PSALM 105

 PSALMS

A study of the Eucharistic psalms in the post Pentecost season
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
30th August 2020

 

PSALM 105

The central belief prior to the coming of Kings, in amongst the loosely organised Israelite tribes was that they were all held together by a common feature - the Covenant. This gave them common cause as the people of Israel so that in times of trouble they could band together against a common enemy. And, like many other peoples they enjoyed coming together for festivals sometimes for the serious activity of renewal of the Covenant followed by (tea and cake) some festal activities. Psalm 105, parts of which are part of our readings for today, shows us some of the remembrances made in the liturgy of the day.

1     O give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name:
tell among the peoples what things he has done.

2     Sing to him O sing praises:
and be telling of all his marvellous works.

3     Exult in his holy name:
and let those that seek the Lord be joyful in heart.

The priests command the heirs of Abraham to pray for God’s presence, to be diligent in their attendance at the feast, and to hear the story of Israel’s beginnings on which their worship is centred and from which their theology has come. Our liturgical greeting (“The Lord be with you”) is an equivalent way in which we gather to be with our Lord and remember his mighty love for us!

4     Seek the Lord and his strength:
O seek his face continually.

5     Call to mind what wonders he has done:
his marvellous acts and the judgments of his mouth,

As told in the cult, “history” is the record of what God has done, every episode being represented as his deliberate act. Our liturgy is made up of many reminders of those gifts of love given by God to us. We keep apace with God’s activities as we read and listen to the scriptures as well.

6     O seed of Abraham his servant:
O children of Jacob his chosen one.

The priest’s account of Israel’s formative history starts with the covenant with Abraham, which is an act of God’s justice. A covenant is not an agreement between two parties but a divine promise which was sworn to by God.

23   Then Israel came into Egypt:
and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham

24   There the Lord made his people fruitful
too numerous for their enemies,

25   Whose hearts he turned to hate his people

     and to deal deceitfully with his servants.

26   Then he sent Moses his servant:

     and Aaron whom he had chosen.

These verses are part of the reiteration of the Exodus part of the sacred history remembered at the covenant renewal ceremony. We remember the patriarchs Joseph and how he brough the Israelites into Egypt and the great leader Moses who led them out from slavery. Other acts of God such as the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the feeding in the desert.

45   So that they might keep his statutes:
and faithfully obey his laws
O praise the Lord.

The purpose of God’s historic acts was to create a people obedient to his revealed will. The congregation responds with one word, “Hallelujah” (i.e. Praise the Lord!).

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for his weekly narrative on the appointed psalms for the Holy Eucharist.

PSALM 124

 

PSALMS

A study of the Eucharistic psalms in the post Pentecost season
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
23 August 2020

 

PSALM 124 – Thanksgiving of those who have been delivered

Whilst exploring the psalms, we have noted that they describe and suggest many subjects and moods. It is thus beneficial to know something about the history of the people of Israel from ancient beginnings to New Testament times. We will need to know that the patriarchal age of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph is reflected in many aspects of our spiritual understanding. Paul reflected on the call of Abraham and suggested a type or model for faith in God such that it models what we believe in Christ Jesus.

This psalm of thanksgiving is highly disciplined and intentional in its articulation. It gives thanks for a communal deliverance, though again we are not told anything beyond quite general metaphors.

1       If the Lord had not been on our side
    now may Israel say:
    if the Lord had not been on our side
    when men rose up against us,

This is an expression of more than relief at being rescued from some catastrophe. The actual event is not mentioned in the psalm, so it is not easily dated. One can imagine or recall an event in your life when it passed and you could wipe the sweat off your brow and call out, “Thank goodness, that just missed!” The Israelite in this poem thinking about some event in which God rescued them.

2       Then they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger was kindled against us.

This verse is an extension of the previous enlarging on the closeness of the encounter with the catastrophe. There is a clear hint that this might have been one of the instances in Israelite history where the people figuratively survived being swallowed alive.

3       Then the waters would have overwhelmed us
    and the torrent gone over us:
    the raging waters would have gone clean over us.

There are several stories in the old Testament in which waters are mentioned – the creation story, the story of Noah and the ark, the crossing of the red sea, and the crossing of the Jordan. The conquering armies must have felt like waves rushing to crush the people and totally overwhelm them.

4       But praised be the Lord:
    who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.

An act of praise to God who has done so much in rescuing his people. The imagery changes from rushing waves to snapping teeth – the monster is about to eat them.

5       We have escaped like a bird from the snare - of the fowler:
    the snare is broken, and we have gone free.

The image of hunting is continued in this verse with references to the snare which is used by the fowler and what makes it pleasing is that the snare is broken. Somehow and the prey has got away, and it is not the work of the prey but the work of God

6       Our help is in the name of the Lord:
    who has made heaven and earth.

This is a familiar phrase from our liturgical practice, but it is more than what it says. It is not just that God rescues but that he made the creation in which he works, builds, and saves. We are reminded that in all things the reliable person is God himself! Note that every verse starts with a strong affirmation of God’s sovereignty over all he has made, heaven and earth, waters and snares. Nothing is in doubt at this point in the psalm. It follows a pattern in which the psalm reflects a move from the anxiety of disorientation to the stability and confidence of the new orientation.

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

PSALM 133

 

THE PSALMS

A study of the Eucharistic psalms in the post Pentecost season

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
16 August 2020

PSALM 133 – The Unity of the Family

This Psalm is an eloquent affirmation of family or tribal solidarity. As you can see it is noticeably short and to the point. It does not offer arguments but merely illustrates with evocative images what the poet wants to celebrate – what we want to have and celebrate!

The opening line celebrates the experience. The conclusion identifies the experience as blessing. It is interesting to note that God’s name is not mentioned. God does nothing, but is acknowledged to be the hidden source of such well-being

1          Behold how good and how lovely it is:
    when brothers live together in unity.

This verse is the big “O” of exclamation, almost like a reminiscence of longing for something past, like we think about things before lockdown. It is likely that poet is remembering good things that took place in the past – particularly at that last renewal festival or when the family visited last Christmas. God’s world is full of goodness and cheer!

2          It is fragrant as oil upon the head
    that runs down over the beard:
    fragrant as oil upon the beard of Aaron
    that ran down over the collar of his robe.

When we visit our friends, we often bring a small gift, some flowers or even some chocolate to express our friendship. It is an ancient Middle Eastern custom to pour fragrant oil on the head of a venerated senior that flows down his long flowing beard to the edges of his garment. 

In the ancient times, and even today, in the Middle East an old man with a long flowing beard was the epitome of manliness, beauty, and dignity. It makes us think of Mary Magdalene who poured precious oil on Jesus’ feet in the time before his crucifixion (John 11.2). It is a wonderful image of warmth and community.

3          It is like a dew of Hermon:
    like the dew that falls upon the hill of Zion.

Those hot dry days make the fall of dew the following morning a pleasure as the garden, veld or forest waken to a refreshing layer of cool liquid. Mount Hermon, in the north of Israel is noted for its dryness and of the dew that falls in the morning during the summer months. The poet including the mention of Zion, and home of Jerusalem, makes the connection that it is the place of unity.

4          For there the Lord has commanded his blessing:
    which is life for evermore.

With things all charmingly at peace, with people being together in harmony it is a place of blessing. Think of those times when worship has been especially wonderful and everyone felt close to each other, it is there that God not only gives His blessing, but He ‘commands’ his blessing. 

The psalm is so like the doxology that we sing at end our worship services as it reminds us that we have been blessed and are blessed.

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

PSALM 105

THE PSALMS

A study of the Eucharist Psalms
in the Pentecost Season
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
9th August 2020

PSALM 105

Israelites loved festivals in which they could rejoice in the Lord and remember who had made them, whose people they were. The covenant was an agreement between the Lord and His chosen. The covenant is initiated by the Lord – it is something put before the people and they are asked to agree to it – it has blessings and curses for those bind themselves to it. 

The festivals of renewal were done as reminders of the action of the Lord in their history.

For us there are many times of remembrance but supremely the Eucharist we celebrate each Sunday, is a remembrance of the Lord’s ultimate gift to us of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The psalm that we are looking at is one of those covenant renewal psalms. God’s mighty act in the formation of his people are the starting point of all distinctively Israelite theological thought and many psalms reflect one or more portions of the covenant renewal ritual.

1             O give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name:
                tell among the peoples what things he has done.

This is a greeting given by the priests at the beginning of the renewal ritual, calling on the people to tell about the wondrous acts of God.

2            Sing to him O sing praises
         and be telling of all his marvellous works.

3             Exult in his holy name
           and let those that seek the Lord be joyful in heart.

This could be a call to a time of praise, again enjoined by 

the leaders of the ritual. 

It is not some spiritual thing but based in the concrete acts of God.

 4               Seek the Lord - and his strength:
             O seek his face continually.

5                Call to mind what wonders he has done:
             his marvellous acts and the judgments of his mouth,

6                O seed of Abraham his servant:
             O children of Jacob his chosen one.

7                For he is the Lord our God:
             and his judgments are in all the earth.

REMEMBER what your God has done for you, 

how He judged on your behalf and spoke His commands to you.

REMEMBER how He called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and showed that He is the Lord our God. They are all your ancestors!

 16          Then he called down a famine on the land:
            and destroyed the bread that was their stay,

17              But he had sent a man ahead of them:
             Joseph who was sold into slavery,

REMEMBER the story of Joseph (not just the technicolour dream coat) 

but that God allowed the famine to happen and sent 

a man to prepare the way for the Israelites to survive.

18            Whose feet they fastened with fetters:
            and thrust his neck into a hoop of iron.

19           Till the time that his words proved true:
           he was tested by the Lord’s command.

REMEMBER that God brings us out of the very depths of powerlessness to become His instruments of freedom and peace.

God has us here for his purposes no matter how uncomfortable they are.

20            Then the king sent and loosed him:
           the ruler of nations set him free.

21           He made him master of his household;
          and ruler over all his possessions,

22           To rebuke his officers at will:
           and to teach his counsellors wisdom.

REMEMBER, even those in high office saw the integrity of Joseph and rewarded him by making him overseer of his possessions.

And all of this God’s work, so let us commit ourselves afresh to him.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of God’s historic acts was to create a people obedient to God’s revealed will. 

The congregation would respond with one word: ‘Hallelujah!’

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for his weekly analysis of the Psalms