Day 3: Psalm 5

When we think of human history, we tend to slice it up into two categories. There are “ancient” people and there are “modern” people.

Depending on when you were born, where you draw the “modern” line may change. You might think of “modern” as anything since the invention of the phone, or you may consider “modern” that which has come about since the invention of the iPhone. I say that because, quite often, when we read the Psalms, we “modern” people think that the thoughts and values of such “ancient” people aren’t relevant to us. If you quote a Psalm to someone, there is an assumption that we are far too educated and sophisticated to inhabit the worldview of ancient minds. The categories of “modern” and “ancient” are relevant when it comes to scientific discoveries and technological advances, but not when it comes to world views. In other words, we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the scriptures because they were written before “modern” times.

The Psalms, and the New Testament for that matter, were written by those who had a belief in a God who first and foremost created the world, but secondly, had kept an active and dynamic relationship with the world. This doesn’t fall into the categories of ancient or modern, this is either true or it isn’t. The Psalms are essentially songs, that invite us to stand where God Himself lives currently, at the convergence of time, space, and matter. He is not “the man upstairs” as we often call Him, an image that reinforces a modern belief that God is somewhere else, if there at all. The Psalms teach us that God is very much here. He is present in our world. Notice this Psalm of David from Psalm 5,

Listen to my words, Lord,

 consider my lament.

Hear my cry for help,

my King and my God,

 for to you I pray.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

 in the morning I lay my requests before you

 and wait expectantly.

Psalm 5:1-3

Think on these words. This is the power of the Psalms. We are invited out of a cold and sterile world where maybe God exists, but chances are life is just random. We are invited out of a belief that God made the world, but he probably abandoned it and moved back upstairs some time ago. We are invited to inhabit a world where the membrane between Heaven and Earth is thin, God is engaged, and He may just stick His hand into this creation at any moment. Let us not forget in moments of crisis at a global scale that our God is still in charge. Let us not forget that we can cry out to Him, we can trust that He hears our voice, and we can wait on Him expectantly. There is a boldness to the Psalms in declaring that we can stand at the edge of time, space, and matter and call to the One who is in charge. This isn’t ancient philosophy. This is the promise of our God.

Have you prayed expectantly today? Are you living in a cold, dark, and random universe where God’s disengaged, or are you living today in an expectant relationship with a Creator? The Psalms invite us to the latter.

Pastor Jared