Meditate On That! – Psalm 145

A text – Psalm 145:1-8

145:1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
145:2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.
145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.
145:4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
145:5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
145:6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness.
145:7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

A reflection:

“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.”

You know, I believe in a mighty, powerful God, creator of the universe. I really do. But I do not meditate upon it. In fact, if you want to know the truth, I do not meditate on much of anything. I have been coached to try it. So many times. But, as my Aunt Mary used to say about kids who never learned discipline from their parents, “It’s like a vaccination that just don’t take.”

Meditating on God’s majesty and God’s wondrous works: there are actually quite a few psalms about that very thing. Many hymns written. One could easily find a text and read it and read it, and close one’s eyes, and let it dance around in one’s mind and capture one’s imagination.  But I do not do that. I am too easily distracted.

It’s time to try it. I am determined that this week I will in fact look around me, find an amazing product of God’s creative power and glory, and spend some time turning it around in my imagination. I will actually do verse 5 for myself. And if it is hard for me, I will have verse 8 close at hand: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Any work I do will be to God’s glory, and with God’s patient help, I will experience God’s glory in a new way.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us the psalms to explore and verses to try for ourselves. Give us the determination to carve out time, the patience to try something new, and the awareness of you and your love for us as we experience our relationship with you. Help us to know we can always perceive you in new ways.  Amen.