Awaken me, O Blessed Healer with your holy mercy, that I might be free of fear.
Hear my prayer, O Holy One; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For nagging doubts assail me, bringing loneliness and pain;
I remember not the Beloved, so overwhelming are my fears.
Yet behold, You are my helper, the upholder of my life.
With You I have the strength to face my fears;
Your faithfulness will help me transform them into love.
With boundless confidence, I abandon myself into your Heart;
I have praise to your holy Name, O Beloved, with gratitude and joy.
For You deliver me from my illusions, and, through Love,
my heart opens to Wisdom.
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
The psalmist is at the end of her ability to cope with whatever situation is happening in her life. Desperate, she calls upon God to help and to save. At then end of the psalm there is an assurance that God will intervene as God has in the past. It doesn’t seem that the psalmist’s problem is solved at the end of the psalm, but somehow the psalmist knows that it will be. The awareness of God’s presence assures the psalmist that she will get through whatever comes her way. There is hope when God is near.
In Nan Merrill’s version, the awareness of the presence of God is enough for the psalmist to transform fear into Love. And through this love her heart opens to wisdom. Being in God’s presence has allowed her to see more clearly her situation and respond not from fear but from love. The psalmist can see a future full of love.
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, 4th Sunday 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, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 139 or Psalm 81, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 138 or Psalm 130, 4th Sunday 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 54 follows the structure of an individual prayer of lament: petition directed to God (vv. 1-2), complaint (v. 3), confession of trust (vv. 4-5), vow of praise and thanksgiving (vv. 6-7).” W p. 93
“The vow in Psalm 54:6 functions not only to motivate God to act favorably on the psalmist’s behalf but also consequently to enhance God’s reputation. Scoffers and enemies are watching to see if God saves (Pss 10:13; 79:9, 10), which suggests that the psalmist has “public relations value” because of the praise she offers. Through this concept may prove disturbing to some, it takes seriously the covenantal relationship established at Sinai; there is “a kind of parity assumed in the relationship” between God and the psalmist. The thanks the psalmist will give becomes public testimony to deliverance in a worship setting accompanied by a sacrificial offering. The ending of v. 7 “and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies” reads literally “and upon my enemies my eyes will look.” The words “in triumph” in the NRSV are not found in the MT and are not necessary, since the Hebrew suggests a looking down on someone inferior. Not only God’s reputation will be upheld, but the psalmist’s as well. For the marginalized, the mutual obligations of covenant undergirding Psalm 54 can be empowering. Their praise matters to God. The hope is that it will matter as well to those who wield power.” W p. 96
“I wonder sometimes if I am really talking to you or just to myself. …. Just let me be praying to someone. Let me not be offering all my best lines, confiding all my worst fears, only to myself. ” Layton E. Williams (Spong)
Psalm 54 is a typical example of an individual prayer for help. “It begins with a vocative and a tuition to be helped (v. 1) and heard (v. 2). A concise description of trouble (v. 3) supports the petition. Then a declaration of confidence in God (vv. 4-5a) is rounded off with a petition for God to act against the enemy (v. 5b). The prayer concludes with a vow of sacrifice and thanks that makes a transition into the vow of sacrifice and thanks that makes a transition into the praise that will accompany the sacrifice and expresses its meaning as thanksgiving (vv. 6-7).” Mays p. 206
“The petition asks that God save “by your name” and “by your might” (v. 1). The poetic synonymity between the name of God and the might of God shows that the name is understood as the power of the person of God.” Mays p. 206
“The Name carried something of the essential nature and power of God. To invoke his name was to invoke his presence. The Name theology is especially evident in the Deuteronomic wirtings. The Israelites were to worship at the place chosen by Yahweh where he would “put is name”. The use of the Name to protect both the transcendence and presence of Yahweh is especially present in the Solomonic dress to the people and prayer at the dedication of the temple (1 Kgs 8:1-66). Yahweh is repeatedly affirmed to be in heaven, but his powerful presence is invoked because his name is in the temple” WBC p. 47
“The major stress in the psalm is clearly on the powerful and effective Name of Yahweh. Yahweh may seem absent rom the world, but those who invoke his Name with faith and courage will discover the reality of his awesome presence. Those who forget his Name and seek to disregard his will may experience the terrible recoil of their own wickedness, a recoil which is sustained by divine power. The message of the psalm is clear enough: the Name of Yahweh will not fail the suppliant in a time of crisis. The enemies will not prevail. Yahweh will make a necessary connection between act and consequence, and the power of ruthless foes will be turned back against themselves.” WBC p. 49
“The perspective of the Lord’s prayer is eschatological, as is that of Psalm 54– that is, the psalmist prayed and Christians pray in the midst of opposition and suffering. Yet, to affirm that “God is my helper,” entrusting life and future to God, is already to be in touch with the source of enduring life and strength.” NIB p. 455
“In the book of Psalms we have to do, as the Episcopal prayer asserts, with the God from who no secrets are hid. The lament palms, in particular, are the telling of all our secrets to God–the hidden, dark, painful, needy secrets that we prefer not to have or acknowledge. The Psalter exhibits an awareness that well-being depends on such truth telling that draws god into the negations of life in the insistent expectation that god can make something new of such negations.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid p. 86
“The psalms of lament/complaint/protest no doubt grew out of specific circumstances in which person in extremis voiced their extremity of need to God on the assumption that the extremis mattered to God. What was originally spontaneous prayer evoked by emergency has been shaped, though many repeated uses, into a highly stylized way of speaking so that subsequent practitioners of these prayers can replicate the original vitality of such utterance.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid p. 86
“After a summoning address to God that God should listen, the lament psalms present a complaint that voice to God the crisis situation that needs attention. The rhetorical strategy is to describe the speaker’s plight in the most dire way, likely in order to get God’s attention and to motivate God’s engagement. The situation of dismay, which is often quite detailed, may be one of sickness, social isolation, and shame or, more publicly, a social crisis of drought or defeat in war. In every case, it is a circumstance in which the speaker lacks, in and of herself, the resources to cope adequately with the crisis.” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid p. 87 Brueggemann quotes Psalm 54:3 as an example, “For the insolent have risen against me, the ruthless seek my life; they do not set God before them”.
“This is no-holds-barred truth telling in which the intent is to take the circumstance of need as acute as can be imagined. Indeed, the rhetoric is a king of brinkmanship that puts God on notice that the need is so great that if God does not do something – and something soon- death will prevail. These prayers assume that this dramatic transaction presents to God what God does not know until it has been said aloud. They also assume that God is indeed on the other end of the transaction. This is real speech, not play acting!” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid p. 87
Alter Alter, Robert. 2007. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary New York: W. W. Norton & Company
WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.
Bourgeault, C. (2006). Chanting the psalms: A practical guide Audio Book. New Seeds.
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.
Cudjoe-Wilkes, G., Wilkes, A. J., & Moss, O. (2022). Psalms for black lives: Reflections for the work of Liberation. Upper Room Books.
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.
DAFLER, J. (2021). PSOBRIETY: A journey of recovery through the psalms. Louisville, KY: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX.
W de Claisse-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 4-5. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 22. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2020.
Green, Barbara. 1997. Like a Tree Planted: An Exploration of Psalms and Parables Through Metaphor. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
W Hopkins, Denise Dombkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 2-3. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 21. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2016.
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.
Mays Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.
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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