Monday, February 24, 2020

Today’s Scripture Reading  |  Psalm 99
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees,
and the statutes that he gave them.

O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy. (NRSV)

Reflection
“That’s not fair!”

The number of times I have heard that phrase—the number of times I have said it myself. So often someone else will reply, “Life’s not fair.” But every once in a while I hear, “Who are you to decide what is fair?”

On first reading Psalm 99 in preparation to write this devotion, I thought “just another psalm: ‘God is great,’ what else is there to say?” Sitting with it longer, though, the passage “lover of justice, you have established equity” began to stand out to me.

God, the great determiner of fair, the mighty champion of justice. In times where the world seems unjust, it is nice to be reminded of all the times God has championed the little guy and answered the call from the faithful. I will be honest, even my adult brain will start to picture God more akin to Superman, but in reality God is so much more. For that, I give thanks and praise. So next time I feel lost and feel that the world is unfair, let this psalm serve as a reminder that God is there in that moment.

Prayer
God Almighty, Lover of Justice, I am humbled by your majesty. Help me to remember that when all seems lost and I want to give up, you are there, God Almighty, Lover of Justice. Amen.

Written by Katie Patterson, Youth Ministry Program Manager

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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