3/26/20 I Devotion

Psalm 71

1 I’ve taken refuge in you, Lord. 
    Don’t let me ever be put to shame!
2 Deliver me and rescue me by your righteousness!
    Bend your ear toward me and save me!
3 Be my rock of refuge
    where I can always escape.
You commanded that my life be saved
    because you are my rock and my fortress.

4 My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked;
    rescue me from the grip of the wrongdoer and the oppressor
5     because you are my hope, Lord.
    You, Lord, are the one I’ve trusted since childhood.
6 I’ve depended on you from birth—
    you cut the cord when I came from my mother’s womb.
    My praise is always about you.
7 I’ve become an example to many people
    because you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
    glorifying you all day long.
9 Don’t cast me off in old age.
    Don’t abandon me when my strength is used up!

10 Yes, my enemies have been talking about me;
    those who stalk me plot together:
11     “God has abandoned him!
    Pursue him!
    Grab him because no one will deliver him!”
12 Don’t be far from me, God!
    My God, hurry to help me!
13 Let my accusers be put to shame,
    completely finished off!
    Let those who seek my downfall
    be dressed in insults and disgrace!

14 But me? I will hope. Always.
    I will add to all your praise.
15 My mouth will repeat your righteous acts
    and your saving deeds all day long.
    I don’t even know how many of those there are!
16 I will dwell on your mighty acts, my Lord.
    Lord, I will help others remember nothing but your righteous deeds.
17 You’ve taught me since my youth, God,
    and I’m still proclaiming your wondrous deeds!
18 So, even in my old age with gray hair,
    don’t abandon me, God!
    Not until I tell generations about your mighty arm,
        tell all who are yet to come about your strength,
19         and about your ultimate righteousness, God,
    because you’ve done awesome things!
Who can compare to you, God?
20 You, who have shown me many troubles and calamities,
    will revive me once more.[a]
    From the depths of the earth,
    you will raise me up one more time.
21 Please increase my honor
    and comfort me all around.
22 Then I’ll give you thanks with a harp—
    I will thank you for your faithfulness, my God.
        I will make music for you with the lyre, holy one of Israel.
23 My lips will rejoice aloud when I make music for you;
    my whole being,[b] which you saved, will do the same.
24 My tongue, also, will tell of your righteousness all day long,
    because those who seek my downfall
    have been put to shame and disgraced.

Devotional: 

Psalm 71 is a Psalm of lament. Let's break that down a little. Scripture has three major types of psalms: hymns, laments, and psalms of thanksgiving. Laments come in two forms –they are communal (written on behalf of the community) or individual. So a lament psalm is an expression of deep emotion, of sorrow, anger or feelings of abandonment. It is where the Psalmist is brutally honest with God and tells God exactly how they feel. Often times there is statement of trust or praise included….but not always. That’s life though right? Sometime we find ourselves in situations where praise seems distant. 

Even though the psalmist had been a believer since childhood, this veteran of the faith still had worries, even worries that God might leave him. He reminisced on times that God had rescued him in the past, and calls for God to act again. 
 
The Hebrew faith is centered on the belief in a God who is present in a physical way with God's people. This is a God who parts waters to open a path out of oppression; who engages in an all-night wrestling match; who speaks in a whirlwind; but who also, according to today’s psalmist, holds on to us from birth until death and hopes for us to hold on to God as well. The Hebrew people felt that they had a physical relationship with God, described by the psalmist as being held, pulled, snatched, protected, and nurtured by and in God’s hands. They also believed strongly that God wanted them to reciprocate by holding on to God just as forcefully.
 
The deepest expression of Christian theology, the foundation of who we are and what we believe is rooted in the physical presence of God on this earth in Jesus Christ. Because we as Christians tend to limit God’s physicality to a first-century Palestinian man, I think it is helpful for us to be reminded by the psalmist that God is still with us today, holding us, pulling us, snatching us, protecting us, and nurturing us, not just spiritually but in the most physical of ways. God is active in our lives. God is always there, holding out God’s hand in an offer of pure love. We are to take hold of that hand and reciprocate the love that God has so graciously shown us. 
 
Rev Amber Lea Gray, Associate Pastor