Psalm Meditation 734
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 13, 2014

Psalm 59
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me.
3 Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5 You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths, with sharp words on their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, O LORD; you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget; make them totter by your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath; consume them until they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
15 They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
(NRSV)

Sometimes we make our enemies by our actions and attitudes and sometimes our enemies choose us for reasons of their own that may have nothing to do with who we are and what we have done. Either way, when the attacks come we find ourselves calling out for protection and deliverance. We may have established a pattern of abuses and our enemies finally weary of it and rise up to attack in retaliation. We may simply be at a certain place at an inopportune time and be chosen by someone as the enemy of the day. The attacks are devastating no matter what the provocation. We turn to God for protection from our enemies.

In some cases we pray for the total destruction and elimination of our enemies, in this case the psalmist asks that the enemy be left with no power to rise up and that they consume themselves in their pride, curses and lies. As that happens it falls to the people of God to acknowledge God’s activity in our lives, rather than suddenly claim the victory as our own, forgetting about all the ways God has been at work in us. If we allow ourselves to become proud in the face of victory we run the risk of being consumed ourselves in our pride, curses and lies.

To be the people of God is to see God as active in our lives and in the lives of those around us. In some instances God will be building us up, in others God will be judging us, in all instances God will be loving us steadfastly and wholeheartedly. As people of God we look for the activity of God in our lives so that we can participate with God to the best of our ability. Where we are being built up, we exercise that gifts God is giving us, where we are being judged we are moved to repent, in all things we watch for and sing the praises of God.

July 7, 2014
LCM