Psalm Meditation 1357 ¶Proper 7 ¶June 21, 2026 ¶Psalm 75 ¶https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2075&version=NRSVUE ¶When we think of judgment, we often think in terms of punishment and reward, that, however, is not how the judgment of God works. It is more akin to a time of teaching than handing out rewards and punishments. The psalmist has God speaking to the boastful and the wicked to remind them that boasting and blowing your own horn are not how people of God are to behave. They are more a sign of rudeness and disrespect than a way to make ourselves look good. ¶The psalmist reminds us that God gives us all sorts of good things out of love for us, rather than to reward us for exceptional behavior. The psalmist then implies that God’s judgment does include punishment for those who do not listen to sound teaching. The foaming wine is not sparkling, it is poisoned. This seems a contradiction to me. Since God is more likely to teach us than reward us, it follows that God would also teach us rather than punish us. That may not be the way we want the world to work; however God’s ways are not our ways. ¶Because God is so willing to teach us, even when we learn slowly or not at all, we can give thanks to God for all the wondrous deeds from which we benefit. Rather than saying, “Well, praise the Lord anyway” we can say “Thank you God for all of your wondrous deeds throughout your creation. ¶June 17, 2026 ¶LCM