The Village Voice Probably Won't Tell You This. I Don't Think You're Likely To Read It In The Nation or Hear The Young Turks Say It Either

From at about 30:00 in the Sunday School Lesson posted below:

So this guy, the Psalmist is reflecting in his heart, reflecting on his capacity for decision making. And what I'll suggest is that this Psalm (is about) consumption as a script for the kind of crisis that our society is now facing. And if I am very simplistic and reductionist I would say verses 2 - 16 are life lived in pursuit of commodities you know commodities can mean anything from stock options to more electronic equipment to the best beer in town, whatever.  And we live in a society that reduces everything and things and every one to a tradable commodity on the assumption that if you have enough of the right commodities you can be safe and you can be happy.  And what this Psalmist is describing is the powerful attractiveness of a life that is lived in pursuit of commodities.  

A friend of mine has pointed out to me that almost all television commercials promise you that you can find safety and happiness if you buy THIS!  But they also, all these ads also reprimand you by saying [You've failed to] get out and get it,  or I wouldn't be trying to sell to you,  so you, so far, have failed to get the right commodity.  So market ideology judges us for not having bought enough, spent enough, owned enough, used enough.  Therefore you'd better hustle.  So I think that it doesn't take much imagination to see that this is a useful Psalm for describing the central seduction of a market ideology that believes that the accumulation of more goods is the way to live a good life.

And the fourth part of the psalm then, verses 17b on, is an acknowledgment of kind of a cleaned up vision of faith that the pursuit of commodities no matter how successful you are at it will never give you the life you want.  You ought to quit pursuing them.  So the alternative to commodity in verses 18-28 is communion.  That is the awareness that what counts is a relationship of fidelity and this speaker has found GOD to be that faithful partner.  Now you will observe as I observe that there is nothing here about fidelity to the neighbor, it is all a vertical relationship to GOD.  But as we know from Jesus's teaching when they ask Jesus what the great commandment was – you will love GOD with all your heart, soul…. mind.  and you shall love your neighbor as yourself, so in the covenant tradition the love of neighbor is also always implied and always comes with the love of GOD.  

I'll try to get round to transcribing more of it.  I'd like to have gone on from here but don't have the time right now.   It's hardly the only part of the lesson that is worth typing out.