September 23 — Psalm 145

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.” (Verses 1-15)

“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.”

Martin Luther offers these words when he teaches about the blessings that are to be offered at meals: “How the head of the house is to teach members of the household to offer blessing and thanksgiving at meals….

The children and members of the household shall go to the table reverently, fold their hands, and say:

“The eyes of all look to You, [O LORD,] and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” (Ps. 145: 15–16)

Then shall be said the Lord’s Prayer and the following:

“Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these Your gifts which we receive from Your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

When we are weary and discouraged our priority should be to acknowledge the greatness and the goodness of G-d. And when we come to the table to partake in the food placed before us, we should also offer words of thanksgiving and acknowledge the blessings we have been given. When we are facing difficult decisions or find our faith is being challenged, we should turn to G-d’s word including the reading of the Psalms to remind us we have a G-d who is to be praised for all G-d has done for us.

Let us Pray:

Loving God, you are faithful in your promises and tender in your compassion. Listen to our hymn of joy, and continue to satisfy the needs of every living thing, that all your creatures may bless your name, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and forever.

Amen.

September 22 — Psalm 144

“Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me. O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow. Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them. Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false. I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David. Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false. May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace. May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets. Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.”

“They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.”

A shadow is created when light is disrupted; for when no object intercepts the light of the sun, or when the light of the sun has faded, no shadow is produced. In like manner, the state of our existence is made up of both light and shadows.

When you were little, you may have played a game I like to call “shadow tag”. The idea was to play a game of tag, but the way to tag someone was to step upon their shadow. Now, you mention to a young child about stepping upon their shadow, and they may ask “Won’t that hurt?” Of course, even though a shadow seems to be something, in reality it is nothing. If you try to grasp it, you soon realize it is nothing but emptiness. A shadow never remains the same, for either we are in motion, or the earth continues to spin. Eventually, the earth will move in such a manner that, at length, all shadows around us will finally and certainly cease.

A life, depending upon where that life may currently reside, usually has the chance to exist for at least three score years and ten (that would be seventy years for those not raised in the 19th century). Of course, each life has no promise for anything — not the next second — not even our very next breath is secured. There will be people in our lives who will seemingly come and go with the suddenness of a shadow — it is the way of this life.

Though our lives, like our shadows, may seem to come and go at the whim of fate — Lord we pray that our lives leave a trace of our existence through our love for you and for our neighbor. May our presence offer shade for those burned by the heat of hate and suffering — and may our love for you shine like the sun, so that nothing over-shadows our love.

Let us Pray:

Generous and bountiful God, give compassion to the prosperous and comfort to those in need, that all people may come to love and praise you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.