Psalm 98: The Symphony Of Life
Understanding the world through music
While Psalm 98 begins with the actions God had done for Israel (98:3), its ultimate prayer is that the entire world, regardless of religion or race, species or element, will be treated with justice and equity.
But to truly appreciate the psalm, we have to appreciate the power of metaphor in poetry and prayer, and in our understanding of the world.
To extend the musical metaphor of 98:4-98:8 with the entire earthly orchestra creating a terrestrial symphony, everyone in the world has a part to play. The practical and philosophical repercussions of this metaphor, with pun obviously intended, are that we should endeavor to maximize this symphony, not silence it, or focus only on one section.
The triangle is just as important as the timpani drums or the trumpets.
As anyone who has watched even a single episode of “Our Planet” knows, it is with due to its biodiversity that an ecosystem survives and flourishes. Removing a single element (like trees or even a certain type of plant), can lead to catastrophic results. Everything, flora, fauna, or fungi, has a role.
The song “The Sound of Music” at the start of the eponymous movie borrows from the same imagery as the psalm, while the movie ends with people who don’t believe that everyone has a place in the orchestra.
We can decide through which metaphor to view the world, and that choice has material effects on the world around us. We can choose to be myopic, and adopt a Darwinian “survival of the fittest” approach, focusing only on ourselves, or we can choose to view the world like a symphony, and marvel at and engage with all its wondrous beauty.