Psalms 113
Obviously,
Psalm 113 is a psalm of praise. The
whole psalm is focused on reminding us to give praise to God. What is neat about this psalm is that the
author seems more intent on reminding us to praise God than he seems interested
in telling us why to praise God.
Don’t
get me wrong. The psalmist does indeed
give us a few reasons as to why we should give praise to God. After all, God raises up the poor. He lifts up the needy. He brings children in the life of the
barren. These are all reasons that the
psalmist gives to justify why we should give praise to God.
But
these are not the thrust of the psalm.
They don’t even appear until two-thirds of the psalm is over. The thrust of the psalm is a call for the
faithful to turn to God and give Him praise.
As I read through the psalm, I am reminded of the Great Thanksgiving
that is said or chanted in liturgical worship services right before Holy
Communion. In the Lutheran Church we
often sing, “The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give Him thanks and praise.” (Cantor in normal print, congregational
response in italics)
In
Christian circles, we usually give thanks to God before we celebrate communion. That is a very appropriate place to turn and
give praise to God because our salvation comes to us only by His grace. This is why immediately before communion we
spend a little time focused on praising God and giving Him the praise He
deserves for saving us.
It’s
nice to see this same dynamic within the psalms. It’s nice to see that the psalms once a while
take time simply to praise God. There is
a time and place for teaching. There is
a time and place evangelism. There is a
time and place for discipleship. But
there is also a time and a place for praising God with no distractions.
And why
shouldn’t we? As the psalmist says – and
this is probably my favorite line from the whole psalm – who is like our
God? Who has done for us what our God has
done for us? For me that is the verse
that really focuses my mind on giving praise to Him. Who is like our God? Why should we not praise His name?
Psalm 114
Psalm
114 is a humble confession of God’s power.
It is a reminder back to the ancient past of the Hebrew people through
which we see God’s power. Like many of
the psalms, in this psalm we hear many references to the wandering Hebrew
people in the time of the exodus.
I love
the references to the sea and the river looking to God and fleeing. Traditionally, the sea especially is symbolic
of the danger and evil in the world. This
is probably because so few people could swim and water was therefore quite
dangerous. What is being said in this
psalm is that the dark and dangerous places in this world look upon God and
flee.
In
almost the complete opposite light, we hear about the mountains and hills
skipping like lambs. The act of skipping
is traditionally a symbol of joy and happiness.
The Promised Land looked forward with anticipation as God was bringing
His people into the land. The Promised
Land longed for a people who would live according to God’s ways and with God’s
agenda.
I think
it is neat to see references to the power of God. I also think that it is neat to hear the
anthropomorphosis of the earth and its reaction to God. There is much we can learn through the
symbols within this psalm about God, human nature, and the world’s reaction to
God.
Completely
apart from the psalm, I am always amazed by how many references there are in
the Old Testament to the time of the exodus.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand
that God did many great and wondrous things in the wilderness. There is reason to remember those.
However,
that was one of the darkest generations of Hebrew people. The whole nation – save Moses, Joshua, and
Caleb – were rebellious and died in the wilderness. Even Moses, although allowed to gaze upon it,
was unable to cross into the Promised Land.
The Hebrew people of the exodus were not a particularly faithful
people. Yet they are remembered unlike
any other generation. I’ve been thinking
about this lately and I really think that this is intentional within
scripture. I think part of the reason we
have so many references to the exodus in the Old Testament is because it shows
God’s incredible work in spite of a rebellious and grumbling people. Each reference to the exodus in the Old
Testament is a reminder to us that God is at work in this world regardless of
our circumstances.
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