the journey (step nine)

 During our summer holidays a couple of years ago liz and I spent a decent part of a day at Dumfries House in East Ayrshire. The weather was perfect so we found a seat underneath one of the trees and enjoyed the tranquility of that spot for while. I then went over and sat under a tree opposite to read the Sunday Times which normally takes me most of the week to get through! It’s a bit of holiday tradition!

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a family siting on a similar seat to ours perhaps about 15-20 metres away. Mum and dad were glued to their mobile phones while their son and daughter tried to busy themselves around them. Slowly I became focused on the unfolding drama. The little boy was doing everything to get his dad’s attention. He ran around in front of him repeatedly asking “Dad, what are we doing next?” When that attempt failed he climbed onto the back of the seat, balancing there and saying ‘Dad, look at me’. No reaction whatsoever from Dad. He then moved round the back of mum and dad, took his dad’s hand and ruffled his mum’s hair. Zero response from either parents. But the one that floored me was when he was playing in the grass and he suddenly shot up in excitement saying, “Dad, look I’ve found a yellow spider.” Not the slightest acknowledgement from dad. For that entire episode he was transfixed with whatever was on his mobile phone screen. It confirmed one of the biggest misnomers of our age. This thing we call ‘social media’ is actually an incredibly individualist pursuit that shuts out real life interaction with others. The wee boy eventually resigned himself to playing with stones in the immediate vicinity. 

I went over to Liz after a wee while and said, “I’m just watching a tragedy unfold.” You see, I imagine in a few years time that young lad’s questions will have dried up and dad’s opportunity for engagement may have gone. Admittedly I don’t now the backstory to that family and every parent has had days when their energy for family life is low. However, the signs that day were less than promising. 

That story brings me to the next “Song of Ascents" on “the journey,” Psalm 128. In my mind I’ve set the incident at Dumfries House beside Psalm 128. It’s brought me to appreciate that…

We get one shot at this thing called life. 

In light of that Psalm 128 encourages us to see:

✦ The gift of life as a blessing (verse 1)
“Blessed - happy and fortunate - is everyone who fears, reveres and worships the Lord, who walks in his ways, and lives according to his commandments” (TAB).
What a beautiful picture of life as God intended.

We have this grand pronouncement of happiness on all who fear God and walk in his ways. The fear of the Lord doesn’t mean that we cower in a corner at the sound of his approach. The fear of God means that we’re in awe of God’s majesty so that we approach him with great reverence and respect. It means that we take God seriously. 

Consider how the psalmist develops his thought - those who fear the Lord are those who walk in God’s ways. In other words a right attitude towards God leads to right actions in your life. Jesus said something similar in John 14:21: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. 

Psalm 128 encourages us to see:
✦ The provision of employment as a blessing (verse 2) 

“You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” (verse 2)
I don’t believe that this necessarily means that you’ll become wealthy or rich, but rather that you’ll find fulfilment in your work and that your work will provide for your needs. 

Hard work is taken for granted, but this Psalm makes it clear, as Psalm 127 does, that enjoyment of its fruits is a gift from God. 

Psalm 128 encourages us to see:
✦ The legacy of family as a blessing (verse 3-4)
The psalmist paints a picture of marriage that is both fruitful and faithful. 

And it portrays family life in the rather quaint terms of verse 3. "Your wife will be a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots round your table."

The image of olive shoots around the table is the picture of a mature, established olive tree with young shoots springing up out of the soil all around it. It’s a common sight in that region. The olive shoots represent youth and energy and, above all, promise. Psalm 144:12 offers a similar image when it says: “Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.” 

It’s an ideal image because the olive is a slow growing tree. It can take ten to fifteen years before it bears any fruit, but once established the olive tree it will produce fruit for decades to come. That’s the picture this Psalm gives of our children. It will take some time before they grow to independence and maturity. As parents we need to be patient with our children as we raise them in the training and instruction of the Lord. 

Psalm 128 encourages us to see:
✦ The context of the community of God’s people as a blessing (verses 5-6)
If godliness can be too individualistic, and a family too self-contained, then the final two verses take care of that. Zion, where the faithful gather, is where you can expect to find blessing; and your family’s future is bound up in Zion’s welfare. 

This is the village that helps raise the child. 

Employment, family and the community of God's people are to be viewed as God's gracious gifts to his people. The person who reveres the Lord will view them as such and cherish all that God has blessed them with in life.

(picture - Ben Eich, near Luss on Loch Lomondside)

'the journey' playlist...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD

the journey (step eight)

We are now beyond the half way point on “the journey” as we reflect on Psalm 127. 

The “Songs of Ascents” have provided the route map to guide our steps. The big themes that flow out of these songs encourage us on our way and give us the impetus to keep going when our spirits are flagging and our energy is running low.

What we encounter in today’s song runs counter to the way that many in society view life. Here we learn the truth that all that I am and all that I ultimately achieve in life is a gift from God.

The psalm recognises the Lord’s sovereign place in my circumstances. It speaks about his presence in some of the key areas of life.

Two particular pursuits come to light as we mediate on this song. The importance of…

➡️ Building the Kingdom (verses 1-2)

When we reflect on how we can effectively serve God, Solomon reminds us that, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain” (verse 1).

The question that follows is…

How do we build an effective work for God?

One of the great pioneer missionaries of the 19th century, Hudson Taylor, once wrote that “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

What is God’s way of building his kingdom?

Our mindset and the ‘materials’ we use are vitally important.

Firstly, we must be “all in.” 

“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not vain.”

(1 Corinthians 15:58)

We are called to seek God’s will and follow God’s instructions (Holy Scripture) in our service for him.

And secondly, we must do so standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow believers. I have always been fond of Nehemiah chapter 3. Nehemiah is burdened by the state of Jerusalem. Its walls are broken and its gates have been burned by fire. However, he sets to work to rebuild the city and enlists the help of its inhabitants to make it happen. What I love about the chapter is the way in which everyone (with one exception, see verse 5) works shoulder to shoulder to make it happen and the walls are rebuilt in a record breaking 52 days!

With God’s Word to guide us and God’s people to support us the grand edifice of the God's kingdom is taking shape.

The song also focuses on…

➡️ Growing a Family (verses 3-5)

The birth of a child remains one of life’s great joys and is a source of profound wonder.

I do, however, remember being filled with a deep sense of inadequacy as a parent when my children were little. One day I was standing in the queue at our local bank when words came into my mind that I scribbled on the back of a deposit slip (remember them?).

Here is what I wrote down…

What can I do, Lord, what can I do

to grow a son who honours You?

who finds his inspiration and delight

in knowing he’s a child of God by right;

who loves Your Word and people too,

with mind and heart that’s always true.

What can I do, Lord, what can I do

to be a dad who models You?

with patience, grace and discipline right,

who rests on You, draws from Your might;

whose hope for him and those I love

is focused on my Lord above.

This I will do, Lord, this I will do

obey Your law and pray to You,

reveal to him Your Father-heart,

in time and effort do my part,

I’ll walk with You and love my son

until on earth my journey’s done.

(September 19 2000)

The overwhelming sense that the Lord has gifted our children to us for a time remains with me to this day.

As Psalm 127 reminds us,

“Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?

the fruit womb his generous legacy?

Oh, how blessed are you parents,

with your quivers full of children!”

(The Message, verses 3-5)

Psalm 127 takes us to the kernel of life lived in the presence of God. His kingdom and the way he has placed us in families are themes that occupy us on the next section of “the journey.”

(picture - Boboli Gardens, Florence)

"the journey" playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD

 

the journey (step seven)

There are some passages of scripture that we’ve travelled with longer and that have impacted our lives more than others (What scriptures are especially precious to you?). Psalm 126 is one of those passages in my life.

I recall reading it in my early 20s and being stuck by its poetic words. I asked a friend to preach at the small church I was part of back then and he chose this psalm as his focus. It was lovely to hear a reflection on its content. What was it about Psalm 126 that made such an impression upon me? 

In a word, JOY.

I guess many of us have faced two objections to the Christian faith in conversations with friends outside the church. We are either hypocrites or we are dour!  I believe that Psalm 126 emphasises that a believer has shed tears that the world at large knows nothing about (verses 4-6) but has experienced joy it has no real knowledge of (verses 1-3). 

Joy is a hallmark of Christian discipleship. 

C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, “Letters to Malcolm,” that “joy is the serious business of heaven.” Lewis’s understanding of Christian joy tells me that it is not a fleeting or superficial emotion but a deep and profound characteristic of life in the kingdom of God. Joy is not about temporary happiness, which often depends on external circumstances, but something lasting that flows out of a relationship with God. 

On the May Bank Holiday Monday this year (26th) I spent a chunk of the day walking in the Glencoe region. I also enjoyed stopping off at one of my favourite coffee shops, “Craft and Things,” at Ballachulish. 

I must have sat there for well over an hour with Psalm 126 open before me and notebook by my side. The following is what I noted down…

The psalmist finds joy when he looks in two directions…

⬅️ In verses 1-3 he looks back to what the Lord has done.

The background to this psalm is likely to be the Lord’s judgement in consigning his people to exile in Babylon because of their wilful disobedience. And then in an act of infinite grace and mercy he moves the heart of a pagan king to open up the way to return to the land of promise. The verses express the thoughts and feelings of those who returned to Jerusalem. 

“We were like those who dreamed.” I can imagine God’s people saying, “Is this really happening…This far exceeds our greatest expectations.”

Nations looked on and acknowledged the goodness of God (verse 2).

God’s people looked up and expressed their unbridled joy at all that he had done for them. “…we are filled with joy” (verse 3).

It is helpful for us today to build into our quiet times moments when we reflect on the Lord’s gift of grace and his wise leading in our lives. He has also given us the Lord’s Supper whereby we are regularly reminded of the depth of his love for us - “vast as the ocean.” These sacred occasions have the potential to reawaken joy and fill our cup to overflowing (Psalm 23:5).

➡️ In verses 4-6 he looks forward to what the Lord will do.

There is a tremendous shift in the experience of God’s people in the present moment. Clear evidence of the Lord moving has been replaced by a dry and barren season. 

Tears have replaced joy.

However, hope is stirring in the hearts of the redeemed. The Lord can and will restore their fortunes. “Songs of joy” will once again resound in the hearts of his people (verses 5 & 6). What is required is that they submit to the Lord with humble and contrite hearts.

As we pause on our journey today we can look back to all the way the Lord has led us. And we can look forward knowing that he is with us and will guide our steps. That knowledge is the source of “solid joy” to quote John Newton’s famous hymn (‘Glorious things of thee are spoken’).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit  you may abound in hope."

(Romans 15:13)

'the journey' playlist...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD

the journey (step six)

I arrived reasonably early at the large car park south of Crianlarich with the aim of climbing ‘An Caisteal’ (the Castle). The cloud cover was down but it was a relatively calm morning. On reaching the first main plateau at around 700m I was fully enveloped in cloud. And by the time I walked onto the summit the wind had picked up quite considerably. Sheltering behind a large cairn, I enjoyed a quick snack. However, by the time I was ready to leave the wind was so ferocious that it was almost impossible to stand. The only course of action was to get down on my hands and knees, get my body into the lowest possible position, and crawl off the summit! 

It’s not easy to stand when you are buffeted by the elements. 

It’s not easy to stand when you are assailed by doubts and fears and all manner of other challenges that life throws at us.

When reflecting on these moments in life, I’m reminded of a question that pops up in the Old Testament, asked by a pagan king, in taunting fashion, to God’s people, 

“On what are you basing your confidence?” (2 Chronicles 32:10).

Regardless of how it is asked, it remains a great question. When it comes to life and faith, on what are you basing your confidence? 

Are you...

➣ Lacking in confidence?

➣ Self confident?

➣ Over-confident?

➣ God confident? 

How would you fair in “a vote of confidence”?!!

Step six on “the journey” (Psalm 125) reveals where the psalmist’s confidence lies and the reason for such trust. It enables us to see how he can stand firm in his faith.

Verse 1 presents us with a picture of the person who trusts in the Lord.

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.”

As we reflect on this sentence we must pay heed to the strong warning in Scripture against misplaced confidence in the Christian life. The apostle Paul exhorts, “let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

In another place, Paul informs us about the true nature of Christian confidence. “…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then…”

(Ephesians 6:10-14). The message is clear. 

We can stand because the Lord is able to make us stand.

Coming back to our Psalm for this week, Eugene Peterson writes, “The emphasis of Psalm 125 is not on the precariousness of the Christian life but on its solidity.” The eternal security of the believer is assured and is experienced through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The metaphor changes in verse two. The Lord is now pictured as a mountain range around the city of Jerusalem. "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore." The image speaks of his protection through life and on into eternity..."both now and forevermore."

Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4 act as a wonderful New Testament counterpart to this psalm:

“We are afflicted in every way but not crushed;

we are perplexed but not in despair;

we are persecuted but not abandoned;

we are struck down but not destroyed.”

(verses 7-10)

I am currently reading Bear Grylls' autobiography. In it he tells of a free-fall parachute accident that resulted in him breaking his back in three places. He reflects on the days of recovery as ones in which his faith in Christ sustained him. "At that time, in and out of hospital, it reminded me that, despite the pain and despair, I was held and loved and blessed - my life was secure through Jesus Christ."

Bear Grylls was able "to stand" through suffering and adversity because, as Psalm 125 reminds us, our faith in the Lord fortifies us and his presence encircles us. 

(picture - the grounds of Culzean Castle)