Showing posts with label Psalm 149. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 149. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1275
¶Reign of Christ
¶November 24, 2024
¶Psalm 149
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+149&version=NRSVUE
(NRSVUE)
¶At the end of an adrenaline producing event, both winning and losing spectators/non-participants have gobs of energy looking for an outlet. In our era, folks end up vandalizing cars and other forms of hooliganism. It doesn’t happen all the time and not everyone participates, however there is enough damage done to make it noteworthy. In our current political climate, there are groups of people who call down death and destruction on everyone on the other side of the fence. Given the opportunity to put our desires and threats into action, most of us would not even know how to start.
¶The psalmist deals with the same adrenaline rush. God is called upon to exact the vengeance that we would wish on our enemies and adversaries. We want to step into the fray with swinging swords and blazing guns to mow down everyone who has wronged us. The psalmist, and others in Israel want to see enemies destroyed, sliced up, tied up, and brought to the kind of justice that we long to see. Better yet, we want to stand back and let God do the work while we sing songs about the great things God does for us.
¶God rarely brings justice through violence and vindictiveness. God brings justice by calling and encouraging us to work together for the sake of all around us. The love of God cajoles and encourages us to make and grow peace with those with whom we share creation. Will those around us drop their animosity for the sake of unity? Nope. Will God continue to work in each of our hearts to move ever closer to those with whom we disagree? Yep. “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, [God’s] praise in the assembly of the faithful.”
¶November 19, 2024
LCM
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Psalm Meditation 1124
¶ Second Sunday of Christmas
¶January 2, 2022
¶Psalm 149
1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)
¶This week, the word ‘humble’ caught my attention, since we don’t usually associated victory with humility. Humble folks are on the lower end of our social circles. We like humble folk, we enjoy their company, however we don’t see them as the kind of people who will win any great victory of any sort. Humble folk are just as likely to be the ones who do all the work so the more ambitious folk can take the credit. In most cases, the humble people are content to know that they did the hard work, and ‘Whew, someone else gets to give all the talks and speeches on the results. ‘
¶According to the psalmist, all of the faithful exult in the glory of the victory God gives the humble. Everyone can be a part of the whooping and hollering of the victory celebration, including waving their two-edged swords in the air. They may have used those swords in battle, but for sure they get to wave them around as if they won the battle completely on their own. Once again, the chances are good that the humble did the hard work behind the scenes and are too exhausted to do much celebrating.
¶We are overjoyed to celebrate a victory. And we like to have a name and face that gives focus to our celebration. It is important to recognize that these victories are not the work of one person. John Glenn was the first person to orbit the earth in a space capsule, and we celebrated him and his historic accomplishment. He did not orbit the earth on his own. There were scientists, mathematicians, engineers, maintenance people, and others contributing their knowledge, skills, expertise, and luck to the project. While it is easy to celebrate one person’s victory, it is just as important to remember the folks who made that one moment possible.
¶December 30, 2021
¶LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, May 30, 2016
Psalm Meditation 833
Proper 5
June 5, 2016
Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
Imagine your child, grandchild or your best friend sitting stone faced and still in your presence, afraid to move or speak or make any noise at all for fear of offending or even angering you. And now imagine your reaction to this behavior from your loved one. It is painful to know that there is some wall or wedge between you, even when you know what it is. If you know that your relative or friend has become afraid of you, especially when they are afraid because they have been told by someone they trust that you are scary and will fly off the handle for the smallest reason.
Now think of your behavior when you are aware that you are in the presence of God. In a time of worship or formal prayer time you feel yourself being judged and found wanting, and you know that it is God whose ire you feel. You know this because someone you trust let you know that God is not one to be trifled with, God does not appreciate your enthusiasm or your reckless abandon as you enter this sacred time and place. What if that person you trust is simply passing on the fear of judgment they received from one they trusted. I think we are so afraid of offending God in our worship that we end up sucking the fun out of it and placing the blame on God.
Look again at verse 4, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.” God actually enjoys our company. God likes to see us enjoying ourselves and the people around us. Yes, there is a time for decorum, for our best behavior and sometimes that is during worship. There are other times in which it is important to let our joy out, to remind ourselves how enjoyable it is to be with the one who loves us deeper, higher and wider than anyone else loves us and beyond our ability to comprehend. Yes, I grew up with lots of people who told me that being with God is deathly serious. I am reminded every now and then that my whole life is spent in the presence of God. God is with me as I tell stories good and bad, God is with me when I go places that are safe and dangerous, and God is with me when I am aware and when I am not. And no matter what God loves me and you and all those other people we know and love and all those people who drive us to distraction.
May 30, 2016
LCM
Proper 5
June 5, 2016
Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
Imagine your child, grandchild or your best friend sitting stone faced and still in your presence, afraid to move or speak or make any noise at all for fear of offending or even angering you. And now imagine your reaction to this behavior from your loved one. It is painful to know that there is some wall or wedge between you, even when you know what it is. If you know that your relative or friend has become afraid of you, especially when they are afraid because they have been told by someone they trust that you are scary and will fly off the handle for the smallest reason.
Now think of your behavior when you are aware that you are in the presence of God. In a time of worship or formal prayer time you feel yourself being judged and found wanting, and you know that it is God whose ire you feel. You know this because someone you trust let you know that God is not one to be trifled with, God does not appreciate your enthusiasm or your reckless abandon as you enter this sacred time and place. What if that person you trust is simply passing on the fear of judgment they received from one they trusted. I think we are so afraid of offending God in our worship that we end up sucking the fun out of it and placing the blame on God.
Look again at verse 4, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.” God actually enjoys our company. God likes to see us enjoying ourselves and the people around us. Yes, there is a time for decorum, for our best behavior and sometimes that is during worship. There are other times in which it is important to let our joy out, to remind ourselves how enjoyable it is to be with the one who loves us deeper, higher and wider than anyone else loves us and beyond our ability to comprehend. Yes, I grew up with lots of people who told me that being with God is deathly serious. I am reminded every now and then that my whole life is spent in the presence of God. God is with me as I tell stories good and bad, God is with me when I go places that are safe and dangerous, and God is with me when I am aware and when I am not. And no matter what God loves me and you and all those other people we know and love and all those people who drive us to distraction.
May 30, 2016
LCM
Monday, September 23, 2013
Psalm Meditation 693
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 29, 2013
Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
It is my understanding that Israel was very good at defending itself as a military power but was not large or powerful enough to pose a threat to any of the surrounding nations. But if we were, here is what we would do. We would rush in and take our vengeance on all those who have risen against us. We would punish them and drag their kings and nobles into our royal halls and parade them as symbols of our mighty power. And we would do all this to the glory of God.
It is likely that each of us has a dream of success and victory in a chosen field. We get the promotion that puts us where we believe we belong, we score the victory in the sport of our choosing and get congratulated by the folks who are heroes to us now. We make an impression on that person or group that will shoot us into the stratosphere of popularity. And the psalmist reminds us that it is not all about us. The psalmist reminds us to praise the LORD in the midst of our victory.
Whether we really are the most talented person in the field, strive to be that person, or content ourselves with fantasies of success we do well to remember to give credit to God. God has given us gifts, skills and the drive to use them. God has given us dreams that will drive us to be successful one day. God has given us a sense of contentment in the midst of a culture of success at all costs. No matter where we are in and around the culture in which we find ourselves we do well to know that God is with us.
September 23, 2013
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 29, 2013
Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
It is my understanding that Israel was very good at defending itself as a military power but was not large or powerful enough to pose a threat to any of the surrounding nations. But if we were, here is what we would do. We would rush in and take our vengeance on all those who have risen against us. We would punish them and drag their kings and nobles into our royal halls and parade them as symbols of our mighty power. And we would do all this to the glory of God.
It is likely that each of us has a dream of success and victory in a chosen field. We get the promotion that puts us where we believe we belong, we score the victory in the sport of our choosing and get congratulated by the folks who are heroes to us now. We make an impression on that person or group that will shoot us into the stratosphere of popularity. And the psalmist reminds us that it is not all about us. The psalmist reminds us to praise the LORD in the midst of our victory.
Whether we really are the most talented person in the field, strive to be that person, or content ourselves with fantasies of success we do well to remember to give credit to God. God has given us gifts, skills and the drive to use them. God has given us dreams that will drive us to be successful one day. God has given us a sense of contentment in the midst of a culture of success at all costs. No matter where we are in and around the culture in which we find ourselves we do well to know that God is with us.
September 23, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Psalm Meditation 676
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 2, 2013
Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
When I was growing up there was a lot more emphasis on the sovereignty and transcendence of God. We spent a lot more time talking about how distant God is from us and how much God appreciates it when we are well behaved and respectful in the presence of God. I don’t remember when that changed; I know that it did. We went from emphasizing the transcendence to focusing on the immanence, or close presence, of God. This psalm allows an emphasis either way. In several of the verses, God is high above us as a sovereign ruler. In verse 4 God enjoys being around us and celebrates with us rather than sitting back and being entertained by us.
Both are parts of the personality of God and it is a good idea to keep both in mind as we think of God. At any given time we are going to choose the one that fits the time, the place, the event, as well as our own sense of relationship with God. Not surprisingly, different people will make different choices in the same situation. Weekly worship services can give a great deal of comfort if the planners and leaders of the service share our choice on how God is present to us that day. It can be unnerving to the point of distraction if the service is planned with a different emphasis than the one we bring to worship that day.
I imagine that folks around whom we would be uncomfortable, due to their celebrity status in an area we follow, have friends who treat them as they have always treated them. While we go starry-eyed and tongue-tied in their presence, their friends are perfectly comfortable around them. The same is true of God. There are folks who know that God is to be treated with the respect due to one way above our place and station. There are others for whom God is first and foremost a friend and companion despite the differences in power, prestige and influence.
It is not wrong to treat God as an honored guest in our encounters and relationships with God. At the same time, it is not wrong to treat God as a trusted friend and companion in our relationship and encounters. It might do us good from time to time to put a bit more emphasis on the trait that we usually don’t emphasize. By doing so we broaden our concept and experience of the holy and living God who is among us as a friend and companion.
May 28, 2013
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 2, 2013
Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
When I was growing up there was a lot more emphasis on the sovereignty and transcendence of God. We spent a lot more time talking about how distant God is from us and how much God appreciates it when we are well behaved and respectful in the presence of God. I don’t remember when that changed; I know that it did. We went from emphasizing the transcendence to focusing on the immanence, or close presence, of God. This psalm allows an emphasis either way. In several of the verses, God is high above us as a sovereign ruler. In verse 4 God enjoys being around us and celebrates with us rather than sitting back and being entertained by us.
Both are parts of the personality of God and it is a good idea to keep both in mind as we think of God. At any given time we are going to choose the one that fits the time, the place, the event, as well as our own sense of relationship with God. Not surprisingly, different people will make different choices in the same situation. Weekly worship services can give a great deal of comfort if the planners and leaders of the service share our choice on how God is present to us that day. It can be unnerving to the point of distraction if the service is planned with a different emphasis than the one we bring to worship that day.
I imagine that folks around whom we would be uncomfortable, due to their celebrity status in an area we follow, have friends who treat them as they have always treated them. While we go starry-eyed and tongue-tied in their presence, their friends are perfectly comfortable around them. The same is true of God. There are folks who know that God is to be treated with the respect due to one way above our place and station. There are others for whom God is first and foremost a friend and companion despite the differences in power, prestige and influence.
It is not wrong to treat God as an honored guest in our encounters and relationships with God. At the same time, it is not wrong to treat God as a trusted friend and companion in our relationship and encounters. It might do us good from time to time to put a bit more emphasis on the trait that we usually don’t emphasize. By doing so we broaden our concept and experience of the holy and living God who is among us as a friend and companion.
May 28, 2013
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