Psalm Meditation 894
Proper 13
August 6, 2017
Psalm 72
1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy.
18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
(NRSV)
This psalm is addressed to God, about the king. It can get confusing since the king was the representative of God on earth. The king was expected to live out the priorities of God as he ruled over the people of God. The concerns are in some kind of order of importance. The top priority is righteousness and justice, especially for the poor. When wealth and prosperity come to the nation, the psalmist knows that the king will distribute it righteously, with a special consideration for those who are poor and in need.
The defense of the nation isn’t mentioned until the middle of the psalm, after a long reign of righteousness and peace, with expanded borders. Once the realm has expanded there is another call for care of those who are not able to care for themselves. The psalmist, at least, sees the care of the poor, needy, and oppressed as being the responsibility of those who have wealth, power and influence.
These days we tend to believe that wealth and poverty are the rewards and punishments of individual behavior; we are rich or poor because we deserve to be. The psalmist tells us that we who have resources have some responsibility to those who don’t. We care for each other as people of God. It is not about what we deserve, it is about what God calls us to do with the resources we have.
July 31, 2017
LCM
Monday, July 31, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
Psalm Meditation 893
Proper 12
July 30, 2017
Psalm 129
1 “Often have they attacked me from my youth”—let Israel now say—
2 “often have they attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.”
4 The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward.
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up,
7 with which reapers do not fill their hands or binders of sheaves their arms,
8 while those who pass by do not say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
(NRSV)
Enemies are a painful thing. Most of us like to be liked, so knowing that there is at least one person who does not like us hurts us. When that enemy does things that hurt us physically, that is an added weight on body and soul. The psalmist begins by saying that this particular enemy has been on the attack for a long time, beginning at an age in which those of our era at least are particularly vulnerable. When the attacks against us begin before we have time to accumulate the defenses of age and experience, we find ourselves most vulnerable to enemy attacks.
The psalmist rejoices in the saving activity of God. In my imagination the long furrows on the psalmist’s back are the marks and scars of a whip. That God has cut the cords would mean that the cords of the whip and the cords of bondage have both been taken away and the psalmist is freed from a life of punishment and slavery. Because there is mention of the nation this may be rejoicing at the end of a period of enslavement for the nation at the hands of another nation.
Slavery continues. Enemies continue to take advantage of the vulnerable. God continues to be righteous and continues to be present in every time and place. God continues to deliver people from a variety of circumstances in a variety of ways.
July 24, 2017
LCM
Proper 12
July 30, 2017
Psalm 129
1 “Often have they attacked me from my youth”—let Israel now say—
2 “often have they attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.”
4 The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward.
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up,
7 with which reapers do not fill their hands or binders of sheaves their arms,
8 while those who pass by do not say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
(NRSV)
Enemies are a painful thing. Most of us like to be liked, so knowing that there is at least one person who does not like us hurts us. When that enemy does things that hurt us physically, that is an added weight on body and soul. The psalmist begins by saying that this particular enemy has been on the attack for a long time, beginning at an age in which those of our era at least are particularly vulnerable. When the attacks against us begin before we have time to accumulate the defenses of age and experience, we find ourselves most vulnerable to enemy attacks.
The psalmist rejoices in the saving activity of God. In my imagination the long furrows on the psalmist’s back are the marks and scars of a whip. That God has cut the cords would mean that the cords of the whip and the cords of bondage have both been taken away and the psalmist is freed from a life of punishment and slavery. Because there is mention of the nation this may be rejoicing at the end of a period of enslavement for the nation at the hands of another nation.
Slavery continues. Enemies continue to take advantage of the vulnerable. God continues to be righteous and continues to be present in every time and place. God continues to deliver people from a variety of circumstances in a variety of ways.
July 24, 2017
LCM
Monday, July 17, 2017
Psalm Meditation 892
Proper 11
July 23, 2017
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 “Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver—let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.
(NRSV)
It is interesting to note that the psalmist is complaining about being forsaken to the one being accused of ignoring the psalmist in the first place. It is good to know that I am not the first to feel as if God has moved away from me and left me to sink or swim on my own. I am actually hoping that more people than not have had the experience of feeling abandoned by God. Not because I think it is a good to feel abandoned, rather because it seems to be part of normal faith development. All the things that gave us a sense of security in our relationship with God begin to disappear at some point and we are left with a feeling of having been abandoned.
My mom used to lay clothes out for my little brother and me to wear, especially on school days. One day we discovered that there were not socks so we ran downstairs to let mom know she had forgotten to lay out socks. She told us she figured were old enough to pick our own socks. Over the course of the next few weeks we were given more and more responsibility in dressing ourselves. I am sure it would not have gone as well if it had fallen to us to begin dressing ourselves all at once.
In some cases our sense of abandonment is God stepping back and letting us take the responsibility for which we are ready, all the while standing at the ready to support us with cheerleading or correction. Other times we are so devastated and caught off guard by situations that we don’t feel God as present even though that is not the way it is. In either case we do well to join the psalmist in going through the process of moving from the feeling of abandonment to the realization that God has been with us all along.
July 17, 2017
LCM
Proper 11
July 23, 2017
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 “Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver—let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.
(NRSV)
It is interesting to note that the psalmist is complaining about being forsaken to the one being accused of ignoring the psalmist in the first place. It is good to know that I am not the first to feel as if God has moved away from me and left me to sink or swim on my own. I am actually hoping that more people than not have had the experience of feeling abandoned by God. Not because I think it is a good to feel abandoned, rather because it seems to be part of normal faith development. All the things that gave us a sense of security in our relationship with God begin to disappear at some point and we are left with a feeling of having been abandoned.
My mom used to lay clothes out for my little brother and me to wear, especially on school days. One day we discovered that there were not socks so we ran downstairs to let mom know she had forgotten to lay out socks. She told us she figured were old enough to pick our own socks. Over the course of the next few weeks we were given more and more responsibility in dressing ourselves. I am sure it would not have gone as well if it had fallen to us to begin dressing ourselves all at once.
In some cases our sense of abandonment is God stepping back and letting us take the responsibility for which we are ready, all the while standing at the ready to support us with cheerleading or correction. Other times we are so devastated and caught off guard by situations that we don’t feel God as present even though that is not the way it is. In either case we do well to join the psalmist in going through the process of moving from the feeling of abandonment to the realization that God has been with us all along.
July 17, 2017
LCM
Monday, July 10, 2017
Psalm Meditation 891
Proper 10
July 16, 2017
Psalm 31
1 In you, O LORD, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me.
2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.
3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6 You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have taken heed of my adversities,
8 and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.
11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many— terror all around!—as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16 Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
17 Do not let me be put to shame, O LORD, for I call on you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be stilled that speak insolently against the righteous with pride and contempt.
19 O how abundant is your goodness that you have laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of everyone!
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from human plots; you hold them safe under your shelter from contentious tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege.
22 I had said in my alarm, “I am driven far from your sight.” But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all you his saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD.
(NRSV)
Trusting God can be hard work because God doesn’t always deliver what we want, when we want, and in the way we want it. Some people decide to trust God in spite of this flawed delivery system and claim God as their own. They continue to trust God even when things don’t work out as anticipated. The good thing is that by trusting God folks discover that God can come up with some pretty neat alternatives that had not crossed the minds of those who put their trust in God.
Other people decide that because God is not willing/able to meet their needs as expected, God is not to be trusted. Because they don’t trust God they miss seeing the ways God acts to meet their needs and wants. They are disappointed often enough that they stop looking for or expecting anything from God. Their expectations, that God is not trustworthy, are met because they fail/refuse to see the ways God is at work in their lives.
Someone once pointed out to me that trust is first given and then earned. That is, I have to trust you with my wants and needs, or expectations and responsibilities before you can possibly deliver on them. I have to trust you with a responsibility before you can show yourself trustworthy. The psalmist makes the bold choice to trust in God and to say, “You are my God.” Once that step is taken the psalmist sees God at work in a variety of ways. It is entirely possible that God was already at work in the psalmist’s life and the activity was missed because the psalmist had no eye for the work of God without the companion choice of trust in God.
July 10, 2017
LCM
Proper 10
July 16, 2017
Psalm 31
1 In you, O LORD, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me.
2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.
3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6 You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have taken heed of my adversities,
8 and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.
11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many— terror all around!—as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16 Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
17 Do not let me be put to shame, O LORD, for I call on you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be stilled that speak insolently against the righteous with pride and contempt.
19 O how abundant is your goodness that you have laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of everyone!
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from human plots; you hold them safe under your shelter from contentious tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege.
22 I had said in my alarm, “I am driven far from your sight.” But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all you his saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD.
(NRSV)
Trusting God can be hard work because God doesn’t always deliver what we want, when we want, and in the way we want it. Some people decide to trust God in spite of this flawed delivery system and claim God as their own. They continue to trust God even when things don’t work out as anticipated. The good thing is that by trusting God folks discover that God can come up with some pretty neat alternatives that had not crossed the minds of those who put their trust in God.
Other people decide that because God is not willing/able to meet their needs as expected, God is not to be trusted. Because they don’t trust God they miss seeing the ways God acts to meet their needs and wants. They are disappointed often enough that they stop looking for or expecting anything from God. Their expectations, that God is not trustworthy, are met because they fail/refuse to see the ways God is at work in their lives.
Someone once pointed out to me that trust is first given and then earned. That is, I have to trust you with my wants and needs, or expectations and responsibilities before you can possibly deliver on them. I have to trust you with a responsibility before you can show yourself trustworthy. The psalmist makes the bold choice to trust in God and to say, “You are my God.” Once that step is taken the psalmist sees God at work in a variety of ways. It is entirely possible that God was already at work in the psalmist’s life and the activity was missed because the psalmist had no eye for the work of God without the companion choice of trust in God.
July 10, 2017
LCM
Monday, July 3, 2017
Psalm Meditation 890
Proper 9
July 9, 2017
Psalm 120
1 In my distress I cry to the LORD, that he may answer me:
2 “Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you? And what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech, that I must live among the tents of Kedar.
6 Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
(NRSV)
Peace is hard work. Peace is especially hard in the face of violence. To accept and absorb the violence of those around us and then to return peace in its place is one of the hardest works any of us will do. We have been taught and trained that to receive violence and not respond in kind is a sign of weakness and cowardice. We are expected to lash out as our first reaction to any slight received or implied. It takes much more maturity to react to violence with peace.
I have heard that when Harry Houdini asked an audience member to punch him in the stomach he did not meet the blow with solidly tightened muscles. Instead he took a moment to relax those muscles so the blow met no resistance. Whether the story is true or not, it would be much harder to relax in anticipation of violence than to meet it with solid resistance.
The psalmist is for peace and is surrounded by those who preach and practice violence. It is a difficult situation any time we hold the minority opinion. Being the voice for peace in a group that is on the alert for war has got to be very difficult. In response the psalmist cries out to God for help in being the voice for peace in the face of war and violence.
July 3, 2017
LCM
Proper 9
July 9, 2017
Psalm 120
1 In my distress I cry to the LORD, that he may answer me:
2 “Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you? And what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech, that I must live among the tents of Kedar.
6 Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
(NRSV)
Peace is hard work. Peace is especially hard in the face of violence. To accept and absorb the violence of those around us and then to return peace in its place is one of the hardest works any of us will do. We have been taught and trained that to receive violence and not respond in kind is a sign of weakness and cowardice. We are expected to lash out as our first reaction to any slight received or implied. It takes much more maturity to react to violence with peace.
I have heard that when Harry Houdini asked an audience member to punch him in the stomach he did not meet the blow with solidly tightened muscles. Instead he took a moment to relax those muscles so the blow met no resistance. Whether the story is true or not, it would be much harder to relax in anticipation of violence than to meet it with solid resistance.
The psalmist is for peace and is surrounded by those who preach and practice violence. It is a difficult situation any time we hold the minority opinion. Being the voice for peace in a group that is on the alert for war has got to be very difficult. In response the psalmist cries out to God for help in being the voice for peace in the face of war and violence.
July 3, 2017
LCM
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