Marketplace Monastics

In this Psalm, we sense a slight shift, a turning from desperation and a fresh perspective and determination.  For our Desperate Little Friends and for us, too, we pray the grace and revelation and courage needed to say and to live accordingly:

You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing!

Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”
³ I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

May those we love and for whom we pray seek out the noble ones in the land, and join them.  May we all take delight in what is truly noble, true religion in a humble heart, obedience to the engrafted Word and the Spirit of truth!

⁴ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.

Lord God!  There is no other portion, except death and destruction and selfishness, which is death and destruction.  All good things come from You!  May we and those for whom we pray live in this reality.  In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Allegory of the Eucharist

Alexander Coosmans, public domain, death of the artist, Wikipedia, by permission

I do love this Psalm so much! No offense concerning the rest of Your Word, Lord!  Pray with me today for your own heart as I pray concerning mine, and for those who seem to be far, far away from this degree of blamelessness – or any degree of blamelessness – and far from even the desire to live and walk blamelessly with God.

            A neighbor.  An ex-husband or wife.  The son of a friend, in prison.  A wayward child.  A political person who sets your teeth on edge!  Pray with me …

            I don’t know about you, but I didn’t always want this life, either!

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Father God, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, like You said, and where, oh where, does any of us begin to want to fear You, or to be wise? All this comes from You, and that anyone should ever desire to dwell in Your tent, which is Christ, that, too, comes from You.  I desire it! Give that desire to those for whom I pray.

    Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

This, seldom as we realize it, is the goal!  This is the place, the whole idea, the sum of all things, to dwell in Your Presence, to sojourn in Christ.  We remind ourselves.  We call this to mind; then we wander off and do our own thing and think our own thoughts and want our own devices … but You are faithful.  Give to our Dear Lost Friends what we need ourselves, Almighty God!

Now for the big, long list:

² He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
    and speaks truth in his heart;
³ who does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴ in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ who does not put out his money at interest
    and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

On the surface, we might say, “That’s us!” and under closer scrutiny we might say, we’ve failed a little in all of all of that, but what really matters is that You, Lord Jesus, have grace toward blamelessness in abundance for us and for those for whom we pray.  Set us straight, us and them!  May we, together, become the blameless in the land.  Amen.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Alexander Zick, Schneewittchen (SnowWhite), unknown date, by permission, Wikipedia, death of the artist

This ancient and plaintive cry is as contemporary as the world around us, and when we consider, when we see, it pleads even now on behalf of those lost in darkness and oppressions.

Look!  “All have turned away, all have become corrupt!”  Sometimes it does seem so.  “All” around us beg the mercy of “no restraints.”  Are they the evildoers, the “all” whom have become corrupt, or are they the “all” that have stumbled, failed, grown faint, but are not cast headlong?

I would offer this possibility: if you love them, if I love them, they are not ALLtogether forsaken!

“All” we hear about is the destruction of families, values, just judgments, moral codes, respect for authority and so much more, but very little about the devourer who devours.  He is the evildoer, whose chomping and grinding and swallowing up God’s people tears as through a loaf over dinner, and although such munching and crunching is all around us, but we are praying.

We can scarcely distinguish between the devourer and the loaf. Sometimes both want unrestricted access to unbridled predilections.  How about the children of believers, out on their own, making destructive decisions, choosing ways that are as false today as they were in David’s time?  How about our near neighbors, sometimes annoying, sometimes uncivil, disenfranchised, without civic responsibility?  Our friends and their families, with one or two bad apples in every bushel?  Are they excused because we care about them, even in their wrongdoing?

Why not?  For such were some of us, unruly, unrestrained, ungodly, but now, we have found mercy.

All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

For Jesus’ sake, Lord God, let the harvest be full and filled with those gathered in because we prayed. 

Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.

We acknowledge our inability to discern between the wicked and the could-be righteous in this life, but we take love as our guide, and we want to love as far and as wide as faith will sustain us.

But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.

Yes!  The most hardened may become the most contrite, if You, O Lord, will cause Your glorious voice to be heard and Your fear to be gifted to those we love.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Willliam Holman Hunt, The Light of the World, between 1851 and 1856,

public domain, life of the artist, Wikipedia

The fool says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

² The Lord looks down from heaven
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
    any who seek God.

I wonder what most of us think the Lord is looking for?  The Word of God reveals a few things, such as humility and the fear of the Lord, but among them is that quality of seeking and searching hard for You, Lord.

We know it when we think about it, though we seldom do … there is no such thing as marking time with God.  We are moving forward or losing ground.  Graciously, the Lord stays with us, never leaves us, and keeps us.  That makes all the difference, but our souls are made for seeking, and we are most healthy when all life’s trials lead us to a healthy, rousing search for God, our Truth.

For our Dear and Desperate Little Friends, grant them wisdom, Father, and grace, and truth to LOOK FOR YOU and to FIND YOU and to escape the foolishness of denying Your love and care over Your own.  Amen.

Hide and Seek, William Bliss Baker, 1881,Wikipedia, by permission

Public Domain, death of the artist

Praying through the Psalms for those we love …

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

                Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”

    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;

    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Indeed, Father, see these loved ones, give light to their eyes. In your light may they, with us, discern between spiritual and devilish oppression and their own sin and guilt.

With light, give them GRACE to overcome, to repent where needed, to stand and fight the good fight of faith, to spurn the advances of their enemies through their own repentance, love, compassion, and purity of heart.

Never let their foes rejoice or triumph, O Lord!

Until they can fully trust Your unfailing love … we do so on their behalf!  And our hearts rejoice on their behalf.

Une leçon clinique a la Salpetriere, Wikipedia, Andre Brouillet, public domain, by permission

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?      

Psalm 13:1, 2

Psalm 13 is repetitive.  We can learn a lot from that.

In three parts, David cries out once again, “How long, Lord?”

He then tells, or reminds, the Lord that He has enemies and that they are oppressing him.

Then his gratitude and trust overflow.

If we don’t like repetition in our reading, we should stop here!  This pattern repeats!

Seeing as it’s the WORD OF THE LORD, perhaps we will ponder the reason for so much of the same in Scripture.

For one thing, certainly, David does not seem to have spent the time we do merely mulling over his condition.  He kept up a running conversation about it with God, unashamed an unabashed in his pleas for help, always bringing his heart back to the reality of God’s love, power, and Presence.

For another, he shows us that even a man loved by God has to go through stuff and is expected to keep the faith.

Warrior that he was, successful as was his career in the wilderness, he continued to get strength and all help from the source of all strength and all help.

In the wilderness or in the palace, he knew the battle was enjoined.

This too, and very important: he never capitulated. Those opposed to him were opposed to God.  He had not chosen himself, but God chose him. Knowing this, he called those who sought his life by their proper names … the wicked.

Have you not, have not I, someone in your life, chosen by God but tormented, pursued by wicked powers and minions?  Stretched beyond healthy human endurance?  Today we can decide that those opposed to them are opposed to God, and today we can begin to cry out, “How long, Lord?  They are hunted and oppressed on every side!  You, though, are great and You will help when morning comes!” … and we can be as repetitive as we must until their deliverance comes.

Stretched beyond endurance … many have known this torment.

Streckbett, public domain in the U.S., by permission, Wikipedia

King David knew the Lord, and knew Him as must all of us, through His Word.  We need protection from the maligners.  “Sticks and stone may break our bones,” but words can wound so deep that we never recover.

How is it that children learn to mock and berate others before they can read and write?  What parent hasn’t had to instruct and lovingly compel a child to cast off cruel remarks, teasing, “put-downs”?

Yet how many parents teach their children what to do with spiritual maligning? Here within these few verses is the key that turns in the lock: maligners plunder with words, but the words of the Lord are “flawless,” and they will keep us safe.

Below are a few all-too-recognizable jabs at the human heart.  Let’s pray together today for those we love who have fallen victim.

“Your life is worthless.”

“I have made you to be a nation of kings and priests.” (Revelation 1:6)

“No one understands you or could ever really love you.”

“I know your going out and your coming in; I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

“With this fall, you will never rise again.”

“It is to his own master he will stand or fall, and he will stand, for I am able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4)

“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord.

LORD, WE NEED YOU TO ARISE TO THE DEFENCE OF THOSE WE LOVE, THOSE MIRED IN LIES AND RECRIMINATIONS, BUT HELP US, TOO, TO RISE UP AND PROCLAIM THE TRUTH THEY DON’T YET BELIEVE.
    “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
⁶ And the words of the Lord are flawless,
    like silver purified in a crucible,
    like gold refined seven times.

  NOTHING PROTECTS LIKE THE TRUTH!  WE WILL SPEAK IT AND PRAY IT FOR THOSE WE LOVE, EVEN FOR THOSE MOST DESPERATELY LOST.

⁷ You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
    and will protect us forever from the wicked,
⁸ who freely strut about
    when what is vile is honored by the human race.  

 WE SEE THE VILENESS AROUND US; OPEN OUR EYES TO SEE AND PROCLAIM YOUR TRUTH CONCERNING THE WEAK AND THE NEEDY, MALIGNED AND FAINTING.

Scheherazade, Sophie Anderson, by permission, Wikipedia

(a note: many of the instances I found of words used to wound or damage were too awful to publish)

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

King David must have spent hours and hours in bitterness of heart, cast off, hunted, fleeing the wrath of a king and his armies, hiding out, a prey to mortal wickedness. When we talk, or even THINK, like this, we repent of such negativity, yet we certainly do feel like this sometimes.  Startlingly, when we confront the works of darkness, it’s simply true.

Who among us has not known someone caught in a net of deceit, shot at from the shadows and hit, wounded, left dying?  No wholesome or truthful thoughts in their minds.

For them, for ___________________ and __________________ we care deeply.  May the Lord silence those who boast of prevailing over those for whom pray!

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

TRULY, IT SEEMS SO AT TIMES, FATHER, BUT YOUR LOVE IS UNFAILING, YOUR WORD IS TRUE, AND BY IT WE LIVE AND PRAY.  WE BRING BEFORE YOU THOSE YOU HAVE GIVEN TO US TO CARE ABOUT, LOST IN LIES AND WASTED IN WOUNDS PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL.

² Everyone lies to their neighbor;
    they flatter with their lips
    but harbor deception in their hearts.

NOT FOR OURSELVES TODAY, BUT FOR THOSE SUFFERING FROM LIES AND DECEPTIONS, WE PRAY.  WE LIFT UP TO YOU DEAR ONES WHO’VE BEEN CAUGHT IN THE NET OF DECEIT AND DESTRUCTION, LIED TO CONTINUALLY.

³ May the Lord silence all flattering lips
    and every boastful tongue—
⁴ those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

YOU, O LORD! YOU ARE LORD OVER THOSE WHO LORD THEIR WICKEDNESS OVER THE ONES WE LOVE.  IN YOUR MIGHTY POWER AND BEAUTIFUL GRACE, FREE THOSE FOR WHOM WE PRAY, FATHER!

The Beguiling of Merlin, Edward Burne-Jones, by Permission, Wikipedia

¹ In the Lord I take refuge.
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
² For look, the wicked bend their bows;
    they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
    at the upright in heart.

             Lord God!  Have mercy!

Have we not all known people, men, women, and children, about whom we have said, “He was a great kid!”  “She was a loving wife and mother!”  “He was a terrific dad!” … and then … spiritual disaster!

The wicked bent their bows and set their arrows to the strings.  They shot from the shadows, the shadows of hearts with tiny fears, flickering doubts, smoldering unforgiveness.

The wicked shot from the shadows and hit the mark, and those we have known and loved as children, cohorts, friends, congregants have fallen and some, unable to rise.

The wicked have arrows, but we have shields and swords.  Now we wield them!

“In the Lord I take refuge”, AND FATHER GOD, WE BRING THOSE WE LOVE INTO THE SHELTER OF YOUR SALVATION.  WE CAN’T SAVE THEM, BUT YOU CAN!
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain.”  THIS ONE _______________ AND THAT ONE ______________________ HAVE FLED FROM GRACE AND FROM THE TRUTH OF YOUR UNFAILING LOVE.  WE BRING THEM IN OUR HEARTS AND IN OUR PRAYERS.  WE LIFT UP OUR VOICES!  WE WILL NOT DESERT THEM!

“For look, the wicked bend their bows;
    they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
    at the upright in heart.”  THE WICKED LIE IN WAIT ALL DAY AND NIGHT, BUT WE ARE LEARNING TO BE WATCHFUL, JUST AS YOU SAID WE MUST, LORD, AND WE HAVE COMMITTED OUR SOULS TO CARE DEEPLY AND WITH FERVENCY OF INTERCESSION AND PLEADING ON THEIR BEHALF. 

SOME SAY, “THEY HAVE A FREE WILL.  THEY SHOULD REPENT AND TURN.”  WE SAY, IF THEIR WILLS WERE TRULY FREE, THEY WOULD HAVE TURNED ALREADY!  SET _______________________ AT LIBERTY TO CONFESS AND REPENT AND RECONSIDER AND RETURN, IN JESUS NAME!!  AMEN.

Cave painting, Battle Between Archers, Source, Pacheco, by permission, Wikipedia

In the Lord I take refuge.

You have just read the first verse of Psalm 11.  “In the Lord I take refuge.”  I’ve singled it out today that, in its utter simplicity we may pray with vehement fervency for those we love who have no refuge for their souls.

When we think of those we love, our Dear and Desperate Little Friends, those for whom we have been praying, we know that, could they but hide their hearts in Jesus Christ, they could and would heal and be revived.

Some of us are praying for loved ones who are greatly oppressed by others, even incarcerated.  Some of us are praying for those who, in their own woundedness and pride, do a lot of the oppressing.  Still we love them, and we care deeply about their immortal souls.  In us they have a friend who sees better than they do that God is love and that all they need, all joy and peace and forgiveness and newness of life are in Him.

All for whom we pray have this in common: they have an enemy of their souls, ready to snatch them from all knowledge of mercy and truth.  But they, our D.L.F.s, have us, and we have faith in God.

Nothing shall be impossible to the one who believes.  Elizabeth said that of Mary, and she should know.   How can we want good for those who are weak and frightened and without hope, and our prayers be unanswered?  Do they disregard God more than we have regard for their souls, their spiritual and emotional well-being?

With our prayers today, let’s answer that question!

“The Favorite” Georgios Jakobides, 1890, Wikipedia, by permission