Singing the Psalms of Korah

Dear Fellow Korahites*:

I invite you to the Book of Psalms today, and pretty much every day. These wonderful songs are a spiritual jukebox of moving images reflecting every dynamic of human emotion. From the pastural fields and still waters of Psalm 23, to the deep pangs of despair in Psalm 131, to grand wonder before creation in Psalm 8, to the longing for peace in Psalm 120, few anthologies touch more dimensions of the human condition.

For the living of these days? I am currently leaning into the words of Psalm 46. The Psalmist begins by declaring God as refuge and strength in every circumstance. Grabbing extreme hyperbole, the lyricist asserts that God’s protective refuge casts away fear even if tectonic disasters shift land and sea. Anchored upon the certainty of God’s realm, we are reminded of God’s present help. What we experience as troubles are fleeting illusions. Peace from our Sovereign overwhelms the petty echoes of global and domestic strife. The most hardened positions melt with a single syllable of God’s voice.

These days there seems to be from every side a lot of noise from the heart hardened. One of the ways to recognize when God’s presence is being squeezed out of the conversation is to note how many times people use terms like unprecedented, never before, worst ever, first time ever, etc. While it may seem as if no one has ever walked this dangerous way before, we trust in the One who owns the path.

Those who suggest these times are like no other do so to amplify our anxiety and distort our capacity to rely on experience. In fact, they target past wisdom as the villain. History becomes an enemy rather than a tutor. While precise technologies may change, the human heart has not; our age needs the same grace and truth that has been relevant to healing every generation. 

“Look around!” shouts the Psalmist (vs. 8). Have a sense of perspective. “God makes it stop.” The author’s crescendo is a radical call for stillness. “Be still (colloq. stop it!) and know that I am God!” Stillness before the Divine quiets national struggle and heals creation.

Finding help from the Psalms, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor 

*Korahites were singers (2 Chronicles 20.19) descended from Moses’ nephew Korah for whom several Psalms were commissioned.

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