“Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds—his name is the LORD—and rejoice before him.”
~ Psalm 68:4
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever marched in a procession? Have you ever seen a procession? A procession goes from one place to another place. A procession may be going from a church to a cemetery to bury a guy, gal or kid. A procession may be a traditional activity. A procession may be celebrating a historical event. A procession may have religious connotations or spiritual implications. Processions are a part of the Catholic Church worship tradition. A number of times during the years that your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in Concepción, Ñuflo de Chávez, Bolivia and in Guatemala City, Guatemala, your grandmaa and grandpaa saw processions that were made up of parishioners from Catholic Churches. Your grandpaa thinks that a guy who is a Catholic Church member really believes that he is earning points from God to make it to heaven when he helps to carry a replica of a dead saint that has been put on a platform that is carried on the shoulders of guys who are constantly changing with other guys. Antigua, Guatemala is known worldwide for its processions. Catholic Church adherents who are living in Antigua first lay out on streets absolutely beautiful carpets using different colored flower petals and dyed sawdust. Thick pieces of wood or cinder blocks are used to hold up a board on which guys and/or gals kneel on as they lean down to make intricate carpets on streets. Each carpet of flower petals and dyed sawdust is designed to be about the same length and width as the other carpets. Each carpet has religious symbols embedded in them. A procession at prescheduled times – especially during Easter week, will carry a large platform with a replica of Jesus carrying a cross down the streets that have skillfully completed carpets of flower petals and dyed sawdust laid out on them. Some processions have literally hundreds of guys, gals and kids marching in the procession. The guys and boys in Antigua wear a purple robe when they are marching in processions – helping to carry the platform with the replica of Jesus on it. The guys while they are carrying the platforms take measured, rhythmic steps as they walk down the streets stomping on the beautiful carpets of flower petals and dyed sawdust. Your grandpaa thinks that this attempt at devoutness by devotees of the Catholic Church – thinking that what they are doing is pleasing God, is nothing more than wasted works based efforts that is a disconnect with your grandpaa’s and hopefully your faith based dogma, standards and ideals.
David wrote a nine stanza processional psalm song. This psalm song – Psalm 68, was song by God’s specially chosen guys and gals as they marched towards the temple of God that was located in the city of Jerusalem. The procession would be led by a chorus of singers. This chorus of singers was followed by a group of musicians who had maidens playing tambourines among them. David wrote this psalm song as a liturgical psalm song that was to be sung to God to praise God for everything that He had done for His specially chosen guys and gals over the years. The first stanza of this psalm song recalls how God stayed with His specially chosen guys and gals while He had them wander aimlessly in a hot, barren desert. The second stanza of this psalm song recalls how God benevolently guided His specially chosen guys and gals while He had them meander in a desolate, sun-scorched land area. The third stanza of this psalm song recalls how God specifically cared for His specially chosen guys and gals when He sent them rain while they were stumbling through a dry, inhospitable wasteland. The fourth stanza of this psalm song recalls how God purposely stepped in to help His specially chosen guys and gals defeat the Canaanite kings who were leading the people groups of guys and gals who were living in the land that God was giving them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . the fifth stanza of this psalm song recalls how God never stops reigning over His specially chosen guys and gals – beginning from their stop at Mount Sinai to this present moment, in spite of their propensities to disobey His expectations that they obediently observe His worship mores and norms. The sixth stanza of this psalm song looks ahead in thanks to God for all the victories that God had already won for them as His specially chosen guys and gals – in spite of their lack of trust in Him to lead them in their conquest of the land of Canaan. The seventh stanza of this psalm song reflects on the procession as it enters into the view of the temple of God that God’s specially chosen guys had built for Him from His specs in the city of Jerusalem. The eighth stanza of this psalm song are prayers that God would continue to defeat in very decisive ways the enemies of His specially chosen guys and gals in the same ways as He had done in the past. The ninth stanza of this psalm song is a concluding doxology recognizing of and an acknowledgement to an awesome God by His specially chosen guys and gals that they have internalized knowing that He has the power and strength to do whatever for His glory and name’s sake.
God expected to be praised by His specially chosen guys and gals. God expects praise today from His specially elected and adopted guys, gals and kids. God is exalted when songs that glorify and edify His name are sung to Him today by His specially elected and adopted guys, gals and kids. Verse 4 says, “Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds—his name is the LORD—and rejoice before him.” Before God’s creation of planet Earth, God specially chose souls to embed in guys, gals and kids to be His specially elected and adopted guys, gals and kids. God’s expectations of His specially elected and adopted guys, gals and kids is that they be a type of mirror that reflects His glory back to Him as they are extoling and rejoicing in Him for what He has done for them.
Psalm 68 (585)