Tag Archives: Context

Singing with the King (37) – Context (1)

Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)

Context is critical when it comes to discerning the actual meaning of the Scriptural passage, and how we are to apply it to our lives. I love getting wrapped up in individual words with their meanings, definitions, and nuances; and sometimes, if I lose sight of the context, then I have committed a grave error as described in the idiom: “Can’t see the forest for the trees”, which reminds us that we need perspective, we need context.

So here is David crying out a reality about God’s existence, His presence and His glory. He IS exalted above the heavens; and His glory IS above all the earth. That is His nature, and David is sharing with us, that he gets it. But what is interesting about this Psalm, is what this verse is sandwiched in between.

My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me.

David is a dangerous place, surrounded by lions and dragons; and men whose teeth are like spears and arrows, and their tongues like sharp swords. And in the midst of this dangerous and even deadly place, David exalts the Lord. So an obvious question here would be, is there ever a time when it is NOT appropriate to worship the Lord? Oh by the way, David is weighed down, bent down, making it difficult to navigate around nets and pits, as well as lions, dragons and scary men.

Are you surrounded by enemies, by sickness, by loss, by sin? In the midst of all that, take David’s example to heart, and exalt the LORD.

Next time, we go a little further.

Singing with the King (34) – My God (2)

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The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:1,2)

Alone at sunrise

Last time we talked about the seagulls from Finding Nemo, and how we could identify with them. Like them, we can be very selfish creatures. But then I asked you consider the “my’s” of King David. Here are the remainder.

My Rock— this is a different word from the previous one, and has a whole different range of meanings: to confine, secure, to shut in, besiege, to shut up, and to enclose. God does indeed do those things for us, for our good, and for our protection.

My Shield—The word shield means to cover, surround, or defend.

The horn of My salvation—horn has to do with power and might. So when David speaks of the Lord as being his horn of salvation, it is a powerful salvation, a mighty salvation.

My Stronghold— Another place of security, safety, and refuge. The stronghold by definition is a high place; indeed one of its translations is a high tower. It is a place of defense.

David gave us the right perspective.

So when you think about the Lord, how many “my’s” can you come up with? How many ways can you relate to Him? How many roles does He play in your life? How many needs does He fulfill? I know David could have gone on much more than eight. Can you?

What is it like to live you live in God’s context? To have His perspective? Well, the LORD should be not only all you need, but all you got.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. (Psalm 73:25)

Singing with the King (25) – One Thing: (1) Priority

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One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD. (Psalm 27:4)

At the Cross Out of all the myriad of choices that one can make, there really is only one. When all of our excuses, questions, posings, musings, debates, and complaints are exhausted, we are left with one inescapable truth: there is none other to whom we can turn; none other who can deliver and protect us; none other who can love and care for us; for You alone are God. (Nehemiah 9:6) And to deny this places our eternal soul in peril, and places us in opposition to God, rather than in His care.

David understood this; that is why his desire was to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD.

One thing. This is a very unifying approach to life, to faith—to whatever. The Hebrew text could actually say: One one I have asked. It may sound redundant, but think about it. Life is filled with one things that we must do, that need our attention. But what is the one One? Or should I say, Who is the one One. Four areas of your life will be changed forever by making the Lord, The One: Priority, Perspective, Purpose, and Practice.

Priority:

Not only Putting God First, but Only

You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3)

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them. (Psalm 89:11)

I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. (Isaiah 45:5)

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29-30)

We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. (Hebrews 12:2)

Here’s where it all starts. There is no doubt Who our priority must be. He must be the One one-thing. To have God as our priority places our life within the proper context—we are where we were made to be. To have God as our priority puts Him where He is to be: Alpha and Omega, both in nature and in relationship.

Singing with the King (22) – Too Wonderful

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Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. (Psalm 139:6)

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So, what knowledge is too wonderful for David; so high that he cannot attain it? Well, everything he said in the first five verses:

The LORD has searched and known; He understands, He scrutinizes and is intimately acquainted; He surrounds him, and has laid His hand upon him.

All these actions of the LORD have to do with David’s character, his everyday actions, his thoughts, his directions, his life, his words, and his relationship with the Lord.

If we even had a glimpse of what it means to understand—or rather not understand—all this, how would we respond? Would we not cry out as David, it is too wonderful, it is too high, I cannot attain it?

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and the Gentiles foolishness. (1 Corinthians 1:22-23) What are you searching for? Are you searching for wisdom and understanding? Those are indeed good things, but they are only a means to an end. If they are your goal, then you have stopped short.

Searching for wisdom and understanding is not just a Greek thing, it is a Western thing. We want to understand the genome and the cosmos; the brain and the mind; the beginning of things and the end of things. But David has looked beyond that, or maybe behind that, and has found The One Who is beyond measurement, beyond our understanding, and yet has called us to know Him.

We have been called to pursue The One is too wonderful and too high. Is that a task which will lead to frustration and failure? No, rather it puts life into context; His context. Life is big, the universe is huge, creation is awesome; but the God who created all this and sustains all this is way beyond even that. This is no fool’s errand; rather, it is the pursuit and the privilege of a lifetime, of an eternity, of which we will barely scratch the surface, but we will know enough that we are loved beyond measure, by a God who is beyond measure.

Singing with the King (1) – Introduction

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The Psalms… Worship, Prayer, Songs. No matter how you explain them, categorize them, or use them, every single one will bring you in to the Presence of the LORD.

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Over the next few months you’re going to be introduced to the principle: Living Life in Context. Simply put, to live our lives in God’s Presence, we must stand before Him. When we are before the Lord, we stand in the proper context for our lives. To not be before the Lord (to be out of context) leaves us to our own devices, prejudices, misunderstandings, foolish thinking, sinful nature, bad attitude, and wrong actions. But to be in His presence, to be before Him, reveals Who He is, His attributes, His works, and His will; thereby revealing to us, who we are, what our relationship is, and what our attitude and actions should be. This is Living Life in Context—in His context. So to begin this dance through the Psalms, ironically, Being Still before Him is a great place to start.