The Blog

The psalmist twice (vv. 67, 71) reflects on the learning he received from God’s chastisement.  This reflects the teaching expounded in Hebrews 12:5–11, that God as a father corrects us, and though this does not seem “joyous” while it is happening, afterward, the good fruit will become visible.  As the psalmist was able to say, “It is good for me” (v. 71). 

An important distinction is present between pagan self-flagellation and Biblical affliction-as-discipline.  Pagans self-inflicted their suffering, in hopes of personal expiation of sins, attainment of holiness, hopes of showing spiritual superiority, and even with the desire of manipulating the gods in conformity with man’s actions.  It was all humanistic: man set his own terms for spiritual attainment.  Much of it was also prideful: man can control circumstances and even gods by his own rituals. 

By contrast, in Scripture, God administers corrections to teach us.  Self-inflicted suffering is unwarranted by the biblical conception of discipline, and is indeed meaningless in that context.  Further, it is prideful.  Man is not commissioned to determine sanctions upon himself for disobedience, and to do so claims power from God.  Where man does have the power to administer sanctions for wrongful conduct, it is expressly delegated power from God, to specific jurisdictional spheres (i.e., family, church, state).  There is no general delegation of power to self-flagellate, and to claim such a power is just as wrong as claiming any other power not delegated to man.

Today is the Mendelssohn bicentennial.  Felix Mendelssohn (born February 3, 1809, died 1847) was truly one of the great composers of the nineteenth century, and one of the great child prodigies of all time.  In his short life, he composed an enormous amount of music.  He was also responsible for helping to recover the music of J.S. Bach, which at the time was rarely performed.  Mendelssohn considered Bach’s music “the greatest Christian music in the world,” and through Mendelssohn’s advocacy, Bach’s music began to be performed again in what historians have called the “Bach revival” of the nineteenth century. 

Among all these accomplishments, one of the lesser known facts about Felix Mendelssohn is that he was a Jewish believer in Jesus as the Messiah.  His grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, was an important Jewish philosopher who tried (rather unsuccessfully) to harmonize Judaism with the humanism of the Enlightenment.  Felix’s parents had their children baptized into the Lutheran church out of a desire to assimilate with respectable society rather than conviction, but evidence indicates that Felix embraced faith in Jesus wholeheartedly.  (See Patrick Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, for documentation.)

So, happy birthday to a great Messianic Jewish composer today!

As one component of our humorous skit at tonight’s Hanukkah party, we (mostly Mommy) created a Hanukkah poem. I thought you might enjoy it (pardon the sometimes inconsistent stanzas - ’twas typed in haste):

‘Twas the night before Hanukkah, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even the mouse;
Except for the mothers, who were stirring like mad,
Potatoes and onions and flour with Dad,
And mixing up gobs and just gobs of the batter,
And frying in oil and watching it splatter

The candles in boxes were carefully stacked,
Behind the menorahs we just had unpacked,
The Hanukkah music we found the last year,
Was lulling the children to sleep with good cheer,

When down in the kitchen they heard such a clatter,
They sprang from their beds to see what was the matter
A scream and a crash could be heard round the house,
When out from the kitchen there scurried a mouse

It seems he was nestled quite snug in the bag
Of potatoes till Dad reached the last one to grab
Then mom screamed and up on a chair she arose
‘Cause with no shoes or socks the mouse ran o’er her toes.

The chase now was on to the children’s delight,
Till they finally caught the mouse - oh what a night!
Dad and the boys donned their coats with the hoods,
And drove with the mouse in the box to the woods.

While mom and the girls cleaned and made a surprise
And when Dad and the boys saw - what joy filled their eyes!
The table was set with the latkes all fried
The candles were lit, and hot chocolate beside:
So they prayed and they ate, then Dad said with delight
Happy Hanukkah to all, and to all a good night!

We hope you’re all having a wonderful Hanukkah! As it winds down, here’s just a reminder to check out last year’s directory of blog resources on Hanukkah: http://www.amhehome.org/wordpress/?p=180.

Here, the psalmist opens by calling the Lord his “portion” (v. 57), חלק, a word that often has the connotation of an “inheritance.” Thus, the psalmist is reflecting the importance of a Godly multigenerational legacy by calling the Lord his inheritance.  Reflecting the high value placed on inheritance, the psalmist moves directly from this to stating his commitment to keep the inheritance.  This passage is of course primarily about the value of God’s word, but its secondary application is as a model of inheritance.  Fathers are to imitate their Heavenly Father in laying good foundations in order to pass on a Godly inheritance to their children.  And the children are to take up this legacy with gratefulness and a commitment to honor a Godly legacy. 

The psalm also has an interesting contrast between groups of people: “bands of he wicked” (v. 61) versus bands of the righteous (v. 63).  “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.”  Thus, unlike so many religions which seek holiness in reclusiveness, Scripture teaches that holiness is found in God’s word, and that it can (indeed, should) be lived out in joyful fellowship with a community of others doing likewise.