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

 

PSALM 99    THE HOLY GOD

20^th Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday 18th October 2020

This is one of those psalms that records the condition of well-being in the community: it is focussed not on the wealth or peace of the land but on the almighty goodness of God. Our perceptions of God are often coloured by the sense of righteousness of God – if he does something it is always good and just – at least so we think.

1       The Lord is king let the nations tremble:
he is enthroned upon the cherubim let the earth quake.

Why is the image of trembling and quaking so much part of this royal coming? In human terms it is based on fear – afraid of being in the presences of such a holy and mighty King often in a sense of our unworthiness.

2       The Lord is great in Zion:
he is high above all nations.

3       Let them praise your great and terrible name:
for holy is the Lord.

In verses 2 & 3 we find two qualities of the Mighty One: he loves Justice, and he is Holy. The justice of God makes a difference to situations, where the poor are mistreated the justice of God brings punishment but at the same time the holiness of God brings mercy and grace. Hold those two together and we begin to gain an in insight into the ineffability of God.

4       The Mighty One is king and loves justice:
you have established equity you have dealt righteousness and justice in Jacob.

5       O exalt the Lord our God: and bow down before his footstool for he is holy.

The first line of verse 4 is a repetition of the first line in verse 1 and seems like a chorus but its purpose is to move us onto another aspect of God’s sovereignty. God loves justice. It is he who has established the rule of law that governs the life of the people of Israel.

The intimate character of this section receives special emphasis from the fact the hymn now turns to the prayer style of dialogue with God. The congregation are now called upon to worship with awe and thanksgiving in the joyous hope of the coming of the righteous rule of their God over the whole world. The Good News we celebrate is also a hope for the rule of God over the world in Christ Jesus.

6       Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among those who call upon his name
they called to the Lord and he answered.

7       He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud:
they kept to his teachings and the law that he gave them.

8       You answered them O Lord our God:
you were a forgiving God to them and pardoned their wrongdoing.

The greatest statement the poet can make with regard to God’s nature is neither that God’s universal might has a power to shake the whole world nor that God has established rule of law that governs every life, but that he has shown himself to be the God of grace.

Even in his grace God remains a holy God. And that holiness manifests itself in the fact that the utter seriousness of the righteousness by which he punishes the sins of humankind invariably continues to hold its own side by side with seriousness of the love by which he forgives sins.

9       O exalt the Lord our God:
and bow down towards his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Having reached this culminating point, the hymn quite naturally ends in a call to the congregation to praise God, worship and adore him. This verse simultaneously expresses their difference from God and their bond with him, their awe and terror and their joyful confidence. It is the joint effect of both these which alone is able to produce the true note of biblical faith.

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

PSALM 106

 

PSALM 106: 1-5; 20-24 

The grace of God and the sin of the people
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 11^th October 2020

Some commentators have tried to link Psalm 105 and 106 into one because the material and theme are so similar. They both have an initial acknowledgement of the grace of God that brought them into their ‘Promised Land’. Thanksgiving is the appropriate attitude. The psalm echoes the liturgy of covenant renewal as found in the Essene community of the Dead Sea where these two psalms were used in tandem, the first as a remembrance of God’s graciousness as they came out of Egypt. This one recalls the rough road of the journey in the wilderness where the people grumbled and even went astray.

1          Praise the Lord
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good:
and his mercy endures for ever.

2          Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord:
or fully voice his praise?

3          Blessed are those who act according to justice:
who at all times do the right.

4          Remember me O Lord
when you visit your people with your favour:
and come to me also with your salvation

5          That I may see the prosperity of your chosen
that I may rejoice with the rejoicing of your people
and exult with those who are your Own

This part of our psalm begins with the ‘recognition of God’s righteousness and mercy’. Verses 4 & 5 are a personal prayer for prosperity as a member of a prospering nation.

If you continue the read the rest of the psalm all the way to verse 45 you will be struck by the ‘lament’ form of the psalm. It runs as a confession of national sin by naming the acts of unfaithfulness done by the Israelites on their journey to the promised land.

The ‘lament’ is a confession of national sin which uses the exodus period to set up a contrast between the saving and forgiving God and his rebellious people.

20        At Horeb they made themselves a calf:
and bowed down in worship to an image.

21        And so they exchanged the glory of God:
for the likeness of an ox that eats hay.

Israel’s sin is her disposition to test God by his willingness to fulfil her demands promptly on order and, when he does not do so, to turn to more amiable deities. It’s a reminder that their ancestors were unfaithful and that people need to assess where they are in their relationship with their God.

22        They forgot God who was their saviour:
that had done such great things in Egypt,

23        Who had worked his wonders in the land of Ham:
and his terrible deeds at the Red Sea.

24        Therefore he thought to destroy them:
had not Moses his servant stood before him in the breach
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

This verse has in it a wonderful activity found in the words, ‘Moses his servant stood before him in the breach’. Here is a saving activity found in the human being such that Moses at this time was prepared to sacrifice himself for disobedient Israel. If we think about it, Jesus stood in the breach between our sin and the disappointed love of God.

This psalm reminds us again and again that it is all about love, the love of God for us and our love for Him.

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

PSALM 19 THE HEAVENS PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD

 PSALM 19    THE HEAVENS PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD

Sunday 4 October 2020, the 18th Sunday after Pentecost.

 

There are two poems in one in this psalm: the first is a nature poem extolling the wonder of nature as made by the creator, and the second, is a hymn to the Law. Their common theme is God in his creativity and God as the maintainer of order through the gift of the Law. The first part is the older as it reflects some of the nuances on pre-Davidic worship, while the second is post exilic where the God of the Law is worshipped.

1          The heavens declare the glory of God:
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2          One day tells it to another:
and night to night communicates knowledge.

3          There is no speech or language:
nor are their voices heard.

4          Yet their sound has gone out through all the world:
and their words to the ends of the earth.

Although they have no audible voice and speak no intelligible language, the stars are custodians of a mysterious knowledge which day after day they proclaim to all the earth. They know and declare that they were created and kept in their place by the authoritative word of God. This not the word of science but the word of our hearts as we go outside of a clear night and see the wonder of the stars, but their voice tells us of the creation.

5          There he has pitched a tent for the sun:
which comes out as a bridegroom from his chamber
and rejoices like a strong man to run his course.

This is a lovely picture of how the sun is like bridegroom, full of the joy of life, who runs like a strong man from his tent. We know that the sun does not live in a tent in the sea, but that is imagery that makes us sit up and take note of the creation as it goes about its worshipful activity.

6          Its rising is at one end of the heavens
and its circuit to their farthest bound:
and nothing is hidden from its heat.

The sense that creation enjoys being what it is and no place on earth can be untouched by the sun’s light and warmth – it’s like we feel when the sun is out after two or three cloudy days. In writing this the poet expresses his joy in God and his creation.

 

GODLINESS BASED ON THE LAW

But there is another dimension expressed in deep sincere words that God gives the Law, something to keep us mindful of Him. The sun may warm and give light, but the Law gives purpose in God’s creation.

7.         The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul:
the command of the Lord is true and makes wise the simple.

8          The precepts of the Lord are right
and rejoice the heart:
the commandment of the Lord is pure
and gives light to the eyes.

Verse 7 is the basic statement on which the rest is but commentary. The Law is no mass of lifeless ordinances, but a living expression of the totality of God’s will. To obey is to have one’s life renewed. It is God’s self-witness to his will.

9          The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever:
the judgments of the Lord are unchanging and righteous everyone.

10        More to be desired are they than gold even much fine gold:
sweeter also than honey, than the honey that drips from the comb.

‘Unchanging and righteous’, the Law is the fountain which provides everything of supreme value to humankind, and it forms the ultimate desire for us.

11        Moreover by them is your servant taught:
and in keeping them there is great reward.

12        Who can know his own unwitting sins:
O cleanse me from my secret faults.

The reward talked of here is not some gross material prosperity, but the kind of life which the Law promotes and produces. Peoples’ inadequate self-understanding keeps them from this life-giving obedience. They cannot recognize their own errors. They unknowingly violate God’s will.

13        Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins
lest they get the mastery over me:
so I shall be clean and innocent of great offence.

14        May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight:
O Lord my strength and my redeemer.

The Law can be obeyed only on the ground of a non-legalistic reliance on God’s sustaining power. The last verse is a familiar prayer and was spoken at the presentation of a sacrifice. Here the offering is not an animal sacrifice but a hymn expressive of the total dedication (mouth and heart) of the worshippers to their God.

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