Psalm Meditation 604
Second Sunday after Epiphany
January 15, 2012

Psalm 75
1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2 At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. (Selah)
4 I say to the boastful, "Do not boast," and to the wicked, "Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck."
6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
(NRSV)

I was reminded recently of the saying, “if you have to say it out loud, it probably isn’t true.” It is a reminder that many of our protestations, justifications and boastings don’t hold up under outside investigation. In the psalm, God, through the psalmist, reminds us that all of our boasting and tooting our own horns does not make others look at us through the same lens we see ourselves. It is more often a way to get them to want to avoid seeing us at all. It is in serving rather than bragging that we align ourselves with God.

This doesn’t mean we don’t take pride in our work and service or that we let others run us down because we live by a standard other than theirs. It means we are at least as interested in what God thinks of us as we are in what others think. Folks who are running for office or vying for awards in their work need to point out the reasons they warrant the attention they seek. The rest of us can be content knowing that we serve God as people of justice and righteousness, to the best of our ability.

The folks who live too much of their lives vying for the attention of the largest number of people possible will find themselves drinking the foaming wine God offers. Foaming wine was probably poisoned. Folks who spend too much time and energy at the center of their own lives, aching for the attention of others, will find their lives poisoned with meaninglessness in the end. Imagine coming to the end of your life with nothing to show but selfishness, greed and ego.

God points us to lives of justice, righteousness and service. Yes, there are those who put on the show of these three so that we will see how wonderful they are. There are just as many, if not more, who spend their lives serving for the sake of justice and righteousness in a way that a limited number even know the extent of their serving. At some point, in God’s good time, these folks will be exalted.

© January 9, 2012