Psalm Meditation 910
Reign of Christ
November 26, 2017

Psalm 28
1 To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, or the work of his hands, he will break them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the LORD, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
(NRSV)

There are those who believe that God will not listen to the prayer of a sinner, until that person has first prayed a ‘sinner’s prayer’ along the lines of Psalm 51. God is not able to hear a prayer until the person has prayed this prayer as an acknowledgement of sinfulness and the inability to achieve salvation without the presence of God. In this view God does not act in favor of anyone who has not accepted the salvation God offers.

I believe with John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist movement, that God is seeking us out from the start, actively loving us and acting with our best interest in mind. This puts the first move into the realm of God. We will not notice or name what goes on as God in our lives until we accept the love God offers, however God is actively working in our lives and responding to our heartfelt wants and needs way before we notice. God acts as a parent with a newborn providing care and nurture from the beginning.

Perhaps God acts and we perceive that action as we are willing and able. The psalmist hopes for and counts on the active presence of God in the life of the nation, delivering individuals and the whole people from that which threatens body and soul. God will also punish those who do damage among the people of God whether from within or from the outside. Salvation comes from God and we acknowledge and accept it as children of God.

November 20, 2017
LCM