Proper 27
Worship
Aids To The Psalms
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
The wicked shall depart of Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needs shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations
be judged before you.
Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human.
Alternate Image
The Singer stands at the gate of a city watching a line of children with their teacher. The teachers whispers into the first child's ear, "Sing God's praises to everyone. Tell everyone all that God has done ... Let all people stand in awe of God. Let the people understand that they are but people and God is God." It is a very long statement. That first child whispers what she heard to the second child who repeats it to the next and so on down the long line of children. When the story reaches the last child the teacher asks him to repeat it. He says, "Sing God's praises to everyone. Tell everyone all that God has done ... Let all people stand in awe of God. Let the people understand that they are but people and God is God." The Singer is amazed. The story has been repeated perfectly. Are these bright children or is there magic in the air?
Reflection
Did you ever play telephone? That is the game where a group of people whisper in each other's ear what the previous person has told them. Usually everyone laughs at just how much the story gets changed so what the last person hears bears almost no resemblance to what the first person said. The game is often used as an illustration of gossip and its inaccuracies. But what if they all did it right as the children above did? Yet that is exactly how we received most of the Old Testament. Stories passed on by word of mouth over years and years accurately. They did use wonderful teaching techniques. Psalms 9 and 10 are alphabetic, each verse begins with a new letter. This was commonly done to make memorization easier. Still it is miraculous that the meaning God intended comes to us clearly. The Holy Spfrit still enables us to hear those words freshly and accurately. How important what we hear and what we repeat is to God's kingdom.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
The wicked shall depart of Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needs shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations
be judged before you.
Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human.
Alternate Image
The Singer stands at the gate of a city watching a line of children with their teacher. The teachers whispers into the first child's ear, "Sing God's praises to everyone. Tell everyone all that God has done ... Let all people stand in awe of God. Let the people understand that they are but people and God is God." It is a very long statement. That first child whispers what she heard to the second child who repeats it to the next and so on down the long line of children. When the story reaches the last child the teacher asks him to repeat it. He says, "Sing God's praises to everyone. Tell everyone all that God has done ... Let all people stand in awe of God. Let the people understand that they are but people and God is God." The Singer is amazed. The story has been repeated perfectly. Are these bright children or is there magic in the air?
Reflection
Did you ever play telephone? That is the game where a group of people whisper in each other's ear what the previous person has told them. Usually everyone laughs at just how much the story gets changed so what the last person hears bears almost no resemblance to what the first person said. The game is often used as an illustration of gossip and its inaccuracies. But what if they all did it right as the children above did? Yet that is exactly how we received most of the Old Testament. Stories passed on by word of mouth over years and years accurately. They did use wonderful teaching techniques. Psalms 9 and 10 are alphabetic, each verse begins with a new letter. This was commonly done to make memorization easier. Still it is miraculous that the meaning God intended comes to us clearly. The Holy Spfrit still enables us to hear those words freshly and accurately. How important what we hear and what we repeat is to God's kingdom.
