I will use this Psalm to illumine the Acts 8 reading about the
Ethiopian eunuch. The Ethiopian eunuch is part of "all the
families of the nations" that "shall worship..."
HWS in VA
I find it interesting that the lectionary only uses the end of
this Psalm when the beginning is the most familiar. The power of
the Psalm is that the author is in such anguish at the beginning
and yet ends the Psalm in praise with confidence that God has not
abandoned him. I don't think the end will preach without the
beginning. No wonder Jesus quoted this Psalm on the cross. It is
all about the confidence of God's mercy in the midst of our
darkest times.
This praise is borrowed on credit.
The change in verb tense is important. The first part of the
psalm, which speaks of suffering and being forsaken, is in the
present tense. This week's reading, the part about satisfaction
and praise, is in the future tense.
Sometimes we don't feel like praising God. though life stinks now,
we know that one day things will get better and we can lift our
heads and praise God within the congregation.
So, though we don't have the emotional reserves at present to give
praise, we go ahead and do it now, knowing that one day we will
feel like praising God.
DSS
