Psalm 89.1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord,
forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
(ESV)
"We're a team
Me and God" - Josh Turner*
When I read the Psalms I am overwhelmed by the depth of
relationship portrayed therein – the authors of the psalms knew God. They knew
God in a way that makes most modern thoughts of God pale in comparison. If
there is such a thing as a God expert,
the writers of the psalms come close.
The Psalms are sort of the Greatest Hits of Israel’s
music charts. They were written over a long period of time and capture the
essence of man’s relationship to his Creator. Every man is called to know God
and every man is mystified by such a relationship. Knowing God is more – way more
– that knowing about God. The Psalmists
knew God.
There’s a catchy little C&W song entitled, Me and God. Josh Turner wrote the song
and the lyrics above capture the essence of his work. I have a hard time with
his theology when I compare it to what is written in the Psalms – especially this
one that I’ve quoted: Psalm 89. But there are many who look at their
relationship with God and see themselves as only as God’s buddy: jus’ me and God. Don’t care what happens, it’s
jus’ me and God. I don’t think the writers of the Psalms saw themselves as
God’s bud.
We can be God’s bud
if we choose to be; but should we do so, I think we do at the risk of missing
out on knowing God by just knowing about God. I think most of the
writers of God’s Hymnal would probably roll their eyes at our modern view of
God.
Psalm 89 is written to proclaim God’s greatness but also
the mystery of what appears to be His absence. God is never absent, but I think
sometimes He is cataclysmically quiet. His quietness ought to get our
attention. I quit singing Me and God
when things get quiet. Quiet happens for a reason and if I’m deaf to the quiet
then I might miss out on what God is saying by His silence.
And so Psalm 89 ends with this thought: How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself
forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time
is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man! What man can live
and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of [the grave]?
(Vv. 46-48) Sometimes wondering why God seems so absent may mean understanding He’s
stopped, and we’ve kept on going like He was never there.
If God is just my Buddy then I’ve a shallow view of Who
He really is and what I’m really supposed to be. I want to be more like the
writers of the Psalms: bountifully blessed and morbidly mystified by the
presence of God…
*January 24, 2006, MCA Nashville, (C) 2005 MCA Nashville,
a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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