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Psalm 133
Proper 15A
This tiny, jewel-like Psalm is perfectly suited to our times. Its wise words about the blessings of unity need to be heard and believed and practiced. But even the best preacher will struggle with this little nugget, for two reasons. First, our world is so divided that even the most eloquent sermon will sound like…
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b
Proper 14A
Psalm 105 is a history psalm. To be more specific, it is what German biblical scholars once called Heilsgeshichte, salvation history. It recalls the five stages at the beginning of the story of God’s redemption of Israel, from the promise of the Land to the possession of the Land. Of course, as the long and…
Psalm 17:1-7, 15
Proper 13A
Psalm 17 deals with the age old problem of oppression and wickedness. It’s a popular topic in many of the ancient Psalms, and it is a constant feature of news reports today. All through history and all over the world, the wicked oppress the innocent. How should the innocent respond? Well, there are two basic,…
Psalm 119:129-136
Proper 12A
Given a choice, what busy preacher would preach on this reading from Psalm 119? I mean, it is stanza #17 in an endlessly long, apparently meandering, often boring meditation on a subject that most of your listeners won’t care about at all, namely, the importance and beauty of God’s law. Some brands of Christianity don’t…
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
Proper 11A
Psalm 139 is a doctrinal and devotional classic. It bristles with theologically rich ideas and it hums a lullaby of divine care. Oh yes, it also shocks with its infamous ending; “if only you would slay the wicked, O God!” But for all its familiarity, Psalm 139 is hard to describe. Is it a hymn…
Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13
Proper 10A
In my last church, we used Psalm 65:9-13 as the Old Testament reading for every Thanksgiving Day worship service. Its description of harvest bounty fit the time of year so well, and its ascription of praise to God for that bounty fit the theme of our national Day of Thanksgiving. But this harvest Psalm is…
Psalm 145:8-14
Proper 9A
Psalm 145 is an exuberant, but hardly extemporaneous Psalm. Indeed, it is a carefully crafted Psalm of praise. The superscription explicitly identifies it as that, using a word for praise found only here in the entire Psalter. We might call it the quintessential Psalm of Praise, for it uses all the traditional language of praise…
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
Proper 8A
Psalm 89 is one of the darkest of all the Psalms, the better looking twin of the exceedingly dark Psalm 88, which ends with “the darkness is my closest friend.” Psalm 89 rallies from that kind of despair with bright opening words. In our reading for this Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, it’s a new…
Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18
Proper 7A
Psalm 69 is the cry of a person in extremis. He uses the conventional language of drowning to describe his distress. The Jews were a non-nautical people, so the thought of falling into deep water where there is no firm bottom provoked the deepest terror. We can almost see the Psalmist flailing about as he…
Psalm 100
Proper 6A
It is not hard to figure out what Psalm 100 is. The superscription says simply, “For Giving Thanks.” Thus, it was probably used as liturgical accompaniment when a thank offering was given in the Temple. Perhaps it called on those who offered such a sacrifice to have the proper attitude of worship, rather than just…
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