Well, I screwed up, last week. Turns out that I sent the scripture lessons for THIS week by mistake. So, with little else to do, I thought we could explore the Psalm of the Day, which is PSALM 37. The Revised Common Lectionary uses only verses 1-11, plus the last two, 39 & 40. What’s with the interior voices, you ask? They’re fine, but rather repetitive; worship planners can still get the gist of the Psalm by using the verses as they appear.
Unlike many of the Psalms, this is neither a prayer nor a “song”: here we have a series of proverbs shared by an elder (or maybe God?) as Wisdom by which the righteous will prosper and the “wicked” will get theirs. “I have been young and am now grown old, and never have I seen a righteous man forsaken.” There are times when, Job-like, we grow impatient for restitution–or is it revenge?–and for the clouds to pass; but this Psalm tells us to be patient, to keep on keeping on.
Is there an incentive, then, for being faithful? “The rich get rich and the poor get children.” Am I convinced of God’s careful intervention when the Military and the Captains of Industry luxuriate with many benefits, while the rest of us campaign for a Living Wage?? Grandma told me that sinful and riotous living will eventually come back to haunt the “wicked”. Zat so?
So the task of the Psalmist is to comfort the reader by reminding said reader that God’s still in charge. Even though the vindication of the righteous isn’t yet in sight (?) God “will make your righteousness shine clear as the day and the justice of your cause like the sun at noon”. We’re told not to get all worked up by the evening news but to view the moral maelstrom with trust and expectant hope.
“Wait for the Lord and hold to [God’s] way….Deliverance for the righteous comes from the Lord, their refuge in time of trouble. The Lord will help them and deliver them; [God] will save them because they seek shelter with [God].”
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
My struggle with Scripture assigned to the upcoming weekend may be enjoined every Tuesday at horacebrownking.com
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