The last five songs in the Psalter, with 147 nestled in the midst, are all songs of praise and thanksgiving, calling upon us to sing and, in some cases, break out instruments to blow, strum or thump. Saturated with the awareness that divine creativity is an ever-present, ubiquitous active and sustaining force in the universe, … Continue reading Psalm 147, 7 Feb 2021
Tag: creation
Happy new year 2021
Wishing all readers and psalm singers a very happy 2021, full of hope, joy and music of the psalms, if not the spheres. A special thanks to our local Singers in the South who have over many years gathered faithfully to encounter your leader's flights of fancy; new musical styles, settings to challenge heart and … Continue reading Happy new year 2021
Psalm 147b, 3 Jan 2021
Welcome to 2021! Readers will no doubt relish the prospect of sunnier times ahead. If you wish, add a note below on your hopes and intentions for making life better for you and others. Sunnier times ahead. Image: Libby O'Loghlin How tied we are to our environment, complete with wild weather, floods, droughts, fires, global … Continue reading Psalm 147b, 3 Jan 2021
Psalm 148, 27 Dec 20
God gave creation a law that shall not pass away.' (6) "Praise God from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind" This popular psalm is in the middle of the final group of half a dozen songs of praise which bring the Psalter to a climax. In broadly … Continue reading Psalm 148, 27 Dec 20
Psalm 19, 4 Oct ’20
All you dear friends who have sung with our Psalm Singers in the South or with The Gospel Folk in Canberra will recall the energy and joy of uniting in The rivers of Babylon, a song made famous by The Melodions and Bob Marley. This is a driving reggae version which includes the refrain: Let … Continue reading Psalm 19, 4 Oct ’20
Psalm 8, 7 June 2020
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. (v.1) This opening declaration is repeated at the end. It therefore appears to be the first psalm in the Psalter with an internal antiphon to be sung as a responsive expression of thanks and praise. Actually, the verse has little to do … Continue reading Psalm 8, 7 June 2020
Psalm 104, 31 May ’20
You make springs gush forth in valleys, they flow between hills. - Verse 10 Image: Libby O’Loghlin Here we have epic demonstrative poetry, the poet overcome by the glory and power of the creation — and the Creator. The author’s feelings are quite infectious: You are clothed with honour and majesty, wrapped in light as … Continue reading Psalm 104, 31 May ’20
Psalm 19, 4 March ’18
Psalm 19 is soaring and thoughtful poetry. I'm tempted to say 'fantastic': The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes … Continue reading Psalm 19, 4 March ’18
Psalm 147, 4 Feb ’18
This psalm, like others in this final handful in the Psalter, is a song of praise, calling us to rejoice in the creation and the ubiquitous evidence of divine love and care. With sudden shifts of focus, a visionary sweep of the universe, the selected text (verses 1 to 11 in Year B) alternate between … Continue reading Psalm 147, 4 Feb ’18
Psalm 29, 7 Jan 2018
These days, voices frequently heard are those of political arrogance, religious friction, the rich getting richer, vigorous and exclusive nationalism and faint calls for assistance to the suppressed. While such evidence seems to support the 'God is dead' theory, much of it is the bad news, unbalanced if not fake, served up by commercial interests … Continue reading Psalm 29, 7 Jan 2018
Psalms in the South 