Sing a joyful song to the Beloved all the earth, and praise Love’s name;
Sing in glorious exultation!
We say to You, “How magnificent are your ways:
So great is your power that fear and doubt vanish before You;
You are our Teacher for all ages:
We, who choose to listen and learn, sing songs of gratitude and joy.
Come and see what the Beloved has done; wondrous are the deeds of Love.
Remember when the sea turned to dry land?
There, we did rejoice in the One, who rules by the might Spirit of Love forever,
Whose eyes keep watch on the nations-
let not those who strive for power exalt themselves!
Bless the Beloved, Heart of our hearts, let the soul of our praises be heard.
You keep us attuned to life and guide our feet on solid ground.
For You, O Love, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried.
You have allowed us to fall into the net;
You have watched us reap all that we have sown;
we went through fire and through water,
Yet You have brought us through our pain and into your dwelling place.
I enter your Heart surrendered to Love; I commend my soul into your keeping;
all that my lips uttered, all that my mouth promised when I was in trouble and pain,
I offer up to You; I abandon myself into your hands.
Come and hear, all you who reverence the Most High,
and I shall tell what the Beloved has done for me.
I cried aloud to the Silent Watcher of my life;
from my tongue came forth words of praise.
Had I cherished greed and power, I would have separated myself from Love;
the voice of my prayer was heard.
Blessed be the holy Name of the Beloved, Loving Companion Presence,
who embraced me, and renewed my life.
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
Psalm 66 begins with a communal affirmation of who God is and what God has done throughout history. Then the psalm shifts into an individual’s experience of God and what God has done for her in her own lifetime. God has guided the community and the individual through difficulty into renewed life. The community is remembering a long history of the people of God. The witness of this history allows the individual to see her place in it and participate in relationship with God.
The combination of historic and contemporary witnesses of God’s steadfast love is powerful and hope-renewing. When the psalms are read in worship or in community, we are participating in remembering history and in affirming that God continues in loving relationship with us today. This witness inspires hope for communities and individuals.
When I read these ancient texts, I know I am connecting with a community of faith that expands beyond my imagination. My experiences are not dissimilar from those of the psalmist nor those who will read the psalms in the future. These prayers are communal and personal all at once. God hears prayers, yours, mine, and ours.
Blessed be God, who sees us through wilderness and renews life, again and again, and again.
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:
“Thanksgiving Psalm 66 centers on fulfillment of the vow made when the psalmist was “in trouble”. This brief and very general reference to the psalmist’s distress enables almost anyone to pray the psalm by particularizing “trouble” with his or her own personal experience. …. Because of the public dimension of the vow, Psalm 66 ties together both the communal memory of God’s deeds on Israel’s behalf in vv. 1-12 and the individual testimony about God’s reduce in vv. 13-20, moving from the rural “we” to the singular “I”. ” W p. 179
“Psalm 66 is a song that celebrates the deeds of God for the people of God. That is the theme and purpose that unites it. The psalm is composed of two genres, a hymn of praises (vv. 1-12) and a song of thanksgiving (vv. 13-20). The human is congregational in style and the song individual. The psalm is generally treated as a composite of two distinct pieces. But as in the case of Psalm 118, the combination of group and individual praise seems to reflect the service of thanksgiving as a general institution in the post exilic period. They human is a processional fo rat congregation preceding the presentation of offerings by a representative person whose thanksgiving is made in identity with and on behalf of the congregation.” Mays p. 221
“The processional hymn has three stanzas, each introduced by an imperative summons to praise. The first stanza (vv. 1-4) begins with the same line that opens Psalm 100, a call to all the earth to acclaim God as king.” Mays p. 221
“Compare this opening stanza to Revelation 15:3-4 with its hymn on the great and wonderful deeds of God to whom all the nations shall come and worship. There is a sense in which the praise of God as king always has a prophetic reach. God’s rule is eternal (v. 7), but his kingdom is coming.” Mays p. 222
“The second stanza (vv. 5-7) invites the nations to “Come and see the works of God.” The challenge is like that of Psalm 46:8, where the works of God are visible in the self-destructiveness and futility of war as a manifestation of human power. Here it is the exodus and the wonder at the sea: “He turned sea (yam) into dry land; the river (nahar) they crossed on foot.” The event was not just a miracle. Yam and Hahar are the names of the personalized cosmic powers who the Canaanite god Baal overthrows in teh ancient myth of Baal’s ascent to kingship over nature. The psalmist draws on that myth to peak of the primal saving event in Israel’s story as the revelation of the LORD’s rule over the nations. The hymn recalls (vv. 6-7) the rejoicing that broke out “there” among the people in the song of Exodus 15 over the revelation that it is the LORD who reigns forever over the gods and the nations (cf. vv 11, 14, 17-18). The congregation recalls that rejoicing as a celebration in which they participated. Worship transcends time, and the congregation that sings the psalm becomes part of the astonished joyous people of exodus.” Mays p. 222
“In the third stanza (vv. 8-12), the congregation tells the peoples of the world directly what God has done for them. God has put them through a time when they were subjected to mere human begins (‘enosh, v. 12), a time when they were proved and refined like silver in a smelter (v. 10). The language describing their suffering is similar to that by which the prophets describe the affliction of the exile (the figure of testing and smelting in Isa. 48:10; Jer. 9:7; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:3; the net in Exek. 12:13; 17:20; and passion thorough water and fire in Isa. 43:2). The corporate travail of hte congregation is described in this way to make it very clear that their humiliation was no contradiction of ht reign of “our God.” Quite the opposite, it was, itself, God’s work. And now he has brought the through and given them life abundant (vv. 9 and 12b). “You brought us fourth” (v. 12) is exodus language used to say that the first exodus has happened again, bu tin a different and unexpected way. Human and cosmic powers sought their death, but God brought them to a new life. Noting this, the Greek version names this psalm “a song of the resurrection.” Mays pp. 222 – 223
“The offerings are presented to keep the promises made in prayers for help in times of trouble. They are not to be thought of as ways to pay God back but rather as ritual acts of acknowledgement and confession.” Mays p. 223
“When the church uses this psalm, it recognizes its continuity with the community of those whose story is made up of exodus and rent and confesses that it is a shoot grafted into the olive tree of Israel. And it has a new witness to God’s awesome deeds of salvation to add to the old, a story of death and resurrection that is the gospel of the kingdom of God to the nations, an answer to the cry for life that lies in the heart of everyone.” Mays pp. 223 – 224 Also, note Brueggemann’s orientation, disorientation, new orientation cycle of psalms.
“The LXX and the Vulgate add the title “psalm of the resurrection” to Psalm 66, which has prompted Christian use of this psalm during the Easter season. This makes sense in light of verse 9, which speaks of “our God” “who has kept us among the living”. In the end, the focus of Psalm 66 is not so much on the big events of Israel’s history in which men played such a prominent role but on the little deliverances of daily life in which women played a crucial part and that illustrate God’s continuing faithfulness.” W p. 184
“Just as Christians affirm participation in the paradigmatic death and resurrection of Jesus (see Rom 6:1-11), so also the psalmist affirms participation in the paradigmatic event of exodus. Finally, what God has done for all God’s people (v. 5) is inseparable from what God has done for the individual (v. 16), and vice versa. Such is the lesson of Psalm 66 the it is read as a whole. As Brueggemann puts it, “This psalm shows the move from communal affirmation to individual appreciation, which is what we always do in biblical faith.”” NIB p. 486
“It is neither necessary nor permissible to split Psalm 66 into separate communal and individual units. The second half shows a member of the commute fully participating gin and appropriating the communal deliverance as his very own. The function of the psalm is to solidify the new ordering of well-being that permits life and that comes exactly from God’s powerful praise and action. Israel’s life is not now at the mercy of other hostile powers, for God’s hessed overrides the threat. It follow that as the community experiences this, trusting persons in the community take it as a very personal assurance in their own life. This psalm shows the move from communal affirmation to individual appreciation, which is what we always do in biblical faith.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms pp. 138-139
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.
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, 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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