"The Meditation That Matters"
Dr. James L.
Mayfield March 30, 2003
Text: Psalm 19:7-14 Strong feelings are set loose in times of war. And when there are reports of the enemy mistreating, humiliating, torturing our troops they have captured, rage is an understandable emotion. And when we hear reports of Iraqi soldiers forcing civilians to fight or have their children shot, we experience outrage. How shall we deal with our feelings? I have been told that last week, while we were in worship, the host of one of the local talk shows revealed both ignorance and blatant prejudice, bashing Arab-Americans and Muslims in general. The report I read quoted this talk show host as saying: "Islam is a set of beliefs which creates psychopathic behavior." And then, he went on, encouraging all sorts of discrimination against Muslims and especially Arab-Americans. As I read this report, I was reminded of the kinds of hysterical hate talk against German-Americans in World War I and our placing families of Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II. Of course, outlandish and irresponsible statements do not belong only to those who support our nation's action in Iraq. I have also heard hate talk from the other political extreme, directed at our President and his advisors, accusing them and any who agree with them, of the worst sorts of greedy, cynical motives. Passions are enflamed in times such as these. And I think it will be well for us to take to heart the prayer offered by the poet who wrote Psalm 19: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. This prayer is not simply a prayer to be spoken by preachers and lay speakers before they deliver a sermon. This prayer is primarily a prayer to guide us in our daily living. The question is how are we able to do this, especially when we are so caught up in passions set loose because of the war? In Psalm 19, in the verses preceding this prayer, there is wisdom we would be wise to consider. The Psalm begins with the poet declaring that the whole universe reveals the handiwork of God, and proclaims God's glory. The poet is not merely declaring some of his beliefs about God, he is singing about his relationship with God. In order for the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts to be acceptable to God, we first have to be in relationship with God. This is something much more than merely believing God exists. Currently I am reading a biography about Benjamin Franklin, and I am learning a lot about him. There is no doubt in my mind that he lived. But I do not know him; I only know about him. We can believe in the existence of God, just as I believe Benjamin Franklin lived, and it have no significant impact on our daily living. Psalm 19 begins with the poet's exclamations that reveal a deep and personal relationship with God, the Creator of all that is. The poet does not merely declare God as the Creator; the poet sings about the way all that God has created proclaim the glory of God. It is an intimate, deeply personal declaration this poet is making. In times such as ours, how are we able to live so that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts are pleasing to God? Like this poem, it all begins with deep and profound appreciation for all that God has done. It is living in a profound and personal relationship with God, that makes it is possible for the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts to be acceptable God -- especially in times such as this. The next major section of the Psalm is the portion we read earlier in this service. The poet was not only of aware God as the amazing creator of the universe, he was also aware of God as the source of moral order in the universe. The Psalmist sings in awe about the law of God being perfect, the decrees of the law being sure, so that even the most simple of persons are able to live with great wisdom. What is this law the poet is celebrating in song? It is not a bunch of rules and regulations. It is the basic moral order, that we humans (when we are at our best) try to express in human language of law. But God's law is deeper and far beyond the laws, decrees and ordinances we humans express in our human language. The law the Psalmist is celebrating is the set of "oughts" and "shoulds" that are at the heart of life as God intends life to be. If we want life to be what God intends life to be, the basic moral order must be fulfilled, and what is at the heart of this moral order? Jesus was asked this question when he was asked to name the greatest commandment. He said that what is at the heart of life, what is at the core of the moral order, is loving God with all that we are and have and loving our neighbors as ourselves -- and in saying this, Jesus was not talking about emotions we are expected to feel; he was talking about the way we are to behave in our daily living. We are to give of ourselves for the good God sees, and we are to give of ourselves for the good of our neighbor. This moral order is what the poet was singing about when he declared the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The poet was telling us that the way to experience the kind of peace and joy the Bible describes, is by living in harmony with God's law, God's basic moral order. To the poet, this kind of relationship with God is truly awesome. It is so awesome, it is worth more than any of the monetary rewards we exhaust ourselves trying to attain. Not only that, the truth of this basic moral order provides us with a warning. In this poem the warning is not spelled out, but we know from experience what it is. If we violate God's basic moral order, sooner or later all hell breaks loose. So the obvious task is to stay focused on this basic moral order of God. This means our task is to monitor our thoughts and behavior and speech to make sure that the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts are consistent with God's basic moral order. It is at this point the poet asks a profound question: "But who can detect their errors?" It is easy for me to see the wrong you are doing. It is easy for me to recognize wrong thinking in what you say. It is easy for me to do, as Jesus accused some very religious folks of doing, -- namely, seeing the splinter in my neighbor's eye and ignoring the two by four in my own. Who can detect their own errors? And the more our passions are inflamed, the more vulnerable we are to being blind to our errors of judgment, perception and behavior. The more inflamed our passions, the easier it is for us not only to be in error but to be self-righteously in error. And so the poet who wrote Psalm 19 offered this prayer: Clear me from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from the insolent, (in other words, keep me away from the self-righteous folks who bring out the worst in me); do not let them have dominion over me. This poet was very much aware that if we feed our minds and hearts with the garbage of hate and fear thrown out by those who traffic in fear and hate, we will be shaped by fear and hate. So, in this time of high passion how can we live so that the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts will be acceptable to God? We are to stay focused on God; we are to stay focused on God's moral order; we are remain aware of how easy it is to fool ourselves (especially in times such as this when we become easy slaves of passion); we are to guard ourselves from being influenced by those who with great confidence would lead us away from the basic moral order of loving God with all we are and have and our neighbors (all neighbors) as ourselves; we are to call on God to help us in doing all this, all the time. And if we do, then the poet tells us we will be able to live having the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts being acceptable to God, our creator and redeemer. God, at all times and especially during these times, help us stay focused on you and your moral order, so that the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts will be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our creator and redeemer. Amen. Pastoral prayer: God, it is hard for us to believe Matt Schirmer was killed in the car wreck. We need your help to deal with our grief over the loss of this young man who has been so much a part of this congregation's life. And we pray for Matt's wife and son as they come to terms with this tragedy. We are also aware of the grief of several of the children in our church whose classmate died recently so unexpectedly. Comfort them in their bewilderment and grief. As difficult as it is to give up loved ones whose lives have been long and full, how much more difficult it is to come to terms with the death of those who are young, who have such obvious potential yet to be fulfilled. O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home! We need your help - especially as we deal with the reality and mystery of death. Our grief makes us sensitive to what the families and friends of those who have been killed in Iraq are experiencing. As we pray to be comforted, so we pray that in the midst of their sorrow, they too will be comforted - that each of us in grief will be given the strength to face what must be faced and the power to move on. he pain of our loss makes us keenly aware of how precious life is. God, we pray for the war to end and for there to be a just and lasting peace. Show each of us what we need to do to make this world a better world. Rescue each of us from the various temptations to say and do what makes matters worse. Enable us to discern what you would have each of us to do, so that we are able to live as Jesus was teaching us to live when he taught us to pray: "Our Father ..."
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