1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.4 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.8 He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit. (Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45)
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered.38 Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.39 He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.40 They asked, and he brought them quail; he fed them well with the bread of heaven.41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.42 For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.”
While the pandemic became under control many countries began to prepare for the reopening of their economies, another breaking news brought unrest in North America and Europe. This is George Floyd, a black American, who was killed by the American police during a violent law enforcement on May 27. Thus, there have been a series of anti-racism protests in different cities in the United States, Canada and Europe for more than two weeks. Former US President Barack Obama mentioned in his speech that the history of black racial discrimination is the original sin of the United States. In fact, Canada and some European countries have similar original sins of discrimination against certain ethnic groups. In the global wave of the anti-racism movement, how should Christians respond and reflect spiritually? The psalmist recorded a history of Israites being racially discriminated against by the Egyptians in Psalm 105, but he did not fight for social justice for the Israites from the structural original sin. On the contrary, the poet summed up in front of these injustices, and encouraged the oppressed Israelites to praise and call on God’s name. At that time, the Israites did not achieve their goals through mass resistance, because the Israelis were defenseless, and the resistance was tantamount to suicide. But the wonderful thing is that God made them fear no one in their tribes, but the Egyptians feared them because of the judgment of God. The Israites did not have any advantages for victory, but they eventually inherited the promised land, and tasted the fruits and produce in it. The poet expected the Israelites to keep in mind the teachings of their predecessors - to keep God's commands and obey His laws. Although many brothers and sisters today are not under the pressure of discrimination, they are in dire straits because of the pressure of the pandemic. While people seem to have no way out, God wants to perform miracles and wonders for His people. God wants his people to know that God wants to sustain and protect them. He gave them the land and its output during the good times, but for the bad times, he gave manna from heaven and the spring from the rock.