Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Wednesday, February 11, 2015 

Psalm 81, 82     

If you're looking for an appreciation of how these psalms came about and how they have been used by God's people  over the centuries in worship and teaching, I find a good resource is a book Psalms ,Then and Now  written by R. F. Palmer, S.S.J.E. (Bracebridge Ont, 1965). 

However, rather than repeat his thought and insight, I've chosen to ponder some recent  and ongoing current events, and to let the message of these psalms colour my reflection. 

In parts of our world, such as  France and Nigeria for example, recent terrorist attacks have cause death and suffering, anger and defiance, prompted by a sense that God (Allah) has been defamed in the Islamic world by Western peoples and that God must be avenged.  What a contrast in understanding  God's nature as evident in these two psalms, which celebrate a God who is good, worthy of praise, and yet when all is said and done, is prepared to let those who do not have it in their hearts to know him, to let them go, to follow their own devices (psalm 81:12). In psalm 82 there is an awareness that God does care for the weak,and the poor,  and that those who do not understand, are going about in darkness ( v. 5), We are mortal, and yet in the words of the psalmist, v. 6, we are also God's children, and for me, that means we also can particpate spirtually in what is of the good and true loving nature of God. Yes, we indeed need to look  out for the weak and protect them from those who would wreck havoc from a false sense of what their understanding of what God demands. But God doesn't need others to avenge him, for his love takes a higher road. It seems to me that what we need at the present time is a sense of tolerance for those who might not see things the way we do in the way of being particpants in God's spirit, Yes, protect the innocent and weak but let God as evident in Jesus' Way, flow and extend to all, even those who walk in darkness. We need to encourage each other and all people, that we All are God's people, his children. Verse 6:  We  should respect, care and be sensitive to what we hold holy & sacred, but not  hurt or offend  one another. This means all, by whatever name, we know God.

Archdeacon Ken Cardwell