Psalms, Book V (107-150)
Back to Psalms 89-106 or Psalms or Markings
Imaging the Word, Vol. 3, p. 58
4-9 Matthew 5:6
9 Luke 1:53; 6:21
29 Mark 4:39
33-38 Isaiah 43:19-21; Revelation 22:1-2
4-32 John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus, p. 407
The Historical Jesus
… it seems possible that 128 WALKING ON WATER [1/2] developed from 3 BREAD AND FISH [1/6] as a natural dyad based on the balance and sequence of sea and meal miracles from the Exodus tradition as summarized, for example, in Psalm 78:13 21-29. If that is so, the order of meal and sea in the MIRACLE SOURCE used by Mark and John may have been reversed under the influence of the non-Exodus situation and sequence in Psalm 107:4-9, 23-32
23-28 H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 13 f.
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
7 he led them by a straight way,
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to the sons of men!
9 For he satisfies him who is thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to the sons of men!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were sick through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
20 he sent forth his word, and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to the sons of men!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded, and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men,
and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to the sons of men!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly;
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt upon princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction,
and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things;
let men consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Helen Vendler, “Psalms and John,” Communion, p. 385 f.
1-2 Thomas Merton, “The Trappist Abbey: Matins,” Selected Poetry, p. 16
A Song. A Psalm of David.
1 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my soul!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to thee, O LORD, among the peoples,
I will sing praises to thee among the nations.
4 For thy steadfast love is great above the heavens,
thy faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let thy glory be over all the earth!
6 That thy beloved may be delivered,
give help by thy right hand, and answer me!
7 God has promised in his sanctuary:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Hast thou not rejected us, O God?
Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies.
12 O grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the help of man!
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
8 Acts 1:20
25 Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:29
1-4 H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 94 f.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They beset me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
even as I make prayer for them.
5 So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man against him;
let an accuser bring him to trial.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few;
may another seize his goods!
9 May his children be fatherless,
and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg;
may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off;
may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the LORD continually;
and may his memory be cut off from the earth!
16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted to their death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come on him!
He did not like blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment which he wraps round him,
like a belt with which he daily girds himself!
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But thou, O GOD my Lord,
deal on my behalf for thy name’s sake;
because thy steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone, like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they wag their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God!
Save me according to thy steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is thy hand;
thou, O LORD, hast done it!
28 Let them curse, but do thou bless!
Let my assailants be put to shame; may thy servant be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle!
30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save him from those who condemn him to death.
Donald Juel, Messianic Exegesis, p. 135-150
1 Blaise Pascal, Pensées, “#730,” p. 220
1 The LORD says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The LORD sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your foes!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day you lead your host
upon the holy mountains.
From the womb of the morning
like dew your youth will come to you.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
9 Luke 1:49
10 Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7, 9:10
1 Prasie the LORD.
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who have pleasure in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4 He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy,
8 they are established for ever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant for ever.
Holy and terrible is his name!
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have all those who practice it.
His praise endures for ever!
1 Praise the LORD.
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house;
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4 Light rises in the darkness for the upright;
the LORD is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered for ever.
7 He is not afraid of evil tidings;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is steady, he will not be afraid,
until he sees his desire on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures for ever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked man comes to nought.
3 Malachi 1:11
7-9 Luke 1:46-55
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
4 The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
upon the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 41
1 When Israel went forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled,
Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
17 Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 64
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to thy name give glory,
for the sake of thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, put your trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
12 The LORD has been mindful of us;
he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD,
both small and great.
14 May the LORD give you increase,
you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth!
16 The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the sons of men.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any that go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD
from this time forth and for evermore.
Praise the LORD!
Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 102
Marilyn von Waldner, “What Return Can I Make?,” What Return Can I Make?
10 2 Corinthians 4:13
11 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
12 1 Thessalonians 3:9
15 Psalm 72:14
17-18 Psalm 56:12
12-19 John Michael Talbot, “My Vows to the Lord,” Hiding Place
1 I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I beseech thee, save my life!”
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10 I kept my faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
“Men are all a vain hope.”
12 What shall I render to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, I am thy servant;
I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid.
Thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
1 Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us;
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever.
Praise the LORD!
6 Hebrews 13:6
14 Exodus 15:2; Isaiah 12:2
22-23 Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11
22 Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7
25 Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9; John 12:13
26 Matthew 21:9, 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35, 19:38; John 12:13
24 Denise Levertov, “Daily Bread,” Evening Train, p. 13
“Daily Bread”
A gull far off
rises and falls, arc of a breath,
two sparrows pause on the telephone wire,
chirp a brief interchange, fly back to the ground,
the bus picks up one passenger and zooms up the hill,
across the water the four poplars
conceal their tremor, feet together, arms pressed to their sides,
behind them the banked conifers dark and steep;
my pear tree drops a brown pear from its inaccessible height
into a bramble and ivy tangle, grey sky
whitens a little, now one can see vague forms of cloud
pencilled lightly across it.
This is the day that the Lord hath made, l
et us rejoice and be glad in it.
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.
6 With the LORD on my side I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees,
they blazed like a fire of thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Hark, glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted,
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has chastened me sorely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank thee that thou hast answered me
and hast become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner.
23 This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech thee, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech thee, give us success!
26 Blessed be he who enters in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 Thou art my God, and I will give thanks to thee;
thou art my God, I will extol thee.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever!
Doug Hitt, “Translations,” Weavings (May/June 1995), p. 26
“Translations”
John Michael Talbot, “The Word of God,” Meditations in the Spirit
11 Matthew 6:19-21
46 Isaiah 52:15; Mark 13:9-11
54 Psalm 137:2-4
71 Matthew 5:3
72 Proverbs 3:14-15
73 Psalm 19
89-90 Mark 13:31
98-100 Luke 2:41-52
113 Matthew 5:8, 6:22
134 Mark 10:45
136 Luke 19:41
162 Matthew 13:44-46
176 Ezekiel 34:11-16; Luke 15:3-7
103-104 Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 50-53
145-152 John Michael Talbot, “Lord Hear Me,” Meditations in the Spirit
152 Michel Boutier, Prayers for My Village, p. 11
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 Thou hast commanded thy precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping thy statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with an upright heart,
when I learn thy righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe thy statutes;
O forsake me not utterly!
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart I seek thee;
let me not wander from thy commandments!
11 I have laid up thy word in my heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed be thou, O LORD;
teach me thy statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of thy mouth.
14 In the way of thy testimonies
I delight as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on thy precepts,
and fix my eyes on thy ways.
16 I will delight in thy statutes;
I will not forget thy word.
17 Deal bountifully with thy servant,
that I may live and observe thy word.
18 Open my eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
19 I am a sojourner on earth;
hide not thy commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for thy ordinances at all times.
21 Thou dost rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from thy commandments;
22 take away from me their scorn and contempt,
for I have kept thy testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,
thy servant will meditate on thy statutes.
24 Thy testimonies are my delight,
they are my counselors.
25 My soul cleaves to the dust;
revive me according to thy word!
26 When I told of my ways, thou didst answer me;
teach me thy statutes!
27 Make me understand the way of thy precepts,
and I will meditate on thy wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to thy word!
29 Put false ways far from me;
and graciously teach me thy law!
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness,
I set thy ordinances before me.
31 I cleave to thy testimonies, O LORD;
let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of thy commandments
when thou enlargest my understanding!
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding,
that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of thy commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to thy testimonies,
and not to gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
and give me life in thy ways.
38 Confirm to thy servant thy promise,
which is for those who fear thee.
39 Turn away the reproach which I dread;
for thy ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I long for thy precepts;
in thy righteousness give me life!
41 Let thy steadfast love come to me, O LORD,
thy salvation according to thy promise;
42 then shall I have an answer for those who taunt me,
for I trust in thy word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in thy ordinances.
44 I will keep thy law continually,
for ever and ever;
45 and I shall walk at liberty,
for I have sought thy precepts.
46 I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings,
and shall not be put to shame;
47 for I find my delight in thy commandments,
which I love.
48 I revere thy commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on thy statutes.
49 Remember thy word to thy servant,
in which thou hast made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction
that thy promise gives me life.
51 Godless men utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from thy law.
52 When I think of thy ordinances from of old,
I take comfort, O LORD.
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
who forsake thy law.
54 Thy statutes have been my songs
in the house of my pilgrimage.
55 I remember thy name in the night, O LORD,
and keep thy law.
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept thy precepts.
57 The LORD is my portion;
I promise to keep thy words.
58 I entreat thy favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to thy promise.
59 When I think of thy ways,
I turn my feet to thy testimonies;
60 I hasten and do not delay
to keep thy commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget thy law.
62 At midnight I rise to praise thee,
because of thy righteous ordinances.
63 I am a companion of all who fear thee,
of those who keep thy precepts.
64 The earth, O LORD, is full of thy steadfast love;
teach me thy statutes!
65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD,
according to thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray;
but now I keep thy word.
68 Thou art good and doest good;
teach me thy statutes.
69 The godless besmear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep thy precepts;
70 their heart is gross like fat,
but I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
73 Thy hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn thy commandments.
74 Those who fear thee shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in thy word.
75 I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right,
and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.
76 Let thy steadfast love be ready to comfort me
according to thy promise to thy servant.
77 Let thy mercy come to me, that I may live;
for thy law is my delight.
78 Let the godless be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on thy precepts.
79 Let those who fear thee turn to me,
that they may know thy testimonies.
80 May my heart be blameless in thy statutes,
that I may not be put to shame!
81 My soul languishes for thy salvation;
I hope in thy word.
82 My eyes fail with watching for thy promise;
I ask, “When wilt thou comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten thy statutes.
84 How long must thy servant endure?
When wilt thou judge those who persecute me?
85 Godless men have dug pitfalls for me,
men who do not conform to thy law.
86 All thy commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth;
but I have not forsaken thy precepts.
88 In thy steadfast love spare my life,
that I may keep the testimonies of thy mouth.
89 For ever, O LORD,
thy word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Thy faithfulness endures to all generations;
thou hast established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By thy appointment they stand this day;
for all things are thy servants.
92 If thy law had not been my delight,
I should have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget thy precepts;
for by them thou hast given me life.
94 I am thine, save me;
for I have sought thy precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me;
but I consider thy testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but thy commandment is exceedingly broad.
97 Oh, how I love thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
98 Thy commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep thy precepts.
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep thy word.
102 I do not turn aside from thy ordinances,
for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
105 Thy word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe thy righteous ordinances.
107 I am sorely afflicted; give me life, O LORD,
according to thy word!
108 Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD,
and teach me thy ordinances.
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies are my heritage for ever;
yea, they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform thy statutes
for ever, to the end.
113 I hate double-minded men,
but I love thy law.
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to thy promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for thy statutes continually!
118 Thou dost spurn all who go astray from thy statutes;
yea, their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth thou dost count as dross;
therefore I love thy testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of thee,
and I am afraid of thy judgments.
121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be surety for thy servant for good;
let not the godless oppress me.
123 My eyes fail with watching for thy salvation,
and for the fulfilment of thy righteous promise.
124 Deal with thy servant according to thy steadfast love,
and teach me thy statutes.
125 I am thy servant; give me understanding,
that I may know thy testimonies!
126 It is time for the LORD to act,
for thy law has been broken.
127 Therefore I love thy commandments
above gold, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I direct my steps by all thy precepts;
I hate every false way.
129 Thy testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The unfolding of thy words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
131 With open mouth I pant,
because I long for thy commandments.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is thy wont toward those who love thy name.
133 Keep steady my steps according to thy promise,
and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from man’s oppression,
that I may keep thy precepts.
135 Make thy face shine upon thy servant,
and teach me thy statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears,
because men do not keep thy law.
137 Righteous art thou, O LORD,
and right are thy judgments.
138 Thou hast appointed thy testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget thy words.
140 Thy promise is well tried,
and thy servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget thy precepts.
142 Thy righteousness is righteous for ever,
and thy law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but thy commandments are my delight.
144 Thy testimonies are righteous for ever;
give me understanding that I may live.
145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!
I will keep thy statutes.
146 I cry to thee; save me,
that I may observe thy testimonies.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I hope in thy words.
148 My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,
that I may meditate upon thy promise.
149 Hear my voice in thy steadfast love; O LORD,
in thy justice preserve my life.
150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;
they are far from thy law.
151 But thou art near, O LORD,
and all thy commandments are true.
152 Long have I known from thy testimonies
that thou hast founded them for ever.
153 Look on my affliction and deliver me,
for I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
give me life according to thy promise!
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they do not seek thy statutes.
156 Great is thy mercy, O LORD;
give me life according to thy justice.
157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
but I do not swerve from thy testimonies.
158 I look at the faithless with disgust,
because they do not keep thy commands.
159 Consider how I love thy precepts!
Preserve my life according to thy steadfast love.
160 The sum of thy word is truth;
and every one of thy righteous ordinances endures for ever.
161 Princes persecute me without cause,
but my heart stands in awe of thy words.
162 I rejoice at thy word
like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love thy law.
164 Seven times a day I praise thee
for thy righteous ordinances.
165 Great peace have those who love thy law;
nothing can make them stumble.
166 I hope for thy salvation, O LORD,
and I do thy commandments.
167 My soul keeps thy testimonies;
I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep thy precepts and testimonies,
for all my ways are before thee.
169 Let my cry come before thee, O LORD;
give me understanding according to thy word!
170 Let my supplication come before thee;
deliver me according to thy word.
171 My lips will pour forth praise
that thou dost teach me thy statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of thy word,
for all thy commandments are right.
173 Let thy hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen thy precepts.
174 I long for thy salvation, O LORD,
and thy law is my delight.
175 Let me live, that I may praise thee,
and let thy ordinances help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant,
for I do not forget thy commandments.
A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I cry to the LORD,
that he may answer me:
2 “Deliver me, O LORD,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you?
And what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war!
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible , p. 42
John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 121,” Chant from the Hermitage
3-4 Isaiah 5:27
5-6 Isaiah 4:6
1-2 John Michael Talbot, “I Lift Up My Eyes,” Meditations in the Spirit & Hiding Place
A Song of Ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From whence does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved,
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and for evermore.
Augustine, “Love of Our Enemies (8, 4-10),” Love One Another, My Friends, p. 81
3 Peter Ochs, in John Howard Yoder, The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited, p. 167
The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited
‘Jerusalem built up (b’nuya , or rebuilt), a city knit together ( sh’chuvrah ).’ Why ‘knit together’? The plain sense of the next verse seems to be clear: a city ‘to which tribes would make pilgrimage’, that is, a city in which the different tribes are knitted together in praise for God. Juxtaposed, however, to the passage from Hosea [11:9], the rabbinic interpreters suggest another meaning that could, at least theologically, apply to the context both of the Psalm and of Hosea. The passage could be read: ‘Jerusalem built as a city that has a companion (she [yesh lo] chavurah)’, that is , has a companion in heaven (!). The implication is that this ‘earthly city’ has a correlative city, or prototype, in heaven.
6-9 H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 163 f.
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem, built as a city
which is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 There thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they prosper who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers!”
8 For my brethren and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
A Song of Ascents.
1 To thee I lift up my eyes,
O thou who art enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Too long our soul has been sated with the scorn
of those who are at ease,
the contempt of the proud.
John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 124,” Chant from the Hermitage
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
—let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped as a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
A Song of Ascents.
1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the LORD is round about his people,
from this time forth and for evermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
upon the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside upon their crooked ways
the LORD will lead away with evildoers!
Peace be in Israel!
Wendell Berry, “Poem for J.” Collected Poems, p. 167
Marilyn von Waldner, “The Lord has done Great Things for Us,” What Return Can I Make?
A Song of Ascents.
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb!
5 May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy!
6 He that goes forth weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Gary Snyder, Axe Handles, p. 57
John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 127,” Chant from the Hermitage
1-2 John Michael Talbot, “Unless the Lord Build the House,” Hiding Place
2 Flora Slosson Wuellner, Prayer and Our Bodies, p. 125 f.
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, sons are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Wendell Berry, Another Turn of the Crank, p. 69
Another Turn of the Crank
… an articulate hope … of a settled, independent, frugal life on a small freehold. We can find this hope in Hesiod, in … Virgil … in the 128th Pslam. This was the vision that we finally came to call “Jeffersonian”—a free nation of authentically and securely landed people.
…life adapted to available technology and personal desire and life adapted to a known place.
Wendell Berry, What are People For? p. 160
What are People For?
Helen Vendler, “Psalms and John,” Communion, p. 384 f.
A Song of Ascents.
1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
5 The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
A Song of Ascents.
1 “Sorely have they afflicted me from my youth,”
—let Israel now say—
2 “Sorely have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
4 The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does
not fill his hand or the binder of sheaves his bosom,
8 while those who pass by do not say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
Michel Boutier, Prayers for My Village, p. 63
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible , p. 43
John Michael Talbot, “Out of the Depths,” Meditations in the Spirit
A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let thy ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3 If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee,
that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the LORD
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
John Michael Talbot, “Psalm 131,” Chant from the Hermitage, track 17
2 Eugene Peterson, Praying the Psalms, (November 12)
Praying the Psalms
An infant, noisy with hunger needs, is indifferent to talk and impatient with diversions, but is quickly quieted when put to the mother’s breast. As infants are weaned they are more and more able to simply be with the mother, not just get from the mother. Faith finds just such secure intimacy and satisfying nourishment in repose upon God.
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a child quieted at its mother’s breast;
like a child that is quieted is my soul.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and for evermore.
1-11 2 Samuel 7:1-16
6-10 2 Chronicles 6:41-42
11 Psalm 89:3-4; Acts 2:30
17 1 Kings 11:36
A Song of Ascents.
1 Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor,
all the hardships he endured;
2 how he swore to the LORD
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah,
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!”
8 Arise, O LORD, and go to thy resting place,
thou and the ark of thy might.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let thy saints shout for joy.
10 For thy servant David’s sake
do not turn away the face of thy anointed one.
11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies which I shall teach them,
their sons also for ever
shall sit upon your throne.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation:
14 “This is my resting place for ever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but upon himself his crown will shed its luster.”
Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 113
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 44
1-3 Exodus 20:12
1 Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 258-261
A Song of Ascents.
1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
life for evermore.
Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p.140
A Song of Ascents.
1 Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the LORD!
3 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!
15-18 Psalm 115:4-8; Revelation 9:20
18 Jeremiah 2:5
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the name of the LORD,
give praise, O servants of the LORD,
2 you that stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious!
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.
5 For I know that the LORD is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
8 He it was who smote the first-born of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in thy midst, O Egypt,
sent signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 who smote many nations
and slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 Thy name, O LORD, endures for ever,
thy renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.
14 For the LORD will vindicate his people,
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they speak not,
they have eyes, but they see not,
17 they have ears, but they hear not,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Like them
be those who make them! —
yea, every one who trusts in them!
19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
You that fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the LORD!
Yusef Iman, “Love Your Enemy,” The Black Poets, p. 293 f.
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
2 O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
6 to him who spread out the earth upon the waters,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
10 to him who smote the first-born of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
13 to him who divided the Red Sea in sunder,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
17 to him who smote great kings,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
18 and slew famous kings,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
22 a heritage to Israel his servant,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
26 O give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Wendell Berry, Standing by Words, p. 58
Breyten Breytenbach, “Une Vie Sans Ailleurs,” The New Yorker (July 19, 1999), p. 60
“Une Vie Sans Ailleurs”
but why does the heart still stir
remembering its dark wings?
and where this wind, down from a hushed sky
bending the trees that silently quake?
and this choked scream unfurling
black as a bird shot up from the reeds
and all those blind houses
where the dying fasten their breath
to the steam on the windows
who cares about the color of the night watchman’s coat
since when do feathers scud across the patio
what’s the point in remembering,
in paraphrasing dusk?
or the sun behind a woman’s eye in early morning
or the woman in the sun, under a weighted branch?
the blood is dry and the embers’ ash forgotten
in the cold earth—
out of a forest bristling with ice blue stars
the wind unfolds its dark wings:
but what does the heart have left to sing?
Denise Levertov, “May Our Right Hands Lose Their Cunning,” The Freeing of the Dust, p. 33
Thomas Merton, “The Captives—A Psalm,” Selected Poetry, p. 77
Kathleen Norris, “What Song, Then?,” Little Girls in Church
“What Song, Then?”
What Song, Then?
When my life is alien soil
and a wind
like fear
makes restless ground
of all I have done—
what song, then,
to send out roots
that will drink the rain
that does not come—
how could I sing?
…
Half-afraid of what is in me
(though God has called it good)
I sob over nothing,
desires I cannot name.
Sing us, they say,
a song you remember …
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 96-103
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible , p. 45
Lorenzo Thomas, “Genesis, Psalms, and Gospels,” Communion, p. 513-526
John Howard Yoder, The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited, p. 186
The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited
The very possibility of the mocking challenge ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’(137.3 RSV) presupposes the awareness on the part of the ‘captors’ that despite having no temple, the Jews had an important worship life of their own. Even that experience reinforces their identity.
[footnote] We might compare this to the way in which white Americans’ awareness of the power of the spirituals and of blues have contributed to both the viability and the self-respect of African-Americans.
2-4 Psalm 119:54
8 Revelation 18:6
9 Hosea 13:16
1-6 Christine Marie Smith, “The Redemptive Songs We Sing,” And Blessed is She, p. 220-229
1-4 Isabel Wood Rogers, “Song in a Strange Land,” Sing a New Song, p. 20-24
4 Lancelot Andrewes, Reflections on Praise & Thanksgiving
Reflections on Praise & Thanksgiving
4 David H. C. Read, “Faith without Crutches,” I Am Persuaded, p. 93-101
4 Edward Schillebeeckx, “How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land?,” God Among Us, p. 180-187
1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!
7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Rase it, rase it!
Down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastator!
Happy shall he be who requites you with
what you have done to us!
9 Happy shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!
H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 119 f.
A Psalm of David.
1 I give thee thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing thy praise;
2 I bow down toward thy holy temple
and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness;
for thou hast exalted
above everything thy name and thy word.
3 On the day I called, thou didst answer me,
my strength of soul thou didst increase.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD,
for they have heard the words of thy mouth;
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
thou dost preserve my life;
thou dost stretch out thy hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and thy right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me;
thy steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of thy hands.
Jane Austen, “On Each Return of the Night,” The Book of Uncommon Prayer, p. 10
Richard Foster, Prayer, p. 35
Kay Haggart Mills, “a prepared place,” Presbyterian Survey
“a prepared place”
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 47
Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, p. 326-331
Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 26-29
4 Isaiah 65:24
7-12 Amos 9:2-4; Hebrews 4:12-13
8 Job 11:8
11-12 Job 17:12-13, 23:17; Micah 7:8; Revelation 22:5
12 Job 10:22; Isaiah 42:16
13-16 Job 10:8-12
19-22 2 Chronicles 19:2
23-24 Jeremiah 17:9-10
1-12 Dan Damon, “If I Take the Wings of the Morning,” The Sound of Welcome, p. 5
1-10 H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 112 f.
7-12 Kristen Johnson Ingram, “Poverty is Where the Blind Fish Live,” Weavings (January/February 2000), p. 16
“Poverty is Where the Blind Fish Live”
The more I tried to want nothing, the more obvious it was that I had hanged myself on my own logic, was hoist by my own pious petard. Like the psalmist, ther was nowhere I could flee from God: I took the wings of the morning and settled at the farthest limits of the see, and ran headlong into my own faith. I tried to make my bed in hell, and there God was. I said, “Let the light around me become night,” and felt God moving toward me in the hot darkness. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. …
9-10 Denise Levertov, “Variation and Reflection on a Theme by Rilke,” Breathing the Water, p. 83
“Variation and Reflection on a Theme by Rilke”
There will never be that stillness.
Within the pulse of flesh,
in the dust of being, where we trudge,
turning our hungry gaze this way and that,
the wings of the morning
brush through our blood
as cloud-shadows brush the land.
What we desire travels with us.
We must breathe time as fishes breathe water.
God’s flight circles us.
11-12 Denise Levertov, “To Olga,” Breathing the Water, p. 25
12 David Steinbeck, in Local Newspaper
Local Newspaper
Benjamin Franklin in his Gazette described an error in a Bible (date not given) in which the “e” was omitted from “made” in the passage, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The passage then read, “for I am fearfully and wonderfully mad.” Franklin went on to report that this “occasioned an ignorant Preacher who took that Text to harangue his audience for half an hour on the subject of spiritual madness.”
14-17 Antonio Damasio, Looking for Spinoza, p. 286
Looking for Spinoza
15 Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace, p. 314
Amazing Grace
There is plenty of poetic material, both in the psalms and the prophets, that employs images and metaphors to evoke God’s lifelong care for us as a remarkably intimate relationship. Psalm 139, for example, in which the psalmist addresses God: “Already you knew my soul, / my body held no secret from you / when I was being fashioned in secret / and molded in the depths of the earth” (v. 15, Grail). There is much to suggest that God knows everything about us, including the time of our death.
16 Tanakh (translation)
Tanakh
17-24 H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 134 f.
18 Flora Slosson Wuellner, Prayer and Our Bodies, p. 120
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before,
and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee,
the night is bright as the day;
for darkness is as light with thee.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts,
thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.
Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
15 my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
When I awake, I am still with thee.
19 O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God,
and that men of blood would depart from me,
20 men who maliciously defy thee,
who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
21 Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD?
And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart,
and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the poison of vipers. [Selah]
4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 Arrogant men have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net,
by the wayside they have set snares for me. [Selah]
6 I say to the LORD, Thou art my God;
give ear to the voice of my supplications, O LORD!
7 O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further his evil plot! [Selah]
9 Those who surround me lift up their head,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the afflicted,
and executes justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name;
the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
John Michael Talbot, “Prayer Like Incense,” Meditations in the Spirit
2 Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. ?
2 Your Word is Fire, p. 51
Your Word is Fire
Do not think that the words of prayer
as you say them
go up to God.
It is not the words themselves that ascend;
it is rather the burning desire of your heart
that rises like smoke toward heaven.
If your prayer consists only of words and letters
and does not contain your heart’s desire—
how can it rise up to God?
A Psalm of David.
1 I call upon thee, O LORD; make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice, when I call to thee!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee,
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice!
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD,
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Incline not my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity;
and let me not eat of their dainties!
5 Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness,
but let the oil of the wicked
never anoint my head;
for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that the word of the LORD is true.
7 As a rock which one cleaves and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are toward thee, O LORD God;
in thee I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9 Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me,
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked together fall into their own nets,
while I escape.
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1 I cry with my voice to the LORD,
with my voice I make supplication to the LORD,
2 I pour out my complaint before him,
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit is faint,
thou knowest my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to the right and watch,
but there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me,
no man cares for me.
5 I cry to thee, O LORD;
I say, Thou art my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.
6 Give heed to my cry;
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors;
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to thy name!
The righteous will surround me;
for thou wilt deal bountifully with me.
Carlo Carretto, Love is for Living, p. 114-119
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my supplications!
In thy faithfulness answer me, in thy righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with thy servant;
for no man living is righteous before thee.
3 For the enemy has pursued me;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the days of old,
I meditate on all that thou hast done;
I muse on what thy hands have wrought.
6 I stretch out my hands to thee;
my soul thirsts for thee like a parched land. [Selah]
7 Make haste to answer me, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not thy face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of thy steadfast love,
for in thee I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to thee I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies!
I have fled to thee for refuge!
10 Teach me to do thy will,
for thou art my God!
Let thy good spirit lead me
on a level path!
11 For thy name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In thy righteousness bring me out of trouble!
12 And in thy steadfast love cut off my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am thy servant.
A Psalm of David.
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples under him.
3 O LORD, what is man that thou dost regard him,
or the son of man that thou dost think of him?
4 Man is like a breath,
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down!
Touch the mountains that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them,
send out thy arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch forth thy hand from on high,
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to thee, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to thee,
10 who givest victory to kings,
who rescuest David thy servant.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our garners be full,
providing all manner of store;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mischance or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Happy the people to whom such blessings fall!
Happy the people whose God is the LORD!
Maryi Oliver, “On Thy Wondrous Works I Will Meditate,” Devotions, p. 134-138
"On Thy Wondrous Works I Will Meditate"
So it is not hard to understand
where God’s body is, it is
everywhere and everything; shore and the vast
fields of water, the accidental and the intended
over here, over there. And I bow down
participate and attentive
…
I would be good—oh, I would be upright and good.
To what purpose? To be shining not
sinful, not wring out of the hours
petulance, heaviness, ashes. To what purpose?
Hope of heaven? Not that. But to enter
the other kingdom: grace, and imagination
and the multiple sympathies: to be as a leaf, a rose
a dolphin, a wave rising
slowly then briskly out of the darkness to touch
the limpid air, to be God’s mind’s
servant, loving with the body’s sweet mouth—its kisses, its words—
everything.
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 121-128
13 Isaiah 9:7
14 Hebrews 12:12
13 Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 96
14 John Donne, “Hymne to God my God in my Sicknesse,” Classics of Western Spirituality, p. 105
A Song of Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol thee, my God and King,
and bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless thee,
and praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall laud thy works to another,
and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of thy majesty,
and on thy wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 Men shall proclaim the might of thy terrible acts,
and I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O LORD,
and all thy saints shall bless thee!
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,
and tell of thy power,
12 to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and thy dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to thee,
and thou givest them their food in due season.
16 Thou openest thy hand,
thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
19 He fulfils the desire of all who fear him,
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20 The LORD preserves all who love him;
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Mitchell Dahood, Psalms (The Anchor Bible), p. 340
Psalms
Praise Yah!
Praise Yahweh, O my soul!
May I praise Yahweh my life long,
sing to my God while I have my being
Trust not in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no security.
When his breath departs, he returns to his land;
on that day his projects perish.
Blest he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is Most High Yahweh, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
Who keeps faith with the wronged,
who defends the cause of the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
Yahweh sets prisoners free,
Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind,
Yahweh uplifts those bent double.
Yahweh loves the just,
Yahweh protects the strangers.
The fatherless and the widow he reassures,
but the domination of the wicked he overturns.
Yahweh shall reign for ever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise Yah!
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 121-128
6 Acts 4:24, 14:15
7-9 Isaiah 61:1-2
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 When his breath departs he returns to his earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith for ever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners,
he upholds the widow and the fatherless;
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The LORD will reign for ever,
thy God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 121-128
4-5 Isaiah 40:26-28
1 Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p.247
1 Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is seemly.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars,
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our LORD, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The LORD lifts up the downtrodden,
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God upon the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
he prepares rain for the earth,
he makes grass grow upon the hills.
9 He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens which cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man;
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your sons within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders;
he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
17 He casts forth his ice like morsels;
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends forth his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the LORD!
Michel Boutier, Prayers for My Village, p. 92
Carlo Carretto, Love is for Living, p. 23 f.
Love is for Living
And how easy it is to witness to the light! It is the priestly function of man as man. Upright on earth, I feel that the creatures turn to me so that I can voice their silent adoration of God. The wind, the fire, the dew and the frost, the ice and the snow, the mountains and the hills, the springs and the seas press on me from all sides. They seem to say: You must not fail in your vocation to speak for us all in the sight of God. … The more I sing God’s praises, the more I feel that creatures thank me for having helped them express themselves and that smile in happiness at my kingship.
I know that by adoring God I am performing a fundamental eternal act, an act which is an end in itself and part and parcel of my being.
Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 17 f.
Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm, p. 64 ff.
Holy the Firm
The world is changing. The landscape begins to respond as a current upwells. … It is starting to utter its infinite particulars, each overlapping and lone, like a hundred hills of hounds all giving tongue. … I am prayer, and I can hardly see.
Each thing in the world is translucent, even the cattle and moving cell by cell. I remember this reality. Where has it been?
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 121-128
Traditional African, “An African Canticle,” An African Prayer Book, p. 7f.
“An African Canticle”
All you big things, bless the Lord.
Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria,
The Rift Valley and the Serengeti Plain,
Fat baobabs and shady mango trees,
All eucalyptus and tamarind trees,
Bless the Lord.
Praise and extol Him for ever and ever.
All you tiny things, bless the Lord.
Busy black ants and hopping fleas,
Wriggling tadpoles and mosquito larvae,
Flying locusts and water drops,
Pollen dust and testse flies,
Millet seeds and dried dagaa,
Bless the Lord.
Praise and extol Him for ever and ever.
Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 102-103
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens,
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the LORD!
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 121-128
4 Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 58-61
1 Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker,
let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with timbrel and lyre!
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to wreak vengeance on the nations
and chastisement on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment written!
This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the LORD!
Eugene Peterson, Answering God, p. 121-128
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his exceeding greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with timbrel and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!