Sermons

How To Ask

Luke 11:1-13 [show]Luke 11:1-13 The Lord's Prayer [11:1]Now Jesus(1) was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." [2]And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. [3]Give us each day our daily bread,(2) [4]and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." [5]And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, [6]for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; [7]and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? [8]I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence(3) he will rise and give him whatever he needs. [9]And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [10]For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. [11]What father among you, if his son asks for(4) a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; [12]or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [13]If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (ESV) Footnotes 1. [11:1] Greek 'he' 2. [11:3] Or 'our bread for tomorrow' 3. [11:8] Or 'persistence' 4. [11:11] Some manuscripts insert 'bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for'

You don’t remember this, but you had to be taught how to ask for what you wanted. For what seemed like forever, your parents had to interpret your non-verbal efforts to communicate. This was tiresome and frustrating, and your parents looked forward to the day when you could simply say what you want. Once this began, however, your parents found that they had created a monster! You asked constantly and loudly. Every sentence began with “I want.” So, your poor parents began the task of teaching you how to ask.

Many people see prayer as asking, and never pray except when they are asking for something. Other people question whether prayers of asking are appropriate or effective. Of course, there are many kinds of prayer. Prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of adoration, prayers of confession, for example, offer no particular difficulty for people of faith. We understand how such prayers could bring about changes within the person praying or among people praying together.

Prayers of asking, however, are in a different category and raise special questions. First, are prayers of petition and intercession appropriate, or even permissible? Second, do such prayers actually bring about changes in the real world? These questions bring up other questions. Is the will of God subject to change based on our request? Can the laws of nature, or the findings of science, be altered to honor our petitions? If God wills what is good, and is able to accomplish what is good, of what possible use are our prayers? What kind of God would allow a sick person to die were it not for our petitions? The questions are serious and daunting.

Furthermore, our own experiences with prayer may cause confusion. We have prayed for good weather and it has rained in torrents. We have prayed for health, and our condition has gotten worse. We have prayed for peace, and wars have multiplied. Such experiences may cause us to wonder if the times when we have received what we asked for were simply cases of coincidence.

At least three things need to be taken into account before petitionary prayer is simply dismissed. First, we are praying creatures. Whatever we may believe about prayer, we pray automatically, almost instinctively. When the situation becomes desperate enough, or the pain is intense enough, almost anyone will utter a petition for help. Such praying is done spontaneously, involuntarily, naturally. In a crisis, prayer wells up in us beyond our power to repress. Consider, also, that the situation does not have to be negative for us to cry out to God. At the birth of a child, a joyful parent may exclaim, “Oh, God!” These are the spontaneous cries of our creaturehood as we stand at the door of the infinite.

Second, Jesus encourages us to pray, and specifically to offer prayers of asking. All four Gospels record Jesus’ words instructing his disciples to “ask” God for what they needed. Also, in teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus told them to ask, “Give us this day our daily bread.” In Philippians 4:6 [show]Philippians 4:6 [6]do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (ESV)
, Paul writes, “Let your requests be made known to God.” The New Testament throughout, and Jesus specifically, encourage us to pray and  to ask God for what we want or need.

Third, we are not only encouraged to ask, but we are promised that we will receive. This promise is startling in its simplicity. An obvious confidence in this promise runs throughout the Bible. This was so long ago that we may wonder if the promise is still valid. Presumably it is, but within the proper context.

Remember, it was Jesus who said, “Ask, and you will receive,” not just anyone. And it was to his followers that he spoke these words. Also, Jesus and his followers had a certain understanding of God and God’s kingdom. Asking and receiving must be understood in terms of our relationship to God in Jesus Christ.

Prayer is a response. We do not speak first. The initiative is with God. God has spoken in creation, in the history of Israel, in the person of Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. If prayer is our response, this will qualify our petitions. We will ask in terms of the relationship God has initiated. This is the significance of praying “in Jesus’ name.” This phrase is no magical incantation, as if adding this formula guarantees success. To ask in Christ’s name is to ask in the spirit of Christ. It is to ask as Jesus would ask in our place. It is to ask with something of Jesus’ insight into the nature of God and God’s ways with us. Can we ask for fame and fortune in Jesus’ name? Can we ask for the destruction of our enemies in Jesus’ name? Can we ask for exceptional privileges in Jesus’ name?

The problem in our praying is not God. God hears and answers our prayers in ways that are appropriate to the relationship we have with God in Jesus Christ. The problem is in our asking. We ask selfishly, attempting to use God. We ask superficially, seeing prayer as a way of avoiding responsibility. We ask unreasonably, unwittingly. Utter chaos would result if all our prayers were answered in the ways we want. God loves us too much to grant some of our petitions.

Perhaps the best lesson we have from Jesus on how to ask comes from Gethsemane’s garden. Bowed down in agony, he asked first for what he wanted. “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus was honest with God. We can be, too. God cares about whatever we are feeling or thinking we want. But then Jesus uttered the great qualification, the self-denying “nevertheless.” He prayed in that menacing darkness, “You have heard my plea, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.”

This is how we are to ask. With honesty and with submissiveness. With honesty to say, “O God, I cannot lie to you. Here is my heart’s desire.” With submissiveness to say, “Nevertheless, you alone are God. May your will be done.”

Prayer:  O God, may your kingdom come, may your will be done, in each of us, as it is in heaven. Amen.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church  /  Dallas, Texas 75230  /  7.25.10

Saying Yes by Saying No

Luke 10:28-42 [show]Luke 10:28-42 [28]And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." [29]But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" [30]Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. [31]Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. [32]So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. [33]But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. [34]He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35]And the next day he took out two denarii(1) and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' [36]Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" [37]He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." Martha and Mary [38]Now as they went on their way, Jesus(2) entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. [39]And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. [40]But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." [41]But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, [42]but one thing is necessary.(3) Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." (ESV) Footnotes 1. [10:35] A 'denarius' was a day's wage for a laborer 2. [10:38] Greek 'he' 3. [10:42] Some manuscripts 'few things are necessary, or only one'

Mary & Martha are the yin and yang of hosting a dinner party. One sister focused on last-minute preparations while the other sister focused on the guest of honor. Martha got mad at Mary for not helping out. Jesus stepped in and explained to Martha that, while she was doing good things, in the present situation Mary had chosen the best thing.

We all learn early that there is a significant difference between “good” and “bad.” Evil is the polar opposite of goodness. But in the persistent struggle between good choices and bad choices we frequently opt for the bad ones. Confession and repentance, then, are in order. As a Baptist minister, of course, I do not hear confessions as part of my job description, but I hear a good many; and I have my own confessors (who will remain anonymous!). A Roman Catholic priest once described the experience of hearing the confessions of nuns. He said it was like “being stoned to death with popcorn.”

What keeps most of us from being who God wants us to be is not so much the tension between good and evil as the conflict between the good and the best. When you are feeling bad about yourself and a bit done in by life, how often is it because of something evil you have done?

It is more likely the result of an unfortunate choice between the good and the best. The good can be a ferocious enemy of the best. We can become so involved in good things that we never get around to the best things.

Thomas Kelly, in A Testament of Devotion, writes of “the poverty of life that can result from an overabundance of opportunity.” We can become so involved in responding outwardly, even to good things, that we become inwardly poor. When we try to embrace too many possibilities, we get over-extended. The result is a diminishing of joy in almost everything.  We do not do this intentionally. We know what our priorities are. When we are under pressure, however, our priorities are put to the test. Facing deadlines, or being pulled in different directions, it is easy to lose sight of what matters most. Can’t we all relate to Martha? Jesus was coming to dinner!

Given the rapacious human appetite for nearly everything, it is difficult to accept the reality of limits. Life teaches us, however, that we simply cannot have everything. We are left with a painful truth: we cannot say Yes to something without saying No to something else.

A child in a candy store beholds a mind-blowing scene. There is candy everywhere! There is not only a lot of candy, but hundreds of different kinds of candy! And usually there is a parent saying, “Choose one.” Saying Yes to one kind of candy means saying No to all the rest!

Saying Yes always involves saying No. It is the nature of choice. If two people choose each other as marriage partners, if they commit their lives and futures to each other, then in saying Yes to each other, they are saying No to millions of other individuals. The Yes is meaningless if it is not exclusive, if it does not exclude all others. “I take you” means “I do not take any others.” At the opposite end of the spectrum is the foolish attempt to say Yes to everything and everyone, which becomes self-destructive.

This is not bad news. We are not children in a candy store. Sometimes we are dealing with matters of such worth, with things of such extraordinary value, that saying No becomes a glad part of saying Yes. Consider all the times when we say Yes by saying No. Saying No to peer pressure may be saying Yes to self-respect. Saying No to a loved one may be saying Yes to really loving the loved one. Saying No to a lucrative promotion may mean saying Yes to your family. Saying No to some Saturday preoccupation may mean you will say Yes to a neighbor. Saying No to drugs may mean saying Yes to hope. Saying No to a drink may mean saying Yes to real feelings. Saying No to a supervisor may mean saying Yes to integrity. Saying No to more may mean saying Yes to health. Saying No to longer hours may mean saying Yes to a child. Saying No to pleasure may mean saying Yes to purpose. Saying No to the present may mean saying Yes to the future. Saying No to anger may be saying Yes to healing. Saying No to an invitation may be saying Yes to rest. Saying No to self-pity may be saying Yes to God.

The incomparable beauty of Jesus’ life is largely in its simplicity. It is the simplicity of single-mindedness. Single-mindedness is not the same as a one-track mind. Single-mindedness is centeredness, groundedness. It is living your priorities. How do we do this?

Right after the little episode with Mary and Martha in Luke, we find Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. It is considerably shorter than Matthew’s version, but the priorities are the same. Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us our daily bread. Forgive us as we forgive. Keep us from temptation. That’s it.

Right after acknowledging God’s holiness is the petition, “thy kingdom come.” After that it speaks of our needs – - for bread, forgiveness, and help in avoiding temptation. But what is the primary thing we are to say Yes to? God’s kingdom. “Thy kingdom come.” People for generations have been so confused about the kingdom of God that it has been mainly thought of as heaven. But is Jesus teaching us to pray for heaven? Probably not.

In Matthew the Lord’s Prayer reads, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The kingdom of God is wherever God’s will is done. Our principal petition is supposed to be for God’s will to be done.

Now, you ask me, how do we say Yes to the kingdom of God? How do we say Yes to the will of God? By saying No to our own wills. And, as willful as we are, that is extremely difficult!

The prayers of children are so simple – - simple and honest. The older I get the simpler my prayers become. It has taken most of a lifetime for me to believe that God’s will really is best – - in all things. Now my prayers consist mostly of asking, “Show me your will, be my guide today.” But saying No to my own stubborn will is still a large part of saying Yes to the kingdom of God.

Prayer:  Have your own way, Lord. Have your own way. Your are the Potter, we are the clay. Mold us and make us after your will, while we are waiting yielded and still. Amen.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church  /  Dallas, Texas 75230  /  7.18.10

Choosing Your Neighbors

Luke 10:25-37 [show]Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan [25]And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" [26]He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" [27]And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." [28]And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." [29]But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" [30]Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. [31]Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. [32]So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. [33]But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. [34]He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35]And the next day he took out two denarii(1) and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' [36]Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" [37]He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." (ESV) Footnotes 1. [10:35] A 'denarius' was a day's wage for a laborer

Let’s talk about your neighbors. You know, the way you do at home! There are all kinds of neighbors, who generate all kinds of feelings in us. Chesterton said, “We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbors.” How might your life be different if you could choose your neighbors?

A lawyer once asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. He was actually a scribe, a religious expert in the Mosaic Law. Jesus told him what he already knew, that the key to eternal life is in the ancient commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God” with your whole being, “and your neighbor as yourself.” The scribe asked, “And who is my neighbor?” A favorite exercise of the rabbis was trying to determine the correct legal answer to this question. Who is my neighbor?

The scribes and Pharisees gave the question a very narrow answer. They knew their neighbor was not the Gentile, the non-Jew. They knew their neighbor was not the Samaritan, the corrupted Jew.

It is obvious they were trying to locate the limits of their obligation. “What is the least I can do to fulfill my duty?” Have you ever had such thoughts? Have you ever wondered, “How much fun can I have and still go to heaven?”

The scribe’s question led to the one parable of Jesus that everybody knows, the Good Samaritan. Adults have tended to leave it to the children. It is G-rated, an example of the Golden Rule, a little morality play about being kind. Come on, do you seriously think that’s all this parable was to Jesus?

If we are going to hear this parable as it was first heard, we need to do a little preparation. First, some background is necessary. Second, to personalize it, each of us needs to focus on the most despicable group of people we can think of – - – in-laws, IRS agents, umpires, religious fundamentalists, professional wrestlers, etc. It needs to be a group or class or type with whom you really have trouble.

Now, some background. Jesus, of course, was a Jew. Anyone who was not a Jew was a Gentile. The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ time taught the people that all Gentiles were unclean, profane and godless. At times, the extent of this discrimination was beyond belief. If there was a group more despised than Gentiles, it was the Samaritans. They lived in Samaria, which was between Judea in the south and Galilee in the north. They were Jews who had defiled their pure Jewish blood by intermarrying with foreigners who were moved into Palestine when most of the Jews were carried into captivity.

Strict Jews, when going from Galilee to Judea, or Judea to Galilee, would not even set foot on Samaritan soil. They would cross the Jordan River into present-day Jordan, going many miles out of the way, to avoid passing through Samaria. Jesus, however, went through Samaria.

If you were telling a story, you would probably make the hero someone with whom your audience would make a positive identification. You wouldn’t choose Donald Trump to play Gandhi. But consider what Jesus did. He drew the hero of his story from the most despised group in Palestine. The good Samaritan? It would not compute.

The road where the robbery took place was between Jerusalem and Jericho. It was a rough and rocky mountain road. Jerusalem is in the Judean highlands, which is why they are always going “up” to Jerusalem. It is twenty miles down to Jericho, but the descent is 3,600 ft.! There

were many hiding places for robbers. The victim was attacked, robbed and left for dead. Two Jewish religious leaders passed by, saw the victim, but did not stop. In truth, stopping was not advisable. The apparent “victim” might be a decoy, with other robbers lying in wait. Another possibility was that the victim was dead, and touching a dead body would render the religious leaders unclean, thus unable to perform their temple duties. Then a Samaritan came by. He took pity on the man and took the risk. You know the rest of the story.

Jesus’ parable suggests that we do choose our neighbors. Physical proximity means little today. In high-rise condominiums and apartment buildings, people who live literally inches apart may not know each other’s name. In any large city you may see hundreds of faces a day, and be within speaking distance of hundreds more, and remain utterly anonymous. If “neighbor” means someone for whom you accept some responsibility, then we do indeed choose. But on what basis?

Fred Rogers’ television program, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, is a wonderful example of what can happen to the concept of “neighborhood.” This gentle man, across the years, invited millions of individual children to be his neighbor. Probably none of them lived next door, literally.

Yet, most of them accepted his invitation and became, to a degree not to be minimized, his neighbor.

On what basis do we decide who will be our neighbors?         Of course, Jesus might suggest we choose someone in need. He might also remind us that everyone has some kind of need, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding. The question the rabbis debated is still partially unanswered.

Let me put a wrinkle in the parable for you, as someone once did for me. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We have heard it as a commandment. But it is also a statement of fact. We will love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We do love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We cannot give to another what we have not received. If we have received the gospel, we have accepted the good news that God loves us as we are, that we are good creations of God, that we have value and worth, that even our sinfulness does not dilute God’s compassionate grace.

Accepting God’s love makes it possible to love ourselves. This is not self-centeredness. Ego-centricity is godless. Rather, being God-centered allows us to see ourselves as a good gift of God, which is a source of great joy. Self-despising is a sin, despising what God has called good.

Self-despising cannot be the basis for loving other people. Loving the neighbor means giving myself to the neighbor, and I cannot give what I despise. Our attitudes toward others tell us significant things about ourselves, if we will listen.

Have you pictured the kind of people you do not like? This popular parable invites me to consider that God may be doing more of what really matters with one of them than with me.

Prayer:  O God, we cannot truly love our neighbors until, accepting your love for us, we love ourselves. Open our hearts to you. Amen.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church  /  Dallas, Texas 75230

The Freest Person Who Ever Lived

Galatians 5:1 [show]Galatians 5:1 Christ Has Set Us Free [5:1]For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (ESV)

Galatians 5:13-25 [show]Galatians 5:13-25 [13]For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14]For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [15]But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Walk by the Spirit [16]But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17]For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [18]But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19]Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20]idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21]envy,(1) drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22]But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23]gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24]And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25]If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [5:21] Some manuscripts add 'murder'

If there is a key word for understanding the aspirations and the ambiguities of American history, and, in a sense, of all human history, that word must be “freedom.” Ask anyone in our story as we have learned it – - the Old World explorer, the Puritan pilgrim, the revolutionary patriot, the oppressed minorities of more recent times, the troubled youth, ask any of them what it is that agitates them so, what it is they want so desperately, all their answers boil down to this one word: freedom.

Those of us here, as free as we seem, are captives, too. We are captives to many different masters for many different reasons, but we all have some sense of yearning. The word that best describes the place where our longings come together, where our aspirations overlap, is freedom. Everybody wants to be free from something.

In these individual struggles to get free from something or someone, some of us would secretly like to be free even from God. If freedom is what we want most, if freedom is our God, who needs God? Have you ever run from God? “I fled Him down the nights and down the days; / I fled Him down the arches of the years; / I fled  Him down the labyrinthine ways / Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears / I hid from Him, and under running laughter.” (Francis Thompson, The Hound of Heaven}

Do you realize that both the desirability and the possibility of freedom are taken seriously in the Bible? Probably you assume as much. But, actually, this was unique in the ancient world. No ancient philosophy saw freedom as its highest virtue. No ancient culture deemed freedom the highest good. Yet the Bible affirms freedom as a gift of God.

Here is a truth worth pondering on this Independence Day. The freest person who ever lived was the person who was most dependent on God.

Jesus was so free it threatens us. Free in all the ways we are not. Jesus was free from the terrible insecurity that keeps us needing to prove ourselves and justify our existence. Look at him!

Secure enough in who he was and what he was about that he could openly challenge the religious authorities of his own people. So secure he could let the brightest prospect for discipleship simply walk away. Jesus was so grounded in his own truth that he could watch his followers betray him and his enemies condemn him without speaking a word in his own defense. He was the freest person who ever lived.

Jesus was free from the heavy weight of other people’s expectations. This is impressive to pastors and other clergy because we can’t pull it off. The congregation’s expectations so often seem both more immediate and more important than God’s expectations. But you and I both, because we aren’t sure who we are, let the expectations of others determine how we live.

Not Jesus. Everyone, absolutely everyone, loaded him up with expectations. Messianic expectations are the worst, and the most impossible. They expected Jesus to enter Jerusalem in a chariot like a conquering hero, but he showed up riding a little donkey. Jesus was free enough to say, “No, thank you,” to those who wanted to make him king, preferring to remain among the common people as one of them. He was the freest person who ever lived.

Jesus was free even from the rules and proscriptions of religion. Look at him! Free enough to be seen at Jacob’s well telling a Samaritan woman with a scandalous reputation that God loved her anyway. Jesus even broke the Sabbath laws, because he was keeping the higher law of love.

Jesus was the personification and definition of freedom. In him freedom rang like a frenzied bell. His was the freedom we know we need, and, in our better moments, want.

But what was the secret of his freedom? Not any of the things we would suppose. Not his courage, though he endured encounters with the devil, Pontius Pilate, and God-forsakenness. Not his wisdom, though what little we have from his mind is, two millennia later, utterly inexhaustible.

The secret of Jesus’ freedom was in his subservience to God. We freedom-lovers and freedom-seekers have understood freedom as the annihilation of all forms of bondage and constraint, and this may be our gravest mistake.

Take a child. Turn the child loose in the world, free from every restriction and constraint, and the child will not survive. But hold a child within the confines of a family, and those loving constraints will provide the environment in which the child  can  become a responsible self. Love creates the constraints that make true freedom possible. Love creates, not the restraints of legalistic relationships, but the constraints of committed relationships.

Ask the person who has fallen in love. Ask the person who has lived for years in a life of love with another person. Ask them, Does love create bondage? The “yes” will come through a smile. A chosen bond, a blessed bond, the bond of communion.

Finally, I have a hypothesis: the higher the love that holds you, the greater the number of constraints from which you are free.

Paul said, “The love of Christ constrains us.” Constrains. Encircles us. Holds us. Sets our limits. This is why Augustine could say, “Love God and do as you please.” But we cannot have the freedom of the resurrection without the discipline and constraint of the cross. We have never been told the way would be easy. Certainly we have not been told it would be the way of self-indulgent license. But it is the way of true freedom. And “if the Son shall make us free, we shall be free indeed.”

He was the freest person who ever lived.

Prayer:

O God, when we have anchored our souls in you, we are most truly free. When we have bound our wills to your will, we are most truly free. When we have aligned our hopes with your promises, we are most truly free. Grant us such dependence on you, we pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church, Dallas, TX  /  7.4.10

Too Far From Jerusalem

Psalm 77 [show]Psalm 77 In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. [77:1]I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. [2]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. [3]When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah [4]You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. [5]I consider the days of old, the years long ago. [6]I said,(1) "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: [7]"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? [8]Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? [9]Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah [10]Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High."(2) [11]I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. [12]I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. [13]Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? [14]You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. [15]You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [16]When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. [17]The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. [18]The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. [19]Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.(3) [20]You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Footnotes 1. [77:6] Hebrew lacks 'I said' 2. [77:10] Or 'This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed' 3. [77:19] Hebrew 'unknown'

A biblical sermon brings together biblical truth and human life. The preacher takes a biblical text and applies it to contemporary life. An old friend, Roger Lovette, says his preaching professor once said there are two ways to preach such a sermon. Either you begin where you are and end in Jerusalem, or you begin in Jerusalem and end where you are.

Jerusalem has been a “holy city” for four thousand years. For millions of people, history’s most important drama begins and ends in Jerusalem. Today, three major religions claim Jerusalem – - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Old City, which has the greater historical significance, is small, but teems with an incredible assortment of tourists and pilgrims. It is as if everybody has some interest in this ancient city.

An elderly woman once said to her pastor, “My one great regret is that I never got to see the temple in Jerusalem.” The pastor said, “My dear, there has not been a temple in Jerusalem for two thousand years.” She said, “Oh, you! You’d say anything to make me feel better.”

But, of course, it is true. The temple was destroyed with the city less than fifty years after the life of Christ. Today a Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock, stands on the temple site. This makes Jewish nostalgia even more poignant. Jerusalem, despite all the changes, is their spiritual home.

Each year they conclude Passover saying, “Next year in Jerusalem!”

In the Bible the most tragic periods for our Israelite ancestors were the years of captivity and exile.

They had insisted on having a king, and God had acquiesced. But they were ultimately no match for the world powers. They were not only conquered time after time, region by region, but they were marched by the thousands out of the Promised Land and toward the East. Across nearly two centuries they were deported by whoever was the world’s dominant ruler to Mesopotamia and Persia. First, the Assyrians were their rulers, then the Babylonians. The greatest problem to the exiles, however, was that they were so far from Jerusalem. No people have ever had such a love affair with a city.

The Psalms, as you know, are the hymns of Israel. Many of them, however, sound like whining or complaining. Why are there so many laments in the Psalms? One reason is that many of the psalms were written in exile. They are expressions of distraught, depressed, almost hopeless individuals. Listen:

“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. Thou dost hold my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, I remember the years long ago. I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit [saying]:  ‘Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has God in anger shut up his compassion?’ And I say, ‘It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.’” This is from Psalm 77, 1-10 [show]Psalm 77 In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. [77:1]I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. [2]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. [3]When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah [4]You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. [5]I consider the days of old, the years long ago. [6]I said,(1) "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: [7]"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? [8]Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? [9]Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah [10]Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High."(2) [11]I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. [12]I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. [13]Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? [14]You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. [15]You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [16]When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. [17]The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. [18]The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. [19]Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.(3) [20]You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalms 1-10 The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked [1:1]Blessed is the man(4) who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; [2]but his delight is in the law(5) of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. [3]He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. [4]The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. [5]Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; [6]for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. The Reign of the LORD's Anointed [2:1]Why do the nations rage(6) and the peoples plot in vain? [2]The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, [3]"Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." [4]He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. [5]Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, [6]"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." [7]I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. [8]Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. [9]You shall break(7) them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." [10]Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. [11]Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. [12]Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Save Me, O My God A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. [3:1]O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; [2]many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah(8) [3]But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. [4]I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah [5]I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. [6]I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. [7]Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. [8]Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah Answer Me When I Call To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. [4:1]Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! [2]O men,(9) how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah [3]But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. [4]Be angry,(10) and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah [5]Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. [6]There are many who say, "Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!" [7]You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. [8]In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Lead Me in Your Righteousness To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. [5:1]Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. [2]Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. [3]O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you(11) and watch. [4]For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. [5]The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. [6]You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. [7]But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. [8]Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. [9]For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. [10]Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. [11]But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. [12]For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield. O LORD, Deliver My Life To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith.(12) A Psalm of David. [6:1]O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. [2]Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. [3]My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD--how long? [4]Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. [5]For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? [6]I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. [7]My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. [8]Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. [9]The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer. [10]All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. In You Do I Take Refuge A Shiggaion(13) of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite. [7:1]O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, [2]lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. [3]O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, [4]if I have repaid my friend(14) with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, [5]let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah [6]Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. [7]Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high. [8]The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. [9]Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous-- you who test the minds and hearts,(15) O righteous God! [10]My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. [11]God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. [12]If a man(16) does not repent, God(17) will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; [13]he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. [14]Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. [15]He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. [16]His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. [17]I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. How Majestic Is Your Name To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.(18) A Psalm of David. [8:1]O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. [2]Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. [3]When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, [4]what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? [5]Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings(19) and crowned him with glory and honor. [6]You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, [7]all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, [8]the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. [9]O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds (20) To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.(21) A Psalm of David. [9:1]I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. [2]I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. [3]When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before(22) your presence. [4]For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. [5]You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. [6]The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. [7]But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, [8]and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. [9]The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. [10]And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. [11]Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! [12]For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. [13]Be gracious to me, O LORD! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, [14]that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. [15]The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. [16]The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.(23) Selah [17]The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. [18]For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. [19]Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! [20]Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah Why Do You Hide Yourself? [10:1]Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? [2]In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. [3]For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses(24) and renounces the LORD. [4]In the pride of his face(25) the wicked does not seek him;(26) all his thoughts are, "There is no God." [5]His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. [6]He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." [7]His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. [8]He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; [9]he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. [10]The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. [11]He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." [12]Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. [13]Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"? [14]But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. [15]Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. [16]The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. [17]O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear [18]to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. Footnotes 1. [77:6] Hebrew lacks 'I said' 2. [77:10] Or 'This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed' 3. [77:19] Hebrew 'unknown' 4. [1:1] The singular Hebrew word for 'man' ('ish') is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see preface 5. [1:2] Or 'instruction' 6. [2:1] Or 'nations noisily assemble' 7. [2:9] Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) 'You shall rule' 8. [3:2] The meaning of the Hebrew word 'Selah', used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction 9. [4:2] Or 'O men of rank' 10. [4:4] Or 'Be agitated' 11. [5:3] Or 'I direct my prayer to you' 12. [6:1] Probably a musical or liturgical term 13. [7:1] Probably a musical or liturgical term 14. [7:4] Hebrew 'the one at peace with me' 15. [7:9] Hebrew 'the hearts and kidneys' 16. [7:12] Hebrew 'he' 17. [7:12] Hebrew 'he' 18. [8:1] Probably a musical or liturgical term 19. [8:5] Or 'than God'; Septuagint 'than the angels' 20. [9:1] Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they form one psalm 21. [9:1] Probably a musical or liturgical term 22. [9:3] Or 'because of' 23. [9:16] Probably a musical or liturgical term 24. [10:3] Or 'and he blesses the one greedy for gain' 25. [10:4] Or 'of his anger' 26. [10:4] Or 'the wicked says, "He will not call to account"'
.

Exile is excruciatingly painful. To be cut off from one’s roots, one’s home, one’s sources of meaning, and to be set down in a hostile environment, must be a dreadful experience. The words of Psalm 137 [show]Psalm 137 How Shall We Sing the LORD's Song? [137:1]By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. [2]On the willows(1) there we hung up our lyres. [3]For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" [4]How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land? [5]If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! [6]Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! [7]Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!" [8]O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! [9]Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes 1. [137:2] Or 'poplars'
may be more familiar. “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Jerusalem. . . . How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!”

Have you ever felt you were too far from some Jerusalem? In a new city, or a new school, or a new job, have you ever felt exiled, and wanted to go back where you came from? Trying to adjust to a new home or a different routine, have you ever wanted to return to the security of the known?

When we are stressed or depressed, the easiest reaction is to blame the situation, our location. What am I doing here? If only I were back there! How did I get so far from home? I cannot forget you, O Jerusalem! It is homesickness in extremis, and is not to be taken lightly. College freshmen can experience homesickness that is completely incapacitating.

Not to minimize homesickness, or exile, but the problem is seldom location alone. Don’t we all learn, sooner or later, that going home is not as easy, or as wonderful, as it sounds? You can go home, but it may no longer feel like home. For example, in 539 B.C.E., Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great, and the Persian ruler issued a decree that the Jews could return home. Can you imagine the excitement? After all these years, we can finally go home! When they finally got home, however, nothing resembled either their memories or their dreams. Jerusalem was still largely in ruins, and the first temple, Solomon’s, had not been rebuilt. Returning home was almost as discouraging as being in exile.

Walter Brueggemann points out that the many psalms of lament express the psalmist’s sense of disorientation. He says this is because life is often savagely marked by disequilibrium and incoherence.

He points out how the psalmist moves from lament to hope, from disorientation to reorientation. Psalm 77 [show]Psalm 77 In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. [77:1]I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. [2]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. [3]When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah [4]You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. [5]I consider the days of old, the years long ago. [6]I said,(1) "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: [7]"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? [8]Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? [9]Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah [10]Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High."(2) [11]I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. [12]I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. [13]Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? [14]You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. [15]You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [16]When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. [17]The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. [18]The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. [19]Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.(3) [20]You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Footnotes 1. [77:6] Hebrew lacks 'I said' 2. [77:10] Or 'This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed' 3. [77:19] Hebrew 'unknown'
is a good example. The psalmist has ruthlessly questioned God’s character, asking why God has changed and is spurning us, or whether God’s steadfast love has ceased forever. Then there is a dramatic change. The psalmist recalls the ways of the Lord. He remembers the mighty deeds of God, and how the Lord’s arm redeemed the children of Jacob and Joseph.

The first half of Psalm 77 [show]Psalm 77 In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. [77:1]I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. [2]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. [3]When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah [4]You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. [5]I consider the days of old, the years long ago. [6]I said,(1) "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: [7]"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? [8]Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? [9]Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah [10]Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High."(2) [11]I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. [12]I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. [13]Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? [14]You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. [15]You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [16]When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. [17]The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. [18]The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. [19]Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.(3) [20]You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Footnotes 1. [77:6] Hebrew lacks 'I said' 2. [77:10] Or 'This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed' 3. [77:19] Hebrew 'unknown'
is startling recital of God’s negligence. The second half is a chronicle of God’s faithfulness and goodness. Did the psalmist make a quick trip to Jerusalem between verse 10 and verse 11? It isn’t likely. Maybe the psalmist came to see that his problem was not being too far from Jerusalem, but too far from God.

An item in the exiles’ story gives support to this suggestion, the suggestion that the problem may be less geographical and more spiritual. When Cyrus the Persian finally gave the exiles the freedom to return home, surprisingly some of them stayed! As the years had passed, some of the Israelites became so established in the land that they decided not to return to Jerusalem.

Sacred places, for all of their importance, are not eternal. In fact, they are as transient as we are. If there is some holy place in your own past you think is still sacred, maybe you should go and see. I’ve gone back to the house in Wichita Falls where my maternal grandparents lived, where my grandpa had a vegetable garden, a chicken yard, and a carpenter shop. It had all shrunk to the size of a postage stamp.

Most of the yard and all of the trees were gone, so they could widen the streets. I’ve gone back to churches I served and hardly recognized the parts of them that were most important to me at the time.

When you leave a place, it is like stepping out of a stream. Not even your footprint is left.

Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe time and change help keep us from idolatry. It is so easy to worship an idealized memory or to sanctify a once significant place. It is easy for a church to over-remember former times and former members, things as they once were. Idolatry means giving to a thing or a place the ultimacy and the love that belong only to God.

Don’t misunderstand. Memories are treasures worth keeping as long as we can. Hopes and dreams are treasures worth nurturing as long as is realistic. But Jerusalem and its temples fall and fade away. The good news is that we can let them go without anxiety, knowing we need never be too far from God.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church, Dallas, TX  /  6.27.10