O Merciful Presence, the ignorant seem unrestrained in the world;
They defile the Sacred Altar, your dwelling place within;
they leave those weaker than themselves in ruins.
Chaos and destruction follow them,
as they oppress the poor through deception and greed,
and kill the faith-filled who resist.
Yes, they have poured out their blood like water throughout the world;
many have disappeared without a trace.
How long will the unjust bring anguish to the loving,
to those who seek justice and peace?
How long, O indwelling Presence? Will your patience last forever?
When will You awaken our long dormant spirits?
Pour out your Love on every nation, open the heart of all people;
We await a new birth of consciousness, we call upon your Name!
For the ignorant and unloving are laying waste to the planet.
Forgive us for the misuse and abuse of your Creation;
humble us with your steadfast Love, before the world becomes a barren waste.
Help us, O Compassionate One, to renew the face of the earth;
deliver us, and forgive our sins, that we might now the joy of co-creation!
Let other nations not cry out, “Where is their faith?”
Let all who have spilled the blood of the innocent
repent and make reparation before the eyes of the world!
Let the cries of victims of injustice come before You;
according to your great Power, break the bonds of oppression!
let all that has been garnered through greed
be returned in full measure with open hands.
Then we your people, those who would companion with You,
will give thanks to You forever;
from generation to generation will will abandon ourselves into your hands
with grace-filled, open hearts.
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
I want to scream. How long are you going to allow the wicked to hurt the oppressed? Our world is filled with injustice, evil, and more hate that I can imagine. I want to help those who are hurting, but I also want the people doing the hurting to stop… and in my worst moments, I want the people doing the hurting to suffer. I’m glad there is a psalm for even my worst moments.
Psalm 79 is calling for God’s vengeance and compassion and more importantly it models trusting in God’s wisdom; knowing that God will do what is just and merciful. When I need to scream and ugly cry, I can lash out at God. God can take it. God can (and has and will) transform my heart. I release the anger to God’s hands and God fills me with calm and the conviction to continue to do the next right thing. I confess my own sins and mistakes, and I’m glad of God’s forgiveness and love. I don’t know exactly how this magic works, but it does. Somehow, I can eventually let go of the rage and move towards compassion and working for justice in more productive ways. Thanks be to 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, 4th Sunday of Easter Psalm 23 or 114, 5th Sunday of Easter Psalm 148, 6th Sunday of Easter Psalm 67 or 109, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7th Sunday of Easter Psalm 97 or Psalm 2, 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, 7th Sunday 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, 14th Sunday 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 79 is a prayer of the people of the LORD in a time of grievous trouble. …. The psalm is largely composed of lamenting descriptions of trouble and petitions for help.” Mays p. 260
“The reference to “the iniquities of our ancestors” (v. 8) recalls the warning of the second commandment that the apostasy of parents would lead to the punishment of the children to the third and fourth generations. Psalm 79 is the only corporate prayer for help that includes a confession of sin. If the connection with the commandments is correct, that would explain why it is the iniquities of the community’s history that are confessed.” Mays p. 261
“The spam does not stay with sin and punishment at the meaning of Israel’s desolation. It appeals to the glory of the name of God. It expressed the marvelous presumption of faith that the honor of God’s amen the world is more important than even the sin and punishment of his people ( v. 9). When city and temple that belong to God and the people who call on the name of God are pushed to the edge of extinction, then the nations and kingdoms who do not acknowledge that the LORD is God and do not call on his name (v.6) are in a position to taunt the flock of God with the scornful, derisive question, “Where is your God?”” Mays p. 261
“Ruins, unburied bodies scavenged by birds of prey, blood poured out like water–these images jolt the readers of lament psalm 79. As in the case in other Asaph psalms, the description of the destruction of Jerusalem is meant to invite God’s sympathetic response to the psalmist’s petition soft retribution against the enemy, presumably Babylon (vv. 6, 10, 12). Psalm 79 challenges the memory of a glorious Zion/Jerusalem, “the epicenter of God’s ordering of the world,” in “Songs of Zion” such as Psalm 46; as one of the “Sad Songs of Zion” (along with Ps 74) it grieves rather than celebrates. The tension inherent in these two different Zion images is amplified by God’s choice of Zion and David at the end of Psalm 78 (vv. 67-72); this choice is immediately destabilized at the beginning of Psalm 79 by the image of Jerusalem in ruins (cp. Jer 26:18; Mic 3:12). The word “inheritance” in each pslam also shares in the tension (78:71; 79:1).” W p. 281
“Psalm 79 seems to be shaped by the Babylonian exile, as are many of the communal laments in book 3 of the Psalter (see Pss 80, 83-85, 89). The suggestion of God as shepherd in 79:13 (the word “shepherd” is not used, but the people self-refer as “the flock of your pasture”), links the psalm both to Psalm 78 (vv. 52-53) and to Psalm 80 (v. 1). In Psalm 79 the people anticipate praise for the shepherd who will rescue them from the “wild animals” who are currently preying on upon them (v. 2). This psalm is recited at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Friday evenings and on the ninth of Av (Tisha B’Av), which liturgically commemorates the destruction of the two Jerusalem temples and other disasters that befell the Jewish people; it is a day of mourning and fasting.” W pp. 281-282
“Two standard lament questions mark the sections of Psalm 79: “how long?” (v. 5; cp. Pss 74:10; 80:5; 89:6: Jer 47:6) and “why?” (v. 10; cp. Pss 43:2; 44:24-25; 74:1, 11; 80:13; 88:15; Lam 5:20). Like communal lament Psalms 74 and 83, Psalm 79 raises the agonizing theological question: has God been defeated by foreign gods? Psalm 79 assumes that the conflict between Israel and its enemy (Babylon) is a conflict between the gods of each nation (cp. Exodus 7:5, in which God declares that the purpose of the plagues is to that “the Egyptians shall know that tI am the LORD”). The enemy taunt quotation in v. 10-“Why should the nations say, ‘where is your God?'” –drives home the god/nation link (see also Pss 42:3, 10 and 115:2; cp. Isa 10:9-10; 36:18b-20; Mic 7:10; Joel 2;17; i Kgs 18:27). This “taunt” is “the major reason that the psalmist gives for why God should answer the prayer.” The psalmist “reperforms” the enemy taunt for God as a motivation for divine action on Israel’s behalf. Verses 4 and 12 reinforce v. 10. The psalmist complains that “we have become a taunt to our neighbors” (v. 4) and then demands retribution in v. 12: “return sevenfold… the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!” (see “taunt” in Pss 22:6; 31:11; 69:7; 44:13; 89:41). The people’s humiliation is also God’s humiliation.” W pp. 283-284
“Psalm 79 is the only communal lament that confesses sin (v. 9); this confession offers another motivation for God to act, as well as “exonerates the God whom the laments would indict.” The people plead “not that God cool down but rather redirect anger from the people to the offensive nations.” How ironic that this petition is supported by an appeal to God’s “compassion”, which is anchored in the female body part that is the womb, site of nurturing, tenderness, and life.” W p. 284
“A second “Sad Song of Zion” is Psalm 79. This psalm traverse the same territory a s Psalm 74, through its description of destruction with an accent on “defile” (vv. 1-3), followed by a series of urgent petitions: “help, deliver, pour out.” The petitions are a mix of pleas for help in a circumstance of helplessness with a hope for vengeance. What stands out most in this psalm, unlike Psalm 74, is the latter element: the vigorous wish for retaliation against the “defilers.” The wish for vengeance is explicit in verse 10 and is then escalated in verse 12. The “sevenfold” hope for payback is an echo of the ancient Song of Lamech in Genesis 4:23-24. The passion for vengeance is counterpoint to the humiliation suffered when the high theological claims of Jerusalem turned out to be vapor. Even so, the prayer for payback is an act of hope in anticipation of thanks and praise when YHWH rehabilitates YHWH’s temple, city, and people and, along with them, YHWH’s own reputation (v. 13).” Brueggemann From Whom No Secrets Are Hid pp. 83-84
“This psalm repeats the themes of Psalm 74, but seemingly with more venom. The situation is the same: the temple is destroyed, Israel is bereft, and the conquering enemy gloats. Yahweh cannot afford to be a disinterested party. Appeal is made to the partisan holiness of God which works beyond visible religiosity. Israel her presses Yahweh to decide that counts with him.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms p. 71
“The two-sidedness of Yahweh’s person here is noteworthy. What is obviously needed is his anger, destructive indignation, exposed as wrath, anger, vengeance, power. But it is matched by his compassion, salvation, deliverance, forgiveness, attention to groans, even as he has heard groans from the beginning (Exod. 2:23). The mystery of this God is the juxtaposition of vengeance and compassion. Both matter here. Neither is available in the usual stoic gods of temple theology.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms p. 72
“The double-sidedness of Yahweh is necessary if our faith is to deal with us fully, our dark side as well as our piety. That double-mindedness is evident in verse 12. There is an urgent, militant petition to repay sevenfold, to crush some people and to punish sevenfold those who have done it to us. The prayer is an echo of the vicisounesss of Lamech (Gen. 4:24) who wants more than equity. The post uses the most radical memory that can be recalled for the settling of accounts by God.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms p. 72
“Such a prayer may trouble us, and we would not think to pray that way very often, but it is thoroughly biblical. The speaker is honest enough to know that yearning, and the speaker if faithful enough to submit that yearning to God. Such a requirement of an “overkill” of retaliation is not to be used for casual affronts. It is only when “the temple” is undone the tone does this. It is when the core, meaning, and structure of life are undone that one dares to go in this posture to the throne. But then one must go.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms pp. 72-73
“Yet this same speaker who authorizes such ruthlessness in verse 12 is the one who counts on forgiveness in verse 9. How could it be? Obviously one yearning is “for them,” and the other is “for us.” We do sort things out that way. But mostly the psalm reveals how divided and incongruous we all are. Perhaps the madness of that incongruity is because the temple is lost and the center is gone. When the center does not hold, we cannot will one thing. The temples destroyed permits moral chaos. So the prayer evidences a deep disarray and disorientation. It is the kind of prayer one would not have prayed while the temple stood and the center held. But when that is gone, all the deep forces are unleashed in our lives, and the darkness has its say. the only hopeful thing in that raw contradiction that we know wo well is that it is all submitted to Yahweh. Both reliance on forgiveness and hunger for vengeance are tied to Yahweh, who will deal with both needs in his utter sovereignty. Even in Israel’s disorientation, the darkness is carried in prayer to the one who hears our yearning. And God handles both. On the one hand, the hunger for vengeance is processed by this God who gives distance between the venomous wish and the act of implementation, so the the judgment of God is not quite so direct and unmitigated. God processes also our need for forgiveness, so that it also is not so direct and sure, so cheap, so that the loss of temple is immediately resolved. As the vengeance is articulated, so the forgiveness costs and requires prodding. God is available to this desperate voice of prayer, but God is not available directly and immediately on the terms we presume. God is available in terms of God’s won sovereignty, and even loss of temple does not change that.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms p. 73
“But biblical faith never imagines that vers 13 exists by itself. New life is never a gift in a vacuum. It is wrought in profound and dangerous struggle as we bring to visibility the deep incongruity that marks our life. Our life is one in which all that is finally holy is violated, day by day. Yet, we dare hope for pastoral possibilities that move us beyond the wrenching, venomous indignation. Biblical faith is not romantic. It reckons with the evil, and it knows that the evil strikes at all that is crucial and most precious. Nonetheless, it dares affirm. It requires and permits us to move beyond the venom to the Lord of ruined temples.” Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms p. 74
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.
Period Pastor Pad 