READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART VI

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Psalms 6 and 38

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Petitions of innocence and pleas for deliverance from enemies are replete in the Book of Psalms.  This post covers two such texts, similar to each other.  The psalmist(s) feel(s) punished and targeted by God.  One may reasonably recall the titular character of the Book of Job.  The psalmist(s) feel(s) his/their spiritual anguish physically.  And his/their “wanton enemies” (38:20) increase.  The psalmist(s) turn(s) to God for deliverance.

Psalm 6 speaks of Sheol–the underworld, the abode of the dead–where nobody can praise God.  This is an accurate account of Jewish theology regarding the afterlife at the time of the composition of Psalm 6.

Platonism divides us into souls and bodies.  Jewish theology tells us that no such division exists, however.  Naturally, then, spiritual anguish and torment manifest physically.  What else should one expect?  When one experiences deep grief, one may lack energy and vitality for a time.  I know this experience.  Perhaps you, O reader, know it, too.

I recently completed a program as part of a grief support group under the auspices of my Episcopal parish.  Bonny died more than three years ago.  I have fared better vis-a-vis grief since moving away from Athens, Georgia, where she lived and died.  However, profound grief has never been far away since her death, on October 14, 2019.  I benefited from the grief support group, which contained many references to God.  When I attended a session about dealing with holiday grief at my mother’s Methodist church, I felt gratitude that I had chosen the grief support I had selected.  The alternative program was bonk-bonk-over-the-head Evangelical.  It made me uneasy.  My tastes have long run closer to Roman Catholicism.

The light of God may be constant.  I assume that it is so.  However, that light seems brighter in the context of the surrounding darkness.  When the bottom falls out and the darkness becomes more prominent than it had been, God’s light shines in the midst of the darkness.  Grace–always present–may seem more present, for one may pay more attention to it during such times.

Assuming that I will live to a ripe old age and retain my faculties, I will mourn Bonny until my dying day.  Until that final day–whenever it will arrive–I will turn to God and express my grief.  My pain is before me always, but God is by my side always, too.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 12, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS BARTHOLOMEW BUONPEDONI AND VIVALDUS, MINISTERS AMONG LEPERS

THE FEAST OF JONATHAN KRAUSE, SILESIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUDWIK BARTOSIK, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941

THE FEAST OF THOMAS CANNING, U.S. COMPOSER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LOUIS POTEAT, PRESIDENT OF WAKE FOREST COLLEGE, AND BIOLOGIST; HIS BROTHER, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, SR., SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND PRESIDENT OF FURMAN UNIVERSITY; HIS SON, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, JR., SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, HYMN WRITER, AND SOCIAL REFORMER; HIS BROTHER, GORDON MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND MISSIONARY; AND HIS COUSIN, HUBERT MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN BAPTIST ACADEMIC AND MUSICIAN

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