⁴ I lie down among lions
    that greedily devour^[a] human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
    their tongues sharp swords.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
    Let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
    but they have fallen into it themselves.Selah
⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.
⁸     Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn.
⁹ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
¹⁰ For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
    your faithfulness extends to the clouds.

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
    and all the peoples behold his glory.
⁷ All worshipers of images are put to shame,
    those who make their boast in worthless idols;
    all gods bow down before him.
⁸ Zion hears and is glad,
    and the towns^[a] of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O God.
⁹ For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ The Lord loves those who hate^[b] evil;
    he guards the lives of his faithful;
    he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light dawns^[c] for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
    and give thanks to his holy name!

Prayer (from the Presbyterian Outlook)

We thank you for the freedom to vote our conscience, of which you alone are Lord. After this election, we are keenly aware that even if the political rhetoric fades the acrimony it highlighted will remain. Grant us the courage to step into the breaches and not shrink back into our enclaves of homogeneity. Send your Spirit to drive us to the places where you are already working to bring reconciliation. Remind us relentlessly that you are greater than every category we devise, more powerful than any estrangement we have created, eternal, ever present and always calling forth justice, peace and abundant life. Show us today and everyday how to live in the love of Jesus Christ, the perfect love that casts out fear. Amen.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
    he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lordstands forever,
    the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹² Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all humankind.
¹⁴ From where he sits enthroned he watches
    all the inhabitants of the earth—
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all,
    and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ A king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
    and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸ Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ to deliver their soul from death,
    and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.

⁴ I do not sit with the worthless,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites;
⁵ I hate the company of evildoers,
    and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I wash my hands in innocence,
    and go around your altar, O Lord,
⁷ singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

⁸ O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
    and the place where your glory abides.
⁹ Do not sweep me away with sinners,
    nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
¹⁰ those in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹² My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

³ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
    our lips are our own—who is our master?”

⁵ “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
    I will now rise up,” says the Lord;
    “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
⁶ The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
    silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷ You, O Lord, will protect us;
    you will guard us from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among humankind.

⁵ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
⁶ The Lord protects the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest,
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.
⁹ I walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
¹¹ I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷ I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Reflection
Once again, the psalm seems to be able to speak to us even though we are separated by so many hundreds of years.  The poem reminds us of what it is to live in troubling times.  The psalmist writes,”I kept my faith even when I said I was greatly afflicted. I kept my faith even when I was crying; when I didn’t know where to turn or what to do; when I didn’t trust anyone.” Yet through the very trying time he declares he walks before the Lord in the land of the living.  IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. O to find that path to that place!

For some of us, living through this pandemic and time of political upheaval is truly a dark and difficult time.  There are many reasons for that, and we should not be ashamed for the distress, anxiety, grief, and even anger or depression we feel.  For others of us, we are not as afflicted.  Perhaps our lives are not as disrupted, our spirits not as anguished.  No matter where we are on the spectrum of emotion and experience during this great disruption, we may all pray for deliverance, for mercy, for protection, and for our faith to be real.  For those of us who are feeling as if the “snares of death” encompass us or “the pangs of Sheol” lay hold of us, I pray that you not get lost in the grip of Sheol, but remember the cup of salvation in the psalm and at the communion table.  May others hold your hand as you walk through that shadow and step into the land of the living.  May those of us who are less distressed remember those who are struggling and walk with them, not to shame or judge them for their troubled spirits, but to accompany them in prayer and love.  May we all come to a place of peace and comfort.

⁷ Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
    make melody to our God on the lyre.
⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds,
    prepares rain for the earth,
    makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹ He gives to the animals their food,
    and to the young ravens when they cry.
¹⁰ His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;^[a]
11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Prayer:
Today is a day when we need to hope in your steadfast love, O God.  We hear the words of this psalm and know you care for the downtrodden and broken-hearted.  We bring our concerns to you today.  We pray for ourselves and for others as we all pray for your comfort and care.  Today we pray for healing for those who are ill…..
jobs for those who are unemployed….
love for those who are lonely…
reconnection for those who are separated from their families and friends…
hope for those who are depressed….
(other concerns on your heart…)

We thank you for hearing our prayers.  We thank you for holding us close to you.  We thank you for your church which connects us to others and to your son.  Amen.

³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
    while mischief is in their hearts.
⁴ Repay them according to their work,
    and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
    render them their due reward.
⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,
    or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord,
    for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹ O save your people, and bless your heritage;
    be their shepherd, and carry them forever.

Prayer:
To you, o Lord, we call.  Hear our cries of help.
We do not want to be judged as wicked. We do not want to participate in evil, but we want you to deliver us from it.  Open our eyes to those times when our actions, our beliefs, our words, or anything else in our character goes against your will. Open our hearts to those times when we say the right things to people but turn around and do what is harmful to those same neighbors.  Help us to tear down those things in our world which are testaments to evil deeds, and help us to build up those things which are signs of your blessing. Be our strength and our wisdom.  Amen.