Today we begin a new weekly feature a long time in the making. Beginning today, and continuing each Sunday indefinitely, we are launching an extended series on the Psalms. The Psalms are unique in that they express the whole of the human experience and do it all to the glory of God. (more…)
Introduction
Psalm 5 is a song of lament where David cries out to God as he is falsely accused by his enemies. There are five stanzas (small groups of verses set apart by a space) that alternate thematically between finding refuge in God (stanzas 1, 3, 5) and the hope of judgement and justice done against his enemies (stanzas 2, 4).
Groaning to God…
David’s song begins with a deep, heart wrenching request for God to hear his prayer. Depending on your translation he asks that God consider his groaning, sighing or meditation. Spurgeon makes a great observation here:
“There are two sorts of prayers—those expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent meditations. Words are not the essence but the garments of prayer.” Treasury of David, Ps 5 (more…)
In case you hadn’t heard, the Reach Records Unashamed Tour blazed through town a couple weeks ago. A few days prior to the concert, as an added bonus, Lacrae and Tadashi came to visit and closed MH Sunday services with this jam. The congregation was a little stiff but it was a great performance nonetheless.
Here, Pastor Tim interviews RR founder and artist Lecrae as they discuss what it means to faithfully articulate the gospel to hip-hop culture. Stay tuned for additional interviews with Trip Lee and Sho Baraka.
As Mars Hill has grown, it has gotten harder and harder to follow up with our nearly 20 bands and give them feedback on how they are doing. We have setup our Campus Pastors as the resident ‘Worship Pastor’ at their campus until another worship pastor rises up, and they interface with their respective Band Leaders, but most of their time is spent syncing on very big picture campus vision and relational/spiritual issues. This leaves a gap on the practical side and we are seeking to find new ways to review a band in a really pragmatic way.
Our Band Development Team created an online review form that allows trusted people to offer encouragement and constructive criticism to bands in order to help in ongoing growth/development of a band once they’re consistently playing on a Sunday.
Pastor Tim, Campus Pastors, a variety of Campus Production Managers (tech guys!) and I will go to this online form after worshiping in song with one of these bands and comment on a variety of things - from leadership ability and musicianship to the quality of the songs being sung.
Hopefully this document can be helpful to spark ideas to other churches out there who are looking to improve the quality of their time spent in worship together. I welcome your ideas, thoughts, and comments here.
Just like in the third Psalm, here we find David in distress yet again. He is experiencing fierce opposition from his enemies who taunt and deride him. David was no stranger to such opposition, to enemies who desired his death and the death of his people, the LORD’s people. And so here we meet David, not stressed, but peaceful, trusting fully in God.
Righteousness
It’s God’s righteousness David first appeals to, and he does so with a powerful confidence, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!”
Here, righteousness isn’t limited conceptually to wisdom but also includes justice, vindication and rescue. (Isa 54:17, Jer 23:6). It recognizes God as author, witness, maintainer and rewarder. It’s rich with imagery of God who hears, judges, and acts. It implies perpetual presence and attention to every detail. David’s understanding of God isn’t confined but expanded, and multiplied by the testimony of God’s past mercies in the recognition that “You have given relief.” And so, with unwavering confidence, trusting in the author of righteousness, he throws himself humbly before the Father. (more…)
Learning how to be more like Jesus through the Psalms?
Psalm 3
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My first reaction to this Psalm was: Who are my foes? If I’m really honest with myself I don’t really have any ‘foes’ to speak of. Not in the David against Absalom/Nation sense anyway.
There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this approach, but if Christ is the center of the scriptures (John 5:39-40), we have to look deeper…seeing Christ here allows me to have the perspective that God intended when He inspired David to write in this situation.
Finding rest
Being freed of his anxieties, the Lord allows David to rest. This is a calm reminder to us all that true rest and peace comes from God (Matthew 11:28-30; Ephesians 2:14). We often pour ourselves out in an effort to find comfort in created things, but nothing created ever lasts (Isaiah 40:6-8). In thinking about this I realized, true worship - living every aspect of our lives in full submission to the Father’s will - IS comfort and rest and peace and all things that we most deeply desire.
Godly fear is wisdom
Looking at Jesus’ example, ‘The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom’ has new meaning (Proverbs 9:10), because if you fear God you needn’t fear anything or anyone else, and in wisdom you start to see the world through His eyes. God is sovereign over all and with complete trust in Him, fear of creation no longer exists. Wisdom is when the fear of the Lord begins and the of the fear of creation ends.
High points of God’s grace and provision easily get lost in all the details and business of life. Here is a story of how God moved in an amazing way on Easter this year both in Mars Hill Church and with my daughter Trinity. I wrote this for an upcoming “year end” publication but wanted to share it here as well.
Good Friday and Easter are like the Super Bowl at Mars Hill Church. Each year this weekend holds both our largest attendance and most elaborate production effort. As your worship pastor, overseeing the music and many of the details of the sound, light and video, it is the busiest time of the year for my team and I. To be honest, it’s easy to get caught up in all the details and forget the core reason for all the celebration. (more…)
Per a request via band leader, Brian Ward:
“The Mars Hill band Loma is in search of a ‘Master Of The Skins’ to replace our talented current drummer who unfortunately is moving back home to Florida in August. Stylistically the band is currently in transition, though past influences include Wilco, The Posies, Spoon, and most pop-oriented indie rock. Please contact Brian Ward at 206.915.7260 or at theunionstate@hotmail.com for more information”.
The context
This Psalm begins with a note of context. ‘A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.’ Almost as an accessory to the Absalom story, David wrote this prayer to the Lord while under an incredible attack on his kingship in the land of Israel. There is far too deep a plot to outline here, but the story on David’s flee from his son Absalom’s conspiracy to overthrow David’s rule (~ 2 Samuel 13-19) is well worth the read and gives us a far greater perspective on Psalm 3. The full story does an amazing job of outlining the details of David’s abdication as a father, the rape of his daughter Tamar at the hands of her half brother, David’s son Absolom’s fury over the event, and the drama that ensues as David flees Jerusalem.
David’s trust amidst adversity
And that’s where David is as he writes this prayer. A nation of millions has turned against him (v.1), and small group from his court have come to protect and support him during this time. Despite his fear, conviction, and shame, David unwaveringly trusts in God. Even as he’s leaving town people are throwing rocks and dirt, cursing him (saying ‘there is no salvation for [him] in God’ (v.2), but David knows that God holds the cards and will deal what he will (2 Samuel 16:5-14). David has a peace in God’s sovereignty. He cries out to the Lord, and freeing him of his anxieties, the Lord allows David to rest in comfort (v.4-7). (more…)
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