PSALM 148 - Praise for God’s Universal Glory

PSALM 148 - Praise for God’s Universal Glory
First Sunday after Christmas
27^th December 2020

This is one of those psalms that are full of joy and bliss. Somehow the people gather to sing praises to the Lord. There are no crises hanging over the people. God has been merciful. The psalm joins all creation in a song of praise. The glorification of the Creator and Preserver of the world fulfils the ultimate depth of meaning which unites the inanimate created things and the living creatures in a mutual relationship; to praise the sole majesty of God is the final goal which unites the whole universe in a communion of God’s service.

1          Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!

2          Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

3          Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!

4          Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5          Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.

6          He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

The song of praise sung by the heavens opens in the heights the grand symphony which the world created by God sings to the praise of its Maker. This has echoes of the song attributed to St Francis of Assisi, ‘Brother Sun, Sister Moon’.

7          Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,

8          fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

9          Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!

10        Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

This part talk of the worship offered by both heavens and the earth (and even sea monsters or dragons that were part of ancient creation myths) form part of this choir of praise to the creator. Verse 8 mentions ‘fire and hail.....stormy winds’ all part of a visit from God in person. Remember Elijah in the mountain, who had a vision of God with all these attributes around him.

11        Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!

12        Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

13        Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.

In this third section where the call to sing the praise of God form the conclusion, the poet turns to humankind, in particular to the rulers of the world of nations and to the whole cult community, comprising all age groups

14        He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Belief in salvation is the whole culmination of the poem and that is of crucial importance to the whole world. For it points at the same time beyond itself to the consummation of salvation which the angel host proclaimed from heaven to all the world at the first Christmas as the Good News of the birth of a Saviour.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the psalms.

PSALM 126 – THOSE WHO SOW IN TEARS WILL REAP WITH SHOUTS OF JOY!

PSALM 126 – THOSE WHO SOW IN TEARS WILL REAP WITH SHOUTS OF JOY!

13^th December 2020

Third Sunday of Advent

Homely and yet profound piety is here combined with noble simplicity of artistic form in a wonderful harmony which imparts to this widely known psalm its singular value. The psalm is like a precious stone in a simple and yet worthy setting. The gentle spirit of a heartfelt and trusting hope based on faith pervades the whole psalm; and from this very trustfulness springs the strength of that hope which is a living fountain of true piety. It proves equally true of the pure childlike delight in the hoped-for happiness and blessing (vv. I-2), of awed and wondering praise of the majesty and grace of God (v. 3), of the intimacy and assurance with which the psalmist prays (v. 4), and of the powerful comfort which that hope imparts on the way through darkness to light (vv. 5-6).

 

1    When the Lord turned again the fortunes of Zion

then were we like men restored to I life

and our tongue with singing.

‘The Lord has done great things for them’

and therefore we rejoiced.

As the streams return to the dry south

shall reap with songs of joy

shall come again in gladness bringing his sheaves with him.

2    Then was our mouth filled with laughter:

At the very beginning of the psalm the faith of the cult community spreads the wings of its thoughts in a bold flight into the future and looks into the smiling fields of blissful hope as through a widely opened gate they do not dare to push open with their own hands. The gate which separates the dismal present from the bright future, knowing by faith that the decisive transformation of their present circumstances lies in the hand of God alone. Therefore, their entire hope is founded on God.

 

3    Then said they among the heathen:

4    Truly the Lord has done great things for us:

5    Turn again our fortunes O Lord:

6    Those that sow in tears:

 

The community’s supplication is followed by the answer, which was probably uttered by the priest or a prophet. The promise is clothed in the proverbial image of the sowing in tears and reaping with shouts of joy. The imagery developed when the Yahweh religion was taking over from Canaanite agriculture religion. In order to understand this image, which does not simply speak of the periodic succession of sowing and reaping in the sense, for instance, of the proverbial phrase ‘The calm after the storm’, we must study it in the light of its contemporary background. It is a common ancient idea, which is reflected in various customs of Near East nations, that the time of sowing was to be considered as a time of mourning. We know from Egyptian examples that sowing was accompanied by funeral hymns as a symbol of the burial of the god Osiris. At the root of this ceremony was the interpretation of the natural process as the dying and rising again of living things, a view which, as discoveries at Ras Shamra have confirmed, was also shared by the Canaanite cultic myth, and which has also found expression in the German proverb: ‘Do not laugh when you sow; otherwise you must weep when you reap’; it also underlies the biblical parable of the grain of wheat which must die in order to bear much fruit (John 12.24; I Cor. 15.36). It is only from this point of view that the phrases used in the psalm, ‘those who sow in tears’ and ‘they go along weeping' become intelligible. The poet shows his artistic power in keeping the metaphor of sowing and not adding an explanation. Of course he intends a reference to their present calamities; in present - suffering and death he discerns not only the allusion to the future of a new life but, as in the case of the seed corn planted in the earth, he sees already at work the mysterious power of God which creates new life out of death.

 

7    He who goes out weeping bearing the seed:

 

This is an incredibly hopeful and exciting poem that should buoy us up at this time of the surge in COVID-19 cases. Through all the fear and doubt that we experience from our fellow human beings the vision of faith we can see the exciting work of our Saviour who said, ‘unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain: but if it dies, bears much fruit.’

Thank you Fr Graham for your weekly narrative on the psalms.

PSALM 85 – COMFORT AND HOPE

PSALM 85 – COMFORT AND HOPE
6^th December 2020
2^nd Sunday of Advent

 

This is the psalm set for the second Sunday in Advent and continues in some our Advent themes of expectation.

It has a background of liturgical expression couched in a responsorial way – someone starting and another group responding. When they first sang this psalm there were no prayer books or music sheets with parts marked out in bold print (like now) for all to sing together. Those gathered at the Temple or shrine would usually know the words off by heart and know when to join in.

1     O Lord you were gracious to your land:

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
and covered all their sin.
for he will speak peace to his people to his
faithful ones whose hearts are turned to him.
and his glory shall dwell in our land.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other;
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
And our land shall yield its plenty
and tread the path before his feet.

2     You forgave the iniquity of your people:

In this first part of the psalm the members of the congregation recall the past as they pray, holding it up to themselves and to God. Their faith takes comfort in the nature and the providential role of God, who withdrew his wrath and proved his gracious will by forgiving their sins.

Verses 3-7 are not reflected on here, but they form a lament asking God to come and answer their prayers. And there is a change…

8     I will hear what the Lord God will speak:

A prophetic voice speaks to the congregation demanding that they listen to hear whether God speaks, and he does, giving the word ‘peace’. He, and the congregation with him, anxiously listen for what God will say to them in reply. The people, the community of the faithful, have now received the answer they had longed for from God. At the moment of the crisis of their faith, as they were in danger of ‘falling into folly’ and of doubting God’s salvation, God himself intervenes to revive and strengthen their faith by his word.

9     Truly his salvation is near to those that fear him:

But the prophetic seer has more to tell: the peace and salvation is imminent, and the glory of the Lord will dwell in the land – a new year, season, epoch is coming. Sounds like some Christmas songs. In this worship service the people are given the vision of the divine – heralding a new start.

10   Mercy and truth are met together:

11   Truth shall flourish out of the earth:

12   The Lord will also give us all that is good:

In verses 10 – 12 there is a wonderful set of images where truth, mercy, righteousness, and peace are persons that meet, kiss, flourish and look down. It is a dynamic and lively image of the characteristics of God being present and alive to the people. The poet in a magnificent picture visualizes how the mythologically personified powers of divine love and faithfulness, of righteousness and peace as God’s messengers at his advent are at work to fashion the end of time.

13   For righteousness shall go before him:

The conclusion of the poem, which once more makes the theophany the centre of the events leads to the same view. God appears like a king, suitably escorted, to usher in the age of salvation. Righteousness precedes him like an outrider and Salvation follows in his way.

There is a wonderful sense that this psalm takes on the pattern of Judaeo-Christian liturgy. The first part of our liturgy is often filled with praise which looks to the past graciousness of God; then while still in the past we turn to requesting God for forgiveness; this is followed by listening for God’s message to his people, and concludes with a time of meeting, of communion with God. Isn’t it wonderful that when you look at the psalms you discover more and more ways to discover the fullness and variety of our religious life.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the psalms.

 PSALM 80      LET THY FACE SHINE

29^TH NOVEMBER 2020 – ADVENT SUNDAY

As the psalms often show we humans are ‘Janus’ faced: we look forward to the coming times, and backward to the past and combine them in our thoughts and decisions. This poem looks to the distant past – some have a ‘good times’ view, but some in more recent times are of major dislocation.

Because of the mention of Joseph, Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh the psalm’s writing can safely be dated to the time of the Assyrian invasion when the Assyrians conquered the northern tribes of Israel and threatened Jerusalem. In this critical situation the tribes have assembled in the sanctuary to bring before God their lament, their supplications, and their intercessions

1     Hear O Shepherd of Israel you that led Joseph like a flock:
you that are enthroned upon the cherubim shine out in glory;

2     Before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh:
stir up your power and come to save us.

These two verses are an invocation to the Almighty because a disaster has already overtaken them (Assyrians, drought, famine) led to the calling of the people together to lay their common complaint to God. It follows the pattern of communal payer. The first part is a remembrance or a reminder to God of his care for them in past ages. Having presented that picture to God the people respond with the first request in the chorus, probably said by all the people, for God to act.

3     Restore us again O Lord of hosts:
show us the light of your countenance and we shall be saved.

In his power he merely must shrug his shoulder and the people are saved. Verse 3 shows the strong faith of the community who believe this is possible on God’s part if he turns again and brings about that encounter in the theophany from which all divine blessings flow.

4     O Lord God of hosts:
how long will you be angry at your people’s prayer?

5     You have fed them with the bread a of tears:
and given them tears to drink in good measure.

6     You have made us the victim of our neighbours:
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

Verses 4-6 reflect the affliction of God’s people is fundamentally a trial of their faith. They suffer from being separated from God, from being subject to his anger, though they are probably not without a sense of their own guilt. The faithful who have lost confidence in their God give vent to their bitter disappointment in the supressed irony of the statement that the food and drink that they are indebted to their God consisted in a full measure of tears. The land that they had been promised was now wrenched away and given to those ‘who laugh us to scorn’.

7.    Restore us again O Lord of hosts:
show us the light of your countenance and we shall be saved.

Despite the preceding picture of dislocation, the people still cry out in faith.

17   Let your power rest on the man at your right hand:
on that son of man whom you made so strong for yourself.

18   And so we shall not turn back from you:
give us life and we will call upon your name.

The cult community envisages once more the seriousness of their position. They do not shun the bitter truth that their very existence is imperilled, not only their material position but their innermost being; for he who threatens them is God himself. In this situation the faithful thus threatened make one last effort, a last bold venture, and in supplication throw themselves into the arms of this God. It is precisely because it is God who threatens them that he is their only help and that their affliction cannot be his final word. Verse 17 echoes the new testament picture of Jesus, the one at the right hand of God the Father – no wonder this was a popular psalm for Christians who saw their fulfilment in the coming of Christ Jesus.

19   Restore us again O Lord of hosts:
show as the light of your countenance and we shall be saved.

The affliction of their life of prayer, movingly expressed in the lament in verse 4, is thus overcome. Only now, too, the radiant light of the divine presence appears in all its fullness in the refrain’s petition, in which the people of God, assured of their salvation, find their way back to God and to themselves.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the appointed psalm.

PSALM 100 – Make a joyful noise to the Lord all you lands!

PSALM 100 – Make a joyful noise to the Lord all you lands!

SUNDAY 22^ND NOVEMBER 2021

CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY

1.         O shout to the Lord in triumph all the earth:
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his face with songs of joy.

2.         Know that the Lord he is God:
 it is he who has made us, and we are his we are his people
and the sheep of his pasture.

3.         Come into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise:
give thanks to him and bless his holy name.

4.         For the Lord is good his mercy is for ever:
his faithfulness throughout all generations.

 

Imagine that you are in the vast golden courtyard of the temple when music sounds and choir of men sing out:

O shout to the Lord in triumph all the earth: serve the Lord with gladness and come before his face with songs of joy.

And you know, like the bells that ring at the start of our worship that worship is about to begin! We gather, moving toward the great fire of the holocaust altar and the bronze sea, the excitement is almost palpable. The chorus replies and with all your fellows you sing out the refrain:

Know that the Lord he is God: it is he who has made us, and we are his we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

There is a real sense of expectancy and hope, things have not been going well since last spring; there was a low yield to the barley, and two of your sheep were killed by lions. The political situation was all topsy-turvy with the Egyptians to the south and rumblings of the Assyrians to the north. The high priest and his fellow priests are tense and upset because of this prophetic activity, going on around Jerusalem.

All this pales into the background of your mind as the rest of the people join with the priestly choir and respond with heartfelt joy:

Come into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise:
give thanks to him and bless his holy name.

There is lots of movement as the crowd streams upwards and toward the singers. You murmur that ‘Yes, it is good to give him thanks.’ This where I belong as a member of the people of Israel despite the things that may have gone wrong it is still the Lord God who has rescued me and my family, and I am here to give him praise!

For the Lord is good his mercy is for ever:
his faithfulness throughout all generations.

Despite the lows of the year, and the problems we still face I can still say, ‘For the Lord is good his mercy is for ever’. And this is the chorus of all my fellow Israelites!

The joy expressed in this psalm is simultaneously derived from God and joy in God; it emanates from him and returns to him, and in that process lies the deepest meaning of old testament worship. The hymn ‘Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices’ shows that the Christian church, too, lives by this fountain of piety.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly narrative of the psalms.

 

PSALM 123 LOOKING UPWARDS TO GOD (A pilgrim's song)

 

PSALM 123      LOOKING UPWARDS TO GOD (A pilgrim song)

APPOINTED PSALM - SUNDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2020

MISSION SUNDAY

This brief and unpretentious prayer is grouped around a single word-picture imbued with moving tenderness. It springs from disposition of heartfelt and profound piety. Here an individual takes the affliction of his people so greatly to his heart that he makes it the object of his prayer; even from a purely stylistic point of view this has been expressed by the transition from the style of personal prayer to that of community prayer.

1   To you I lift up my eyes:
you who are enthroned in the heavens.

The background of the psalm can be inferred from vv. 3 f. The nation has long been exposed to the contempt and scorn of arrogant adversaries. This may be that the poem was written when the pressure weighed heavily upon the people in post-exilic times under the overlordship of Persia; it is, however, also possible that their affliction has been due to conflicts within the nation itself. The words which the worshipper uses in his opening prayer make clear how he conceives of his own position in relation to God. Amid the distress caused by his depressing situation he has lift his eyes to him who sits enthroned in heaven. In doing so he is aware of the immense difference between his human powerlessness and the greatness of the power of the heavenly King, on which alone he depends. His words express humble submission, but at the same time also firm trust.

2   As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master:
or as the eyes of a maid toward the hand of her mistress,

His consciousness of the attitude that is fitting before Yahweh is expressed even more distinctly in the peculiar line he takes in meditation in v. 2. He no longer visualizes himself as being alone face to face with God—after all, it is not a private concern which he presents in his prayer——but unites in a fellowship of prayer with his fellow believers, who with yearning await their encounter with God. The poet expresses in a simple and impressive simile what links the members of the congregation together before God in their common affliction. Like the eyes of the servants to the hand of their master and the eyes of the maids to the hand of their mistress, so their eyes look to God, their Lord. It expresses reverential awe, submission and humility, which are the result of the awareness of being utterly dependent on the sovereign will and power of God, as on the Lord with whom nobody can interfere; but at the same time it also expresses devoted love and trustful hope in the fatherly care that God, as the Lord, will give his own. It is only when both these sentiments combine that the genuine attitude of prayer is achieved. Reverential awe restrains the worshipper from encroaching upon the majesty of God through importunate petition, while trusting love alone makes it possible for him to pray with confidence and to confide his affliction to God in prayer. Thus at the end of the verse the waiting for the moment when God will appear and ‘look graciously upon’ his people is not to be understood in the sense that the members of the congregation want to press their human desires on God, but rather that in spite of the utter urgency of their concern they are yet satisfied to wait patiently upon the Lord, to whom they show the honour due to him by their whole-hearted surrender to his mercy. This has nothing whatsoever to do with a cowardly ‘slave mentality’; on the contrary, only by humbly submitting to God is man set free from any kind of cringing submission to the power of men, so that he is able to resist any attempt to bring him low through human pressure.

3   So our eyes look to the Lord our God:
until he shows us his mercy.

4   Have mercy upon us O Lord have mercy upon us:
for we have had our fill of derision.

The humble trust with which the worshipper lifts his eyes to God provides the background for his petition, ‘Be gracious to us, O Lord.’ The poet is a man of few words. His attitude expresses the spirit of prayer more effectively than an abundance of fine words could do. It is not until he adds a reason to his petition that the tenderness of his trust and the purity and restraint of his surrender to God appear in their true light; for it makes us realize how grievously the worshipper and his people suffer from the contempt of the proud oppressors, so that the lifting up of his eyes to God is the only light that shines in that darkness.

5   Our souls overflow with the mockery of those at ease:
and with the contempt of the proud.

And when he candidly confesses before him that humanly speaking all patience to endure such scorn is at an end, even these words of bitter complaint still reflect that heartfelt trustfulness which makes the whole poem one of the finest examples of piety, expressed in prayer – simple, truthful, natural and sincere.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly narrative on the appointed psalm.

PSALM 78 – RIDDLES PRESENTED BY HISTORY

 

PSALM 78 – RIDDLES PRESENTED BY HISTORY

APPOINTED PSALM FOR SUNDAY 8^TH NOVEMBER 2020

22^ND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

History is always a subject of intrigue – it is studied and read with the intention of trying to understand the vagaries of human behaviour. The Hebrew or Israelites had a strong sense of history because their God met with them and communicated with them, making promises and asking for their commitment to him. Much of the Old Testament deals with the historical and covenantal relationship of these people with their God. This is a God who makes covenant with a people who regularly break the covenant.

1       Give heed to my teaching O my people:
incline your ears to the words of my mouth,

2       For I will open my mouth in a parable:
and expound the mysteries of former times.

This an instructive poem of some 72 verses, we read only some 7 verses and from them we discover the riddles of history that affected the way people thought in the days before the Kingdom of Israel was divided at the end of Solomon’s reign. So, the leader of the liturgy would use these words to call people’s attention to what is taking place.

3       What we have heard and known:
what our forefathers have told us,

4       We will not hide from their children
but declare to a generation yet to come:
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord
his mighty and wonderful works.

The people are raised to pass on the historic traditions to the children that come after them. The rituals that take place each year may be not clear to the young ones but the responsibility to pass it on is in the hands of the parents. They are there not to have good time worshipping but to take that into their hearts and give it to their children so that it is ‘declared to a generation yet to come.’ We have not always done that with our own children - been enthusiastic about the fact you have lived dependent on God so far, so that they catch the excitement of being with God.

5       He established a law in Jacob and made a decree in Israel:
which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,

The historical is suggested in the naming of Jacob, one of the patriarchs who wrestled with God and received a promise of land. That promise was based upon a commitment to keep God’s rules and ordinances and being faithful and obedient through them to God.

6       That future generations might know
and the children yet unborn:
that they in turn might teach it to their sons;

7       So that they might put their confidence in God:
and not forget his works but keep his commandments,

The poem attempts to remind the people that they had, at some stage in their journey with God, failed him. The objective of the psalm is an attempt to prevent this past failure occurring in the next generation. We need to be sure of our traditions so that our children can be included in the benefits of walking with God.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly narrative on the appointed psalms

PSALM 34 

O TASTE, AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD

ALL SAINTS DAY
22ND NOVEMBER 2020

Because of verse 8 this psalm was used in the ancient church liturgy as a thanksgiving psalm at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It was recited in festival services of the community of the godly, who are called ‘the humble, the saints the righteous’ (vv 2b, 3, 6, and 8). There are no recollections of actual events that the poet wishes to say thank you but a general overarching thankfulness for God’s goodness to the people. Though we continue to pray for those caught up in the COVID-19 pandemic we can think of those who caught it and survived and give thanks in the way the poet does in this psalm!

1       I will bless the Lord continually
his praise shall be always in my mouth.

2       Let my soul boast of the Lord:
the humble shall hear it and rejoice.

3       O praise the Lord with I me:
let us exalt his name together.

The hymnic announcement at the opening of the poem with the singing of a thanksgiving already expresses the profound perception that the whole life of a God-fearing person is intended to serve the praise of God. Envisaging in this manner the majesty of God in their corporate praise, the members of the community (us) organically grow together and become the body of the faithful – such as the humble or the saints. Hence the choice of this psalm for All Saint’s Day, today’s festival.

4       For I sought the Lord's help and he answered:
and he freed me from all my fears.

5       Look towards him and be bright with joy:
your faces shall not be ashamed.

6       Here is a wretch who cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.

7       The angel of the Lord encamps round I those who fear him:
and delivers them in their need.

The consciousness of being a member of the community of the godly and being united with the other members in fellowship also determines the manner in which the worshipper presents the answering of his prayer and his deliverance, in that his thoughts pass on from his own experience to the general experience of those who fear God.

8       O taste and see that the Lord is good:
happy the man who hides in him!

The celebrant calls all to come and share in the supper of the Lord. No wonder that when we do it is like tasting the goodness of the Lord – gone are the spiritualising influences – here we taste the Lord and He becomes part of us – all of creation is joined in the Eucharist of Christ.

The poet is sensitive to the high quality of the reality of God’s goodness and to his living presence to such a high degree that they actually become for him objects which he is able to perceive with his senses since they are so near to him (‘taste and see’) and inspire him to sing with joy the praise of the blessedness of those who find their refuge in God.

9       Fear the Lord all you his holy ones:
for those who fear him never lack.

10    Lions may suffer want and go hungry:
but those who seek the Lord lack nothing good.

The extravagant contrast between these people and the lions which suffer want and hunger, similarly, arises from the happiness felt by the human heart brimming over with joy in the goodness of God. In comparison with the feeding of the lions, the people of God have infinitely more.

22    The Lord ransoms the lives of all his servant
and none who hide in him will be destroyed.

With this last thought the worshipper once more reverts to his own experience and in his statement concerning suffering of the righteous throws out a hint that he by no means advocates a ’naïve superficial belief in retribution’ nor conceives of happiness in life as consisting in an ‘easy life’ for the Godly in the customary sense.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your narrative on the appointed psalm

 

PSALM 90

 

PSALM 90: 1-6; 13-17 – THE ETERNAL GOD

Appointed psalm for 25th October 2020

21st Sunday after Pentecost

The solemn and earnest spirit with which this psalm is imbued, and the nobility and comprehensiveness of its thought give it an authority which is not easy to evade. I suggest that we may look through Moses eyes in the telling of this Psalm. He has reached the end and is standing on mount Pisgah looking over to the promised land to which he has been headed all his life. Now it dawns on him that he will not go there. He embraces that painful reality that his life pursuit of fidelity will stop short of fruition. He submits to that reality from God – but that does not stop the yearning.

1       Lord you have been our refuge:
from one generation to another.

2       Before the mountains were born
or the earth and the world were brought to be:
from eternity to eternity you are God.

These two verses are a meditative reflection on the realities that may result in such a disposition of trust, obedience, and submission. It may be that out of a serious separation that the poet sticks so firmly to the opening word: ‘Lord’ indicating that things have not been alright just recently but his faith brings him to the address of God without any such things as adjectives. This is an almost intimate way of addressing God without flowery language to embellish what is being said.

3       You turn man back into dust:
saying ‘Return to dust you sons of Adam.’

4       For a thousand years in your sight,
are like yesterday passing:
or like one watch of the night.

5       You cut them short like a dream:
like the fresh grass of the morning;

6.     In the morning it is green and flourishes
at evening it is withered and dried up

These verses are a reflection on the limitedness and transitoriness of human life. The poet is aware that the human creature is a “dust creature” destined for dust. The two metaphors of dust and grass serve to characterise the true relationship between God and the poet.

There is a break at this point and the last verses make up the rest of these thoughts.

 

The final verses are a vigorous complaint. It is like being glad to be at home but then immediately announcing that the home is not adequate and there is a serious need for a transformation of things. Still, in the midst of disorientation, this persistent faith does battle toward newness. Trust in YAHWEH leads to a zealous insistence on change, and the change is wrought through a lament.

13    Relent O Lord how long will you be angry?
take pity on your servants.

The most interesting rhetorical feature is the intense imperative “return” (relent). YAHWEH turns humankind to dust. Now YAHWEH is summoned to make a turn. It is YAHWEH’s work to turn misery to joy.

14    O Satisfy us early with your mercy:
that all our days we may rejoice and sing.

15    Give us joy for all the days you have afflicted us;
for the years we have suffered adversity

16    Show your servants your work;
and let their children see your glory,

Verses 14-16 show the characteristics of the lament with the imperatives, ‘satisfy’, ‘give’ and ‘show’ asking God to intervene in the lives of the people.

17    May the gracious favour of the Lord our God be upon us:
prosper the work of our hands
O prosper the work of our hands!

Verse 17 concludes the psalm with a prayer asking God to make our works prosper in the same way that God’s hands prospered in the creation we have been given. The poet has looked at it squarely in the face and has concluded that our situation is not all dust and grass, but by the one who makes us at home safely.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the appointed psalm