Whenever possible I try to admit both publicly and to myself the prejudices I bring to the table. We all have certain experiences or cultural upbringings which have the potential to make us less than objective on certain issues. Without boring everyone with too much detail, I have at times been close enough to personally observe the inner workings and development of so-called “Contemporary Christian” music. And at the end of the day, I am just sick to death of the repeated use of this psalm by those attempting to justify the effort to make “quality Christian music”. This psalm has nothing to do with music; it has everything to do with praise.
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One of the common characteristics of successful, earthly entrepreneurs is their focused pursuit of a goal that is not just bigger than their individual self, but often requires a lot of time. They know that what they desire cannot be built or obtained quickly and may require a lifetime of work to get it. They endure severe trial and hardship today because of what they see will be the reward many, many years from now, perhaps not even until the very end of their life. Why then is it that we do not understand this when it comes to the work of salvation? The initial act of accepting Christ as our personal Savior was but the first step towards accomplishing something that will take not just the entire bounds of THIS life, but carry on into the next.
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For the sake of those who might otherwise miss it, the references here to “the strength of the horse” and “the legs of a man” are expressions relating to going to war. The only use of a horse in these ancient times was for battle. It was not used for food or transportation or labor as were other animals, but exclusively dedicated as a military tool. And so many of the athletic games we’ve inherited were rooted in the training and physical conditioning necessary to prepare a man for battle. We all go to battle over a variety of things in the course of our life, so the real question is how we approach those times, whether they are undertaken according to GOD’S Word and ways, or we engage as WE see fit.
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I believe that one of the indications a fellow Believer is not truly grounded in God’s Word is in the way they quote only snippets of the Bible, drawing them out of context. They remember parts of His Word such as, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him” but fail to add the important qualifier, “To all who call upon Him in truth”. They will offer that God satisfies desires without stipulating that this is true for “those who fear Him”, or make a sweeping statement that “God is our Keeper” without acknowledging it is actually focused on “all who love Him”. They express platitudes which are of little use without applying the “fine print” in their immediate vicinity.
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The Psalms is the destination most often chosen by someone who feels the need for an injection of inspiration, and it certainly does not disappoint. But in the course of normal Bible study I find that many do not understand that what is referred to as the “Books of Wisdom” (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon) have the role of providing a real life commentary on the “Books of the Law” (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The Psalms are teaching us not only the proper context of the Law, but how God intended it to be applied. And one of the repeated teachings in the Psalms is we are not supposed to trust in this life.
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At least credit me with the honesty to admit I have not only have become an old codger raving about the “good old days” but may have crossed that line at some unknown point into the land of the old fashioned. But I find that one of the reasons I talk about how people used to “do” church is that the subject comes up so often. And one of the places that I most often begin is the fundamental change in attitude of basing one’s decision of where to attend more on what church can do for me than what I can do for the church.
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This may be one of the most interesting references in the Psalms when considered in the historical context of the time at which it was composed. In the 650 year span between entering the Promised Land until the final deportation into the Babylonian Captivity, one of the most repeated spiritual issues in Israel had to do with the “high places”. They loved to go out and erect idols and shrines and such on the top of their most prominent hills and mountains, monuments to other gods which could be seen while working and living in the lands and cities below. Try to picture this in order to understand what it truly means when the Psalmist says, “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?”
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