Showing posts with label Psalm 47. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 47. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Psalm Meditation 1342
¶Third Sunday in Lent
¶March 8, 2026
¶Psalm 47
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2047&version=NRSVUE
¶I grew up knowing that I lived in the greatest country on earth. We were the undisputed biggest, strongest, and fairest of all the nations in the world. Imagine how offended I was to discover that the United States of America was not the largest country, that we had rivals for all of the number one spots I thought we occupied firmly. And then I discovered that not everyone in the world liked us, at least as a nation. By the time I learned that most people in the world believe that they live in the best place on earth, I was ready to believe it.
¶The people of Israel believed that God was on their side, was willing and able to squelch all the peoples who dared rise up against them and their king, the iconic symbol of the nation. I was once again caught off guard to discover that Israel was never really a powerhouse of a nation. They were constantly being overrun by other nations, given and received in trade between other world powers of the day, and were a great nation only in their own minds. The one thing they had in their favor was the faithful assurance that YHWH was with them, watching over them, and keeping the king and the whole nation as a special object of steadfast love.
¶The nation did not win a lot of military battles, however they won a much more important victory. The people of Israel, and all the children of Abraham, won the hearts of many people from many nations. Even when that faith was appropriated and corrupted for the sake of political expediency, there was a faithful remnant that believed that the way of God was one of quiet faithfulness, mercy, grace, and a steadfast love for all people.
¶March 3, 2026
¶LCM
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Psalm Meditation 1187
¶Fourth Sunday in Lent
¶March 19, 2023
¶Psalm 47
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+47&version=NRSVUE
(NRSV)
¶We like to think of God as a powerful warlord who destroys adversaries with a blast of weaponry that wipes them out entirely. We want to know that when God finishes with the people who oppose us there will be no trace left of them and we can take over the spaces previously occupied by ‘those people,’ who had always been the bad guys to our good guys. We relish the idea of lording it over them as they were happy to do to us before God stepped in and changed the course of history to run in our favor.
¶Our experience is the opposite. God is more likely to achieve victory over adversaries by winning them over as friends. Rather than allowing us to dance on the graves of the bad guys, God reminds us that we too are guilty of some of the same sins we see in our foes. God would much rather we find the positives in each other than harp on the bad and troubling things ‘those people’ are always doing to us and our people.
¶There will always be people like the psalmist, who see God as one who rules with an iron fist and follows strict and stringent rules. Folks who have the goal in life to be in charge of a large group of people will tell us that the way of God is to take charge over people. Those whose goal is to serve others in ways that bring them to God are more likely to see God as the champion of the poor and downtrodden. These folks will lead with humility rather than by force.
¶March 13, 2023
¶LCM
Monday, September 27, 2021
Psalm Meditation 1111
Proper 22
October 3, 2021
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
¶Something about singing engages more of the body and mind than speech can. Multiple regions of the brain are stimulated when we sing. Even those among who are not able to match the notes being sung by those around them, are still singing. There are any number of ways to sing that do not match the standard definition of singing. The psalmist does not say we have to be the best, only that we sing.
¶With the call to sing praises to God, there is no insistence on quality, only that we sing. Most singing groups, including choirs, are made up of a few voices that are top quality and the rest of us blend with those voices in a way that sounds wonderful to those who are listening to the blended voices. Even a top quality voice can sound out of place when it does not blend with all the others.
¶So, sing. Sing in the shower, sing in the most private space available, sing in a choir, sing for an audience of one or thousands. Any singing in which we tune our hearts and voices to God is going to be praise. When we sing any song as an offering to God, it is a song of praise. If we are among those who can clap, dance, and sing at the same time, we are joining the psalmist in an act of praise. Even if the clapping and dancing doesn’t match the music, we can praise God. “Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.”
¶September 27, 2021
LCM
Monday, August 8, 2016
Psalm Meditation 843
Proper 15
August 14, 2016
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
I grew up knowing that clapping and other outward displays of appreciation and emotion were inappropriate for the worship setting. Worship was a deathly serious practice and anything that fluctuated from that norm was seen as a bad thing. John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist/Wesleyan family of denominations often spoke against ‘enthusiasm,’ vocal and physical demonstrations, during worship. It is a very Puritan mind-set, that worship is staid, serious and interior, even for a congregational gathering. We are at our best with our singing, ‘lustily and with good courage.’
We have claimed and bought into our puritanical roots when we frown at any outward display during worship. It is said that the most common form of appreciation for humor among Methodists is, ‘to smile as loudly as possible.’ So, what do we do with psalms that tell us to clap and sing and shout? We have this wonderful biblical warrant to express ourselves in a variety of ways, from calm humility to the claps and shouts of this psalm. Which one is correct, proper, biblical even?
The best way to worship is the one that works in your life. The difficulty comes when we expect others to worship in our comfort zone. When the majority of the congregation is actively participatory in style, the one who prefers to sit quietly is usually accepted graciously, even if a mite curiously. When the majority style is meditative participation, the one who is vocal and active is looked on as an interruption who needs to be squelched and perhaps even squeezed out. In both cases, the one who demands an extreme version of their own style of worship can damage the worship mood for everyone.
This psalm says to clap and shout and sing with joy, others counsel that we sit in awed silence in the presence of God. Each style has its place in worship and who am I to say that two or more styles can’t happen in the same room at the same time. The focus of our worship is in God. A mason was laying brick at a parsonage in which I lived and I said, “I bet you have seen some interesting things in your life.” and he responded, “I tell my crew, ‘If you are doing your job you won’t have time to look in the windows and doors you are working around.’” So it is with worship; when we are focused on God we won’t have time or energy to focus on the worship style of those around us even as we participate together as a worshipping community.
August 8, 2016
LCM
Proper 15
August 14, 2016
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
I grew up knowing that clapping and other outward displays of appreciation and emotion were inappropriate for the worship setting. Worship was a deathly serious practice and anything that fluctuated from that norm was seen as a bad thing. John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist/Wesleyan family of denominations often spoke against ‘enthusiasm,’ vocal and physical demonstrations, during worship. It is a very Puritan mind-set, that worship is staid, serious and interior, even for a congregational gathering. We are at our best with our singing, ‘lustily and with good courage.’
We have claimed and bought into our puritanical roots when we frown at any outward display during worship. It is said that the most common form of appreciation for humor among Methodists is, ‘to smile as loudly as possible.’ So, what do we do with psalms that tell us to clap and sing and shout? We have this wonderful biblical warrant to express ourselves in a variety of ways, from calm humility to the claps and shouts of this psalm. Which one is correct, proper, biblical even?
The best way to worship is the one that works in your life. The difficulty comes when we expect others to worship in our comfort zone. When the majority of the congregation is actively participatory in style, the one who prefers to sit quietly is usually accepted graciously, even if a mite curiously. When the majority style is meditative participation, the one who is vocal and active is looked on as an interruption who needs to be squelched and perhaps even squeezed out. In both cases, the one who demands an extreme version of their own style of worship can damage the worship mood for everyone.
This psalm says to clap and shout and sing with joy, others counsel that we sit in awed silence in the presence of God. Each style has its place in worship and who am I to say that two or more styles can’t happen in the same room at the same time. The focus of our worship is in God. A mason was laying brick at a parsonage in which I lived and I said, “I bet you have seen some interesting things in your life.” and he responded, “I tell my crew, ‘If you are doing your job you won’t have time to look in the windows and doors you are working around.’” So it is with worship; when we are focused on God we won’t have time or energy to focus on the worship style of those around us even as we participate together as a worshipping community.
August 8, 2016
LCM
Monday, November 25, 2013
Psalm Meditation 702
First Sunday of Advent
December 1, 2013
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
From time to time, folks dispute the question of applause in worship. Is it okay, acceptable, appropriate to clap in worship. I have never gotten a sense that we have arrived at a mutually agreeable answer to the question; this may be our answer. Congregations tend to applaud after a musical part of the worship service. The opening, prelude, is often received with applause by members of the congregation. Folks who are not inclined to speak or shout words of praise are more willing to clap in appreciation. Anthems too are received with applause. From the musicians’ side, they feel they have given their music as a gift, to God and the congregation, and applause makes it feel as if it were a performance. Caught between the desire to give thanks and the desire to give a gift we are caught in conflicting motivations in worship.
When children, especially those too young to have a verbal response, are filled with joy they clap their hands as an expression of that joy. The psalmist begins with the exhortation to clap our hands as an expression of joy in the presence of God. While clapping is an expression of appreciation for the hard work that went into a performance, it is also an expression of joy and excitement in worship. While it may not be appropriate in every situation in worship, it is certainly an ancient practice to clap our hands when we are overcome with the excitement of a moment in worship. And some folks do have an undercurrent of exuberance in their lives that finds expression in worship by clapping their hands.
Should worshipers clap for each part of the worship service? Please, no. Should those of us who lead worship discourage folks from fully participating in worship, even in ways that might make us uncomfortable? No, as long as it is worshipful. What we who lead offer as a gift to God and to the congregation is up to us. How folks receive that is up to them. Is it okay, acceptable, appropriate to clap in worship? Yes, it is. Can it get disruptive if folks clap for everything, prayers, announcements, hymns, sermons and sacraments? Yes it can. Am I clapping as an act of thanksgiving and praise? Feel free to do so. Am I clapping as a way to draw attention to myself or to be a disruption to the flow of the worship service? It would be better to refrain.
November 25, 2013
LCM
First Sunday of Advent
December 1, 2013
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
From time to time, folks dispute the question of applause in worship. Is it okay, acceptable, appropriate to clap in worship. I have never gotten a sense that we have arrived at a mutually agreeable answer to the question; this may be our answer. Congregations tend to applaud after a musical part of the worship service. The opening, prelude, is often received with applause by members of the congregation. Folks who are not inclined to speak or shout words of praise are more willing to clap in appreciation. Anthems too are received with applause. From the musicians’ side, they feel they have given their music as a gift, to God and the congregation, and applause makes it feel as if it were a performance. Caught between the desire to give thanks and the desire to give a gift we are caught in conflicting motivations in worship.
When children, especially those too young to have a verbal response, are filled with joy they clap their hands as an expression of that joy. The psalmist begins with the exhortation to clap our hands as an expression of joy in the presence of God. While clapping is an expression of appreciation for the hard work that went into a performance, it is also an expression of joy and excitement in worship. While it may not be appropriate in every situation in worship, it is certainly an ancient practice to clap our hands when we are overcome with the excitement of a moment in worship. And some folks do have an undercurrent of exuberance in their lives that finds expression in worship by clapping their hands.
Should worshipers clap for each part of the worship service? Please, no. Should those of us who lead worship discourage folks from fully participating in worship, even in ways that might make us uncomfortable? No, as long as it is worshipful. What we who lead offer as a gift to God and to the congregation is up to us. How folks receive that is up to them. Is it okay, acceptable, appropriate to clap in worship? Yes, it is. Can it get disruptive if folks clap for everything, prayers, announcements, hymns, sermons and sacraments? Yes it can. Am I clapping as an act of thanksgiving and praise? Feel free to do so. Am I clapping as a way to draw attention to myself or to be a disruption to the flow of the worship service? It would be better to refrain.
November 25, 2013
LCM
Monday, March 12, 2012
Psalm Meditation 613
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 18, 2012
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. (Selah)
5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
This is a psalm of victory. It is a celebration of the power of God at work in the world, in this case military power. There is no mention of the defeat of a particular enemy so it may be a psalm for an annual celebration of the might and power of the nation as it stands firmly behind the God of all the earth. It reminds folks that whoever else may lead the people in battle, it is God who actually gives the victory over enemies and adversaries.
Whether we are fully in favor of using military might or staunch pacifists, the psalmist reminds us that victory comes from God. It could be a military victory or a victory over some form of evil in ourselves as individuals or a community; victory comes as we line ourselves up with the leading of God in our lives. Either way, it is the presence of God in our lives that makes the difference.
As people see us living in the presence and at the direction of God, they are drawn to us as moths to light. In our faithfulness they begin to see a glimpse of the power of God at work in us and the possibilities that lie open to them as they also live in the presence and at the direction of God. We will not likely follow God in lock-step with each other, however we will see the spark of God as a life giving, life enhancing force in their lives as they continue to see it is us.
© March 12, 2012
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 18, 2012
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. (Selah)
5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
(NRSV)
This is a psalm of victory. It is a celebration of the power of God at work in the world, in this case military power. There is no mention of the defeat of a particular enemy so it may be a psalm for an annual celebration of the might and power of the nation as it stands firmly behind the God of all the earth. It reminds folks that whoever else may lead the people in battle, it is God who actually gives the victory over enemies and adversaries.
Whether we are fully in favor of using military might or staunch pacifists, the psalmist reminds us that victory comes from God. It could be a military victory or a victory over some form of evil in ourselves as individuals or a community; victory comes as we line ourselves up with the leading of God in our lives. Either way, it is the presence of God in our lives that makes the difference.
As people see us living in the presence and at the direction of God, they are drawn to us as moths to light. In our faithfulness they begin to see a glimpse of the power of God at work in us and the possibilities that lie open to them as they also live in the presence and at the direction of God. We will not likely follow God in lock-step with each other, however we will see the spark of God as a life giving, life enhancing force in their lives as they continue to see it is us.
© March 12, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)