Psalm Meditation 1060 Proper 23 October 11, 2020 Psalm 89 (selected verses) 1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. 2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. 3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David: 4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah 5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, 7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him? 8 O Lord God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. 10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 11 The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it—you have founded them. 12 The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. 13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance; 16 they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness. 17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted. 18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel. 46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember how short my time is—for what vanity you have created all mortals! 48 Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah 49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? 50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples, 51 with which your enemies taunt, O Lord, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed. 52 Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen. (NRSV) When things go poorly for those we don’t like, we see it as the judgment of God on them for their evil ways. We can pinpoint all the reasons that they are being punished, especially for all the ways they have picked on us. They deserve all that is happening to them because they are not like us. They are mean and heartless, as well as godless in all that they are and do. Sometimes God will single out an individual for public shaming, ridicule, and punishment while other times whole groups of people will be targeted by God’s acts of vengeance. Either way, we know that God is at work in their lives to make them pay for their evil ways. When things go badly for us we are more likely to blame those bad folks for picking on us and wishing and working for ill in our lives. We are good people of God so it couldn’t possibly be that God is punishing us in the same way that ‘those’ people get punished for doing bad things. God is not actively doing the bad things to us, God is hiding from us to allow these things to happen. Perhaps we are being disciplined for some slight sin we have committed against God, however all will be well soon enough—when God gets back. We define and deal with God on our own terms. We can’t stand back from ourselves and look at God through some objective lens. God will always be seen as behaving with the same motives we have for our actions. The only way we can see, think of, and define God is from within our own context. If we are gifted, we can see God in the light of another culture or viewpoint, however we can’t see God through any but our human lenses. What really motivates God to act among us? There are as many answers as there are people. The psalmist wants to know that God is a God of steadfast love. October 5, 2020 LCM