Psalm Meditation 965
Third Sunday of Advent
December 16, 2018

Psalm 105
1 O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
16 When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD kept testing him.
20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
24 And the LORD made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes,
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land.
33 He struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number;
35 they devoured all the vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength.
37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold, and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45 that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)

When the intent is to give glory to God, it is possible to leave out some of the details of the relationship. We have record of the conflicts and simply choose to ignore them in this particular case. Since it is God who is being glorified there is no need to mention the ways the people involved got at cross purposes with God. There is no need to mention the disputes, grumblings, and machinations of the people involved. There is no mention of Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery out of jealousy, or of the accusation’s from Potiphar's wife that got him put into the king’s prison. There is no mention of the king who did not know Joseph and enslaved the people.

This psalm is about God. There are many other psalms and writings that go into more detail about things not going as smoothly as this psalm indicates. Sometimes it is good to set aside the conflicts and disagreements as we think about God, as well as when we think about people. One of my seminary professors told our class that when giving the eulogy at a funeral it is important to paint a complete picture of the deceased. That does not mean telling all the bad things there are about a person so much as a reminder that none of us is perfect and that our faults and flaws contribute to who we are. In the history of salvation, there have been bumps along the way as we have not followed the will of God as closely as possible. God, however, has done great things that need to be lifted up, and sometimes lifted up without mention of the conflicts involved.

There are times for brutal honesty, in which we tell the good, the bad, and the in-between about a situation and relationships. Other times we have a different intent and we may leave out some of the details for the sake of the task at hand. When we want to give glory to God for the events in salvation history, there is no reason to put in our side of the story. When we want to tell the story of our salvation, it is important to bring up all the ways we have stood in the way of our own salvation so that we can see the patience God continually displays for our sakes.

December 10, 2018
LCM