“Rise up, O judge of earth;
give the proud what they deserve!” Psalm 94:2
This psalm haunts me now. I never paid much attention to it before—until I heard this musical setting of it: “Rise Up” by Sons of Korah. Perhaps the words once seemed irrelevant because I was too comfortable with the status quo. Now the music jars me into acknowledging the desperation that caused someone to write such liturgical poetry. Now I scan the news and hear others sing this too—in different words, perhaps.
Read Psalm 94 yourself while you listen to the song linked above. See if the psalmist who originally felt compelled to write and pray such a passionate lament doesn’t come back to life confronting anyone who will listen. See if you don’t find yourself holding your breath waiting for God (or yourself) to act on his/her behalf. Somehow. Somewhere.
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Who today might need to sing this?
2. Or read all of Psalm 94 to discover how this verse fits into this psalm.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that is a window of this verse’s meaning for you.
Tomorrow’s psalm will be Psalm 95:1.
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
Leave a Reply