Lof aan God - ook in tye van dorheid. Praise of God - also in times of darkness

Dit is soos dinge nou maar eenmaal is. Of: ‘n mens kan nie teen jou natuur veg nie. Ons staar nou maar eenmaal die werklikheid in die gesig.

Só redeneer ons dikwels met ons “gesonde” verstand. Maar ons weet eintlik goed dat dinge wel kan verander. Dat ‘n mens teen jou natuur in kan leef. En dat daar agter die werklikheid ‘n dieper werklikheid kan skuil.

In die Psalms is daar ‘n sekere belangrike beginpunt vir alles wat ons oor God kan sê. God het iets gedoen, God het ‘n merkwaardige ommekeer in mense se lewens gebring. Daaroor loop hulle emosies hoog en hul bely hul intense ervaring van God se reddingsdade.

Psalm 9, wat die opskrif het: “By die dood van ‘n seun,” begin met die lof van God. “Met my hele hart wil ek U prys, Here, wil ek van u magtige reddingsdade vertel. Oor U wil ek my verbly en vrolik wees, u Naam wil ek besing, o Allerhoogste.”
Om na te dink oor God en oor God se handelinge in die lewe van ‘n gemeenskap en mense, moet ‘n mens hierdie merkwaardige ervaring bedink. God het aan mense ‘n nuwe perspektief op die werklikheid gegee. Hierdie ervaring werk verbysterend en kan nie beheer word nie. Dit moet gedeel word en openlik gevier word. God het ‘n nuwe werklikheid tot stand gebring. God het lewens op ‘n kragtige manier getransformeer. God laat mense nie in die steek nie (Ps.9:11).

Hierdie ervaring word betuig en geprys. ‘n Mens praat daaroor. ‘n Mens “vertel van God se reddingsdade” (Ps.9:2), besing God se naam (Ps.9:3). Deur só te praat, word die verhouding met God verder versterk. Die mistieke band met God waardeur die teenwoordigheid van God ervaar word, word dieper en sterker. Om te praat, bevestig en onderstreep wat ervaar word. Taal bewerk ‘n dieper verstaan en betrokkenheid by die goddelike alternatief wat vir mense oopgegaan het.

‘n Mens kan nie afsydig of neutraal bly waar hierdie gemeenskaplike en persoonlike omwenteling ervaar word nie. Waar ‘n mens in egte gemeenskap vir God ontmoet, sit dit dus ‘n proses van omkering aan die gang. Die emosies waarmee oor hierdie ervaring getuig word, is intens: ‘n mens wil God “met die hele hart” prys (Ps.9:1). Dit bring by mense wat die ervaring gedeel het, ‘n onwrikbare toewyding tot stand. ‘n God wat só optree en ingryp, is ‘n God by wie ‘n mens wil bly en by wie ‘n mens wil skuil. “Vir die mens wat in gevaar verkeer, is die Here ‘n toevlug, ‘n skuilplek in tye van nood” (Ps.9:10-11). ‘n Mens is nou totaal toegewyd aan die Here. Die hede en toekoms word nou gekleur dur die belydenis: “Die Here is altyd op sy troon; op sy regterstoel sit die Here steeds, gereed vir regspraak. Die Here lewer ‘n regverdige uitspraak oor alle mense” (Ps.9:7-8).

Psalm 9 praat ook oor groot nood (bv vers 14). Daar is tye dat ‘n mens in die donkerte loop. Die proses is nie maklik nie. Die ervaring van God bly maar ‘n alternatiewe werklikheid wat gedurig in konfrontasie met die dominerende realiteit van die dag bots. In sulke tye moet ‘n mens met droë lippe en uitgedorde tong tog miskien meer dikwels ‘n lofsang aan God prewel. Mettertyd kom die hart wel by. Want ons “common sense” kan nooit die dieper wete van God se alternatiewe wêreld afsny nie. Ons het al te dikwels beleef hoe die kwaad oorwin is. Daar is iets anders, iets groters, Iemand anders, Iemand magtiger. En dinge kan ánders wees.


Praising God. Also in difficult times.
"That is reality. You cannot fight nature. You have to face reality."

This is what we like to regard as “common sense.” Yet, at the same time, we are also aware that things can change. One can live a life that questions your nature. Reality is often steered by something deeper.

There is a certain important point of departure in the Psalms for all reflection on who God is. Everything begins with what God has done, with a remarkable transformation that God effected in the life of a community and people.

This is experienced intensely. The response of believers is expressed in strong emotional language. Yahweh has acted decisively. And the people who have experienced this, express their faith in a joyful manner.

Psalm 9 with the heading: To the tune of ‘the death of a son,’” begins with a doxology. “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart! I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, o Most High!”

To begin thinking about who God is and what God does in the lives of a community and a person, one has to reflect on this extraordinary experience. God has given the believer a new perspective on reality. It is something that cannot be contained. It is shared and publicly celebrated. God has created a new reality. God has transformed the lives of people in a powerful manner. The Lord has never forsaken those who trust (Ps.9:11).

Believers witness to this experience, talk about it, praise it. “I will tell all your wonders” (Ps.9:1). One cannot stay silent about God’s deeds. By talking and praising God, the relationship with God deepens and becomes more solid. The praise of God brings the believer closer to the Lord, intensifies the mystical experience of God’s liberating presence. To speak about God, is to affirm and underline what one is experiencing. Language brings about deeper understanding and involvement in the alternative reality of the divine.

It is not possible to remain at a distance or te be neutral where this alternative reality has been experienced. The authentic communion with God changes and involves in an intens ongoing process of renewal. The emotions run high: “I will praise you, o Lord, with all my heart.” As a result, one is totally committed to God. The presence and future now is coloured by the confession: “The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; the Lord will govern the peoples with justice” (Ps 9:7-8).

Psalm 9 also speaks of great suffering (e.g. vers 13). There are times that we travel in darkness. The process is not easy. The experience of God remains an alternative reality which clashes with the dominant reality of our everyday experience. In such time we whisper with a faint heart a song of praise. Gradually the heart becomes lighter. Because we know all the time, almost as “common sense” that there is a deeper reality, God’s alternative world that is given to us. Too often we have experienced how evil is vanquished. There is something else, something more powerful, Someone else, Someone greater. Things cán be different.