The Just Will Flourish

There’s one Psalm (Ps 92) in the Bible that was specifically written for the Sabbath. it’s a prayer about trusting in God’s strength in the midst of oppression. The ‘righteous’ are those who are living in God’s ways, doing justice, and living lives marked by humility and mercy. As you read through these lines, imagine those who have been facing challenges and injustices gathering together on the Sabbath to rest and refocus.

In God’s presence they get a break from the battle, they regather their strength, and they get reminded that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” (Martin Luther King). That long arc leads the songwriter of Psalm 92 to envision growing old and how history will bend towards a them in a more just world where they and others flourish.

As you read these lyrics, can you envision a more just future? In that future can you see yourself flourishing? What does it look like? How does that vision renew your soul for this day, today, so that you might go back out and walk in the ways of God?

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” - Psalm 92:12-15