Psalm 24 - A deeper look at the first verse

and the fullness of each human person

Psalms are the religious songs of ancient Israel. They were composed in Hebrew and have been translated into every language. In English alone there are dozens of translations, each using a variety of words to evoke the feeling or poetic sense the psalms contain.

There are 150 psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures, (aka the Old Testament) and on this blog we periodically consider them spiritually. Sunday's (10/29) post pondered Psalm 24. I'd like to share an additional thought or two about the first verse alone - using what is known as the Grail translation. 

The Lord's is the earth, and its fullness, 

the world and all its peoples. 

Psalm 24:1

The Grail translation uses the word 'fullness.' The world is full or filled with everything we need to live and grow and to be happy. The world's fullness which is its plants: the great forests that cool and oxygenate our planet, and the dandelion which grows up through a crack in the cement. The animal world which is our domestic pets and the enormous migrating herds which struggle to exist against great odds. The ocean world of huge whales and its plankton blanket .

There is also the fullness of the world which is the human inhabitants in all our variety: our colors, facial features, voices, nationalities and cultures. Some people don't like this particular aspect of God's creative imagination; they want everyone to be just like them. What a boring world that would be.

But the earth's fullness might also refer to the fullness which is within each person and which bestows on each a great dignity. Each person is a miniature world. The fullness, which is our inner person, Catholics call the soul. The fullness is our psychology, our personal story, knowledge, relationships, sensibilities and creative gifts or capacities. All of this belongs to God as well. The personal fullness is there for us to use to God's glory and the building up of God's planet-gift. 

It seems to me that religion (especially a religion based on the great reality of God becoming one of us in Christ) ought then to be really good at identifying the dignity of each person: pondering it, respecting and advancing it. Is this what Hindus are doing when, as they greet people, they place their folded hands before their hearts, make eye contact and bow a bit? This is soul recogniton - each person a spark of divinity. This shouldn't be strange to us - God having breathed God's own divine breath into us at creation. (Genesis 2:7). Can you imagine if the Christians really felt this way!

We bow to tabernacles, altars, icons....what if we bowed to each other, at least interiorly!?

The Lord's is the earth, and its fullness, 

the world and all its peoples. 

Psalm 24:1

Psalm 24 ~ The Earth is the Lord's

Verse 1: This psalm invites us to consider, not heaven, but the earth! God's earth. Everything created belongs to God - there is nothing inferior about the earth warranting negative theology or spirituality. The world isn't evil, to be hated, despised or despaired of. Indeed, in Hebrew, world is a poetic word meaning an alive, green, hospitable place prepared for us. 

The psalmist tells us that not only does the earth belong to God but also everything that is in it: its marvels, beauty, variety, mysteries, depths, rhythms and balance. We are to contemplate these things. This is the heart-work which religion is supposed to evoke and encourage. Without heart-work, religion is reduced to theatre and disciplines. 

Verse 2: The world is founded upon the seas. This is the psalmist's cosmology or world-view - that the earth floats on water. But there is more, all the rivers, streams, lakes and seas are expressions of God's providing for all we need. When encountering a person who has anticipated needs, we might say, "You've thought of absolutely everything." We can make that our prayer throughout the day!

Verses 3 and 4: The psalmist asks, Who can ascend to the top of Mount Zion and enter God's temple there? Notice the answer comes back without the use of rubrical, legal or dogmatic words, but heart-words signifying truth, honesty, humility and love. These words describe not just the individual but what makes a nation great. Religion isn't my personal "trip." How do we miss this, making religion into something else?

Verse 5: And just in case we think, "Oh, how can anyone ever achieve such a level of honesty and goodness?" the psalm tells us that God provides the blessings needed. A Catholic might call it grace, which is not a commodity, like a storehouse of goods to draw on when supplies run short, but the unfailing, generous sharing of God's own gifts and energies.

Verse 6: "Such is the generation of those who seek him...who seek God's face." This verse is like a tree's buds set in the fall, anticipating the leafing out or the flowering in Spring - because the ancients could only imagine God's face, but we're the ones who have seen God's face in Jesus Christ.  I want to feel the deep desire to contemplate that face, which is not a sentiment, but the stirring up of love within me: mercy, compassion, justice, goodness. 

Verses 7-10: Here in these final three verses we hear two antiphonal choirs. Antiphonal means they sing in a dialogue, back and forth, each answering the other. We can imagine the drama and emotional charge of hearing it. The Ark of the Covenant, containing the stone tablets of the law given to Moses by God at Sinai, this ark is being carried on poles into the great temple in Jerusalem. Lift up the gates, lift up the gates even higher, so that God - the King of Glory may enter!  The Christian understands that it is the gates or doors of my heart that need to be lifted up - opened up - wider and higher! The cry in the Book of Revelation 22:20 is, Maranatha, "Come Lord, Jesus!"

A final thought. Notice in the sung dialogue there are two exchanges: "The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle." Then the second time calling God more simply, "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." "Mighty in battle" has been dropped. Perhaps it is an indication of ancient Israel abandoning the notion of a warrior-God. If so, there are more than a few Christians who might take the hint, and stop applying to God a feature or character trait which even God has dropped.

Intercessions ~ Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are one hundred and thirty million girls in the world who are not in school./ They are lost in arranged child-marriages,/ working/ or living in the chaos of war./ We pray for them/ and for anyone who would obstruct their growth as full human persons./ We pray to the Lord.

Our country talks a great deal about money./ We pray for the world's children/ who need food,/ shelter,/ medicine and education./ And that we would not senselessly worship money./ We pray to the Lord.

In goodness,/ God calls us his own dear children./ As a new week begins,/ may we remain far from anything that would grieve or offend the truth of this relationship./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the eight-hundred thousand people living in refugee camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar,/ many thousands of whom are children./ We ask a new heart for our world./ We pray to the lord.

May we remain awake and attentive this week,/ and eager to help any who are troubled,/ needy,/ weak or suffering./ We pray to the Lord.

The devil is busy these days:/ the prince of lies,/ sadness and bitter divisions./ We ask to be kept safe,/ trusting of God/ and clean of heart./ We pray to the Lord.

We place before God/ our families,/ friendships and all our relationships,/ and as God sees fit,/ we ask for the healing of wounds and growth in goodness./ We pray to the Lord.