Oxygen from Psalm 34:12-22 (How to Live Long and Prosper)

12 Does anyone want to live long and prosper?

13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil      and your lips from telling lies! 

14 Turn away from evil and do good.     Search for peace, and work to maintain it

15 The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right;     his ears are open to their cries for help.

16 But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil;     he will erase their memory from the earth.

17 The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help.
     He rescues them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;

     he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

19 The righteous person faces many troubles,

    but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

20 For the LORD protects the bones of the Righteous One;

    not one of them is broken!
21 Calamity will surely overtake the wicked,

     and those who hate the Righteous One will be punished.
22 But the LORD will redeem those who serve him.

    No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

(Psalm 34:12-22)

I must admit that I've read this passage and others like it wrong for most of my life.  On the surface it appears to be a bouncy little proverb about the power of positive communication (Lord, forgive me for that sermon).  Control what you say and you will live a long and prosperous life; don't do bad things and God will protect you.  Just the stuff for another moralistic sermon like so many others: do more, try harder, be nice.

This is how the rabbinic Jews in Jesus' time interpreted passages like this.

" You see that wealthy, prosperous person over there?" asked the rabbi, dressed in his rich clothing. " Do you want to know how he got that way? Turn to Psalm 34. He kept his tongue in check and he surely must have done good else God would not reward him."

 This was not only the hermeneutic of rabbinic Judaism, but the confession of much of modern evangelical Christianity as it chases after success and ignores the small and powerless.  Jesus turned this health and wealth ethic upside down when He said the poor were blessed. The meek inherit the earth. Losers are close to God's heart (Mt. 5). Post-Biblical liberal Protestantism gets it all wrong, too.  Jesus isn't advocating "social justice," but the necessity of Gospel grace to fulfill the demands of a righteous God.

So, let's interpret this passage as Christians, from the Reformed perspective of law and gospel. First comes God's holy demand, a clear statement of a godly law: Control your tongue. Don't gossip. Don't tell lies. No false witness. Don't speak any untruth (v.13). Additionally, don't participate in anything evil but always do good. Don't think bad thoughts. Don't miss every opportunity to do good for someone else .  Don't cause trouble. Then, having found this perfect balance of self-control and social justice, what the Jews called shalom, maintain it for the rest of your life (v.14) .

As in all covenant ceremonies, there are blessings: long life, prosperity (v.12), summed up as God watching  over you (v.15).  Next are the curses for those who break these holy laws: God will ignore you and erase your memory from all your posterity (v.16).

God's law is perfect and demands perfection. If we're being honest, the problem soon becomes apparent: I'm nowhere near perfect.  And every time I try to be perfect, I make matters worse.  I lie to myself, I become hypocritical with others, trying to maintain a show of something I'm not.  I stop reading certain parts of the Bible.  I look for churches that assuage my guilt with easy-to-do rituals by which some holy man in funny clothes declares me holy and forgiven. Yikes --  I'm  deeply flawed. I can't even read God's righteous demand without knowing I'm... dead ... meat.  So I look for a preacher or a best-seller that tells me God doesn't mean I have to live this law perfectly, just the best I can. But then I read the Bible and discover the truth: break one part of the law, and I'm guilty of breaking it all. (James 2:10, Mt. 5:18).  Jesus did say, "You must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect."

How's that good moral life working out for you? Those who try to live moralistically are doomed to frustration and despair (Gal. 3:10). But God never lays down law that He doesn't also provide grace. Do you see it in Psalm 34? "His ears are open to those who confess they need help" (v.15).  The law isn't there for us to ignore or for us to dumb down into moralistic claptrap.  The law exists  to drive us to our knees and call to God for help, for a Rescuer (v.17). Nothing crushes the spirit like the law. God's holy demands short-circuit the human control center of the heart ("the heart" in Jewish culture is not about emotions, but about will). I can decide to invite Jesus into my heart, I can make firm resolution, I can commit, I can dedicate and re-dedicate myself, I can promise and vow, but inevitably and always I … fail. And If tell myself that I haven't failed, the truth is not in me (I John 1:8-9).

It is at that moment when we experience the crushing power of God's law that grace shines through. God will hear and rescue (v.19). God will help and heal. God will forgive. God will do it himself. He doesn't ignore his righteous demands. He doesn't set aside his Word to help us feel better, for that would make God a liar. But he points us to Christ, the one who hung on the cross but none of whose bones were broken (v.20).  

There are two religious systems: one of self-reliant, moralistic striving, self-delusion, and ignoring the  Righteous Rescuer (v.21); the other for honest huddlers under the only refuge God provides, under the blood of the Lamb, under the cross of Jesus, our only confession: Justified by grace!

Righteous God:

Save me from my pitiable attempts

To justify myself 

     by myself 

     for myself.

Rescue me in Jesus blood

And for His sake.

Restore me to my rightful mind and destiny.

Amen.

Oxygen from Psalm 34:9-11 (Fear)

Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing. Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.
(Psalm 34:9-11)

Merciful God:

How can I learn to fear
The One I hold so dear,
The One who banished fright,
gave me songs in the night,
and bid me come in simple trust?

How can I learn to fear
The One whose presence cheers,
The One who suffered terror
for my unrighteous errors,
for all my brazenness?

Our culture sings sex ditties
while epics sung in ancient cities
chronicled the fights of heroes,
into fear and tempest thrown,
against the terrors of the gods.

Safety in our stronghold
gives rise to softer songs,
softer people, softer minds,
unaware of the true time,
seldom overcome with awe.

May Thy transcendent threat
make every evil-doer fret;
restrain my self-centered spike
when I would compromise the right,
that I not Thee disappoint.

David, teach me, inspired bard,
how to rightly fear the Lord,
how to rightly hear His call,
how to live in abject awe
of my Redeemer's love.

Amen.

Oxygen from Psalm 34:2-9 (Force-praise)

American Christianity is about a happy, clappy religion in praise of a diety more like Santa Claus than the God of the Bible. The Bible, written for us but not to us, takes place in a world that was violent and ruthless. David has been anointed King under God's authority, but he's hunted like a criminal. Here's what happened when he had lost everything.

My soul force-praises Yahweh;
those with nothing left, rejoice.
Make Yahweh bigger than your need
Do so and we shall praise him together.
I pleaded with Yahweh, "What are you doing?"
He answered and delivered me.
How? He made all my fears slink away.


How many times have I seen it -
those who force-praise light up;
their faces free of shame or care.
So myself, when I lost everything,
force-praised Yahweh,
and He heard and acted,
overcoming my distress.


Yahweh's messenger surrounds 
those who force-praise him,
He delivers them.
Taste! See that Yahweh is good.
Oh the joy of those who trust him
when they lose everything.
Force-praise Yahweh, you his chosen,
When everything is gone, 
You have everything you need.


(Psalm 34:2-9, DKB Interplation)


Ever-present God:

How blessed I am to live free
in a prosperous and safe country,
with enough to eat and shelter fine,
where I have control over my time.
But how rare historically
is this blest stability.
Most of the human story tells
of war and famine and awful smells,
of raiders coming to my village
to rape and kidnap and to pillage.
In spite of our unsolved problems
These are the best of times.

So David while a refugee
under Saul's death penalty,
flees to enemy territory;
with nothing but his cloak and story.
There he's captured, loses hope,
destitute, in slavery's yoke,
has nothing left, not one ally,
prays "Why me? Why am I
hunted like the jackal, hated?
Is this how you treat your Anointed?"
Then comes into his prison cave
The One who will one day save
all the saints from Barabbas' cross.

Did he break David's chains?
Did he take away the pains?
There was no magic, no miracle,
No evidence of any oracle,
circumstance did not re-arrange
but something inside David changed.
Faith welled up like a spring
and caused his aching heart to sing,
not yet free, not yet King,
but praise in spite of everything.
And what looked to Acish like insanity
was a soul in faithful rapture.

Force-praise is the covenant faith,
that trusts in God though all forsake,
Force-praise exalts God's ability
when we have lost all stability.
Perhaps we can only know
the power of faith when we must go
and force-praise God against
all odds, against all sense,
against the doctor's diagnosis
force-praise Him who truly knows us.
Still I can taste and know His goodness
who is my full Deliverance..

O may I know my deep need of Thee,
admit my true need and poverty;
may I with patience wait to see
how force-praising will set me free.

Amen.

Oxygen from Psalm 34:1 (The Great Pretender)

Don't dismiss the setting given in the Hebrew Bible for Psalm 34.  I think it may shed light on what David is trying to communicate.

When David pretended to be something he's not before before Abimelek, who drove him away, and David left.  


I will extol Yahweh at all times; 
I will constantly speak his praises.
(Psalm 34:1)


Changeless God:

The hummingbird at my feeder
cannot betray its nature;
cannot become more or less
than you, Creator, planned.
My sweet Corgi cannot feign
a quiet, passive disposition,
nor wish she was a Great Dane,
embarrased at her shortness.

Only humans give pretense,
become something we are not,
lie to ourselves without sense,
sin and call it virtuous.
Only people practice dissipation,
hold others up to ridicule;
our species unique in all creation:
pretenders, prevaricators, cruel.

This flaw infects us all,
no one is immune from falsity.
Since Adam and the fall,
all Utopias crumble on this fault.
And never are we more at risk
than to deny our duplicity,
betray the Truth with a kiss,
release our inner Iscariot.

David pretends to madness
to save himself from Abimelech;
acts the fool, cursed by badness,
just to get out of a mess.
Yet even as he pretends,
he extols your holy name,
by which he knows the Covenant extends
to cover every hypocrisy.

So may we whose unholy habit
is to be something we are not,
know your nearness while we're sinning,
extol your grace in which we're caught.
Abandon us -- you shall never do,
but make our pilgrimage of faith
the struggle to subdue
lesser passions to the upward call of Christ.

Amen

Oxygen from Psalm 33:10-22

The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations
and thwarts all their schemes.
But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever;
his intentions can never be shaken.
What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD,
whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.
The LORD looks down from heaven
and sees the whole human race.
From his throne he observes
all who live on the earth.
He made their hearts,
so he understands everything they do.
The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.
But the LORD watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.
We put our hope in the LORD.
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
Let your covenant love surround us, LORD,
for our hope is in you alone.
Psalm 33:10-22

Sovereign God:
The nations are frustrated,
mired in debt, poor job creation;
just when we need the voice of reason
campaign rhetoric is now in season.
Save us from tribal divisions
that blame each other for omissions,
that test your sovereign grace
with lying lips, arrogant face,
as though a single man
or political party plan
could bring us back from the precipise.

You set the times and boundaries
for every nation's ascendency
and decline as fits your plan;
the heavenly purpose for every land:
to reveal your justice, truth, (Acts 17:26-27)
to punish the vile and uncouth,
and reward the good, provide relief,
regardless of their belief,
Providential care out-poured
from Earth's true King and Lord,
who waits not for us to choose,
for if he did, we would lose
every chance of peace and solace.

He understands the way we are
for he made us, knows our hearts.
Does that mean God made me queer?
Not at all, be drawn near
and find the answers of confused identity,
peace from one you thought Enemy,
who offered up the sacrifice
of the Perfect Lamb, the price of freedom paid.

So let me sing and raise my voice
not of my country or my choice,
but let my song forever be
of my sovereign's choice of me,
not for anything I have done
but for the pleasure of His Son,
who's covenant love and faithfulness
is stronger than any warrior's horse,
greater than any army horde,
who dares stand against the Lord,
whose Anointed lives and reigns,
our only hope, His unfailing love.

Amen.

Oxygen from Psalm 33:1-9: Worship for a New Creation

You righteous in Christ, sing for joy!
His upright love to praise him.
Praise the LORD with strings,
make music for him on the ten-string.
Sing a new song of praise to him;
play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.
For the Word of the LORD holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
Christ's covenant love fills the earth.
Yahweh merely spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.
He gathered the seas to their boundaries
and filled the deep mines with treasures.
Let the whole world fear the LORD,
and let everyone stand in awe of him.
When he spoke, the world began.
It appeared at his command.
Psalm  33:1-9

Gracious, Ever-Faithful God:

What has happened to our worship praise?
Read from books and slides and overlays?
Please don't wake the snoring!
Who made worship boring?
Why veneration of human tradition
as if God's new creation
could be confined to pew-sitting watchers
of some Chrysostomic cleric,
protected by ancient liturgy
from rebutal or from question?

Rock 'n roll worship is far worse,
shunning truth for sing-song verse,
appealing to the rock concert crowd,
entertainment played quite loud,
Bible as self-help advice,
"Do more, try harder, be nice,"
the weekly message from the pulpit,
bootstraps R us -- how to stop it.
How to cease the rot of culture
transforming church into transgendered bride?

Where is skill?  Where the excellence?
Where the new song played with brilliance?
Where the overwhelming awe,
and Gospel truth about our flaws;
my quaking hand laid on my prize lamb,
knife to neck, it's life for mine?
No hocus pocus; but laser focus
on the blood that was shed for me.

Holy Spirit, infuse my worship,
with joy and song, here I belong!
Gather those made righteous by Christ's decree
like You gathered primordal seas,
and set the boundaries of our love
to the expanse of your good and justice.

Give us new songs for new creation,
hover, Holy Spirit, end lamentation;
Take us as far as we may go
in our temples here below.
Meet us in the courtyards of holiness,
near enough for You to bless us,
not holed up in sanctuaries,
but exposed to light and air and world,
exposed to Gospel grace, Your Word proclaim,
recreating all the fallen,
known to You by name,
inheritors of redemption's age.

Amen

Oxygen from Psalm 32:8-9

Yahweh says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”



Gracious God,

I am not a thoroughbred, sleek and fast;
no war horse me, built to last,
or ignore the battle's blast,
but stubborn mule, made to pull,
biggie ears, braying fool,
prone to wander off alone.

Yet You harness my potential,
fit me with Your bit and bridle,
by Your Word you take control.
lead me to your healing streams,
bathe my wounds and wash my dreams,
restore my strength and vision.

When first you gave to me Your bit
I did not like it's taste or fit.
Unfair, I grumbled, spit it out.
But you persisted my refusal,
comforted, soothed, made me useful;
freedom now a run in harnass.

Guide me on Your chosen path,
Pioneer and Faith Perfector,
past the ambush of defectors
to wide prairies of endless vistas,
and with faithful brothers, sisters,
ride into a sunrise of delight.

Amen.