Psalm Meditation 793
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 30, 2015

Psalm 119:153-176
153 Look on my misery and rescue me, for I do not forget your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Great is your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to your justice.
157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, yet I do not swerve from your decrees.
158 I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.
159 Consider how I love your precepts; preserve my life according to your steadfast love.
160 The sum of your word is truth; and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.
161 Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.
162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous ordinances.
165 Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
166 I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I fulfill your commandments.
167 My soul keeps your decrees; I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep your precepts and decrees, for all my ways are before you.
169 Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
170 Let my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
171 My lips will pour forth praise, because you teach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your promise, for all your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
175 Let me live that I may praise you, and let your ordinances help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.
(NRSV)

In junior high gym class we played a game our teacher called Texas basketball. It was supposed to be extra fun because there were no rules. The class was divided into two groups and everybody played at once. Even in this free for all atmosphere we still had rules to follow. A basket only counted for a team if it went into the basket at the proper end of the court, a basket only counted one point and we all had to stay on the court while the game was in progress.

This psalm is a celebration of the rules, of the laws and precepts of God. In each set of eight verses the first word of each line begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. These verses are the last three sets of eight. It may seem extravagant to spend so much effort and energy to celebrate something that so many of us spend so much time trying to get around. This may be the point of the psalm. Even though the rules drive us nuts sometimes it is important to have them. Much as we complain about them we like to know that we have limits and boundaries in our lives.

God’s rules are about how we get along with each other and with God. The rules are about our relationships. We can treat each other with respect and dignity or we can be selfish and unruly. God recommends that we treat each other as people of sacred worth, people loved by God, people who are bound to us in a variety of ways including faithfulness to the laws and precepts of God.

August 24, 2015
LCM