We give thanks to You, O Beloved, for You are kind; your steadfast Love endures forever! (Psalm 118, Nan Merrill’s Psalms for Praying)
Reflection:
Psalm 118 is a liturgy where an individual voice is joined by a worshiping community. The soloist sings about personal redemption, and the community joins the song in solidarity and in affirmation that God’s love, not our distress, is what endures.
We are the worshipers who join the solo psalmist, adding our own stories of life and witness to God’s steadfast love. We find strength in each other as we continue God’s work of feeding the hungry, healing the sick, visiting the prisoner, uplifting the oppressed, and giving good things to the poor.
Co-creating a loving community aligned with God’s work puts us at odds with the powerful and upsets the status quo, and the systems set up to keep the rich in control. There are times when we will want to give up and give in to the ways of patriarchy and capitalism, especially when we have the gender, sexual orientation, color, and economic status that benefit from the system that oppresses others. When we participate in systems that harm others, in truth, it hurts us all. We are all deeply connected. We are deeply connected in our pain and in our love. I hope we can choose to connect with the Love that endures.
And there will be times when we feel alone in the work that we do to move towards a better world, but we are not alone. Love reminds us that we are never alone. Like the psalmist, when we are overwhelmed, tired, or frightened, we can find comfort, solidarity, and rest in our community. I encourage you to trust the love of God and the love of your community. Love is stronger than death. Love is what will remain forever. Trust in Love.
We give thanks to You, O Beloved, for You are kind; your steadfast Love endures forever!
Psalm reflections can be listened to on the Period Pastor Podcast series, Like One who Watches for the Morning. In the podcast I read both the NRSVUE and Nan C. Merrill’s Psalms for Praying in addition to the reflection you see here.
I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020 shortly after we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom. It is a practice I have continued since. Many churches use the Revised Common Lectionary (RLC) that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C). Starting in Advent 2019, Third Church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C. Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others. While we were using Psalms in year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A. In Advent of 2020 we rejoined those who use the lectionary in year B. Advent of 2021 year C. Advent of 2022 year A. Advent of 2023 year B.
I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections.
Year B Psalms
Advent – Transfiguration: 1st Sunday in Advent Psalm 80, 2nd Sunday in Advent Psalm 85, 3rd Sunday in Advent Psalm 126, 4th Sunday in Advent Psalm 89, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1st Sunday after Christmas, Psalm 148, New Year’s Day Psalm 8, Epiphany Psalm 72, 1st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 139, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 62, 4th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 111, 5th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 147, Transfiguration Sunday (Sunday before Lent) Psalm 50
Lent: Ash Wednesday Psalm 51, 1st Sunday in Lent Psalm 25, 2nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 22, 3rd Sunday in Lent Psalm 19, 4th Sunday in Lent Psalm 107, 5th Sunday in Lent Psalm 51 or Psalm 119:9-16, 6th Sunday in Lent (Palm or Passion Sunday) Psalm 118 or 31
Holy Week: Monday Psalm 36, Tuesday Psalm 71, Wednesday Psalm 70, Maundy Thursday Psalm 116, Good Friday Psalm 22, Holy Saturday Psalm 31
Easter: Easter Psalm 118 or 114, 2nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 133, 3rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 4, 4thSunday of Easter Psalm 23, 5th Sunday of Easter Psalm 22, 6th Sunday of Easter Psalm 98, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7th Sunday of Easter Psalm 1, Day of Pentecost Psalm 104
Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time): 1st Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) Psalm 29, 2ndSunday after Pentecost Psalm 139 or Psalm 81, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 138 or Psalm 130, 4thSunday after Pentecost Psalm 20 or Psalm 92, 5th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 9 or Psalm 133 or Psalm 107, 6th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 30, 7th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 48 or Psalm 123, 8th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 24 or Psalm 85, 9th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 89 or Psalm 23, 10th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 14 or Psalm 145, 11th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 51 or Psalm 78, 12th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 34, 13th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 111 or Psalm 34, 14th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 84 or Psalm 34, 15th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 45 or Psalm 15, 16th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 125 or Psalm 146, 17th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 19 or Psalm 116, 18th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 1 or Psalm 54, 19th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 124 or Psalm 19, 20th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 26 or Psalm 8, 21st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 22 or Psalm 90, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 104 or Psalm 91, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 34 or Psalm 126, 24th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 146 or 119, 25th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 127 or Psalm 146, 26th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 16, 27th Sunday after Pentecost (Christ the King) Psalm 132 or Psalm 93.
Sources and notes:
“Psalm 118 is the final Egyptian Hallel psalm. It is an interesting and rather lengthy composition with a significant history of transmission and use in Jewish and Christian religious life.” W p. 143
“The consensus of most scholars is that Psalm 118 was used in early Jewish life in liturgical processions, perhaps as an entrance liturgy into the temple in Jerusalem, in much the same way that Psalms 15 and 24 may have been used. According to the Mishnah the procession around the altar that took place on seven successive days during the feats of Tabernacles was accompanied by the recitation of Psalm 188:27. In the New Testament, Psalm 118 is the most quoted and referenced psalm from the Hebrew Bible.” W pp. 143-144
“All four of the gospel writers use the words of Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD,” in their Palm Sunday narratives.” W p. 144
“Psalm 118 is presented as the voice of an individual psalm singer, but that individual voice is woven into and “anchored in” the liturgy of the gathered worshiping community. We hear the individual in the first twenty-three verses of the psalm thanking YHWH for deliverance from a situation of personal peril, and then, beginning in verse 24, the community adds its voice to that of the individual in a context of corporate worship.” W p. 145
“In verses 2-4 three groups of people are singled out to join in the words of thanks: Israel, the house of Aaron, and the ones who fear YHWH–the same three groups who are called on in Psalm 115:9-11. Whereas the groups are called in Psalm 115 to “trust in the LORD” as their “help and shield,” in Psalm 118 they are called to “say” that “YHWH’s steadfast love endures forever”. W p. 146
“The words of verse 14 repeat exactly the words that Moses, Miriam, and the children of Israel sing in Exodus 15:2 after they have crossed the Reed Sea; likewise the words of verses 15b and 16 echo those of Exodus 15:6 and 12 in a threefold summer of the might of the reign hand of YHWH. The singer of Psalm 118 likens the help rendered in the present situation to the help God gave the Israelites in the Exodus from Egypt, and in verse 17 the psalmist affirms, “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recoup the deeds of the LORD.” The psalm singer has escaped; the enemy has perished; a new life lies ahead.” W p. 147
“In the ancient Israelite context of Psalm 118 we may understand the “stone the builders rejected” as the psalm singer, who has not been rejected but has become a chief cornerstone, an essential element in the construction of the life of the ancient Israelite faithful.” W p. 148
“Psalm 118 is a rich composition, sung first as an individual hymn of thanksgiving in a corporate worship setting adopted by the ancient Israelites as a song of celebration for the feast of Tabernacles, and for Christians man of its verses suggest the life and times of Jesus. Erich Zenger says this about psalm 118: “As a voice in opposition to the threatening power of hatred and violence, the psalm evokes the experience of Israel and the church that the ‘true’God is ‘good,’…and that his ‘love,’ that is, his mercy, endures forever.”” W p.149
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Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.
Brueggemann Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Brueggemann, Walter. Davis Hanskins, Editor. 2022. Our Hearts Wait: Worshiping Through Praise and Lament in the Psalms Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KY.
Brueggemann, Walter. (2002). Spirituality of the psalms. Augsburg Pub. House.
Brueggemann, Walter. (1984). The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg.
Chilson, Richard, ed. You Shall Not Want: A Spiritual Journey Based on the Psalms. Ave Maria Press, 2009.
Chittister Chittister, Joan. (2011). Songs of the heart: reflections on the psalms. John Garratt Publishing.
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WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.
Creach Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
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NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Lewis, C. S. (2017). Reflections on the Psalms. Harper One, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
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McCann McCann, J. C. (1993). A theological introduction to the book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Merrill, N. C. (2020). Psalms for praying an invitation to wholeness (10th Anniversary Edition ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Miller Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.
Morgan, Michael. 2010. The Psalter for Christian Worship Revised Edition. Westminster John Knox Press.
Schlimm Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.
Spong Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.
Weems, Ann. 1995. Psalm of Lament. Westminster John Knox Pres
OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.
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