Eastertide

April 14, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 4
Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
   You gave me room when I was in distress.
   Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
   How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
          Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
   the Lord hears when I call to him.

When you are disturbed, do not sin;
   ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
          Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
   and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
   Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’
You have put gladness in my heart
   more than when their grain and wine abound.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

I often take the word Selah out when it appears in scripture I am quoting because I had some vague understanding that it was a standard instruction of worship, like “all rise,” but not necessarily needed to understand the written content. Besides, it usually took up a whole line of space. Selah’s use in this Psalm made me wonder if there were more to it than what I considered. Selah is the same as our word Benediction, the word we see in church orders of worship usually denoting the closing prayer. When I saw that, I wondered what Benediction* meant and discovered a broader meaning than I had understood. Benediction is the invocation of a blessing on persons or things being dedicated to God. That is especially important at the end of the service, but as the Psalm above illustrates, it fits nicely throughout our worship and lives. Psalm 4 includes a series of problems God has observed in us, followed by a blessing from God, Selah, and afterward by instructions to set those wayward behaviors right.

I sense at times that my soul has frayed from the stress and life changes caused by COVID exacerbated by the already present division and disharmony rampant in our nation. I think when we feel this way, we might want to adopt G od’s formula for life. Go to God in prayer and share our fears and hurts and loss. Follow that by receiving the Lord’s richest blessings. Then be still and know that God is God** and allow God to write appropriate responses on our hearts and in our minds.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see our failures to love as you would have us love and thank you for blessing us with your guidance to turn around and follow the path you designed for us. Amen.

**Psalm 46:10
*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/benedictions.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.