Psalm Meditation 1293 ¶Fourth Sunday in Lent ¶March 30, 2025 ¶Psalm 3 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%203&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶For some of us, a single critical comment can be all the evidence we need of persecution against us, at the other extreme is those who can be inundated with criticism without noticing, and the rest of us fall somewhere in between. Also, depending on who it is offering the criticism, makes a difference in how we accept it and deal with it. I imagine that many of us would feel oppressed if we heard and believed that, “There is no help for you in God.” It is one thing to be criticized, and quite another to believe that even God stands against us. ¶The psalmist has heard folks say, “There is no help for you in God.” without letting in burrow deeply enough to be convincing. The psalmist is aware that God is a protective presence acting as a shield against actual persecution. The presence of God sustains the psalmist in every time and place, no matter how many stand in opposition. There is always hope for deliverance from foes when God is involved. ¶God delivers us from our foes in any number of ways. The psalmist is willing to stand back and watch God wreak havoc on the faces of all the ‘baddies’ out to get us. It is also possible that God will work within each of us to bring us to some agreement as we move into a future together. And, God can take us fully into the divine presence if our foes really do want us to be wiped out by death. In some form God does deliver us from the evils and challenges that beset us behind and before. ¶March 24, 2025 ¶LCM