January 30, 2024: Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 5
My dear friends in Christ,
I hope that you have been praying for the victims of that terrible plane and helicopter crash in Washington D.C. last night. There are 67 deaths, which includes the jet crew and the military men flying that Black Hawk Helicopter. May the LORD of Light hold all of these victims' families in His care, bringing to them the comfort of the Resurrection along with the hope the Spirit places in our very lives every day. Quick reminder. Friday Foodies of Faith tomorrow at Cheddars at 11:30 AM, and Sunday's Congregational Meeting starts at 8:30 AM with carry-in food at 8:00 AM in the narthex. I hope that I will see all of you who are members there.
If the 5th Psalm does anything, it helps us to see the need for reaching out to the authority of our Father in Heaven, in order to place the cares of our hearts, and to call for justice for those who stand against the children of the Covenant. The appeal here could be from the King (David) when things are not going well and there are all kinds of intrigue around him as people work to displace others, either by failing to tell the truth, or by taking some other kind of action which threatens the person is who appealing to that highest authority to help, calling for the justice and recompense for brokenness and sinfulness to be caught up in God's judgement. Obviously, David, the likely writer of this 5th Psalm, had grave concerns over how things for his kingship, and for the king's people, including himself, were going. We do however need to be aware that there is a kind of genuine faithfulness on the part of the Psalmist, who is hoping that God will respond to this appeal. The writer must be aware that getting even is not how this all works. This Psalm is the turning over of all of those concerns the Psalmist, or King, or victim might feel for getting even. )revenge( In the case of this Psalmist, the desire for God's Justice is that God is the God of Truth, Light, and Love, the constant defender, and therefore, is always willing to make the enemies of the faithful pay the price for their actions, bringing His justice to play to create the world for which the Psalmist (David) is asking. This Psalm is an indication of what faith is about, trusting that the LORD will always do what is right for those who are faithful. Of course, the ways which God chooses to use, may not always fit with the requests of the Psalmist, or perhaps it would be better to say, that they may not fit by time, action, and the immediacy of punishment for which every victim is looking Will it be a natural outcome of the perpetrator's choices, or will it appear as if they are really doing great and benefiting from their choice throughout their lives, with the faithful requests for justice being fulfilled after the death of the enemy of God's faithful community? At its end, this Psalm calls upon God to be faithful as He has always been, causing the faithful to rejoice and sing their praises of the LORD, knowing that God is always the shield and protector of His faithful ones.
There are some really good things for us to remember here in this Psalm. First, we should never use God's justice as the means of fulfilling our personal means of getting even. Second, we should always know that God is going to protect us in His way, His time, with the very best consequence that could have resulted from that enemies' faulted actions which brought harm to the lives of God's faithful ones. Third, we must always offer our praise and thanksgiving to God, restating the tenets of our faith with voices and choices made to help us be the LORD'S servants in all things, and at all times.
Next week we head into Psalm 6. Thanks for being with me this morning.
In Christ's love, Pastor Kim
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