Proper 23 / Ordinary Time 28
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
-- Psalm 66:5
There are times when praise is the only proper response to our experience in life. Psalm 66 guides us in the way of praise. Praise is more than just an exclamation of joyful feelings. Praise is both a memory and a testimony. The response to answered prayer is a desire to have everyone recognize and acknowledge the faithfulness of God that you have discovered in your own experience. The psalmist called on the whole earth to praise God (vv. 1-4). Praise is not something you can do by yourself. It requires some measure of community.
The psalmist drew upon the shared memory of the congregation by reminding them of the great deed of deliverance out of Egypt through the Red Sea. "He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot." Part of that memory was that God would not allow the rebellious Pharaoh to exalt himself (v. 7). The wilderness experience and the defeats in battle as they entered the land were all seen as God's testing and refining them (vv. 8-12), which reminded the worshipers of the meaning of any current trials that they were experiencing. The psalmist suggested that in a similar manner to those historic memories of deliverance, so in any current experience of deliverance, the response of the worshiper was both an offering to God (vv. 13-15) and a witness to others (v. 16) of God's faithful response to one's troubles (vv. 17-19).
The psalmist recognized that the praise of God did not include the social struggle against iniquity was empty praise (v. 18), but in this world of troubles, God did listen to prayers (v. 19). Sometimes our struggles do become a time of testing in our lives, but we must never think that they mean the absence of God's steadfast love (v. 20).
-- Psalm 66:5
There are times when praise is the only proper response to our experience in life. Psalm 66 guides us in the way of praise. Praise is more than just an exclamation of joyful feelings. Praise is both a memory and a testimony. The response to answered prayer is a desire to have everyone recognize and acknowledge the faithfulness of God that you have discovered in your own experience. The psalmist called on the whole earth to praise God (vv. 1-4). Praise is not something you can do by yourself. It requires some measure of community.
The psalmist drew upon the shared memory of the congregation by reminding them of the great deed of deliverance out of Egypt through the Red Sea. "He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot." Part of that memory was that God would not allow the rebellious Pharaoh to exalt himself (v. 7). The wilderness experience and the defeats in battle as they entered the land were all seen as God's testing and refining them (vv. 8-12), which reminded the worshipers of the meaning of any current trials that they were experiencing. The psalmist suggested that in a similar manner to those historic memories of deliverance, so in any current experience of deliverance, the response of the worshiper was both an offering to God (vv. 13-15) and a witness to others (v. 16) of God's faithful response to one's troubles (vv. 17-19).
The psalmist recognized that the praise of God did not include the social struggle against iniquity was empty praise (v. 18), but in this world of troubles, God did listen to prayers (v. 19). Sometimes our struggles do become a time of testing in our lives, but we must never think that they mean the absence of God's steadfast love (v. 20).
