Read Psalms 94-96
I think the Psalmist woke up on
the wrong side of the bed when they wrote Psalm 94. I think the Psalmist woke up with a bad case
of the “Grumpy Dwarfs”. And it is so
easy for me to think, “Lighten up a bit,” without a hint of irony that I can
sound just as defeated and deflated and defiant as the Psalmist, especially
after I check my newsfeed on my phone. I
can get frustrated and flummoxed by the state of the world today. I can feel outrage simmer in my soul, ready
to boil over the moment I hear one more piece of bad news from gun violence to
war to a multitude of humanitarian crises to cutting funding to the least and
lost to how we treat people who immigrate to this country. To be sure, anger can be healthy. Anger points out where our values have been
violated. I get upset, smoke fumes from
my ears, when I see the beloved of God dehumanized and used as political pawns
for power and control. I get upset when
our leaders act like money is the only thing that matters. I get upset when the word “Christian” is
attached to folks who I don’t understand how we are reading the same
gospels. Given this, I relate to and
resonate with Psalm 94, where I just didn’t know you could say the quiet part
out loud—where God might hear you. To be
sure, I think the Psalms of lament offer us a chance to process our pain so we
don’t pass it along. But, I also know
that sometimes I can get stuck, stymied in cycles of cynicism and criticism,
where nothing seems good enough.
Then, just when things seem hopeless, helpless, and going to hell in a
handbasket, you turn the page to Psalm 95, and it is emotional whiplash. Suddenly, the Psalmist belts out, “Come, let
us praise God!” Wait, what? Weren’t we just listing all the ways the
world has gone off the rails, now we are supposed to make a joyful noise? And Psalm 96 continues this theme of singing
with Julie Andrews that, “the hills are alive with the sound of music.” As you read, Psalm 96, there is a gem of a
verse, “For all the gods of the peoples are idols.” This might be a reference to the time in
Exodus where the people made a golden calf because Moses was on an extended
vacation upon the mountain chit-chatting with God (who approved Moses to have that
much time off??). I don’t have to know
if this actually happened, but I know it is true because we still make gods
today. We pour our attention and
affection toward influencers, politicians, and athletes because part of us wants
to be like that. At the same time, I
know that I will never dunk a basketball or throw a football or hit a ball in
any way that anyone would want to pay me for ~ unless it was never to
watch me do that again. The
Psalms are complex and contradictory because life is like that. We can wake up with a case of the “Grumpy
Dwarfs,” wear a sneer on our face as if to dare anyone to make us smile, only
to have a friend call us and start telling us a joke that breaks through our
blahs, turning our souls to dancing.
Life can move from Psalm 94 to 95 in the blink of an eye ~ and back
again, too.
As you ponder these three Psalms
today ~ where is your soul?
Which lines from 94, 95, or 96 did your shy soul shout, “Amen! Preach!”
as you read the words? Which lines did
you cringe and wonder, “Why am I reading the Psalms again?” As I am reading I think, “Haven’t we reached
fifty lament Psalms yet, because it feels like more right now!? Hold the real, raw, heartfelt, earnest
honesty in these Psalms, letting them meet you in the emotions that stir and
swirl within you in these days. Amen.
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