Hills of Psalm 121

I was at a college graduation recently expecting it to be the normal thing although happy for the students I knew and their joy at finally reaching their goal of finishing their courses. However, as often happens, the Lord arrested my attention with his Word. One of the speakers given the task to bring greetings from an American University, talked about Psalm 121 and what a blessing this psalm had been to him.

He indicated that the question in verse 1, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from where does my help come?" is best understood as a reflection of the pagan worship that took place on the "high places" as in Jeremiah (3.23, "Surely the [idolatrous] commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel" http://www.ridgewaymethodist.org.uk/pdf/Psalm121Sermon.pdf).

Other commentators also believe it could relate to Jerusalem or Mt Zion in which case the psalmist is saying as he travels to the holy Mount, as I lift up mine eyes to the hills I remember that beyond these hills is the power of the Lord God the creator.

Both interpretations, however, act as warnings to remind up to keep our eyes on the fact that it is the Lord, the God of Israel, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has made everything, heaven and earth. Both interpretations warn us of the present danger of substituting idols for the living God; of trusting in a variety of created things to support us when things are tough when in effect only the One "from whom, through whom and to whom are all things", can possibly do that.

Who Among Us Welcomes Change?

I for one don't! And I'm sure if i had been in the temple when Jesus drove the money-changers out of the temple in Jn 2, I imagine I might have resisted strongly the change that his actions presaged. For he was not just upset about the money transactions; his zeal related to his understanding that he had come to bring in a new order of things, a dominant theme throughout the gospel of John.


We grasp this notion when we listen carefully to the discussion
about the temple and his body after his actions above. We see that
this temple in Jerusalem is no longer to be the place of sacrifice but his body is to be the final sacrifice ushering in true worship (Jn 4) through his resurrection.

WHERE ARE YOU GOD?

In Victoria, Australia we have just come through a horrific time of bushfires driven by high winds in 46 degree heat. Over 200 people have been killed by the fiery blazes with some towns being destroyed completely. For some people, such suffering raises the question of ‘Where is God?’ The questioners raise this question as if the mere presence of such tragedies shatter any belief in the existence of a loving God. Surely, that can’t be so because such events have been happening since recorded history and yet belief in God has continued. I’ve heard it suggested that at the Fall into apostasy by man, everything falls under the judgment of God but God freely maintains his creation in the face of its fall away from his Rule (even though the effects of man’s apostasy are revealed throughout the creation daily). The bushfires, some of which were deliberately caused by firebugs, others caused by lightning strikes, evidence the consequences of man’s fall into sin.

We might question, 'Where is God?' but the answer comes, ‘Where I’ve always been, upholding and sustaining my creation despite the powers seeking its destruction!

But, then in this drama, I hear another question and it is the question that God addresses to man. ‘Where are you O Man?’ And do we not have to say that we often are the ones whose hearts are far from God, who live as virtual deists, imagining that God may be the creator but is certainly not interested in the world as it exists today.

Do we not have to confess that we live as if God didn’t exist but cry out in pain and anger when suddenly we face tragedies such as bushfire and flood? And then the question comes, "Where have you been O Man? Where has your attention been during the months and years when you have given Me not a thought or concern?" The bushfires do not so much call God’s existence into question as call our existence into question.

Besieging Love of God

Heard in church today the bewitching song based on Psalm 139 and felt myself struck dumb by the line:

and with love everlasting you besiege me

I sat and couldn't get the image of the besieging love of God out of my head. As great powerful armies besieged cities in ancient times, so the love of God in Christ, lays siege to our hearts, encompassing them round and about.

Funeral of My 94 y.o.Uncle

My uncle R was a clever man. Although, starting his working life at 14 road-making with his father, he worked out how to build a lawn-mower from scratch. That is, he made each part of the mower!! Nor did his abilities stop as he got older as shown in the fact that he built two computers before the time one could buy such things for a reasonable price at a local shop.

Another major thing that left an impression were the words of his son who mentioned that he was only in the position he was today -- an oceanographer -- because of the encouragement of his father. This generous son confessed that his father was probably a lot brighter than he was but had not had the opportunities that he, the son, had had.

A son-in-law at the funeral spoke of my uncle in terms of G-s; I don't remember all of them but some were gentle, generous, genius and godly. The last challenged me because I had seen this old man of 94 only a week before his death and felt, despite all his obvious inabilities at that time, that I was in the presence of a man who had used all his abilities to serve and honour his Lord.

                             Rest in peace, my dear uncle, rest in peace.

Commandments One and Two

Seeing the Sadducees had been silenced on their question about death and resurrection, the Pharisees sent a lawyer to test Jesus concerning what was 'the great commandment' (Matthew 22.35, AV). Jesus replied by quoting the Shema (Deut 6.4). Love the Lord your God from the heart, the inner core of your being.

To this commandment, Jesus added a commandment that is 'like the first': 'love your neighbour as yourself'. In the latter, Jesus was quoting Leviticus 19.18 which, one source translated as 'You are not to take-vengeance, you are not to retain-anger against the sons of your kinspeople—but be-loving to your neighbor (as one) like yourself, I am YHWH [the LORD]!'

The gloss in brackets (so), which I have seen elsewhere, puts a different complexion on usual interpretations of the verse because it takes away our selfish fixation about self-love. I doubt the verse has anything to do with loving ourselves as such although it is sometimes 'exegeted' as if without proper self-love we cannot love others. In any case, the be-loving to your neighbour is set within the context of not taking vengeance, not retaining-anger against one's kinsfolk which, makes that interpretation foreign to the setting.

Jesus' view of neighbour was broader than that of Jewry and the love commended is action that wishes good towards any we come in contact with. It has little to do with sentiment or even liking the neighbour; biblical love is wanting the best for the neighbour and doing good to the neighbour as the Good Samaritan did.

Herman Dooyeweerd the great Dutch jurist and philosopher said that these two commandments are a supratemporal unity that is differentiated or particularised throughout the temporal world. So, we face the call to be-loving of God and neighbour at every turn in temporal existence. This ubiquitous law is not displaced by love because the undifferentiated meaning of law is love. To love Christ is to keep his commandments (Jn 14.15, 23) and the commandment is to love another (Jn 15.12-13) as we have been loved.