1. Looking Through . . . Peter Fitch. St. Croix Vineyard
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Priceless Psalms Series: Psalm 25

2. Last week: Psalm 24, a dance . . .
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!

3. Attitudes in Worship: Negative
Protecting God from Sinners
Pride in the Priestly Role
Pride in “Special Connection”
Myth of Deserved Restitution
Setting Moral Standards (in a way that creates barriers, takes away life)

4. Attitudes in Worship: Positive
Longing for Purity
Calling People to their “Best Self”
Reminding Us of What a Privilege it Is to Seek, to Know God’s Presence
Setting Moral Standards (in a way that creates character, integrity and faithfulness)
Establishing Societal Expectations
A Way to Approach God Together

5. This week: Psalm 25 Not as well known
Yet, still fits within our series because of a couple of ideas
Raises questions about how we ought to look at God, and includes a plea for God to look at us in a certain way
I think of both as “Looking through . . .”

6. Psalm 25
1 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. 4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.

7. Psalm 25
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8. Psalm 25
8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

9. Psalm 25
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. 13 His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. 15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will pluck my feet out of the net.

10. Psalm 25
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses. 18 Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins. 19 Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred.

11. Psalm 25
20 Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles.

12. Clues about how we ought to look?
With hope and trust
Ready to learn
Waiting expectantly
With honesty, yet assured of love
Ready to learn and to follow
With humility (connected to “the secret”)
With fear (read: extreme regard)

13. More on how we ought to look
With attention
Without hiding
Aware of real danger
With longing for something better

14. How do we hope God looks at us?
As someone worth listening to, protecting, teaching, rescuing, helping, guiding but, especially:
6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

15. So many connections with Simone Weil (1909-1943)

16. “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”
“In every realm, love is only real when directed at a particular object. It becomes universal without ceasing to be real only as a result of analogy and transference.”
“The virtue of religious practice consists in making effective contact with what is perfectly pure for the destruction of evil.”
“The church can be ugly, its songs false, the priest corrupt and its faithfulness distracted. In a sense this is of no importance.”

17. “In fact, it is a truth that is therefore not susceptible to demonstration (mathematical proof, argument). It is only susceptible to experimental verification (experience).”
“For a religion is known from the inside. Catholics say this of Catholicism, but it is true of every religion. Religion is a form of nourishment. It is difficult to appreciate just through a look the flavor and dietary value of a food that one has never eaten.”
“Only perfect purity cannot be defiled . . .” (p. 86, Awaiting God)

18. This last idea . . .
Her explanation of how God can look at us “according to His lovingkindness” and how we can look at Him in ways that actually make a difference
I can bring my impurity to the purity of Christ
I can do this with others who have hurt me
I can bring my weakness to this place of participation (where I meet with the weakness of God . . .)

19. Love III (George Herbert)
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack’d anything. 

20. A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here. Love said, You shall be he
A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here. Love said, You shall be he. I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear. I cannot look on thee. Love took my hand, and smiling did reply, Who made the eyes but I?

21. Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame Go where it doth deserve. And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame? My dear, then I will serve. You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat: So I did sit and eat.