Psalm Meditation 522
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 20, 2010

Psalm 74
1 O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your foes have roared within your holy place; they set up their emblems there.
12 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You cut openings for springs and torrents; you dried up ever- flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the sun.
17 You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause; remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
(NRSV)

I probably spend way too much time feeling sorry for myself. When things don’t work out the way I expect I know that it is the end of the world for me. After awhile I find a new perspective and am able to get back into a much more contented frame of mind and heart. I rediscover that God is present and active in my life whether it is the way I would like or not. The part of my life over which I was despairing has not changed much if at all, however I remember that other parts of my life are more rich than the despair allowed me to see for a moment.

For the psalmist the Temple has been taken over by a conquering army and they have replaced the emblems of God with their own religious symbols. In most cultures of the day that would have meant that their familiar religion had now been replaced by the religion of their conquerors. Israel knew that Yahweh was not defeated each time the nation was overtaken. Yahweh stands on the side of the needy, downtrodden and oppressed. Empires might rise up over the people but they could not conquer Yahweh who is the creator and preserver of all that is.

Our concept of how God works may have changed a bit, however we continue to believe in and follow the creator and preserver of all that is. We may be beaten down for a moment or for a lifetime and we believe that God is with us through the triumphs and tragedies calling us to ever deeper relationships with God, with each other and with all.

© June 14, 2010