Skip Moen’s entry this morning was about the use (or maybe rather translation) of the word “judge” in a psalm of David. He said that this word actually means “to govern” and not “to judge” as we usually translate it. The difference here is huge, as he points out, because judgement has to do with our past and punishment and failure, but governing has to do with the future and what I am yet able to do. He believes that often we, as Christ followers, get stuck in a kind of doom-and-gloom mentality, focusing more on our failures and sins than on the sacrifice and victory of Christ. I can see how this is often the case. And, when I read the psalm with the use of “to govern” in the place of “to judge” it gives the verse quite a different meaning. Check out the post. I think it’s really cool.
Psalm 135:13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation. In my American Literature class we are studying the Declaration of Independence, and I read an interesting comment about why God is mentioned 9 times in the preamble section alone. It’s not about religion (well, maybe partly about religion, but the writers were rationalists and some were deists). It’s about power and corruption. If our rights are given to us by humans they are subject to the corruption and greed that often comes with power (absolute power corrupts absolutely). If our rights are given to us by God, then no one but God can take them away, thus limiting the power of government. So, when people try to remove God from things like the Pledge of Allegiance (one nation under God) then in essence they’re not removing God from government, they’re actually removing the obstacle between them and power. By taking the right to give inalienable “natural” rights (like the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) out of God’s hands and putting it in man’s hands, they suddenly gain the power to limit those rights for whomever they choose. The crux of the Declaration was that the God-given, natural rights of the colonists were being infringed upon by the king. But if our rights are no longer God-given but rather man-given, then it becomes much easier for man to take those rights away if it’s convenient for him. We go back to the problem from which the colonists were declaring their independence. So, God in the Declaration isn’t so much about religion as it is about power and control. Are our lives given and controlled by a higher power? Or are they given and controlled by government, courts, and politicians? Kind of a scary thought, huh?
Isaiah 8:11-14a11 The Lord has given me a strong warning, “Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan … will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He is the Holy One. If you fear Him you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe… Wow! Three things I see here:First, let me say that I have no idea what translation this is (my Bible says New Living Translation, but it’s different from what BibleGateway.com says in its New Living Translation, so… ????). 1. I shouldn’t be thinking like everyone else does. I should be thinking like Jesus, on the things He says to think about. It’s easy to think like the world – get stuff, look good, it’s all about me….Be afraid, very afraid… (Which brings me to my second point.) 2. Don’t fear all these plans made behind closed doors. (Like those being made by our government? Or my boss?) I get really frustrated because I feel so helpless and unable to voice my opinion about the insanity (my opinion) of the things that our government is doing. I’m not sure I’m afraid of them, except that they’ll start the apocalypse or something like that. But I know people who are afraid – stockpiling food, buying guns, etc. Here is says that this will not be the end of me. Well, theoretically it could be my end, but it’s saying that they don’t have the power to end everything. 3. Fear God alone. Don’t be afraid of other things. This one struck home because I fear a lot for my children – what if our car drives off a bridge into water or if there’s a car fire and I can’t get them out (hmmm… lot’s of fear with cars… what does that mean? Giant man-eating fish, no… Cars, yes). But I’m not supposed to be afraid of things like that because ultimately God is in control. He is Holy and all-powerful. So, I fear Him which leads to trust and increasing faith. I put my children and their wellfare in His hands, thanking Him for each moment I have with them. He says that He will keep me safe (and them) – and really, isn’t he the only who can keep us safe anyway? We can do what we want to try and prevent things, but we don’t really have a whole lot of control over things. God is God and He’s bigger than all the things I fear (including giant roaches that leap out of drawer at me – yuckyuckyuckyuckyuck!!!!!).