In loving places, O Beloved, are You known, your mercy extends to all the earth.
Your abode has been established in our soul, your dwelling place in our heart.
You break down our walls–our anger, fear, illusions and doubts.
Glorious are You, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
That which is haughty within us is brought low, our greed brings us to ruin;
The violence that we harbor turns in upon ourselves.
In your loving mercy, O Beloved, You raise us up with Love.
For You fill us with wonder!
You, who know our innermost being, You forgive us and raise us up.
From the depths of our soul You call us to Awaken,
to grow toward harmony and wholeness.
You well up in our hears with the inward call
to liberate the oppressed of the earth.
Surely our fear-filled hearts will one day praise You,
the gold that comes out of the ashes of our ego.
Abandon yourself to the Beloved with confidence;
and receive the blessings of Love from the Heart of your heart,
From the One who yearns for your return,
Who welcomes you home with joy!
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
God can hold our praise and our anger. We are capable of love and violence. Giving our hearts to God, even (especially) the bits that are angry and violent, is how we will heal and move forward with love and peace.
Love can hold many feelings and be with us until the world turns right side up 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. Advent of 2024 year C. I finished year C early, so I posted Psalm 119 and began work on missed psalms from Year D and others not in the lectionary. Advent of 2025 year A.
I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings and the PCUSA planning calendar to make text selections.
Year D Psalms that I haven’t come across in the other lectionary years, yet:
18, 144, 44, 110, 73, 75, 76, 28, 12, 61, 11, 88, 108, 64, 60, 10, 120
These are the psalms I haven’t found in any lectionary, yet:
5, 53, 64, 81, 131, 134, 135
Sources and notes:
“Psalm 76 praises the LORD for his awesome power over kings and princes and their weaponry. The armaments of nations are useless against the majestic wrath of God at human pretensions to power. Psalm 76 is usually grouped with the songs of Zion because it features a divine victory against forces threatening Zion (cf. vv. 2-6 and 46:8-9 and 48: 3-8). But the psalm is more about the resident of Zion than Zion itself.” Mays p. 250
“In the language of the psalms, the lowly are those who base their life on trust in God rather than on their own strength. God judges to save them. The LORD has taken residence on Zion as a counterforce to the powers that, unopposed, threaten and oppress those without power to resist them.” Mays p. 251
“The congregation that worships on Zion sees itself as the lowly surrounded by the threats of history and takes hope in the vision of the divine warrior who judges to save. Their hope is the promise to all the lowly of the world. The theology of this psalm is precisely that of the eighth-century prophets who saw the divine warrior acting in judgement against those who oppress the lowly within their own nations.” Mays p. 251
“References to troops, anger, fear, judgement, rebuke, and tribute draw the reader of Psalm 76 into the world of men, war, and power and seem to leave little room for women and children. The toggling between third-person speech about God (vv. 1-3) and second-person direct address to God (vv. 4-10), with third-person address to the world’s inhabitants (vv. 11-12), suggests a liturgical setting.” W p. 253
“Ironically, other verses in this psalm suggest that this God who will end war is also a Divine Warrior. This ambiguity makes Israel’s struggle with the trauma of exile, careening between violent desire for revenge and a war-weariness longing for peace.” W p. 254
Wrath as Liturgical Act by Tiffany Houck-Loomis as expert in Wisdom Commentary: “To be able to hold an image of God as one who is loving and nurturing and one whose anger can be aroused enables us to contain our own experience of nurturing love and wrathful anger. Holding this ambivalence allows us to live in conscious acknowledgement of our won instincts, permitting our wrath to move us to informed action rather than reactively acting unconsciously in outward deeds of aggression and hatred toward injustices experienced.” W p. 257
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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