Thanksgiving
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Alternate Image
The Singer is in her 10th year as the lead singer, director
and composer in a large prestigious church. Her music has won
many awards. She is praised by professional colleagues and the
common folk in the pew. People seek her out and want to be in her
presence. She has fame and is amply rewarded for her efforts. She
is fired!
She doesn't get it. She has been great at her job, just ask
her. She has had great status and prestige. She has sung
wonderfully, she has composed marvelous music, her choir
direction is dramatic and effective. Why has she been fired? It
makes no sense to her at all. She complains to one and all who
come into her presence about the injustice done her, they shake
their heads and hurry away. She is fit to be tied.
Finally, she goes to the church board and asks why she has
been fired.
The ask, "What was your job?"
She responds, "I was to create great music, direct it and sing
it."
"Why?" they ask.
"To attract members to the church, to show off the talents of
myself and the church choir. I put on a great show."
"Yes, you did." The board responds, "You are still fired."
"But why?" asks the Singer once more.
"What was your job?" the board asks once more.
The Singer leaves dejected.
Later the Singer asks to meet with the board again. She asks,
"Can I have my job back?"
The board asks, "What job is that?"
She replies, "To give God praise. To help the congregation
have tongues of joy. To lift up the great things God has done for
us and to offer thanksgiving. To share the gifts God has given us
with each other."
"You have your job," the board responds.
Reflection
As mentioned before, this Psalm commemorates the victory of
the Assyrian King Cyrus over the Babylonians who had exiled the
Hebrews during their reign. Now the exiles were freed. However,
not all rejoiced over that liberation. Those who had done well
under foreign domination, who had blended in with their captors
and who had prospered, did not want to be liberated. These folk
had lost the vision of what it meant to be a covenant people.
They were successful in one sense and did not want the hard work
of rebuilding faithfulness. They had lost focus and perspective
about what was most important.
It is very easy for us to do that as well. Even in the church,
or perhaps especially in the church, we need to be wary of our
own so-called successes. We tend to measure success by our
accomplishments rather than faithfulness to God's will. Our
successes can lead us to loss of vision.
We need to continually ask ourselves, "What is our job? What
is it God has called us to do? Are we faithful and obedient?"
When we can answer those questions with clear focus we can shout
with joy over God's steadfast love and faithfulness.
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Alternate Image
The Singer is in her 10th year as the lead singer, director
and composer in a large prestigious church. Her music has won
many awards. She is praised by professional colleagues and the
common folk in the pew. People seek her out and want to be in her
presence. She has fame and is amply rewarded for her efforts. She
is fired!
She doesn't get it. She has been great at her job, just ask
her. She has had great status and prestige. She has sung
wonderfully, she has composed marvelous music, her choir
direction is dramatic and effective. Why has she been fired? It
makes no sense to her at all. She complains to one and all who
come into her presence about the injustice done her, they shake
their heads and hurry away. She is fit to be tied.
Finally, she goes to the church board and asks why she has
been fired.
The ask, "What was your job?"
She responds, "I was to create great music, direct it and sing
it."
"Why?" they ask.
"To attract members to the church, to show off the talents of
myself and the church choir. I put on a great show."
"Yes, you did." The board responds, "You are still fired."
"But why?" asks the Singer once more.
"What was your job?" the board asks once more.
The Singer leaves dejected.
Later the Singer asks to meet with the board again. She asks,
"Can I have my job back?"
The board asks, "What job is that?"
She replies, "To give God praise. To help the congregation
have tongues of joy. To lift up the great things God has done for
us and to offer thanksgiving. To share the gifts God has given us
with each other."
"You have your job," the board responds.
Reflection
As mentioned before, this Psalm commemorates the victory of
the Assyrian King Cyrus over the Babylonians who had exiled the
Hebrews during their reign. Now the exiles were freed. However,
not all rejoiced over that liberation. Those who had done well
under foreign domination, who had blended in with their captors
and who had prospered, did not want to be liberated. These folk
had lost the vision of what it meant to be a covenant people.
They were successful in one sense and did not want the hard work
of rebuilding faithfulness. They had lost focus and perspective
about what was most important.
It is very easy for us to do that as well. Even in the church,
or perhaps especially in the church, we need to be wary of our
own so-called successes. We tend to measure success by our
accomplishments rather than faithfulness to God's will. Our
successes can lead us to loss of vision.
We need to continually ask ourselves, "What is our job? What
is it God has called us to do? Are we faithful and obedient?"
When we can answer those questions with clear focus we can shout
with joy over God's steadfast love and faithfulness.
