Eric W. Sayers

The text: Psalm 90 – NRSV

This psalm seems to be right at home in Lent. It’s a very “Ash Wednesday” psalm, even stating in v. 3 the equivalent of “remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.” It also has a bit of Ecclesiastes in it, getting close to that “vanity of vanity, all is vanity” sentiment in v. 9-10, seeming to wallow in the continual toil of our brief lives.

Where exactly is the good news in any of that? Why do any of us need to hear that just before the weekend? And why am I subjecting you (and me) to it?

In a word: perspective. This is why Lent is so important. It serves as a corrective, a healthy reset of our crazy lives. It’s like looking into a really good mirror that shows us the truth about who, what, and whose we are. Look, none of us likes to think about our own death, about the mortal nature of our bodies and earthly lives. Consider, for a few moments, how many aspects of our economy, culture, and entertainment are dedicated to attempting to eradicate this fundamental nature of our existence. We would much rather pretend it didn’t exist and get on with our lives on our own, but in so doing we risk running ahead of God and becoming even more lost in the process. Worse, by shying away from our mortality, from avoiding it, we risk missing out on the true nature of God’s gift to us. What gift?

In a word: presence. Look at how the psalmist concludes this song. Far from being despairing, the psalmist exults in the promise of God based on the sure trust in the relationship the psalmist enjoys with the Creator. Focusing our minds, hearts, and spirits on that true relationship that we mortal creatures have with our Creator is the surest way for us to allow God to work through us, and prosper the work of our hands. That is the great gift, the eternal presence of a loving God in the eternal present that we will always occupy with God. As Paul says in the end of Romans 8, death (nor anything else, by the way) has no bearing on this. As another psalmist sings in Psalm 139 (yep, we’ll get there next week): Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  God has this unrelenting habit of always showing up, of always being there, regardless of where we are or what’s going on, if only we have eyes to see. Thanks be to God!

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Want to catch up on any you missed? See them all by clicking on ‘Lenten Psalms” below.

The text: Psalm 62 – NRSV

If you’ve been following along, today’s psalm is a bit of a change of pace. This gentle psalm is one to savor. Its message is simple: that only God is worthy of our trust. All I will say about trust is that, like many things in life, it is easy to break but very hard to restore. If you are someone who has experienced broken trust, then I hope this psalm may help you find a way back. Finding trust in God is the sure foundation of faith.

Read it slowly. Take your time. Pause often. Let every word speak. Note the unlabeled, repeated refrain in v. 1-2 and 5-6. Let its rhythm guide your reading. If memorizing helps you, perhaps try memorizing this refrain. If you want to try lectio divina, perhaps for the first time, this is a wonderful psalm to explore. I wish you joy in your exploring!

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Want to catch up on any you missed? See them all by clicking on ‘Lenten Psalms” below.

The text: Psalm 10 – NRSV

Let’s be honest. I suspect that for many of us, psalms like this one make us a bit uncomfortable. We’d rather skip it and move on. Perhaps it’s the frequent use of the word wicked. Apart from recent musicals and movies about the Wizard of Oz, we don’t use the word much, if at all. We certainly don’t use it to describe other people. That would be harsh and judgmental, hardly the thing a good Christian should do. When we do use the word, it often means something positive, as in cool or trendy! That was a wicked ride! Perhaps it’s all of the terrible images in the Psalm, or that it seems that the psalmist seems to plead for God to commit acts of violence, perhaps becoming wicked in the act! Then where are we? (Is that the “violent Old Testament God” thing again?)

But remember, this is the Psalmist speaking, not God. This psalm is an honest cry of heartfelt, human pain. This is a pain we all have felt at one point or another, and as God’s creatures, it is a pain God understands all too well. Who hasn’t in their private hearts ever wished for revenge or cried out against an injustice? This psalm, this prayer, shows us how to bring this pain to God, and what better way to defuse our anger than to bring it to God in prayer?

Perhaps this Lent we might allow the Psalm to press us further and ask us more about the nature of the injustice afflicting the Psalmist. Here’s a try. Why do we consider people to be poor? Because of things they lack. What things? Things we make: money, possessions, property, and the like. All of these are things our society creates. It’s all “human-made”. We judge people by the human-made things they have (or don’t have), and our sense of justice generally attempts to restore these things to an injured party to make them “whole”. But how does God see this? If all are created in the image of God, how are rich people different from poor people? Is it any wonder that God stands with those we call poor? Perhaps in God’s view, in God’s kingdom, justice is not about moving money around, but is based in the great commandments: to love God and to love neighbor. This justice is then not about what people have, but how we think about others and how we treat them. It’s about changing our behavior. God’s kingdom is the place where we see others as God sees them. In God’s Kingdom, there is no them. There is only us, one body and one spirit. This is what the Church, at its best, tries to be, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

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The text: Psalm 115 – NRSV

The Hebrew prophets had two chief concerns: idolatry and social injustice. Idolatry is simply the worship of anything that is not God. As such it is a clear violation of the first two of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before me, and in case that wasn’t clear, you shall not make for yourself an idol. It should not surprise us that Paul opens the body of his letter to the Romans with this very topic: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. There is the crux: worshipping the creature rather than the Creator. Setting up anything or anyone as our “god” is one of our greatest failings and most destructive temptations, particularly when one of our “gods” turns out to be ourselves. The question is not whether we do it (because we all have and continue to), but what or who our idols are.

To me Psalm 115 is a wisdom or instructional Psalm. It does not merely identify the problem, but also shows us the way out. Stay a while in verses 3-8, and allow the Psalm to ask you the questions. Who has a mouth but does not speak? Who has eyes but does not see? (Does that remind you of the man born blind and the accusing Pharisees in John 9?) What does this teach us? Watch out for verse 8… Ouch.

Perhaps you have an idol or two to unload this Lent. I know I do. How can you let the second half of the Psalm be your song this season and show you a better way?

Oh, and what about social injustice? Yep. Don’t worry. Stay tuned. 😉

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The text: Psalm 30 – NRSV

At least in my experience, there is no situation—be it a team or group meeting, a performance, or anything else— that is not improved if I enter it with this question: “What about this am I thankful for?” It’s a simple but powerful question. Having this “attitude of gratitude” changes my orientation from an inward one, focused on my own selfish concerns and anxieties, to an outward one, focused on the positive things beyond my control that have allowed me to be there at all. Being thankful is inherently an act of humble curiosity, and requires attentive listening and awareness of capacities outside of my experience.

Considering all of this, it’s pretty obvious that a prayer of thanksgiving to God is one of the easiest and most effective prayers, mainly for what it does to us while we pray it. There are few better examples of such a prayer than Psalm 30, a song of personal thanksgiving from what may have been a terrible illness, but I think you’ll find that the prayer addresses any dark moment of the soul. The psalm is full of gems that are often quoted, easily remembered, and well cherished. Keep it close. Enjoy.

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The text: Psalm 46 – NRSV

Psalm 46 is perhaps most famous for inspiring Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. The hymn is strongly associated with the Protestant Reformation, and according to some observers, Luther took great comfort in the words of this psalm during the dark early days of the Reformation. The psalm is a powerful statement, proclaiming God’s unassailable ability to protect God’s city and God’s people against any assault. Tellingly, the psalm ends with God putting an end to war itself, calling us in the midst of such tumult to “be still, and know that I am God”.

What does it mean for God to be your fortress, unassailable and impregnable? Perhaps it reminds me of Jesus’ real estate advice about where to build your house: either on solid rock or on shifting sands. Perhaps it recalls Paul’s proclamation in the end of Romans 8 that nothing in the universe can separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ. What does it mean to you?

There are so many recordings of Luther’s hymn, but here’s one as a start:

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Today, while at the gym of all places, the idea came to me to practice a new kind of Lenten discipline. To be honest, I have not often practiced the idea of “giving something up” for Lent. But inspired by recent preaching, I’m proposing instead to do something for Lent: lift up one Psalm each day until Easter, and use it as a focus for prayer. This is an easy thing: the Psalms are prayers, prayers of all kinds. I’ll add a post here for each Psalm with a few brief thoughts along with a link to the NRSV text of the psalm on Bible Gateway. That site has dozens of other English (and Spanish) versions, so you can likely find your favorite version there.

By my reckoning, there are 42 days until Easter, so we should be able to cover about one-third of the psalter. During each week we’ll cover a variety of Psalms, but on Sundays, we’ll honor an ancient tradition of the Church that proclaims each Sunday in Lent to be a “little Easter”. On these days we’ll lift up a song of praise.

So welcome on this journey through Lent! I hope you find it a blessing.

To see all posts in this series, click on “Lenten Psalms” below.