Easter 5
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
Alternate Image
The Singer is watching pigs. There are a bunch of really
skinny pigs who look malnourished and dirty, squealing with
hunger in their pen. In an adjacent pen are a number of fat pigs,
contentedly snoozing in the sun. A farmer arrives with a wagon
load of feed for the pigs that he puts in a feeder in yet a third
pen. The noise of the farmer loading the pig feeder wakens the
fat pigs from their slumber and the smell of feed excites the
skinny pigs to squeal even louder. Gates between the pen with the
feed and to both the other pens are opened. Fat and skinny pigs
dash into the feeding pen and noisily and
successfully chomp down the feed the farmer has provided. The
farmer and the pigs are happy.
Reflection
There is an interesting contrast in the Psalm that is almost
lost in the modern translation. In the 26th verse we hear God's
consistent concern for the poor, that they are intended to share
and receive the bounty of God's creation with all others. Then in
the 29th verse we hear about the "fat ones," those who sleep in
the earth, shall bow, worship God. There is an interesting
universal theme of God's concern for all people and God's
sovereignty over all creation reflected here. There is a
wonderful call for all of us, rich or poor, poverty-stricken or
affluent, first worldly or third worldly to worship God. Together
we are a great congregation called to squeal our praises of our
creator and share our faith stories with each other.
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
Alternate Image
The Singer is watching pigs. There are a bunch of really
skinny pigs who look malnourished and dirty, squealing with
hunger in their pen. In an adjacent pen are a number of fat pigs,
contentedly snoozing in the sun. A farmer arrives with a wagon
load of feed for the pigs that he puts in a feeder in yet a third
pen. The noise of the farmer loading the pig feeder wakens the
fat pigs from their slumber and the smell of feed excites the
skinny pigs to squeal even louder. Gates between the pen with the
feed and to both the other pens are opened. Fat and skinny pigs
dash into the feeding pen and noisily and
successfully chomp down the feed the farmer has provided. The
farmer and the pigs are happy.
Reflection
There is an interesting contrast in the Psalm that is almost
lost in the modern translation. In the 26th verse we hear God's
consistent concern for the poor, that they are intended to share
and receive the bounty of God's creation with all others. Then in
the 29th verse we hear about the "fat ones," those who sleep in
the earth, shall bow, worship God. There is an interesting
universal theme of God's concern for all people and God's
sovereignty over all creation reflected here. There is a
wonderful call for all of us, rich or poor, poverty-stricken or
affluent, first worldly or third worldly to worship God. Together
we are a great congregation called to squeal our praises of our
creator and share our faith stories with each other.
