Proper 4
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known:
"I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands are freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
Alternate Image
The Singer wants a party of celebration. She sets the date
for her party and begins her elaborate preparations. She
prepares dish after tasty dish of delectable food. She orders
large quantities of drinks of all types. She sets numerous
festive
tables decorated with bright and happy colors. She selects a
wide variety of music that should satisfy every taste. She lays
out her finest dress. She purchases witty party favors.
Everything is perfect. She is confident this will be the best
party ever. Each day her enthusiasm builds and she continues her
party preparations.
The day of the party arrives. At the appointed hour for the
party she waits for her guests in eager anticipation. No one
arrives at the time of the party. Perhaps they plan to arrive
stylishly late. But the minutes and then hours tick by and still
no one comes. To her dismay the Singer suddenly realizes she
forgot to send out any invitations.
Reflection
This Psalm was a sermon for a feast day, for the celebration
of the agricultural new year -- a feast of harvest thanksgiving.
It is good to have such celebrations and to mark with parties
the seasons of blessings in our lives. It is also important to
invite people to our parties or they become silly activities of
our own vanity. It is especially important to invite and thank
the one who provides all our blessings and bounty. Our parties
are to be celebrations of friends, friends who share the common
bond of being blessed by God. People who travel the same road of
faithfulness, people who have called out to God and have been
cared for by God. We do not want strange gods at our parties,
the gods of our own egotism who stand in the way of our giving
thanks to the one and only God.
shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known:
"I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands are freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
Alternate Image
The Singer wants a party of celebration. She sets the date
for her party and begins her elaborate preparations. She
prepares dish after tasty dish of delectable food. She orders
large quantities of drinks of all types. She sets numerous
festive
tables decorated with bright and happy colors. She selects a
wide variety of music that should satisfy every taste. She lays
out her finest dress. She purchases witty party favors.
Everything is perfect. She is confident this will be the best
party ever. Each day her enthusiasm builds and she continues her
party preparations.
The day of the party arrives. At the appointed hour for the
party she waits for her guests in eager anticipation. No one
arrives at the time of the party. Perhaps they plan to arrive
stylishly late. But the minutes and then hours tick by and still
no one comes. To her dismay the Singer suddenly realizes she
forgot to send out any invitations.
Reflection
This Psalm was a sermon for a feast day, for the celebration
of the agricultural new year -- a feast of harvest thanksgiving.
It is good to have such celebrations and to mark with parties
the seasons of blessings in our lives. It is also important to
invite people to our parties or they become silly activities of
our own vanity. It is especially important to invite and thank
the one who provides all our blessings and bounty. Our parties
are to be celebrations of friends, friends who share the common
bond of being blessed by God. People who travel the same road of
faithfulness, people who have called out to God and have been
cared for by God. We do not want strange gods at our parties,
the gods of our own egotism who stand in the way of our giving
thanks to the one and only God.
