God Is a Verb – Psalm 145

A text – Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

⁸ The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Verses 14-21

¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
¹⁶ You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

A reflection:

I have heard it said that we have a God who isn’t a noun but a verb. I have heard it said that the Holy Trinity is in fact a dance of interaction between God and World that God loves. These two portions of Psalm 145 are in fact two verses about adjectives for the noun Lord, and seven verses of the actions the Lord performs over and over and over again. So maybe God is a verb.

The psalmist seems to give us characteristics of God and then the inevitable actions God does for us every day: upholding, raising up, giving, opening, satisfying, being just and kind, being nearby, fulfilling, hearing, saving, watching, and destroying the wicked.

If this is the Lord’s nature – to be acting/doing/in motion – then it’s no wonder Jesus exhorted people not just to bury their talent in the ground but invest it, not just to look holy but actually do deeds in service to those in need, not just to pass by on the road wearing the robes of church office but kneel down next to the robbery victim and care for him. We are to demonstrate our own generosity, our bountiful steadfast love. That is what we do if we really follow Jesus.

It’s a good reminder, especially in fraught times when we really don’t know exactly who that victim is. “They will know we are Christians by our love,” says the familiar song. But that love better be able to be acted out and result in something. What if we all took this to heart this week?

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for being a verb. Help us to remember to get into action as well, as our way of following Jesus. Help us to remember his compassion and action on behalf of those who needed so much: us. Amen.