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Speaker: Jerry Cisar
America was founded on a dream: one in which all men were created equal and that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To be sure, “all men” had its limitations, especially if one were not white or on the outside of a womb. Nonetheless, it painted a dream often referred to as the “American experiment.” Imagine how we would feel about that dream if the Kremlin set up an office in D.C. and U.S. citizens were taken captive into Russia!
Such a sense of hopelessness would have dominated the spirit of the people for whom the Psalter was arranged into its current form for prayer and worship after the exile. This also has relevance for us, as we too are in exile on the earth, longing for God’s kingdom to be manifest more fully.
The world we live in is broken, so we pray, “Your kingdom come.” Our lives are broken, so we pray, “Your kingdom come.” Our church is broken, so we pray your kingdom come. You are broken, so we pray your kingdom come. I am broken, so we pray your kingdom come. My argument in this series has been that the Psalms are prayers given for praying in a broken world for the kingdom come.