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Psalm 15
Proper 17B
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Psalm 15 reflects on the intimate relationship between ethics and worship. In one sense it’s a wisdom psalm that explores how to live wisely, how to order one’s life according God’s will and purposes. However, some scholars suggest that Psalm 15 was also an “entrance liturgy” that Israel’s priests…
Psalm 84
Proper 16B
In Psalm 84 the poet expresses her love for God’s “dwelling place.” In fact, her longing to be “in God’s courts” is so deep that she insists that it fills her soul, heart and flesh, in other words, her whole being. While David had wanted to build a dwelling place for the Lord, God had…
Psalm 111
Proper 15B
Comments and Observations While God’s modern sons and daughters sometimes seem in a hurry to learn what the Scriptures expect of people, Psalm 111 focuses our attention on the Lord. In fact, only its verses 1 and 10 even directly speak to or about people, while only verse 2 even alludes to them. That’s certainly…
Psalm 34:1-8
Proper 14B
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Psalm 34 combines thanksgiving to God for answering prayer with teaching about the kind of godliness that’s the most appropriate response to such salvation. Yet as the NIV Study Bible points out, that combination makes this psalm somewhat unique. After all, most psalms’ praise leads into calls to others…
Psalm 51:1-12
Proper 13B
Psalm 51 is what Old Testament scholar James Mays calls a “liturgy of the broken heart.” Like so many of the psalms, it’s a prayer of someone who’s in deep trouble. Here, however, the psalmist doesn’t complain to God about God or other people causing that trouble. He admits he alone has caused the trouble…
Psalm 14
Proper 12B
Psalm 14 paints what Jennifer Green calls a “picture of humanity that could hardly be more dismal.” In fact, while most psalms at least begin by acknowledging God in praise or prayer, the poet begins Psalm 14 with the fool’s claim that “there is no God.” She then goes on three times in just three…
Psalm 89:20-37
Proper 11B
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Most scholars suggest Psalm 89 is a psalm of lament. Yet the poet devotes most of it to praising God for God’s faithfulness and celebrating God’s covenant with David and his descendants. Even the segment toward which the lectionary directs our attention seems reluctant to highlight the lament aspect…
Psalm 24
Proper 10B
Scholars call Psalm 24 a processional liturgy that celebrates Yahweh’s entrance to Zion. They speculate that the poet composed it for either David’s bringing the ark into Jerusalem as reported, for example, in 2 Samuel 6, or a festival that commemorated that event, or the return of the ark to Jerusalem and its temple after…
Psalm 123
Proper 9B
Psalm 123 is a poignant plea for God to show the poet mercy. However, this is also a prayer that he offers on behalf of the entire embattled worshiping community. It’s a good reminder that even those who find themselves under duress should never forget to pray on behalf of others who are also experiencing…
Psalm 130
Proper 8B
Even the most capable biblical scholars find Psalm 130 hard to categorize. After all, it beautifully combines a plea for forgiveness with an expression of trust that contains an element of thanksgiving. However, perhaps it’s precisely that combination of elements that makes it such an eloquent Old Testament expression of the gospel. Martin Luther called…
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