A Reflection for This Day
By
The Rev. Dr. Brian G. Campbell
“The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!”
Psalm 146:1-10
It is finally over!
We have just lived through one of the most horrendous election cycles of our history, one which offered two of the most flawed candidates ever to run for the Presidency, and have now emerged as divided and entrenched as ever before.
Lord, have mercy.
I woke up this morning with Psalm 146 on my mind, and I thought I would share it with you:
Where do we begin this morning? Whether we are in the depths of despair, or secretly pleased by the results of the election?
We begin where the Psalmist begins, with praise:
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Then we go on with the psalmist to remind ourselves that our hope is not in any particular political system:
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Instead, we affirm the reality of where true blessing is to be found:
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,the sea,
and all that is in them,who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
We go on to remember who this God is, and how he has revealed himself to us and to all:
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Finally, in the light of his gracious self-revelation, we confess– with all the saints– the glorious truth of the assurance of his purposes:
10 The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!
I commend this psalm to you this morning; may you take comfort and direction from it.
I also encourage you to pray;
-for yourself or for others you know who may be distraught (it is far better to lament in prayer than to vent on Facebook);
-for our nation (that God would protect us, help us heal our divisions, and guide and direct our leaders);
-and for the Church (that the People of God, by their life lived together, witness to the One who reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords).
“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God.”
