Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand
from those whose portion in life is this world;
Whose bellies you fill with your treasure,
who are well supplied with children
and leave their wealth to their little ones.
But at my vindication I shall see your face;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding
your likeness.
Psalm 17: 14-16
These three verses spoke to me today. “Deliver me…from those whose portion in life is this world.” It’s a striking description of the dynasties of wealth and power that control the earth and fill the news. It sums up their reach through time and the limits of that reach. And I love the way that vindication–satisfaction–comes on the other side of death. Are the wicked destroyed? Did they ever suffer? It doesn’t matter. The powerful have had their time, and we wake to behold the face of God.
A New Testament verse also struck me, and it felt like a sort of defiant acceptance of self–a sentiment with which I am familiar. Perhaps, if you’ve ever felt out of step with the rest of humanity, you’ll know what I mean.
…by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.
I Corinthians 15: 10a
