Psalm Meditation 969
Baptism of the Lord
January 13, 2019

Psalm 5
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my sighing.
2 Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you.
5 The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover them with favor as with a shield.
(NRSV)

Most of us believe that the world is fair, at least most of the time. We believe that we deserve what we get and that we get what we deserve in terms of reward and punishment. When things do not work out the way they should we are hurt and angry. When ‘those’ people win and our people lose we are doubly upset by the unfairness of it all. The psalmist knows that evildoers will be caught and punished, eventually. We join the psalmist in knowing that those who are mean spirited and selfish will get caught up in the web of their own making at some point. We may say that we know the world is not fair, and we will comfort or confront people with the words, “life is not fair.” but we continue to believe that life is, or should be, fair; if not in every instance, in the long run anyway.

The psalmist is of an era in which God actively rewards and punishes people and groups according to their actions. A big part of the reason that life is fair in the first place is because God watches over us, keeps score for us, and evens the playing field when it becomes necessary. God punishes the bad people when their evil deeds get out of hand. God rewards us good people when we have gone without for long enough. If we wait long enough everything will work out for good people as the bad people receive the punishment God has reserved for them.

What if God loves us and chooses to be with us no matter what rather than standing apart as an impartial judge and referee. When things go well, God is there to celebrate with us. When things go badly, God is there to give us comfort. God does not change the rules to make things easier for the good guys. God allows things to play out, knowing that the rewards and punishments are built in. My dad taught me to be a short range pessimist and a long range optimist. Things won't always work out in the day to day scheme of things, however, eventually things work out.

January 7, 2019
LCM