“The infamous ‘they’”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, June 10, 2022
Psalm 73 (Forward, p. 43) CEV p. 598
It is said that comparisons are odious, and for good reason, because there will always be someone higher or lower, or more fortunate or less, than ourselves. That is initially the error of today’s psalmist. He looks around himself and sees the non-believers, the disobedient ones, the evil ones, and cannot be notice how well they are doing. And, he can’t help but compare himself with them. They thumb their noses at God, His ways and His people, and get off scot free. There doesn’t seem to be anything in terms of punishment or retribution. By way of contrast, he tries to be righteous in word and deed, and where does it get him? Needless to say, he is hung up on the infamous ‘they’ and the unfairness of it all.
But, then, coming into God’s place of worship, his perspective was shifted, shifted away from the ‘they’ and unto God. He remembers that God is still here and still at work. And he realizes that God has His own timing and His own game plan. Those evil people, the infamous ‘they’, will receive their just ‘rewards’ (that is, punishment) in due time—in God’s own time and way. And so our psalmist is persuaded to trust, to trust God and wait--to wait for God to carry out His sovereign and just purposes. And so, this psalm can end on a note of confidence, and note of trust in this loving and gracious God:
“Your advice has been my guide, and later you will welcome me in glory. In heaven I have only you, and on earth you are all I want. My body and mind may fail, but you are my strength and my choice forever…It is good for me to be near you. I choose you as my protector, and I will tell of your wonderful deeds” (verses 24-26, 28).
And so, today’s message seems clear: rather than an unhealthy and non-productive fixation on others, on the infamous ‘they’, and rather than comparing ourselves to them and questioning why they seem ‘to do so well’, we should just concentrate on God, and on His loving and just purposes. And though His answers may well seem to be long in coming, we should simply trust Him in the meantime. Amen.
Forward notes: “Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever” (verse 26).
“Every other week for the last several years, I have met with a small group of people who have committed to a practice of prayer and faithfulness in worship, giving, scripture study, and service to others. One evening, one of the members, who had just started a routine of praying compline each night, observed, ‘I think Compline is about preparing to die.’
“I had not thought of it that way before, but I think she’s on to something. Many of the prayers in the service ask for protection for ourselves and others through the night. But the conclusion of Compline, with Simeon’s words of gratitude spoken at the temple upon seeing the infant Jesus, reminds us that each one of us will have a last day.
“When that day comes, I pray that, like Simeon, I can face it with gratitude and in trust that my relationship with God, the strength of my heart, will endure for ever.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Pray Compline tonight. Consider the words of Simeon.”