{"id":13653,"date":"2024-11-11T21:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T01:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=13653"},"modified":"2025-08-15T23:27:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T03:27:57","slug":"post-election-pep-talk-psalm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=13653","title":{"rendered":"Post-Election Pep Talk Psalm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the election results came out, I’ve been thinking about Wisdom Psalms.<\/p>\n

But when I wrote my book on Psalms, Praying with the Psalmists<\/em> (It’s not published yet, but subscribe to my blog to find out more!), it felt presumptuous to talk about writing your own wisdom psalms, so when I write one, I usually call it a Pep Talk Psalm – reminding myself of the things I already know.<\/p>\n

The Wisdom Psalms in Scripture are Psalms 1, 14, 15, 24, 34, 36, 37, 39, 49, 50, 52, 53, 58, 73, 75, 76, 82, 84, 90, 94, 101, 111, 112, 115, 119, 120, 127, 133, 144, and 146. (And that’s not even counting Psalms of Trust, which are something of a sub-category.) So 30 out of 150 Psalms are Wisdom Psalms.<\/p>\n

The key concepts in Wisdom Psalms are:
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Blessings
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Teachings
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Consequences
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Oversight
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Perspective<\/p>\n

Every Wisdom Psalm doesn’t have every Key Concept, but these are the themes that fill them: It’s blessed to follow God; following God’s teachings will steer you right; doing good and doing evil have natural results; God sees everything we do; and looking at the big picture helps when the rest of this doesn’t seem to be happening.<\/p>\n

It’s that last point – Perspective – that I’m trying to hold onto after it seems to be a case of the wicked triumphing.<\/p>\n

And lest I alienate people by saying that? Let me list some of the wicked plans that have been put forward. People who voted for Trump have told me he won’t really carry out the Project 2025 agenda. And that’s exactly what I’m praying won’t happen.<\/p>\n

So I’m not planning to pray here against a person. But I very much am praying against the forces of evil, injustice, and oppression. And praying for the marginalized and powerless.<\/p>\n

Okay, so let’s try a Post-Election Pep Talk Psalm<\/p>\n

Lord God, we come before you
\nworried and scared about the future,
\nworried not so much for ourselves
\nas for your children who are vulnerable and are being threatened.<\/p>\n

Though we feel discouraged and beaten down,
\nYou’ve said we’re blessed
\nif we hunger and thirst for righteousness,
\nif we seek to show mercy and make peace.<\/p>\n

Your people have lived under oppressive regimes for centuries,
\nand this doesn’t mean You’ve abandoned us.
\nIt does mean that we may be called
\nto do more to stand up to the forces of evil, injustice, and oppression
\nthan if the government were doing that work for us.
\nMay we step up when the need arises, Lord.<\/p>\n

There are so many who are being threatened, Lord.<\/p>\n

I pray first against all demonization of your children.
\nToday I’m thinking about transgender people,
\nwho simply want to live outwardly
\nas the person you created them to be inwardly.
\nBut I’m also thinking of immigrants, both legal and illegal
\nunjustly blamed for all kinds of awful things.<\/p>\n

Protect them, Lord!
\nAnd help us as Your servants
\nto stand up for them,
\nto protect them in any way we possibly can,
\nand to see them as Your children, made in the image of God.<\/p>\n

I pray, too, against the violence and hatred
\nthat go along with demonization of Your children.
\nI pray against racism,
\nagainst unjust imprisonment without due process,
\nand against denaturalization of citizens
\nwho’ve already made their home here in America.<\/p>\n

I ask that when the wicked dig a pit,
\nthey’ll fall into it themselves,
\nthat all plans for violence
\nwill be thwarted and called to account.<\/p>\n

I pray against government overreach in medical decisions,
\nthat people of America may be able to make medical decisions
\nabout their own bodies
\nwithout worrying about penalties from the government,
\nthat the government won’t make blanket decisions
\nthat ignore each person’s right to bodily autonomy,
\nwhether a transgender young person
\nor a young teen who’s been raped
\nor a woman with an ectopic pregnancy
\nor anyone who wants or needs a medical procedure
\nthat is none of the government’s business.
\nLord, protect these people where the government is overreaching.
\nLet the plans to control them be thwarted.<\/p>\n

I pray also for First Amendment Freedoms to read and write,
\nthat libraries would continue to be free to provide materials for everyone.
\nThat the government would not turn into the Thought Police
\nand our Freedom to Read would be upheld.<\/p>\n

And Lord, I pray for people around the world
\ntrying to stand up against oppressive regimes.
\nI pray that others will step up if the United States falls back.
\nAnd I pray that a host of angels will fight with them against the oppressors.<\/p>\n

Father, I’m not eloquent.
\nBut You’ve asked us to stand up for the poor and needy,
\nto protect the vulnerable from oppression.
\nYou’ve asked us over and over
\nto be kind to the stranger and foreigner among us.<\/p>\n

Even if the oppressor is in our own government,
\nmay we find the courage and strength to do our part.<\/p>\n

And Lord, I pray that evil and oppressive plans
\nwould be utterly thwarted.
\nI pray that even things as tedious as long legal battles
\nwill mitigate the harm they can do.
\nI pray strength to the lawyers, judges, legislators, and small-town officials
\nwho stand up for what’s right.<\/p>\n

Lord, hear our prayer.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Okay, I’m not sure that was quite a wisdom psalm. So I’m going to quote some verses from Psalm 37 and let the Psalmist pray for me. Wisdom Psalms remind us what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, said, that the arc of the moral universe tends toward justice. I wish I was living in a time of great victory – but I do believe that time will come.<\/p>\n

So here are some verses from Psalm 34:<\/p>\n

Do not fret because of those who are evil
\nor be envious of those who do wrong;
\nfor like the grass they will soon wither,
\nlike green plants they will soon die away….<\/p>\n

Be still before the Lord
\nand wait patiently for him;
\ndo not fret when men succeed in their ways,
\nwhen they carry out their wicked schemes.<\/p>\n

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
\ndo not fret – it leads only to evil.
\nFor those who are evil will be destroyed,
\nbut those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.<\/p>\n

A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
\nthough you look for them, they will not be found.
\nBut the meek will inherit the land
\nand enjoy peace and prosperity.<\/p>\n

The wicked plot against the righteous
\nand gnash their teeth at them;
\nbut the Lord laughs at the wicked,
\nfor he knows their day is coming.<\/p>\n

The wicked draw the sword
\nand bend the bow
\nto bring down the poor and needy
\nto slay those whose ways are upright.
\nBut their swords will pierce their own hearts,
\nand their bows will be broken… [May it be so, Lord!]<\/p>\n

But the wicked will perish:
\nThough the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
\nthey will be consumed, they will go up in smoke….<\/p>\n

The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
\nintent on putting them to death;
\nbut the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
\nor let them be condemned when brought to trial.<\/p>\n

Hope in the Lord
\nand keep his way.
\nHe will exalt you to inherit the land;
\nwhen the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.<\/p>\n

I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
\nflourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
\nbut he soon passed away and was no more;
\nthough I looked for him, he could not be found.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s so much more in the Wisdom Psalms. Here’s a bit from Psalm 73, when the Psalmist sees the wicked prospering:<\/p>\n

Surely you place them on slippery ground;
\nyou cast them down to ruin.
\nHow suddenly are they destroyed,
\ncompletely swept away by terrors!
\nThey are like a dream when one awakes;
\nwhen you arise, Lord,
\nyou will despise them like fantasies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you’re getting discouraged, I do recommend browsing the Wisdom Psalms.<\/p>\n

I also believe that God can bring good out of anything. In the case of falling into dark times, as Kamala Harris said in her concession speech, at least the stars can shine brighter.<\/p>\n

I decided not to join in the blame game about figuring what went wrong that the election was lost. (Or at least I’m trying not to.) Because I don’t need resentment and anger in my heart. It won’t do anybody any good, and it will do harm to me.<\/p>\n

May we shine like stars. May we hold onto joy. And may we be ready to stand up for the poor and needy and the oppressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the election results came out, I’ve been thinking about Wisdom Psalms. But when I wrote my book on Psalms, Praying with the Psalmists (It’s not published yet, but subscribe to my blog to find out more!), it felt presumptuous to talk about writing your own wisdom psalms, so when I write one, I usually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,51,55,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional-thoughts","category-prayer","category-praying-with-the-psalmists","category-wisdom-psalms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13653"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13656,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13653\/revisions\/13656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}