In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations.
David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com.
He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany.
He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991.
Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania.
David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
Overarching | Tomball, TX | February 2023
The phone call came one Saturday right after the men’s Bible study at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Arlington, Texas. “Pastor Bahn?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Did we get our dates mixed up?”
“Who is this?” But the wheels were already turning. It slowly dawned on me: I was to have led a leadership retreat that Saturday for a group at Texoma Lutheran Camp, a 2 hour car trip away. They very graciously agreed to wait until I got there, and I got my stuff together and hit the road. That is honestly the only time I’ve actually forgotten a meeting such as that. I don’t forget our anniversary. I don’t forget Diane’s birthday. To be honest, I do, however have a bit more difficulty remembering names. Don’t know why, but I do.
And I have a pretty good grasp of God’s goodness and love. I don’t really forget those things. I urgently depend on God’s mercy, willingness to hear my prayers, and his lovingkindness.
Except when I sort of … well … forget. It just slips off the radar. It’s not like I disavow God’s goodness and place in my life. It’s more like I take it for granted. And in that process, God’s proper place slides to the periphery of my consciousness.
Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
Hardening your heart is a step beyond forgetting. But how else do you get there? It’s like when the sheep wanders from the flock. He takes a nibble at a close-by tuft of grass, sees another a bit farther away, then another, and another… and pretty soon the sheep is separated from the flock.
We forget God’s grace. We ignore his just claim on our hearts and lives. We blur the lines of obedience and faithfulness just a bit. We give into a temptation. And unless we stop to recognize how far we’ve wandered, we’re well on the way to having a hardened heart. We end up far from God, and worse-yet, hardened hearts don’t care!
That’s why daily repentance and faith are so important. We all wander from the path in thought, word, and deed. God is always calling us back as well. A hardened heart won’t care to return. Don’t harden your heart! Return to the Lord your God…daily!
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
St. John Men’s Retreat 2023 | Camp Lone Star, Giddings, TX | March 2023
More than sixty (60) men stood shoulder to shoulder throughout the weekend of March 3-5, 2023. There were conversations aplenty, food in abundance (bacon-wrapped!), redneck olympics, sharing, Bible study, and worship. I was privileged to lead the Friday evening devotion, and was the main speaker for Saturday night. I also celebrated Holy Communion with the group on Sunday morning. It was quite a weekend.
On Saturday afternoon we held an auction. Three of my framed photos sold for a total of $900.00. Pastor Mark’s “Be Pastor Mark’s Boss for a Day” raised a total of $1,400. A raffle of a Traeger grill brought in more than $6,000. Someone donated a hunting trip. Another proffered a gourmet dinner for 6. There was a week get-away to Florida, and numerous other auction items. All these funds will be sent to Two Lives Changed, a ministry that supports young moms who have chosen to keep their children in the face of financial, social, emotional, and family challenges. In the end we expect to be able to deliver a check for nearly $20,000 to this life-affirming and supporting agency!
Oh come let us sing to the LORD! Amen!
This psalm is a call to God’s people to gather together to worship God. It flies in the face of the idea that I can worship God in nature, on the lake or the golf course as well as I can in a church. Not true in the fullest sense of God’s call here and elsewhere in Scripture. Worship is a corporate experience. We not only honor God when we gather, we also encourage one another. We build each other up in the faith when we make the effort to get out of bed and go to the house of the Lord. We urge one another on to love and good works when we gather with our sisters and brothers in Christ. Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Several men on the retreat were there for the first time. We heard from them loud and clear how it impacted them to be with brothers in Christ who wanted to enjoy life in every way possible (games, food, drink, fellowship, and Scripture), and who cared for each other, and took the time to listen to each other’s stories. One man shared that he had lost his wife to COVID two years ago and how much he needed this. Another said he found a place that he had not previously found in this fellowship. Several expressed appreciation for my devotion and Bible studies.
I am thankful to have been there. The only thing missing was the actual singing. I suspect we’ll remedy that next year. Oh come let us sing to the LORD! Amen.
So the next time you hear someone singing off-key in church join in the joyful noise. The next time you have the opportunity to gather with others in worship, show up. The next time you have the opportunity to express thanks and praise to God, let it be known with a hearty Yay God!
He is worthy of our praise. He is a great God. He is the King above all gods. He made the seas. He is the LORD our maker. This psalm is an invitation, O come (Venite).
Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day.
Psalm 5:1-8
Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
Psalm 35:27-28
Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” 28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.
Psalm 65:1-4
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
Psalm 95:1-7
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Psalm 125
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore. 3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong. 4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts! 5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Painterly Hibiscus | Cypress, Texas | 2015
We stood and began to say, “I believe in God, the Father…” It was a new experience for me. I was first exposed to the Apostle’s Creed when my best friend, Jerry, took me with him to Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I was raised in the Christian faith at First Baptist Church so I appreciated the way in which these truths were expressed, “…And in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord…” The Creed’s “…I believe in the Holy Ghost…” was an enlightening expression of a faith not fully formed in my heart, but very welcomed there nonetheless.
And then I learned even more when I finally agreed to take the class to become a Lutheran, and I learned more fully what these articles of faith mean. I learned about God’s grace even more fully than I ever had before: nothing in me moves him toward me. God moves toward me and you, and cares for all of creation because he is good. His steadfast love endures forever. He is gracious and merciful. He loves us. He shows us that most clearly in Jesus Christ. But it is seen with the eyes of faith in creation as well.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean?I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
This is most certainly true. – Luther’s Small Catechism
What strikes me most about this article of faith is that God not only created the heavens and the earth, but that he continues to care for it in so many ways. The psalmist here expresses a few of those ways.
You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
So much happens because of God’s providential care for the creation we enjoy, and sadly too often abuse. Without him I am certain we would have driven the world to oblivion. Without those who truly do respect the creation litter and pollution would engulf us. But even with the best efforts of the most ardent environmentalists without God’s continuing care our world would be an even greater mess.
And think of this: God does all of this out of his “fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me…” So we join with the psalmist and cry: Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows beperformed.
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
A long time ago there was a program on TV called, That’s Incredible. It was surely the precursor to YouTube shorts, showing crazy skateboarders, kamikaze bike stunts, beyond-belief athletic fetes (have you seen some of those one hand pushups from the top of a uneven bar gymnastics contraption!?!), or crazy practical jokes? Warning: Don’t go there. You’re liable to get sucked into a black hole of YouTube clickbait.
Most of us have steeled ourselves against such silliness. But in the process, I fear we may have thrown out the baby with the bathwater in regard to the simple art of being amazed. Maybe we put down our cell phone long enough to gawk at the Grand Canyon for a few minutes. But after 10 or 15 minutes, what more is there to see? And, oh! Here’s a text. And I don’t want to miss the next scenic overlook (which may actually look very much like this one). And if we get going now, we can make it to that restaurant before the crowd.
Some of us enjoy watching the sunrise over the waters of the Gulf. Or maybe it’s a sunset over the Rocky Mountains. The quiet beauty of an east Texas lake is pause-worthy. And the beauty of the flowers of spring can fill a soul and a whole morning. These are the works of God. This psalm helps us to reflect on these as awe-inspiring. God is,
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,
And that points me to Jesus. He said, “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21). And when the disciples – seasoned fisheremen, well-acquainted with the dangers of storms at sea – were in fear of their lives, Jesus stepped in. In fact the disciples chided Jesus, claiming he didn’t care if they drowned.
And [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” –Mark 4:39-41
We’ve become jaded by the regularity of sunrise, sunset, seas and mountains all around us. God calls us to be in awe of this magnificent, glorious and creative majesty.
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Two or Three Sisters | Tomball, TX | February 2023
As a kid I thought, “I don’t want to be a pastor because you have to go to church every Sunday, and you have to stand up there and yell at people.” Somehow, though, it must have been in the cards. I once set up a makeshift pulpit and preached to my sister in our living room. I don’t think I yelled, but I did mimic a quasi administration of the Lord’s Supper. Alas, what I thought on all counts, was wrong. I consider it a joy to go to church. I try never to yell – though sometimes the issue is so important that it does call for an emphatic vocal emphasis (is that yelling?!?).
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! – v. 4
That seems to capture the idea very well: we are blessed when God brings us into his household of faith. Once there we delight in worshiping God. As we worship God we are truly dwelling in his courts and experiencing a holiness of his dwelling place.
David speaks of “dwelling in the house of the Lord forever” in Psalm 23. That is a delight to him. In Psalm 122 he says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’” This Psalm is not attributed to David, but certainly echoes his attitude toward being in God’s house. Jesus himself spoke about it too: “Didn’t you know I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).
We know that God is omnipresent. We cannot hide from him. He is with us always. But he is with us in a very special way when we gather with others in Jesus’ name. Those gatherings in Jesus’ name transform a place into holy space. The presence of Jesus is what being in church is all about. The temple (and before that the Tabernacle) was the place of God’s holy presence. So whether we gather with others in a space and place dedicated specifically to the worship and presence of God, or in a home, or park, or at a hospital bedside, there God is. There joy is. There is the dwelling place of God: with those who mark themselves with Jesus’ name and gather with others in his name.
That means worship is not truly just a between-me-and-God thing. Worship is corporate. Gathering in the house of God is not about the building, it’s about the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). We are also the spiritual building of living stones, being “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). We are not to be alone. We were designed for community. Yes! It is a blessing to be brought near to God because we are also being brought together.
It seems to me, also, that there is no yelling here. In fact James reminds us that “the anger of man does not produce the righteous things God desires” (James 1:20). I’ve experienced this on both sides. Once I was lectured by a colleague – a kind of emphatic vocal emphasis that did little to bring me closer to God. Another time I spent an entire sermon in emphatic vocal emphasis mode only to see short-term gains without long-term change.
On the other hand, one of the best sermons I’ve every heard was delivered by a very quiet and non-dynamic pastor. There was no emphatic vocal emphasis in his delivery. But there was power. He preached on Isaiah 43:4, “You are precious and honored in my sight and I love you,” God says. That’s where I want to be. That’s how I want to preach. That is the place of God’s presence, and it’s a great blessing to be there.
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Reaching High | Tomball, TX | February 2023
My first call to be pastor was to Vernal, (northeast) Utah, and Rangely, (western slope) Colorado. I was new at this so I spent a lot of time studying and preparing for Sunday worship as well as a good bit of time on the road, traveling the 51 miles between the two churches. We lived just around the block from the church in Vernal, and I would often go home for lunch. One day my wife was talking with a neighbor who said, “It must be nice having your husband home all the time.” She was surprised when Diane said, “He’s at the office now.” I’m not sure how the rest of the conversation went, but she apparently thought I just hung around the house all day long throughout the week, and only went to work on Sunday.
I suspect many people think of God that way. He just hangs around heaven and watches things unfold down here on earth: so they think. Except when I’m in urgent need of rescue. Then he better come to my aid. That is the view of Deism – to which many of our Founding Fathers may have subscribed. God simply created the universe and wound up the clock and watched it run, with little if any direct involvement in our lives. Providential guidance may be provided, but little else.
But not this psalmist! We get a powerful picture of God’s involvement in the affairs of his people in these verses. He is personable and worthy to be praised. He is one to whom all people will come for help and salvation. He answers prayer. He formed all of creation: rivers, mountains, seas, plants, and people. He brings daylight and evening to pass each day. He provides water for the plants and brings forth grain and growth of all manner of plants.
God’s gift to us of creation is not only remarkable. It is gracious. Martin Luther speaks so well of this when he explains the first article of the Apostle’s Creed:
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. [emphasis added]
This is most certainly true.
I didn’t deserve praise from our neighbor when she found out I worked more than just Sundays. But God deserves all that and more. This Psalm reminds me that God has not just wound up the universe and is sitting back and watching it run. It reminds me of God’s many ways of caring for me and all creatures. It reminds me that I can come to him with my prayers and requests, and my thanks and praise. It opens my eyes to the breadth of his care for us all. For all this it is my duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey him. This is most certainly true!
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Leaning Tree | Tomball, TX | February 2023
In Psalm 116 comes the question: “What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?” This psalm shows at least one answer: praise and the acknowledgement by our actions that he is the only one to whom we must come for life and salvation.
I don’t think in those terms very often. I’m more often simply thankful for God’s blessings. I am deeply aware of how desperately I depend on God’s grace, forgiveness, steadfast faithfulness and love. This psalm is a reminder that we owe God something for all his benefits, blessings, gifts, and grace to us.
This is not like the debt we cannot repay and of which we must be forgiven. Jesus tells a parable about forgiveness. He compares the debts we owe God for the sins we have committed against him with those we commit against one another. The comparison is between 10,000 talents and 100 denari. That’s 160,000 years of earnings versus 100 days of earnings. The far greater debt is the debt owed to God. It’s beyond our ability to repay. Unless God forgives us of that debt we are doomed.
The debt we owe to God for his mercy and forgiveness of that impossible-to-repay-debt is different in nature and implication. It is not something we must repay lest we forfeit God’s grace and lose our salvation. It is something that we can repay simply in the way we live.
We repay God’s favor when we praise him. When we come to him in repentance and faith, we are giving God his due. When we take the cup of salvation, celebrating God’s deliverance in the Lord’s Supper, we are repaying God for his gifts. When we extend the same kindness and mercy to others that God has extended to us, we are repaying that debt.
Perhaps it would be better to say we are giving God his due. So it’s not quite like repaying a debt – even though we speak of what is due to God. This is a response to God’s kindness, not an attempt to climb out of a hole. A debt is something from which we seek to escape. We’ve been rescued. We’re out of the hole. God has lifted us up and put us in a place of honor. This is a time to say thanks. This is a time acknowledge the extent of his kindness. We do this because we have been gifted, not to grovel and beg to be relieved of the punishment for our failures and sins. We do this to give him the thanks and praise that is due his name.
Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day.
Psalm 26:1-3, 8
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.
8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
Psalm 56:1-4, 12-13
Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
Psalm 86:1-7
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. 7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
Psalm 116
I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”; 11 I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, 14 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. 18 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 146:1-2
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Two Trees Touching | Tomball, TX | February 2023
After David sinned so callously with Bathsheba, he lost his sense of joy in God’s favor and blessing. There is nothing to suggest that David had experienced any qualms about his behavior with Bathsheba and Uriah. Life went on. It wasn’t until after Nathan confronted David that he came to grips with what he had done.
It’s also likely that David then realized he had lost sight of God’s favor and grace. He had traded his place as a man after God’s heart for a life of shameful denial of his unrepentant sin. Before this comeuppance his life was just fine. He had servants, wives, soldiers, a palace of cedar and all manner of worldly blessings. But he had lost sight of God’s part in all of life. Apparently he lost sight of God’s salvation itself and how much joy it brings to the repentant heart to know that God loves us even in the face of our failures.
Once David confessed his sin and received forgiveness, the table was set for a return to a greater joy than that of happy days, trophy wives, palatial digs, the king’s prerogatives, and the good life.
Recently we experienced an untimely death in our church family. Everyone was shocked. When we gathered for Ash Wednesday worship, however, there was a sense of joy among all those in attendance. You could sense it. People were talking, greeting one another, and sharing in the joy of God’s salvation. We knew we had lost a dear brother all too early in his life. We knew it would hit his wife, children, and extended family so hard. But we knew even though we are dust and to dust we would return, that wasn’t the final word. My friend and classmate, and retired seminary professor posted on Facebook:
If you are a Christian, the chances are extremely good that you will return to dust. The chances are not, however, 100%; it all depends on what “soon” means. The chances of you not REMAINING dust are, I’m happy to say . . . 100. Per. Cent. – Jeff Gibbs
A friend of his added this: “It’s not in the hymnal, but my Ash Wednesday saying is ‘from dust you have come, to dust you shall return, and from dust you will rise again.’”
Whether the sting of death has bitten hard, or you are crawling out of a dungeon of your own sin, when you seek God’s grace there comes along with it, the joy of God’s salvation. And what a joy it is! Jesus earned it for you and all people when he died for the sins of the world. He secured it when he rose from the dead. God promises it to all who believe in him. And like David, if we continue that prayer we will recall that the joy of God’s salvation is to be shared so that transgressors will be taught the truth of God’s salvation and sinners will return to God.
Talk about joy! Take a quick look at Luke 15 and you see played out how complete that joy is. It’s shared by God and all the angels in heaven when one sinner repents. What glorious joy that is!
David Bahn - Reflections 