Psalm Meditation 618
Third Sunday of Easter
April 22, 2012

Psalm 48
1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain,
2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
3 Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense.
4 Then the kings assembled, they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight;
6 trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor,
7 as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. (Selah)
9 We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.
10 Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers,
13 consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation
14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.
(NRSV)

For the folks in ancient cultures God was present with them when times were good. When they were able to keep armies from attacking them because of the natural defenses and impressive fortifications of their city, God was with them. When things did not go well for them, it was because God was angry with them. This is one of those times in which God must have been with them, because kings and armies were walking away sickened due to the near impossibility of breaching the defenses of the city and the mountain on which it was built.

While we have a sense of that today, that God punishes people for their individual and corporate sins, we tend to emphasize the steadfast love of God. The steadfast love of God is always with us. God does not walk away and leave us helpless and hopeless at the first sign of sin. The steadfast love of God does not get stripped away because we have acted in a way that God does not approve. God loves us, cares for us and calls us into ever deeper and ever renewing relationship at all times and places in our lives. God does not single out groups or individuals for particularly hateful treatment, God loves us and desires a relationship with us. God does not force us into a relationship; it is simply held out as an offer in which we may participate. The love of God is the same no matter what.

Whether we are protected from our enemies and adversaries by a strong citadel or completely exposed to the forces arrayed against us, the love of God stands with us. In the midst of the most devastating forces, in the midst of the most peaceful scene one can imagine, and all the times and places in between God is with us to protect us and comfort us from generation to generation.

© April 16, 2012