Prepared for Psalms Group, 2/14/21
Psalm 102 shows us how to pray and how important our praying is. It is a lament by a distressed individual as a part of the people of YHWH, his also-troubled Zion community. Through his own pain and the pain of his community, he continues his dialogue with and about YHWH.
Email to Psalms Group preparing for Sunday, 2/14/21
Dear Psalms friends,
Brrrrr!! This frigid time, despite the warmth of Valentine love and friendship and fun, is our preview for Lent, the upcoming penitential season. On February 17, Ash Wednesday begins our deep dive into our Triune God through intensified prayer, fasting, and generosity. Our Bishop Todd Hunter points out that the key question for discipleship is always (yes, Bishop Todd said “always”), “What do you want?”
Prepared for Psalms Group, February 7, 2021
Psalm 89 is a royal psalm based on the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16). Psalm 89:1-37 is a hymn of praise for YHWH’s covenant love and faithfulness; Psalm 89:38-52 is a community lament for YHWH’s apparent failure to keep these promises. Notice the word used in the plural in 89:1 and 89:49 to describe these promises:
Prepared for Psalms Group for January 31, 2021
More than 1/3 of the psalms are complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists show a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart.
Preview email for Psalms Group on January 31, 2021
Dear Psalms friends,
Our focus psalm this Sunday will be Psalm 69, a lament that is the second most quoted psalm in the New Testament, right behind Psalm 22. It’s a reminder of the honest, God-centered dialogue that our daily praying of the psalms calls us to. It’s a reminder that life is hard and that life as apprentices of Jesus can be especially difficult, truly “the way of the cross.”
The psalms helped Jesus keep talking to and depending on the Father in the worst of times. He knew the Father was with him: “I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32b-33)
In Christ, we have the One the world system lacks Who brings meaning to our lives. But in Christ, in this world, we regularly confront our unrelenting enemies: that world system, our own self-absorbed sin patterns, and our Enemy/Accuser. Jesus Christ’s victory over all of these enemies is assured in the “not quite yet” kingdom that is coming. Meanwhile, we confront frustration, fear, danger and hostility.
Psalm 69 is a frank and powerful personal lament out of an experience of undeserved suffering for obedience, a shared experience of many who live by entrusting themselves to God. Think about what experiences of your own or others help you identify with this psalmist’s troubles.
Psalm 69 contains all the typical parts of a lament: invocation, plea for help, complaints, confession, imprecation, expression of confidence, and praise. It’s located in Book 2 of the Psalms, in the second of the three Davidic collections in the Psalms. Those three collections with superscriptions saying “Of David” are: Psalms 3-41; 51-72; 138-145.
Here are two links to study aids that might help in your reading and praying the Psalms. Look for our lesson on Psalm 69 in your e-mail tomorrow.
Struggle and Hope in Lament Psalms
I thank God and each of you for the meaningful conversations we have as we share in God’s work in us and through us.
Much love in our Triune God,
Toni
Originally prepared for Psalms Group, September 15, 2019
Adapted from “How to Read the Psalms” by Tremper Longman III. His chapter titles are in bold.
Originally prepared for Psalms Group, May 19, 2019
Reminder: The Psalms are deeply interactive, an ongoing dialogue between God and His people Israel. Like Israel, we converse with God in response to the faithfulness and generosity of God who takes all initiatives. Yet a role reversal also happens in the laments, complaints and protests. God is willing to be a full participant in a lively dialogue—an initiator or responder—in an intimate, face-to-face relationship. He longs for, even demands, our willing participation in dialogue with him, asking us to initiate our thoughts and feelings and to respond to his call for trust and obedience.
Prepared for Psalms Group, January 24, 2021
They say confession is good for the soul, But that sure doesn’t make it easy! In general, our culture is neither good at confessing or at hearing confessions. Given our fierce independent natures, and our tendencies toward perfectionism, we are slow to admit our sin, and uncomfortable when we do. We would rather have superficial relationships than expose our deep seated fears and secrets…The psalms of penitence have much to teach us—about the results of sin, the attitude of God, and the hope for change. It is when we come to God with empty hands that we understand his unfailing love.
Wilson and Nygren, The Cries of the Faithful, Vol. 1, p. 63
Email preparing for Sunday, January 24, 2021
Dear Psalms friends,
After focusing on Psalm 32 for the first time in our group last Sunday, it seems timely to focus on Psalm 51 this coming Sunday. These are the most well-known of the penitential psalms. In our January lectionary readings, we have also recently read Psalms 6 and 38, two other penitential psalms. How can we actually use these penitential psalms as penitence? And what is penitence anyway?
Psalms Group, for January 17, 2020
In Psalm 32, the psalmist happily thanks God for forgiving his sin which had led to intense physical and emotional duress. This forgiveness came in response to his confession and repentance. Psalm 32 is a penitential psalm (along with Psalms 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143), but it is not sorrowful because it is a prayer of thanks for God’s grace of forgiveness. It also contains elements of wisdom teaching, using this psalmist’s experience of confession, repentance and forgiveness to teach others.