Singing Psalm 46

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The Trinity Psalter suggests Psalm 46 be sung to the tune of “America, the Beautiful.”  I have no idea what led the editors to suggest this tune (other than that it fits!), but I find it very fitting.  Our church is planning to sing Psalm 46 to this tune on Sunday (July 4).  On a day when it is sadly common for churches to confuse the worship of God and love of country, we will use a tune associated with country to proclaim that our refuge is in God not in any construct of man.

The metrical version of Psalm 46 from the Trinity Psalter (slightly edited)* is below.

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and our strength,
In straits a present aid;
2 and, therefore, tho’ the Earth remove
We will not be afraid;
Tho’ hills amidst the seas be cast,
3 tho’ troubled waters roar,
Yea, tho’ the swelling Billows shake
The mountains on the shore.

4 A river is whose streams make glad
The city of our God,
The holy place wherein the Lord
Most High has His abode.
5 Yea, God is in the midst of her;
Unmoved she stands alway;
And God will surely grant her help
Before the break of day.

6 The nations raged; the
Kingdoms moved;
And when the earth had heard
The mighty voice He sent abroad
It melted at His word.
7 The LORD of hosts is on our side
Our safety to secure;
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure.

8 O come, behold what Wondrous works
Have by the LORD been wrought;
Come, see what desolations great
He on the earth has brought.
9 To utmost ends of all the earth
Wars unto peace He turns;
The bow He breaks, the spear He cuts,
In fire the char-iot burns.

10 Be still and know that I am God;
Among the nations I
Will be exalted; I on earth
Will be exalted high.
11 The LORD of hosts is on our side.
Our safety to secure;
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure.

* I edited the end of the second line in verse 5.  The original had “for aye” and I substituted “alway.”

Patristics, Psalms, and Prayer

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In his book, (which I mentioned previously), Christopher Hall has as useful section on how the church fathers used the Psalms as models for prayer (Craig Blaising spoke on this at the Psalms Project previously).

In this excerpt you see the point of the Psalms shaping our affections and guiding us in what we ought to pray.

“I bring up the issue of models for prayer because the church fathers believed that our dispositions – our deeply habituated thoughts, words and actions – are shaped by those we listen to and imitate.  There are, for instance, some people who really know how to pray.  King David comes to mind.  A principle reason that the ancient church prayed the psalms again and again – early monastic communities would pray all 150 psalms in one day – was a firm belief that the repetition of the psalms nurtured the dispositions that foster prayer.  Through repetition, the dispositions and words of the psalmist, the fathers believe, become those of the one who continually prays the psalms.  Early monastic communities offered this model to the church as a whole.” (89-90)

“The goal of praying the psalms daily, even hourly, is not vain repetition.  It is the forming and shaping of human character. ‘Psalmody gives its rhythm to the life of a monk and each of the faithful ought to practice it to some extent’ (Oliver Clement).  The Holy Spirit desires for us to hear these words, to meditate on them, to speak them with our tongues and hide them in our hearts.  Without doubt the Spirit could have provided a different prayer book for us or no prayer book at all.  Instead, the Spirit has given us the psalms.

The Holy Spirit knows we need help learning how to pray; the Spirit knows we are apt to stumble and perhaps lose our way if we exclusively rely on our own words and thoughts in prayer.  The point is that it is our thoughts, words and actions that need remolding, reshaping.  We need mentors in prayer, and the psalmist is one of the best.  If we listen carefully, immersing ourselves in his words and life, our own disposition will change, in prayer and out.” (91)

Conan Doyle on Pride

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I have often commented here on the value of broad reading in literature.  One value is that good stories tend to include keen insight into human nature. Currently I am listening to the audio of one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s lesser known novels, The White Company.  The story is set in 14th century Europe during the Hundred Year’s War. In one section Alleyne, a young man who has just left a monastery, encounters for the first time men of the world in a local tavern.  In the quote below the common woman who runs the tavern corrects Alleyne about the marks of great men as opposed to the pretense of small men.  This is a good word.

“And the other?” asked Alleyne in a whisper. “He is surely some very great man, for he looks as though he scorned those who were about him.”

The landlady looked at him in a motherly way and shook her head. “You have had no great truck with the world,” she said, “or you would have learned that it is the small men and not the great who hold their noses in the air. Look at those shields upon my wall and under my eaves. Each of them is the device of some noble lord or gallant knight who hath slept under my roof at one time or another. Yet milder men or easier to please I have never seen: eating my bacon and drinking my wine with a merry face, and paying my score with some courteous word or jest which was dearer to me than my profit. Those are the true gentles. But your chapman [peddler] or your bearward [keeper of bears] will swear that there is a lime in the wine, and water in the ale, and fling off at the last with a curse instead of a blessing. This youth is a scholar from Cambridge, where men are wont to be blown out by a little knowledge, and lose the use of their hands in learning the laws of the Romans.

Worshiping With the Church Fathers

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I have appreciated so far looking through Christopher Hall’s book, Worshiping With the Church Fathers. In his introduction he provides a good word about engagement with our Christian heritage.  Having been nurtured in the Jesus movement, Hall mentions how he realized the movement had no ecclesiology (still like much of evangelicalism today).  In that context this quote appears:

“I have learned from the fathers that the church is much broader and deeper than I had ever imagined.  My individualistic, evangelical bent has been tempered by a historical, theological and spiritual lengthening of memory.  My listening skills have been enhanced.  Voices that once seemed strange, foreign and occasionally distorted – sometimes because of the historical, cultural, ecclesial and linguistic distances separating them from me – are now old friends.  This is not to say that I always find myself in agreement with the fathers.  We still have our disagreements, but our quarrels now resemble family squabbles and in-house arguments.” (13)

Thiselton on Communion

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I have been perusing Anthony Thiselton’s new book, The Living Paul: An Introduction to the Apostle’s Life and Thought.  I differ with him in various places (he is skeptical of Pauline authorship of Ephesians and the Pastorals for example), but I appreciate much of what he has to say.

His brief chapter on communion was helpful. Here are two quotes which make very useful and important points about communion.

“Participants in the Passover meal were ‘there’, with the generation who came out of Egypt; Christian participants were ‘there’ at the cross, reliving a past event as if it were a present event.  Hence ‘remembrance’ is a dramatic making-present; it is more ‘objective’ than merely mental recollection, but not repeated re-enactment…. Taking and eating is the activity of a participant, who is not a mere spectator.  It is to say: ‘Christ died; and died for me’; and ‘I am part of it.’  But the event which is dramatically ‘remembered’ remains once-for-all (Greek, ephapax).  It is an ‘effective sign’, which gives the assurance of solidarity with Christ and with Christ’s people, in his death and resurrection.”  (124)

“The Lord’s Supper, like baptism, ensures that all Christian experience is anchored in the cross, or in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It allows the Church, both corporately and individually, to ‘relive’ the event of the cross, and to become intimately involved in it. . . . In moments of doubt, to see, to touch, to share, and to eat and to drink constitute an assurance, a pledge, a promise, and an ‘effective sign’ of covenant grace.” (125)

These are points I have sought to make previously.  Communion helps to anchor us in the cross, and is a tangible, pastoral expression of the reality of Christ’s act and our faith in him.

Fear of YHWH

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In sermon prep for last Sunday I walked through all the biblical references to the fear of the Lord.  One thing that struck me this time was all the blessings that are promised to attend the fear of the Lord.

I tried to pull these references together to summarize what the Bible promises to us as we fear God in order  to be more deeply impacted by this call.  Here is what I came up with:

The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom (Ps111:10; Prov 9:10), the beginning of knowledge (Prov 1:7). It is instruction in wisdom (Prov 15:33). It keeps you from sin (Leviticus, various passages), causes you to turn away from sin (Prov 3:7); in fact, by the Fear of the Lord you turn away from evil (Prov 16:6).  It is “the hatred of evil” (Prov 8:13).

“The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure” (Isa 33:6)

It prolongs life (Prov 10:27) and brings riches and honor and life (Prov 22:4). In fact “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm” (Prov 19:23). “It will be well with those who fear God” (Eccl 8:12). The eye of the Lord is on the one who fears Him (Ps 33:18) and the angel of the Lord encamps around him (Ps 34:7). The fear of the Lord gives one a strong confidence and provides a refuge for such a man’s children (Prov 14:26).

The Lord takes pleasure in the one who fears him (Ps 147:11) and will show fatherly compassion to him (Ps 103:13). The Lord’s mercy “is for those who fear him” (Luke 1:50).

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him-

the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.” (Ps 103:11, 17-18)

The Lord will fulfill the desires of the one who fears him (Ps 145:19). God provides food for the ones who fears him (Ps 111:5).

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.” (Ps 112:1-2)

Don’t you want the fear of the Lord?  It brings his mercy, compassion & care. It produces wisdom and brings blessing even to your children.

We ought to pray with David:

“Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.” (Ps 86:11)

Preaching Psalm 128, Resources

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My purpose in this post is simply to give my own opinion on what resources I found most helpful in preparing to preach Psalm 128.  I am not addressing which resources are the best on the Psalms in general.

On Psalm 128, the overall most helpful source I found was Spurgeon’s Treasury of David.  I enjoy reading my hard copy, but the full text is available online.  In terms of theological reflection and pastoral application (not to mention use of language!), Spurgeon is superb.  His treatment of Psalm 128 is really good and quite quotable.

Leupold was also very good and useful.  I do not hear as much about this commentary but I regularly find it helpful.  On Psalm 128 he is quite expressive with good theological application nicely phrased.

Kidner, though brief, as always gave helpful connections to the New Testament. He was not as helpful on this Psalm as on some others.

Among modern commentators Van Gemeren and Goldingay were most helpful.  Goldingay provided helpful technical information, more precise understanding of some key words and specifics on some of the metaphors (e.g. vine and olive shoots).  He also gave some pithy comments on how countercultural this text is in affirming the value of children. For example he writes:

The stress on wives and children is a stumbling block to ancient commentators for whom celibacy was a key value.  Amusingly, it can also be a stumbling block to modern commentators for whom a wife is more than a womb and daughters count as much as sons. Once more, when Scripture is saying something that we do not like, we do well to pay attention – we would be wise to reflect on the significance (for men and women) of having children, particularly if we are a people inclined to downplay it.  The Psalm also speaks to modern Western attitudes by inviting men and women to value what happens inside the house and not to think that value attaches only to what happens outside, in the community, business, society, and politics. (p. 513)

There is much to apply here.

Van Gemeren also was helpful in providing reliable, more recent information on background and metaphor.

I have not always found the Ancient Christian Commentary Series to be helpful because it has just small snippets, but in this case it was very useful.  One of the Patristic sources pointed out the connection between v. 1 and Peter’s speech in Acts 10, showing the universal call of the gospel here in Psalm 128.

Also, because I had just received a copy, I investigated Goldingay’s third volume of his Old Testament Theology.  Since “fear of the LORD” is prominent in this psalm I consulted his section “Reverencing Yhwh” which was quite good.  It was rich.  I thought it might be overly technical or less hardy theologically, but I was delightfully mistaken on both counts.

Preaching Psalm 128

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Yesterday I gave my attempt at preaching Psalm 128, a psalm I have commented on here various times previously.  I have also commented previously on the difficulty of finding good resources for preaching on the Psalms.  Our commentaries simply do not (and perhaps cannot) give the same sort of detailed exposition of the Psalms as they do of other books (e.g. Luke or Romans).

So, in this post and the next I intend to list what I found most helpful on Psalm 128 in hopes of being useful to others who may preach this psalm.

First, though it may sound like a pious truism, I am reminded that there is no substitute for sustained, broad reading and contemplation of Scripture itself.  This is of course always true, but the lack of comprehensive sources on the Psalms forces me back to this basic task of seeing how Scripture interprets Scripture.  And interpreting Scripture by Scripture only flourishes as we live in the text on an ongoing basis. The more aware we are of the whole of Scripture the more we can see connections and hear allusions across the canon.  Patristic and Puritan sources are wonderfully convicting examples of this.  Over the last several weeks my own personal reading has been in Proverbs, and though I was not looking for connections to Psalm 128 I noticed a conceptual and formal parallel in the early chapters of Proverbs.  This was fascinating to trace out, and even though it was too involved to include in my sermon it helped to shape my consideration of the Psalm.

Secondly, since the Psalms are poems, the value of prolonged contemplation is heightened.  If you have the opportunity to allow any text (and especially poetry) to course through your mind for some time your reflections will certainly be more mature.  This, then, is another value in singing the Psalms.  If you have been singing a Psalm over some time then you will be more ready to preach it.  As I prepared my sermon I often “sang” the metrical version we use in my head as I went about other tasks using the time to reflect on the text.

In the next post, I will comment on which secondary sources I found the most helpful particularly on Psalm 128.

Martin Luther, Let us Rejoice

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I just came across this hymn by Martin Luther.  From what I could uncover the translator (into English) is unknown.  This is a good word in preparation for corporate worship in the morning.

1. Dear Christians, let us now rejoice,
And dance in joyous measure;
That, of good cheer, and with one voice,
We sing in love and pleasure
Of what to us our God hath shown,
And the sweet wonder he hath done:
Full dearly hath he bought it!

2. Forlorn and lost in death I lay
A captive to the devil;
My sin lay heavy, night and day,
For I was born in evil.
I fell but deeper for my strife
There was no good in all my life,
For sin had all-possessed me.

3. My good works they were worthless quite,
A mock was all my merit;
My free will hates God’s judging light,
To all good dead and buried.
Me to despair my anguish drove,
Down unto death my soul did shove:
I must be plunged in hell-fire!

4. Then God was sorry on his throne
To see such torment rend me;
His tender mercy he thought on,
And his good help would send me.
He turned to me his father-heart:
Ah, then was His no easy part;
His very best it cost him!

5. To his dear son he said: Go down;
Things go in piteous fashion;
Go thou, my heart’s exalted crown,
Be the poor man’s salvation.
Lift him from out sin’s scorn and scathe;
Strangle for him that cruel Death,
And take him to live with thee.

6. The son he heard obediently;
And, by a maiden mother,
Pure, tender – down he came to me,
For he must be my brother!
Concealed he brought his strength enorm,
And went about in my poor form,
Meaning to catch the devil.

7. He said unto me: Hold by me,
Thy matters I will settle;
I give myself all up for thee,
And I will fight thy battle.
For I am thine, and thou art mine,
And my house also shall be thine;
The enemy shall not part us.

8. Like water he will shed my blood,
Of life my heart bereaving;
All this I suffer for thy good-
That hold with firm believing;
My Life shall swallow up that Death;
My innocence bears thy sins, He saith,
So henceforth thou art happy.

9. To heaven unto my Father high,
From this life I am going;
But there thy master still am I,
My spirit on thee bestowing,
Whose comfort shall thy trouble quell,
And teach thy heart to know me well,
Thee into all truth guiding.

10. What I have done, what I have said,
Thou must go doing, teaching;
That so the kingdom of God may spread,
To His praise all men reaching.
But take heed what men bid thee do-
That will corrupt the treasure true:
With this last word I leave thee. Amen.

Blessing of Family (Psalm 128)

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“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psalm 128:3-4)

“How beautiful to see the gnarled olive, still bearing abundant fruit, surrounded with a little band of sturdy successors, any one of which would be able to take its place should the central olive be blown down, or removed in any other way.

Moreover, note that it is not olive branches, but plants – a very different thing. Our children gather around our table to be fed, and this involves expenses… What a blessing to have sufficient to put upon the table! Let us for this benefit praise the bounty of the Lord. The wife is busy all over the house, but the youngsters are busiest at meal times; and if the blessing of the Lord rest upon the family, no sight can be more delightful. Here we have the vine and the olive blended – joy from the fruitful wife, and solid comfort from the growing family; these are the choicest products earth can yield: our families are gardens of the Lord.”

Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Psalm 128