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posted by RVWarren | 11:03 PM
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DavarLogos
Word studies from Scripture for the reformation of the assembly...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Friday, February 18, 2005
About Biblical Liturgy
The liturgy below grew out of the conviction that if we do truly honor the Word of God as much as we say, our liturgies should reflect that. The liturgy below is inspired by Psalm 107. There is not a word in it, except for actual liturgical marks, that is not from Scripture. It is set in my tradition, the RPCNA, which believs in the exclusive singing of the Psalms. That makes it easier for me to confidently say that every word is from Scripture. It has never been tried (or offered) to a church as of yet. I hope you enjoy it. I have tried to tell a story from Psalm 107 using other parts of Scripture that tie nicely into its themes.
Shalom olam.
Shalom olam.
posted by RVWarren | 11:10 PM
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1 comments
A Biblical Liturgy of Psalm 107
Call to Worship: Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting! Let the redeemed of the Lord confess, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Assembly: (chant each time) Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth…the Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: [When] you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your life, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Leader: They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their throat fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! For He satisfies the longing throat, and fills the hungry throat with good things!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: (sing) Psalm 145C
Leader: Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the council of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. On that men would give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness and His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: Psalm 2
Reader: So [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. When he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Leader: Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their throat abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his faithfulness and His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: Psalm 14A
Leader: Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their life melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness and His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the company of elders!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: Then the men [with Jonah] were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: Now it happened, on a certain day, that [Jesus] got into a boat with his disciples. He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they sailed he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling up with water, and were in jeopardy. They came to him and awoke him, saying, “Master, master, we are perishing!” Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. Then they ceased and there was a calm. But he said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey him!”
Assembly: (spoken) Truly, this is the Son of God!
Elders: (spoken) Truly, he is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, amen!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Leader: He turns rivers into a wilderness and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water and dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hunger dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, and sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All:Psalm 144 (Psalm-settings)—collection happens here.
Leader: When they are diminished and brought low, through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice and all iniquity stops its mouth.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Exhortation by Leader: Whoever is wise will observe these things and they will understand the faithfulness of Yahweh!
All: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: Psalm 72D
Assembly: (chant each time) Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth…the Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: [When] you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your life, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Leader: They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their throat fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! For He satisfies the longing throat, and fills the hungry throat with good things!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: (sing) Psalm 145C
Leader: Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the council of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. On that men would give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness and His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: Psalm 2
Reader: So [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. When he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Leader: Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their throat abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his faithfulness and His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: Psalm 14A
Leader: Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their life melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness and His wonderful works to the sons of Adam! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the company of elders!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: Then the men [with Jonah] were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Reader: Now it happened, on a certain day, that [Jesus] got into a boat with his disciples. He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they sailed he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling up with water, and were in jeopardy. They came to him and awoke him, saying, “Master, master, we are perishing!” Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. Then they ceased and there was a calm. But he said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey him!”
Assembly: (spoken) Truly, this is the Son of God!
Elders: (spoken) Truly, he is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, amen!
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Leader: He turns rivers into a wilderness and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water and dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hunger dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, and sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All:Psalm 144 (Psalm-settings)—collection happens here.
Leader: When they are diminished and brought low, through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice and all iniquity stops its mouth.
Assembly: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
Exhortation by Leader: Whoever is wise will observe these things and they will understand the faithfulness of Yahweh!
All: Thanks be to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithfulness is everlasting!
All: Psalm 72D
posted by RVWarren | 10:54 PM
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0 comments
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Some Gaps Bridged
Well, here it is. I haven't written any of the word studies, though. It will be sporadic as I cannot (unfortunately) rattle off the complicated studies. I hope that you will enjoy what you read. This post below is the post at my main blog that started this idea for me.
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It is very easy to take things out of Scripture and make them into general, "timeless" principles. I think it is the number one danger of Christian faith, a kind of baptized dualism that is hard to dispel. A lot of these things are found in uses of single words that 'sum' up the Christian faith: justice, mercy, holiness, etc. Obviously, as Christians we need shorthand words; we can't go around explaining the whole story of Scripture every time we talk about 'justice' or 'peace'. It is a distinct problem, though, that we have people talking past each other because we cannot agree on the most prevalent terms in our assemblies and in our nation (or nations).
In the Torah (or the Pentateuch, if you like), all the laws are prefaced with the book of Genesis. The Decalogue (or Ten Commandments, if you like) is prefaced with: "I am the LORD your God, I brought you out of the house of Egypt, out of the house of bondage". This single phrase says a lot more than the sum total of its word count--it tells the whole story from Abraham to the (then) present. From that story, especially its culmination in the events of the Exodus, the basis for all of Israelite law, wisdom, and praxis is laid.
Christians, though, walk around as if Jesus offered something essentially ahistorical which can be carried everywhere as long as we reference something about a virgin birth, a death, and a resurrection. A case in point is the various icons of Jesus looking either Greek or Roman or Chinese or African. Jesus has been dehistoricized and made into a divine Everyman. Nice way to make all races feel welcome, but it just isn't true. Jesus (probably, of course since no pictures remain) wasn't Swedish or Indian or Chilean--he was (and continues to be) a Jew. He has a history, tied intimately and delicately to that of ancient Israel, and ultimately to the whole world (compare Genesis 1 to John 1, for example). He didn't spout out timeless moral platitudes (which would make nonsense of why he got executed). No, he spoke into a specific environment with specific demands, warnings, and exhortations. What he did, though, laid the model and foundation for the Church's work. Our mission to the world must tell a Jewish gospel about a Jewish man who fulfilled the Israelite identity in himself and reconciled the whole world to God through that.
Christian faith and life, then, are tied up in the historical (placed, in other words) death and resurrection of Jesus. When we say, "Jesus is Lord", it isn't just that he is the religious head of our order, but that all other "lords" and "gods" are deluded at best and idolatrous at worst. The 'forces' that guide the world, whether they be economic, historical, political, or 'religious' aren't in charge of the world and must be reminded of their subordinate place to the Messiah Jesus. All our actions, our fruits of the Spirit, must be placed after a phrase like this: "This is what Jesus, the Messiah, says: I delivered you on that Roman cross from the house of bondage, the house of sin and death--therefore, go into all the world and make disciples..."
As Christians, we need to have the nerve to ask about anything and everything: how does the cross of Jesus affect this? How does the cross put the 'State' in its proper place? How does the cross organize the people of God into a 'church'? How does the cross affect my understanding and practice of 'justice' and 'mercy'? For the next few blogs (which will be few and far between for awhile, I'm heading out of town for class), I want to tackle the (seemingly) easy buzzwords of the Christian faith: justice, mercy, peace, love, knowledge, etc. (Please feel free in the comments section to write words in that I have forgot--it is almost midnight, so my mind isn't as sharp as it could be--or at least as sharp as I seem to think that it can be).
The first word to hit (conveniently for me since I have to lecture on this in March): covenant.
Shalom olam (peace always)...
---------------------------------------------------
It is very easy to take things out of Scripture and make them into general, "timeless" principles. I think it is the number one danger of Christian faith, a kind of baptized dualism that is hard to dispel. A lot of these things are found in uses of single words that 'sum' up the Christian faith: justice, mercy, holiness, etc. Obviously, as Christians we need shorthand words; we can't go around explaining the whole story of Scripture every time we talk about 'justice' or 'peace'. It is a distinct problem, though, that we have people talking past each other because we cannot agree on the most prevalent terms in our assemblies and in our nation (or nations).
In the Torah (or the Pentateuch, if you like), all the laws are prefaced with the book of Genesis. The Decalogue (or Ten Commandments, if you like) is prefaced with: "I am the LORD your God, I brought you out of the house of Egypt, out of the house of bondage". This single phrase says a lot more than the sum total of its word count--it tells the whole story from Abraham to the (then) present. From that story, especially its culmination in the events of the Exodus, the basis for all of Israelite law, wisdom, and praxis is laid.
Christians, though, walk around as if Jesus offered something essentially ahistorical which can be carried everywhere as long as we reference something about a virgin birth, a death, and a resurrection. A case in point is the various icons of Jesus looking either Greek or Roman or Chinese or African. Jesus has been dehistoricized and made into a divine Everyman. Nice way to make all races feel welcome, but it just isn't true. Jesus (probably, of course since no pictures remain) wasn't Swedish or Indian or Chilean--he was (and continues to be) a Jew. He has a history, tied intimately and delicately to that of ancient Israel, and ultimately to the whole world (compare Genesis 1 to John 1, for example). He didn't spout out timeless moral platitudes (which would make nonsense of why he got executed). No, he spoke into a specific environment with specific demands, warnings, and exhortations. What he did, though, laid the model and foundation for the Church's work. Our mission to the world must tell a Jewish gospel about a Jewish man who fulfilled the Israelite identity in himself and reconciled the whole world to God through that.
Christian faith and life, then, are tied up in the historical (placed, in other words) death and resurrection of Jesus. When we say, "Jesus is Lord", it isn't just that he is the religious head of our order, but that all other "lords" and "gods" are deluded at best and idolatrous at worst. The 'forces' that guide the world, whether they be economic, historical, political, or 'religious' aren't in charge of the world and must be reminded of their subordinate place to the Messiah Jesus. All our actions, our fruits of the Spirit, must be placed after a phrase like this: "This is what Jesus, the Messiah, says: I delivered you on that Roman cross from the house of bondage, the house of sin and death--therefore, go into all the world and make disciples..."
As Christians, we need to have the nerve to ask about anything and everything: how does the cross of Jesus affect this? How does the cross put the 'State' in its proper place? How does the cross organize the people of God into a 'church'? How does the cross affect my understanding and practice of 'justice' and 'mercy'? For the next few blogs (which will be few and far between for awhile, I'm heading out of town for class), I want to tackle the (seemingly) easy buzzwords of the Christian faith: justice, mercy, peace, love, knowledge, etc. (Please feel free in the comments section to write words in that I have forgot--it is almost midnight, so my mind isn't as sharp as it could be--or at least as sharp as I seem to think that it can be).
The first word to hit (conveniently for me since I have to lecture on this in March): covenant.
Shalom olam (peace always)...
posted by RVWarren | 9:04 PM
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0 comments