Psalm Meditation 667
Easter
March 31, 2013

Psalm 28
1 To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, or the work of his hands, he will break them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the LORD, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
(NRSV)

It is interesting that, with the psalmist, we are quick to ask God to judge the wicked harshly. And the wicked includes anyone and everyone who crosses the group of which we are a part. For some, the cry to God is from a position of weakness in the relationship. Since we are unable to protect ourselves from those who oppress us we depend on God to be the one who brings an end to the oppression and a beginning of justice for us and for them. God is called upon to save us from those more powerful than ourselves.

For others, the cry to God is from a position of equal or greater power in the relationship. In those cases, it seems, we are calling on God to do our bidding as if we have the power to give commands to God that we then expect God to carry out for us. In this scenario God becomes one more weapon in our collection of powerful weapons.

It is good for us to remember that God is a loving presence rather than a weapon of conquest. As we come into God’s presence with our lists of requests we do well to ask ourselves whether we are asking God to be with us and to act with us in mind for the sake of God’s glory or if we are asking God to act as our agent for the sake of our own glory. God is with us. In all times and in all places God is with us. God seeks out a relationship based in steadfast love for us. When we seek out a relationship with God based in love we are able to see all the ways God is at work in our lives and the lives of those around us.

March 25, 2013