GOD’S WORD—Psalm 80:3-7
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
MEDITATION
In the midst of the warmth and goodwill of the holiday season comes this prayer from an angry psalmist. It strikes a discordant note and doesn’t mesh well with images of all things bright and beautiful that we view at Christmas. The prayer actually calls God to account for an embarrassing predicament: the people of God were facing scorn and laughter from enemies and neighbors.
Along with the fevered lament comes a plea for restoration and salvation. Had the divine ears gone deaf? The answer of Christmas is a resounding no. The “lion’s share” of the scorn and laughter was ultimately heaped upon the babe of Bethlehem. His entire life was under attack: from King Herod who tried to kill him in infancy to the crowds that mocked Him at His crucifixion. Nevertheless, the purposes of God worked out. Sin – in all its dizzying, dismal, and discordant variety – was paid for at Calvary’s cross, and the resurrection of Christ from the grave was God’s “Yes!” to our pleas – angry though they be – for restoration and salvation.
PRAYER
Stir up, we beseech You, O Lord, Your power and come; and with great might protect us, so that our deliverance, impeded by our sins, may be hastened by Your gracious mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
VERSE
O Key of David,
Scepter over the house of Israel,
You open and no one can close,
You close and no one can open:
Come to set free the prisoners
Who live in darkness and the shadow of death.
No comments:
Post a Comment