Daily Scriptures for March 9 2007 First Thoughts

Morning: Psalm 22:1-31; Jeremiah 5:1-9; Romans 2:25-3:18; John 5:30-47; Psalm 105:1-45

Well. The psalmist has said a mouth full today, speaking for those who have been all over the place with God and with enemies and pain and suffering, and back again. Psalm 22’s troubles are like living in a zoo of animals gone berserk.

Jeremiah has seen the same ravaging woes come upon the people – yet reminds us – we leave ourselves open game for evil and destruction, when we turn away from the One True God. We are vulnerable to unjust laws, cruelty and immorality, when we build our own flimsy self-protecting barriers against the world; when we put our hope in other “gods” to save us, like more money, sex, food, a promotion; putting our faith in prosperity gospel phonies, slick politicians, the government, a relationship. This is the sin of idolatry, says the Lord. It deserves punishment, says the Lord through Jeremiah:

⁷How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me, and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of prostitutes. ⁸They were well-fed lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife. ⁹Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; and shall I not bring retribution on a nation such as this?

Paul makes the same grim observation for Jews and Gentiles alike, quoting all the Old Testament prophesies as well in Romans 3:10-18. In sum, saying, all have turned away, have fallen short by seeking other respites, other gods, giving glory to others. Jesus too, knows that the result of seeking after human glory will bring death. Yet for believers in the one true God, deliverance comes from what would tear us limb to limb, financially, physically, emotionally. That seems always the psalmist’s conclusion after the terror:

⁴For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. (Psalm 22).

God rescues us from death through the glory of the resurrection – maybe not in this life, literally, but spiritually and at the end of the age. Jesus is “the glory that comes from the one who alone is God” (John 5). You may still feel the hot breath of wild animals at your back, but the glory of the Lord will ultimately destroy all that seeks to destroy you. And God will set you on a new safe path.

Believe.