Living Understanding, Pt 44: My shield

Psalm 28:6-9                          6Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.  7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.  8The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.  9Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Matthew 27:51-54                 50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.  51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook, the rocks split 52and the tombs broke open.  The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

At the moment of Jesus’ death on the Cross, there were several manifestations of God’s power.  One of them was the splitting of the curtain in the temple.  The curtain was a 60 foot long, 30 foot wide, 6-inch-thick massive curtain, not of the sort we have in our homes, intended to create a barrier between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.  It was installed between the Holy of Holies, a space containing the Ark of the Covenant upon which the Spirit of God rested, and the Holy Place, where sinful priests came to offer sacrifices to atone for their sins and the sins of the people.

It was torn from the top, 60 feet up, to the floor by the hand of God because, by his voluntary sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus had removed that separation between God and man caused by sin. 

Psalm 28 is a liturgy prayed (probably sung) by a priest interceding on behalf of fellow worshipers. The intercessor is probably in the Holy Place, standing before the Holy of Holies intreating God to spare the worshippers the judgment which is coming because of the idolatrous actions of the wicked.  In call-and -response fashion a temple prophet responds that the wicked will be torn down, and then the intercessor blesses God and vows to sing more and greater praises.  Finally, the prophet expands the prayer to include all of God’s people, praising God for his salvation and seeking its eternal continuance.

Strength and shield

So, when things go wrong in our lives, the thing to do is not to wail and moan that God did not prevent the things from happening, but to sing God’s praises for the other things he has done.  The people of the community of God are a special possession who are faithful people but who sometimes act faithlessly.  When acting faithlessly things happen which are not enjoyable because God disciplines those he loves.  If we recognize those difficult times are there to teach us something, we might realize our lives are expressions of God’s glory. 

When we understand that it is God who strengthens us to get through tough times, even times that come about because of our foolishness, and it is God who shields us from truly awful and treacherous times, then we can turn from our faithless ways and praise him. 

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

My heart trusts

Another way we can live our lives is to live in anticipation of what is going to do.  This presupposes that we trust God in all things.  If he works for our good because we love him, then we don’t have to wring our hands in worry.  We must every day choose how we are going to live our lives.  Will we be faithless, and in so being, create our own difficult times through poor decisions and inappropriate behavior?  Will we be faithful, praying every day, turning our lives over to Jesus, and seeking his guidance in every decision?  We can decide our own destiny simply by deciding how we will live.

If we live in the second fashion, then our lives develop differently.  Trusting God means we let him work things out.  This doesn’t mean we don’t guide our own lives, that we just sit here and wait for things to happen.  No, we still must plan, we still must work, pay bills, live in moral ways, and behave decently.  But it does mean we now have an additional source of input.  We can ask God what he thinks.  Every day is a series of decisions—do I do this, do I turn here, what do I have for dinner.  These are operational things that don’t require much Godly input.

But there are more difficult and important decisions that happen also.  Do I take this new job?  Do I pursue this potential relationship?  Do I join this church?  These are the sort of things which God can contribute to if we ask him.  Remember, he has the longer view, and he sees the things which are hidden.

Praise him with song

In any case, the most important thing we can do with our lives is to praise God.  Nobody will ever pay money to hear me sing.  But I sing to God a lot.  I love him a lot, and I can’t help but sing.  Praising God turns our attention to him.  It helps us focus on his precepts, to read his word and to trust the Living Word.

What about me?

There is no longer a separation between God and man because of what Jesus accomplished through his sacrifice.  We don’t need a priest interceding for us, we have Jesus Himself interceding for us.  Believer, Jesus, your Lord is right now saying words like, “Father, don’t pay attention to that thing he just said.  He loves you.  He is in me and I am in you.”

Believer, that means you no longer have to live your life in fear.  You have intimate relation with God because of Jesus.  When God looks at you, he sees his Son.  Praise God in everything you do.  Pray.  Seek.  Knock.