Come to our aid, O Beloved! darkness seems to pervade the earth;
Where is the faith, the integrity that once lived in the hearts of your people?
Where is the truth, the trust that made its home in us?
O Love, cleanse us from our double talk, Create in use new and single hearts,
Spare us from those who think,
“Our speeches will win over all. Words are our weapons; no one can master us!”
“For the hearts of those who call to Me, For those who cry out for wholeness,
I shall make Myself known,” says the Beloved;
“I shall make Myself known in their hearts.”
The promises of Love are pure,
like silver refined in a crucible, like gold purified seven times.
Be our safeguard, O Blessed One,
Stay close by throughout these dark days
where unloving hearts seem to abound.
Come to our aid, O Beloved!
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
Some days it is difficult to listen to the news reports. There are so many lies and so little fact checking it’s hard to know what is real and true. And most of what is real and true is heartbreaking.
Holy God, keep the fear, lies, and hatred out of our mouths. Fill us instead with your peace and Love.
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 12 is a prayer for the LORD’s saving help (v. 1) in a time when wickedness is dominant in society. The world seems to be populated only with the wicked, who are everywhere (v. 8). The psalm begins with a lament that the faithful have vanished from the human race (v. 1) and concludes with the lament that baseness is exalted in the human race (v. 8), statements of hyperbole about the character of the general population.” Mays pp. 76-77
“The prevalent wickedness is characterized in terms of what has happened to language in the society; the themes are lips, tongue, and heart (vv. 2-4). Language expresses character. Hypocrites, people with a double heart, lie and deceive (v. 2). The arrogant put trust in their speech as the instrument of their power; their talk about their own deeds is like the praise of God’s great acts, and they pervert the confession of faith, “The LORD is with us,” into “Our lips are with us” (vv. 3-4). Deceptive and self-confident speech is the advertisement of a conduct and character that ignorance God and subject the neighbor to the inexorable purposes of selfishness. When faithfulness wanes and wickedness waxes, the poor and needy suffer; they are left without support of advocate (v. 5).” Mays p. 77
“In verse 5, prayer becomes prophecy and a word from the LORD is cited as a confession of trust that the LORD will act to deliver the poor and needy. The word expresses the character and conduct of the LORD just as surely as the talk of the wicked express their character. The LORD is a God who hears the poor and needy when they cry to him. Israel learned that when they were oppressed in Egypt. The law taught it (e.g., Exod. 22:21-24), and the prophets proclaimed it (e.g., Isa. 3:13-15). The psalmist puts that word in contrast to the language of the wicked; the word of the LORD is pure, that is, true and reliable (v. 6).” Mays p. 77
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 