Tuesday, December 20: Psalm 149- A whisper regarding humbleness.

This Psalm seems to have 2 parts and I struggled to connect with the harshness of the second, so when my meditation time came I chose (was led?) to meditate on the first 5 verses and particularly verses 4-5:

For the LORD takes delight in his people;

he crowns the humble with victory.

Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds.

I keep looking at and pondering the first couplet. His people and humble seem to be paired, as if His people are to be humble people. Humility is not a virtue I see in great quantities these days, in the church or anywhere. And humility and victory rarely seem to go together. I am working to process how to piece these together and particularly how to piece them together in my life. I have so few living examples, I guess this is a road I must plow for myself.

The second couplet goes:

Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds.

Rejoice in what honor? Probably that the Lord delights in us, his people, humble people who have been granted victory. But it could look back to the gladness expressed in the king (2). Possibly the two are connected in that Israel has won a victory and the people are rejoicing in God over the victory.

I struggle to step into this Psalm… I return to verse 4, For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. I sense a whisper from the Lord calling me to humbleness… a ceasing of puffing out my chest coupled with the deepest sense that all I have and am comes from the Lord.

This recognition pulls me to my knees in prayer, praise and thanks to the Lord God Almighty… my Lord and my God.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the God of creation, who bends an ear to me, who lifts me from the muck and mire, who has given me favor when I deserve none.

Lord, I thank and bless You for all You have given.  I pray that I use my resources, my intelligence and my life speaking out for You and Your Gospel around the world. I pray this in and through Jesus, my Savior. Amen.