Psalm Meditation 675
Trinity Sunday
May 26, 2013

Psalm 119:81-96
81 My soul languishes for your salvation;
    I hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
    I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
    yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?
    When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
    they flout your law.
86 All your commandments are enduring;
    I am persecuted without cause; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth;
    but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love spare my life,
    so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.
89 The LORD exists forever;
    your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand today,
    for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
    I would have perished in my misery.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
    for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
    for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
    but I consider your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
    but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
(NRSV)

This psalm is 176 verses long and is divided into 22 sets of eight verses, a set for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalm is a celebration of the laws and precepts of God which are life giving and life saving.

Imagine life with no laws, not simply anarchy but a world in which nothing is dependable; no cause and effect, no sense of order and no assurance that what happens in one instance will happen in a similar instance. It would be beyond chaos and randomness. It is possible that this is the void into which God spoke the first word of creation. By speaking that first word, ‘let there be light,’ an order was given to what became the universe. With each successive word of creation more order and definition was given to the void. And while we are guilty of over-ordering our sphere of influence with rules that benefit the rule makers, it is beyond our ability to imagine a place in which no rules of any kind would apply.

The psalmist celebrates that even when the rules have been broken and no longer seem to apply to some people, the laws and precepts of God stand. In the midst of chaos and randomness it is good to know that there is something dependable within our grasp. For the psalmist it is the laws and precepts of God which are kept in heaven where folks who break and bend laws cannot touch them. Those who relish the presence of God can use God’s laws as a touchstone, a place of safety and comfort.

The psalmist reminds us that the presence of God offers us a point of dependability in the midst of any uncertainty. The laws and precepts of God give us hope in the face of all that comes our way.

May 20, 2013
LCM