If we read the psalm for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany, we may have passed over verse one without much thought. “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise.”
Imagine yourself as a former exile in Babylon. You have returned to Jerusalem. The temple has been rebuilt. The opening hymn of worship is psalm 138. As you sing verse one, a scene from the streets of Babylon sharpens its meaning. The prophet Isaiah has recorded the scene in chapter 46.
Every year the Babylonians held a festival for their main gods, Bel (also known in the OT as Baal) and his son, Nebo (Nabo). King Nebuchadnezzar is named after that god. The gods would be “floats” in a parade, carried on a wagon or by priests. The Jewish exiles had the holiday off. Standing along the parade route they made derisive comments about these gods who had to be carried about. When Persia defeated Babylon, again the exiles stood along the parade route. However, this time the gods, tied to backs of donkeys or oxen, are carried out of the city into exile.
As the beasts of burden walked, the gods bobbed up and down, appearing to bow down and stoop before the onlookers. The gods provide no relief. Their weight wears out the animals carrying them. Indeed, Bel and Nebo cannot even save themselves from the dead weight of their own gilded bodies.
Back home again, the worshipper in the Jerusalem temple sings, “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise.” He sings his whole hearted thanksgiving to the living God, who has brought them home from exile. Yahweh’s name brings memories of His past and continuous love and faithfulness. We can count on Yahweh to act. Before the face of God he sings his hymn.
However, the worshiper’s attitude toward those other gods is derisive and dismissive. His song is more an “in your face” rejection of these ridiculous gods who are impotent to help anyone, even themselves. He will not bow down to any but Yahweh, for one day all the kings of the earth will give thanks for the greatness of His glory.
Paulo writes in Philippians 2:10-11, “A the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
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