Proper 9 / Ordinary Time 14 / Pentecost 4
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
(See Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B, and Easter 3, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)
Anyone who has ever had the experience of losing a friend because of some conflict or dispute, and then has had the friendship restored because of love and forgiveness, has a unique insight into the meaning of this psalm. Although the poem begins and ends with praise, there is in the middle of the poem a brief moment of confession and contrition that puts the praise portions of the psalm in an entirely different light.
The first hint that this psalm is more than just a general praise song to God is introduced with the words, "For his anger is but for a moment" (v. 5). This phrase appears suddenly after many words of praise and exultation. God has saved the poet from suffering and from the hands of an unnamed enemy. The focus is on God, but without verse 5, the impression could be that God has intervened on behalf of a hapless victim of the cruelty of others.
Suddenly the psalmist lets us see that the suffering he endured was self-inflicted. Enemies beset him because he had drifted from God's will. The poet writes, "I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved." Then he writes, "You hid your face; I was dismayed."
The psalmist had apparently once known the comfort and the security of wealth. The statement, "I shall never be moved" rings with tones of self-sufficiency and maybe even pride. Reveling in his wealth and power, the psalmist forgot that God is the source of all blessing -- material and otherwise.
It was then that the psalmist realized that God had withdrawn from him. The phrase "you hid your face" powerfully describes the experience of the absence of God. The psalmist's pride and forgetfulness had left him with only his own resources -- a realization that did not leave him with a good feeling.
And so he repents. "To you, O Lord, I cried, and to you the Lord I made supplication" (v. 8). The psalmist forsakes his inordinate trust in wealth and power as the source of his security, and returns to the true source of all life. He pleads with God for mercy, with imagery and language filled with irony.
The psalmist asks the Lord, "what profit is there in my death ... will the dust praise you?" (v. 9). In other words, if God follows through with the penalty the psalmist deserves, he will die. But then, who will praise God? It is a clever and subtle way of promising God that, if God spares the life of the poet, the poet will make the goodness and the greatness of God well-known.
The psalm in which this promise occurs, of course, is the fulfillment of that promise. The verses leading up to the confession, and the verses that follow, all focus on God's goodness, mercy, and greatness.
Structurally, the psalm illustrates how life really works. Our failure occurs right in the middle of our praise. Sometimes, in the very midst of exulting in God, we fail. The psalm's message is that the grace of God is present both before and after our moments of foolishness.
That is why the psalmist's mourning has turned into dancing (v. 11), and why the psalmist is determined to "give thanks forever" (v. 12).
-- J. E.
Anyone who has ever had the experience of losing a friend because of some conflict or dispute, and then has had the friendship restored because of love and forgiveness, has a unique insight into the meaning of this psalm. Although the poem begins and ends with praise, there is in the middle of the poem a brief moment of confession and contrition that puts the praise portions of the psalm in an entirely different light.
The first hint that this psalm is more than just a general praise song to God is introduced with the words, "For his anger is but for a moment" (v. 5). This phrase appears suddenly after many words of praise and exultation. God has saved the poet from suffering and from the hands of an unnamed enemy. The focus is on God, but without verse 5, the impression could be that God has intervened on behalf of a hapless victim of the cruelty of others.
Suddenly the psalmist lets us see that the suffering he endured was self-inflicted. Enemies beset him because he had drifted from God's will. The poet writes, "I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved." Then he writes, "You hid your face; I was dismayed."
The psalmist had apparently once known the comfort and the security of wealth. The statement, "I shall never be moved" rings with tones of self-sufficiency and maybe even pride. Reveling in his wealth and power, the psalmist forgot that God is the source of all blessing -- material and otherwise.
It was then that the psalmist realized that God had withdrawn from him. The phrase "you hid your face" powerfully describes the experience of the absence of God. The psalmist's pride and forgetfulness had left him with only his own resources -- a realization that did not leave him with a good feeling.
And so he repents. "To you, O Lord, I cried, and to you the Lord I made supplication" (v. 8). The psalmist forsakes his inordinate trust in wealth and power as the source of his security, and returns to the true source of all life. He pleads with God for mercy, with imagery and language filled with irony.
The psalmist asks the Lord, "what profit is there in my death ... will the dust praise you?" (v. 9). In other words, if God follows through with the penalty the psalmist deserves, he will die. But then, who will praise God? It is a clever and subtle way of promising God that, if God spares the life of the poet, the poet will make the goodness and the greatness of God well-known.
The psalm in which this promise occurs, of course, is the fulfillment of that promise. The verses leading up to the confession, and the verses that follow, all focus on God's goodness, mercy, and greatness.
Structurally, the psalm illustrates how life really works. Our failure occurs right in the middle of our praise. Sometimes, in the very midst of exulting in God, we fail. The psalm's message is that the grace of God is present both before and after our moments of foolishness.
That is why the psalmist's mourning has turned into dancing (v. 11), and why the psalmist is determined to "give thanks forever" (v. 12).
-- J. E.
