Today's Meditation - Saturday, May 16, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 92

¹It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

²to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,

³to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.

⁴For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

⁵How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!

⁶The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this:

⁷though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever,

⁸but you, O Lord, are on high forever.

⁹For your enemies, O Lord, for your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.

¹⁰But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil.

¹¹My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

¹²The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap,

¹⁵showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

     Although I'm always frustrated by the psalm writer when they speak about destruction of evil-doers and how enemies will perish, that is often our most honest and heartfelt wish.  And the Psalmist always names it, both the good and the bad of what burdens their soul.  I tend to lift up the passages that speak lovingly of God's blessings, and the thankful praise that we are to offer and play-down the less heroic passages, the calls for downfall and doom.

     What really caught my attention in this Psalm however are verses 12-14.  "The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.  In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright..."

     We have a tendency to disregard the aged in our society.  But they have wisdom to share with us.  They have stories to tell and work yet to do.  We need to listen to their council and their teachings because they still produce fruit and we have much to learn from them.

     Over the next month or two, make a point of reaching out to someone who is a generation older or younger than you and share with them in a deep conversation about your lives.  I bet you'll have more to learn from one another than you might think.

100 Years 

I'm fifteen for a moment
Caught in between ten and twenty
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
I'm twenty two for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars
Fifteen there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
Fifteen, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got hundred years to live
I'm thirty three for a moment
Still the man, but you see I'm of age
A kid on the way
A family on my mind
I'm forty five for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life
Fifteen there's still time for you
Time to buy, time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
Fifteen I'm all right with you
Fifteen, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got hundred years to live
Half time goes by
Suddenly you're wise
Another blink of an eye
Sixty seven is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on
I'm ninety nine for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
Fifteen there's still time for you
Twenty two I feel her too
Thirty three you're on your way
Every day's a new day
Fifteen there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey fifteen, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got hundred years to live