{"id":239,"date":"2010-08-24T14:59:06","date_gmt":"2010-08-24T19:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/?p=239"},"modified":"2010-08-24T14:59:06","modified_gmt":"2010-08-24T19:59:06","slug":"the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been awhile since the last post.\u00a0 Things have been busy here, with all sorts of pre-semester work, including a great trip by our faculty to DFW to meet with ministry leaders there, and as recently as yesterday, the inauguration of our 11th president.\u00a0 Classes have started, including a group of 3 students and me reading Isaiah in Hebrew.\u00a0 Wonderful stuff!\u00a0 Thanks for your patience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Psalms 3-14 include a series of songs that an ancient scholar, maybe in the 2nd or 3rd century BC, connected to David.\u00a0 The connection allows these texts to become words of a pious Jewish person, and thus of any faithful believer.\u00a0 Today I want to offer a brief reflection on Psalms 4-7, which belong together in some ways.\u00a0 They all ask God for help, and they explore Israel’s deep longing to be in God’s presence, where peace and justice flourish.\u00a0 They also acknowledge that for several reasons, humans often do not live there.\u00a0 Faith is not about either escaping the messiness of life or pretending that the ugliness is unreal.\u00a0 It is about longing for the end of evil and committing ourselves to the vision of that end.\u00a0 To be a person of faith is to live between the times, to be people welcoming another world….<\/p>\n

I asked my fifteen-year-old daughter to read Psalms 4-7 with me the other day.\u00a0 “What stood out to you?” I asked.\u00a0 “Well, it seems like there’s a contradiction.\u00a0 Sometimes he [the Psalmist] seems to say ‘God punish the sinners,’ but sometimes the prayer is ‘God, please overlook the fact that I’m a sinner.\u00a0 So which is it?”\u00a0 Very\u00a0 good question, which is why it’s always a hazard to ask teenagers to read the Bible!<\/p>\n

But of course the collectors of the Psalter were well aware of the tension, and they left it here on purpose.\u00a0 On the one hand, we experience the subtle mixture of fear and expectancy of the Psalm 4: “Answer me when I cry out, o my righteous God…. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”\u00a0 God seems distant because of the various adversaries and adversities we face, and we hear the prophetic call to “sacrifice just sacrifices and trust in Yahweh.”<\/p>\n

On the other hand, we also experience the sharp contrast stated in Psalm 5: “You should cause the speakers of lies to perish, the violent and quarrelsome person who offends the Lord.\u00a0 But as for me, because of your abundant mercy, I go to your house.\u00a0 I bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.”\u00a0 Life is a social affair, and it requires commitments.\u00a0 Some people defy God by running over other people.\u00a0 Some people recognize their dependence on God and therefore live humbly and justly with others.\u00a0 It is not always easy to know who is who, or which one we are.\u00a0 We have to pay close attention.\u00a0 Sometimes we pretend to be one while really being the other, and even our pious language can betray us.\u00a0 Thus I think that the Psalmist is not one of those arrogant believers who self-righteously brands “those people” as the problem.\u00a0 He or she recognizes that we are all the problem.\u00a0 The statements paraphrasable as “I worship you” is not a boast but a commitment, and an expression of a desire for a certain kind of relationship and thus a certain kind of society.<\/p>\n

Next time, I’ll slow back down and work awhile on Psalm 8.\u00a0 But I wanted to say a few words about Psalms that deserve to be reclaimed.\u00a0 Stay tuned for more!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been awhile since the last post.\u00a0 Things have been busy here, with all sorts of pre-semester work, including a great trip by our faculty to DFW to meet with ministry leaders there, and as recently as yesterday, the inauguration of our 11th president.\u00a0 Classes have started, including a group of 3 students and me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3538,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Psalms in our Worship (part 4) - ACU Graduate School of Theology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4) - ACU Graduate School of Theology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s been awhile since the last post.\u00a0 Things have been busy here, with all sorts of pre-semester work, including a great trip by our faculty to DFW to meet with ministry leaders there, and as recently as yesterday, the inauguration of our 11th president.\u00a0 Classes have started, including a group of 3 students and me […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ACU Graduate School of Theology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-08-24T19:59:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Hamilton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Hamilton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Hamilton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/person\/d2dc7d7077423050634fd2d6052bdb6b\"},\"headline\":\"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4)\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-24T19:59:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\"},\"wordCount\":601,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\",\"name\":\"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4) - ACU Graduate School of Theology\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-24T19:59:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/\",\"name\":\"ACU Graduate School of Theology\",\"description\":\"Join us as we grow in knowledge and understanding, in greater service of the church.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ACU Graduate School of Theology\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/files\/2017\/12\/GST-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/files\/2017\/12\/GST-Logo.png\",\"width\":1422,\"height\":703,\"caption\":\"ACU Graduate School of Theology\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/person\/d2dc7d7077423050634fd2d6052bdb6b\",\"name\":\"Mark Hamilton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fec853793053602bdf74f0b33d23997825add7742a7f1a8c3dd3a316a5d1d76c?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fec853793053602bdf74f0b33d23997825add7742a7f1a8c3dd3a316a5d1d76c?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Hamilton\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/author\/mwh00c\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4) - ACU Graduate School of Theology","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4) - ACU Graduate School of Theology","og_description":"It’s been awhile since the last post.\u00a0 Things have been busy here, with all sorts of pre-semester work, including a great trip by our faculty to DFW to meet with ministry leaders there, and as recently as yesterday, the inauguration of our 11th president.\u00a0 Classes have started, including a group of 3 students and me […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/","og_site_name":"ACU Graduate School of Theology","article_published_time":"2010-08-24T19:59:06+00:00","author":"Mark Hamilton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Hamilton","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Hamilton","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/person\/d2dc7d7077423050634fd2d6052bdb6b"},"headline":"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4)","datePublished":"2010-08-24T19:59:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/"},"wordCount":601,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/","name":"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4) - ACU Graduate School of Theology","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-08-24T19:59:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/the-psalms-in-our-worship-part-4\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Psalms in our Worship (part 4)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/","name":"ACU Graduate School of Theology","description":"Join us as we grow in knowledge and understanding, in greater service of the church.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#organization","name":"ACU Graduate School of Theology","url":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/files\/2017\/12\/GST-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/files\/2017\/12\/GST-Logo.png","width":1422,"height":703,"caption":"ACU Graduate School of Theology"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/person\/d2dc7d7077423050634fd2d6052bdb6b","name":"Mark Hamilton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fec853793053602bdf74f0b33d23997825add7742a7f1a8c3dd3a316a5d1d76c?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fec853793053602bdf74f0b33d23997825add7742a7f1a8c3dd3a316a5d1d76c?s=96&r=g","caption":"Mark Hamilton"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/author\/mwh00c\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3538"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/acugst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}