Today’s Daily Lesson is Psalm 52:
Why do you boast, O mighty one,
of mischief done against the godly?
All day long 2 you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
3
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.Selah
4
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5
But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.Selah
6
The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
7
“See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!”
8
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
9
I will thank you forever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
This psalm is an anthem for resiliency and endurance. Amidst all the troubles of the world — and especially the troubles and treachery of the people in power — this is a song about steadfastness — God’s and God’s people.
And the image we are given is that of a single olive tree — a symbol of balm and light, whose evergreen leaves are strong and resilient and spring forth from dry patches of the barren earth and tiny cracks in the walls of the Temple. The olive branch was the first plant found by the dove after the Flood, a symbol of deep inner peace within the earth and new hope for the world.
The world seems pretty wild and out of control now. An evil scourge is on the loose. There’s trouble and treachery everywhere we turn.
But I am still hopeful. I am still rooted. I am still at peace.
“I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.”
And I hope you are also.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through together this year. Right now we’re in the midst of the psalms of David, written about the time he was in hiding from Saul. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be taken from Psalms 56, 120, and 140-142.
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