Year C. twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 98, November 18, 2001
Title: “God is constantly delivering us from the various “imprisonments” of life.”
Psalm 98
“1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. 2 The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”
This is a song of praise, enthusiastically celebrating God’s characteristic ways of dealing with his people. It virtually echoes Psalm 96. The key elements of the ancient covenant- salvation, righteousness, steadfast love and faithfulness- are praised at a ceremony of renewal, whatever renewal that may be. There are no historical references to date this psalm, but, given its symbiotic relationship with the thinking and expressions of Deutero-Isaiah, it was put together after the return from exile, perhaps for the dedication of the rebuilt Temple in 516BC.
This is as much a “call to worship” psalm as it is a song of praise.
In verses one to three, there is the call to God’s people to praise him. In verses four to six, the call is to all humanity; verses seven to nine, to all creation.
In verse one, “O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.” As the psalm progresses it becomes clear that this is really the same old song sung in a new environment. The same old tunes of God’s fidelity, love, victory over evil and Israel’s enemies, righteousness and salvation, all terms for the Covenant, are ever-new when remembered, sung about, and especially witnessed to by reciprocal behavior. Some would see this new setting in the dedication of the rebuilt Temple after the return from exile, but it would fit any setting whereby a people or person moves from a situation of distress and disorientation into a new one of delight and deliverance. There is nothing in the psalm that would locate its expressed sentiments in a specific historical situation. It does appear, however, to have been composed and sung for liturgical use, perhaps the dedication of the Temple or even the annual New Year Festival celebrating God as King.
marvelous deeds: Typically, after a call to praise, the reason for it is given. “Marvelous things” would certainly include those surrounding the Exodus and the Exile, but could refer to just about anything God does or has done.
Victory: The verb used here is also used by Deutero-Isaiah for “salvation,” God’s ultimate victory at the end. It does not have to refer only to military victories. Any small victory over injustice and, hence, vindication, tsadekah in Hebrew, or evil would be a sign of or a harbinger of this final victory or salvation.
In verse two, “The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.” Like Deutero-Isaiah the psalmist believes that all the nations of the world will be witnesses to God’s final victory and vindication over injustice and evil.
In verse three, “He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.” “Remember” is synonymous with “kept faith with” or “been faithful to.” Remembering is not quite action but it leads to it since it is the bringing to mind the attitude necessary to initiate action. The implication is that just as God remembers, keeps his memory, of a long ago covenant word he gave, so also the Israelites are to remember their part of the covenant and act accordingly.
In verses four to six, lyre…trumpets…horn; Israelite liturgies were known for being noisy affairs example 2Chr 29: 25-30; Ezra 3: 10-13. Perhaps, this is a hint for the musicians to play in harmony. The trumpet was a straight metal tube of silver. The horn, the best-known instrument in the Old Testament, was usually made of ram’s horn or, later, that of the ibex or antelope. These verses indicate that the psalm was sung at liturgies, but not which ones. Music, though, is a vital part of worship.
In verses seven and eight, the sea…land…rivers…mountains; the imagery moves from wet to dry and back again, a verism to encompass the entire world. In giving the reasons for praising God, that is, his marvelous deeds, the psalmist began with Israel, then broadened his scope to all the nations of the world, and now to all the world, land and sea. This is a typical movement and broadening of inclusion for psalms of praise and thanksgiving, psalms that ask for no favors but only that all recognize the loving kindness of God, creator and redeemer.
In verse nine, for he is coming to judge the earth. Verses seven to nine, are virtually identical to Psalm 96: 11-13, an indication that this is really an old song sung for a new occasion with a renewed attitude of enthusiasm. One day, when he comes in his finality, God will establish a rule marked by righteousness and equity. The day will come when all of creation will be transferred back to the power and grace of its creator. Injustice and evil will have had their day. This is reason for praise. Even though the day is not here, historically speaking, the fact of its coming means that it is near and, thus, here in some sense, eternally speaking.
Sermon
When we are discouraged or under stress or duress the borders of our lives shrink as the horizons of life narrow. We lose enthusiasm for everything, including life itself. At such times the last thing we want to do is to praise God. We want to lament, complain to him about how badly things are going, about how much help we need. Yet, the remedy is praise not lament, at least, praise first, then lament. If we do not lament in the context of praise we run the risk of getting stuck in self-pity and of looking for deliverance on our terms.
Even though this psalm might not have been composed as an exuberant and enthusiastic response to the deliverance from exile, it certainly would fit in with such a situation. In fact, God is constantly delivering us from the various “imprisonments” of life. This psalm is a great way to begin any day, let alone any year or any liturgy. As we remember the great deeds of God in the past, the world’s past, Israel’s past, the Church’s past, and, especially, our own personal past, we cannot but recapture the enthusiasm God gives us in order to embrace life and not merely face it. If God is consistent, then remembering his past loving-kindness can open our eyes to his present blessings. God does not just stop being kind. It is not his, revealed, nature to do so. He is always kind whether we notice it or not. But when we do notice and praise him for it, the kindness is that much sweeter and the enthusiasm for life it brings us is that much stronger.
Praise expands the borders and boundaries of our vision, our apprehension of life and it breaks down the barriers that keep us from entering into life and enjoying the “fullness” we enjoy when we are aware of God’s presence.
The psalm reminds us also that praise is not a somber, silent, or merely spiritual, invisible reality. It must be sung and danced and shouted and acted out, even in ways that may seem inappropriate to others, those not experiencing the joy that comes with knowing God is there. The exuberance that this psalm calls us to express may not always be possible, especially outside of liturgical and other celebrative settings. However, the enthusiasm is. Is it possible to be aware of God’s presence and not be enthusiastic? All the psalms of praise and those of thanksgiving for that matter, say no. This is not the “natural” enthusiasm that follows upon something good and positive happening in our lives. This is the enthusiasm that can almost be conjured up, “called up,” if you will by re-calling God’s presence. It does depend on historical circumstances, but they can just as easily be ones of the past, ones recalled. If we praise we are freed from being victims of present circumstances. We can transfer our consciousness to God’s past marvels and enter into those experiences once again. Then we can proceed to “face” whatever maladies we must with renewed vigor and confidence that God will overcome them, when he chooses. He is King of all and everything.
“Everything” will not happen today or all at once, but it will happen. God’s day of justice and equity will arrive. Sure of his fidelity, we can faithfully wait and discern the signs of his many, manifold, multi-formed comings into our lives and world. When we can see God’s coming on the horizons, the borders, boundaries and barriers of our lives, then we know that our vision has stretched as far as it can. Praise does this and enthusiasm returns. This is certainly one of the meanings of the Lord’s coming, not only at the end of time but at the edge of time, when we have stretched our vision to its borders. In that vision we are in a position to see God even before he gets there in the final sense, in the second coming, Parousia.
Staring at the present moment or remembering a past one enables us to see dimensions and aspects of it we would ordinarily miss.
Staring or remembering lifts us up to praise the otherwise hidden kindness and mercy of God.
Praising God restores or heightens enthusiasm for life.
Praising God increases hope as we anticipate God being kind and merciful in the future as he has been in the past and present.
Praising does more for the one who praises than for the one praised.
Exuberance and Enthusiasm: Living life in the exuberance mode is not always possible. However, when we are exuberant about life, overflowing with the sheer simple joy of being alive, we want to express it, externalize it, by overdoing it. So, we over-talk, we sing. We over-walk, we dance. We over-smile, we laugh. We over-do everything we do. We raise the ordinary volume of life by clanging things together, shouting, playing music louder than normal. We are in an extraordinary mode of living and behave abnormally, over and above and outside the norm. Now, normal is nice. It’s predictable and it’s soft and easy. We are used to normal. It certainly is better than miserable. However, it is also dull. While we would prefer a normal day to a miserable one, given the choice, we would really prefer an excellent day, every day. The good news is that we can have it. If we start our day with praise, intense and sustained praise of God and determine to recall and re-enter the praising mode throughout the day, every day can and should be extraordinary, excellent, of the very quality of life that God himself enjoys. While exuberance may be inappropriate to certain settings and situations -like meetings, assembly lines, typing, cleaning, repairing, mowing, etc.- enthusiasm is not. Enthusiasm is exuberance toned down or, to put it in the reverse, exuberance is enthusiasm turned up. They are simply different points on the same spectrum. We can always be enthusiastic and the way to getting there and staying there is praise, praise of God for being God and praise of God as we encounter him in human beings and events. Enthusiasm is a sign of the presence of God’s Spirit. It is an attitude that we bring, indeed add, to every moment. We need not wait for the external situation to change according to our fantasies before we experience enthusiasm. While we cannot exactly conjure it up by some formula of praising God, praising God certainly does put us in the stance to breathe it in. When we do, life lights up with more possibilities than we would ever imagine otherwise. These are not fantasies of how we would like life to be, but intuitions of how God is and how he has made, is making or will make life be for those who consciously and constantly recognize his sovereignty over all.
Liturgies: Not every liturgy would call for exuberance. Funerals would ordinarily not call for exuberance. But to ban exuberance from liturgy in the name of decorum is to misunderstand the presence of God and to miss the boundlessness of his mercy. Liturgical exuberance must, of course, not be chaos or even unbridled spontaneity. Any and all expressions of emotion need to be respectful of the context. Even Pentecostal meetings have their rules for those who would speak in tongues. But, the dangers of excess should not ban access to enthusiasm and exuberance born of the Spirit. Those who want to make liturgies somber, solemn and silent affairs need to retrace their steps to the divine presence and pay attention to the energy that very presence bestows. To stifle the expression of joy to the point that a liturgy is joyless is to reflect more the mundane condition of an ordinary day, normalcy, than the extraordinary condition we exist in thanks to God. Because “holy exuberance” cannot always be expressed should not mean that it can never be expressed. And we must remember that there is a sense in which exuberance always seems inappropriate to people who have no sense of the joy of life. Exuberance can be a sacramental act, a making felt, visible, tangible, communicable the invisible and otherwise inaccessible presence of a very happy God. In Jesus Holy Name. Amen.
