Psalm Meditation 554
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
January 30, 2011

Psalm 65
1 Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
2 O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.
3 When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.
4 Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
6 By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.
7 You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
8 Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
(NRSV)

From time to time we get so used to how a word is used that we forget what it means. We talk about the providence of God as if it had something to do with God’s majesty which in a sense it does. Providence is about God’s willingness to provide for our wants and needs on a grand scale. Providence is also about God’s willingness to provide for our individual wants and needs. This psalm celebrates the providence of God from the forgiveness of our transgressions to the beauty and majesty of the whole earth.

God works on the small scale, dealing with each of us as individuals with our particular strengths and needs. The presence and providence of God is not a set of cookie cutter solutions into which we have to fit ourselves. God chooses to be present with us and to provide for us as unique individuals. God forgives us for our particular sins rather than a simple blanket amnesty. From the outside it may appear to be a broad spectrum, general forgiveness of any and all sins and transgressions. In a relationship with God it is obvious how personal and specific God’s attention to each of us is.

God works on a broad and general scale providing the things all of us need on a regular basis. God provides sources of food and water to meet our needs for the nourishment of our bodies. God provides sunrises and sunsets that are both functional and beautiful to touch our hearts and souls with joy. God provides us with ordinary times so tat we are better able to experience and appreciate the extraordinary times. Whether we see God at work in our individual lives or in the more cosmic workings of creation the providence of God is a source of joy.

January 24, 2011