O Love, You are my Beloved, and I long for You, my should thirsts for You;
All that is within me thirsts, as in array and barren land with no water.
So I have called out to You in my heart, sensing your power and glory.
Because your wondrous Love is Life in me, my lips will praise You.
I would radiate your Love as long as I live,
becoming a bless to others in gratitude to You.
My soul feasts as with a magnificent banquet,
and my mouth praises You with joyful lips,
When I ponder on your kindness, and meditate on You throughout the night;
For You have been my salvation, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to You, your love upholds me.
The fears that seem to separate me from You
shall be transformed and disappear;
they shall be gone as in a dream when I Awaken.
And my soul shall rejoice in the Beloved.
All who open their hearts to Love will live in peace and joy!
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
Beloved, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you; all of me longs for you. Draw me into the awareness of your presence, so I can feel your steadfast love surround me. I remember how I felt your presence in your sanctuary, your power and glory were as tangible as sacramental bread and wine. And perhaps, I will find you there again.
I whisper prayers to you in my bed; and meditate as I watch for the first morning light. I find comfort in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you, the sacred eternal, and I am satisfied.
I know the world is less than perfect, but your love will break through. Those who seek destruction will be stopped and their power stripped. Those who lie will be silenced and their oppression will cease.
I will rejoice in your steadfast love, for you will bring new life, again and again. I will not be afraid of transformation. My soul will rejoice in you, Beloved, for you are my God.
Check out other psalm reflections in the links below or find more of my writing published in Presbyterian Outlook or listen to my experiments in podcasting on the Period Pastor Podcast. Follow me @periodpastor
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. Many churches use the Revised Common Lectionary (RLC) that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C). Starting in Advent 2019, the 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. When we returned to in person worship, we took the psalm reflections out of the order of worship. I continued to write them for the blog. Advent of 2022 year A. I left church work in July of 2023 but continued the practice of writing psalm reflections. Advent of 2023 year B.
I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections.
1st Sunday in Advent Psalm 25, 2nd Sunday in Advent instead of a Psalm the lectionary gives Luke 1:68-79, 3rd Sunday in Advent instead of a Psalm the lectionary gives Isaiah 12:2-6, 4th Sunday in Advent Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1st Sunday after Christmas, Psalm 148, New Year’s Day Psalm 8, 2nd Sunday after Christmas Psalm 147, Epiphany Psalm 72, 1st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 36, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 19, 4th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 71, 5th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 138, 6th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 1, 7th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 37, Transfiguration Sunday (Sunday before Lent) Psalm 99
Lent: Ash Wednesday Psalm 51, 1st Sunday in Lent Psalm 91, 2nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 27, 3rd Sunday in Lent Psalm 63, 4th Sunday in Lent Psalm 32, 5th Sunday in Lent Psalm 126, 6th Sunday in Lent (Palm or Passion Sunday) Psalm 118 or 31
Easter: Easter Psalm 118 or Psalm 114, 2nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 118 or Psalm 150, 3rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 30, 4thSunday of Easter Psalm 23, 5th Sunday of Easter Psalm 148, 6th Sunday of Easter Psalm 67, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7th Sunday of Easter Psalm 97, Day of Pentecost Psalm 104
Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time): 1st Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) Psalm 8, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 or Psalm 22, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 77 or Psalm 16, 4th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 30 or Psalm 66, 5th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 82 or Psalm 25, 6th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 52 or Psalm 15, 7thSunday after Pentecost Psalm 85 or Psalm 138, 8th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 107 or Psalm 49, 9th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 50 or Psalm 33, 10th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 80 or Psalm 82, 11th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 71or Psalm 103, 12th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 81 or Psalm 112, 13th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 139 or Psalm 1, 14thSunday after Pentecost Psalm 14 or Psalm 51, 15th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 79 or Psalm 113, 16th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 91 or Psalm 146, 17th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 137 or Psalm 37, 18th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 66 or Psalm 111, 19th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 119 or Psalm 121, 20th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 65 or Psalm 84, 21st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 119 or Psalm 32, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 145 or Psalm 98 or Psalm 17, 23rdSunday after Pentecost Psalm 98, 24th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 46.
Sources and notes:
“Psalm 63 was greatly valued in the early church. It was selected as the morning psalm to introduce the singing of the psalms in the Sunday service (Delitzsch, 2:212f.). It speaks of the thirst of the soul for God, the quenching of that thirst through the presence of God in the sanctuary, and the response of praise as the expression of life itself. …. In that dangerous world the psalmist has experienced the absence of God as the thirst and hunger of should, a need for the presence of God without with his soul cannot live. …. The encounter with the Presence has net his need and satisfied his soul as if he had fed on the richest food (v. 5); in response, he promises to live in praise, day and night, all his life (vv. 3-7).” Mays p. 217
Steadfast love = hessed (v. 3) “The psalmist seems to say that God’s faithfulness to him is more valuable than his own life. But hessed is a characteristic of God that is known in God’s preservation of the life of those who call him “my God.” It is God’s hessed in which the psalms put the trust and hope for the salvation of life. How can prayer separate God’s faithfulness from the life that depends on it and hold it up for praise as more valuable than that life? It seems that the vision of God and the praise of God carry the psalmist to a point at which prayer transcends the soul and its need to contemplate God alone. Trust become for a moment pure adoration that leaves the self behind as any participant in the reason for adoration.” Mays p. 218
“The emotional intensity of Psalm 63 is conveyed through body parts: thirsty throat (v. 1), fainting flesh (v. 1), beholding eyes (v. 2), praising lips (v. 3b), uplifted hands (v. 4b), sated body (v. 5a), praising mouth (v. 5), joyful lips (v. 5b), clinging person (v. 8a), upholding right hand (of God, v. 8), preyed-upon life (v. 9a), mouths of liars (v. 11c). The NRSV translation of [the Hebrew word] as “soul” in vv. 1, 5, and 8 and “life” in v. 9 does not take into account the nuances of the term in each verse and its function of characterizing the change feelings and emotions of the psalmist. In somatic parallelism with “flesh” in v. 1, the psalmist metaphorically locates her search for God in her “throat”; her longing for God is a thirst. Just as a parched land needs water, the psalmist needs God. Her body also needs divine nourishment; her flesh “faints” for God. Once again the thirsty and hungry body communicates the psalmist’s vulnerability (Pss 42:1-2; 143:6) and reminds us that life depends on God. Perhaps this explains why later editors linked Psalm 63 to David with the superscription “when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” The dry land “where there is not water” in v. 1b suggests the wilderness to which the vulnerable David flees when Saul seeks to kill him (1 Sam 23:14-25; 24:1-2).” W p. 155
Psalm 63 has a multilayered view of “living being”/soul which “invites us as readers to contemplate the contusion and location of our own.” W. p 156
“The psalmist’s focus shifts from public worship to private mediation in the present in v. 6… I translate v. 6 with Marvin Tate, not as a subordinate clause to v. 5 but as beginning a new sentence and a new section of Psalm 63: “As I remember you upon my bed.” The psalmist “meditates” in the night watches, just as the psalmist “meditates” on God’s Torah day and night in Psalm 1:2. Some interpreters suggest that this phrase refers to a night vigil in the sanctuary, especially when coupled with “in the shadow of your wings” (v. 7b), which may refer to the cherubim atop the ark of the covenant. As Silvia Schroer has argued, however, these wings are the protecting, regenerating wings of the goose vulture associate with goddesses in the ancient Near East. Israel’s God has taken over this “motherliness.” ” W p. 158
“This view fits well with the intimacy of the God/psalmist relationship experienced by the psalmist in the present in v. 8, based on memory and anticipation of the future: “my [soul] clings to you.” The declaration that God’s right hand upholds the psalmist adds to this sense of intimacy. “Cling” is the same verb that speaks in genesis 2:24 of a man clinging to his woman in sexual union, and in 2 Kings 5:27 for disease that clings to a person; compare this to the military usage of the verb in 2 Samuel 23:10 and 1 Samuel 14:22 in terms of battle and pursuit of the enemy. It is a verb of fierce connection. Ruth expresses her strong desire for connection to Naomi by “clinging” to her (Ruth 1:14) and refusing to turn back to Moab as Orpah had done.” W p. 160
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, 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, 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.
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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, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.
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, 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, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.
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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