Read: Psalm 52

I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
-Psalm 52:9

This psalm is a recounting and commentary by David, the psalmist, of the terrible events recorded in 1 Samuel 21 and 22. As he runs for his life from Saul, David seeks refuge from the priests at the tabernacle of God in the city of Nob. Doeg the Edomite informs Saul that David has been provided assistance by the priests. An angry Saul sends for the priests and Doeg kills 85 priests, and women, children, and animals in the city of Nob. The psalmist, David, condemns this massacre and prophesies what will happen to Doeg. In verse 9, David praises God for what God has not yet done. David trusts that God’s love will outlast Doeg’s evil.

Similar evil deeds exist in our world. There are those who “love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth,” and who “trust in abundant riches, and seek refuge in wealth!” The Psalm calls us to “trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” We are called to trust and we can only do it with God’s help.

Dear God, help us to have the faith and trust that we need to know that your love transcends evil. Guide us and direct us. Amen!
-Cathey Frederick

Read: Psalm 39

Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
–Psalm 39:4

The Psalmist is in pain. He is sick and trying to keep the information from his enemies. I understand the pain, but I’m not sure I would ask God to give me my expiration date. I think it is enough to live each day to the fullest and, frankly, who cares what my enemies think? Our days are numbered. None of us is getting out of here alive. A burial office of one sort or another will be prayed over each of us.

What I fear is reaching the end and never having lived in the first place. Perhaps the psalmist isn’t asking for a peek at his sell-by date, but to be reminded that he is mortal, and for the courage to live life to its fullest. Not in that “eat, drink, and be merry” sort of worldly stupidity, but in a “how may I experience and express the love of God to the best of my ability day by day?” sort of way.

When I hurt, I am prone to snap and snarl like a wounded dog. Healing comes in time and with time. Perhaps the psalmist is asking if he or she has time to heal. I hope so. Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but it certainly can help, especially when we place ourselves in the hands of the One who holds the Hourglass, even when it hurts.

Lord, my days are numbered. Help me rise each day knowing you are there. Guide and direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose. Let me lie down in appreciation for the day ended, and in hope for the morrow. Amen.
-The Rev. Keith Axberg

Read: Psalm 32

For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
-Psalm 32:4

I’ve lived in some pretty hot places in the course of my life. India; Iran; Stockton, California; Boise, Idaho. Having grown up in the temperate climate of San Francisco, it took moving far from the Bay Area to appreciate the meaning of “debilitating climate” (try Kolkata in August). But far worse, especially when coupled with the heat of summer, is the turpitude of the soul. I’d rather cross the burning deserts of Iran’s Dasht-e-Lut than experience the bone-crushing weariness of a crisis of faith and the loss of hope that attends it. But what has always saved me is love — and that love originates from a source more eternal than the sun and is just as surely reflected by those who have chosen to share that love with me.

Lord, thank you for sustaining me in my most difficult moments of doubt and anxiety, and for your constant reminder that, in the words of the psalm, “many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Amen.
-Michael Boss

Read: Psalm 13

How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
-Psalm 13:2

A year ago on a Monday, one of my students thought it would be funny to come up behind me and poke me in the side. It backfired magnificently because I have PTSD from being assaulted by someone who grabbed me from behind, and she also managed to poke me in the ribs hard enough to leave a bruise. When I told her sternly not to do it again, she responded by laughing at me and telling me that I was overreacting. Her response triggered a massive PTSD flare-up, and I had to flee the classroom and leave campus because I was sobbing so hard. Thankfully, I have a support network of people I trust, and one of them took care of me that afternoon, getting me to the point where I could parent my son when he returned from school.

I did not have work the next day and thankfully had a therapy appointment already scheduled. My therapist had never seen me cry until that appointment, and she had the task of getting me OK enough to go back to work on Wednesday. We started trying to work through the trauma, but the pandemic hit, meaning that my sessions were now phone ones at home where I do not have as much privacy as her office. Making things harder, she left the practice a few months later, and she was replaced by a man who reminded me of my attacker. Eventually, I did get another therapist, but trust takes time to build and the trauma is sitting on my soul like an open wound. I have no choice but to heal because it will affect my future relationships if I don’t, but it is painful work to try and untangle the knots of anger and hurt.

Needless to say, verse 2 of the psalm speaks to me right now. I need the reminder of God’s presence with me as I do the work to heal, and God’s presence is not always felt. I am having to step out in faith and trust that God will be with me in all of it, and that I will eventually heal from what happened to me.

Gracious God, be with us in our pain and anger. Give us the strength we need to persevere in the midst of it and help us to trust that we will make it through to the other side. Amen.