A friend asked me recently what verses came to mind when I was stressed out, or which I could think of off of the top of my head.

I was a deer in headlights.  I froze.

I couldn’t think of anything.

She then asked me if I had a verse or two that could be considered a “life verse.”

Ummmm. Not really.  No.

I could do the cliche and quote the one about “For I know the plans I have for you…”, but that doesn’t really strike my soul.

And then…

I was reading a few mornings ago and found it!  It kind of jumped off the page at me.

“You ADONAI are a shield around me; My glory and the One who lifts my head.” (Psalm 3:3)

There is so much wrapped up in that one, relatively small, verse!

My shield: He is my protection, my guardian, my redeemer, my rescuer, my hedge.  I hide behind Him and in Him when trouble comes.

My glory: It’s His reputation instead of mine, His power that makes all things possible, His honor for which I was created and gifted ,  His fame that He uses me for.  I worship Him in His glory.

The lifter of my head: There is such incredible compassion in that one simple movement!  When I am ashamed, afraid, sad, humiliated, I hang my head and I’m afraid to meet the eyes of my Abba.  When I have broken a law (like Esther), I approach with my eyes low, awaiting my fate.  When I am in awe of His immensity and power, I bow my head in reverence.  And He gently touches my chin and raises me up until my eyes fall into His.  In this one phrase there is compassion, kindness, mercy, hope, adoption, and so much love.  Here is one who buys me back from the darkness, who says I am worthy to bear His name, who forgives me when I am wrong, who mixes judgement with mercy, who knows my weaknesses and gives me strength to stand, whose love washes everything else away.

And in that, so much is said.  He is my all.

Psalm 119:132

Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.

Mercy is one of God’s attributes.  Mercy here is favor and graciousness towards someone.  Turn towards me, O God!  If I turn away from someone I am angry at them; they have been condemned by me; they disgust me.  How horrible when God turns away because of my sin!  Yet He is full of mercy and abounding in love.  As the author points out, it’s His custom, His manner, to be merciful to those who love His name.  It’s part of who He is.  And who loves His name?  Those who are obedient to His commands (Torah).

The very next verse asks for God to direct my steps according to His word and to keep sin from dominating my life.  If I am obedient to Him, if I know His words, it will be much more difficult for sin (wickedness, evil, mischief) to control my life.

So, I need to know His words.  And I need to obey Him.  The rest is up to God.

Psalm 119:41

Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD– Your salvation according to Your word.

I almost hesitate to even try to dig into this verse.  Salvation is a confusing and misused word in a lot of ways, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind about it.  But, oh well.  My ten cents (or two cents, or whatever the saying is).

Mercies

First, I think I must be missing something because the Hebrew words given for this verse (via Blue Letter Bible) don’t seem to match with what’s written.  The word for mercies is checed which means “kindness, faithfulness, and goodness.”  No mercy anywhere.  Oddly, or perhaps interestingly, checed also means “shame and reproach.”  I’m not even going there.  So anyway, the very first part of this is about goodness, kindness and faithfulness, not mercy.

Come also to me

The word for “come also to me” is bow and it means (among many things) “to come to pass, to come upon, and to enter.”  So, it seems more like David is asking for YHWH’s faithfulness/kindness/goodness to come to pass or perhaps to even enter into him or his circumstances.

Salvation

Salvation, my favorite, is teshew’ah and it means:

1) salvation, deliverance

a) deliverance (usually by God through human agency)

b) salvation (spiritual in sense)

Gesenius defines it as “help, welfare, or victory” (Gesenius’ lexicon via Blue Letter Bible).  This is pretty different from our particular view of salvation.  When this was written Yeshua hadn’t come, and the idea of forgiveness of sins was wrapped up in sacrifices and the Temple altar.  So, I doubt David is talking about sin in the same way we do today.  I thought that definition 1a was especially interesting because of the parenthesis: usually by God through human agency.  In other words, God uses people to deliver others.  Deliver them from what?  Well, trying to put myself in the context of when this was written, I’d imagine it could be deliverance from many things: the idolatry of the nations that seemed to constantly be trying to steal into the Hebrew culture, the threat of warfare or death by these same nations whose idols were so slippery, even the plots and plans of men to overthrow, kill, or harm the monarchy.  David could be asking for help or victory over these things.  And if Gesenius is correct in his definition as “welfare” then perhaps David is asking even for God’s provision in time of need.  Now you see why this word is complicated?

Want to add one more layer to “salvation”?  The word implies rescue at the very last, most dire moment, when defeat seems certain unless help arrives.  It’s at the darkest moment before dawn.  And then the light breaks through, help arrives, and the tide is turned.  It’s not necessarily the moment of victory, but rather the turning point from defeat to triumph.  But it’s only because someone else (in our case, God) arrived at the crucial moment (and not a moment too soon) to reverse the course of the battle.

Your word

And finally we reach the end – according to Your word.  The Hebrew for “Your word” is imrah and it means the “Word of God, the Torah.”  Remember, when the Psalms were written, the only part of the “Bible” that these people had were the writings of Moses (the first few books of the Bible).  There were no books of Kings or Prophets or Proverbs or probably even 1 & 2 Samuel.  There certainly was no New Testament and letters from Shaul or the others.  So, David’s salvation, his rescue, would come from or through or “according to” the Torah – the laws that YHWH had laid out through Moses.  If this rescue was from the corruption of the surrounding nations, then the remedy was to live according to God’s laws.  By living according to God’s law, then Israel would continue to be in line with the covenant and would receive God’s blessings.  If not, then the covenant would be broken and, well, we know what happened when Israel failed to keep YHWH first and only.

The Point

So, what’s the point?  The application?  I’m not sure.  In some ways digging just confuses me.  However, it all seems to be tied up in the last phrase “according to Your words.”  The first is related to the last – the rescue is related to God’s faithfulness and goodness and it is all according to His law.  And it’s recorded there in the Torah, too, so it can be remembered.  Not only the law, but also His past faithfulness.  Perhaps we need to look there more often to be reminded of His faithfulness, goodness, and kindness, as well as for deliverance from falling into the pattern of the corruption of this age.

Then we might discover His unfathomable mercy wrapped around His infinite holiness.

This quote is from Skip Moen’s blog entry this morning.  I thought it was beautiful.  I think there’s a tendency to either see God’s mercy or His holiness, not both at once.  But Skip makes the point that even when God has every right to demand things of us, He often chooses to ask gently.  I wonder how often he chooses to discipline gently instead of throwing the book at us…  Here’s the post.  You might want to go back and read yesterday‘s post, too, to understand the first part of the verse.

Romans 9:18

So you see, God shows mercy to some just because he wants to, and he chooses to make some people refuse to listen.

This has always been a point that amazes and kind of saddens me.  God created and creates some people to refuse to listen, to be the “bad guys” in history.  For example, He made Pharaoh in Egypt refuse to listen and let the Israelites go so that He could show His glory through the situation.  He chose Jacob, but rejected Esau (even before they were born).  So, God makes some people bad in order that His glory may be shown more clearly.

I guess it’s kind of like bad things happening.  God could stop all of them and we’d never suffer, but then God’s miraculous provision and mercy wouldn’t be as obvious.  I don’t think we’d depend on Him as much if we never had a need.  So, God’s allowing or creating some people to be the bad guys makes His glory and His love and His mercy shine that much more significantly.  Maybe that’s why God still saves those people who are on death row for horrible crimes against people.  He made them, too, and maybe they’re like Pharaoh, chosen to reject God for a purpose, but given a chance for repentance in the end so that all people may come to know the love of Christ.  That’s pretty hard to fathom, and I’ve never understood how God could love some people like child molesters and murderers who torture people.  But if I look at it in light of this verse (and the other ones in context), it makes a little more sense.

Zechariah 7:9-10

This is what the LORD Almighty says: Judge fairly and honestly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.  Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and poor people. And do not make evil plans to harm each other.

You’d think that these guidelines would be common sense, that people would do this naturally.  However, maybe it’s because of the sin in our world that we no longer naturally judge fairly and honestly, are merciful and kind, and take care of others.  I suppose if you look at the news it’s even more obvious that these laws are broken all the time…

But then you hear stories that bring a smile to your face.  This morning on the news (while I was waiting for my computer to wake up – it’s worse than I am!) I heard a story about a law firm here in Orlando that is giving away 1000 turkeys for Thanksgiving!  I thought that was awesome!  There were some men lined up at 4am to get a turkey for their family because they didn’t have the money to buy one otherwise.

In a time when the message seems to be all about plenty and getting more and more and more I am challenged to remember just how blessed I am.  Have times been easy?  No!   But God has so faithfully provided us with everything we need, and a little extra to do some things for Christmas.  No matter how many packs of diapers we’ve needed or how much food the little ones were packing away, He’s always put the money there to cover it.  We are healthy (mostly) and have good doctors to get us well if we need it.  We have a place to live that is comfortable.  We have family that loves us.  We have a church we love.  We are truly blessed.  There is still honestly and goodness and kindness in the world.  No, it’s not everywhere, but little things like the generosity of this law firm remind me of how much we’ve been given and that there are people who want to do good for others.

So, as we start out this holiday season (or continue in it, depending on your perspective), I want to remember to give a little more away – even if it’s just a kind word or deed.  I think that makes God smile.  And that’s a great thing!

Jonah 3:17

When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn’t carry out the destruction he had threatened.

I think this is the essential message of the Gospels, here in the Old Testament.  People repent and God has mercy.  God doesn’t want to punish people.  He just wants us to realize that our way is wrong and follow His way which is better.  He wants to show mercy.  It’s like with my children.  I want them to be obedient and I want to be merciful because I really don’t like having to discipline them.  I know it’s necessary because if they don’t obey, they could get hurt.

And on that note, Mr. G is up and about….

A ship faces a perfect storm

Jonah 1:19

The sailors were awestruck by the LORD’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

I’d have been pretty awestruck, too.  Imagine!  There are 10-20 foot waves crashing around your not-so-huge boat.  You’ve thrown everything you can into the boiling, churning water in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.  The rain is whipping around like nails, hammering the deck in a thunderous applause.  The deck rears up, throwing people and the few objects left from one side to the other, threatening to knock everyone into the deadly sea.  The sky is black, and the water is blacker.  All hope seems lost.  But then, a crazy guy who can sleep through a storm this bad, admits to angering a God you’ve never heard about and offers to be thrown overboard.  And the minute his feet leave the deck on his way into the water, instantly the sea is calm, the driving wind and rain become a gentle breeze, the clouds vanish and the sun shines down.  Yeah, I’d be awestruck!

Even though Jonah disobeyed God and brought a great storm on these guys, there was some good that came from it.  No, Jonah didn’t really learn a great lesson because when God didn’t destroy Ninevah he was very upset (You should watch the Veggie Tales version – Jonah and the Big Fish – to get a great illustration of this point).  But these sailors, who had just thrown their livelihoods overboard, became servants of the Most High God.

Our disobedience affects other people.  Jonah’s probably cost the sailors tons of money.  But it doesn’t have to be all bad.  God used Jonah’s sin to show His power, punishment, and mercy to the sailors who might never have heard of Him otherwise.  I’m not advocating sinning just so God can use it for good.  I’d imagine that far more good comes from our obedience; but since we are constantly fighting our fleshly, natural natures, sin is inevitable (remember that verse… all have sinned – Rom 3:23….yeah, that would be me and you and everybody on earth).  It’s a bit reassuring to know that God can bring good from our stubbornness and selfishness and pride.

Ezekial 18:21-23

But if the wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.  All their past sins will be forgotten and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.  Do you think, asks the Sovereign Lord, that I like to see wicked people die?  Of course not!  I only want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.

This is the very crux of Christianity.  Jesus came that we might LIVE!  He doesn’t want to see His children die, but as a just God He can’t ignore it.  However, if those children turn away from their wicked ways and obey God, then all the things they’ve done in the past will be wiped out and forgotten (not just forgiven).  It’s a good thing that God loves us so much!  I love that He has wiped out and forgotten my past.  He wants us to live.  He’s gone to great lengths to ensure that we can live.  Why do you think He gave Israel so many chances to turn and get it right?  Yes, He’s just, but He loves His children.

It’s like when my children do something they shouldn’t (like using the table as a springboard to jump onto the couch).  My inclination is to warn them, warn them, warn them, and finally I have to punish them.  I don’t like seeing them upset, but if they don’t heed my warning and directly disobey, that’s bad, too, because they could get hurt.  I think God’s like that with us.  He gives lots of warning, but eventually He has to punish us (usually to keep us from hurting ourselves or others, and to remind us that what we’re doing is wrong).

However, like I said, if my little ones stop trying to be superman off the table and onto the couch, then we move on.  I don’t add up the different things they do wrong or punish them for something they did a while ago after they do something else.  It doesn’t add up.  They turned from what they were doing and obeyed.  I forget about what they did and we move on together.  Yeah God!