Psalm 21 - Rooted in Hesed

So I don’t know what this rope/line is rooted to but last night I loved how it seemed to be unaffected by the waves moving around it. (I edited the video to give a better contrast between the line and the water). I saw this last night looking down from a high bridge during Scout and my evening walk.

I looked over the other side of the bridge and didn’t see it there so it was rooted to something underneath the bridge. But I just watched this for a little while. If it wasn’t rooted to seomthing, it would have been moving with the current but there it stayed in nearly the exact same shape.

Psalm 21 is a song that is written about and/or to a ruler. It centers on God’s working through that ruler for protection, provision, and yes conquest. But right in the middle there is this... (Fischer’s version)

The king puts all his trust in you
And rooted in your kindness
He shall not be moved

This line marks a division in the Psalm between how God blesses a ruler and then the latter part is on what God will do for the ruler. It feels as if these lines are the ones that remind the ruler of who they are to be. The ruler is to put all their trust in God, be rooted in God’s kindness (hesed), and the ruler will remain established. A few things on the words here.

First...the word that Fischer translates as “kindness” and the NRSV translates as “steadfast love” is a powerful Hebrew word, hesed, which has an incredible depth of meaning. It doesn’t mean just kindness. Nor just love. But also mercy. Some have said that maybe the best translation is mercylovingkindness becuase they’re all together in that statement. So, the ruler here is to put all trust in God and be rooted in that hesed/mercylovingkindness in how s/he acts and moves in the world.

The last line there - “he shall not be moved” is not a statement of that ruler being stubborn and unwilling to change but instead a statement on how their foundation is solid. Think of the short parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount - the one who built the house on the rock is the one who will be able to withstand the storms of life. So hesed is what enables one to be rooted and grounded.

But I also personally have to reflect on this Psalm for those of us who aren’t rulers. Even if one isn’t a follower of the God of the Bible, how are we rooted in hesed in the ways in which we live our lives, in how we treat others, in how we all our rulers to act? Are we living out that mercylovingkindness? Are we calling upon our rulers and leaders (at all levels and in all areas - religion, politics, business, education) to be truly rooted in that hesed?

Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed

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PS - Scout’s weather report… windy… note her ear…