Psalm Meditation 1107 Proper 18 September 5, 2021 Psalm 71 1 In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me. 3 Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. 5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. 6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. 7 I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long. 9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent. 10 For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life consult together. 11 They say, “Pursue and seize that person whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.” 12 O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! 13 Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace. 14 But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more. 15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge. 16 I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone. 17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power 19 and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? 20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. 21 You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again. 22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued. 24 All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced. (NRSV) ¶A portent is a warning about the future, a sign of something about to happen, usually something bad. For the psalmist to be a portent means that folks have pointed and said, ‘See that person? You don’t want to be like that or you will end up in the same spot.’ Or, folks use this terrible looking person to emphasize an unrelated lesson, ‘See that? I bet that person never ate vegetables as a child, and look what happened.’ A portent may or may not be an accurate description of a person; still, no one wants to be one. ¶The psalmist continues that through all the hardships that have led to this place, God has been present as a source of comfort in every time and place. The psalmist replies, ‘Yes, I may look as if I wear the consequences of bad choices on my body, however, I believe that my life would have been a lot worse if it had not been for the presence of God. I believe that you, O God, will lift me up to a place of honor and comfort in the end.’ ¶Some of us are born with silver spoons in our mouths while others are born into hardship and trial. While it can be tempting to believe that it is the rich and influential who have God’s favor, the Scriptures tell us repeatedly that the heart of God has an honored place for the poor and needy. The psalm ends with the reminder, the portent, that those who make light of the poor and needy will themselves be put to shame and disgraced. August 30, 2021 LCM