Psalm Meditation 1020
Epiphany Sunday
January 5, 2020
Psalm 107
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town;
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress;
7 he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom, prisoners in misery and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor; they fell down, with no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;
14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze, and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;
20 he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
22 And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43 Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
(NRSV)
Most of us are content to do what we do on a daily basis without asking for help. As creatures of habit we go through our routines without a lot of thought about what we are doing or how we go about it. It sounds boring to put it that way, however, most of us are content with a regular routine with just enough difference that we can keep track of what day it is. When something out of the ordinary happens, something outside of our going through the motions routine, we are caught off guard and feel the need for extra prayer.
The psalmist describes a variety of ‘ordinary’ experiences that people have in the course of their lives. Some wander, some are in prison, some are sick, some work on the sea, and some as merchants for those sea-faring folk. Each of these groups have reason to cry out to God for deliverance from something out of the ordinary routine. In each case God delivered them from that which gave them reason to pray. It wasn’t about deserving help so much as it was asking for help and having God give more than what was requested.
Some call it a ‘fox hole conversion’ when we cry out to God at a time of extraordinary need. It describes those who turn to God for extra help when there is extra need. My experience is that those with deep and active faith do the same thing. They pray constantly and manage to find a way to pray more or with more urgency when there is an extra need for themselves or another. Either way, the psalmist assures us that God responds out of great love for us. “Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”
December 30, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 30, 2019
Monday, December 23, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1019
First Sunday After Christmas
December 29, 2019
Psalm 7
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
(NRSV)
Taking responsibility for something that goes bad is not an easy thing to do. It is easier to make ourselves into victims than it is to accept responsibility for our actions when the consequences of a series of events leads to a bad result for us. I was caught by the caveat the psalmist makes in verses 3-5, ‘if I have done any of the things of which I am accused, let the full force of retaliation come to me. I am willing to die and be consigned to hell if I am guilty.’ The psalmist begins with the admission of the possibility of personal responsibility.
Once that is settled the psalmist asks God to rise up, preside over a trial, and punish those who have done evil and mischief. Since the psalmist was not struck down mid-sentence the psalm lays out the fate of those who are unrepentantly evil. God is not one to shrug off the evils we bring on others. One of my mentors said, “We are not so much punished for our sin as we are by our sin.” Our actions have consequences and someone has to receive the promise or pay the cost for those actions. It would be fair if we could count on the perpetrator of sin and evil paying the price for any evil act. We know that it is usually an innocent person who bears the brunt of another’s evil. When someone is careless or reckless, at best, callous, at worst, behind the wheel of a vehicle someone else gets hurt or killed by the driver’s actions.
My favorite substitute teacher would not allow a student to tattle on another without first admitting what they had done to cause or complicate the situation. When confronted with the possibility of shared guilt and punishment, the tattling lessened considerably in the classes my wife, my favorite sub, taught. The psalmist models a way to pray against those we feel are out to get us. We start with the possibility that we bear some of the guilt for what is happening to us and around us. Once we get that log out of our own eye we can see clearly to ask God to judge the rest of the guilty parties as well. “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.”
December 23, 2019
LCM
First Sunday After Christmas
December 29, 2019
Psalm 7
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
(NRSV)
Taking responsibility for something that goes bad is not an easy thing to do. It is easier to make ourselves into victims than it is to accept responsibility for our actions when the consequences of a series of events leads to a bad result for us. I was caught by the caveat the psalmist makes in verses 3-5, ‘if I have done any of the things of which I am accused, let the full force of retaliation come to me. I am willing to die and be consigned to hell if I am guilty.’ The psalmist begins with the admission of the possibility of personal responsibility.
Once that is settled the psalmist asks God to rise up, preside over a trial, and punish those who have done evil and mischief. Since the psalmist was not struck down mid-sentence the psalm lays out the fate of those who are unrepentantly evil. God is not one to shrug off the evils we bring on others. One of my mentors said, “We are not so much punished for our sin as we are by our sin.” Our actions have consequences and someone has to receive the promise or pay the cost for those actions. It would be fair if we could count on the perpetrator of sin and evil paying the price for any evil act. We know that it is usually an innocent person who bears the brunt of another’s evil. When someone is careless or reckless, at best, callous, at worst, behind the wheel of a vehicle someone else gets hurt or killed by the driver’s actions.
My favorite substitute teacher would not allow a student to tattle on another without first admitting what they had done to cause or complicate the situation. When confronted with the possibility of shared guilt and punishment, the tattling lessened considerably in the classes my wife, my favorite sub, taught. The psalmist models a way to pray against those we feel are out to get us. We start with the possibility that we bear some of the guilt for what is happening to us and around us. Once we get that log out of our own eye we can see clearly to ask God to judge the rest of the guilty parties as well. “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.”
December 23, 2019
LCM
Monday, December 16, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1018
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 22, 2019
Psalm 82
1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
(NRSV)
We like to believe that we are loyal to the God of the Bible, however this psalm asks us to question who and what it is we worship. In the midst of the gods, the God of the children of Abraham addresses the others with a call to justice, impartiality, preference to the weak and the orphan, maintaining the rights of the lowly and destitute, and rescue of the weak and needy from the wicked. If we hear a call to do other than that, we have chosen a different god to follow than the one we profess.
The comforting thing, I guess, is that people have been attempting to tame and domesticate God for a long time. As long as people believe that it is the job of God to uphold the nation, the empire, we are in danger of moving away from the God of the Bible. When God wants me to be rich at your expense, we are in danger. When God supports the government over and against the people being governed, we are in danger. When God agrees with everything we believe, we are in danger. Through psalms and prophets God calls us back to concern for those whose voices cannot be heard over the cries for more power.
If you are like me you have already gone through your list of those who need to reassess their loyalty to the God of the Bible. And, for some reason, my own name is not at the top of the list. Copy and paste your own name to the top of the list, and then delete the rest of the names on that list, and I will do the same. It is so much easier to see how to fix all those ‘other’ people, since it takes so little effort to come up with everything that needs to changed, and list the steps to take to accomplish those changes. When we look to our own need for change, we can’t stop with the list, we have to add energy and activity to make the needed changes. “Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!”
December 16, 2019
LCM
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 22, 2019
Psalm 82
1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
(NRSV)
We like to believe that we are loyal to the God of the Bible, however this psalm asks us to question who and what it is we worship. In the midst of the gods, the God of the children of Abraham addresses the others with a call to justice, impartiality, preference to the weak and the orphan, maintaining the rights of the lowly and destitute, and rescue of the weak and needy from the wicked. If we hear a call to do other than that, we have chosen a different god to follow than the one we profess.
The comforting thing, I guess, is that people have been attempting to tame and domesticate God for a long time. As long as people believe that it is the job of God to uphold the nation, the empire, we are in danger of moving away from the God of the Bible. When God wants me to be rich at your expense, we are in danger. When God supports the government over and against the people being governed, we are in danger. When God agrees with everything we believe, we are in danger. Through psalms and prophets God calls us back to concern for those whose voices cannot be heard over the cries for more power.
If you are like me you have already gone through your list of those who need to reassess their loyalty to the God of the Bible. And, for some reason, my own name is not at the top of the list. Copy and paste your own name to the top of the list, and then delete the rest of the names on that list, and I will do the same. It is so much easier to see how to fix all those ‘other’ people, since it takes so little effort to come up with everything that needs to changed, and list the steps to take to accomplish those changes. When we look to our own need for change, we can’t stop with the list, we have to add energy and activity to make the needed changes. “Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!”
December 16, 2019
LCM
Monday, December 9, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1017
Third Sunday of Advent
December 15, 2019
Psalm 56
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High,
3 when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they hoped to have my life,
7 so repay them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.
(NRSV)
Most of my enemies are not people. My actual enemies are ideas. Therefore, the people I count as enemies, opponents, and adversaries are not really the enemy. If either I or they have a change of heart I can just as easily count those same people among my compatriots. With the exception of leading voices I don’t know who my enemies are by name and I am sure they do not know mine. Yet we count ourselves as enemies.
There are people we choose as enemies, people we decide to oppose at every turn for reasons that seem good at the time. If those folks have made a name for themselves in our area of interest and influence, we can oppose them face to face. Even then we are inclined to send others in to do the actual battle while we call the shots. If we get too close we may discover that there is something there worth getting to know, love, and appreciate. Chosen enemies have as much to do with who we are as who they are.
The psalmist states that no matter what, we can turn to God. Are we feeling persecuted? We can turn to God. Are we feeling ignored? We can turn to God. Are we eaten up by grief? We can turn to God. “My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.”
December 9, 2019
LCM
Third Sunday of Advent
December 15, 2019
Psalm 56
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High,
3 when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they hoped to have my life,
7 so repay them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.
(NRSV)
Most of my enemies are not people. My actual enemies are ideas. Therefore, the people I count as enemies, opponents, and adversaries are not really the enemy. If either I or they have a change of heart I can just as easily count those same people among my compatriots. With the exception of leading voices I don’t know who my enemies are by name and I am sure they do not know mine. Yet we count ourselves as enemies.
There are people we choose as enemies, people we decide to oppose at every turn for reasons that seem good at the time. If those folks have made a name for themselves in our area of interest and influence, we can oppose them face to face. Even then we are inclined to send others in to do the actual battle while we call the shots. If we get too close we may discover that there is something there worth getting to know, love, and appreciate. Chosen enemies have as much to do with who we are as who they are.
The psalmist states that no matter what, we can turn to God. Are we feeling persecuted? We can turn to God. Are we feeling ignored? We can turn to God. Are we eaten up by grief? We can turn to God. “My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.”
December 9, 2019
LCM
Monday, December 2, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1016
Second Sunday of Advent
December 8, 2019
Psalm 131
1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.
(NRSV)
There is something healing about being drawn into someone’s core, whether it be a lap or not. That area is so vital, filled with life giving and life sustaining organs, that to be allowed in is the height of vulnerability from the comforter. To be trusted within the center of another’s being is a display of love, and comfort, which is at once deeply calming and highly vulnerable for the one being held. It is a wonder—filled feeling for both
Imagine yourself that calm and quiet in the presence of God. In some ways, the two images are the same. To be cuddled, cradled, and calmed is to be in the presence of God. To be conscious of the comfort of a flesh and blood person as well as the presence of God is the peace the psalmist is communicating in this psalm.
From the position of a comforted soul in the presence of God, the psalmist invites each of us to the hope that rises from this level of trust and vulnerability. There is no demand or request from God on the part of the psalmist, simply pleasure in the healing presence of God.
December 2, 2019
LCM
Second Sunday of Advent
December 8, 2019
Psalm 131
1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.
(NRSV)
There is something healing about being drawn into someone’s core, whether it be a lap or not. That area is so vital, filled with life giving and life sustaining organs, that to be allowed in is the height of vulnerability from the comforter. To be trusted within the center of another’s being is a display of love, and comfort, which is at once deeply calming and highly vulnerable for the one being held. It is a wonder—filled feeling for both
Imagine yourself that calm and quiet in the presence of God. In some ways, the two images are the same. To be cuddled, cradled, and calmed is to be in the presence of God. To be conscious of the comfort of a flesh and blood person as well as the presence of God is the peace the psalmist is communicating in this psalm.
From the position of a comforted soul in the presence of God, the psalmist invites each of us to the hope that rises from this level of trust and vulnerability. There is no demand or request from God on the part of the psalmist, simply pleasure in the healing presence of God.
December 2, 2019
LCM
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