Psalms 105, 106 and 107: The History Psalms
Psalms 105 and 106 are a twin set, one sweet, the other bitter. Both are liturgies for worship, calling the people of God to remember who they are and where they came from. Both tell the same Exodus story and both honour the Lord God for his ongoing decisive acts in this history, but they have different points of view. 105 is a song of harmony between God and the people (“They asked and he gave them food”, 105:40), while 106 tells of conflict (“They had a wanton craving in the wilderness and put God to the test”, 106:14).
Psalm 107 is a more general, reminding people of how God has acted in their community life in various ways.
The fascinating thing about these psalms is the way in which the history continues to shape the identity of the people, through its retelling in worship. Brueggemann describes this as “a powerfully present past”, which must be retold in every generation to link people across time and space to the God who is at the centre. It is a history of relationship, at heart a covenant between a people and their God, each active participants in an ongoing open-ended interaction. “Each party is shaped by and destined for the other”.
What is amazing about this God, in these histories, is that he continually intervenes to surprise his people. Psalms 105, 106 and 107 are songs of wonder, stories of a God who acts: “Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.” (105:2). Martin Buber describes this as “an abiding astonishment”; as the people remember key events in their shared past they name these as miracles and they name God as the cause. This doesn’t mean the events are necessarily supernatural, they could have logical, ‘natural’ explanations, but what matters is that at our time of need God provided; into our crisis God acted to save. Retelling the story keeps alive our sense of astonishment and grounds our present experience in the old old story.
(Walter Brueggemann, Abiding Astonishment: Psalms, modernity and the making of history, 1991, John Knox Press)/
What are the stories in your family that tell of relationship …
promises kept or broken …
surprises …
rescue …
blessing?
Where do you spot the action of God in your family life?
Tell these stories to your children.
Psalms 105 and 106 are a twin set, one sweet, the other bitter. Both are liturgies for worship, calling the people of God to remember who they are and where they came from. Both tell the same Exodus story and both honour the Lord God for his ongoing decisive acts in this history, but they have different points of view. 105 is a song of harmony between God and the people (“They asked and he gave them food”, 105:40), while 106 tells of conflict (“They had a wanton craving in the wilderness and put God to the test”, 106:14).
Psalm 107 is a more general, reminding people of how God has acted in their community life in various ways.
The fascinating thing about these psalms is the way in which the history continues to shape the identity of the people, through its retelling in worship. Brueggemann describes this as “a powerfully present past”, which must be retold in every generation to link people across time and space to the God who is at the centre. It is a history of relationship, at heart a covenant between a people and their God, each active participants in an ongoing open-ended interaction. “Each party is shaped by and destined for the other”.
What is amazing about this God, in these histories, is that he continually intervenes to surprise his people. Psalms 105, 106 and 107 are songs of wonder, stories of a God who acts: “Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.” (105:2). Martin Buber describes this as “an abiding astonishment”; as the people remember key events in their shared past they name these as miracles and they name God as the cause. This doesn’t mean the events are necessarily supernatural, they could have logical, ‘natural’ explanations, but what matters is that at our time of need God provided; into our crisis God acted to save. Retelling the story keeps alive our sense of astonishment and grounds our present experience in the old old story.
(Walter Brueggemann, Abiding Astonishment: Psalms, modernity and the making of history, 1991, John Knox Press)/
What are the stories in your family that tell of relationship …
promises kept or broken …
surprises …
rescue …
blessing?
Where do you spot the action of God in your family life?
Tell these stories to your children.
Note on the photo:
Layers in the cliff face, Long Bay, Auckland
Layers in the cliff face, Long Bay, Auckland