Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

Psalm 2. The Lord laughs. Day 3. Jan 3rd

By

Psalm 2

 1 Why do the nations conspireb]’>[b];
   you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”


 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
   be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear
   and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
   and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
   Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

When that nations conspire, and the people plot, when the kings rise up, and the rulers band together against the Lord, what does the Lord do.

He laughs. He scoffs at them. He holds them in derision.

Therefore, O Christian, be not afraid when people conspire, plot and rise up and band together against you. Make the Lord your refuge, and you will be blessed. Leave it to him to rebuke them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath. 

This is one of the Messianic Psalms, traditionally supposed to refer to Christ, the Messiah.

The One who is Blessed: Psalm 1,Day 1. Jan 1st

By

The One who is Blessed

Psalm 1
 1 Blessed is the one
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take 
Wow! This is a pretty intense and meaty 6 sentences. I like it because I have always wanted God’s blessing, and here is a description of what that looks like.
The one who is blessed is one who does not do what the wicked do. You may land up more righteous than most, even goody-goody, but your reward will be the blessing of the Lord, which, after all, is what you really want.

or sit in the company of mockers, 
He has nothing to do with mocking, or such nastiness. There is something diabolical about mocking because it undermines your opponent’s dignity. 
Because when you mock you do not say what you really mean, which is a trait of the speech of God.

2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and who meditates on his law day and night. 
The one who is blessed delights in God’s word, and meditates on it continually.
As our hearts and actions are shaped by the objects of our thoughts and meditation, so too our destiny is shaped by the objects of our thought and meditation.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, 
The person rooted in God’s word will be as rooted and reliable and unshakeable as one planted by ever-fresh streams of water.
And God’s word will be for him these streams of living water

which yields its fruit in season 
And the season of ripeness for individuals does not follow natural laws. In the right season according to God’s timetable, the one rooted in God’s word will bear fruit.

and whose leaf does not wither— 
Because it draws nourishment from God’s streams of living water, God’s law, and God’s word.
The fruit befits the roots,

whatever they do prospers.
And this is another mark of the one rooted in God’s word, who does what he hears from God. Whatever he does, prospers.
I think of Samuel’s words to Saul 1 Sam 10:6 The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

 4 Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
 which the wind blows away
Impermanence and transitoriness, fickleness and shadows of changing, marks the ways of the wicked, in contrast to the rooted stability of the righteous.
The wicked are impermanent and transitory
They are best ignored
Sooner or later, in this life or the next
The wind will blow them away.

  5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
 nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
 God watches over those who seek to do the right thing.
But the way of the wicked is a moral downward spiral,
Whether visible to the eye or not.
It will end as all downward spirals too.

The One who is Blessed: Psalm 1,Day 1. Jan 1st

By

The One who is Blessed

Psalm 1

 1 Blessed is the one
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take 

Wow! This is a pretty intense and meaty 6 sentences. I like it because I have always wanted God’s blessing, and here is a description of what that looks like.

The one who is blessed is one who does not do what the wicked do. You may land up more righteous than most, even goody-goody, but your reward will be the blessing of the Lord, which, after all, is what you really want.


or sit in the company of mockers, 

He has nothing to do with mocking, or such nastiness. There is something diabolical about mocking because it undermines your opponent’s dignity. 

Because when you mock you do not say what you really mean, which is a trait of the speech of God.


2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and who meditates on his law day and night. 

The one who is blessed delights in God’s word, and meditates on it continually.

As our hearts and actions are shaped by the objects of our thoughts and meditation, so too our destiny is shaped by the objects of our thought and meditation.


3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, 

The person rooted in God’s word will be as rooted and reliable and unshakeable as one planted by ever-fresh streams of water.

And God’s word will be for him these streams of living water


which yields its fruit in season 

And the season of ripeness for individuals does not follow natural laws. In the right season according to God’s timetable, the one rooted in God’s word will bear fruit.


and whose leaf does not wither— 

Because it draws nourishment from God’s streams of living water, God’s law, and God’s word.
The fruit befits the roots,


whatever they do prospers.

And this is another mark of the one rooted in God’s word, who does what he hears from God. Whatever he does, prospers.

I think of Samuel’s words to Saul 1 Sam 10:6 The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.


 4 Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff

 which the wind blows away

Impermanence and transitoriness, fickleness and shadows of changing, marks the ways of the wicked, in contrast to the rooted stability of the righteous.

The wicked are impermanent and transitory

They are best ignored

Sooner or later, in this life or the next

The wind will blow them away.


  5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
 nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

 God watches over those who seek to do the right thing.

But the way of the wicked is a moral downward spiral,

Whether visible to the eye or not.

It will end as all downward spirals too.

On radiance despite our shame

By

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:5

Shame is inevitable. We are people of unclean lips, and we live amidst a people of unclean lips. We are foolish, impulsive, make errors, misjudge, sin.

And radiance despite our sins, failures and shortcomings?

From looking to Him, to his acceptance. From dancing closely  with Him.

From hearing him sing over us the Father’s Song.

I have heard so many songs
Listened to a thousand tongues
But there is one
That sounds above them all
The Father’s song
The Father’s love
You sung it over me and for eternity
It’s written on my heart

CHORUS:
Heaven’s perfect melody
The Creator’s symphony
You are singing over me
The Father’s song

Heaven’s perfect mystery
The king of love has sent for me
And now you’re singing over me
The Father’s song.
 
The Father’s song
The Father’s love
You sung it over me and for eternity
It’s written on my heart
 

Matt Redman

Hiding yourself in God, Psalm 57

By

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the danger has passed. Psalm 57.

I love how the Psalms tune and sensitise my spirit, make me aware of thoughts and emotions I am barely conscious of.

I love praying. It is one of my very favourite things to do. I love how prayer flushes out and irrigates my soul. I love how I can hide myself in God until the danger has passed. And that is a very safe place to be.

Interestingly, really serious prayer, for me, a serious seeking of God’s face, that kind of prayer which clears my thoughts, and helps me to see things clearly, requires me to be on my knees.

Another aspect of the body-mind connection.

Scripture–The Psalms as therapy

By

A day of minor distraction, and perhaps a faint sense of not all being right with the world, and, of course, it isn’t! Sometimes, I feel very aware of the presence of evil.

Felt jangled and distracted inside. So, instead of writing, I settled down with the Psalms in my lovely new Bible, the ESV, and read it until I felt calm.

Sometimes, it’s as if it’s not I who am praying the Psalms, the Psalms are praying me.

Oh, what do I mean by that? It’s as if a deeper wisdom within my spirit, the same spirit which inspired the Psalms is praying them within me, settling me down.

The Psalms give voice to my deepest fears, and yearnings and reachings towards God. They elevate me. They remind me of who I truly am, and what I truly want and what I truly want to be.

Praying them, I am reminded again that truly is well with the world, for it is in the hands of a very good God, and I leave my life in his hands, and I feel peace.

 

Inviting Christ to Take Control in Our Areas of Competence

By

David, a shepherd, hails the LORD as his shepherd. Hmm.

And when Jesus invites Peter originally, and re-invites him again after the Resurrection, it is in the areas of his competence. You are a fisherman? Well then, fish men. You have laboured all night and caught nothing. Well, pal, cast your net where I tell you to.

Might we see the greatest breakthroughs and wonders and miracles if we invite God to step in in the areas of our competence? I think so.

Whatever our profession is, the Lord knows how to do it better, and WE can do it better if we trust him. The Lord is my writer. The Lord is my business manager.

I shall not want.
He makes me down to lie…