Psalm Meditation 560
First Sunday in Lent
March 13, 2011

Psalm 96
1 O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity."
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
(NRSV)

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, advised people in his societies on hymn singing, among other things. The rule I find myself having to point out most often is the one that advises us to ‘sing lustily and with good courage, being no more ashamed of our voices than when we sang the songs of Satan.’ It serves as a reminder that we can be intimidated by God in such a way that we are afraid our best may not be good enough. That fear of failure or inadequacy shakes our confidence to the point that we are as unable to perform to the best of our ability as we are unwilling to be less than perfect.

Given the choice between being in a relationship of fear or one in which we are more chummy with God than is ‘proper’ I believe God wants us to err on the side of a relationship in which we find ourselves trusting rather than fearing God. God is not nearly as concerned with whether or not we make mistakes as with whether or not we are in an intimate relationship with God.

We do not have the same gifts as the folks around us and none of us has all the gifts we might want, let alone all the gifts there are. So, we do well to identify the gifts God has given to us, use them to the best of our ability to glorify God and to let people know what we have seen, heard and experienced in our relationship with God. I believe we will find that God would much rather we use our gifts to give God glory than to hide them away because they are less then perfect. “Sing for joy before the Lord.”

March 7, 2011