Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 29 (September 4, 2025)

September 4, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Old Testament of Psalm 29

Blessings and Peace, (and maybe some rain!) on this wonderfully cool Thursday morning.  I am praying today for all the lives which have been thrown into upheaval by the actions of our government, from the laying off 10s of 1000s of Federal workers, to those moved out of the country because of their immigration status.  These people have lost the protections of our constitution as to a right for a status hearing before a judge, and even some U.S. citizens have been removed from the country!  At some point, we in the Church, must recognize that if some people are removed by members of ICE who are masked without names, and those detained receive no legal hearing, that it may not be long before the such an action might, and could, reach out to remove those of us who do not meet the faith standard and judging actions of the Christian Nationalist movement in our country.  I have spent many hours with two women in our congregation who watched this happen in their own nation of Germany in World War II.  They both knew what was happening to their neighbors, their friends, even the professional people who served their communities, and at least at first, they thought it would never happen to them, but it did.  One fled their homeland for Canada, the other became a prisoner.  I live in a home with two dark skinned young adults.  Both carry state IDs, but I worry that they will be denied their rights if they are picked up by ICE or National Guard, or some assigned branch of our military for our protection, armed to harm our nation's citizens if some government leader deems such an action appropriate.  I say these things to you, because I truly believe that to ignore these actions in our midst might set each one of us up to lose rights we thought were guaranteed to us constitutionally.  Just something to think about.  I want you to know that you certainly have the privilege of disagreeing with me, and that I will still love you with all my heart, because in our differences we are all called to unity in the Savior.

Though there are always those in power who think that they are like gods, the 29th Psalm which we are reading today makes it very clear that it is always the LORD God of Hosts who is in charge, and who takes in His hands the care of the faithful, and who is the Creator and the One in charge of all things in creation.  There must have been plenty of times when David sat in Jerusalem thinking about how the tribal and national kings acted like they were really the ones in charge, even of creation itself.  This Psalm makes it clear exactly how David thought about his own relationship to the LORD, and because of the fullness of the power of the LORD in all things, David knew in his heart that his faith in the LORD was singularly the most important part of his own kingship in Israel.  We all should know that there can be many things which we make gods in our lives, and even in the thinking of the world of people of faith that would designate and believe in some gods other than the LORD.  But to do so means that too many people believe that by their actions, their prayers, they can cause their god to move in ways that are pleasing to the faithful.  The LORD, in whom we espouse our faith, is identified in the Old Testament only by himself.  When Moses asks, "who shall I say has sent me?" The LORD'S reply is to name Himself I AM WHO I AM, AND I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE!  Throughout the Bible we see the LORD being exactly that.  In this Psalm David's expression of faith is that he sees all things in his world moved by the LORD, and David is the witness to it all, expressing confidence in the LORD'S desire to provide abundantly for His Hebrew people.  The things that you and I are witness to show us that even in God's independence from fulfilling our every dream and wish, the LORD will do what is right, and good, and just!  The LORD's intent is for the well-being of His faithful ones.  I know, then why do some of the most faithful have to suffer so much?  I certainly don't have an answer, but you and I need to know that our LORD always acts with Grace in the lives of the faithful, though it is not always easy.  All you must do is read the first part of my study today, to get the feeling that our prayers are important in all things, especially when there is such earthly injustice running rampant here at home, and around the world in wars and in the amassing of armaments that can destroy us all.

The Lord is our God! There is no other!

In His Love and Power, Pastor Kim