by
Barb Shackelford
We have a ‘New Song!”
This joyous proclamation is the beginning of the Horizon’s study of Psalms.
_Praise the Lord, all you nations;_
_Extol him, all you peoples._
_For great is his love toward us,_
_And the faithfulness of the Lord forever. (Ps. 117 NIV)_
*A. Jew & Gentile, Partners in Faith*
All the nations are to extol the Lord. Psalm 117 lets loose an invitation
which sees its fulfillment in Christ. ‘Jew and Gentile are the same in this
respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all
who ask for them. For Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.’That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, How beautiful are the
feet of those who bring good news!”’ (Rom. 10:12-15) This ‘good news” is
our ‘new song.” The providence of God does indeed reach to all creatures
and his salvation is available to all who ‘call on the name of the Lord.”
This is a new song even the angels cannot sing. (I Peter 1:10)
*B. Through Christ the ‘New Song” revealed*
Christ provides the window through which those of the New Covenant look back
to the Psalms. Christ is the interpretive key. The church was built on the
understanding that Christ is the fulfillment of the law and prophets. (Matt.
5:17) Matthew wrote his gospel to Jews to reveal that Christ as the
fulfillment of centuries of prophecy, the promised Messiah. Philip walked
beside the Ethiopian eunuch and opened up the meaning of Isaiah 53:7-8 with
the suffering Christ. (Acts 8:35) These early Christians were not just
overlaying their revisionist ideology on the mainline religion. It was the
Stranger Himself on the road to Emmaus who caused the hearts of Cleopas and
his friend to burn within them. ‘Then Jesus quoted passages from the
writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures
said about himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)
Do not hesitate to bring New Covenant revelation to the ‘old songs.” See
Christ in Psalm 117, the incarnation of God’s Truth and Love. See Christ in
33:6, ‘By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,” this mystery
revealed in Col. 1:17 and John 1:1. See Christ in 96:13, the righteous and
faithful judge. See Christ in 98:1, the victorious Lord who has done
‘marvelous things” and now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
(Heb 1:3) See Christ in all these ‘old songs” for Christ gives history its
meaning and direction!
*C. The Word cannot be divorced from the words*
This year’s study of Psalms uses an ‘inclusive language” translation rather
than a translation that renders, as closely as possible, the intent of the
original transcripts. God is spirit. (John 4:24) He transcends gender. (Job
37:23, Is. 55:8) Yet scripture employs anthropomorphic language so that our
finite capabilities may begin to apprehend an infinite God. God has chosen
the language of scripture.
“The word of God cannot be divorced from the language and imagery of the
Scriptures. By the direction of the Spirit, God chooses the names and
metaphors by which he will be known and addressed. They are authoritatively
communicated in the Bible and enjoy a normative, paradigmatic status in the
life of the Church. baptized into Christ, they are made a constituent part
of the divine revelation. Through them we are granted to apprehend the
Triune Deity.”
*Psalm 33*
The opening verses of this psalm call us to use song and music, skillfully
played, to praise and thank the Lord for his providence. The celebration of
creation in verses 6-7 remind us of Christ in Col. 1:17, ‘Everything has
been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else
began, and he holds all creation together.” And also John 1:1-3, ‘In the
beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was
in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists
that he didn’t make.” Christ is the ultimate interpretation of all
scripture, including this Psalm. Jesus is ‘the Word of the Lord” by which
the heavens were made. All ‘the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of
Him.” We learn in Philippians ‘that at the name of Jesus every knee will
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil
2:9-11) Finally, in the closing verse, the ‘hope for His lovingkindness,”
is found again in Christ. As Paul explains in Ephesians, our hope is Christ.
‘You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you belong to
Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been
brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.” (Eph. 2:12b-13)
*Psalm 96*
This psalm and the following two are the basis of Sarah G. Stock’s hymn,
‘Jesus Christ is King.” A presumptuous title in our society of many faiths.
But so was the psalmist’s world– the God of the Hebrews pitted against the
pantheons of Canaan, Egypt and Mesopotamia, and today, against New Age and
other diverse philosophies of our culture. Regardless of these
circumstances, the world’s past, present and future is in the hand of the
one true sovereign God.
Psalms 96 & 98 proclaim the first & second advents of Christ. Christ’s first
advent was not ‘to judge the world but that the world should be saved
through him.”(John 3:17) This, however, is not a universal guarantee of
unconditional grace. It is refused to those who have ‘not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) In the Horizon lesson’s
narrative of judgment there is no retribution, no punishment, no eternal
death, in fact, judgment has no sting. As stated in the lesson, judgment
means ‘the establishment of a new power structure marked by reliability and
what is right, unlike the arbitrary, capricious, and exploitative social
order we often see in our world.”(pg. 6) But scripture goes well beyond a
description of social structures to tell us that the second advent will be
one in which Christ arrives not on a donkey but on a white horse to execute
justice and righteousness against those who have rejected his grace. (Heb.
10:29) Psalm 96 is a proclamation of this judgment amplified in Revelation
19.
Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the
one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges
fairly and then goes to war. His eyes were bright like flames of fire,
and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him, and only he
knew what it meant. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his
title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in pure white
linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword,
and with it he struck down the nations. He ruled them with an iron rod,
and he trod the winepress of the fierce wrath of Almighty God. On his
robe and thigh was written this title: King of kings and Lord of lords.
(Rev. 19:11-16)
C.S. Lewis sheds light on the psalmist’s mind in writing of judgment. Both
OT & NT perspectives view judgment in the sense of a courtroom where God is
the righteous judge. The difference comes in the writer’s position in the
courtroom. The writer of Psalm 96 sees themself as the plaintiff who is
vindicated. The NT perspective is almost exclusively that of the accused.
Paul even uses the language of a defendant when he employs words such as
‘made right,” ‘saved,” ‘declares us not guilty,” ‘take the punishment.”
But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his
sightnot by obeying the law but by the way promised in the
Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust
in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in
this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all
have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God
in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this
through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For
God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy
God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe
that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was
being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned
in former times. And he is entirely fair and just in this present
time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they
believe in Jesus. (Rom 3:21-26)
Though the NT believer’s perspective has moved from the plaintiff’s table to
the stand of the accused, there is no fear. ‘So now there is no condemnation
for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1) We meet the judgment with
the same anticipation we hear in the voice the OT psalmist who welcomed the
coming of the One who would rectify all wrongs, who will ‘judge the peoples
with equity.” Ps 96:10 (NAS)
*Psalm 98*
This psalm, a twin of Ps. 96, celebrates the kingship and victory of
Israel’s God. Past, present and future are telescoped together in a grand
hymn of faith. However, the Horizon lesson does not interpret this Psalm in
terms of God’s omniscient telescopic vision. Instead, the perspective is
that of the Psalm writer who looks back in time and surmises that the
‘marvelous things” referred to in this Psalm are likely ‘the saving events
of Israel’s history, including the Exodus from slavery in Egypt to the
Promised Land.” This may be what the writer had in mind. What did the
Author intend? (‘No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men
moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Pet. 1:21) Prophecy exceeds the
human perspective of the OT writers.
The saving events of Israel’s history have a deeper meaning for us who see
from the vantage point of the New Covenant. (I Cor. 10:11) The ‘marvelous
things” here proclaimed must be ultimately the work of Christ to redeem his
chosen people. Who else could be the object of Ps. 98:6b, ‘Shout joyfully
before the King, the Lord,” save our Lord of lords and King of kings, the
only begotten Son of the Father?
*Conclusion*
It is no stretch to interpret #98 or any of these Psalms in the light of
their fulfillment in Jesus. In fact, to interpret scripture without the
centrality of Christ produces an anemic message. Remember, Isaiah 53
remained a mystery to the Ethiopian until its meaning was revealed in
Christ. Such revelation led to saving faith. (Acts 8:36-38) Any well
researched sermon, proficiently delivered and historically enlightened will
fail to transform lives without the power of the message of Christ. This was
the Apostle Paul’s passion, to preach Christ and Christ crucified, the power
of salvation. (1 Cor 1:23-24) Christ is our ‘New Song!” All others pale.
‘God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He
has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a
Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him
from the dead.”!!! (Acts 17:31)
Oh, sing it again
Tell it on the mountain
Scale the snowy summits with a new story
Raise up antenna towers on the crags and pinnacles
for us in the land of walk and don’t walk
so skipping children will know
that when God delivered His people
the mountains skipped
so youth clapping the beat will know
that when God keeps his promise in that day
the mountains will break into singing
and the trees of the field will clap.
Tell the poor and heartsick and insecure
That the Virgin Mary had a baby boy
That to us is born a Savior
Christ the Lord
And he shall redeem the whole creation
In that day when every knee shall bow
And mountains and all hills
Shall praise him.
Hallelujah!
_excerpt from a poem by Sherwood E. Wirt published in Decision, Dec. 1972_.
*DEFINITIONS AND QUESTIONS*
*I. Definition Review*
_Reformed theology_
There is not much to recommend ‘reformed theology” in the lesson’s
definition ”tradition that emerged from the work of John Calvin16th
centuryessential principlesauthority of scripture, the priesthood of all
believers, and election of a people”(pg. 6) Amplification is needed to
understand that reformed theology arose from a need to return the Medieval
Church to its scriptural base, i.e., by reforming it. The same holds true
today. It is said that reformed theology is ‘always reforming.” This change
should never be capricious. Legitimate reformation always brings the church
in line with scripture, not at odds with it. For a fuller definition of
Reformed tradition see the Book of Order (G.2.0500).
_Exodus_
The escape of God’s people from slavery in Egypt and for us a picture of
God’s redemption and freedom from the bondage of sin for all who believe in
His Son.
_Covenant_
See Horizons definition (pg.7), especially noting that the ‘new covenant”
is the fulfillment of the ‘old covenant” in Jesus Christ.
*II. Question Review*
‘Where or when in our community, our nation, or the church do we look
for God’s deliverance and victory? How might we participate in bringing
it about?” (pg. 7)
A theme of social action appears frequently in the _Horizon_ studies. The
VOW reviewer, Terrye McAnnally, for one of last year’s Jeremiah lessons
suggested redirection to questions such as these. Rather than discussing how
we can participate to bring about God’s deliverance and victory, encourage
participants to look for ways God acts to transform lives and thereby
institutions for his purpose. A future that is good and right for all is not
possible by human effort alone. Good works apart from the proclamation of
God’s love and promise of salvation is social activism, not ministry.
PREPARING THE LESSON
*Questions to Ask*
*Introduction*
· What are the songs in your worship and/or hymnal that resonate with the
‘new song” that you have in Christ?
· Are there any songs that we use that shift focus from Christ to our own
personal ‘spiritual experience?”
· What, if any, is the danger in singing such songs?
· Does scripture retranslated into ‘inclusive language” change our focus?
If so, positively or negatively?
· How can we be sure that the new songs that arise from new occasions and
possibilities are in harmony with the song of the Gospel? (1 John 4:1-2,
2 Cor. 13:5, 1 Thess. 5:19-21)
*Psalm 33*
· How does the secular message of creation differ from the creation song
sang in 33:6-9?
· What should our response be to these discordant perspectives? What does
Christ call us to do? (2 Tim. 4:1-5)
· Can you differentiate experiences in your life that have been the result
of seeking God’s will or done through self will? Have you noticed a
difference in the songs that these new experiences call forth?
*Psalm 96*
· In what ways do you think God is sovereign over the nations? What would
be an appropriate ‘new song” for for our nation? (from _Horizon_s, pg.
6) (2 Chron 7:14)
· Do you find hope in the assertion that God ‘is coming to judge the earth
and the world with righteousness?” (from _Horizon_s, pg. 6) Why or why
not? If not, read Romans 3:21-26.
*Psalm 98*
· How do the dissonant songs in your life change key when seen through the
vantage point of your life in Christ? (Rom. 5:3-5)
· Can you begin to sing a new song in the midst of chaotic, even
‘hopeless” situations? (Rom. 8:28-32)
· What songs do you hear in the church that lack the power of the Gospel
of Christ?
· What ‘new songs” do we need to hear in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.?
· How will God’s new order be implemented? (Zech. 4:6) What is our role in
bringing about God’s deliverance? (Matt. 28:18-20, James 1:27)
*Suggestions for Leaders*
*Preparing the Lesson*
· Offer prayer for God’s guidance and wisdom as you prepare.
· Read the narrative, scripture passages and questions in both the
_Horizon_s study and this supplement.
· Read and print out the ‘Language of God” article from the VOW web site.
*Leading the Lesson*
· Begin with prayer.
· Read Ps. 117 aloud. Explain that this study of Psalms will help us to
praise God by focusing on the marvelous things God has done,
particularly in the new song that we have been given in Christ.
Introduce the Psalms that this lesson covers and give a brief 2-3 minute
background from pg. 2-3 of _Horizon_s and this supplement.
· Ask participants to share a ‘marvelous thing” that God has done in
their life. This opener may be extended by using the ‘creativity table”
in the third suggested activity of ‘Leading the Lesson.” _Horizon_s pg.
9
· As the study begins explain how Christ is the fulfillment of the
prophecies proclaimed in these scriptures. Walk through each of the
Psalms (33, 96 & 98) and use the NT references given in this supplement
as well as others to discuss where Christ is the fulfillment.
· As you move through the lesson choose for discussion from among the
‘Questions to Ask” section in this supplement.
· As time or inclination allows, discuss the use of ‘inclusive language”
in translating scripture.
· Closing:
· Summarize what has been discussed and learned
· Choose a hymn or a choral reading that exemplifies the theme of the
new song we have in Christ.
· A choice from our hymnal
· Sarah G. Stock’s hymn ‘Jesus Christ is King”
· Read the excerpt from Sherwood E. Wirt’s poem provided in this
supplement
Offer prayers of thanksgiving around a circle or join in unison praying
one of the prayers on pg. 8
Between Sessions
? Challenge the women (and yourself!) to commit a Psalm to memory as an
offering of praise to God. If anyone would choose to share what they’ve
committed to heart, offer the opportunity at the next study.
? Read the Hallel psalms (113-118, 120-136, 145-150) and journal about every
place where God’s sovereign plan of redemption is fulfilled in Christ.
Record also any personal applications this has to your life.
? Write your own psalm of praise for the ‘marvelous things” God has done!