Remain ever before me, O Living Presence, for in You am I safe.
You are my Beloved; in You and through You I can do all things.
I look to those who are at one with You and learn from them of your ways;
My delight increases each time I sense your Presence within me!
Songs of praise well up from my heart!
Love is my chosen food, my cup, holding me in its power.
Where I have come from, Where’er I shall go, Love is my birthright, my true estate.
I bless the Counselor who guides my way; in the night also does my heart instruct me.
I walk beside the Spirit of Truth; I celebrate the Light.
I bask in The Oneness of All!
Thus my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
I shall not be afraid, nor fall into the pit of despair;
For in Love’s presence I know fullness of joy.
You are my Beloved and, in You will I live forever!
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
My desire is to be aligned with the Spirit of Truth, the Loving Presence, the Sacred Mystery or whatever holy name God is known by. Prayer, silence, and study help me to see myself clearly and evaluate if in my daily life I am living in a way worthy of my birthright, Love. These spiritual practices help me to listen for God. To hear Love’s call. The practices also help me to show up for my community, to provide others with love and support.
I look to those who are at one with God and learn from them. I surround myself with those whom I would like to emulate. I love spending time with clergy women and interfaith groups. I enjoy conversations with those who are spiritual or practice mindfulness but do not have a home in a particular institutional faith tradition. I am seeking truth seekers, deep listeners, and healers; those who are open and honest and trustworthy. Deep community can happen when it is safe to be vulnerable. The shelter of this community is sacred.
God’s first language is silence. God spoke all of creation forth in Love. We are the words God has spoken (incarnate words). The process of our creation (and renewal) is a movement from silence to expression, specifically an expression of Love.
Faith is personal and yet lived out in a community. We are one with God and we are one with each other and with all of creation. We share that first language of silence and we are called to share our expression 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:
Previous reflection: At the center of the psalmist’s prayers and praises is trust and love. Take a few deep and deliberate breaths. Be aware of God’s presence. Know that God’s power is loving-kindness. Allow (trust) God to know you and love you. Child of God, Love is your birthright. Listen to your heart. Be filled with God’s love. And now that you are filled, you can go and love others.
It is said that you cannot pour from an empty cup, that you must put on your oxygen mask before putting on someone else’s; self-care is the key to survival and all. When I find myself thirsty, parched from all the world requires of me, my throat dry from screaming against the pressure of it all, I clamor for something to quench it. I lean on the One with whom I can let down the high walls I must put up in every other area of my life. I can silence the noise. I can listen to my heart. I am refilled. -Kentina Washington-Leapheart from: Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
“The psalm teaches that trust is not merely a warm feeling or a passing impulse in a time of trouble; it is a structure of acts and experiences that open one’s consciousness to the LORD as the supreme reality of life.” Mays p. 86
“Through praise the psalmist keeps the LORD in the center of his attention, practices the presence of the LORD that comes to him through the guidance of his conscience in the still hours of the night. …. And praise makes the psalmist so conscious of the power and loving -kindness of the LORD that he is not threatened and unsettled by lesser things.” Mays 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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