With the Caring of the Lord

Psalm 45

The psalm celebrates a king who is divinely appointed and fulfills his role in such a way that he can been seen as a representative of Lord, with the Lord’s own care and love for the people. God gave humanity this kind of care over the life of the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). This is a more specific kind of stewardship of a people.

It would now seem sexist, if not also an example of nationalistic chauvinism, that the king’s foreign bride is told to forget her own people and dedicate herself totally to her husband and her new setting (verses 10-11). In the context, it is a sign of the worthiness of the king. The ancient church saw this marriage as a sign of the submission of the church to the authority and purpose of Christ as King over the church and the world.

The kind of genuine care for people in modern government seems only to be evident in a time of tragedy. The ruling generals of Myanmar (or Burma, whatever it is most properly called), hardly fit the description of kingship in the psalm. We can help, through, among other avenues:
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
Red Cross
World Vision

On another plane, in times of such a monumental tragedy, there is the “why” or “why them or us” type of question. With some discomfort at being overly reflective in the midst of down-to-earth human misery, I recall something I wrote after the Asian Tsunami, which came to mind again in thinking of all the thousands devastated by this cyclone.

Each beating heart got its start from You,
There’s no life apart from Your power and your cue,
But this is one cry through a sudden wave’s wall:
Why them, not I; do You love us all?

Some suffer more from the powers of earth,
What is this for, are there some of lesser worth?
How do you choose who will get the call,
Are some meant to lose, or do You truly love us all?

There’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as You love us all.

Your power can move in any latitude,
Show us your grace of greater magnitude.
By loving mighty fire and your reign installed
May no one need inquire, or ever doubt, if You love us all.

‘Cause there’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as You love us all.

Though the earth will quake, skies will be torn,
Our bond will not break with a new world that’s born

‘Cause there’s your Child, arms spread out so wide
So defiled, His tears a mercy tide
Swept along in His wave heavens’ tall,
I join the throngs You will save as you love us all.

As You Love Us All, Copyright © 2006 James Kitson

Prayer:
God, thank you that you hear the cries of your children throughout the earth. You are the unchanging God, but you are not unaffected or unmoved by the circumstances of people, when they call out to you, or others call to you on their behalf. Thank you for those who care; speed the efforts of those seeking to help people now undergoing disaster. Through Christ. Amen.