A time of anguish, rumors of war, earthquakes and famines. The authors of our texts today are describing a world full of uncertainty, of fear and of trials to be endured by believers. The threat level is elevated and imminent. We believe Mark’s gospel was written soon after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, so those first hearing his words would have been witnesses to the destruction of that sacred space and the ways God’s people had worshiped for generations.
And it’s into
this air of anxiety that God breathes words of hope and promise through the
psalmist.
Although Psalm 16 is attributed to David, the first king of the united Israel, its author is unknown. Because of the different historical backgrounds of the psalms, scholars believe there were multiple psalm writers throughout ancient Israel’s history.[i] The ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar allows people of all genders to hear their own voice in the words of the psalmist.[ii]
This psalm is written as a plea for God’s safety and security. The opening verses acknowledge that the world is falling apart, and nothing makes sense.
The psalmist
says when she feels danger, she runs for her life, and finds shelter and refuge
under God’s wings.
It is in life with God that we find our safe place, the place where we do not have to be troubled or afraid. There we can look at the people and events around us and find some clarity. Fear no longer drives our decision-making. People-pleasing no longer motivates our actions. Because our safety and security is found in God.
Because God chooses us first, therefore, we are free to choose God over against the lies of the world and the evil we encounter.
In our life together, we are invited to make a home with God and find our place of belonging. A place where God’s peace and Word settles in our hearts. A place where we are not alone or helpless because God is within reach.
When this psalm is sung, the refrain is, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.” (v. 9)
Our gladness – our happiness, joy or contentment – isn’t fleeting or circumstantial. It is a completeness that comes from finding our identity in God as God’s children and not searching for that identity and belonging in other places.
Our
rejoicing isn’t superficial. It is the response to the grace we’ve received
from God who desires relationship with us more than judgment and loves us even
when we are not loving toward ourselves or others. It is the response to
knowing whose we are from the inside out and knowing that God’s love is
unshakable and irrevocable. The Hebrew translates as “ecstatically shrieking”;
this isn’t a quiet and reserved thanksgiving but a full-throated shout to the
Lord!
And finally, our rest is not temporary. We have found our place and we settle into life with God, sheltered from the uncertainty around us and protected from the tumult or topsy-turviness of the world. And there we can remember that God is God, and we are not, and find our rest.
Of course, there will be times in our lives when we don’t feel safe or secure or God feels distant. Then the refrain provides a focus and invites to examine what’s going on. What doesn’t feel true? Where am I struggling? What is going on in my heart or relationships, my soul or interior, and with my body? And we’re invited to ask God about the things that scare us, the places where we feel unsafe, and the ways God feels absent. And listen.
Life with God isn’t magic, but spiritual practice. So, when we fall out of practice or we recognize the ways we have left God out of our lives, we’re invited then to return to God - to return to home - with all our heart, soul and body.
Let us pray…
Good and
gracious God,
We give
thanks for the refuge you provide from a sin-filled world.
Thank you for
the grace you give each one of us to find new life in you where we are loved
and forgiven.
Thank you
for making a home for us and providing us with what we need each day.
Gladden our
hearts, lead us in rejoicing and help us rest secure in your love.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
[i] Fred Gaiser. “Summary of Psalms.” Luther
Seminary. Enterthebible.org
[ii] Joel LeMon. “Commentary on Psalm 16.” Luther
Seminary. Workingpreacher.org
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