Psalm Meditation 1364 ¶Proper 14 ¶August 9, 2026 ¶Psalm 76 ¶https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2076&version=NRSVUE ¶We tend to be quick to give God credit for the big things, and some of the small things we specifically asked for, like national victories, protections of family and neighborhood during various storms, and the return to health of a local or national figure. A sunrise over the ocean can bring gasps of praise from those of us who do not live near the ocean, even though those who live on beach front properties are just as likely to sleep through the sunrise as the rest of us when we are in our familiar spaces. ¶The little things like growing grass, dropping leaves, or pesky bugs that feed some of our favorite birds and critters are not usual subjects of our praise to God. If we stop to consider, we know that God is at work in these little things and we will give a heartfelt thanks for the daily blessings that are a part of God’s providence among us. As we take that moment to consider, we will remember that God is indeed awesome, and we are fortunate to realize that God is an active participant in our daily lives, watching over us with steadfast love and care. ¶The psalmist praises God for a big event in the life of the community, which is a great thing to do. While we read this we can also be grateful for the little, often unnoticed places in which God is active in and around us. ¶August 3, 2026 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1222 ¶Proper 28 ¶November 19, 2023 ¶Psalm 76 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+76&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There is something powerful about anger, especially when we can call it righteous indignation. Righteous anger is both good and justifiable. When God is acting in righteous indignation we know that the focus of God’s anger is really going to get it, and is really going to deserve it. We like the image of the protagonist, God in this case, striding into the conflict slashing all those who deserve it while protecting and rescuing all the innocents and underdogs caught up in this mortal combat. ¶Is that really the God we want? The one who holds in the wrath and rage until it breaks free and wreaks havoc on all the bad guys while leaving the good people stunned, afraid, and maybe a little excited that our God can wipe the ground with our enemies. My preference is for one who can stop the conflict with a word. If the word does not put a stop to the conflict, I want a God who is willing to be the sacrifice that draws us all up short. The one whose sacrifice draws all sides to stop in horror at what we have done to each other. ¶These war psalms are a great adrenaline rush as we watch YHWH vanquish our foes, leaving us to praise God for this decisive victory on our behalf. God is not content with the short, violent resolution. God is more intent on the long view, what it takes to get every side to see others as persons of sacred worth. We can let our hearts thrill, and our pulses quicken with this view of a warrior God, however, it is not the God of Scripture or experience. YHWH is the God who uses anger as an energizer for healing our hurts. ¶November 13, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 982
Palm/Passion Sunday
April 14, 2019

Psalm 76
 1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)

Awesome is a word that has come to mean cool, groovy, neato. Everything that causes the slightest flutter within us will be awesome to at least one of us. So in this psalm calling God awesome is to add one more bump on the mountain of awesome things. I know that language changes and evolves, and I am happy to use a language that is alive and transforming on a seemingly daily basis. Awesome is one of those words. However, let us dust off an old school definition when calling God awesome.

The definition that works for God is one who inspires awe, one who leaves us open mouthed and trembling with a mix of fear and excitement as we realize we are in the presence of amazing holiness. The awesomeness of God is far beyond the excitement we feel in the presence of a new puppy or a new vehicle. The awesomeness of God has us wanting to get closer in excitement while at the same time wanting to run away in fright leaving us frozen in place. The awesomeness of God is beyond words though we will find ourselves using as many as can spill out of our mouths at once to attempt a description.

I am sure we will continue to describe everything as awesome until the next all inclusive word comes along. I know I do. I invite us to know that in some cases the word means so much more than it does in general use. God is awesome in a way that is exponentially more than a new kitten or puppy. God is awesome in a way that stops us in our tracks, brings us to our knees, moves us to action, and reminds us that there is one who staggers our imaginations and loves us beyond measure.

April 8, 2019
LCM

Psalm Meditation 906
Proper 25
October 29, 2017

Psalm 76
1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)

These days just about everything is awesome. The current wisdom is that if everything is awesome then, in reality, nothing is. It isn’t really that easy. To say that something is awesome does not make it so. It may be cool/groovy/gnarly/neato but that does not mean that it inspires awe, takes our breath away, and leads us to a life altering sense of wonder. It is more likely that we overuse the word and by doing so have robbed it of some of the depth of meaning that the psalmist had in mind when declaring God to be awesome.

While we may overuse the word there are still times, events and beings who inspire us in memorable ways. The phrase I learned in seminary is, mysterium tremendum—being in the presence of something/someone holy. While in the presence of holiness we are both drawn by a sense of wonder and repelled by a sense of fear, so all we can do is stand and tremble. This mysterium tremendum is what the psalmist means when calling God awesome.

All manner of things will be declared awesome until a different word gets called into service. Awesome will also continue to describe the experiences that take our breath away and fill us with heart pounding excitement. God will be awesome, cool, neato, as one who meets us in our daily lives. God will also be awesome as the one who touches us to the depths of our souls when we encounter the God of history, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus.

October 23, 2017
LCM

Psalm Meditation 827
Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2016

Psalm 76
1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)

The leader of the workshop asked for two volunteers; one who loved rollercoasters and one who hated them. He sat them each in a chair, held their shoulders while he pulled, pushed and twisted each one through an imaginary ride. Afterward he asked each of them to describe the physical reactions they experienced. The one who loved rollercoasters had elevated heartbeat, rapid breathing and sweaty palms. When asked to put a name to the reactions, excitement was the word. The one who hated rollercoasters reported the same reactions. The word in this case was fear. The point of the exercise was to let us know that fear and excitement produce the same physical response. Sometimes dealing with emotion is a matter giving it the positive rather than the negative label.

As we experience the awesomeness of God we will name it fear when we see God as an enemy, adversary or oppositional force. When we see God as one who loves us and stands with us we will name the awesomeness of God as excitement. Either way of experiencing the awesome presence of God may cause our knees to buckle and leave us on the ground unable to rise. In fear we will feel devastated and defeated by our incapacity. In excitement we will lay trembling in anticipation of the good things that are happening around us and within us.

There are those who believe that fear is always the correct response to being in the presence of God. The God of judgment will treat us harshly because we are sinners who deserve to be expelled from the presence of God as contamination of the purity of all that is of God. There are those who believe that the correct response is always excitement as we enter God’s presence. Since we are beloved children of God we have nothing to fear as we are scooped up into the loving arms of God. The reality is that we do well to stand in God’s presence trembling with fear and excitement mixed together. We will find ourselves caught between wanting to run away and wanting to run into the arms of God because we are sinners who are deeply and unconditionally loved.

April 18, 2016
LCM

Psalm Meditation 609
Transfiguration Sunday
February 19, 2012

Psalm 76
1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)

This is a victory hymn, celebrating a battle won against an enemy who would have been impossible to defeat without the help of God. While not all of us have combat experience, I imagine that each of us has some experience in which the presence of God in our lives allowed us to prevail in a situation that seemed hopeless. Whether the struggle was internal, a war within ourselves for victory of one idea over another, one life choice over another, a battle with disease or disability, or with a person, group or situation outside ourselves, we find that the outcome would have been very different without the presence of God in our conflict.

These kinds of battles tend to raise our anger level beyond normal limits. And in the cases of these kinds of victories we have been able to use our anger in a focused, positive direction. We find ourselves motivated to move in the direction we feel God is calling us, even as we face mountainous obstacles. Our anger gives us the energy to do what needs to be done and the focus to stay with it for as long as we are able, if not a bit longer. The focus and motivation direct our attention to God and the way we sense God calling us to act in this dire situation.

Whether our combat experience is in the military or not, we have had our battles with enemies and adversaries. In some of those cases we have known that God was with us, directing our lives in the choices that would lead us to prevail in some form or another. Victory is sweet. The presence of God is sweeter still. In those instances in which God is present in our victory: awesome.

© February 13, 2012