Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Today’s Scripture Reading
Psalm 56

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me;

my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High,

when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?

All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.

They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they hoped to have my life,

so repay them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?

Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?

My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life. (NRSV)

Reflection
The psalmist, like many of us, begins by wailing and voicing fears of assault by people who disagree with him. In particular, enemies are slandering him and twisting his words. Even worse, they are not just putting out falsehoods on social media, but they are conspiring and plotting against him. Have you ever felt beleaguered in this way? You said or wrote something that was taken the wrong way, inspiring a negative reaction to what you thought was innocent or banal. God could make this right by getting riled up, too, and hunting down the aggrieved. In fact, God could smite those particular enemies as well as their whole country or tribe. Or, given that it’s the twenty-first century, God could at least shine the light of reason on those enemies, fault-finders, or obtuse family or acquaintances.

The psalmist’s rant ends, as it dawns on him that he trusts God. Notice that we do not learn of any retributive behavior by God against the enemies. Rather, the progression I see in Psalm 56, when the writer calms down, is this:

1. “Prideful people are after me all the time, attacking and criticizing! Oh. I meant to start with, ‘Be merciful, God,’ thinking I might be partly to blame.”

2. “I know, I know. When I’m afraid or annoyed, I should trust you. But these people conspire, sneak around; they’re after me! I know you’re angry, too, in my behalf, so track them down. . . and maybe these enemies will recant?”

3. “You haven’t answered, so maybe you disagree with my assessment? But now I’m remembering: I used to praise you . . . used to trust you . . . so I’m thinking you’re still there. . .?”

4. “Yes, now it comes to me: you have kept me from bumbling and stumbling in the past, whatever the challenge. I think I see a glimmer of enlightenment, comfort maybe, encouragement.

5. “Thank you.”

Prayer
Loving God, thank you for quietly listening to my rant. It’s what I do sometimes when I’m really upset, maybe because of something someone else has said or done. Just asking you to listen helps. Please, in the future, remind me to trust and believe in your listening ear and comforting presence. Amen.

 Written by Rebecca Dixon, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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