Psalm Meditation 1323 ¶Proper 25 ¶October 26, 2025 ¶Psalm 57 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2057&version=NRSVUE ¶There are times in our lives in which we are in distress and we call out to God for help. When we are delivered through some miraculous series of events we suddenly forget that God is at work in our lives and we are relieved at how easy it was for us to get out of that all by ourselves. God would not have had a hand in something that was such a simple fix, however we will keep God in mind for a time when our difficulties seem insurmountable. Maybe the crisis was not miraculous, it was simply that the right person came along at the right time to offer us the help we need. ¶The psalmist is more than willing to give God the credit for the events that brought this crisis to a conclusion in the psalmist’s favor. This cascade of helpful events not only lead to playing and singing in the privacy of hearth and home, there will be a public proclamation of the goodness of God far and wide, to friends and enemies alike. The psalmist wants to model and encourage thankfulness around the goodness and faithfulness of God in good times and bad, especially for God’s presence in the face of evil. ¶The psalmist invites us and encourages us to give thanks to God for each and every deliverance we experience. In the rare event that God was not actively participating in our deliverance, I am sure that God appreciates our thankfulness in every time and place. As we offer our thanks to God on a regular basis we will find ourselves growing in thankfulness for all the people and events around us. In the late sixties and early seventies some folks around me used the phrase, “Well praise the Lord, anyway.” The psalmist encourages us to say, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.” ¶October 20, 2025 ¶LCM