Psalm Meditation 867
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
January 29, 2017

Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 “You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
(NRSV)

A friend of mine asked his grandpa if drinking is a bad thing, and his grandpa responded that it is not so much the drinking as the people you drink with. It seems that the psalmist has been surrounded by a less than savory crowd so it becomes important not to become like them. Despite efforts to the contrary, the psalmist comes to a point at which a decision must be made. Is participation in this group sustainable or is it time to move on? The realization also dawns that there will be a price to pay for life in this group of wicked folks; and it is a steep price.

The psalmist decides to trust God for both punishment and deliverance from God’s wrath. The psalmist’s belief system holds that this punishment will be both fatal and eternal, thus the request for a moment of peace before the final disappearance. Good people were remembered by their loved ones and by God while wicked people were forgotten by all.

The groups in which we participate, the people with whom we spend time will change us, for better or worse. We may think that we are only on the fringes and so immune from the groups influence, however we are touched and changed by every group with which we spend any amount of time and effort. Each group will be changed by our contribution as well. The psalmist counsels us to choose with care and with an eye toward God.

January 23, 2017
LCM