There's something mysterious about high mountains. As Philip Marsden writes: Sacred mountains crop up in most traditional cosmologies... Olympus, Tabor, Sinai, Ararat, Fuji ... it's hard to think of a great mountain that is not linked with the gods or even a distinctive hill that has at some stage generated a local belief. (1) Marsden … Continue reading Psalm 48, 5 Jul 15
Tag: love
Psalm 133, 12 April 2015
A beautiful old Anglo-Saxon manuscript in the British Library from the 8th Century, shown above, records the psalms in Latin in an insular uncial script (capital letters) in common use around 700 CE. The British Library's description of this manuscript, titled Cotton MS Vespasian A 1, is simply: A Roman Psalter (‘The Vespasian Psalter’), including prefaces, canticles, … Continue reading Psalm 133, 12 April 2015
Psalm 107, 2 Nov 14
On the last occasion that we sang Psalm 107 (August 2013) we introduced an enjoyable and interesting response in three parts from The emergent psalter. I can still hear those three parts weaving in and out. This year, the congruence of several random influences on the busy worship plan for the next few weeks (this week a … Continue reading Psalm 107, 2 Nov 14
Psalm 124, 24 Aug 14
If God be for us, who can be against us? This well-known verse is found not in the psalms but in Romans 8:31. It contains the same message as Psalm 124, and in particular the last verse which has become a standard line in many liturgies: Our help is in the name of the Lord. As … Continue reading Psalm 124, 24 Aug 14
Song of songs, 6 July 14
In place of the set psalm this week, we find a reading of that lovely poetry of The Song of songs, or of Solomon. It's a small emotional poem of love and devotion: Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among … Continue reading Song of songs, 6 July 14
Psalm 13, 29 June 14 – How long?
This Sunday we hear a simple but urgent lament in Psalm 13, in which the key question is 'How long?' That internal anxious silence before we receive an inkling of an answer, some source of relief, comfort or bounty - all ideas that jostle into the six short verses of this lament. How long have you forgotten … Continue reading Psalm 13, 29 June 14 – How long?
Psalms in the South 