Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

This is the silence of the captive soul. In the New Testament era, the Temple is within the individual’s heart and we can sing even while we are in prison as Paul and Silas did: “They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So he took no chances but put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in stocks. Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” (Acts 16:23-25) The ‘foreign land’ today is the dominion of the kingdom of darkness and when a heart is captive to Satan it loses all ability to praise and worship. When we sing praises to God we create an atmosphere of free- dom whereby people can escape the snare of Satan. “Then they will come to their senses and escape from the Devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” (2 Tim. 2:26) The musicians make a vow in the land of their captivity; if they forget to play their instruments skill- fully for the worship of God, then they ask to have their right hand go numb as a person who suffers the effects of a stroke. When a musician loses their focus and lets their calling to play for God become sec- ondary, it leads to the futility of silence. In the same manner the singers vow if they forget to make their service to God and his ‘church’ (Jerusalem) their highest delight, then they request that their tongues become glued uselessly to the roof of their mouths and that their words become babble. Musicians and singers certainly can play in secular situations just as all of God’s people interact in with the world in their vocations, but the chief delight is worshiping him! Numb musicians playing for deformed singers are a vivid picture of Levites who have lost their purpose and direction. The vision of God for his musical tribe remained alive even though they were captives by the rivers of Babylon: “David also ordered the Levite leaders to appoint a choir of Levites who were singers and musicians to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. (1 Chron. 15:16) Edom is the tribal name for Esau, the firstborn twin of Jacob. They were the sons of Isaac and Re- bekah. The first time ‘hated’ is mentioned in the Bible is in regards to Esau’s (Edom’s) hatred of his lit- tle brother Jacob: “Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing.” (Gen. 27:41) He desired to kill his brother and became the embodiment of hatred itself. Being the firstborn son he represented the natural man whose nature is at war with God. Jacob, being the 2nd born, represents the spiritual man and the redeemed nature that is in a love relationship with God. Paul presents the mystery of God’s sov- ereignty in the letter to the Romans: “When he (Isaac) grew up, he married Rebekah, who gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message proves that God chooses according to his own plan, not according to our good or bad works.) She was told, ‘The descendants of your older son (Esau/Edom) will serve the de- scendants of your younger son. (Jacob/Israel)’ In the words of the Scriptures, ‘I loved Jacob, but I re- jected Esau.’” (Rom. 9:10-13) God always rejects the ‘first birth’ of the natural man and accepts those who have been born from above with the ‘second birth’. He hates Esau/Edom and loves Jacob/Israel. But there was a literal Esau whose tribal nation, Edom, rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. The prophet Obadiah speaks specifically to ‘Edom’ prophesying the Lord’s extreme anger at their hatred of their brother Israel. “For you deserted your relatives in Israel during their time of greatest need. You stood aloof, refusing to lift a finger to help when foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem. You acted as though you were one of Israel’s enemies.” (Oba. 10, 11) He then goes on to reprimand Edom for what they should not have done. All who are filled with hatred for God and man belong to the tribe of Edom: III HAPPY IS THE ONE - 7-9 Remembering their Enemies “O Lord, remember what the Edomites did on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. ‘Destroy it!’ they yelled. ‘Level it to the ground!’” (7)

• “You shouldn’t have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. • You shouldn’t have rejoiced because they were suffering such misfortune. • You shouldn’t have crowed over them as they suffered these disasters.

• You shouldn’t have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity. • You shouldn’t have gloated over the destruction of your relatives, looting their homes and mak- ing yourselves rich at their expense. • You shouldn’t have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. • You shouldn’t have captured the survivors, handing them over to their enemies in that terrible time of trouble.” (Oba. 12-14)

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