Psalm 25:6c-7 – Lots of Remembering

Here is my literal translation of these verses:

“On you I wait/hope all the day.

  Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from [the] ages.

  Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellions.

  According to Your loving-kindness may You remember me, in accordance with Your goodness, YHVH.”

As you might note from my “bolding,” the word “remember” occurs three times in these few lines. Repetition is always cause for pause in Hebrew.

Remembering is an interesting thing. The first thing that probably catches all of our eyes is the “Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellions.” It sort of jumps off the page. I think I’m probably typical if I relate that my “remembering” haunts me. It seems like my memory incessantly conjures up all of my sins and stupidity and bludgeons me mercilessly. It seems seriously to be almost non-stop. I wish I could “remember not the sins of my youth!” But then I guess what hurts is the fear that the rest of the world doesn’t “forget.” I certainly need for those around me to not “remember the sins of my youth.” I cannot be loved unless people choose to not remember my sins. I am keenly aware that my sins hang like a wall of ice ready to cut off every relationship I might have hoped for. They are there. And I certainly don’t forget them. But relationships depend on forgetting.

But then this same boding stands between me and God. I desperately need His help. I desperately need His love and grace. I desperately need Him to answer my croaking prayers. But there are my sins. I’m such an idiot. How He can stand me is itself a grand enigma. But I still need Him. Then I face those times where it seems He isn’t answering my prayers. What is the first thing that comes to mind? My sins. I am confident that the penalty of my sins was paid by Jesus. I know it is true that because of Him there is no way that God could love me more and nothing that could possibly make Him love me less. Yet still, this is a relationship. And my sins do frustrate the intentions of His grace.

What to do? Take it to Him. It’s okay. Tell Him. Lord, I need You to not remember my sins. I can’t forget them. I fear people around me hold them against me. But You. You are the God of my deliverance. I can’t save myself and I can’t even deliver myself. Here am I. I can’t change my past. I can’t promise anything for the future. I just desperately need Your help. Albert Barnes asked, “Who is there that cannot with deep feeling join in this prayer?”

Then it is interesting to go back to the passage and note again that the word “remember” occurs three times. The “sin” thing is only one of the three(!). In the first it is God’s hesed, His loving-kindness that is called to memory. And then David notes that it is “from the ages.” Here is something significant about God. He doesn’t just choose to be loving. He is loving. And He always has been. And He always will be. As we bounce up and down and thrash from side to side, blundering along in our foolishness, He is utterly unaffected and unchanged. He just goes on being our loving God. His love may move Him to draw out His rod and give us a good spanking. Or it may move Him to step into something and rescue us. But regardless of what kind of response we may perceive, He goes on unchanged. He is a Rock of love. His love is “from the ages” or “from eternity.”

The third remember is “Remember me.” Remember Your loving-kindness. Please don’t remember my sins. “May You remember me.” Ah, and so it gets personal again. It’s me and You.

That’s where it should be. All this “remembering” wears me out. I’d rather just sit in His lap, bury my head in His big chest, and enjoy the love and warmth and the security of Him.

The Priority of Love

As I read through and study the Bible I keep running across verses that emphasize the importance of love. In my current study of Psalm 25, David prays, “Lord, show me Your ways…” What is His “way?” I am more and more convinced that it is first of all a way of love.  In younger days I would have agreed with this statement but then I would have been quick to add, “…but it is a holy love!” and felt it important to remind everyone how important it is to “keep the rules.” The truth is that, like a true Pharisee, “keeping the rules” was more important than love. I’m ashamed now that I ever allowed myself to be part of their camp. The Pharisees were Jesus’ most bitter enemies. And why did they hate Him? Because He didn’t “keep the rules.” And what did He do? He loved. But that didn’t even register on the radar screen of their legalism. I want to be like Him, not them. Consider what He Himself says in His Word:

Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

John 13:34,35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 13:8-10: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

Galatians 5:6: “…The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Ephesians 5:1,2: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, …”

Colossians 3:18: “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Psalm 25:4-6 – Pondering Deliverance

I have been offering my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your ways, YHVH. Train me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

Looking closely at these verses, it’s interesting that David adds the “because You [are] the God of my deliverance.”

He’s saying, “Show me, lead me, teach me … because You are the God of my deliverance.”

I want to think about the “because.” The word translated “deliverance” is an interesting word. It is commonly translated “salvation” which is completely legitimate. I choose instead to use the word “deliverance” since, in Christian circles, we assign “salvation” to the actual event of being born again. But, as important as that is, I think the point in this verse goes on to include all of the daily deliverance that goes on throughout our human existence. I experienced salvation over 30 years ago. I desperately need deliverance today!

I think it is cool that the word itself is derived from the Hebrew word Yashah which is where Yeshua/Jesus comes from! The word picture is “to make wide.” It is the opposite of being pinched and smashed, crushed, bound up. To experience “Yasha” is to be brought out into a wide place where you’re free to jump and move. I love that picture because that’s how life is. All of our troubles and problems, other peoples’ cruelties, our own bad habits, whatever, hold us down and hold us back. It all crushes the very life out of us. But what we’re asking God to do is to Yasha us, to bring us out into a wide place where we’re free. And that is Who He is – the God of our Yasha(!).

David asks God for all the leading and teaching “because You are the God of my deliverance.” Certainly, ultimately only God can deliver us. And sometimes it is simply miraculous. But notice how, with the “because,” David connects the leading and teaching with God’s deliverance. In fact, to know God’s ways, to be trained in His paths, to travel in His truth is to be delivered, is it not? Would it not be reasonable to say that the number one way God wants to deliver us is that we walk in His way? If we walk in His way, we certainly avoid a lot of trouble. “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He will make even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov 16:7). Certainly many times, the only way out of trouble is to follow God’s way.

Sometimes it is totally okay to just beg God for deliverance. You know what I mean – I don’t care if it takes a miracle … just SAVE me!!! But it is equally valid even in our troubles to be asking God to teach us His way and realize that the learning may actually be the path to deliverance.

The good news is that He is the God of our deliverance; not just our hero, not just a powerful friend. God. Our deliverance is provided by One Who is far above this world, far above the people, the rulers, the powers, the sickness and everything else that so often oppresses us.

No wonder David adds, “On You I wait/hope all the day.” As I pointed out in an earlier post, the word translated “to wait” also means “to hope” so I just put both in the sentence. As I try to learn God’s ways, as I fail miserably, as I flounder around, my heart is waiting on God to somehow, someway bring me out of this. My heart’s hope is ultimately in Him.  

If He delivers me, I’ll be delivered. Whether it is through me walking in His way or if it just flat takes a miracle, still, it will come from Him. I’m such a blockhead, I won’t even learn His way unless He teaches me and even if He teaches me, I’ll chicken out and fail somewhere along the line. Even if I know His way, I need Him to help me actually do it. And then I desperately need His blessing on my doing. I NEED Him. On Him I’m waiting/hoping all the day.

Along another line, I don’t know how much of deliverance we can be assured we’ll see in this world. I wish I could believe that, sooner or later, in this world, He’ll deliver me from all the things that crush me. But Hebrews 11 makes it clear that while some

“³³…through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the alien…”

Yet others

“…wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented … these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, …”

I think part of His being the “God of my deliverance” is that I leave the timetable up to Him. I wish He would just deliver me from it all today. But He might not. In fact, I may die still afflicted by some of the things I’ve been begging Him to change for years. But then, to die in Christ is to live forever – finally totally delivered. God will make good on His promise to save me to the uttermost, whether in this world or the next. But bottom-line He’s God and I’m just a man. The schedule is His.

I just pray for His sufficient grace that, whether He delivers me or not, that I might love well.

“On You I wait/hope all the day.”

Psalm 25:4-6 – A Lament for Discipleship

I have been offering my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your  ways, YHVH. Train  me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

The word translated “train” is “lamad.” It would be one of the Hebrew synonyms for “to teach.” However, its semantic range definitely includes more than just the idea of passing along knowledge. It includes the idea of staying with the person, working through their attempt to apply the teaching, going through it again and again until they’ve “got it.” In a local school setting, it would be more analogous to the wrestling coach than to the Algebra teacher. The Algebra teacher can teach the lesson then some people pass and some flunk. The wrestling coach shows the boys a move, then gets down on the mat with each boy individually and works through it again and again and again until that boy can do it smoothly, effortlessly. (I realize this is an oversimplification – I personally had an Algebra teacher who sat on the bleachers in the gym with me and helped me learn Cartesian coordinates. But you get my point).

Lamad is more than just passing along knowledge. It is actual, practical training. Interestingly, in Hebrew, an oxgoad was called a “malmad.” Hebrew was written in all consonants, no vowels, so Lamad was actually lmd. You can see the lmd in “malmad.” So, hopefully you “get the point” (no pun intended). To “lamad” could never be satisfied with simply passing on knowledge. It was to teach and then stick with an oxgoad. “There you go. Now let’s see you do it.”

In the Christian realm, the word for this is “discipleship.” I think we would all understand that “discipling” is more than just teaching. Somehow it has to include more than just passing along knowledge. To “disciple” someone involves the actual “life” training; staying with the person until they’ve “got it.”

My lament is that such activity is almost a forgotten art, and that not only in the church but in the rest of the world as well. Having said that, I hope this post does not come across as negative or hopeless. That is not my intent. I hope it comes across as simply factual and thought-provoking. If, in fact, discipleship or “training” is basically a forgotten art, it will only be revived if individual people join my lament, then resolve that, within their own sphere of influence, they will endeavor to change.

My lament is that basically “training” doesn’t happen anymore. Everyone today thinks you should be able to offer a class, stand in front of who-knows-how-many-people, give them the information, then turn them loose to do wonders with it. Once in a while, maybe, that works. But again and again and again in my life I have sat in such classes, received the info, the outlines, the tables, the charts, only to go back to my office and realize I don’t know how to put the info into practice. I don’t “get it.”

My father “trained” me. He showed so many things to my brother and me. He taught us things like how to take our bicycles apart clear down to the bearings, repack them with grease, and put them back together again. He taught me how to do vinyl siding. And my step-Dad did the same. He explained how to hang gutters, then came to my house and worked right alongside me.

But that is about it for my life. Basically, the last time anyone (other than my Dad or stepdad) actually “trained” me to do anything was in college. Our TA’s had office hours where you could go in and sit down and say, “I don’t understand how to do this problem.” Then they would actually take the time to walk through it and I would actually “get it!” I thought at work there would be older engineers who would explain things to me, like those TA’s. Mentors, you know. But that has not been my experience. And from talking to others, no one else has found anyone willing to “explain” things. Basically, you’re on your own.

It’s too bad. That’s not the way God is. Think about it. When He came to earth and lived as a man, what did He do? Called twelve disciples. And how did he “teach” them? He lived with them. He taught them orally, but then He was right there with them, constantly explaining things, answering their questions, cheering their successes, correcting their faults. He is THE discipler, the trainer. To be like Him means to be more of a discipler, trainer, wherever we might have opportunity, whether it’s our kids, our grandkids, at work, amongst believers, even in our community.

I am so much the richer for every single time anyone ever took the time to “show me” anything. As I go about living my life, I find myself feeling so confident as I do something that someone once “showed me” how to do. On the other hand, it seems like with the things where no one ever “showed me” and I just sort of “figured out” on my own, there’s always a sense of doubt, a feeling that I’m “not sure I’m doing this right.” And that is true though I’ve been doing those things for 30 years. There’s still a hesitation, a lack of confidence. Even if I “show” someone else, I am tempted to say, “I don’t know if this is the best way to do this, but it works for me …” Truth is it probably helps them enormously. Now they’ve been “shown.”

That’s my life anyway. It’s the way I see things. Maybe it isn’t the way others see it. If someone stumbles across this post and you totally don’t see what I’m saying … hey, it’s a free country! But if it does make sense to you and you too would lament for discipleship, then resolve with me that, as you work through your days, be praying the Lord would help you to see the opportunities to “show” someone else, to be a trainer, a discipler, even in the little unofficial, unstructured, unplanned moments of life. We’re asking Him to “teach us His way.” Jesus made it clear that His “way” means living a life of being willing to “show” others how.

You and I can’t change the world. But we can change us. And maybe someone will be the richer for it!

Psalm 25:4-6 – More “Ways … Really!”

In my last post I offered my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your  ways, YHVH. Train  me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

I noted there what an important concept is this simple thing God calls our “way.” Again, TWOT says, “[In the Bible,] the contrast is between the way of sin/death and the way of obedience/life. These exhaust the options available to man. Man makes his own choice but he cannot choose his own consequences … The way which one chooses determines one’s destiny.”

“… No wonder the Lord admonishes us in Haggai 1:6, “Consider your ways …”

As I noted earlier, the Bible is filled from cover to cover with verses referring to this business of our “way.” There are a number of passages that especially touch my heart and I would like to quote them:

Gen 18:19 – “For I have known him, that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

Exodus 33:13-15 – ¹³ “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here”.

Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”.

Psalm 119:9 -- How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Psalm 139:23,24 -- Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxious thoughts and cares; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Proverbs 14:12 -- There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Isaiah 55:8,9 -- ⁸ “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”.

“Lord, cause me to know Your ways. Train me in Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth. Train me.”

Really.

Psalm 25:4-6 – Ways … Really!

Here is my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your ways, YHVH. Train  me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

“Cause me to know Your ways.”

“Your ways.”

A “way” is a very important thing.

Back when I was studying II Peter 2:15,16, I stopped to ponder this concept of “ways.” I said there: “It strikes me that this thing of a “way” is a frequent subject throughout the Bible … In fact, it is frequent. A quick perusal of Strong’s Concordance shows the words “way” and “ways” occur hundreds of times. Logically speaking, a “way” is extremely important because “ways” always lead somewhere. In order to end up at the right destination, one needs to travel in the right “way.” No matter how much a destination may be desired, one will not arrive there unless they travel in the right “way.”… No wonder the Lord admonishes us in Haggai 1:6, “Consider your ways …”

Interestingly, commenting on the Hebrew word for “way,” TWOT says, “The contrast is between the way of sin/death and the way of obedience/life. These exhaust the options available to man. Man makes his own choice but he cannot choose his own consequences … The way which one chooses determines one’s destiny.”

I think that paragraph is worth several reads.

When we would sincerely pray, “Lord, cause me to know Your ways,” that prayer should be no mindless cliché(!). When I ask Him to teach me His ways, I’m asking for life itself! To fail of His way is to die, though I live. To walk in His way is to live, though I die!

My mind is kind of reeling with the enormity of it all.

I’m always on some “way” – every minute of every day. I am actually on a path as I go about my work, stop at the grocery store, run into an old friend, have a flat tire, answer the phone, eat my supper. But what way? The Lord’s way or any other? There are only two options. As TWOT said, “These exhaust the options available man.”

We actually desperately need the Lord to help us walk in His way, because the alternative is fatal! “… The way which one chooses determines one’s destiny.”

But again this is a very practical thing because I’m doing it all day every day.

Interesting the progression in the Psalm: “…cause me to know Your ways,” “train me [in] Your paths,” “cause me to travel in Your truth,” “train me.” The word I’ve translated “train” is more than just to teach. It is the idea of someone teaching you but then staying with it to work through it with you over and over until you’ve “got” it. There’s no interest here in any simple “head” knowledge. This is intensely practical business. I not only need to “know” the right way, but I need to very specifically and deliberately incorporate that “way” into my daily life.

We see that David is quite serious in his prayer here. It is no cliché to him!

Psalm 139:23,24 is a similar prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxious thoughts and cares;

And see if there be any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.

Interesting too that Jesus said, “I am the Way …”

Interesting too that the Lord made it simple when He told us to love God and love each other; that fulfills the Law. My “way” is a way of love. Love to God and love to others. Minute by minute. All day. Every day.

I guess when I first read these verses, the enormity of it all didn’t impress me. Had I prayed the prayer then, it probably would have been at least somewhat cliché. But I don’t want it to be cliché. I want it to be real.

So let’s try it again.

“Lord, cause me to know Your ways. Train me in Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth. Train me.”

Really.