Psalm Meditation 603
Epiphany Sunday
January 8, 2012

Psalm 45
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
(NRSV)

Kings were so closely associated with God, that in a sense they became one. The king, as God’s agent, became the personification of God to the people and the rest of the world. A pretty daunting task to those of us not raised with the knowledge that one day folks will treat us as the voice and hand of God. Who really wants that kind of responsibility, to be the representative of the most high God for all the people over whom we have any influence whatsoever?

Um, while we may not have worldwide influence, we do represent God to the folks in our circle of influence. We may do it very well, living our lives with the knowledge that God makes a difference in our lives. As an agent of God we live in such a way that God is honored and glorified in what we do. We will certainly be less representative than we had hoped from time to time, however, in the broad scheme of things we will honor God. We may, like some other kings, live out a personal agenda in the name of God. We will act as if God blesses all we do because we are set apart as those favored by God. People will get an image of who God is by our actions, however it will not convey the image God would like people to have. We may not be royalty or rulers of any kind. We continue to be representatives of God to the world.

Through the years we have emphasized a variety of characteristics of God as being most important. We have seen God as sovereign, standing aloof from us, and we have seen God as relational, sharing the hurts and hopes of people in all walks of life. We have seen God as judgmental and as loving unconditionally. We have seen God as the destroyer of all that is not of God and we have seen God as the great healer who makes us whole. These and other images are found in Scripture as characteristics of God. As agents of God we decide how we can best represent God to others, recognizing we are, at best, painting a partial portrait of God.

© January 2, 2012