Psalms 6-10, 11-15 Rewind; This week, Psalm 16-20

OK, so, a few observations from the past couple weeks:

1) Time flies. This is an especially busy season of ministry and life (for me).

2) Being a consistent "blogger" does not come naturally for me (my wife is much better)

3) It's been great to hear (and read) about your interactions with the Psalms!

So, this week we are technically on Psalms 16-20...what I think works best is for me to post a reflection on the previous week's Psalms the week after we read them. I need time to process and reflect - sometimes I'll read something and then only later realize how God was (is) speaking to me. Or I'll find myself praying the words of a Psalm that I recently read.

So, since I haven't reflected on Psalms 6-15, here are a couple things that stood out to me...and PLEASE, feel free to share your own thoughts, observations, etc., by posting a comment below this blog entry (you need to click on the "comments" link).

• God's justice. The psalmist declares in multiple psalms that the "Lord judges" (7:8; 9:8). And not only does He judge, but He judges with uprightness and perfect understanding. If you look at the context, it's clear that the psalmist takes refuge in this fact. The question is, why would David (or you and I) take heart in knowing that our God is a righteous Judge? I think there's at least a few reasons why this attribute of God is reassuring.
  
  One, David believed that God would ultimately vindicate those who trusted and obeyed in Him. The prayer of the psalmist is that God would judge those who oppressed the poor, the righteous - that he would "right the wrongs" done against them. But judging is also used in the sense of testing "minds and hearts" (7:9), and rewarding those who are upright, who fear the Lord. Thus, David puts his confidence in the fact that the Lord will judge - both the righteous and unrighteous - and intervene on behalf of the righteous.
  
  Another reason to take heart in God's judgments is that God can be our justifier. Looking back to the time before Christ, the Apostle Paul explains that God had, in divine forbearance, "passed over former sins" (Rom. 3:25). But now, we know that through Christ's "atoning sacrifice" God is shown to be both just and merciful. Jesus experienced God's righteous wrath so that you and I did not have to. God cannot ignore sin ("sweep it under the rug"), for that would make Him unjust (and unworthy of our worship). But at the cross justice and mercy kiss.
  
  
• There is room for lament in the vocabulary of worship. Psalm 13 is a well-known lament. We can express our heartaches, our disappointments, our anger to God, all the time knowing He cares for us and wants to hear our heart's cries. I can recall some specific seasons of my life (loss of a family member, sickness, waiting for the house) where the laments became the language of my prayers. I would love to see us make more room for "laments" in our worship services, knowing that so many who come to our services are experiencing various trials and sorrows.

If you have been reading Psalms 16-20, you've discovered that Psalms 17, 18, 19 are lengthier. Spend some time reflecting on these psalms, they cover different themes.