Wednesday 15 December 2010

Background

Today's reading can be roughly divided into three distinctsections - past, present and future.

• In verses 1 to 3, the psalmist recalls all that God has donefor the people, being favourable to the land and forgiving peopletheir sins.
• Verses 4 to 7 deal with the people's current predicament -things are not going well. They feel that God has withdrawn fromthem and is angry because of their failings. The psalmist cries outto God to restore the people and to show them God's love onceagain.
• Then verses 8 to 12 look to the future with hope, confidentthat God will once again be near to the people and that their landwill yield.

Some scholars think that this psalm was written around520BC, just after the Jews returned from their exile in Babylon,where they were captives. This forced exile ended around 538BCafter the fall of Babylon to the Persian King Cyrus the Great, whothen allowed the Jews to return home and rebuild their Temple. Thisperiod of exile had a huge impact on Jewish culture and thedevelopment of Judaism. 

Verses 1 to 3 might be understood as the psalmist reflectingon God's great mercy in bringing about the release of the Jews fromtheir captivity in Babylon. But life wasn't immediately perfectonce the Jews had gained their freedom - they had yet to rebuildthe Temple (which was seen as God's home in their community) andtheir crops were failing. They thought that God must still be angrywith them. So, in verses 4 to 7, the psalmist recognises that thereis distance between God and God's people, caused by their badbehaviour. He knows that God has forgiven them in the past andpleads for it to be so again. 

But the psalm doesn't end in despair, although the situationhasn't yet improved, the psalmist resolves to hear God's voice,trusting that God will speak peace to the people and rain downblessings upon them. 

As well as reflecting Israel's journey from Babylon, today'sreading also seems to map out the cycle of the life of faith. Wemove from high to low and then back to high again, on and on,wondering if we'll ever get to that place of permanent rest andhappiness. It can be frustrating when the good times are followedby the tough ones, but God has promised never to abandon us andit's that fact that kept the psalmist hoping and trusting that Godwould restore his people again. 

To Ponder

Often when bad things happen to the Jewish peoplein the Old Testament they are interpreted as God's punishment ofthe people for their sins. How do you think God responds to ourfailings today?

When you're having a difficult time, how easy isit for you to trust God to bring you through?