Tag: psalms
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The Troubling Sides of Faith
Psalm 78:1-8, 17-29 – 8/3/2026 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel, because they had no faith in God and did not trust his saving power. Psalm 78:21-22 (NRSVue) Lately for the daily lectionary reflection, I have written about scripture that…
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Rejecting Infallibilism as a Hermeneutic
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 – 7/30/2026 The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:14 (NRSVue) I often think about how I used to read the Bible, back when I was part of a culture and church community that believed that a literal interpretation of scripture was infallibly…
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Where Is Our Salvation?
Psalm 119:121-128 – 7/28/2026 My eyes fail from watching for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise. Psalm 119:123 (NRSVue) How long, Oh Lord, will the wicked prevail while the oppressed go hungry and unhoused? How long will oppressors and greedy, selfish men rule? When will the people be set free from…
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Grief in the Face of Evil
Psalm 119:129-136 – 7/24/2026 My eyes shed streams of tears because your law is not kept. Psalm 119:136 Why does evil upset us? Why should it upset us? What role does moral indignation or moral sorrow play in the good life? In the life of a Christian? It is certainly not on God’s behalf that…
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Anxiety and Hope as Existential Moods
Psalm 131 -7/6/2026 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul within me is like a weaned child. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 131:2-3 (NRSVue, alternate translation) Anxiety is an important mood for philosophical reasons. Anxiety exemplifies the…
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The Duty to Feast
Psalm 89 – 6/26/2026 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. Psalm 89:15 (NRSVue) Today’s Psalm (specifically 89:15), as it is translated in the NRSVue, reminds me of something I read a couple of years ago in one of the Ancient Church orders,…
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Biblical Language as World-Building
Psalm 100 – 6/11/2026 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Psalm 100:1-2 (NRSVue) In third grade, the church of my childhood gave me a Bible. It was long enough ago that it as the Revised Standard Version, not the NRSV…
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God Does Not Demand Blood
Psalm 50:7-15 – 6/4/2026 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. Psalm 50:8-9 (NRSVue) God does not demand blood. Sacrifice, in the sense of taking a life to atone for sin, is not…
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The Breath of God, Third Person of the Trinity
Psalm 104:24-35 – 5/26/2026 When you send forth your spirit [or breath], [living things] are created, and you renew the face of the ground. Psalm 104:30 (NRSVue) The word “Spirit” in both the Greek and Hebrew portions of the Bible is a tricky word. In both languages the word that gets translated as “spirit” primarily…
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Testimony not Treatise
Psalm 93 – 5/15/2026 The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved; your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. Psalm 93:1-2 Who is God? What can truly be ascribed to God?…
Dionysus on a Bike 