Reflections on the Psalms  Pastor Schuyler is a regular contributor to 'Emphasis: A Preaching Journal.' The reflections below will be published in the coming edition of the magazine. PSALM 8 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalms 8:1-9 (NRSV) "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them..?" Verse four of this Psalm traverses centuries of theological questing in a single phrase. It's simple, stark question strips away the layered tradition and addled pretense, and goes right to the core of a fundamental human struggle. It goes something like this. If, God is God; if this God is the Creator; the One. If this God created everything including worlds and things we have yet to imagine, then what are we? The existential question looms larger than a Samuel Becket play. Indeed, as the psalmist puts it, why should God be mindful..of us at all? And truly, the question has merit. The sheer magnitude of the concept of a Creator God sets the writer back on heels of humility and conjures up intermingling scenes of confusion and wonderment. But in these days of robitics and nano-technology things seem somehow different. As we step into the uncharted territory of interplanetary travel, cloning and other strange scientific adventures, we no longer see ourselves in the same light as this writer saw (him)self. Today, when global communication comes with the click of a mouse; when world economies are intertwined, and the very ground upon which we stand is changing, the truth is that humanity is not so easily awed as once it was. As we watch Creation falter in the face of human activity, the thought occurs to some that perhaps God isn't so great after all. And herein lies the crux of the issue for people of faith in this so-called post-modern day. Perhaps it can best be voiced, not by a statement, but by a question. This questions, What becomes of as people who lose their sense of awe? In this psalm that sense of amazement and astonishment at the width and breadth of the reality of God is palpable. It brings on a powerful sense of thankfulness and gratitude as the author lets a slow breath escape in simple, powerful language. Without awe, without a sense of wonder at something or someone much larger than ourselves, we run the serious risk of trying to play God. Without awe, arrogance moves in and makes itself comfortable. Without awe, ice caps melt. Without awe, genocide slips by unnoticed; unattended. Simply put, a people without awe are dangerous. And we have become that people. One can't help but wonder what it might take to recapture a sense of awe; to read this psalm with an open and vulnerable heart. It's certainly worth a try. Read it. One more time with a contrite and broken heart (Psalm 51:17). Maybe, just maybe we might reclaim the child-like sense of wonder and joy to which Jesus called his followers (Matt. 18:3), then and now. PSALM 72:1-7, 10-14 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. 2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. 3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. 4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. 5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. 6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. 7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. 11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. 12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. 13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. 14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Psalms 72:1-7, 10-14 (NRSV) This psalm hits the reader with a laser-like precision. Only the most delusional or those awash in denial could miss the point here. Our faith is not one that can be spiritualized to the point of irrelevancy. Our faith has both calling and consequence here and now in the midst of the world's turmoil and craziness. More than that, our faith is bold enough to call the powers of the moment to account. It is a call that has not diminished over time. "Give the King your justice, O God." These words, and those that follow make it clear that the "principalities and powers ( Col 2:15)" subscribe to a different operating definition of justice than does God. So it is that the call comes to grant the King God's justice. The tone is oppositional, and it is perhaps worth updating. Grant the President your justice, O God. Not the justice of disappearing civil rights; not the justice of Guantanamo or Abu Graib, but your justice! If we take our faith seriously, what are we to do with sentiments such as this? There can be no denying that the current "King" has what one radio commentator called a "complex and adversarial relationship with the truth." Nor can it be denied that the nation is bogged down in an immoral and unjust war that is devastating to God's children in Bagdad and Boston ; in Tikrit and Taos . There's no question about it. This psalm is a summons to the faithful. It is a wake up call to those who claim a faith in the God of Israel, the God who comes most powerfully to us in Jesus of Nazareth. This God desires justice and fair treatment to the poor, and places the responsibility for this in the hands of the faithful. This God, in fact, would rather we not waste our time in church if our worship does not lead us to acting for justice and for peace (Is. 58:2-11; Amos 5:21f) in the world. In a time when churches around the nation wrestle with mission and direction, these words need to be heard. In a day when the church is an object of ridicule because of it's hypocrisy, these words need to be lived. And in a day when oppression and violence are "standard operating procedure," our God calls us as never before to take a stand, to speak and act, not for the justice of the King, but for God's justice, in our communities, in our nation and in our world. PSALM 29 1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; worship the LORD in holy splendor. 3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, "Glory!" 10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace! Psalms 29:1-11 (NRSV) Anyone who has ever worked with other people knows that it's important to give credit where it's due. If a co-worker does a good job on a project, he or she should be acknowledged for a job well done. If a supervisor or boss has people working for him or her, it's common knowledge that praise given for work done is not only a good idea, it makes good business sense. Yes. It's a pretty simple formula, and most people live by it in one form or another. The child gets a good grade in school, the parents offer praise. The friend does a favor, she gets the voice of thanks. And if someone "goes the extra mile (Matthew 5:41)," we turn up the volume of praise. This psalm comes with the volume on high! Giving God the praise, the credit and the glory flow from these words with breathtaking clarity. The greatness and wonder of God is harvested in words that span a dizzying spectrum From the giddiness of young calf to gale force winds that lay whole forests to waste, God's power is present, and in charge. From the mystic beauty of ocean's depth to the visceral boom of thunder storms close at hand, God sits, as the psalmist notes, "on the throne." Indeed, it's a good thing to give credit where it's due. Not only is it the right and honest thing to do, it's also a source of relief. That's right. God's in charge, not me. Alleluia! If I'm not in charge, then I don't need to be in control. And if I don't need to be in control, then I can release my spirit and my heart for obedience, not to my desires, but to God's! For these reasons, praying this psalm is a powerful way to center the spirit and orient the heart. Placing God at the center, giving God the glory and the credit, and then removing ourselves from the drive to control are key components on the path to faithfulness. And, like our conversion to faith, which ever unfolds in prayer and faithfulness, this is not a prayer said only once. This is a prayer repeated often as we learn ever and always to give ourselves to God's sovereignty in our lives. So it is that we "ascribe" to God the glory and the splendor. So it is that we give ourselves to God in worship, not merely on Sunday mornings, but in each moment of our lives. PSALM 40:1-11 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. 4 Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. 5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted. 6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7 Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." 9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. 11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever. Psalms 40:1-11 (NRSV) There is an unwritten law in lines at the local super market. The law states that if you change lines you will wait longer. No matter how carefully you check it out to see which line is shorter or how many things your neighbor has in their shopping cart, if you break ranks, if you step out of the line you're in and move to another line. It is decreed from somewhere that you will have a longer wait than if you had stayed in the line you first chose. It's about patience. And it's no secret to anyone reading this that patience is in short supply in contemporary culture. Think about it. Wait just one second after the stop light changes and someone behind you honks the horn. Walk down most any urban sidewalk and smell the rush and crush of getting wherever it is that has to be gotten in less time than is humanly reasonable. Hurry hurry, push push, and God help anyone who makes us wait. Patience is indeed in short supply in our daily lives. And yet, patience is one of the magic elixirs that propels life forward with greater ease and joy. It is the patient person who usually succeeds with troublesome children. It is the patient person who wins the confidence of others who are caught up in the stress of the moment. It is the patient person who awaits the right opportunities for a host of things in this life. Whether it's the right job or the right relationship, patience is a universal assistant. The benefits of patience are no less present in our fumbling attempts to reach for the Holy. The spiritually impatient - a description which fits many - fire off a quick prayer and wonder why God hasn't answered. The too often operative expectation is that God will morph God's self to meet our expectations. How does that old Janis Joplin song go? "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz.." If the new car doesn't come, and quick, faith is shaken. But "waiting patiently for the Lord" offers a thousand different benefits. Primary among them is that waiting usually requires quietude. We may not like it much, but there you are, waiting. And quietude makes it possible to hear things not usually audible in the daily rush of doing what we think is important. What is it that patience brings? What comes when patience attends prayer? Perhaps it is patience that will provide; patience that will give space for God to "incline God's ear." PSALM 27:1, 4-9 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. 6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! 8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! Psalms 27:1, 4-9 (NRSV) German play-write Bertolt Brecht writes, in one of his immortal tunes that "magic fear puts the world at your command." Writing, as he did, in Germany during and after World War II, Brecht knew something of fear. He knew also how fear was used to manipulate people into doing things that they would normally consider doing at all. The Nazis made effective use of propaganda to make people afraid of the Jews, and were thus able to gain their permission - and at times full cooperation - in the extermination of more than eight million human beings. Fear is a powerful tool indeed. Advertisers use it to get people to buy things. Governments use it to control populations, and yes, even religion has used it. But the truth is that as a people of faith we are called out of fear and into faith. As this psalm opens it makes clear to us that the antidote to fear is not armaments, protection, or aggression, but faith. "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" For most people, a life free of fear is difficult to imagine. If you are a parent, there are a host of fears centered around raising children. Will they get hurt? Taken advantage of? Will they succeed? Will they be happy? Most parents pour their lives into their children out of love, it's true. Yet it is also true that this love is mixed with fear. Fear stalks us as we walk the streets, navigate through our careers or even as we watch the evening news. Yet here, in these powerful ancient words, liberation from the paralysis of fear is offered. Faith, which in most New Testament translations actually is rendered more accurately as "trust" is the thing that can conquer our fear. A wise preacher once said that "Jesus conquered fear before he conquered death." It's not that Jesus, fully human, was unafraid, it was that he chose trust over fear. This same option is open to people of faith today. As individuals, we can choose to trust in God and God's way of love rather than give in to the vagaries of fear. In our relationships, too, faith in God can conquer our fear and drive us deeper into love and new beginnings. The same call to trust and faith follows us into life in Christian community, and even into our lives as citizens. "If the Lord is the stronghold" of life, what can possibly make us afraid? If the Lord is our light, we will see - not fear - but hope, love, courage. PSALM 2 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us." 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 "I have set my king on Zion , my holy hill." 7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling 12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him. Psalms 2:1-12 (NRSV) There is an old preacher's joke that asks the question, "How do you make God laugh?" The answer that follows quickly is short and to the point. "Make plans." Anyone who has had their carefully laid plans foiled by fate can attest to the truth contained in this joke. From vacations to careers to families, relationships and beyond, the words of old rock and roller John Lennon bear the reality that life is something that happens while you're busy making plans. The message is clear. Our plans and strategies amount to little in the wake of life's exigencies. That this is true on an individual level seems clear enough, but it is to those who plan and "conspire" in the seats of power that this psalm addresses itself. From the days of King David right on through to the moment of this writing, it has ever been the same with Kings and Presidents, Dictators and Leaders. Those who find themselves in power inevitably find themselves wound up in plots and conspiracies that aim at confounding the purposes of God. Those in power plot and conspire to oppress workers and those who live on the land. It has been thus for millennia. Perhaps 1st Samuel puts it best as the people of Israel clamor for a king and God explains the ways of the King. "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day (1 Sam 8:11-18 NRSV)." Though we passed the one tenth mark long ago in terms of what today's Kings take, the essence and truth ring with clarity down the centuries. But still, from the White House to the Kremlin; from Paris to Managua and back they continue to plot and conspire. And God? God continues to laugh. PSALM 51:1-17 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalms 51:1-17 (NRSV) It may not seem like a big deal, but has anyone noticed that confession has fallen out of favor in a lot of churches these days? From coast to coast, confessional prayer has slipped quietly from worship services across the land. The reasons proffered for this are that clergy don't want to make people feel guilty. "We don't," as one pastor put it, "do guilt." Certainly, guilt used as a manipulative tool to keep the pew sitters in line is not a good thing. But guilt in and of itself is not a bad thing at all. Like fear, guilt is a primal human emotion. Fear is a good thing when it causes the Neanderthal to flee from the Saber Tooth Tiger. Guilt, too, can be a good thing. It can inform the guilty one that a given course of action isn't a good thing. Guilt can cause us to stop what we're doing and think things over. Maybe that twinge you feel as you steal just a few dollars form the petty cash jar at work is trying to tell you something? Yet in our "I'm OK you're OK" world we seldom want to deal, not only with guilt, but with the basic human propensity to sin. Church circles are abuzz with the notion that we are all good, which is nice and keeps things on the pleasant side during coffee hour. But it is not accurate. A simple look at the newspaper will reveal our brokenness and our sinful leanings as a people. It is not popular these days, but it is true. This psalm is a stunning exercise, not only in dealing with guilt, but in calling all the faithful to new levels of self-awareness and honesty. "I know my transgression. My sin is ever before me.." This is confession. And it is, in spite of the power of cliché, good for the soul. These words go to the heart of our need to come clean before God and one another. At the end of the day we are not, in fact, all OK. Collectively, we lie, cheat, steal, betray, oppress and murder. And that, as the man says, is on a good day! The Church needs confession. It's people need confession. The Church needs to foster honesty and openness about the times when we go astray so that we can avail ourselves of God's forgiveness and grace. And perhaps this psalm is a good place to begin. PSALM 32 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. 11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart. Psalms 32:1-11 (NRSV) Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. In the smog of anger and hurt that descends on the aftermath of human folly, forgiveness offers a new possibility. When people are locked in the circular frenzy of anger and hurt, forgiveness shatters the cycle. It is an almost comic understatement to suggest that those whose "transgressions" are forgiven are "happy!" Happy? Try ecstatic. Forgiveness, it turns out, is tied closely to the notion of resurrection. After all, is it not forgiveness of sins that comes on the heels of an empty tomb? Is it not forgiveness that accompanied the Thief to paradise? Is not forgiveness that gift that is shared in the Eucharist? To be forgiven is truly a holy experience. To forgive is to be in partnership with God. Forgiveness is not just a mere dismissal of charges brought. Forgiveness involves an acknowledgement that wrong has been done. It doesn't gloss over or dismiss. Forgiveness is stark and clear about the reality that there is something that needs to be forgiven. You hurt my child? I have a basic right to strike back. You violate me? There is a visceral voice that justifies the call to even the score. Yet incredibly, forgiveness forfeits these legitimate claims to revenge. Forgiveness washes away the past and presents a clean slate; a new opportunity, a new beginning. Yes. Forgiveness is beautiful thing. Happy indeed are those whose transgressions are forgiven. But forgiveness isn't just a one time thing. The act of forgiveness is not an end in itself. It doesn't merely stop there. Forgiveness begs a response. It yearns for a flow and rhythm of grace that rushes from one forgiven person to another who needs what has just been received. Forgiveness forges pathways of new life and new beginnings. Forgiveness is a journey whose first steps are scary, tentative steps into the unknown. But once on the path, forgiveness strides forth with eyes open to the brokenness of the world. This psalm is a shining link to the work of salvation in Christ Jesus, calling us to not only receive the gift of God's grace and forgiveness, but to turn and offer that same gift to others. It is this kind of offering that will make possible the building of what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as the "Beloved Community." PSALM 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Psalms 121:1-8 (NRSV) There is perhaps no better feeling than knowing that someone "has your back." Having someone's back is a term that arose from urban street fighting where a partner or ally would stay with you and protect your back in the thick of the fray. When someone has your back you don't worry about being hit from behind. When someone has your back you can concentrate on the struggle in front of you without worrying about dangers you cannot see. When someone has your back you feel protected, secure, safe. In God, the psalmist finds the King of all street fighters to have his back. His help doesn't merely come from a trusted compadre, it comes from the Creator of the Universe! "My help (emphasis on the word, my) comes from the Lord!" The wonderful implication here is that the adversary can bring on all comers. God's on the scene. God's in charge now. No matter what comes, it can be handled. The trick in all this, though, is trust. Whether it's a buddy form the "hood," or the Lord God, letting someone come to your defense means you have to trust the source of the help. Think about it. Not trusting someone who has your back is pretty much the same as having two adversaries. So it is that these words come with a simple surety. Trust runs through the psalm like a drum keeping silent time. No doubt here. No wavering or wondering in this proclamation. God won't allow my foot to be moved even an inch. God doesn't slumber or sleep. God is on the job. It would be an easy thing here to go the smoke and magic mirrors route, assuming that trusting in God is equivalent to some kind of insurance policy. It's the old quid pro quo. If I believe in God then thus and such will or won't take place. Not so. Life, death and life continue to flow forward bringing the things that life brings. Earthquakes, fires, wars and disease will not take a holiday because of trust in God. What will evaporate, however, is the fear with which we confront life's challenges. What will come is a confidence and sense of power that emanates from the sure feeling that God's got your back. In truth, can it get any better than that? PSALM 95 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! 8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways." 11 Therefore in my anger I swore, "They shall not enter my rest." Psalms 95:1-11 (NRSV) In democratic culture individualism reigns supreme. Each man and woman is trumpeted as master of his or her destiny, and is free to pursue happiness as they deem fit. It is this kind of cultural assumption that lies behind the question that gets asked every six year old. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The answers that come are delightful, of course. Beaming parents field answers like, "ballerina, fire fighter, police officer, and a hundred other options. But the operative assumption in this ritual is that each of these six year old kids has a better than even chance of becoming anything they desire. Before the fall of the Soviet Union and the demise of its client states a group of kids in an elementary school in Dresden Germany were asked the same question. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Instead of a response there was a stony, mystified silence in the room. "What do I want to be? What's that got to do with anything?" As it turned out, such a question focusing on the fulfillment of indivudal desires or wants was so alien that it never even occurred to these children. The question these kids got asked was not what they wanted, but instead what did their nation need? To devote one's life energy to pursuing a personal goal was thought in this culture to be selfish, even destructive. These two poles of individual and communal orientation lead directly to the reading of this wonderful psalm. Here is a full blown explosion of praise to the Creator God! All stops are pulled out in favor of a glorious, passionate expression of praise. It doesn't even matter if the choir is on key. Just make a joyful noise! Give glory and honor to God! Enter God's presence with thanksgiving! In short, the psalm is a powerful utterance that speaks the location of allegiance. Here there are no individual desires staked out with prayer requests. Neither are there calls to communal commitment, wondering what the collective needs most. No. Instead the writer simply lays out an ultimate commitment to God. So it is that a person of faith, whether growing up in Middle Class USA or the Worker's Paradise of the German Democratic Republic would not be concerned with either individual or collective needs. Instead, the person of faith who shouts out God's praise and dances with a passion for the Lord, asks quite another question altogether. Indeed it is formed more like a prayer than a question. It's not what I want God, nor is it what the State expects. But in all things, Lord, let me be led by you. AMEN.