Psalm Meditation 723
Second Sunday of Easter
April 27, 2014

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)

While our list of good things provided by God is a bit different from that of the psalmist we can still celebrate the overwhelming providence of God in our lives. Our battle skills are framed in terms of job performance and market share rather than swords and armies. Our children are still way above average in every category of comparison. Crops and livestock have been exchanged for other types of quantifiable possessions of excellent quality. Safety and security continue to be concerns we place in the hands of God.

The change in emphasis does not change our dependence on the providence of God. While not everyone looks to God as the source of all that is, those of us who do are willing to see the hand of God at work in every aspect of our lives. Some folks see God as the cause of all that happens, both good and bad, while others see God as present in all that happens. Either way, God provides us reasons for celebration, concern and comfort. God provides out of a rich store of blessings.

There are those for whom the current inventory of wealth and possessions is inadequate; there is a constant desire for more of something or everything. These folks will live in a state of continual disappointment. There will never be enough of anything. More ’stuff’ will increase the sense of emptiness since it will continue to be unsatisfying. Those who live in gratitude for what God provides will temper striving for more or better with a celebration and contentment of what is. The presence and providence of God is a great blessing than all of ‘stuff’ the world has to offer.

April 21, 2014