What was Psalm 22 thinking? Here it is popping up well before Good Friday where, as happened last year, it seems permanently consigned by virtue of Jesus' quoting it on the cross: 'Why have you forsaken me?' Ah, I see. We draw this week on verses 23 to 31 (click here for lectionary readings), a selection which … Continue reading Psalm 22, 1 March 2015
Month: February 2015
Psalm 25, 22 Feb 15
The readings this week start with Noah and that rainbow covenant in Genesis, running through to John baptising Jesus and being arrested for his trouble. Quite a span. In the heart of this series nestles the psalm, one of the acrostic psalms in which each verse starts with one of the 22 letters of the … Continue reading Psalm 25, 22 Feb 15
Psalm 50, 15 Feb 15
Psalm 50 is quite long but we hear only the first half-dozen verses. This week's selection boils down to a vibrant description of divine eminence, power and identification with the people. The link to the week's theme of the Transfiguration, while quite direct in 2 Kings, is more oblique in the psalm. The poem certainly reinforces the … Continue reading Psalm 50, 15 Feb 15
Psalm 147, 8 Feb 15
This psalm of praise calls us to be happy in the creation and this evidence of divine caring. Sure enough, we are to pull out our lyres again in order to sing those praises (v.7). Bring yours on Sunday. Recalling the Hospitals Chaplain's words last week, almost in continuity the Psalm reminds us: God heals the brokenhearted, and binds up … Continue reading Psalm 147, 8 Feb 15
Psalms in the South 