Psalm Meditation 988
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 26, 2019

Psalm 77
1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
4 You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.
6 I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10 And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15 With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
(NRSV)

This psalm seems to pivot on verse ten, “And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”” And to add another layer, this is an interesting reminder that the placement of punctuation makes a difference in the meaning of a sentence, and that one sentence can change the meaning of a whole psalm. Does the psalmist intend to say that ‘God is a source of grief, the right hand of the Most High having changed,’ or is the intent to rejoice that, ‘It is my grief that has been changed by the hand of God?’ I understand that early Hebrew didn’t even leave spaces between words, let alone use punctuation.

I am of the mind that the psalmist is declaring that it is the grief that has been changed by the hand of God. My own experience is that the one who is most changed by prayer is me. My situation may not change at all through prayer, however my attitude and the eyes through which I see the situation can change drastically when I become aware that I am not alone. I am surrounded by God as well as by the people of God. The people of God lift me up and their concern changes them, their concern for me, changes me, our changes open a whole new relationship as we are drawn more deeply into a life in God. When I know that I am being lifted in prayer, my burden is lighter and I am more free to be in prayer for others.

Once we see God at work in our lives, we are able to turn our attention to the good things that God has done. As we notice that God has been active in the past, we can look forward to the pattern of good things continuing even if we are currently in the middle of an intense trial at this moment. We are reminded that God is at work in the world, in the lives of those who are in the world, and in phenomena beyond our ability to understand. As we are able, we look around to see ourselves surrounded by a community, a family, moving in concert with the will of God.

May 20, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/