We have come to that season where we reflect on the year, and we anticipate the things that we will see and do in the new year. This is also the start of the Advent season. Advent means the anticipation of things to come or to wait with great expectancy. In preparing to present a lesson to my bible study group, I read an article entitled “Let the Psalms Be Your Guide This Advent” by Courtney Reissig that discussed the scriptures we read during the Christmas season. We tend to read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew, the birth of Jesus in Luke, and the prophecies in Isaiah. The author wrote that we needed to include the Psalms into our Christmas reading because they encompass so many of the joys, emotions, and trials that we face, but more than anything the Psalms give us hope. Perhaps it is this season that calls for us to remember the purpose of the birth of Christ and why we wait with great expectancy. But why must we wait until this season for a call of remembrance?
In the past year, our world has been in turmoil, but we will end 2020 with hope and anticipation of new things to come. However, during this time have we found ourselves asking the question that King David asked the Lord, “How Long?” How long will this pandemic keep us captives? How long must we wait for a new vaccine that will bring people out of the wilderness? How long before we see a change in the world? How long must we cry out? How long before we know that our prayers are being heard? How long? We may be living in a trying time, but we are called to remember a God who saves, a God who loves, a God who listens, a God who teaches, a God who waits, and a God who delivers his people.
Psalms 1-2 serves as an introduction to the rest of the Psalter. Psalm 1 begins with “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Psalm 2 ends with “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” In Psalm 1 there is the contrast between the righteous and the wicked; Psalm 2 contrasts the rebellion of wicked leaders and nations against the righteousness of God. Does any of this sound familiar, and does it apply to the world we are living in right now? How long can we walk with great expectancy? Reissig explained “As we wait for the return of our promised King, we hold on in faith like the psalmist before us, knowing he is coming soon. And when he does, we will join the collective son of the redeemed and our waiting will be over.”
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