Psalm Meditation 1099 Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time July 11, 2021 Psalm 45 1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty. 4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds. 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you. 6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity; 7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; 9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. 10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house, 11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him; 12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people 13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; 14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow. 15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. 16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. 17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever. (NRSV) This may be a totally random thought sparked by verse 13 of this marriage psalm. I hope it is helpful despite or because of its focus. In early preaching, the habit was to read a verse of Scripture, expound on it, move to the next verse and repeat the process. I believe that the chapters and verses of the Bible are divisions for preaching. The chapters are a text for a given week and the verses are the places to stop in order to expound on that bit of Scripture. To add to the possibility of confusion, early Hebrew was written without punctuation or even spaces between words. Dividing a text as has been done with verse 13 raises an interesting question. In the NRSV there is not even a comma to separate verse 12 from 13; the verse picks up in the middle of a sentence. Chances are, that at one time people read the sentence as if the princess were decked with all kinds of wealth, and now it makes more sense for the people of Tyre to be the ones with all kinds of wealth as wedding gifts for the king. The punctuation has changed but not the versification. Either way, the reading does not have any effect on our salvation—this time. So, all of this to remind us that it is important to be careful how we read and comprehend Scripture. Am I correct about how Scripture was divided into chapters and verses? I have never seen any explanation of any kind; so maybe yes, maybe no. Have I seen and heard people take the same verse of Scripture to prove opposing points of view by putting emphasis on the part that proves their point? Yep, I have. As we read Scripture, especially if we are reading to prove ourselves right about something, and ‘those people’ wrong, we do well to keep an eye to God instead of proving our own point of view with Scripture. July 5, 2021 LCM

Psalm Meditation 1098 Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time July 4, 2021 Psalm 120 1 In my distress I cry to the Lord, that he may answer me: 2 “Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” 3 What shall be given to you? And what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? 4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree! 5 Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech, that I must live among the tents of Kedar. 6 Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war. (NRSV) The feeling of being a fish out of water is familiar to some of us. It may be that we are the only one who holds a particular opinion in our circle of friends, the one who has had an experience that sets us apart from the gang, or the one who has a characteristic that is obviously different from the rest of the group. In some cases we are accepted anyway and in others we are kept on the fringes of the group for fear that whatever is different about us may be contagious in some form. It is possible that the psalmist is distressed by words or silence that leads the group to believe that the psalmist is just like all the rest of the folks. The prayer is that the psalmist will be set free from the deceit that has drained so much energy in the struggle to keep silent. ‘O God, burn the lies from my lips and tongue so that I may speak my truth even to those who disagree with me.’ Some groups tolerate differences of opinion and others do not. Our hope is to find a community in which we can get along, through agreement or tolerance of disagreement. If we find ourselves thrown into a group in which we do not fit, we can hope to keep our integrity intact in some way, to find a small group of comfort within the larger group, to pray that we will continue to experience the love of God despite feeling no love from the group in which we find ourselves. June 28, 2021 LCM

Psalm Meditation 1097 Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time June 27, 2021 Psalm 20 1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah 4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans. 5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. 7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright. 9 Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call (NRSV) In ancient cultures, the well being of folks had a lot to do with the success of the ruler in diplomacy and battle. Even the poorest of the poor could suffer if the land was over run and burned and destroyed by the conquering army. A prayer for victory was an important part of any engagement between two rulers. As the ruler was faithful in religious practice, the belief was that God would return that faithfulness by engineering the outcome of the engagement in our favor. While we may not be as directly affected by every encounter between the rulers of two nations, we continue to be dependent on our rulers to forge the partnerships that will benefit our nation and citizens. Various factions within a nation want different particulars, even as we each and all want what we see as best for us as a whole. I am sure there will always be those who want what is best for themselves alone, however, most of us want what is best for most of us. In every time and place, it is good to lift up the leaders and rulers of the nations of the world to God. At our best, we know that God loves us without concern for where we live or under what system of government we find ourselves. The psalmist gives us the example of praying for our own rulers. We can expand that to include all those who have authority over others so that as human beings we can rise and stand upright together. June 21, 2021 LCM

Psalm Meditation 1096 Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time June 20, 2021 Psalm 95 1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! 8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.” 11 Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.” (NRSV) When was the last time you asked to speak to a manager so that you could compliment an employee who did good work for you? We are very quick to complain, sometimes through the proper channels, and sometimes to neighbors and friends who can’t really do anything about it. They may agree that that place is the worst and no one ever gets good service there. They may tell you that they have had nothing but good experiences with that place. None of that conversation changes the way the establishment works, but it does make the bad experience a shared experience. The psalmist invites us to join in thanksgiving to God. There are so many reasons to join the song and celebration of God’s activity with us. God has created all that we experience around us, the good, the bad, the safe, the dangerous, and everything in between. With all that in mind, this would be a great time to thank God for all the wonders we see. And in case we aren’t feeling up to being grateful, remember our ancestors’ experience at Meribah and Massah, when they got water out of a rock and still found reason to complain about God not doing enough for them. Be thankful, if for no other reason than to keep God from getting peeved. Even if this is not the best day in a series, take a moment to give thanks to God for all the good things that are going on. The list will be different for each of us, and that is good. In case any of us needs a nudge in the direction of thankfulness, the psalmist offers us some big ticket items for our list: God made the valleys, the mountains, the sea, the dry land. Oh, and on top of all that God takes care of us, watching over us as a shepherd watches over sheep, letting us wander and keeping as much danger as possible at bay. June 14, 2021 LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/

Psalm Meditation 1095 Third Sunday of Ordinary Time June 13, 2021 Psalm 69 1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore? 5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 6 Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel. 7 It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children. 9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so. 11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. 12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. 13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help 14 rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 15 Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me. 16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies. 19 You know the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 22 Let their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies. 23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one live in their tents. 26 For they persecute those whom you have struck down, and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more. 27 Add guilt to their guilt; may they have no acquittal from you. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 29 But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me. 30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 33 For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds. 34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall live there and possess it; 36 the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall live in it. (NRSV) How many of us have known that we are in the right until we get a flash of insight that lets us know that we have been wrong all this time. We are quick to see ourselves as victims as long as we remain unaware of how badly treated the genuine victims are. Suddenly we are forced to see ourselves as unwitting perpetrators, or seemingly uninvolved bystanders, who make things worse for the victims by supporting the perpetrators by our silence and inaction. When we read this psalm as if we are the ones being victimized by all those around us we may instead be perpetrators whose actions are being called out by legitimate victims. Yep, I just lost some of you who can’t believe that you are not a victim. No matter what, it is a good idea to turn to God. If we are being victimized, God will give us the comfort of divine presence. It is entirely possible that nothing will change in our circumstance, except that we will know that we are in the presence of God who has a special place for those who are oppressed and bound by the wiles of those who stand against us. We have the assurance that God is standing with us. If we are even inadvertent victimizers, we turn to God and find new direction and renewal through repentance In those times in which I am the victim, the presence of God redeems me from the harm and bondage of my oppressors. If I am an oppressor, God will destroy my bent to oppressive action and my inaction that allows others to heap indignities on those they see as beneath them. God brings us to new hope, new life, new ways of being in community with all people. June 7, 2021 LCM

Psalm Meditation 1094 Second Sunday of Ordinary Time June 6, 2021 Psalm 144 1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; 2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me. 3 O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them? 4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow. 5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. 6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them. 7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens, 8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false. 9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, 10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David. 11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false. 12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace. 13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, 14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets. 15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the Lord. (NRSV) Most of us don’t face our enemies in armed combat in physical form since most of our enemies are the doubts and concerns that interfere with our ability to function on a daily basis. We may have gobs of skills and talents, or just enough to get by. At the same time we are assailed by doubts that keep us from doing the work of which we are capable. The doubts likely come from within us, even if we received them from a figure we loved and trusted at some point in our lives. Having internalized the doubts, we allow our doubts to overpower our awareness of our skills. The psalmist asks God for relief from the enemies who are in full attack mode against our author. Whether physical, spiritual, or psychological, the enemies aim is to destroy us in some form or another. No matter how the destruction comes, it is aided by lies and offers of help that will turn to dust in our hands. God is the ones who speaks the truth and whose offered hand is firm and supportive in the face of any calamity. God serves as giver of our skills and talents as well as our cheerleader to use our gifts to the best of our ability. When we feel as if we are drowning in doubt and questions, God is with us to give us what we need to face our doubts. It could be as simple as letting us walk away to regroup for a moment or the willingness to trust ourselves and give our all to the project, calamity, or trial at hand. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” May 31, 2021 LCM

Psalm Meditation 1093 Trinity Sunday May 30, 2021 Psalm 44 1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: 2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; 3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them. 4 You are my King and my God; you command victories for Jacob. 5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down our assailants. 6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 7 But you have saved us from our foes, and have put to confusion those who hate us. 8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah 9 Yet you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies. 10 You made us turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil. 11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations. 12 You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. 13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us. 14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face 16 at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17 All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, or been false to your covenant. 18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way, 19 yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with deep darkness. 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god, 21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22 Because of you we are being killed all day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever! 24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 25 For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. 26 Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. (NRSV) When things are going well, we have to remind ourselves that God has a lot to do with our success, having given us our skills and abilities to use and refine. The psalmist goes so far as to say that our success is due to the work of God for us. As long as God is fighting for us we don’t need to have skills and abilities of our own because God is the one doing all the work. It is no use to trust our weapons if we do not place our primary loyalty in God. The psalmist raises a lament due to the military losses the people have suffered. We must have done something to deserve being chased off of the battlefield by superior forces on the other side. The psalmist does not know of any way that our people have been unfaithful, so this loss must be the fault of God rather than us. Since absolute rulers of the day were inconsistent in their rules and enforcement this is the only example people had for divine action. God is not as wishy washy as the psalmist wants to believe. At the same time, God is not the direct cause of everything that happens to us. God has given each of us, friend and foe alike, the ability to make our own choices and to live with the consequences of our actions. As we get to live with the consequences of our choices, as do those around us, we live with the consequences of actions by those around us through no fault of our own. May 24, 2021 LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/