Psalm 14:1-2
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.”
Psalm 85:10-11
“Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.”
These verses follow the pattern we often see in the Psalms,* God looks down on the earth (Big picture) and we look around. (Little picture.). When one can only see the little picture, limited by time, space, and lack of wisdom, one must live by faith. Yes faith, but faith in what becomes the critical question.
One can put their faith in themselves and hold tight to the small picture one can know. We can find all kinds of things, people, gurus, philosophies on which we place our faith/trust, but in the end, all are just looking around just like us. Or, we put our faith/ trust in the One who looks down on the earth. The implication is that He is separate from yet interested in what goes on down here. I love the picture here in this Psalm that attributes righteousness to this perspective.
Perspective matters. If we are flat-landers, only looking around because we are too ignorant, foolish or stubborn to look up, the consequences are that we become evil rather than good.
God looks down. This vertical component is what gives perspective and weight to the looking around. When we look up, as He looks down, when we engage, "knowledge" (Wisdom) is the result. Knowledge is connection, relationship, engagement, and it gives perspective that can lead to good.
The One who looks down is good. The Biblical Story is that the One who looks down, is good, is the author of all that is down here, and desires an intimate connection with down here. The Story tells us that the One looking down has revealed Himself to us and will show us the way, the meaning and connectedness to time, space, and wisdom if we follow Him. How connected, how good, we become is related to our faithfulness in following.
“Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.”
Am I drawn to these words as I read or do they push me away? The answer to that question will tell me the condition of my heart.
LHM/CHM
*Ps. 14:1-2, 33:13-14, 53:1-2, 80:14, 113:4-7, 146:3-8.
**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog. This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life. I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends. We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes. Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment