June 28thPsalm 36
In the Light
Toni Morrison’s novel, HOME, tells the story of Frank Money, an angry, self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who, after traumatic experiences on the front lines, finds himself back in racist America with more than just physical scars. His home may seem alien to him, but he is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister, Cee and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from and that he's hated all his life.
But HOME is not only about one man finding his sense of self and his home. It is also about the healing power of women—of Miss Ethel Fordham and her friends in Lotus, who nurse Cee back to health and nurture her in her time of need. Fierce, unflinching, deeply compassionate—and rooted in traditional healing practices—their deep care for Cee enables her to live in joy and freedom once again.
These women are amazing: they have grown up in a South deeply racist and oppressive of black people and especially black women. But together these women have encouraged, sustained, and enabled each other to live lives of freedom and meaning. Theirs is a robust faith forged in the fires of opposition, ignorance, and maliciousness.
Psalm 36 reflects the prayer of a community who know evil but who also trust in the steadfast love of God. The psalmist’s praise and prayer arise not from untroubled circumstances, but from in the midst of opposition and threat.
In the midst of a godless people (vs. 1-4)
Verses 1-4 make clear the realities of the situation of those who are praying. They live in the midst of a godless people. There is no sense of the sacred, no acknowledgment that there is a God (verse 1). The wickedness of these people expresses itself in a me-centered life driven by deception and dishonesty, carried out in secret wheeling and dealing. Their arrogance is evident in their words and their actions. They even plan evil while lying on their beds, when they should be sleeping. The psalmist is a realist, aware of the opposition to God and the godly that exists all around.
The wideness of grace (vs.5-11)
The words of verses 5-9 are words of praise and of trust in the wideness of God’s mercy which extends not only to all peoples of the world but also to the animals (verse 6)! The imagery describing God here is imaginative and stunning: God’s steadfast love is “precious”; God is like a bird providing shelter for its young or like a host providing rivers of delightful drinks (verses 7b-8); God is a fountain that provides life (verse 9) or God is the light in a world of darkness (recall the description of that dreary world in verses 1-4).
God’ steadfast love is described with four attributes:
God’s love is unbounded.
God is ultimately dependable.
God is faithful.
God’s judgments are sure.
In contrast to those evildoers who “are thrust down, unable to rise” (verse 12), those who know the Lord know also that n God lies “the fountain of life” (verse 10). God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice do no less than give life to creation. This is not simply life in the biological sense, but life filled with meaning and light.
Having established the abundance out of which God acts, verse 10 comes across as a firm confession of trust. It is in God’s very nature to continue offering steadfast love and salvation to those who know of the one who gives these things. God’s faithfulness enables those who know him to have faith, even when confronted with the transgression which began the psalm.
The wicked fall (v.12)
Those who pray are hopefully confident that evil will not have the last word.
Reading this psalm and Morrison’s novel, lead me to imagine that this psalm could be prayed by many women in our churches, especially those of an earlier generation. For decades, women’s voices and gifts were marginalized by church leaders who saw them as second-best when it came participation in church life.
And yet, those women, like Miss Ethel, were strong women, with deep faith and trust. They formed groups of quilters and bakers, and they taught Sunday School with imagination and excellence. Some of them served overseas and left legacies of great distinction. They passed on to their children the virtues of humility, and courage, hospitality, and forbearance.
Their lives were their witness to the light of God’s steadfast loving kindness.
https://youtu.be/EgEfWIHqtzc - ‘There is a line of women’