Psalm 28

Read Psalm 28 here first: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+28&version=NIV

Hear me as I praise you- is basically how the psalmist begins. It’s honest. They are pleading for hope. I suppose we all are. The psalmist doesn’t want to be counted amongst the wicked but they do want the wicked to be brought to justice. Which is not something we talk about much. I love to discuss God’s grace and love- but Luther says we are to fear and love God and so does scripture. We know this to be true because God is just and there is evil in the world. Two armed guys killing one guy who went for jog and stood up for himself who don’t even get arrested for doing the deed, gets us in an uproar for good reason. I can’t say I know all the specifics of that case to respond to intelligently, but there are times we know evil is happening. I recall a news story from a number of years ago of a guy who lit his house and fire just so he could shoot at firefighters when they came out to put out the fire. Evil exists and it needs to be brought to justice. We want the wicked to get justice. We want the same for ourselves, so we replay our worst moments over and over again so we might somehow gain penance or somehow make it better.

Yet we know we can’t. And though there are evils beyond what we may see ourselves being capable of- we also know in the wrong situation at the wrong time- we’re also capable of evil. So it must be dealt with somehow. That’s where hell- being apart from God comes in, and also Jesus who takes on hell for us. Both just ways of handling evil. One is grace. One is our work.

Then the prayer changes from needing something from God to thanking God for what they have. I would say this is a model for prayer. Often we come asking for something, but by the time we’re done talking with God wrestling with Him, maybe not with the answer we came with, we leave thankful- knowing our heavenly Father has heard us and he has done great things for us!

Carry us forever Lord is the final phrase. I haven’t thought much about Jesus carrying us because I don’t like the cliche of the old “footprints” poem. But it is biblical and Lutheran to think hey don’t do anything just get in the uber and sleep. Your uber driver is a good listener and he knows the way. Trust that he’s got you and it will be alright. He’s carrying you where you need to be.