Psalm Meditation 1066 Reign of Christ November 22, 2020 Psalm 90 1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You turn us back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you mortals.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. 5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; 6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 7 For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh. 10 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. 13 Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands! (NRSV) One of my mentors defined anger as ‘a boat floating on a sea of fear, realize what you are afraid of and you don’t have to be so angry.’ So what is God afraid of that needs to be expressed as divine wrath? One possibility is that God is afraid for us. There are a lot of ways to move away from God and they each have a consequences. We see the glittery temptation dangling in front of us and move toward it. God’s wrath is kindled when the temptation shows its true colors and begins to do damage to us. God reacts out of fear for our safety. Some of us see God as angry and aloof as a default setting. God is always looking for reasons to be angry with us, and excuses to punish us. More accurately, God is looking for reasons to pass judgment on ‘those’ people, the ones who do all the things that we and God find annoying and sinful. Our task is to point out all the reasons that God is angry in order to force ‘them’ to do things the way they should; our way. God’s anger just happens to be directed at those with whom we disagree. The wrath of God is directed toward anything that moves someone away from the divine presence. When we emphasize the finger wagging judgment of God we are more likely to push someone away than draw them back. It is when we meet saints and sinners with the love of God that people are drawn into the divine presence and the communion of saints. It is through compassion and steadfast love that we rejoice and prosper in the presence of God. November 16, 2020 LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/