My heart is united with Your Heart, O Beloved! I sing, and I will sing praises!
My soul is awakened: O joy, O gratitude! I arise to the new dawn!
I give thanks to You, Beloved, among the peoples,
I sing praises to You among the nations.
For your steadfast Love is great through all the world,
your faithfulness remains for all eternity.
Be exalted, O Radiant One, throughout the universe!
Let your Glory extend to the ends of the earth!
That your friends may be set free from fear,
Come to our aid, waken us all!
For You have been our Promise for all generations:
“Come to Me when your hearts are heavy, and I will give you rest.
For as I am in you, so do you live in Me; we are One in the Spirit of Love.
Be my messengers of peace; be bearers of mercy and justice;
let Love triumph over fear.”
Who will answer the invitation of Love?
Who will lead others into the new dawn?
Stay Awake, O my soul, to the Beloved within;
O, that I might shine as a light in the world!
Released from the darkness within, I extend your Peace out to the world;
for You are my Peace and my Light!
With You I can do all things; into your Heart I commend my soul always.
Nan C. Merrill Psalms for Praying
Reflection:
Psalm 108 is a combination of two older psalms, 57 and 60. The story is recycled, exactly why, we don’t know. But it seems that retelling the old stories provides comfort for the community.
3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
May we continue to find new ways to praise God whose steadfast love holds us fast and will never let us go.
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 108 is composed of material found in two other psalms. Verses 1-5 correspond to Psalm 57:7-11 and verses 6-13 to Psalm 60: 5-12. Psalms 57 and 60 appear to be the earlier contexts for the material.” Mays p. 347
“The psalm composed by combining the two portions of material has a literary structure with divisions that obscure the seam between the two sources. It begins as an individual hymn of praise sung in the midst of the nations exalting the LORD as the God whose steadfast love is higher than the heavens (vv. 1-4). Then a petition appeals to God to manifest act exaltation and answer with the salvation of his beloved (vv. 5-6). At this point it is obvious that the individual is representative and speaks with and for the national community. The answer sought in the petition is given in the form of a divine oracle in which the LORD declares his domination over the territory and peoples that largely composed the old Davidic kingdom. The psalm concludes as a corporate prayer for help, with a lament over the inability to turn the claim of the oracle into actuality (vv. 10-11), a petition for help from God (v. 12), and an assertion of confidence in God (v. 13).” Mays p. 348
“Psalm 57 recalls the times when David fled from Saul and hid in caves (1 Sam 22:1; 24:3), while Psalm 60’s superscription refers to a battle perhaps related to 2 Samuel 8:13-14 and 1 Chronicles 18:12-13.” W p. 95
“The singers of Psalm 108 can do nothing more than give thanks and learn to rely on their good God.” W p. 96
“Psalm 108 is a reminder of the power of stories, of a community’s stories, of individual stories–of the collective memory. A story that had power in one situation is repeated in a later time and situation. The readers or hearers in that later time bring new questions and concerns to the story, yet it is able to speak to the new generation and so it is repeated, handed down, from one generation to the next. With each telling, the story changes ever so subtly, but that change, that slight shift in context and meaning, is crucial to the survival of the story.” W p. 98
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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