Psalm 42, Psalm 53, Psalm 58, Psalm 81, Psalm 101
Ryan: The imagery presented in Psalm 42 is so very powerful: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Whether you believe in Jehovah God or not, it’s hard to deny that humans are hard-wired to have a need to worship something. From pagan sun gods to fertility gods to money gods, humankind has always had some innate desire to worship a deity more powerful than themselves. The existence of a multitude of gods, of course, has also led to conflict between the believers of different deities, almost in a childish “my dad can beat up your dad” kind of way. This conflict was as present before the common era as it is today, if not even more so. The Sons of Korah wrote, “My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:3, emphasis added). Notice, though, that the only gods with lasting power are those that fulfill that longing that makes our soul thirst, that “satisfy with honey from the rock” (Psam 81). So many of the old gods are long since forgotten, but Yahweh remains; Jehovah Sabaoth – the LORD of hosts, El Elyon – The Highest One.
Samantha: I think Rube Goldberg machines are so cool. They are machines that solve a very simple task in a very complicated way (think of the game Mouse Trap). Leave it to humans to make simple things difficult! In a spiritual way, this is a great example of how God gives us simple commands to follow (love God, love others) and how we make them complicated. God started with 10 commandments in Exodus 20; the Jews added to them until there were 613 laws! Despite those laws the people still worshiped foreign gods, there were still civil wars amongst them and there was still social injustice. God made it easy, and thus laments that, “‘If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!’” (Psalm 81:13-14). When we make life unnecessarily complicated we miss out on God’s blessings and help!
As another treat, here is a recording of Ryan and Samantha as part of a quartet singing As The Deer, as recorded by the Zoe Group:
