Another week almost over. Christi continues to improve. She actually rode in the car with me last night to go pick Stephanie up from the youth meeting of our church. We had a nice time. Thanks to Ron and Linda for bringing over a delicious meatloaf and some stovetop stuffing. Very tasty!
A Musician Looks At the Psalms, by Don Wyrtzen
Chaconne of Confession
Confessing Inconsistency
Psalm 106:1-5
1 Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them,
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
A “Chaconne” is a Baroque composition “consisting of the repetition of a short theme in slow, triple meter.”
“Confession is the ground-bass around which this psalm is structured.” Israel was so often ungrateful, showing the depravity of humanity regularly during her history. The prophets sounded stern warnings, “urging her to confess and forsake her evil ways.”
“The psalmist strikes a major chord by praising God’s goodness and constancy, as evidenced in the mighty acts He has performed in Israel’s behalf.” The psalmist also declares a blessing on those who are just and righteous, and moves to concern for his own accountability before God.
Like the author of this book, I am subject to severe mood swings (I don’t know him personally, but he says that in this reading…), but God, whom we worship, never changes. “Even when the unthinkable happens and I’m caught off guard by crisis or tragedy, He is there to blend those dissonant chords into the musical pattern of His plan.”
Matthew Henry Daily Readings
Confidence and Joy
Acts 16:32-33
32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
“The consolations of God to his suffering servants are neither few nor small. How much more happy are true Christians than their prosperous enemies! As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time is amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. No trouble, however grievous, should hinder us from praise.”
“How serious the jailer’s inquiry! His salvation becomes his great concern; that lies nearest his heart, which before was furthest from his thoughts. It is his own precious soul that he is concerned about. Those who are thoroughly convinced of sin, and truly concerned about their salvation, will give themselves up to Christ…When the fruits of faith begin to appear, terrors will be followed by confidence and joy in God.”
Tabletalk Magazine
The Sixth Commandment
Exodus 10:13
You shall not murder.
“The prohibition against murder is foundational not only to regulating life in the covenant community but also for ensuring a just society.”
As has been misunderstood for centuries, due to the King James translation, this commandment does not refer to all killing. It refers only to murder. The translation “kill” is not incorrect, but the word does not convey the nuances of the Hebrew word, “which is more akin to the specific act of unlawful killing, also known as murder. In certain cases, killing is not only allowed, it is mandated.”
Probably the best example of this is capital punishment. Early on in God’s law, he specified that anyone who shed innocent blood must be put to death. “Our Creator puts such a high value on human life that those who take it unjustly forfeit their own right to live.” According to Romans 13:1-7, this authority is given to the “state.”
“Yet to say that we have kept this commandment if we merely refrain from murder would be to miss the spirit of this particular law.” The command deals with inward reality, as well, and we must remember the words of Jesus, when he said if we are angry with our brother without cause, we are liable to judgment. We must be cautious when we find ourselves angry with someone and examine if this anger is truly “righteous” anger. More often than not, I find that it most definitely is not.
The Valley of Vision
SELF-DEPRECATION
O Lord,
My every sense, member, faculty, affection,
is a snare to me,
I can scarce open my eyes but I envy those above me,
or despise those below.
I covet honor and riches of the mighty,
and am proud and unmerciful to the rags of others;
If I behold beauty it is a bait to lust,
or see deformity, it stirs up loathing and disdain;
How soon do slanders, vain jests, and wanton
speeches creep into my heart!
Am I comely? what fuel for pride!
Am I deformed? what an occasion for repining!
Am I gifted? I lust after applause!
Am I unlearned? how I despise what I have not!
Am I in authority? how prone to abuse my trust,
make will my law, exclude others’ enjoyments,
serve my own interests and policy!
Am I inferior? how much I grudge others’ preeminence!
Am I rich? how exalted I become!
You know that all these are snares by my corruptions,
and that my greatest snare is myself.
I bewail that my apprehensions are dull,
my thoughts are mean,
my affections stupid,
my expressions low,
my life unbeseeming;
Yet what can you expect of dust but levity,
of corruption but defilement?
Keep me ever mindful of my natural state,
but let me not forget my heavenly title,
or the grace that can deal with every sin.
Fortunately, I find that I have grown beyond most of the snares that are listed in this prayer. Not much of this one applies to me, personally, but a few of them still do. I am never beyond needing to watch for the snares that come from our corrupted flesh, however.
Prayers from the Presidential Prayer Team
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
President Barack Obama began a new round of Mideast peace talks with a pledge that violence in the West Bank
should not deter the American, Israeli and Palestiian leaders from pushing ahead with their negotiations.
An executive order signed Monday by President Obama will strengthen general sanctions against North Korea and
freeze the U.S. assets of several entities that distribute arms and luxury goods to leaders in Pyongyang.
Pray for President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and President Abas as they meet.
Father, I pray that I never fall prey to the snares that are listed in the prayer above. There are some that still may apply to me, but you have brought me beyond most of them. I don’t lust after riches and power. If I desire more money, it is because I desire to be out of debt and to be able to be of help to others in the world. I have no desire whatsoever for might and power. However, let me always be watching against the desires of the flesh, so that I can resist them when they come by submitting to your Spirit.
Let me not become too proud by saying that I have never taken a life in this world. I have, in fact, been excessively angry, and have sinned greatly by doing so. Let us never think that we have perfectly kept your commands, when in fact, we fall far short of the commandments that you have given. Else, why would we ever have needed the blood of Christ to save us??
I thank you for the confidence and joy that comes from knowing you. I pray that I would be as grateful for my salvation as the jailer in Acts was. Sometimes I know that I take your grace for granted and am not as thankful for it as I should be.
I praise you, Father, that you never change. I am very glad that you are not subject to the types of mood swings that I find myself experiencing. Otherwise, you would be very angry sometimes, and possibly smite us all. We would have the same feelings about you as primitive people did about their “gods,” and always felt they had to make sacrifices to keep the “gods” from being angry. We are blessed to have a God, the REAL and only TRUE God, who is eternally changeless. You have given us the way to have a relationship with you, and we have a refuge and hiding place that we can run to when we need comfort and help.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
I pray for Christi today, as she goes back to the doctor for a followup to her surgery. Should get the staples out today.
Let the peace of God reign in your lives today, and find that confidence and joy in him. And try not to kill anyone. 😀
Grace and peace, friends.
Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy 
keep writing!