Psalms – Prayers of Honesty and Praise
Who do you trust? This was a game show about a million years ago from my childhood. I wasn’t a big fan but it came on before a show I really wanted to watch so I sat through it with my parents. Three couples competed on each show. Contestants were always a man and a woman chosen for their unique backgrounds; the announcer would introduce couples one at a time. In the quiz portion, the comedic emcee would tell the male contestant the category of the upcoming question; the man would then have to decide whether to answer the question himself or “trust” the woman to do so. It was all in fun and the real “entertainment” was in interviewing the man and wife, trying to trip them up.Do we treat life as a game when it comes to who or what we trust. We tend to put a lot of trust in inanimate objects even more than people. We trust other humans to know us well enough to speak for us. That’s scary! We trust and rely on our vehicles to work as soon as we put the key in the ignition. We turn on our phones and expect this computer in our hands to run our lives all day long. And it does, if we let it! But that’s just it. Our phone is an IT!
Our writer of Psalms 135 is praising God for all He has done and is doing and will do in the lives of His people. He also writes a phrase that pops out to me this morning.“The gods of the godless nations are mere trinkets, made for quick sale in the markets;
Chiseled mouths that can’t talk,
painted eyes that can’t see,
Carve ears that cant’ hear–dead wood! Cold metal!”
“Those who make and trust them become like them.”
Who and what do you trust? Are you becoming like them or it?
Psalm 135, The Message
1-4 Hallelujah!Praise the name of God,
praise the works of God.
All you priests on duty in God’s temple,
serving in the sacred halls of our God,
Shout “Hallelujah!” because God’s so good,
sing anthems to his beautiful name.
And why? Because God chose Jacob,
embraced Israel as a prize possession.
5-12 I, too, give witness to the greatness of God,
our Lord, high above all other gods.
He does just as he pleases—
however, wherever, whenever.
He makes the weather—clouds and thunder,
lightning and rain, wind pouring out of the north.
He struck down the Egyptian firstborn, both human and animal firstborn.
He made Egypt sit up and take notice,
confronted Pharaoh and his servants with miracles.
Yes, he struck down great nations,
he slew mighty kings—
Sihon king of the Amorites, also Og of Bashan—
every last one of the Canaanite kings!
Then he turned their land over to Israel,
a gift of good land to his people.
13-18 God, your name is eternal,
God, you’ll never be out-of-date.
God stands up for his people,
God holds the hands of his people.
The gods of the godless nations are mere trinkets,
made for quick sale in the markets:
Chiseled mouths that can’t talk,
painted eyes that can’t see,
Carved ears that can’t hear—
dead wood! cold metal!
Those who make and trust them
become like them.
19-21 Family of Israel, bless God!
Family of Aaron, bless God!
Family of Levi, bless God!
You who fear God, bless God!
Oh, blessed be God of Zion,
First Citizen of Jerusalem!
Hallelujah!
FROM THE HEART…
God’s people have always gotten into deep trouble when they put their trust in anyone or anything else other than God. It angers God when His people bow to anyone but Him. Hence the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me”. (This commandment is a hard and fast RULE, not a mere suggestion!) As I pause to reflect on this, I know my phone has become an extension of myself. I’m not alone as I watch rich and poor and everyone in between with heads bowed on the streets and in the marketplaces, in our schools and churches to this thing in our hands that we trust relentlessly and exclusively. We even politely bump into each other, with heads still bowed to our phones, say we’re sorry without looking up at their faces! Crazy, right?
My phone doesn’t work here in Santa Cruz unless I am at home in our cottage, under internet that comes and goes. It takes this to realize how much I was missing by looking into the faces of all the humans I am encountering on this journey. It is reminding me that my total trust is and should always be in God alone. He brought us here, not my phone. He had his people support us financially and uphold us in prayer for His wisdom and strength, not my phone.
I don’t want to become my phone that is hard, cold metal. I want to look up, focus and acknowledge God! I want to be more and more like Jesus! I want to know and love His people greatly by looking into their eyes and seeing their souls. Yes, I will USE the phone to communicate to God’s people who are praying for us, what God is doing but it is God who has all my love, trust, faith, and hope! We USE things, but LOVE people!
Trust begins by loving God. We trust in God who led us here. It is God who provides the means to live here for awhile. It is God who saves us. It is God who brought this far and will not leave us. It is God, and always will be God, who gives us all we need at the right time to do his work when invited to do it. Who do I trust exclusively? I trust in God alone! Why? Because of His reckless, unchanging love for me. I pray I become more and more like the One who made me and to Whom all my trust is given!
Our Father in Heaven,
THY will be done.
In Jesus Name, Amen
And I’m singing…(Overwhelmed, Big Daddy Weave)
I see the work of Your Hands
Galaxies spin in a Heavenly dance oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming
I hear the sound of Your Voice
All at once it’s a gentle and thundering noise oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming
I delight myself in You
Captivated by Your beauty
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
I know the power of Your Cross
Forgiven and free forever You’ll be my God
And all that You’ve done is so overwhelming
I delight myself in You
In the Glory of Your Presence
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
And God I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
You are Beautiful, You are Beautiful
Oh God,…
