Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2A
In Michigan where I live, since Thanksgiving Day we have already endured our share of snow spreading out like wool and some serious icy blasts as well. One good thing about winter is that it gives you a leg up on understanding the various psalms that, like Psalm 147, use winter weather as imagery for…
Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2C
It’s not at all clear why the Lectionary skips the first 11 verses of the 147th psalm since they contain much of the same sentiments and ideas as the final verses that the RCL does select. In any event, this is one of a number of psalms and other biblical passages where the psalmist takes…
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 5B
A pastor friend of mine who is very dapper and proper in all things, including his attire, once observed another pastor show up for a summertime seminar dinner wearing a pair of shorts. My friend saw this and I noticed the muscles in his jaw tighten slightly before he wryly said, “I believe it is…
Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
2nd Sunday after Christmast C
As we lurch into 2022 after another difficult year globally, we realize with a sense of startlement that we are technically now entering Year 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic. A couple years ago not a few of us hoped the worst of it would not last 3 weeks. Even 3 months seemed hard to fathom. …
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 5B
Psalm 147 is a favorite of the Revised Common Lectionary. It seems to crop up at least once in each liturgical year and this is now the second time it has occurred in the still-new Year B cycle. This was the psalm—albeit with a slightly different configuration of verses—just one month ago on January 3. …
Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2B
Two rather striking features to this psalm leap out at you. First, there is the singularly positive, sunny statements about how God has strengthened Jerusalem, given peace within Israel’s borders, and just generally provides a warm and safe environment for God’s people. The second striking feature is the celebration at the end of Psalm 147…
Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2A
Two rather striking features to this psalm leap out at you. First, there is the singularly positive, sunny statements about how God has strengthened Jerusalem, given peace within Israel’s borders, and just generally provides a warm and safe environment for God’s people. The second striking feature is the celebration at the end of Psalm 147…
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 5B
Psalm 147 is the second Psalm in the so-called Hallelujah chorus that ends the book of Psalms. It is part of the final triumphant response of God’s people to their difficult experience with God in a hostile world. Gone now are all the “why’s” and “how long’s,” the threats of enemies and the crises of…
Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
2nd Sunday after Christmas C
“January has always seemed to be something of a letdown,” writes James Limburg. After all, even if, as T.S. Eliot writes, “April is the cruelest month,” January is perhaps the coldest month, at least in many parts of North America. Christmas’ excitement generally allows North Americans to look past December’s sometimes-wintry weather. But now the…
Sermon Commentary Library
Our weekly sermon commentaries are Lectionary-based, which across its three-year cycle, encompass a vast array of biblical texts. Filter the Sermon Commentary Library to search Scripture texts by book and chapter to find commentary, illustrations, and reflections to spark ideas.
Looking for something else? View our Heidelberg Catechism sermon resources and our Reformed Connections to the RCL section that traces Lectionary texts to specific parts of the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession.