Psalm 35 - A Very Human Psalm

In contrast to last week’s psalm wherein the writer instructs us to bless the Lord at all times, Psalm 35 shows no such magnanimity. Unlike Psalm 34 which is all about God, this one is all about me, the writer! It is a personal appeal for deliverance from one who is being falsely accused and plotted against. Written in three sections, each part ends with words of thanksgiving (vs. 9-10, 18, 28). It could be three separate incidents involving one person, or a composite of accounts by three different authors.

In the first, powerful foes plot against the life and property of the writer who calls upon God to come to his assistance. He asks God to do battle for him, “Take hold of shield and buckler . . . Draw the spear and javelin.” (2-3)

In the second section the enemies are former friends who have turned against the writer. “They requite me evil for good.” (12) When they were sick the psalmist wore sackcloth, fasted and prayed for them, “as though I grieved for my friend or brother.” (14) Now that he is in trouble they mock and slander him, “they impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth (a Biblical gesture of scorn).” (16) How much more hurtful is the betrayal by a friend. We expect our friends to be on our side.

Psalm 34 – “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

Anyone who watches the TV series Bones, knows that you can learn a lot about a person by studying their bones. As someone who has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, I take bone health seriously. Is it any wonder that I found myself drawn to verse 20 of Psalm 34: “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” I’ve been reflecting on this for months as I’ve been preparing to start blogging about the Psalms again. What a wonderful promise to those who believe, but what does it mean?

Psalm 34 is another acrostic psalm, where each line begins with another letter of the alphabet. The first section, vs. 1-10, is full of praise of God. “I will bless the Lord at all times,” the psalmist tells us, not just when it is convenient or when life is going our way. “His praise shall be ever in my mouth.” It’s a reminder of our need to give praise at all times, even when it is hard. We can learn a lot about this from Job who praises God even when he is struggling with despair (Job 1:21 "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!").

Epilogue: For Thine is the Kingdom

Epilogue – For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.

Doxology – Walter Brueggemann at a recent conference exclaimed that doxology needs to be exuberant, a self-abandonment in response to the inexplicable generosity of God.  Easter certainly is a time for doxology, exuberant praise of God for all God has done for us!

As we finish our Bible Study, it feels inadequate to end on being tested.  It doesn’t feel complete.  To feel complete I add an exclamation about our God – for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever!  Doxology!  We need to “do” doxology, a statement of faith in our God who provides everything we need.  And then we begin all over again, “Our Father . . .”

Holy Week - Put Us not to the Test

Week 7, Holy Week –Lead us not into Temptation and Deliver Us from Evil

Psalms of Deliverance

7, 10, 12, 13, 17, 22, 26, 31, 35, 39, 44, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 64, 69, 70, 71, 74, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 88, 90, 94, 108, 109, 120, 126, 137, 140, 141, 142

I have long had a love/hate relationship with Holy Week.  I love the liturgies and the Scripture readings; they are so rich in meaning.  However I hate what they entail if you seriously undertake these celebrations.  They require that you go through the gates of death, walk with Jesus during his final hours, endure all that he endured.

Holy Week tests us and I don’t enjoy being tested.  Jesus taught us to pray, put us not to the test.  He knew that the spirit was willing but the flesh weak.  The apostles are put to the test during the final day of Jesus’ life and failed miserably.  None were able to stay awake with Jesus; Peter denied he knew Jesus and all fled out of fear.

Bible Study Week 6 - Forgive as We Forgive

Bible Study -Week 6

Forgive Us our Sins as We Forgive Those who Sin against Us

Penitential Psalms:  6, 25, 32, 38, 50, 51, 102, 106, 130, 143

Forgive us as we forgive.  We get another break this week in that we only have ten psalms to read, however the message is a powerful one, one of forgiveness as we prepare to celebrate Holy Week, the great culmination of Lent.  Along with the traditional penitential psalms: Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143; Fr. Murphy includes Psalms 25, 50 and 106.

           

Psalm 25 is another acrostic psalm with each line beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  The unifying theme is praying for forgiveness and guidance.  Psalm 106 is an historical psalm recounting Israel’s sinfulness in worshipping false idols and complaining against God, and God’s great mercy and forgiveness of them despite their sins.  Psalm 50 sets the stage for Psalm 51.  A charge is brought against the people. 

Bible Study Week 5 - Give Us this Day our Daily Bread

Week 5  – Give Us this Day our Daily Bread

Psalms of Supplication

5, 28, 36, 42, 43, 54, 61, 63, 86, 123

This week and the next we get a break as we prepare for the grand finale of Lent, Holy Week.  We only have ten psalms to focus on this week and next week, but rich ones.  Having recognized God as Father, praised our God in heaven, and prayed for God’s will and kingdom, we now turn to our own needs. 

Jesus instructs us to pray:  give us this day our daily bread.  We are to pray every day for that which we need, not just our bread, but everything.  We are to turn to God in prayer, seeking that which we desire.  The psalms are plaintive as the writers cried to God to hear their prayers.  We are to pray to our Father for all of our needs, trusting that our God who provided bread, manna, in the desert to the Israelites, will provide for our needs as well.  It is a reminder that we can depend on our God, as Jesus tells us:  “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are not you more important than they?”  (Mt. 6:25-26)

Bible Study week 4: Thy Will Be Done

Bible Study, Week 4 – Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Wisdom Psalms – 1, 37, 49, 73, 91, 112, 119, 127, 128, 133, 139

Liturgical – 15, 24, 134

Prophetic Exhortations – 14, 52, 53, 75, 81, 95

Historical – 78, 105

Out of all of creation, we are the only ones with the ability to choose ways that are not God’s ways.  We have free will.  And so, we need to choose carefully, trying to align our lives with God’s will for us.

In order to help us in making these choices, we have the wisdom, liturgical, prophetic exhortations and historical psalms.  They focus on God’s law and the need to keep those laws.

The wisdom psalms are a collection of wise sayings, similar to the book of Proverbs.  Sometimes they are loosely held together through a poetic structure, other times they follow an organizing theme.  We hear in the first psalm, “Happy are those who do not follow the way of sinners . . . rather the law of the Lord is their joy.”  They offer us reassurance that those who follow God’s ways will be blessed.