Horace Bushnell, Sermons, p. 171

Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 25-28
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible , p. 5
Ivan Steiger, Ivan Steiger Sees the Bible, p. 75
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu, p. 101

Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 238

1-3     Jeremiah 17:7-8
1         Zephaniah 1:12
2-3     Genesis 1:11-12
2         Deuteronomy 6:7
3         Numbers 24:6; Psalm 92:12-14; Isaiah 1:30; Ezekiel 47:12; Mark 11:12-14

1         Theodor H. Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures, p. 447
1         Girolamo Savonarola, Lend Me Your Ears, p. 414

2-3     Pattiann Rogers, “Her Delight,” Song of the World Becoming, p. 166 f.

3         Amy Clampitt, “Green,” Poems for a Small Planet, p. 41

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 28-31

1-2    Acts 4:25-26
2        Psalm 33:13-15
7        Acts 13:33; Romans 1:3; Hebrews 1:5, 5:5
9        Revelation 2:26-27, 12:5, 19:15
11       Psalm 103:8

1-2     Theodor H. Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures, p. 448

1 Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are my son,
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
with trembling 12 kiss his feet,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 47-56

7     Matthew 5:39

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of me,
there is no help for him in God. [Selah]

3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4 I cry aloud to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy hill. [Selah]

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me round about.

7 Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
For thou dost smite all my enemies on the cheek,
thou dost break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Deliverance belongs to the LORD;
thy blessing be upon thy people! [Selah]

Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 61-64

4     Ephesians 4:26

8    Flora Slosson Wuellner, “Daily Life in Prayer with Our Bodies (Sleeping),” Prayer and Our Bodies, p. 125 f.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
Thou hast given me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

2 O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? [Selah]
3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.

4 Be angry, but sin not;
commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. [Selah]

5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.

6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, O LORD!”
7 Thou hast put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety.

Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 64-67

9     Romans 3:13

1-3     H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 92 f.

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD;
give heed to my groaning.
2 Hearken to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to thee do I pray.
3 O LORD, in the morning thou dost hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch.

4 For thou art not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not sojourn with thee.
5 The boastful may not stand before thy eyes;
thou hatest all evildoers.
6 Thou destroyest those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men.

7 But I through the abundance of thy steadfast love
will enter thy house,
I will worship toward thy holy temple
in the fear of thee.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness
because of my enemies;
make thy way straight before me.

9 For there is no truth in their mouth;
their heart is destruction,
their throat is an open sepulchre,
they flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against thee.

11 But let all who take refuge in thee rejoice,
let them ever sing for joy;
and do thou defend them,
that those who love thy name may exult in thee.
12 For thou dost bless the righteous, O LORD;
thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 6

1          Psalm 38:1; Jeremiah 10:24
6-8     Luke 22:44; Hebrews 5:7
8         Matthew 7:23; Luke 13:27

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger,
nor chasten me in thy wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is sorely troubled.
But thou, O LORD — how long?

4 Turn, O LORD, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee;
in Sheol who can give thee praise?

6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief,
it grows weak because of all my foes.

8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil;
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my supplication;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled;
they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.

9       Revelation 2:23
10     Ephesians 6:16

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush a Benjaminite.

1 O LORD my God, in thee do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they rend me,
dragging me away, with none to rescue.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have requited my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue me and overtake me,
and let him trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust. [Selah]

6 Arise, O LORD, in thy anger,
lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God; thou hast appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about thee;
and over it take thy seat on high.
8 The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.

9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish thou the righteous,
thou who triest the minds and hearts,
thou righteous God.
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil,
and is pregnant with mischief,
and brings forth lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole which he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own pate his violence descends.

17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

John Dominic Crossan, The Greatest Prayer, p. 50

Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, p. 144 f.

Robert Frost, Poetry of Robert Frost, p. 279

Stephen Jay Gould, “Darwin’s More Stately Mansion,” I Have Landed, p. 217

Keith Green, “How Majestic is Thy Name,” Songs for the Shepherd
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 7
Hans-Ruedi Weber, “Worship and Work,” Experiments with Bible Study, p. 59
Imaging the Word, Vol. 1, p. 38-41

2         Matthew 21:16
4-6     Job 7:17-18; Psalm 144:3; Hebrews 2:6-8
6         Psalm 110:1; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22

1      Me, “Note”

4      Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, p. 461

5      Maya Angelou, “Inauguration Poem” (1993)

6       Stephen Jay Gould, Bully for Brontosaurus, p. 109

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is thy name in all the earth!
Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted
2 by the mouth of babes and infants,
thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
4 what is man that thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man that thou dost care for him?

5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God,
and dost crown him with glory and honor.
6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the sea.

9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is thy name in all the earth!

Keith Green, “I Will Give Thanks to the Lord,” Songs for the Shepherd

10     Dante, “Canto 25,” Paradiso, p. 173

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in thee,
I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before thee.
4 For thou hast maintained my just cause;
thou hast sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

5 Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked;
thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 The enemy have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities thou hast rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.

7 But the LORD sits enthroned for ever,
he has established his throne for judgment;
8 and he judges the world with righteousness,
he judges the peoples with equity.

9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know thy name put their trust in thee,
for thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek thee.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O LORD!
Behold what I suffer from those who hate me,
O thou who liftest me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all thy praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in thy deliverance.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit which they made;
in the net which they hid has their own foot been caught.
16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. [Higgaion. Selah]

17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.

19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before thee!
20 Put them in fear, O LORD!
Let the nations know that they are but men! [Selah]

1-18     James 2:6-7
7           Romans 3:14

1 Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD?
Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart,
and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
4 In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times;
thy judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He thinks in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless,
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert;
he lurks that he may seize the poor,
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The hapless is crushed, sinks down,
and falls by his might.
11 He thinks in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thy hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God,
and say in his heart, “Thou wilt not call to account”?

14 Thou dost see; yea, thou dost note trouble and vexation,
that thou mayest take it into thy hands;
the hapless commits himself to thee;
thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 The LORD is king for ever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.

17 O LORD, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek;
thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 11,” Chant from the Hermitage

3     John Donne, Sermons on the Psalms & Gospels, p. 45

To the choirmaster. Of David.

1 In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains;
2 for lo, the wicked bend the bow,
they have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do”?

4 The LORD is in his holy temple,
the LORD’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes behold, his eyelids test, the children of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
and his soul hates him that loves violence.
6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and brimstone;
a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible , p. 9

5     Christoph Blumhardt, “The Power of God,” Blumhardt Reader, p. 250-254

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, LORD; for there is no longer any that is godly;
for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men.
2 Every one utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is our master?”

5 “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the LORD;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

7 Do thou, O LORD, protect us,
guard us ever from this generation.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

James L. Mays, “Expository Article,” Interpretation (July 1980), p. 279-283

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 How long, O LORD? Wilt thou forget me for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him”;
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in thy steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

1-7     Psalm 53:1-6
1-3     Romans 3:10-12

To the choirmaster. Of David.

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none that does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there are any that act wisely,
that seek after God.

3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt;
there is none that does good,
no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the LORD?

5 There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.

7 O that deliverance for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 15,” Chant from the Hermitage
Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, p. 185

1-5     Psalm 24:3-7; Isaiah 33:14-16

A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, who shall sojourn in thy tent?
Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?

2 He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right,
and speaks truth from his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue,
and does no evil to his friend,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
4 in whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who does not put out his money at interest,
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Flora Slosson Wuellner, Prayer and Our Bodies, p. 94 f.
Imaging the Word, Vol. 1, p. 66-69

2          John 15:5
8-11    Acts 2:25-28
10        Acts 13:35

6         Kathleen Norris, “Inheritance: Blessing and Curse,” Amazing Grace, p. 23

10-11    Ivan Steiger, Ivan Steiger Sees the Bible, p. 76
11          John Donne, Classics of Western Spirituality, p. 239

A Miktam of David.

1 Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
2 I say to the LORD, “Thou art my Lord;
I have no good apart from thee.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.

4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their libations of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.

5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
thou holdest my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.

7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure.
10 For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,
or let thy godly one see the Pit.

11 Thou dost show me the path of life;
in thy presence there is fulness of joy,
in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

8    Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 146

A Prayer of David.

1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From thee let my vindication come!
Let thy eyes see the right!

3 If thou triest my heart, if thou visitest me by night,
if thou testest me, thou wilt find no wickedness in me;
my mouth does not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to thy paths,
my feet have not slipped.

6 I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God;
incline thy ear to me, hear my words.
7 Wondrously show thy steadfast love,
O savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at thy right hand.

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of thy wings,
9 from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They track me down; now they surround me;
they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O LORD! confront them, overthrow them!
Deliver my life from the wicked by thy sword,
14 from men by thy hand, O LORD,
from men whose portion in life is of the world.
May their belly be filled with what thou hast stored up for them;
may their children have more than enough;
may they leave something over to their babes.

15 As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.

Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 73 f.
Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, p. 283-290

19            Psalm 31:8; Matthew 7:13
25-26     Mark 8:38; 2 Timothy 2:11-13
33            Habakkuk 3:19
33            Romans 15:9

2-4    Ivan Steiger, Ivan Steiger Sees the Bible, p. 77
35      Horace Bushnell, “The Gentleness of God,” Sermons, p. 148-162

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me,
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me,
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at thy rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

16 He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
but the LORD was my stay.
19 He brought me forth into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the loyal thou dost show thyself loyal;
with the blameless man thou dost show thyself blameless;
26 with the pure thou dost show thyself pure;
and with the crooked thou dost show thyself perverse.
27 For thou dost deliver a humble people;
but the haughty eyes thou dost bring down.
28 Yea, thou dost light my lamp;
the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
29 Yea, by thee I can crush a troop;
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God — his way is perfect;
the promise of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God? –
32 the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe.
33 He made my feet like hinds’ feet,
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation,
and thy right hand supported me,
and thy help made me great.
36 Thou didst give a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For thou didst gird me with strength for the battle;
thou didst make my assailants sink under me.
40 Thou didst make my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save,
they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 Thou didst deliver me from strife with the peoples;
thou didst make me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling out of their fastnesses.
46 The LORD lives; and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me;
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
yea, thou didst exalt me above my adversaries;
thou didst deliver me from men of violence.

49 For this I will extol thee, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing praises to thy name.
50 Great triumphs he gives to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants for ever.

Abraham Joseph Heschel (from Barrie Shepherd’s Preaching Class)

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 11
William Stafford, “Earth Dweller,” The Darkness Around Us is Deep, p. 104

1-14     John 1:1-18
4-6      Psalm 84:11; Malachi 4:2
4          Romans 10:18
6          James 1:11
14        Psalm 21:2; Romans 10:9-10

1-6    H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 110 f.
1-4    Kathleen Norris, “In Praise of Darkness,” Little Girls in Church, p. 20 f.

1-4    Richard Wilbur, “Games One [the asterisk],” New and Collected Poems, p. 315

1        Graham Hardy, “Does Modern Science Leave Room for God?,” Science and Christian Faith, p. 43-49
1        Aleane Mason, “Christmas Letter,” [in Christmas File]

9       Abraham Lincoln, “Second Inaugural,” Lend Me Your Ears, p. 441
14     Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 21

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and there is nothing hid from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring for ever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern his errors?
Clear thou me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 20,” Chant from the Hermitage, p. track 6

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings,
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! [Selah]

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfil all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfil all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some boast of chariots, and some of horses;
but we boast of the name of the LORD our God.
8 They will collapse and fall;
but we shall rise and stand upright.

9 Give victory to the king, O LORD;
answer us when we call.

Helen Vendler, “Psalms and John,” Communion, p. 383 f.

4     Daniel 7:13

4     Midrash on Ps. 21:5

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 In thy strength the king rejoices, O LORD;
and in thy help how greatly he exults!
2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
and hast not withheld the request of his lips. [Selah]
3 For thou dost meet him with goodly blessings;
thou dost set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of thee; thou gavest it to him,
length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great through thy help;
splendor and majesty thou dost bestow upon him.
6 Yea, thou dost make him most blessed for ever;
thou dost make him glad with the joy of thy presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven
when you appear.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath;
and fire will consume them.

10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their children from among the sons of men.
11 If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in thy strength!
We will sing and praise thy power.

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 15
Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller, Biblical Foundations for Mission, p. 130-134
Donald Juel, Messianic Exegesis, p. 89-103 & 110-117
Samuel Terrien, “The Hidden God,” The Elusive Presence, p. 321-323

1-31        Lamentations 5:19-22
1              Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34
7              Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:29; Luke 23:35
8              Matthew 27:43
18            Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24
22           Hebrews 2:12
27           Mark 14:9
29-31     Philippians 2:10-11
31            John 17:20

1-5     H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 30 f.
1-2     Imaging the Word, Vol. 3, p. 186
1         Denise Levertov, “The Prayer,” O Taste and See, p. 75

9-10   Bridget Meehan, Exploring the Feminine Face of God, p. 17

To the choirmaster: according to The Hind of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.

3 Yet thou art holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In thee our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 To thee they cried, and were saved;
in thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm, and no man;
scorned by men, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me,
they make mouths at me, they wag their heads;
8 “He committed his cause to the LORD;
let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet thou art he who took me from the womb;
thou didst keep me safe upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon thee was I cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me thou hast been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me,
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax,
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
thou dost lay me in the dust of death.

16 Yea, dogs are round about me;
a company of evildoers encircle me;
they have pierced my hands and feet –
17 I can count all my bones —
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my raiment they cast lots.

19 But thou, O LORD, be not far off!
O thou my help, hasten to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion,
my afflicted soul from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of thy name to my brethren;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
all you sons of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted;
and he has not hid his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From thee comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
May your hearts live for ever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.

29 Yea, to him shall all the proud of the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
men shall tell of the Lord to the coming generation,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
that he has wrought it.

Keith Green, Songs for the Shepherd
George Herbert, Selected Poetry, p. 235
Toki Miyashima, “Twenty-Third Psalm for Busy People,” The Circuit Rider (August 1992)

Bradford Morrow, “Psalms,” Communion, p. 13-28
Wayne Muller, Sabbath, p. 79

Holmes Rolston, III, “The Bible and Ecology,” Interpretation (January 1996), p. 22

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 19
Samuel Terrien, “The Sufficient God,” The Elusive Presence, p. 332
Patrick J. Wilson and Beverly Roberts Gaventa, “Preaching as the Re-reading of Scripture,” Interpretation (October 1998), p. 398

Imaging the Word, Vol. 1, p. 196-199
“Scottish Psalter”

1-4     Ezekiel 34:11-16
2        Revelation 7:17
3        Ezekiel 36:22-27
4        Job 38:17; Psalm 138:7; Isaiah 11:6
5        Job 16:11; Psalm 78:19; Matthew 6:17
6        Luke 19:47

1      Barbara Sullivan, “September 27, 1986,” Portals of Prayer (September 1986), p. 30

4      Dan Damon, “When Sorrow Will Not Be Consoled,” The Sound of Welcome, p. 22

4      John Calvin, “Sermon on Suffering Persecution,” Lend Me Your Ears, p. 417

4      Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Hymn of the Universe, p. 104

6       Augustine, “This Only Do I Ask,” An African Prayer Book, p. 137

6      George Herbert, “Mattens,” The Selected Poetry of George Herbert, p. 104

6      Jane Parker Huber, “O God of Earth and Space” [note]

6      John Shea, The God Who Fell from Heaven & The Hour of the Unexpected

6      Francis Thompson, “The Hound of Heaven,” The Book of Uncommon Prayer, p. 153

6       Wang Weifan, Lilies of the Field, p. 41

6      Charles Wright, “Southern Cross,” Pushcart Prize VII, p. 84

6      “Traditional Tale,” quoted in Wayne Muller, Sabbath, p 48

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2 he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for ever.

Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 97

1-2     Jeremiah 33:2
1         1 Corinthians 10:26
3-6     Psalm 15; Isaiah 33:14-16
4         Matthew 5:8

1     Denise Levertov, “Tragic Error,” Evening Train, p. 69

4     Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 769

A Psalm of David.

1 The earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein;
2 for he has founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false,
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the LORD,
and vindication from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. [Selah]

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory! [Selah]

5             Luke 1:47
11           Ezekiel 36:22-29
12-13     Matthew 5:5

4     Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, What’s in a Phrase?, p. 15

A Psalm of David.

1 To thee, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in thee I trust,
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Yea, let none that wait for thee be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know thy ways, O LORD;
teach me thy paths.
5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
for thou art the God of my salvation;
for thee I wait all the day long.

6 Be mindful of thy mercy, O LORD, and of thy steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions;
according to thy steadfast love remember me,
for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD!

8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For thy name’s sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who is the man that fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

13 He himself shall abide in prosperity,
and his children shall possess the land.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn thou to me, and be gracious to me;
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

19 Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 Oh guard my life, and deliver me;
let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in thee.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for thee.

22 Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.

Of David

1 Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
3 For thy steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to thee.

4 I do not sit with false men,
nor do I consort with dissemblers;
5 I hate the company of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.

6 I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about thy altar, O LORD,
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
and telling all thy wondrous deeds.

8 O LORD, I love the habitation of thy house,
and the place where thy glory dwells.
9 Sweep me not away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 men in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.

11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the LORD.

John Michael Talbot, “Part I and Part II,” Chant from the Hermitage
John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 27,” Hiding Place
Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, p. 307-312

Marilyn von Waldner, “The Lord is My Light and My Salvation,” What Return Can I Make?

4       Luke 2:46-50
10     Mark 3:31-35
13     Exodus 33:19

1             Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 122-125
13-14     Kathleen Norris, “Land of the Living,” Little Girls in Church, p. 40 f.

13          Francis Patrick Sullivan, “Stories to Grow On,” A Time To Sow, p. 210

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me,
uttering slanders against me,
my adversaries and foes,
they shall stumble and fall.

3 Though a host encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent,
he will set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies round about me;
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 Thou hast said, “Seek ye my face.” My heart says to thee,
“Thy face, LORD, do I seek.”9 Hide not thy face from me.

Turn not thy servant away in anger,
thou who hast been my help.
Cast me not off, forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me up.

11 Teach me thy way, O LORD;
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea,
wait for the LORD!

4-5     2 Corinthians 5:10
4         Revelation 22:12

A Psalm of David.

1 To thee, O LORD, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if thou be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to thee for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward thy most holy sanctuary.

3 Take me not off with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
while mischief is in their hearts.
4 Requite them according to their work,
and according to the evil of their deeds;
requite them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD,
or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.

6 Blessed be the LORD!
for he has heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 O save thy people, and bless thy heritage;
be thou their shepherd, and carry them for ever.

John Donne, “God Prospers …” Classics of Western Spirituality, p. 283
Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller, Biblical Foundations for Mission, p. 114-118
Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, p. 172-173

1-2     Psalm 96:7-9
3-9    Job 37:4-5

1-11     Revelation 10:3
11        Luke 2:14

A Psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy array.

3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, upon many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful,
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness,
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the LORD makes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forests bare;
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king for ever.
11 May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 21

11     Jeremiah 31:13; Lamentations 5:14-15

11-12     Imaging the Word, Vol. 3, p. 136

A Psalm of David. A Song at the dedication of the Temple.

1 I will extol thee, O LORD, for thou hast drawn me up,
and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help,
and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By thy favor, O LORD,
thou hadst established me as a strong mountain;
thou didst hide thy face,
I was dismayed.

8 To thee, O LORD, I cried;
and to the LORD I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise thee?
Will it tell of thy faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be thou my helper!”

11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing;
thou hast loosed my sackcloth
and girded me with gladness,
12 that my soul may praise thee and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.

Donald Juel, Messianic Exegesis, p. 110

5      Luke 23:46
8      Psalm 18:19; Matthew 7:13
15     Matthew 6:13

5     John Donne, “Devotions: Now This Bell Tolling …” Classics of Western Spirituality, p. 274

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 In thee, O LORD, do I seek refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in thy righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline thy ear to me,
rescue me speedily!
Be thou a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!

3 Yea, thou art my rock and my fortress;
for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net which is hidden for me,
for thou art my refuge.
5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit;
thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

6 Thou hatest those who pay regard to vain idols;
but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will rejoice and be glad for thy steadfast love,
because thou hast seen my affliction,
thou hast taken heed of my adversities,
8 and hast not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
thou hast set my feet in a broad place.

9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief,
my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,
and my bones waste away.

11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horror to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13 Yea, I hear the whispering of many—
terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in thee, O LORD,
I say, “Thou art my God.”
15 My times are in thy hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors!
16 Let thy face shine on thy servant;
save me in thy steadfast love!
17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I call on thee;
let the wicked be put to shame,
let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be dumb,
which speak insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.

19 O how abundant is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for those who fear thee,
and wrought for those who take refuge in thee,
in the sight of the sons of men!
20 In the covert of thy presence thou hidest them
from the plots of men;
thou holdest them safe under thy shelter
from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was beset as in a besieged city.
22 I had said in my alarm,
“I am driven far from thy sight.”
But thou didst hear my supplications,
when I cried to thee for help.

23 Love the LORD, all you his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but abundantly requites him who acts haughtily.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!

John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 32,” Chant from the Hermitage
John Michael Talbot, “The Hiding Place,” Hiding Place

1-2      Romans 4:7-8
3-5     Job 31:33
5         Zephaniah 3:3

5      John Donne, Classics of Western Spirituality, p. 218-232

A Psalm of David. A Maskil.

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I declared not my sin,
my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. [Selah]

5 I acknowledged my sin to thee,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. [Selah]

6 Therefore let every one who is godly offer prayer to thee;
at a time of distress, in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 Thou art a hiding place for me,
thou preservest me from trouble;
thou dost encompass me with deliverance. [Selah]

8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not keep with you.

10 Many are the pangs of the wicked;
but steadfast love surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation and Obedience, p. 224-230

13-15      Psalm 2:4

5        Wendell Berry, “The Journey’s End,” Words from the Land, p. 234

6         Irenaeus, The Holy Spirit, p. 42

20      Christoph Blumhardt, “Wait for the Lord,” Blumhardt Reader, p. 178-184

1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Praise the LORD with the lyre,
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song,
play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the LORD is upright;
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD,
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood forth.

10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nought;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

13 The LORD looks down from heaven,
he sees all the sons of men;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks forth
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
16 A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death,
and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and shield.
21 Yea, our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in thee.

2             Isaiah 61:1
8             1 Peter 2:3
12-16     Amos 5:4-6, 5:14-16; 1 Peter 3:10-12
18           Isaiah 57:15
20          John 19:36

8             Denise Levertov, “O Taste and See,” O Taste and See, p. 53

8             C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison, Slow Church, p. 55

17-18     Francis Patrick Sullivan, “A Woman’s Touch,” A Time To Sow, p. 192

A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good!
Happy is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 O fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no want!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, O sons, listen to me,
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is there who desires life,
and covets many days, that he may enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous,
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous;
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked;
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

15     Jeremiah 20:10
19     Psalm 69:4; John 15:25
23     John 20:28
26     Proverbs 24:17; 1 Corinthians 13:6

A Psalm of David.

1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise for my help!
3 Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your deliverance!”

4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and confounded
who devise evil against me!
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them on!
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!

7 For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8 Let ruin come upon them unawares!
And let the net which they hid ensnare them;
let them fall therein to ruin!

9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the LORD,
exulting in his deliverance.
10 All my bones shall say,
“O LORD, who is like thee,
thou who deliverest the weak
from him who is too strong for him,
the weak and needy from him who despoils him?”

11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I know not.
12 They requite me evil for good;
my soul is forlorn.
13 But I, when they were sick—
I wore sackcloth,
I afflicted myself with fasting.
I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,
14 as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
I went about as one who laments his mother,
bowed down and in mourning.

15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,
they gathered together against me;
cripples whom I knew not
slandered me without ceasing;
16 they impiously mocked more and more,
gnashing at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O LORD, wilt thou look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my life from the lions!
18 Then I will thank thee in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise thee.

19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes,
and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
but against those who are quiet in the land
they conceive words of deceit.
21 They open wide their mouths against me;
they say, “Aha, Aha!
our eyes have seen it!”

22 Thou hast seen, O LORD; be not silent!
O Lord, be not far from me!
23 Bestir thyself, and awake for my right,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,
according to thy righteousness;
and let them not rejoice over me!
25 Let them not say to themselves,
“Aha, we have our heart’s desire!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26 Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether
who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
who magnify themselves against me!

27 Let those who desire my vindication
shout for joy and be glad,
and say evermore,
“Great is the LORD,
who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
28 Then my tongue shall tell of thy righteousness
and of thy praise all the day long.

David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 22
Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 100

1      Romans 3:18
4     Micah 2:1

7-9     Carla De Sola, “Workshop,” Earl Lectures (1/20/95)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD.

1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are mischief and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots mischief while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he spurns not evil.

5 Thy steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
thy faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God,
thy judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast thou savest, O LORD.

7 How precious is thy steadfast love, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of thy house,
and thou givest them drink from the river of thy delights.
9 For with thee is the fountain of life;
in thy light do we see light.
10 O continue thy steadfast love to those who know thee,
and thy salvation to the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie prostrate,
they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Bonita Raine, The Beatitudes in Modern Life, p. 34 ff.
Theodor H. Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures, p. 326 ff.

1-40       Matthew 6:25-34
1              Proverbs 24:19
8             Matthew 6:34
11            Matthew 5:5
14           Matthew 7:14
27           Romans 12:9
33           Mark 13:11
35-36     Mark 11:20-21

A Psalm of David

1 Fret not yourself because of the wicked,
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your vindication as the light,
and your right as the noonday.

7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off;
but those who wait for the LORD shall possess the land.

10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look well at his place, he will not be there.
11 But the meek shall possess the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous,
and gnashes his teeth at him;
13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows,
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those who walk uprightly;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.

16 Better is a little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken;
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will abide for ever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have abundance.

20 But the wicked perish;
the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures,
they vanish — like smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows, and cannot pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the LORD shall possess the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are from the LORD,
and he establishes him in whose way he delights;
24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD is the stay of his hand.

25 I have been young, and now am old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging bread.
26 He is ever giving liberally and lending,
and his children become a blessing.
27 Depart from evil, and do good;
so shall you abide for ever.
28 For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.

The righteous shall be preserved for ever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall possess the land,
and dwell upon it for ever.

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.

32 The wicked watches the righteous,
and seeks to slay him.
33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power,
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

34 Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to possess the land;
you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

35 I have seen a wicked man overbearing,
and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36 Again I passed by, and, lo, he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.

37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright,
for there is posterity for the man of peace.
38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

20     1 Samuel 24:17

A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger,
nor chasten me in thy wrath!
2 For thy arrows have sunk into me,
and thy hand has come down on me.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of thy indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

5 My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

9 Lord, all my longing is known to thee,
my sighing is not hidden from thee.
10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
and the light of my eyes — it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my kinsmen stand afar off.

12 Those who seek my life lay their snares,
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin,
and meditate treachery all the day long.

13 But I am like a deaf man, I do not hear,
like a dumb man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yea, I am like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
15 But for thee, O LORD, do I wait;
it is thou, O LORD my God, who wilt answer.
16 For I pray, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”

17 For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity,
I am sorry for my sin.
19 Those who are my foes without cause are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 Those who render me evil for good
are my adversaries because I follow after good.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

Walter Brueggemann, Finally Comes the Poet, p. 51-53

5      Matthew 6:27
6      Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21
11     Matthew 6:19-20

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1 I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will bridle my mouth, so long
as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was dumb and silent,
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

4 “LORD, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is!
5 Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight.
Surely every man stands as a mere breath! [Selah]

6 Surely man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nought are they in turmoil;
man heaps up, and knows not who will gather!

7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in thee.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Make me not the scorn of the fool!
9 I am dumb, I do not open my mouth;
for it is thou who hast done it.
10 Remove thy stroke from me;
I am spent by the blows of thy hand.

11 When thou dost chasten man with rebukes for sin,
thou dost consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely every man is a mere breath! [Selah]

12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not thy peace at my tears!
For I am thy passing guest,
a sojourner, like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may know gladness,
before I depart and be no more!”

6-8    Hebrews 10:5-7
8        Jeremiah 31:33

5        Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 229

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods!
5 Thou hast multiplied, O LORD my God,
thy wondrous deeds and thy thoughts toward us;
none can compare with thee!
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be numbered.

6 Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire;
but thou hast given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
thou hast not required.
7 Then I said, “Lo, I come;
in the roll of the book it is written of me;
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God;
thy law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
lo, I have not restrained my lips,
as thou knowest, O LORD.
10 I have not hid thy saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation;
I have not concealed thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 Do not thou, O LORD, withhold thy mercy from me,
let thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me, till I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!
O LORD, make haste to help me!
14 Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire my hurt!
15 Let them be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16 But may all who seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee;
may those who love thy salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy;
but the Lord takes thought for me.
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
do not tarry, O my God!

9      Matthew 26:23; Mark 14:18; Luke 22:21; John 13:18
13    Psalm 106:48

9    D’Arcy W. Thompson, (found in Nancy Morgan’s book)

1 Blessed is he who considers the poor!
The LORD delivers him in the day of trouble;
2 the LORD protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land;
thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 The LORD sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness thou healest all his infirmities.

4 As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against thee!”
5 My enemies say of me in malice:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
while his heart gathers mischief;
when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, “A deadly thing has fastened upon him;
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10 But do thou, O LORD, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may requite them!

11 By this I know that thou art pleased with me,
in that my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12 But thou hast upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in thy presence for ever.
13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.