Sing It Out, Sing It ALL
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c (BCP)
1 | Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name; * make known his deeds among the peoples. |
2 | Sing to him, sing praises to him, * and speak of all his marvelous works. |
3 | Glory in his holy Name; * let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. |
4 | Search for the LORD and his strength; * continually seek his face. |
5 | Remember the marvels he has done, * his wonders and the judgments of his mouth, |
6 | O offspring of Abraham his servant, * O children of Jacob his chosen. |
23 | Israel came into Egypt, * and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham. |
24 | The LORD made his people exceedingly fruitful; * he made them stronger than their enemies; |
25 | Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people, * and dealt unjustly with his servants. |
26 | He sent Moses his servant, * and Aaron whom he had chosen. |
45c Hallelujah!
The psalm for tomorrow is a portion of Psalm 105, chosen as the response to the Old Testament lesson from Exodus 3, where God introduces himself to Moses and calls Moses as his agent to lead the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. The psalm snippet is a fair selection for that purpose.
For church tomorrow we sing only a portion, unfortunate for several reasons. First of all, the rendering above is rather insipid. Then, Psalm 105 is 45 verses, far too long for impatient Christians to chant or even read responsively unless it’s Lent, when we expect to be punished: seeing that it isn’t Lent, we get off easy. But the psalm is no bashful sissy, it shouts powerful victory for Israel, and can get squirmy if one is not Jewish. Remembering God’s covenant, with Abraham, it’s Heilsgeschichte, salvation history with God leading Israel triumphantly out of Egypt through the wilderness and into the promised land. If anyone is accepting assignments, the assignment this Sabbath morning is to read Psalm 105 from start to finish in The Message translation below.
It's quite a story. If it doesn’t sound like good news to a timid 21st century American, it sure as aitch was good news for Israel, to whom it belongs. It’s a great story, like a ballad, sung, shouted victoriously, rowdily, to the accompaniment of a loud brass band with drums and cymbals, people clapping and with hands in the air praising God. Too rowdy to be sung in the temple, it needs to be on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, maybe during Mardi Gras, or the evening before a Saints game.
Or in The Swamp after a Gator victory.
Or in The Swamp after a Gator victory.
Psalm 105 (The Message)
1-6 Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.
7-15 He's God, our God,
in charge of the whole earth.
And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—
for a thousand generations he's been as good as his word.
It's the Covenant he made with Abraham,
the same oath he swore to Isaac,
The very statute he established with Jacob,
the eternal Covenant with Israel,
Namely, "I give you the land.
Canaan is your hill-country inheritance."
When they didn't count for much,
a mere handful, and strangers at that,
Wandering from country to country,
drifting from pillar to post,
He permitted no one to abuse them.
He told kings to keep their hands off:
"Don't you dare lay a hand on my anointed,
don't hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets."
16-22 Then he called down a famine on the country,
he broke every last blade of wheat.
But he sent a man on ahead:
Joseph, sold as a slave.
They put cruel chains on his ankles,
an iron collar around his neck,
Until God's word came to the Pharaoh,
and God confirmed his promise.
God sent the king to release him.
The Pharaoh set Joseph free;
He appointed him master of his palace,
put him in charge of all his business
To personally instruct his princes
and train his advisors in wisdom.
23-42 Then Israel entered Egypt,
Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.
God gave his people lots of babies;
soon their numbers alarmed their foes.
He turned the Egyptians against his people;
they abused and cheated God's servants.
Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he also chose.
They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland,
miracles in the Land of Ham.
He spoke, "Darkness!" and it turned dark—
they couldn't see what they were doing.
He turned all their water to blood
so that all their fish died;
He made frogs swarm through the land,
even into the king's bedroom;
He gave the word and flies swarmed,
gnats filled the air.
He substituted hail for rain,
he stabbed their land with lightning;
He wasted their vines and fig trees,
smashed their groves of trees to splinters;
With a word he brought in locusts,
millions of locusts, armies of locusts;
They consumed every blade of grass in the country
and picked the ground clean of produce;
He struck down every firstborn in the land,
the first fruits of their virile powers.
He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot,
and not one among his tribes even stumbled.
Egypt was glad to have them go—
they were scared to death of them.
God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day
and a fire to light their way through the night;
They prayed and he brought quail,
filled them with the bread of heaven;
He opened the rock and water poured out;
it flowed like a river through that desert—
All because he remembered his Covenant,
his promise to Abraham, his servant.
43-45 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy;
his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!
He made them a gift of the country they entered,
helped them seize the wealth of the nations
So they could do everything he told them—
could follow his instructions to the letter.
Hallelujah!
And let all the people shout, Amen!
TW+