This psalm appears on Good Friday due to verse 1, which Jesus quoted on the cross, and subsequent predictions: My God, why have you forsaken me? Much has been said in previous posts on this psalm. 🎵 The Good Friday observance is sometimes conducted with little or no music in a period of quiet contemplation. … Continue reading Psalm 22 Good Friday 2018
Tag: penitence
Psalm 51, 18 March 2018
St Patrick’s Day slides by largely unremarked. (I did have a Celtic style song based on last week's Psalm 107 up my sleeve; however, our singers' rendition of Everett's three-part refrain for 107, repeated in PFAS, was a pleasing and inspiring addition.) This week we preview that well-used Psalm 51, thereby moving into more sober territory … Continue reading Psalm 51, 18 March 2018
Psalm 86, Solstice
There’s no hint of it in the text of Psalm 86 but the Lectionary occasionally (Year A) trots this song out at around the time of the solstice. For those in 'the South', this is the winter solstice, shortest day in the southern hemisphere calendar. [Readers in the northern hemisphere might have to find a point of … Continue reading Psalm 86, Solstice
Psalm 130, 2 April 2017
This psalm is another song of ascent (psalms 120 to 134). It’s also the sixth of seven penitential psalms: not that it matters greatly, as the idea of ascent captures the imagination more powerfully. The song is a statement of the mystery not only of the human condition, with all its faults and frustrations, but also of our access to grace. The … Continue reading Psalm 130, 2 April 2017
Psalm 32, 5 March 2017
Psalm 32 is one of the psalms of penitence (the second after Ps. 6; this theme takes up the first half of the song), but also of refuge -- "You are my hiding-place" (vv. 6 -7). Then it changes direction, breaks into other riffs of guidance or wisdom (8-9) and finally thanksgiving. Of the seven traditional penitentials, David in this song is … Continue reading Psalm 32, 5 March 2017
