Wednesday, January 8, 2025  

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Today's Scripture
Psalm 72:1–7, 10–14

Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
...

May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.

For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight. (NRSV)

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Reflection

I have a confession I must make. I love the poetry and the imagery of the psalms. However, the praise of earthly rulers leaves me somewhat lost and a bit confused. Not too long ago I had an “Ah, ha” moment. The epiphany is simple. The key to many of the psalms is the allegorical nature of the writings.

When I concentrate on the last three verses of this assignment, I interpret the praise as directed to God. That makes a lot more sense. More to the point when I concentrate on the personhood of God as represented by the Creator, my experience of God becomes relational.

For a long time my primary experience of the divine has been with God’s manifestation as the Son. I have long felt Jesus walking beside me and guiding me, sometimes laughing. The manifestation of God as Creator I no longer visualize as distant or unapproachable by mere mortals. The curtain to the Ark of the Covenant has been torn. God’s world is our world, and God’s mighty acts are done not only in our world but for all of us.

Through the course of our decades together my wife and I have often, and quite seriously, paused to whisper a “thank you” to our Creator Lord. We have genuinely sensed that someone somewhere was looking after us. Over time our awareness of the divine in our lives has led us to understand the truth to it all. God is, quite simply, here with us.

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Prayer
Gracious Lord, our Creator, Brother, and Comforter, I humbly ask that you keep me focused on your continuing presence in our lives in this world. Amen.

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Written by Blake Anderson, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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