Why Read the Psalms Daily? (3)

 

A Perspective on World Affairs

               It is hard not to be unduly influenced by the news, social media, and the relentless bombardment of propaganda and spin and lies. It is poisonous. When we do encounter the truth, it can be overwhelming. Who can absorb the suffering and chaos of our world?

               The Psalms keeps us grounded and focused on reality, it tunes our ears to hear the Holy Spirit, it keeps our vision clear, and it encourages us amid messages of false hopes, vitriol, and hatred.

               The first psalm reminds us that there are two ways to live, one grounded in Christ and His Word, the other living in the counsel of the wicked, the path of sinners, the seat of scoffers.

               The second psalm warns us that the nations and peoples of the world are in rebellion against God and Christ. “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” (Ps. 2:3). It also assures us that Christ will prevail, there is no contest, whatever appearances may indicate.

               Psalms One and Two are the foundation stones of the book of Psalms, just as Psalm 150 is its capstone. Everything that follows the first two psalms speaks to us of the way we are living and of which kingdom we belong to. Our calling is to live in the Way of Christ, to live in the Kingdom of Christ, to know Christ and to make Him known.

               All the kingdoms of the world are opposed to Christ, and in this sense they are aligned with one another. I recall a friend lecturing me on his political perspective. When he finished, or perhaps paused to catch his breath, I said, “Everything you just said could be true, which it isn’t, but it could be true, and it still isn’t Jesus Christ.”

               Our minds will deteriorate, our perspectives will become distorted, if we are not in communion with Christ and His Word as our Way of life.

               The penultimate psalm (149), presents the ironic picture of the very people shouting in Psalm 2:3, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!”, being “bound with fetters of iron, and having executed on them the judgment written” by those who have been faithful to Christ.

               Those in Christ will one day proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). Between now and then, Psalms reminds us who we are and to whom we belong.

 

            A Perspective on Money and the World’s Values

               In the West we pretty much measure everything by money and possessions and the experiences which money can purchase. We sell ourselves and much of the professing church for money, we sell our national civic life for money; we rejoice in the monetary success of our children and grandchildren, rather than in their moral character and whether they know Jesus Christ and serve him.

               Psalms reminds us that the world’s value system is a lie and warns us against its poison. For many of us, two “go-to” psalms are 37 and 73.

               “Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness” (37:1-3).

               “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him, do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing” (37:8).

               “I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in his native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found” (37:35 - 36).

               Why are we so enthralled with money and possessions and wealth and power? Why do professing Christians align themselves with economic and political and social movements that crush the poor and disenfranchised? Why do we measure our own lives by the almighty dollar? Why do we get so angry? Where does all of this come from? Why do we gravitate toward pleasure and ease and self-gratification rather than run from it to the Cross of Jesus Christ?

               The author of Psalm 73 became discouraged when he saw the wicked prospering, when he considered how unjust life was, when it appeared as if there were no consequences for leading a life without regard to God and His Law.

               “These are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence” (73:12 – 13).

               Then our author came to his senses, then he “perceived their end” (73:17). Then he realized that he, himself, had been “senseless and ignorant, like a beast before God” (73:22).

               Then he was able to write:

               “I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (73:23 – 26).

               O dear friends, if Jesus Christ isn’t everything then He isn’t anything. In one sense there are only two types of “Christians” on the earth, there are those who confess, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth,” and those who don’t.

               Psalms reminds us that the world’s values are an illusion. The glitz and glitter and wealth and power and pleasure, our obsession with consumption, it is all a lie, it is a drug, and if we buy into it we will be, as the psalmist writes, like “beasts before God.”

               Psalms proclaims to us that we are not beasts, but the sons and daughters of our Father in heaven and that our future is secure in our Lord Jesus Christ – a destiny beyond words and comprehension.