Today's Scripture Reading (May 26, 2022): Psalm 60
On April 14, 1865, at 10:15
pm, John Wilkes Booth walked into Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., and killed the President of the United States,
Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln would be the first American President to be
assassinated. Unfortunately, he was not the last. The murder of President Lincoln was part of a larger strategy
to kill the three most important officials in the government of the United States. The other two officials were Vice President Andrew
Johnson and the Secretary of State William H. Seward. But the killing of
Abraham Lincoln was the only part of the plot that was successfully carried out. The reason for the strategy was
that, at the time of the assassination, the American Civil War was
winding down. The conspirators hoped that by killing Lincoln,
Johnson, and Seward, they could revive the hopes of the Confederate States. But that hope was never made a
reality. Less than a month after the assassination (May 9,
1865), the American Civil War ended with a Union victory.
But just because the war was
over didn't mean that there was no pain in the United States.
The Civil War had caused no end of pain on both sides of the conflict. And the
effects of the Civil War are still felt today, at least in
some quarters. Disagreements rage over
what is to be done with memorials dedicated to Confederate Generals or celebrated with Confederate military bases. Even the Confederate Flag has
caused division in recent years, something I am not sure existed back when we watched
"The Dukes of Hazzard" in the 1980s. "The Dukes of Hazzard"
features a Dodge Charger named "General Lee," a Confederate General,
with the Confederate Flag prominently displayed on the car's roof. I am almost certain that we would
never be able to produce the show today. And often, there is no consensus over what should
happen next. And every time the subject is raised, it is like
tearing off the scab of the wound of the Civil War, forcing us to feel its pain anew once again.
Psalm 60 is a psalm of
national lament written by David. It was written very early in David's reign. The problem with the Psalm is that we know of no reason for the lament. It appears to be written
around the time of Israel's significant victories over Philistia, Moab, Syria, Ammon, and
Amalek. But we know of no substantial losses in this era of Israel's history. For some, it is a good reminder that the
biblical story often condenses events and reveals the highlights to
its readers and not the entire record.
But if I had to make a guess, it would be this; at this time, early in the reign of David, the nation
was not as united as it should have been. That echoes of the seven-year Civil War in Israel still caused some division and pain within the country. And because of that division, sometimes even
winning the battle felt like a loss. I can't prove it, but I think it is possible.
David's
lament was a prayer for healing for a nation that had been torn open by its
internal conflicts. It had fractures that needed to be healed, and Israel was a
land that could only be stilled through the strength of her God. And so, David
prays, "You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for
it is quaking."
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Psalms 15 and 16
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