Easter 6
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
Object:
(See Proper 23/Pentecost 21/Ordinary Time 28, Cycle C, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-12.)
Psalm 66 is a song of communal thanksgiving, probably composed to celebrate some national deliverance. Because of the personal language of verses 13-20, there is some speculation that this psalm was originally two hymns, but as it stands, it contains a combination of corporate and personal prayers, both appropriate in worship.
Verses 8-12 talk about the troubles -- some from other peoples (v. 12a) and some from unspecified sources -- which have a refining effect (v. 10). The fire-and-water symbol of trouble in 12b is similar to that used by Isaiah in 43:2 and picked up by the hymn writer in "How Firm a Foundation." The notable thing here is the absence of any satanic force as the source of these problems. This is a good time to remind listeners that the Old Testament has no fully developed concept of the devil vs. God. As far as the singers of this psalm are concerned, although the trouble came through other peoples and situations, ultimately God is both the source of and the deliverance from (see v. 10: "For you, O God, have tested us"; v. 11: "You brought us into the net"; and v. 12: "you let people ride over our heads").
While we would not want to promote the idea that God capriciously does cruel things, the Old Testament's assertion that all things come from God does at least testify to God's full sovereignty over the creation. When a child dies tragically, we may be inclined to defend God by saying, "God didn't take your child," but that leaves open the frightening question, "Then who did take my child?" The people of Israel had no such concern. God was the source of all.
Of course, they saw that God does not abandon the faithful, and the third phrase of verse 12 provides interesting vocabulary to talk about the abundant life God gives: "you have brought us to a spacious place." According to the NRSV footnote, the Hebrew here can be read as "you have brought us to a saturation." This concept is also found in Job 36:16: "[God] also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there is no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness" (RSV).
-- S. P.
Psalm 66 is a song of communal thanksgiving, probably composed to celebrate some national deliverance. Because of the personal language of verses 13-20, there is some speculation that this psalm was originally two hymns, but as it stands, it contains a combination of corporate and personal prayers, both appropriate in worship.
Verses 8-12 talk about the troubles -- some from other peoples (v. 12a) and some from unspecified sources -- which have a refining effect (v. 10). The fire-and-water symbol of trouble in 12b is similar to that used by Isaiah in 43:2 and picked up by the hymn writer in "How Firm a Foundation." The notable thing here is the absence of any satanic force as the source of these problems. This is a good time to remind listeners that the Old Testament has no fully developed concept of the devil vs. God. As far as the singers of this psalm are concerned, although the trouble came through other peoples and situations, ultimately God is both the source of and the deliverance from (see v. 10: "For you, O God, have tested us"; v. 11: "You brought us into the net"; and v. 12: "you let people ride over our heads").
While we would not want to promote the idea that God capriciously does cruel things, the Old Testament's assertion that all things come from God does at least testify to God's full sovereignty over the creation. When a child dies tragically, we may be inclined to defend God by saying, "God didn't take your child," but that leaves open the frightening question, "Then who did take my child?" The people of Israel had no such concern. God was the source of all.
Of course, they saw that God does not abandon the faithful, and the third phrase of verse 12 provides interesting vocabulary to talk about the abundant life God gives: "you have brought us to a spacious place." According to the NRSV footnote, the Hebrew here can be read as "you have brought us to a saturation." This concept is also found in Job 36:16: "[God] also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there is no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness" (RSV).
-- S. P.
