Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 26:18-19
What a contrast between Jeremiah 52 and Psalm 100.
Here we are, almost at the end of Jeremiah's prophecies, reading a summary statement of the fall of Jerusalem. Eighteen months of siege (see Jer. 52:4, 6) followed months of war and threat, all ending in the inglorious retreat of the army (vs. 7), slaughter of the royal family and officials (vs. 10, 24-27), and exile (vs. 11, 15). Worse still, the city itself was utterly destroyed, razed and burned to the ground (vs. 13-14). Any item of value was broken up and carted off (vs. 17-19). Complete ruin. Only "the poorest people of the land [were left] to work the vineyards and fields" (vs. 16).
So much devastation. So much loss. We've been told, again and again in Isaiah and Jeremiah, that this desolation will come, but it's been hard to believe, hard to comprehend. Like the Israelites, we readers couldn't quite imagine it. Its arrival is far, far worse than we expected: the judgment of a righteous and angered God is fearsome. I am somewhat stunned by the awfulness, violence, and brutality.
And, yet, we end our reading today with Psalm 100. What an incredible expression of praise and commitment! What joy and exuberance! If only the Israelites had realized - had fully accepted and lived into - their place as God's "people, the sheep of his pasture" (Ps. 100:3). If only they had entered his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise, giving thanks to him and praising his name (vs. 4). Then they could have lived under his blessing and not only under his mercy. They could have seen his faithfulness continue through all generations (vs. 5).
I sang in a very good choir in high school, both an all-girls choir and a mixed choir. The girls’ choir sang an arrangement of this psalm that rings in my head each time I read these verses. "Alleluia!," the song repeats and proclaims. "Praise be to God!" My mother embroidered Ps. 100:1 on the back of a quilt she made for me - a reminder of that song and an even more poignant reminder of the goodness of our God.
"For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations" (Ps. 100:5).
Alleluia!
(If you're interested, here's the YouTube link for Psalm 100 by Rene Clausen. Enjoy.)
Here we are, almost at the end of Jeremiah's prophecies, reading a summary statement of the fall of Jerusalem. Eighteen months of siege (see Jer. 52:4, 6) followed months of war and threat, all ending in the inglorious retreat of the army (vs. 7), slaughter of the royal family and officials (vs. 10, 24-27), and exile (vs. 11, 15). Worse still, the city itself was utterly destroyed, razed and burned to the ground (vs. 13-14). Any item of value was broken up and carted off (vs. 17-19). Complete ruin. Only "the poorest people of the land [were left] to work the vineyards and fields" (vs. 16).
So much devastation. So much loss. We've been told, again and again in Isaiah and Jeremiah, that this desolation will come, but it's been hard to believe, hard to comprehend. Like the Israelites, we readers couldn't quite imagine it. Its arrival is far, far worse than we expected: the judgment of a righteous and angered God is fearsome. I am somewhat stunned by the awfulness, violence, and brutality.
And, yet, we end our reading today with Psalm 100. What an incredible expression of praise and commitment! What joy and exuberance! If only the Israelites had realized - had fully accepted and lived into - their place as God's "people, the sheep of his pasture" (Ps. 100:3). If only they had entered his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise, giving thanks to him and praising his name (vs. 4). Then they could have lived under his blessing and not only under his mercy. They could have seen his faithfulness continue through all generations (vs. 5).
I sang in a very good choir in high school, both an all-girls choir and a mixed choir. The girls’ choir sang an arrangement of this psalm that rings in my head each time I read these verses. "Alleluia!," the song repeats and proclaims. "Praise be to God!" My mother embroidered Ps. 100:1 on the back of a quilt she made for me - a reminder of that song and an even more poignant reminder of the goodness of our God.
"For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations" (Ps. 100:5).
Alleluia!
(If you're interested, here's the YouTube link for Psalm 100 by Rene Clausen. Enjoy.)
- Sarah Marsh
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