A Time for Prayer – “Waiting for the Lord’s Deliverance
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyerian Church
January 21, 2024
Psalm 62
Mark 4: 14-20
Mark 1:14-20
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Psalm 62 (to be read with sung refrain – see Hymn 843)
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all according to their work.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
*****
I have a new friend who recently joined the Decatur Rotary Club.
His name is Lawrence Sharp; he’s been involved in real estate in Atlanta for decades. Some of you may know Lawrence. He’s a friendly, vibrant soul, a leader in his church and community. On occasion,
Lawrence will send me and others a Word Art text in the morning with an inspirational quote. I received one early on Thanksgiving morning, another on Christmas Eve.
Just the other day, as I was contemplating this sermon text, I received from Lawrence the following:
“Practice the pause. When in doubt, pause.
When angry, pause. When tired, pause.
When stressed, pause. And when you pause…PRAY.”
Helpful words to start the day, right? We are in the midst of a worship series titled “A Time for Prayer”. Every season is a time for prayer, but this season, this year, in particular, seems like an important time to pause, and to pray, an important time to wait for the Lord.
We do not know the details of situation of the psalmist, but we do know that he or she was waiting on the Lord, waiting on some form of deliverance from God. The author of this psalm clearly has experienced difficult times. The author has lived through enough of life to have witnessed both the evil deeds of humanity and the goodness of God’s divinity.
The author has learned, through experience it seems, not to rely fully on other human beings, or the promise of quick riches, but to trust in God alone. Someone, either the author or someone well known to the author, has been assaulted, has been “taken down”, as they say. The person has been attacked as one would attack a leaning wall or a tottering fence. A weakness was spotted, a potential to bring someone down, and whomever was trying to gain advantage attacked with intention, seeking to bring down a person of prominence.
This kind of thing happens all the time on social media these days. ith lies and falsehoods, someone’s reputation and livelihood is attacked, shot down, made to look worse than they are.
The psalmist’s response:
For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Vernon Gramling wrote in his blog this week that:
“Perhaps paradoxically, when we realize that the very nature of our being is vulnerable, we release our egocentric desires to protect ourselves with our savings, our exercise, our position in society or even our place in history. All of these things matter but they can never protect us from our ultimate vulnerability…
Everything earthly is transient. If we had any doubt that we are vulnerable creatures that cannot ensure our own safety, aging and loss will teach (us) the lesson. But, when we learn that lesson, we (finally) surrender to dependence upon God.”
(Vernon Gramling blog, 1/18/24)
Walter Brueggemann, world-renowned Old Testament scholar, would encourage us in class to look for the words that are repeated in a biblical text. In Psalm 62, for example, notice that the words “refuge”, “fortress”, “rock”, and “salvation” are each uttered twice in only twelve verses. God is our refuge and our rock, our fortress and our salvation.
Another helpful method for studying the psalms, or any biblical passage for that matter, is to ask the following three questions:
What does this psalm teach us about God?
What do we learn about humanity in this psalm?
What does this psalm tell us about the relationship between God and humankind?
First, what does Psalm 62 teach us about God? The psalmist asserts that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God is more powerful than our adversaries. God is trustworthy, reliable, good, fair. From God comes salvation and hope. And yes, from God also comes judgment.
With steadfast love, God will judge in order to save. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided: great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest; sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow: blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
(Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #185)
What do we learn about humanity in this psalm? The psalmist confesses that we humans are not so reliable, not so faithful to one another. Human beings will mistreat one another. Mortals will bless with their mouths, yet curse inwardly. We will take pleasure in falsehoods; we will set our hopes on riches. We will look to robbery and even extortion to make our way in this world. The psalmist reminds us all to be humble – it does not matter whether we are rich or whether we are poor, we are all lighter than a breath.
We are temporary, dependent, needy creatures. So what does this passage tell us about the relationship between God and humankind? The psalmist encourages us to trust in God. The psalmist does not say that God is some big vending machine in the sky. We cannot access what we want from God when we want it. The psalmist reminds us that we must wait upon God. God’s timing is not our timing.
Even so, the psalmist is convinced that God sees and God knows, and that God will respond. The promise is that we will find deliverance in God, and that part of our deliverance will be judgment for our sins.
For God alone, my soul waits in silence…
One of our Bible study members on Wednesday was talking about a challenging afternoon they experienced. It was one of those days where nothing was going right; everything was frustrating. They could feel their anxiety and heart rate rising. They knew they were not at peace in their heart and soul. Their soul was not silent, but on the verge of a panic attack. So, this person shared, they stopped immediately what they were trying to do. They removed themselves from a frustrating situation.
They paused to be still, to pray, to remember that God is God. They made a sincere effort to put this temporary, frustrating circumstance in the context of the bigger picture of their life. I have my health, they said. I have a good church, they said. I have a stable job and a place to live. I am not in any current danger; I will trust in God and not be afraid.
This was quite a mental and spiritual exercise for our friend. They recognized their own desperation and began the mental and spiritual calisthenics in order to move themselves into a different space. This is no small feat.
Another of our Bible study group members spoke about her recent practice of learning Centering Prayer. “Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us…to experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself…
Centering Prayer…facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer — verbal, mental or affective prayer — into a receptive prayer of resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Christ.”
(centeringprayer.com)
This weekend, our elders will gather offsite at Columbia Theological Seminary, just down South Columbia Drive, for our annual Elder Retreat. We covet your prayers for this event. Our holy task for this weekend will be to clari y and restate the mission of this congregation. We will be parsing out our core values as a people. We will be preparing a list of questions that we can ask ourselves when considering some course of action.
We will be seeking to discern a more-focused direction and purpose for our shared ministries in the years ahead. We covet your prayers for this important time of discernment.
Discernment is closely related to waiting upon the Lord. To be clear, waiting upon the Lord does not necessarily mean inactivity. At times, waiting upon the Lord requires us to be still, to be quiet, to listen carefully, with all distractions removed.
At other times, waiting upon the Lord includes going about our daily tasks, and taking note of where we discern God’s presence in the midst of our activity.
Trust in the Lord at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
I wonder if the same author penned Psalm 130 as well as Psalm 62. Psalm 130 cries out:
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
It is the Lord who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
The prophet Isaiah promised that those who wait on the Lord will find their strength renewed. Those who wait for the Lord will rise on wings like eagles. Those who wait for the Lord will run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Is. 40:31)
Friends, in whatever circumstance you find yourself this January 2024: Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage. (Psalm 27:14)
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
