Psalm Meditation 1150 ¶Proper 9 ¶July 3, 2022 ¶Psalm 7 1 O LORD my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. 3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause, 5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah 6 Rise up, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment. 7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high. 8 The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. 9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God. 10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge and a God who has indignation every day. 12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow; 13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. 14 See how they conceive evil and are pregnant with mischief and bring forth lies. 15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made. 16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends. 17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness and sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. (NRSV) ¶The first image that came to me is of someone curled into a fetal position, cowering in a dark corner, waiting for someone to come and scoop them up in a protective embrace. It takes a powerful person to pull this off. Many of us feel that we are too big for anyone to be able to scoop us up and protect us. This may be why it is such a helpful image of the love and power of God in our lives. The love seeks us out, looking into every dark and scary place until we are found. The power lifts us up and carries us to safety as if we were no burden at all. ¶In times like these, we want it known that if we have ever made anyone feel as small as we do, we are very sorry and will accept any punishment that fits our actions. We never want anyone to feel badly because of anything we have said or done to make them feel that way. As we are willing to accept the punishment of God, we want all who have made us suffer, to bear the punishment they deserve for the harm they have done to us. May they be caught in the webs and traps they have laid out for others ¶Of course, God is not one to wreak vengeance on anyone. The love of God is not reserved for those who love God in return, who repent with remorse and tears. The love of God comes to each of us, no matter what. We may not be open to or willing to receive God’s love, however, God loves us just the same. So we can wish all the devastation and destruction we can ever imagine onto our enemies at the hand of God, that does not mean it will happen. As we look to God for answers to our prayers and wishes for the destruction of our enemies, God is just as likely to point us in ways that allow us to see them as brothers and sisters, loved and lovable. ¶June 27, 2022 ¶LCM