Tag Archives: worship

Psalm 90

Thus we begin the Fourth Book of Psalms. The psalms that follow are generally liturgical in nature, as are those of the Fifth Book. Perhaps it’s divided between 106 and 107 only for convenience in terms of size, because the … Continue reading

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Rejoice: Prayers Answered

New neighbors next door are Christian people; a different flavor but decent folks. I prayed for their welcome and welfare. A couple weeks later their car got creamed in an intersection — just an inch behind the driver’s door. The … Continue reading

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Psalm 87

This is a terse prophetic song. The Hebrew is difficult to grasp if you read it literally, and you would be in good company. Toward the end before Babylon laid siege to the city, a great many shallow minds and … Continue reading

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Psalm 86

Don’t go looking for the precise spot David occupied when he composed this sweet hymn. We have no idea what human historical context goes with this impassioned plea, and precious few humans can even begin to share the moral place … Continue reading

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Psalm 85

Another of the Korahite works, Western scholars are all over the place on this psalm. We would miss the point if we tried to shove this down into some particular historical reference. As with most prophetic Hebrew writing, the message … Continue reading

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Psalm 84

This is a Pilgrim Psalm, a celebration of marching to Zion for any number of annual feasts and festivals. The imagery is rich with symbolism. The psalmist begins with a common figure of speech heard among pilgrims meeting to share … Continue reading

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Psalm 77

We remind ourselves that, for all their piety and scholarship, translators remain captive to their own biases. We should never pretend that we have none, but be conscious of them and strive to make them serve our individual callings. It … Continue reading

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Psalm 76

Many scholars are convinced this psalm celebrates the miraculous deliverance of the city during the reign of Hezekiah by slaughtering the besieging Assyrian troops. But regardless of any particular historical reference, this psalm has almost surely been rewritten from it’s … Continue reading

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Psalm 75

Asaph offers us a brief invocation followed by an oracle message from God. The underlying theme is fundamental to the Ancient Near Eastern understanding of how God operates within His Creation. As the feudal Sovereign Lord, He comes to visit … Continue reading

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Funerary Service

For those who are curious, a generic non-sectarian funeral is really quite simple. First, you have to understand that funerals do nothing for the dead, but are for survivors. At most, we are simply consoling each other. There is nothing … Continue reading

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