Psalm Meditation 838
Proper 10
July 10, 2016

Psalm 4
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
4 When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O LORD!”
7 You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound.
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.
(NRSV)

It is so much easier to define sin when we look at the actions and imagine the thoughts of other people. We know what behaviors are sinful because we have memorized the catalog of sins that other people are most likely to commit. At that point we become experts and are quick to pass judgment on those who do things we find abhorrent. We point our fingers at them and look to God for confirmation of our opinion. God nods that there is sin in progress without pointing to the sinner so we assume that our fingers are doing the pointing for God.

The psalmist reminds us that we are not as right as we assume we are. “When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent.” When we are sure that we are right and others are wrong we do well to lie down for a moment and think about what is going on. Yes, this other is probably guilty of some sin, and perhaps even guilty of the sin we see and would gladly point out. And, we may be guilty as well; guilty of judging in the name of God without the authority or perspective of God. We are quite likely guilty of a list of sins that escape our notice for one reason or another.

The psalmist also counsels us to give our heads and hearts a moment to catch up to each other. By being silent for a time we make time to realize that this other may not be as bad as we made them out to be as well as seeing that we may not be as pure as we assume we are. If we are to correct one another in love, we begin with love. If we can’t find it in ourselves to build the relationship that will lead to mutual correction, we serve God much better by offering right sacrifices and putting our trust in the LORD.

July 4, 2016
LCM