Showing posts with label Psalm 79. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 79. Show all posts
Sunday, June 7, 2026
Psalm Meditation 1356
¶Proper 6
¶June 14, 2026
¶Psalm 79
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2079&version=NRSVUE
¶I don’t know what it is to be in an active war zone, however, I do have experience with being under attack. It is very scary not knowing what kind of changes will be foisted onto us, how long they may last, or what kind of damage will be done to our loved ones, possessions, and ourselves. There is a sense of abandonment and loss, alongside the blank looks from those we thought were our friends, as if we have been left out to fend for ourselves, even if we are surrounded by others in the same situation.
¶Our only recourse is to cry out to God for help and comfort. The psalmist first asks if God is also angry with the people, or is they can depend on the help and comfort that we so often depend on God to offer and provide. We ask God to pour out, at least, the same depth of attack we feel on those who have led us to feel this way. If God is angry, the psalmist asks that the people not be harshly judged at this time of need. We need your compassion, salvation, deliverance, and forgiveness to get us through this time of upheaval in our lives.
¶While God is not likely to visit all the punishments onto our adversaries, it is just as likely that God is not the source of our calamity. God is already holding all the help and comfort we want and need, and is offering it to us when we are open and ready to receive it. God stands with us in our fear, holding us in a gentle embrace that we may not even feel until we realize that we are not alone, ever. “Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”
¶June 7, 2026
¶LCM
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Psalm Meditation 1207
¶Proper 13
¶August 6, 2023
¶Psalm 79
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+79&version=NRSVUE
(NRSV)
¶At least one of my seminary professors told us that we are not so much punished for our sin as we are by our sin. As an addition from experience, we can be punished by the sins of another. Yet another addition is that the definition of sin can be broad. We have probably experienced being punished by our sin and owned up to it with a ‘Yeah, I deserved that.’ And we have probably been hurt by the actions of others by being in their presence as they did something that someone was going to have to pay for. There are some things that do not seem to be sinful, and yet there is a price to pay for those actions and deeds.
¶The psalmist is aware that there are many deaths to be mourned in the city of Jerusalem. It may have been due to the actions of the residents of the city, and just as likely that it is due to the selfishness and greed of those who attacked and destroyed the city. The most true part of the psalmist’s prayer is that only God can bring the city back into its former glory as the City of God. The God whose love continually draws us together in love does not seem to be one who would send one group to destroy another, especially in anger. God aches with us in our pain and grief rather than being the cause of it.
¶God is not one to pick sides based on right and wrong since there is usually some of each on every side of a conflict. God is most likely to side with the poor, oppressed, and powerless. Those who have resources, freedom, and power do not need help in winning the conflicts in which they embroil themselves. God offers help and hope to the downtrodden in such a way that even if they are defeated and nearly destroyed, they know that they are loved by God.
¶August 1, 2023
¶LCM
Monday, August 12, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1000
Proper 15
August 18, 2019
Psalm 79
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
(NRSV)
Israel was beat up and bullied by the surrounding nations more often than it was victorious over them. This psalm recounts one of those times. The nation had been overrun, Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple was defiled. The people had been killed in the streets and the bodies left unburied. It was not the outcome anyone in Israel wanted. The assumption is that God was angry with them and stepped out of the way so the nation could be devastated. The psalmist is ready for God to turn that fierce anger to the surrounding nations who have done such damage to God’s chosen people.
The psalmist is aware of the presence of sin, otherwise God would not allow these neighboring enemies to overrun the nation. There is no confession of sin, only the acknowledgement of it. The psalmist, and probably the rest of the nation, are ready for all the destruction to be finished. If God will deliver them from these wages of sin, they will tell each other, and generations to come, that God is good and glorious.
Whether we are being bullied or are guilty of being the bully we do well to turn to God. We then open ourselves to receive the comforting presence of God or the gracious judgement that comes from God. Chances are the we have our occasions of each. Either way, if we are moving toward God to the best of our ability, we will find that God is with us. “Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”
August 12, 2019
LCM
Proper 15
August 18, 2019
Psalm 79
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
(NRSV)
Israel was beat up and bullied by the surrounding nations more often than it was victorious over them. This psalm recounts one of those times. The nation had been overrun, Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple was defiled. The people had been killed in the streets and the bodies left unburied. It was not the outcome anyone in Israel wanted. The assumption is that God was angry with them and stepped out of the way so the nation could be devastated. The psalmist is ready for God to turn that fierce anger to the surrounding nations who have done such damage to God’s chosen people.
The psalmist is aware of the presence of sin, otherwise God would not allow these neighboring enemies to overrun the nation. There is no confession of sin, only the acknowledgement of it. The psalmist, and probably the rest of the nation, are ready for all the destruction to be finished. If God will deliver them from these wages of sin, they will tell each other, and generations to come, that God is good and glorious.
Whether we are being bullied or are guilty of being the bully we do well to turn to God. We then open ourselves to receive the comforting presence of God or the gracious judgement that comes from God. Chances are the we have our occasions of each. Either way, if we are moving toward God to the best of our ability, we will find that God is with us. “Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”
August 12, 2019
LCM
Monday, December 14, 2015
Psalm Meditation 809
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2015
Psalm 79
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
(NRSV)
It seems that the harshest judgment of God is reserved for those who have been claimed as followers and children. We, like the psalmist, would much rather that God’s ire be reserved for ‘those people,’ the ones outside the fold, the ones who are even worse at following the ways of God than we are. If only God would beat up on the bad guys and leave us alone to follow the ways of God when it suits us. However, it is hard to follow the rules when they are unknown. As we are more strict with our own children, so God is more apt to judge us when we stray.
It is so much easier to see the sins of folks whose ways already trouble us that we can fail to look at ourselves as people in need of correction and redirection. We would rather stand up and point our fingers at the faults and flaws of ‘those people’ than look to where we are in need of confession and repentance. Yes, those people may be in the wrong by our standards, however we can actually do something about our own behavior.
God is with us when other people are out to get us through no fault of our own, because God loves us. God is with us when people are out to get us because we have done something to provoke them, because God loves us beyond measure. That God is with us does not mean that we are always right, that we deserve better than anyone else or that we are exempt from humility, grace, forgiveness and repentance.
December 14, 2015
LCM
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2015
Psalm 79
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
(NRSV)
It seems that the harshest judgment of God is reserved for those who have been claimed as followers and children. We, like the psalmist, would much rather that God’s ire be reserved for ‘those people,’ the ones outside the fold, the ones who are even worse at following the ways of God than we are. If only God would beat up on the bad guys and leave us alone to follow the ways of God when it suits us. However, it is hard to follow the rules when they are unknown. As we are more strict with our own children, so God is more apt to judge us when we stray.
It is so much easier to see the sins of folks whose ways already trouble us that we can fail to look at ourselves as people in need of correction and redirection. We would rather stand up and point our fingers at the faults and flaws of ‘those people’ than look to where we are in need of confession and repentance. Yes, those people may be in the wrong by our standards, however we can actually do something about our own behavior.
God is with us when other people are out to get us through no fault of our own, because God loves us. God is with us when people are out to get us because we have done something to provoke them, because God loves us beyond measure. That God is with us does not mean that we are always right, that we deserve better than anyone else or that we are exempt from humility, grace, forgiveness and repentance.
December 14, 2015
LCM
Monday, May 28, 2012
Psalm Meditation 624
Trinity Sunday
June 3, 2012
Psalm 79
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name's sake.
10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
(NRSV)
I am continually amazed that professional athletes do not perform perfectly every time they are on the playing field. Why can’t a professional golfer get a hole in one every time? Why can’t a pitcher in baseball throw a strike every time and why can’t a batter get a homerun every at bat? Why can’t a soccer team score a goal each time they are in control of the ball and why can’t a goalie stop every attempt on goal? (Yes, I do know that these are impossible scenarios.) I know that professional does not mean perfect; it does not keep me from considering the possibility of perfection, even in the difficult situations in the lives of those we idolize in some form.
When the Israelites were defeated in battle they assumed that they had done something that caused Yahweh to punish them through this loss. Every inter-tribal or international conflict was really a contest between the various deities to whom folks had given their allegiance. Since our God is the most powerful, it must be our fault somehow that our God walked away leaving us to be so soundly defeated. It is our imperfections, our sins against God, being punished rather than weakness on the part of God. In this conception, it is still ultimately God’s fault when we are defeated.
As with athletes, our lives are made up of preparation, execution and evaluation. Sometimes we prepare and execute as if it all depends on us and we evaluate as if it is all in God’s hands. I wonder if God chooses sides in our contests any more than a parent chooses one child against another in family spats and squabbles. Despite our penchant for winners and losers in so many areas of our lives, God is probably somewhere in the midst of each conflict. God seems to be pointing us toward building relationships, both despite and because of our differences, with all the folks in each type of conflict in which we find ourselves. The relationships more than the heaping of sevenfold taunts will be what brings praise and glory to God.
© May 28, 2012
Trinity Sunday
June 3, 2012
Psalm 79
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name's sake.
10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
(NRSV)
I am continually amazed that professional athletes do not perform perfectly every time they are on the playing field. Why can’t a professional golfer get a hole in one every time? Why can’t a pitcher in baseball throw a strike every time and why can’t a batter get a homerun every at bat? Why can’t a soccer team score a goal each time they are in control of the ball and why can’t a goalie stop every attempt on goal? (Yes, I do know that these are impossible scenarios.) I know that professional does not mean perfect; it does not keep me from considering the possibility of perfection, even in the difficult situations in the lives of those we idolize in some form.
When the Israelites were defeated in battle they assumed that they had done something that caused Yahweh to punish them through this loss. Every inter-tribal or international conflict was really a contest between the various deities to whom folks had given their allegiance. Since our God is the most powerful, it must be our fault somehow that our God walked away leaving us to be so soundly defeated. It is our imperfections, our sins against God, being punished rather than weakness on the part of God. In this conception, it is still ultimately God’s fault when we are defeated.
As with athletes, our lives are made up of preparation, execution and evaluation. Sometimes we prepare and execute as if it all depends on us and we evaluate as if it is all in God’s hands. I wonder if God chooses sides in our contests any more than a parent chooses one child against another in family spats and squabbles. Despite our penchant for winners and losers in so many areas of our lives, God is probably somewhere in the midst of each conflict. God seems to be pointing us toward building relationships, both despite and because of our differences, with all the folks in each type of conflict in which we find ourselves. The relationships more than the heaping of sevenfold taunts will be what brings praise and glory to God.
© May 28, 2012
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