Psalm 104--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale, #122
UMH: This Is My Father's World, #144
UMH: All Creatures of Our God and King, #62
UMH: All Things Bright and Beautiful, #147
UMH: For the Beauty of the Earth, #92
FWS: Bless the Lord, #2013
All of Us Belong--Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan

Prayer:
God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon
  and curl the baby's ear;
  Spirit, brooding over chaos
    before the naming of day;
  Savior, sending us to earth's ends
    with water and words:
  startle us with the grace, love, and communion
    of your unity in diversity,
  that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.
(W&S # 42)

Video:
Could be cool to have this playing during reading of Psalm 104.

Starling Swarm - Blender from Everton Schneider on Vimeo.

Sermon Illustrations:
New book "Earth from Space" shows high-resolution photos of Earth's surface from orbiting satellites. http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/tech/innovation/earth-from-space-book/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Anne Cameron Cutri's Psalm 104 Comic--click below to check it out.

Psalm 104--Exegetical Thoughts

In our class discussion, Dr.McCann identified Psalm 104 as another creation story. Certainly, the connection to the creation story as pictured in Genesis 1 can be seen (Ps. 104: 29-30, especially). But rather than getting a primeval, mythic portrayal of origins, Psalm 104 conveys a different type of creation. Though like those pictured in Genesis 1, it has its beginnings in the Lord, this creation story is continuing to unfold right before our eyes.

Both Limburg and Mays draw attention to the movement of Psalm 104 from God in heaven (vss. 1-4) to God's ongoing creative work on earth (beginning in vs. 5). God as both heavenly and earthly presence is a theme running through the Psalms, and is one I touched on briefly in my exploration of Psalm 82. Psalm 82 pictures God's power on earth is characterized by a concern with justice--God fires those who participate in injustice. In Psalm 104, God's power is characterized by a creativity and care for all creatures on earth. Both Limburg and Mays also draw attention to fact that humanity is but one species among many listed in Psalm 104 (Limberg 354; Mays 334). The psalmist sees God's caring relationship not only with humanity, but also with the created world, especially other animals (vss. 14-23). The psalmist recognizes God's gracious, sustaining action in the provision of food, shelter, and care not just of humans, but of all creation (Mays 333).

In class, we discussed the idea that biodiversity as a theological concept. Because no one created thing can understand God fully on its own, the diversity of the created world helps us to see different aspects of God. The natural world, then, becomes a source of revelation about the character and the intentions of God. Psalm 104 tells us that God is a nurturing God with an intention of an ordered, deeply interconnected creation.

However, it is no secret that the biodiversity of Earth is decreasing at alarming rates. We understand many of the ecological consequences of this. But the theological implication is that God is also diminished with this loss. When any piece of the revelation of God goes missing, the entire picture becomes skewed.

Recently, I read an NPR piece on the importance of bees (click here for article). The article examined the decreasing population of bees both from an ecological standpoint and from an economic standpoint. What was frightening to me was how the economic understanding of the situation actually portrayed the lack of bees as a potential economic positive--if humans did the work of the bees, you actually have an increased crop, have workers with jobs who now have money to stimulate the economy. The disturbing reality here is that an economic understanding of biodiversity results in the commodification of the natural world. The value of the natural world, then, is understood only in cash amounts.

In contrast, Psalm 104 takes a theological understanding of biodiversity. And through meditating on this diversity and on the care God exhibits for all those considered in the psalm, the psalmist understands that the value of the world is that it witnesses to God's creative and creating power. It is the tangible space in which God reveals God's character and intentions for the word--intentions of harmony and balance, not of exploitation and profit.

I can see how some may write of Psalm 104, saying that in an ancient culture, they would have been tied more closely to the earth, and thus this imagery and language would speak more truth then than it does now. Natural theology in the Psalms, then, becomes a quaint, antiquated way of understanding God that doesnot impact our lives. What I think Psalm 14 does more than anything, though, is to expose the gaping hole in how our current culture is ordered--without a strong natural theology. Some may say that natural theology may not be relevant in the here and now, but I would argue that mindset it is actually a reflection of the wickedness of our culture. Rather than us patronizing the text, Psalm 104 calls us to change as a result of the text. This, I believe, is one way to read the final verse (vs. 35) of Psalm 104--as an acknowledgement that there are going to be some people who do not understand the value of God's creative and creating power. But by turning again to the obvious work of God in the natural world, the sinners and wicked may again be able to whisper to their souls, "Bless the Lord...Praise the Lord!" (vs. 35b).

Psalm 100--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: Psalm 100 setting, #821
FWS: How Can I Keep From Singing, #2212
FWS: Sing allelujaha to the Lord, #2258, Trad.
This is the Day
Psalm 100--Matt Gilman
Make a Joyful Noise--The Rizers (Children)

Video:

Psalm 100 from James Drake on Vimeo.

Prayer:
Exalted One, we joyfully celebrate our unlimited trust in your faithful promises. We pray that all people will someday sound a cacophony of hallelujahs as they truly accept your steadfast love. May these gifts that we gladly lay upon your altar enable ministries that support this chorus of praise. We pray with praise and thanksgiving in our hearts. Amen.

Sermon Illustrations/Resources:
"Why We Sing" by Carolyn Winfrey Gilette
"Ode to Joy" by Stacy Horn
"Have Christians Stopped Singing" by David Murrow
"The Singing Thing: A Case for Congregational Song" by John L. Bell

Missional Connection:
Lincoln County Second Chance Choir: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-county-inmates-perform-at-churches-as-second-chance-choir/article_62c1bcc7-5dff-53e9-aa86-7a5a995823e0.html
Inmates from Lincoln County have formed a choir, and are performing at area churches. For them, the experience brings them closer together and creates an opportunity for local congregations to make connections with those who imprisoned.

Psalm 100--Exegetical Thoughts

Make a Joyful Noise by Dave Becker

Thus far in this semester's exploration of the Psalms, we've heard a lot of different noises: instructive voices, cries of the suffering, an imaginative prayer. But here, arriving at Psalm 100, we get to hear some real music. McCann points out that the bold claim of the Psalms is that life and praise of God are inextricably bound--to stop praising God is to die (54), and so, we find an expression of this praise and thanksgiving here.

Mays points out that praise born of thanksgiving isn't just a happy smile. Rather, he says it is "the gladness that wells up from the whole person" (Preaching 179). A part of the function of Psalm 100 is instructive (a pattern in the Psalms). Limburg explores how Psalm 100 teaches us who we are (God's still-loved creation), what we are to do (praise God), and why we should praise (because of God's steadfast love; 337-338). In his Psalms commentary, Mays indicates that Psalm 100 functions in two ways to facilitate praise--first, as an initiation into worship (as a call to worship and movement into the presence of God), and as a theology of worship.

Worship reorients. It moves us away from our self-centeredness and into an awareness of God's grace. The seven imperatives of Psalm 100 express this movement: make (vs. 1), worship (vs. 2), come (vs. 2b), know (vs. 3), enter (vs. 4), give (vs. 4b), and bless (vs. 4b). The direction I would like to take with Psalm 100 begins with the opening imperative--"Make a joyful noise to the Lord."

Our reorientation begins with noise. Joyful noise. Often assumed to be singing. The significance of singing as a human activity is one that cannot be denied. And we know from the liturgical notes in the Psalms themselves that their being sung was likely a part of the worship of the Hebrew people. In the Christian tradition, congregational singing has ebbed and flowed; a brief overview of Christian singing can be found here. By the time of the Reformation, congregations stood mute as the music was made by professionals. Reformers changed this, bringing music to the congregations, changing the words to popular music to theologically rich imagery. The first hymnal was printed in 1532, and music became a main vehicle of theology for the average church-goer. However, technological advances, changing tastes in music, and the explosion of mega-churches has found that congregational singing is on the decline. Joyful noises seem only to be for those with polished enough voices (or with enough familiarity with the music) to be up on stage.

In the view of Psalm 100, this is a shame. "All the earth" is called to this joyous form of worship of God. And I believe that new science about the effects of group singing on our very physiology confirm that joining in with others in musical praise of God leads us to be able to to act out the subsequent imperatives of Psalm 100. 

In her article "Ode to Joy," Stacy Horn provides an easily-to-understand description of the physiological occurrences during song, with links to supporting research. She writes:  

Music is awash with neurochemical rewards for working up the courage to sing. That rush, or “singer's high,” comes in part through a surge of endorphins, which at the same time alleviate pain. When the voices of the singers surrounding me hit my ear, I'm bathed in dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is associated with feelings of pleasure and alertness. Music lowers cortisol, a chemical that signals levels of stress. Studies have found that people who listened to music before surgery were more relaxed and needed less anesthesia, and afterward they got by with smaller amounts of pain medication. Music also releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of euphoria and contentment.  “Every week when I go to rehearsal,” a choral friend told me, “I'm dead tired and don't think I'll make it until 9:30. But then something magic happens and I revive ... it happens almost every time.”  "Ohio State music professor David Huron believes singing may generate prolactin, which is released in nursing women, and in tears of sorrow. Prolactin has a tranquilizing, consoling effect, and this is why sad music makes us feel better, according to Huron. There's even evidence that singing about death not only feels good, it's good for you. Researchers discovered that a choir singing Mozart's Requiem showed an increase in s-IgA, an immunoglobulin that enhances our immune defense.It doesn't even matter if you can sing well. I can't. The best I can manage is singing in tune. Most of the time. Hopefully. One of my main goals in our weekly rehearsals is not being heard. Over the years I've become a master in the art of voice camouflage, perfecting a cunning combination of seat choice, head tilt, and volume. Luckily, in a 2005 study, investigators found that group singers experienced the same benefits even when “the sound produced by the vocal instrument is of mediocre quality.” It’s arguable whether my vocal instrument even reaches that level, but I’m happy to reap the benefits nonetheless.While any singing has rewards, there are reasons you should find a choir rather than simply singing in the shower and leaving it at that. Studies have found that group singing releases oxytocin, a chemical that manages anxiety and stress and, according to McGill University professor Daniel Levitin, enhances feelings of trust and bonding."

Singing physically makes it possible for us to come, know, enter, give thanks, and bless. More than that, group singing actually syncs us up physically, as reasearch has found that singers in a group actually sync up their heart rates. Now, if God's will for us is to do justice, to be in community with one another, singing together does so in a way that brings us together not just emotionally, but biologically.

In Psalm 100, humanity is instructed to make a joyful noise with the understanding that it is reorienting act. Most interpretation has focused on this in a theological or social way. But in a time of praise bands, of decreasingly participatory worship, and of rampant individualism, it seems that a reading of Psalm 100 from the biological effects of singing might just have a profound impact on how we worship. In a new way, Psalm 100 leads us into worship and instructs us about what worship is at a biological level.

Psalm 32--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: Amazing Grace, #378
UMH: Grace Greater Than Our Sin, #365
W&S: Confession (Musical Response), #3138
FWS: You Are My Hiding Place, #2055
While I Keep Silence--Wright
Psalm 32--Mike & Liz Mumford
You are my Hiding Place
Pretty much any Kyrie would be appropriate, too.

Prayers of Confession and Pardon:
W&S: #84-97
BOW: #474-494

Video:

Songs of Deliverance from Biltmore Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Sermon Illustrations:
10 Risks Happy People Take: http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/10/20/10-risks-happy-people-take-every-day/
Many of these "risks" have to do with opening up about being imperfect, off-track, and being willing to grow. Sounds like what it means to open up to God in confession. Could see using this list in a sermon series on beatitudes: "Happy are those..."

Nelson Mandella's ability to forgive: http://newday.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/08/finding-forgiveness/?sr=sharebar_facebook
A video on Nelson Mandella's forgiveness of those who imprisoned him. Conversation turns to how to begin the process of forgiveness. Clincial Psychologist discusses changing perception--confession and assurance from God can help us do this. Biblical scholar Brent Strawn discusses Psalms, especially in dealing with enemies (at 6:40). Conversation with God keeps our own sin and sin of others from taking over our entire lives.

Missional Connection:
Freeing Slaves to Rebuild Lives: http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Resources/News-Stories/2013/December/1203freeingslavestorebuildlives
Some of our confession may need to be on a societal level. In the case of human-trafficking, I think many of us would prefer to keep our silence on the matter--to pretend that this issue just didn't exist. But in acknowledging and talking about this issue, we begin to confess the sins of our world, even if they are not our own personal sins, and can participate in sharing God's grace in these darkened paths.

Psalm 32--Exegetical Thoughts

Custom Typography of Psalm 32 by MulliganStudio

Though characterized by Knowles as a psalm of individual thanksgiving (132), Psalm 32 shares so much in common with Psalm 1 that I think it would be fair to also classify it as a torah psalm, or a psalm of instruction.

First of all, it's introductory words, "Happy are those..." echo those first words of the psalter. This is the first time we have seen this formula for the beatitude since Psalm 1, though we will see it again in Psalms 41, 112, 119, 127, and 128. Certainly this introduction indicates that there is something worth knowing about what's in this psalm. The simple fact that it starts with a beatitude leads us to believe that what follows might just show us how to attain that happiness ourselves.

Additionally, Psalm 32 echoes other key words of Psalm 1, especially torah (translated as "instruct" in vs. 8), "the way" (vs. 8), "wicked" (vs. 10), and "righteous" (vs. 11.) For other key word connections, see McCann 110.

In my earlier treatment of Psalm 1, I interpreted the ending of the path of the wicked not as a death, but as a way to acknowledge the grace of God's instruction--that it is always available to us, and we can always turn toward it from our paths of unrighteousness. As humans, we're just going to follow some wicked paths. The trick of those blessed righteous is to find our way back to the path of the faithful by looking for God's instruction, even in the midst of our wickedness.

And this is precisely the move that Psalm 32 makes. The first verse lets us know that even though one is "happy" or "blessed," it does not mean that s/he is without blemish. There will be transgression. So, what distinguishes the righteous from the wicked, then? Knowles says that it is the experience of God's forgiveness that plucks us from paths of wickedness to paths of righteousness again.

Psalm 32 emphasizes the human agency in forgiveness. Verses 3-4 explore the very real option to keep silent about our sin. In the psalm, it results in physical diminished and feelings of torment. Indeed, silence in the psalms typically means death (see Ps. 115:17, Ps. 94:17). Being unable to praise or to even communicate with God finds the psalmist in a sorry state.

But in verse 5, the psalmist brings the sin before the Lord. Knowles points out that the psalm itself does not reveal the content of the confession, but this serves to highlight the Lord's immediate forgiveness, regardless of the content of the confession. The mere movement to communication and honesty with God elicits God's gracious response (133). Verses 6-7 function as personal witness, encouraging others to turn to God in their times of difficulty (McCann 110). The circumstances that our human imperfection creates are dire, but by turning to God, a safe place is found in the midst of disaster.

Verses 8-11 most closely resemble Psalm 1, with the clear focus on torah or instruction in "the way." Again, instruction is offered, but not forced. The psalmist states that though it may not be the best option to forego torah, it is still an option (vs. 9). That said, by confessing to God, humans display their trust in God. And trusting in God also helps us to see the hesed that is always available to us. In these ways, Psalm 32 offers a fuller picture of the instruction promised in Psalm 1, and shows us just how to locate "the way" again when we have wandered from the path of the righteous.

One instructional moment for me in Psalm 32 is the use of different words for sin in verses 1-2. Limburg points out that these words represent major themes in the OT (103). I think it's important to recognize that there are many ways to wander from the path of the righteous, and that in confession, it also helps to understand how one has strayed. The four words for sin are:

• transgression--a rebellion
• sin--missing the target
• iniquity--being bent, twisted, or crooked
• deceit--treacherous or unreliable (Limberg 103)

So often, we think about sin in a singular sense, as if there is only one way to stray from God's intentions for the world. Psalm 32 helps us to understand that there are many ways to get off-track, with some of them requiring less conscious action than we might like to believe.

Psalm 32 draws attention to the fact that we will slip up, we will wander from the path of the righteous. We're only human. But it also draws attention to the fact that God is always available to hear our cries of uncertainty, of apology, of confusion during these times of wandering. And it is from voicing these cries that we are also able to find our voices again to be able to"shout for joy" (vs. 11).