Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35...7th S of Easter (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1] Psalms
are poetry for singing;
intensely
personal. They depend not on rhyme, but repeating an idea in
a different way, developing it, contrasting, etc..A colon
marks the change. PSs date from pre-1000 BC (David)
to the mid 400s
BC. Being of their own
day we may find views
expressed in some PSs abhorrent. 2]
Try to read, pray, use the Psalms in 1st & 2nd
person language (I & You). 3] The
APB text differs from the text of Bible versions.
WARMING UP: Do we categorise people into friends, others, &
enemies?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1-3 How
does the warlike God pictured here stand up beside the God revealed in
Jesus? Are we always careful to distinguish between what God is really like & what
others, past or present, say
God is like? On what grounds do we make that distinction? Do we blur
the line between the righteous & 'the wicked' too much these days?
If we do, does that turn Jesus into 'Gentle Jesus meek & mild',
itself another failure to distinguish what God is really like? How
often would words like 'be glad, exult, rejoice..' reflect our own
response to God?
4-6 How
do common 'pictures' of God today compare with the strong God pictured
here? Does a weak church project a weak God? Why should we 'sing
praises to God', 'glorify Him, 'exult before Him'? Isn't all that kind
of behaviour a bit over the top the way we think of God today? Does God
care for the fatherless, the widow, & anyone else in need, other
than through us? Will God care for those in need if we don't? Or
despite the fact that we don't? In which case, how? How difficult do we
find it to cope with 'rebels' of any kind? Can we expect God to cope
with them if we can't / won't? What exactly are our expectations of God's
involvement with human beings, in need or not, today? What might
'barren' mean today with regard to those who are not obviously 'on
God's side'? Do we have experience of what the PSt might consider
'barrenness'?
7-10 Are we
used to describing God as vigorously as the PSt does here?
Do we find God viewed as the PSt views Him attractive or not? As most of
us probably live in urban situations rather than rural ones today, how
well does the PSt's imagery of God transfer from one to the other? Does
Christianity lend itself to 'settled' people less than people used to
being on the move in one way or another?
32-35
How much should we expect 'kingdoms of this earth' to 'sing to
God'? Can they do this other than as their citizens choose to do it
individually? Is there any such thing, has there ever been such a thing
as a genuinely 'Christian kingdom'? Do some of us still harbour a dream
of 'Christendom'? Would it really work? Under what circumstances? If
God will not impose His rule
on earth, does that mean God's reign is really only for 'in the heavens
/ in the clouds'? Of the words used to describe God here (e.g. mighty,
majesty, terrible...) to which ones do we respond a) positively? b)
negatively?
