Read: Psalm 64

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
-Psalm 64:1

After reading several different versions of Psalm 64, one word, “bullying”, kept popping up in my brain. Years ago when my son Bayard was in elementary school, he came home with two black eyes. After questioning him, Dennis and I found out that he had been walking down the bus aisle and someone stuck out a leg and tripped him and he lost his balance and fell. This was not the first time he had been harassed and it would happen to him in high school. My husband called the school and was told that they would talk to the bus driver and the driver “saw nothing”.

Bayard’s friend Nathan attended the same school and was harassed numerous times during recess by a group of girls. In frustration, he lashed out at them and was suspended for three days.

Now, we have Republic Act 10627 (or the Anti-Bullying Act) in place which protects children in schools from being bullied. Schools are now required to adopt policies to keep children from being bullied.

We have had people accused of bullying in our government, protestors in the U.S. Capitol, Canada’s Governor General resigning as a result of bullying allegations, Boy Scouts, cyber, sexual, physical, and verbal attacks.

So, where is the good news? In addition to Republic Act 10627, we have the ability to vote out or impeach elected officials, the option to put safeguards on our computers, ways to report unwanted or violent sexual and physical abuse or attacks to the police, peaceful (hopefully) protests and we have Psalm 64.

The Message tells us “Everyone sees it. God’s work is the talk of the town. Be glad, good people! Fly to God! Good-hearted people, make praise your habit” (v. 9-10)

Lord God of mercy, grant to us to be preserved from all our enemies and saved in thy Son with an everlasting salvation. Amen.
-Mary Ann Taylor

Read: Psalm 143

So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
-Psalm 143:4

Throughout the long sweep of human history I am constantly reminded that while we have become more successful in combating pestilence (who knows how many people would have died from the novel virus that lurks among us today if it had occurred in the Middle Ages), we have been far less successful in vaccinating our souls in the face of virulent ideologies that have spread rapidly through digital transmission. Small wonder that, as the psalmist intones, “I spread out my hands to you (and) I thirst for you like a parched land. Fortunately, the psalm holds the promise of the cure as well as the explanation of the illness: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Lord, in the words of the psalm, “let the morning bring me word of your unfailnig love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” Amen.
-Michael Boss

Read: Psalm 56

In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?
-Psalm 56:4

The notes on this psalm say that David composed or sang this when the Philistines seized him at Gath. According to the account in 1 Samuel 21:10-15, David was acting like a mad man, presumably trying to keep from staying in their custody. Apparently, it worked because Achish, the king of the Philistines, did not want David in his presence.

The psalm itself is fairly upbeat for a “psalm of lament”. He does express concern about “people trampl[ing] on him” (v.2), “seek[ing] to injure [his] cause” (v.5), and “stir[ring] up strife” (v.6), but the majority of it is recalling God’s strength and protection. What confidence he has!

Does this mean that all of us are remiss for not having the same level of confidence as David? Not at all. We are going to go through times when we don’t have a clear path forward. I think the trick, however, is to remember that God *IS* and *WILL BE* present through it, even if we are saying those words with shaky voices and trembling hearts.

Be present with us in the midst of trial, Lord. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: Psalm 130

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits for him, in his word is my hope. My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
-Psalm 130:5-6

I may wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, but it’s never my first choice. As an adult convert to Christianity, early on I looked for, hoped for, presumed to expect, that God would answer my prayers right speedily or at least “in due time.” “In due time” meant, of course, before my limited patience gave out.

It’s a common enough outcome for people with experience in the faith: “Be careful when you ask for patience because God will then give you plenty of opportunities to practice it.” Yes, I’ve made that tactical error, and God met me there.

So, what I want to know now is, whose big idea was it to ask for patience in dealing with all the ordinary routines of life? Because I lay at your feet this pandemic, the splintered political situation, the drastic curtailing of moving about, the complications involved in communicating and gathering together, and so much more.

What a wonderful chance to practice patience!

My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning…

Lord, we need your gift of patience and your strength to meet the challenges of every day. Thank you that you are walking our roads with us. Amen.
-Tom Worrell

Read: Psalm 129

Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up, with which reapers do not fill their hands or binders of sheaves their arms, while those who pass by do not say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!”
-Psalm 129:6-8

I am intrigued by verses 6-8.

Grass on housetops? Were the Judeans the earliest proponents of green roofing? Yeah, no. Roofs were made of beams and branches covered in mud and plaster over reed mats. There was frequently grass seed embedded in the mud, so the seeds would sprout during the rainy season and grass would quite literally start growing on rooftops. However, the mud wasn’t that thick so there was no way for the grass to put down decent roots to grow, making it wither and die. That withered grass was of no use or interest to reapers because it was no good for hay. Thus, the psalmist is saying that they hope their enemies become useless, which is something that I think everyone would hope for those who oppose them.

Lord, help us to sort out the people who are “like rooftop grass” in our lives and show us the people who will be useful to us as we grow in your love and grace. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: Psalm 28

Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while mischief is in their hearts.
-Psalm 28:3

I feel bad for the psalmist. So many of his laments would indicate he’s had a rough go of it. It seems he has plenty of enemies – more than enough to go around. The psalm contains three stages: “don’t forget me”; “give my enemies what they deserve”; and “thank you (for my deliverance)”.

I don’t know that I have ever felt abandoned by God. I’ve certainly had rough times, and there have been times I’ve decided God doesn’t exist – couldn’t exist. But those are my realities; they aren’t the ultimate reality. If there is a God like the one we proclaim, then I know that God never leaves or abandons those God loves (and God loves everyone). I believe that if God were to forget me, I would simply vanish without a trace. Since I haven’t, I have confidence God hasn’t forgotten me. That’s good news (for me, at any rate).

While I have been mightily vexed by enemies real and imagined, I have never actually prayed for their demise. I always think of prayer like a boomerang. What one sends forth comes back, and I don’t want my prayers coming back with a vengeance. So, I pray for God to soften my heart, bless me so that I may be a blessing to others, and so on. I have found that to be much more uplifting, even when I hurt.

God, you taught us to pray “deliver us from evil.” I presume that was for a reason. It is so easy to want burning coals to be heaped upon the heads of those who torment us; but to be completely honest, I don’t like how I feel when that happens. I find that sort of giddy delight soils my soul; I’d prefer you to purify me and my thoughts. Deliver me from evil. Amen.
-The Rev. Keith Axberg