You refreshed the land when it was weary. Your people dwell there, O God, you have made provision for the poor. Psalm 68:9, 10 In the selection for this Sunday -- the first ten and last four verses of the long song -- David draws this conclusion from the evidence of "when you marched forth … Continue reading Psalm 68, 24 May 2020
Tag: power
Psalm 2, 26 Feb17
Psalm 2 complements the first psalm as a joint introduction to the Psalter with the assurance that the divine Spirit, with inevitably associated moral and behavioural constructs inferred from the Torah, is supreme above temporal rulers of the world. While this theme has ancient roots in the stories of creation and the establishment of the tribes … Continue reading Psalm 2, 26 Feb17
Psalm 48, 5 Jul 15
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
Psalm 62, 25 Jan 15 (2)
An earlier preliminary post on this psalm, since refined, featured the Wode Partbooks (pronounced 'wood') in the British Library. Tempting, but this Sunday being close to Australia Day we shall not sing from its ancient treasures. The Psalm Turning initially to the text, the first verse we read or hear (this reading being verses 5-12) is one that caught our … Continue reading Psalm 62, 25 Jan 15 (2)