times where you have to make hard choices, even times where you will face strong adversity.

David was no different. He had been anointed to succeed Saul, and yet he had to deal with his predecessor’s attempts to kill him. When he finally became king, things didn’t get any easier. There were rebellions, enemies, attempts on his life. He wanted to build a temple for the LORD (2 Samuel 7), but the LORD said it was not his job to do. David got frustrated, and David sinned too.

But the LORD did not leave David to lead by himself. Many times, David consulted God for advice. When David sinned, God sent Nathan to confront him…but through Nathan, God also forgave him. Even when David failed as a leader, whether as a king or father, God forgave him. It wasn’t without discipline and encouragement to repentance, but God’s mercy was greater than David’s sin - and it’s greater than our sins too.

We, like David, give thanks for that fact. We know that we can call on him, and he will answer us. Even if it is not the answer we expect, He will work what He intends for us. His purpose is always good and always will be because His mercy endures forever! And we know that because we’ve heard God’s message from His mouth, the sweet, life-giving message of the gospel.

There’s plenty for David to give thanks for, and there’s plenty for us to give thanks for too! If you’re ever struggling to find something for which you can be thankful, take some time in Psalms. You will find no lack of things for which you can be thankful to God. Or rather, you will find no lack of things that God will do for you.

Prayer: Lord, we bow down to you in thankful praise. You have made your ways known to both lowly and great on the earth. You have not abandoned the work of your hands, but instead you have redeemed us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Meditation on Psalm 67

August 15, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”

— Psalm 67

Psalm 67 is the psalm of the week associated with our readings for this coming weekend, the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Year A). It reminds us that the kingdom of God is for all people, not just the Israelites. Mankind is the crown of God’s creation, no matter their ethnicity or background.

Paul even reinforces the idea in his letter to Timothy: “God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) We are to pray for those who openly oppose God, even those whose cultures conflict with Christian beliefs. Even the most ardent atheist, or the young child in a remote part of Africa who has no idea what a Bible or even a book is, is loved by God. He sent his Son to die for all, and that includes them!

Jesus calls us to go into all the world and preach to all creation (Mark 16:15). But our world is full of different languages and cultures. How will we share the gospel with all of them? That is part of the work of our church body. Some of our pastors learn to speak and preach in various languages. A part of our synod’s missions group works to publish materials that share the gospel in over 50 languages and counting. We have supported and worked with many confessional Lutheran church bodies across the world.

Our church body is doing wonderful work! But what can we do? First, we can give thanks to God for the blessings he has given us, both personally and as a church. Second, we can (and should!) use these blessings to share the gospel with others, either personally with our friends and neighbors or in supporting those who share the gospel around the world. Lastly, and most importantly, we can pray that God continues to bless us so that these efforts may continue to grow until all the world hears the gospel. We can pray the very words of the psalm: “May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you!“

Prayer: Gracious and merciful God, fill our hearts with joy and confidence so that, with all boldness, we may proclaim the story of your salvation among all the peoples of the earth to the praise of your great name; through Jesus our Savior. Amen.

This song by Getty Music is based on Psalm 67. In our church’s new Psalter, it is Psalm 67F.

This setting is also found in the Psalter, as Psalm 67A. It features a more traditional setting of refrain and verses.

A Meditation on Psalm 27

August 14, 2023 Saint John's Lutheran

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

— Psalm 27, selected verses

The words of this psalm were the first words I heard in my first official duty as a vicar - streaming the funeral of a member of the church, Gene. Gene had passed away before I arrived, so I never got to meet him. Yet after the day was done, I felt as if I knew him better than I knew most of my close friends.

As I listened to Pastor preach his sermon, I thought the choice of text was odd. I’ve always enjoyed Psalm 27, but I never thought of it as a text for a funeral. More often we think of the Good Shepherd psalm, Psalm 23. But if you are so bold as to consider what you want for a sermon text, I am equally as bold to suggest you consider Psalm 27.

King David wrote over seventy psalms, and likely more that were not included in Scripture. As we might expect, many parts of the psalm function as prayers regarding his situation. We might think of David as a shepherd boy who became a great king, with a few mishaps along the way; but David’s life was so much more tumultuous than that. He was envied by his predecessor Saul, who sought to kill him. David had to hide in the wilderness and wander from place to place for many years. He was powerless to prevent his best friend, Jonathan, from dying in battle.

Yet through it all, David’s focus remained on his Lord. While he was eager for a life of peace and for the defeat of his enemies, his main concern lies with God. David knows who God is and what God promises to do for his people. All that moves David to pursue God and his teachings with faith, a faith that is confident in what was not yet so: “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!”

It wasn’t easy for David. It certainly isn’t easy for us either. Faith can be hard when relying on our senses is so much easier…more certain. It’s easy to lose ourselves in the various enemies we struggle with, whether it’s greed or anger, or even actual enemies that pursue and attack us. But like David, we know that we have the certain promises of the Lord God, who promised a Savior who would take away our sins and bring everlasting life to all who believe in him. David didn’t get to see how that promise would be fulfilled, but we do, in the Son of David and the Son of God.

Death can be scary and saddening. It certainly was at Gene’s funeral that day. But Psalm 27 reminds all of us that our desire to dwell in the house of the Lord will one day become a reality, thanks to Jesus. Gene is there now - and one day, we will be too.

Prayer: Dear Lord, instill in us a fearlessness no enemy can shake. Lead us to your house to meditate on your saving deeds and gaze on the beauty of your Son, our Savior. When we suffer, make us patient. Teach us perseverance to long for your final salvation and rest secure in your house forever; through Christ our Lord. Amen.