Devotion: October 28
Psalm 146

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

The ancient people of Israel wanted a king so they could be “like other nations.” The prophets all warned them to do as this psalm advises, “Do not put your trust in princes…in whom there is no help.”

Faith—trust—must be reserved for the “Ground of our Being,” the Holy One. And action follows by joining in making God’s dream true, as the feminine prophets Hannah and Mary (the Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55), and as the psalmist all describe our tasks as people of God:

• Executing justice for the oppressed
• Giving food to the hungry
• Setting the prisoners free
• Opening the eyes of the blind
• Watching over the strangers
• Upholding the orphan and the widow

The last three named, being the most marginalized among this list of marginalized peoples.

Such action is how we are called to truly “Praise the Lord.” And then we join the prophetic voices to “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24):

“Is this not the spiritual practice I choose?” says the Lord. “To loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free?” (Isaiah 58: 6 ff.)

“I hate I despise your festivals, your joyous celebrations…take away from me the noise of your songs. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:21-24)

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!