Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem
During the 1980's there was a proliferation of something that is now called "Glam-Rock", "Corporate Rock", or even the derogatory "Hair-Band Rock". These were huge stadium-venue rock bands made up of extremely talented and trained professionals who were overproduced for commercial success. Their songs were written by teams who used every trick in the book so they could not help but become Top 40 Hits, because they were so polished and perfect. It was a huge success for the Industry, and made a lot of people very rich.
But, sooner or later, a reaction had to happen. Out of Seattle came a rough kind of music that hearkened back to the struggling bands of the early 60's. Torn Jeans, loosely-hanging T-shirts with ragged armholes, and limp, unkempt hair gave this kind of music its name: "GRUNGE". For a time, this music attracted teenagers, with all their angst and alienation...that is, until the Industry took them over too!
That's the way of the world, I guess.
Yesterday, I went into some detail about a literary form called chiastic structure. Who knew that today's Psalm is one of the most perfect examples of this form in all of Scripture?
Psalm 51 is set up like this:
Intro: 2 Lines
Stanza 1: 5 Lines
Chorus 1: 3 Lines
Chorus 2: 3 Lines
Stanza 2: 5 Lines
Outro (Coda) Two Lines.
The Symmetry is perfect: 2,5,3,3,5,2. One can also posit that the two sides of the Symmetry both add up to 10, which makes this Psalm a "Perfect 10! x 2". But, of course, what is infinitely more important than the arrangement of this song is the CONTENT.
Unlike Glam-Rock which was all Production and no Content, or like Grunge which was all Content and no Production, The Psalms give us BOTH. There are such gems as Acrostics, Chiasms, Alliteration, Personification, Contrast, Puns, Metaphors, and nearly every other literary device used freely and naturally in Psalms, but usually we miss it because we read it in translation. And so, we focus upon the CONTENT which is the same in whatever translation we read. That's what makes the Bible so different from other "holy books". There are even religions out there that decree that THEIR "holy book" can ONLY be read and understood in its original language.
Psalm 51 is one of seven "Penitential Psalms". It is the cry of David's heart for mercy and forgiveness. The title even tells us of David's sin...Adultery and Murder. And yet, in this Psalm, David says he was "born in sin". Now, I can't imagine a newborn lusting after Bathsheba, but here it is. And we are talking about DAVID here, a "Man After God's Own Heart."
Ephesians 2:3 gives us a parallel:
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
And of course, we all have heard Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...
What David and Paul are both saying is that we are all sinners saved by grace. David's Prayer is this:
Have Mercy
Wash Me
Create in me a Clean Heart
and
Do not take Your Holy Spirit from Me
There is only one other time the particular term for The Holy Spirit is used in Scripture (Isaiah 63:10-11), but the idea of the Spirit of God occurs all through both Testaments, starting with Genesis 1:2 and ending with the last verse in Revelation.
Even though this is a thoroughly Penitential Psalm, David still remembers to pray for Zion in verses 18 and 19.
And so...
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
God Bless America!
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS