Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 4 June 2022 (Psalm 101)

‘I will sing of loyalty and of justice’ (Psalm 101: 1) … the statue of Justice by John Van Nost (1721) in Dublin Castle (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 101:

Psalm 101 is sometimes known by its Latin name Misericordiam et judicium. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 100.

This is one of the psalms not included in the Revised Common Lectionary. But one way of reading Psalm 101 is to divide it into these sections:

1,, verse 1: God’s ‘loyalty and mercy’ or ‘mercy’ and ‘justice’ go together, for while justice may pronounce a penalty, mercy may grant relief. As king, David knows that before he could exercise mercy and justice, he had to understand and extol the mercy and justice of God.

2, verse 2: David is determined that his reign is marked by integrity and godliness, and to live a wise and holy life. As he came to a position of greater power, he experienced that power often exposes the flaws of character, if it does not actually help create them. His righteous life had to be real in his conduct within his own house, before it could be applied in the courts of his kingdom.

3, verses 3-4: one measure of a righteous life was what one chose to set before the eyes, as the lust of the eyes is a significant aspect of the lure of this world.

4, verse 5: to lie or speak in an evil way against another person is a significant and grievous sin and the worst of it is done secretly, so David was determined to oppose all who did so.

5, verses 6-8: Instead of looking at those who thought themselves better than others, David preferred to look at the faithful, deciding that they would dwell with him. David’s determination to rule in favour of the godly, made him decide to remove the wicked early on from the city of God.

‘A haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not tolerate’ (Psalm 101: 5) … street art in the Portobello area in Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Psalm 101 (NRSVA):

Of David. A Psalm.

1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice;
to you, O Lord, I will sing.
2 I will study the way that is blameless.
When shall I attain it?

I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is base.

I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.

5 One who secretly slanders a neighbour
I will destroy.
A haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not tolerate.

6 I will look with favour on the faithful in the land,
so that they may live with me;
whoever walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

7 No one who practises deceit
shall remain in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue in my presence.

8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all evildoers
from the city of the Lord.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’

This theme in the USPG Prayer Diary concludes this morning (4 June 2022), inviting us to pray:

Let us pray for everyone who has a difficult relationship with their parents, acknowledging this in how we talk to others.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 3 June 2022 (Psalm 100)

The Hebrew inscription at the entrance to the Stadttempel, Vienna’s main synagogue, reads: ‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise’ (Psalm 100: 4) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 100:

Psalm 100 is sometimes known by its Latin name Jubilate Deo, and is familiar by this name to many Anglicans as a Canticle. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 99.

As the Canticle Jubilate Deo, Psalm 100 is one of the psalms said or sung as a Canticle at Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer.

Psalm 100 is a psalm of thanksgiving that invites all people on earth to joyfully worship God. It accompanied the korban todah, a thanksgiving offering (see Leviticus 7: 11) brought to express gratitude for coming safely through a hazardous situation such as recovering from illness, completing a potentially dangerous journey, or being released from captivity. In Jewish tradition today, the HaGomel blessing, which is said after surviving illness, childbirth or danger, is made instead of the korban todah sacrifice.

Both the Temple and royal palaces had gates and courts, and in this Psalm God is portrayed as the king, present in the Temple and reigning from there.

All are to acknowledge that the Lord God is our creator, that all of us belong to him and that he cares for us. He is ultimate goodness, and his love for us is ever-lasting, for all generations, including to those who went before us, and to those who follow us.

Psalm 100 first appeared as part of Jewish daily prayer in Yemenite and French prayer books in the Middle Ages.

In mediaeval times, Jubilate was the second of the fixed psalms at Lauds on Sundays and holy days, and it was also sung at Prime. Thomas Cranmer did not include it in the first Book of Common Prayer (1549), but it was introduced in the 1552 Book of Common Prayer as an alternative to Benedictus. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer specifies that it should be used when Benedictus is ‘read in the Chapter for the Day, or for the Gospel on St John Baptist’s Day.’

This psalm is one of the fixed psalms and canticles in the older Anglican liturgy for the office of Lauds on Sundays, and as a part of Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer as the canticle with the title Jubilate Deo.

It has been set to music by many composers, including Benjamin Britten, John Gardner, Herbert Howells, John Ireland, Henry Purcell, Richard Purvis, Charles Villiers Stanford, George Dyson, Kenneth Leighton, William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams and John Rutter.

Vaughan Williams wrote his triumphant setting for Psalm 100 in 1953 for SATB, congregation and full orchestra, organ with brass fanfare, and it was first performed on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The order of service that day directed just before the Holy Communion:

‘The organ shall play and the people with one voice sing this hymn: The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune. Text by W. Kethe (Daye’s Psalter, 1560-1), arrangement for choir, orchestra and organ by R Vaughan Williams.’ It was the first time at a coronation service that the congregation was permitted to join in the singing of a hymn.

Vaughan Williams’s arrangement of ‘The Old Hundredth’ was sung five years later in Westminster Abbey at his own funeral, with the Abbey Choir, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. His ashes are buried in the Musicians’ Aisle with his wife Ursula.

This setting by Vaughan Williams was sung again at a National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in Saint Paul’s Cathedral on 5 June 2012.

Ever since the coronation in 1953, the stirring grandeur of Vaughan Williams’s setting of ‘The Old Hundredth’ has been a familiar component of many large-scale state and national occasions. It was originally scored for Full Orchestra, Organ, Choir and Fanfare Trumpets, with Vaughan Williams setting the fanfares for “all available trumpets,” which ring out to introduce the first and last verses. It is without doubt the most thrilling setting of this much-loved hymn.

‘The Old Hundredth’ is a hymn tune in Long Metre from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551), the second edition of the Genevan Psalter and is one of the best known melodies in the musical traditions of the Church. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois (ca 1510-ca 1560).

Although the tune was first associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter, the melody receives its current name from an association with the version of Psalm 100 translated by the puritan William Kethe as ‘All People that on Earth do Dwell.’

Kethe was a Scottish evangelical polemicist and satirist who went into self-imposed exile in the reign of Mary Tudor. Initially, Kethe was based in Frankfurt am Main. But his extreme Calvinism led him to be received into John Knox’s congregation in Geneva on 5 November 1556.

Kethe’s literary talents came to the fore in the 25 metrical Psalm settings he contributed to the 1561 Forme and Prayers and Ministration of the Sacraments approved by J[ohn] Calvyn. This version of Psalm 100 is the most famous, and was set to a pre-existing tune by Bourgeois.

The Genevan Psalter was compiled over a number of years in response to Calvin’s teaching that communal singing of psalms in the vernacular language is a foundational aspect of church life. This contrasted with the prevailing Catholic practice at the time in which sacred texts were chanted in Latin by the clergy only.

Calvinist musicians, including Bourgeois, supplied many new melodies and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. The final version of the psalter was completed in 1562. Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong during church services, but harmonised versions were provided for singing at home.

Vaughan William’s arrangement incorporates the harmonisation of the tune by John Dowland (1563-1626) from Thomas Ravnescroft’s Psalter (1621).

‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving’ (Psalm 100: 4) … a farm gate at Cross in Hands Lane, on the edges of Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 100 (NRSVA):

A Psalm of thanksgiving

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (3 June 2022) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for the children and young adults who have grown up during the Covid-19 pandemic. May we help them to navigate this uncertain and difficult time.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow



Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 2 June 2022 (Psalm 99)

‘Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain’ (Psalm 99: 9) … the peaks of Mount Athos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 99:

Psalm 99 is sometimes known by its Latin name Dominus regnavit. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 98.

Psalm 99 is the sixth in a series of six psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms because they praise God as King. Psalm 99 has no title in the Masoretic text version, but the Septuagint provides a title: ‘A psalm of David.’

This psalm is a hymn of praise to God as king. The endings of verses 3, 5 and 9 may be a refrain for the worshippers as they praise God. God, on his throne above the cherubim, is to be praised by ‘all the peoples’ (verse 2).

God has helped people in their need (verses 6, 8), given them just laws (verse 7), and has punished and forgiven people where appropriate (verse 8).

Moses, Aaron and Samuel, who are named in verse 6, were known for communicating with God and were his representatives. They represent the ‘three crowns’ of leadership, prophethood, priesthood and kingship. Moses was the greatest of the prophets, Aaron the first of the priests, and Samuel the man who anointed Israel’s first kings, Samuel and David.

God’s holy mountain (verse 9) is Mount Zion, the hill on which Jerusalem is built.

Psalm 99 is recited in its entirety as the fifth paragraph of Kabbalat Shabbat (קַבָּלַת שַׁבָּת), welcoming the Shabbat.

‘The Lord is great in Zion and high above all peoples’ (Psalm 99: 2) … above the Swiss Alps (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 99 (NRSVA):

1 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Holy is he!
4 Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Extol the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees,
and the statutes that he gave them.

8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Extol the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (2 June 2022) invites us to pray:

We pray for those who have chosen not to have children. May we recognise the dignity of this choice and not seek to question others on this sensitive subject.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 1 June 2022 (Psalm 98)

‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises’ (Psalm 98: 4) … singers and musicians in an evening street concert in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 98:

Psalm 98 is sometimes known by its Latin name Cantate Domino , and many people are familiar with this is as a canticle in Anglican liturgy. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 97.

Psalm 98 is the sixth in a series of psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms as they praise God as King. Like Psalm 33 and Psalm 96, it calls for singing ‘a new song.’

According to the Midrash Tanchuma, Psalm 98 is the tenth and final song that the Jewish people will sing after the final redemption.

Grammatically, the reference to a shir chadash (שיר חדש, a new song) in verse 1 is a masculine construction, in contrast to the shira (שירה, song) mentioned throughout the Hebrew Bible, a feminine construction. Thus, the Midrash teaches that the shir chadash is a song of the future.

Psalm 98 is an invitation to sing ‘a new song’ marking new evidence of God’s rule. With truth, or his right hand, and power, he has won the victory for his people Israel. Note how the word victory word occurs three times in the first three verses.

God has triumphed over all who seek to overthrow his kingdom. All peoples can see that Israel is right in trusting him. Then, as when the people groaned in their oppression in Egypt (see Exodus 2: 24), he recalls his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and his promise to lead them and protect them. All peoples will see his saving acts.

The earth, sea, floods, hills and all creation are to acknowledge God’s rule and be joyful. People of all lands are invited to join in. God’s coming to judge the world will be a truly marvellous event. He will judge us, but his judgement will be perfectly fair and equitable, for he is righteous.

In Jewish tradition, Psalm 98 is the fourth of six psalms recited during the Kabbalat Shabbat or Welcoming the Shabbat service. It is one of the additional psalms recited during the morning prayer on Shabbat in the Sephardi tradition.

‘Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody’ (Psalm 98: 5) … King David with the lyre in a sculpture in Saint Botolph with Aldgate, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 98 (NRSVA):

A Psalm.

1 O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gained him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (1 June 2022, Global Day of Parents) invites us to pray:

We pray for parents across the world. May they be given any support they need to raise their children in a healthy and happy environment.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 31 May 2022 (Psalm 97)

‘The Lord is King! Let earth rejoice’ (Psalm 97: 1) … a stained glass window in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (31 May 2022). Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 97:

Psalm 97 was the appointed psalm in the Revised Common Lectionary readings on Sunday (29 May 2022). It is sometimes known by its Latin name Dominus regnavit exultet terra. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 96.

Psalm 97 is the fifth in a series of psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms as they praise God as King. Biblical scholars note numerous thematic and structural similarities between Psalm 96 and Psalm 97, which are both psalms about the kingship of God.

Psalm 97 is a hymn celebrating God’s kingship, and it speaks of his’s supremacy as Lord of the earth, his sovereignty, his enactment of justice, and the widespread rejoicing that will ensue. ‘The Lord is king!’ (verse 1), in other words, he has won the battle for world kingship over the forces of chaos. May the whole earth rejoice!

Verses 2-5 are a theophany, a description of how God has appeared as he has visited earth: in a cloud and in a burning bush during the Exodus, etc. He rules with righteousness and justice. He is ‘the Lord of all the earth’ (verse 5).

The word ‘all’ occurs three times in verses 6-9, emphasising God’s omnipotence. Verse 7 says that those who worship images or idols will realise the error of their ways. Other gods recognise God’s supremacy. Then, in verse 8, the people of Israel rejoice in God’s justice.

Verses 10-12 tell us the kind of rule God exercises. Those who hate evil are faithful to him, and he rescues them from the ways of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous, who rejoice and who give thanks to God.

In Jewish tradition, Psalm 97 is the third of six psalms recited during the Kabbalat Shabbat or ‘Welcoming the Shabbat’ service. These six psalms represent the six days of the week, with Psalm 97 corresponding to the third day, Tuesday. Verse 11, ‘Light dawns for the righteous ...’ is recited by Ashkenazi Jews at the start of the Kol Nidre service on Yom Kippur.

The Masoretic text version of Psalm 97: 7 reads ‘worship him, all ye gods,’ but the Septuagint equivalent reads ‘προσκυνήσατε αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ’, ‘worship him, all ye his angels.’

In his commentary on Psalm 97, the former Chief Rabbi, the late Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, writes: ‘History is not destined to be an endless story of the victory of right, the powerful over the powerless. At the heart of reality is a force that makes for justice, giving strength to the weak, and courage to the oppressed. “Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart”.’

‘Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart’ (Psalm 97: 11) … dawn breaks over the mouth of the River Slaney at Ferrycarrig in Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 97 (NRSVA):

1 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshippers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgements, O God.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10 The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (31 May 2022, The Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth) invites us to pray:

Lord, may we witness to you with those whom we hold close. Help us to follow your calling and walk alongside our fellow Christians.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

The Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Saint Elizabeth … a panel from the triptych in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral … 31 May is the Feast of the Visitation (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 30 May 2022 (Psalm 96)

‘O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth’ (Psalm 96: 1) … Arnaldo Pomodoro’s sculpture ‘Sphere Within Sphere’ at the Berkeley Library in Trinity College Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 96:

Psalm 96 is sometimes known by its Latin name Laetentur caeli. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 95. The Septuagint’s title for this psalm is ‘When the house was being built after the Captivity.’

Psalm 96 is the fourth in a series of psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms as they praise God as King. Biblical scholars note numerous thematic and structural similarities between Psalm 96 and Psalm 97, which are both psalms about the kingship of God.

According to the medieval rabbinical scholar David Kimhi (1160-1235), also known by his Hebrew acronym as Radak, this psalm was composed by David when he brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. On this day, it is said, David composed two songs – the Song of Thanksgiving (Hodu) and Psalm 96 (see I Chronicles 16: 8-36).

According to I Chronicles 16:7, David instructed Asaph and his brothers to sing these songs daily. Hodu was sung before the Ark every morning, and Psalm 96 was sung before the Ark every afternoon, until the time the Temple was built and the Ark was moved into it.

However, the apparent newness of the song leads some commentators to identify Psalm 96 with the deliverance of Israel from Babylonian captivity, inaugurating a new stage in the nation’s history. The opening words, Verse 1: ‘O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth’ (verse 1), correspond to the words of the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 42: 10.

In Jewish tradition, Psalm 96 is the second of six psalms recited during the Kabbalat Shabbat (‘Welcoming the Shabbat’) service. These six psalms represent the six days of the week, with Psalm 96 corresponding to the second day of the week, Monday.

In Hebrew, this psalm is known as Shiru Lashem (‘Sing to the Lord’), and repeats the word ‘sing’ three times.

According to the Midrash Tehillim, these three instances refer to the three daily prayer services ‘when Israel sings praises to God’:

1, Shacharit, the morning prayer, corresponding to ‘O sing to the Lord a new song’ (verse 1);

2, Mincha, the afternoon prayer, corresponding to ‘Sing to the Lord, all the earth’ (verse 1);

3, Maariv, the evening prayer, corresponding to ‘Sing to the Lord, bless his name’ (verse 2).

In his commentary on Psalm 96, the former Chief Rabbi, the late Lord (Jonathan) Sacks observes that ‘one of the most difficult ideas for modern minds to grasp is that the universe might sing for joy at the coming of judgement and justice.’

‘Yet,’ he continues, ‘we believe not only in one God, Creator of heaven and earth, but also in the inseparable connections between cosmos and ethos, the world-that-is and the world-that-ought-to-be.’

He goes on to say: ‘God not only created the universe but also saw that it was good. From the outset, the universe had an objective moral structure. As the natural world is governed by scientific law, so is the human world governed by moral law. Hence creation rejoices that He is coming to judge the earth, that the world is governed by the rule of right rather than the rule of force.’

‘Worship the Lord in holy splendour; tremble before him, all the earth’ (Psalm 96: 9) … above the Alps in Switzerland (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 96 (NRSVA):

1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honour and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy splendour;
tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity.’
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord; for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (30 May 2022) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for all who work in childcare. May they be supported and valued in all they do.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 29 May 2022 (Psalm 95)

‘The heights of the mountains are his also’ (Psalm 95: 4) … snow in springtime on the White Mountains or Lefka Ori above Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter or the Sunday after Ascension Day. Although Thursday was Ascension Day, the season of Easter continues until the Day of Pentecost, next Sunday.

Later this morning, I hope to attend the Parish Eucharist in the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Giles in Stony Stratford. Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 95:

Psalm 95 is familiar to many as a Canticle known by its Latin name Venite. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 94.

Psalm 95 is the third in a series of psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms as they praise God as King. This is a psalm about the connections between religious faith and a failure of humanity.

As the canticle Venite, Psalm 95 is used regularly at Morning Prayer (see the Book of Common Prayer, Church of Ireland, pp 87-88, 103-104, 118-119, 702-703). The name Venite is derived from the Latin version of the opening words, Venite, exultemus Domino, an invitation to worship the Lord.

Psalm 95 identifies no author, although Hebrews 4: 7 attributes it to David, and it is quoted in a number of places in the Letter to the Hebrews.

This psalm recalls an incident in the Exodus story (see Exodus 17: 1-7), when the people complained of their lack of water, and refers to the episode of the spies (see Numbers 13-14), when the people, demoralised by their report, rebelled.

God is praised as ‘the rock of our salvation’ (verse 1), who cared for our ancestors in faith during their 40 years wandering in the wilderness (verse 10), and put God to the test.

This God we are called to worship is the supreme god, worthy of worship him, who is in maker of heaven and earth. Recalling the time their ancestors in faith spent in the wilderness, the people are reminded that he moulded the dry land, and not just the dry places in the wilderness, and that all water is created by him, from the water of the springs to the waters of the sea.

Generations may pass, but God remains faithful to us, and we are called to be faithful to him.

‘The sea is his, for he made it’ (Psalm 95: 5) … sunset on the sea at Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 95 (NRSVA):

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.’
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Global Day of Parents.’ It is introduced this morning:

In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 1 June as the Global Day of Parents, to be observed annually in honour of parents throughout the world.

The Global Day of Parents aims to raise awareness about the responsibility of families. This day aims to recognise and appreciate the effort of parents. It acknowledges that they are important in nurturing and protecting their children. This day encourages communities to offer supportive environments where children can grow up in happy, loving, and understanding atmospheres.

Parents have a tough task helping children through their growth and development, from early childhood through to adolescence. Parents work hard to make their children happy by organising trips, cooking meals together and working together on important projects. Parents should be open, honest, supportive and serve as a good example to their children.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the difficulties of parenthood have been exacerbated by lack of childcare, juggling home-schooling and homeworking, and trying to explain what is happening to shocked and traumatised children.

USPG works to support parents across our partner churches, through programmes focusing on households and family health in Malawi and Ghana.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (29 May 2022) invites us to pray:

Heavenly Father,
may we treat each other as Jesus showed us to.
Let us truly act as a global family,
sharing love and wisdom with each other.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 28 May 2022 (Psalm 94)

‘O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?’ (Psalm 94: 3) … the gates of Auschwitz … some Jewish communities recite Psalm 94 on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Although Thursday was Ascension Day, the season of Easter continues until the Day of Pentecost. Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 94:

Psalm 94 is known in Latin as Deus ultionum. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 93.

Psalm 94 is the second in a series of psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms as they praise God as King. This is a psalm about the connections between religious faith and a failure of humanity.

In Jewish daily prayer, Psalm 94 is used on Wednesdays, and there is a tradition that the Levites sang this psalm in the Temple on Wednesdays. Some Jewish communities recite Psalm 94 on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day (27 Nisan).

Commentators divide this psalm into two sections.

1, verses 1-11: the Psalmist calls on God to manifest himself as judge of the earth; 2, verses 12-23: the Psalm is occupied with thoughts of consolation for times of trouble.

When people begin to worship themselves, they dream of becoming a god, but end up lower than the beasts.

The Psalmist (Psalm 94: 5-6) speaks of the mentality of those who wage war without thinking of the consequences for women, children and the outsider:

They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They murder the widow and the stranger;
the orphans they put to death.
And yet they say, ‘The Lord will not see,
neither shall the God of Jacob regard it’.

War is an every-day reality for children, women and non-combatant men throughout the world today – in particular, today, the people of Ukraine, Afghanistan and the Middle East, including the people of Gaza, Palestine, Israel, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

Who speaks out today for the victims of racism, war and genocide?

Who speaks out today for children who are the innocent victims of the failed politics of adults?

‘Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?’ (verse 16)

‘They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan’ (Psalm 94: 6) … ‘Mother and Child’ by Anna Raynoch-Brzozowska, a sculpture in Auschwitz (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 94 (NRSVA):

1 O Lord, you God of vengeance,
you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give to the proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?

4 They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, ‘The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.’

8 Understand, O dullest of the people;
fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?
11 The Lord knows our thoughts,
that they are but an empty breath.

12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’,
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous,
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Mission in Australia.’ It was introduced on Sunday by Peter Burke, Manager at Mission and Anglican Community Engagement AnglicareSA.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (28 May 2022) invites us to pray:

Let us remember that we are part of a global community of mission. May we learn from and listen to each other in all we do.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 27 May 2022 (Psalm 93)

‘Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting’ (Psalm 93: 4) … the Throne in the Throne Robe in Dublin Castle (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Yesterday was Ascension Day, but the season of Easter continues until the Day of Pentecost. Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 93:

Psalm 93 is known in Latin as Dominus regnavit. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 92.

Psalm 93 is the first of a series of psalms (Psalms 93-99) that are called royal psalms as they praise God as King.

In the Masoretic text and in English versions it has no title or author, but the Septuagint and Vulgate entitle it ‘On the day before the Sabbath, when the earth was founded: A Psalm of thanksgiving to (or for) David.’

The two main themes in Psalm 93 are God’s kingship and a connection with Friday, the sixth day of the week (counting from Sunday).

The Zohar notes that in Hebrew, this psalm contains 45 words, which is the gematria or numerical value of the word adam (אדם, ‘man’). Adam was created on the sixth day of Creation and went on to proclaim God as King.

Psalm 93 was also designated as the Song of the Day for Friday, to be sung by the Levites in the Temple in Jerusalem. This tradition continues today in the psalm’s inclusion in the regular Friday morning prayer service in Judaism.

According to Rabbi Yaakov Emden, the connection with the sixth day is reinforced by the psalm’s description of God ‘in his full grandeur and power as he was when he completed the six days of Creation.’ The reference to donning grandeur further alludes to the way Jews dress up in their nicest garments on Friday to greet the approaching Shabbat.

Psalm 93 also hints to the future Messianic Age, when the entire world will acknowledge God as King.

Psalm 93 is the Song of the Day for Friday, recited at the morning prayer service. Some Jewish communities also recite this psalm as the ma’amad (special daily prayer) for Friday. Speaking, as it does, of the completion of creation (‘the world is firmly established’ or ‘he has established the world,’ verse 1), this psalm is appropriate for the sixth day.

Additionally, Psalm 93 is the eighth and final psalm said during the Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday night, acting as a summation of the preceding seven psalms. It is also recited in its entirety during Pesukei dezimra on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and Hoshana Rabbah.

‘The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring’ (Psalm 93: 3) … tourists on duck walks in Saint Mark’s Square during floods in Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 93 (NRSVA):

1 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;
2 your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more majestic than the waves of the sea,
majestic on high is the Lord!

5 Your decrees are very sure;
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, for evermore.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Mission in Australia.’ It was introduced on Sunday by Peter Burke, Manager at Mission and Anglican Community Engagement AnglicareSA.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (27 May 2022) invites us to pray:

May we give ourselves the time to truly discern God’s mission for us, allowing ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit and to follow God’s calling.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 26 May 2022 (Psalm 92)

The Stadttempel synagogue in Vienna … Franz Schubert produced a setting in Hebrew of Psalm 92 for the synagogue (Photograph courtesy Jews of New York)

Patrick Comerford

Today is Ascension Day, and later today (26 May 2022) I hope attend the Ascension Day Eucharist in the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Giles, Stony Stratford (7.30 pm).

But, before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 92:

In the Authorised Prayer Book, one of two prayerbooks I regularly use for prayers and reflections on Friday evenings, the former Chief Rabbi, Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, describes Psalm 92 as ‘a song for the Sabbath Day.’

Lord Sacks recalls that by the 12th century, the custom existed to say Psalm 92 as a song of welcome to the Shabbat. He says this psalm was understood by the Sages as ‘a song for the time to come, for the day which will be Shabbat and rest in life everlasting.’

The Tzfat mystics, including Rabbi Isaac Luria, developed the custom of saying special psalms and songs of welcome to Shabbat, including six extra psalms (95-99 and 29), before singing Psalm 92.

Lord Sacks says Shabbat is ‘not merely a day of rest, it is a rehearsal within time, for the age beyond time when humanity, guided by the call of God, moves beyond strife, evil and oppression, to create a world of harmony, respecting the integrity of creation as God’s work, and the human person as God’s image.’

He continues: ‘At that time people looking back at history will see that though evil flourished “like grass”, it was short-lived, while the righteous grow slowly but stand tall “like the cedar of Lebanon.” Because our time perspective is short, we seem to inhabit a world n which evil prevails. Were we able to see history as a whole, we would know that good wins the final victory; in the long run justice prevails.’

A popular story connected with Psalm 92 involves Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known widely as the Maharal, a great sage who lived in Prague during the reign of the Emperor Rudolph II in the 16th century.

Rabbi Loew is said to have been endowed with supernatural gifts that he combined with the four elements: fire and water were represented by his assistants, air was represented by the rabbi himself, and earth was found in the Golem. He brought these together bring to life the Golem, a sculpture moulded from the mud of the riverbed in Prague.

The Golem grew stronger and stronger. Instead of heroic deeds, he became more-and-more uncontrollable and destructive. Rabbi Loew was promised that anti-Semitic violence would end in Prague once he destroyed the Golem.

One day, the Golem was found uprooting trees and destroying the rabbi’s home while the rabbi was in the synagogue singing Psalm 92. The rabbi rushed out to remove the tablet from the Golem’s mouth. Fearing the Golem could fall into the wrong hands, Rabbi Loew smeared clay on the Golem’s forehead, turning emet into met, so that the Hebrew word for truth became the Hebrew word for death and life was taken out of the giant’s body.

Rabbi Loew put him to rest in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue. The rabbi then returned and continued to sing Psalm 92 … and so, it is said, the Old-New Synagogue in Prague is the only place in the world where this psalm is sung twice.

A few months before he died in 1828 at the age of 31, the composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) produced a setting in Hebrew of Psalm 92, Tov Lehodot La’Adonai (‘It is good to give thanks to the Lord’), for Vienna’s main synagogue, the Stadttempel on Seitenstettengasse.

The Jewish community had asked Beethoven in 1825 to compose a cantata for the dedication of the Stadttempel. He was unable to accept the commission, although he apparently carried out a preliminary study of Musik der alter Juden, perhaps with this in mind. Instead, the cantata was written by Josef Deschler (1742-1852), a kappelmeister at the Stephansdom, Saint Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and Franz Schubert wrote his setting of Psalm 92 for the choir of the synagogue.

The musicologist Elaine Brody suggests in Schubert Studies: ‘Sulzer was meticulous in his text-setting; he must have advised Schubert on these matters.’ Schubert could have fulfilled his commission by writing music to a German translation. Instead, he decided to work with the Hebrew language.

Schubert’s Psalm 92 sounds like many of his other melodies and part-songs. Elaine Brody is of the opinion that, stylistically, his setting of Psalm 92 ‘resembles church music more than synagogue music; it displays no characteristic Hebrew melody.’

‘The righteous … grow like a cedar in Lebanon’ (Psalm 92: 12) … a young girl with a violin and her friend beneath a cedar tree at Curraghchase Forest Park near Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 92 (NRSVA):

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
7 though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever,
8 but you, O Lord, are on high for ever.
9 For your enemies, O Lord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.

10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Mission in Australia.’ It was introduced on Sunday by Peter Burke, Manager at Mission and Anglican Community Engagement AnglicareSA.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (26 May 2022, Ascension Day) invites us to pray:

Lord, help us to focus on care and justice in all we do. May we look after each other and challenge exclusion wherever we see it.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow



Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 25 May 2022 (Psalm 91)

‘He shall cover you with his wings and you shall be safe under his feathers’ (Psalm 91: 4) … a modern painting on a ceiling in the Monastery of Rousanou in Meteora (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 91:

Psalm 91 is known in Jewish tradition as ‘the Psalm of Blessing’ and in Latin as Qui habitat. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is known as Psalm 90.

This is the most famous of prayers for deliverance of harm. As a psalm of protection, it is often invoked in times of hardship.

According to midrashim, this psalm refers to many types of demons that threaten humans, including ‘terror,’ ‘arrow,’ ‘pestilence,’ and ‘destruction’ mentioned in verses 5-6. According to the Talmud (Shevu’ot 15b), the following verse refers to the demons that would perish upon recitation of this psalm (‘A thousand may fall at your side,’ verse 7).

The psalm uses many images to God’s protection. To those who trust in him, he is shelter, shadow, refuge, stronghold. He protects us beneath his wings, and encircles us like a shield.

When we are in distress, he is with us. When we are in danger, we are not alone. Trust defeats terror, and faith conquers fear.

In this psalm, a priest or a prophet speaks in the Temple and depicts God is depicted as a bird protecting the young from a hunter or fowler, protecting faithful and those who trust in God: ‘He shall cover you with his wings and you shall be safe under his feathers, are protected from demonic perils’ (verse 4).

Perhaps a priest or temple prophet speaks the opening verses of the psalm. Worshippers are to trust in God to protect them. He will protect them from attacks by demonic forces day and night (verses 3-6); he will shield them as a mother hen guards her chicks. Many may succumb to evil forces, but not the faithful (verse 7).

Those who trust in God will see evildoers punished (verse 8). God will ensure that no harm comes to those who live a godly life (verse 9). ‘His angels’ (verse11) will be his agents, guarding the faithful in whatever they do. The roads of Palestine were rocky so the metaphor in verse 12 is apt. Not only will the faithful be safe from accidents, but they will also take the offensive in defeating evil (verse 13).

In verses 14-16, God speaks through a Temple official, confirming the teaching of the earlier verses. Knowing God’s name and understanding his ways includes seeking his help from him: he will help those who love him and know on his name. Knowing God’s name includes realising that he helps those in need. When they seek help, God will ‘answer them.’ Perhaps the ‘long life’ (verse 16) is the king’s: political uncertainty ensued when a king died.

Although no author is named in the Hebrew text of this psalm, Jewish tradition ascribes it to Moses, with David compiling it in his Book of Psalms. The Septuagint attributes it to David. The first speaker in the psalm is human; the second speaker is God himself (Sanhedrin 103 a).

The Midrash says Psalm 91 was composed by Moses on the day he completed building the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The verses describe Moses’ own experience entering the Tabernacle: ‘You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty’ (verse 1). Midrash Tehillim and Zohar teach that Moses composed this psalm while ascending into the cloud hovering over Mount Sinai, and that he recited these words as protection from the angels of destruction.

The former Chief Rabbi, the late Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, says Psalm 91 is a prayer for protection from danger and harm. The Talmud (Shevu’ot 15b) records opinions calling this psalm the ‘song of evil spirits’ and the ‘song of plagues’ (shir shel pega’im and shir shel nega’im) for ‘one who recites it with faith in God will be helped by him in time of danger.’

Since the Middle Ages, this psalm was said to drive away demons and evil spirits. The psalm was written in amulets by both Jews and Christians from the Late Antique period.

In Jewish tradition, Psalm 91 is said at the end of Shabbat as a prayer for God’s protection against the dangers that may lie ahead in the coming week and that God may bless our labours.

Psalm 91 is often recited as a prayer for protection. Some say it before embarking on a journey. This psalm 91 is recited seven times during a burial ceremony. As the coffin bearers approach the grave, they stop every few feet, repeating the psalm.

In the Gospels, verses 11 and 12 are quoted by the devil during the temptation of Christ (see Matthew 4: 6, Luke 4: 10-11). In the Revised Common Lectionary (Year C) Psalm 91 is appointed for the first Sunday in Lent, linking it to the temptation of Christ.

‘You will not fear the terror of the night’ (Psalm 91: 5) … a tribute to the poet Seamus Heaney seen at night on a gable end on Richmond Street in Portobello, Dublin, ‘Don’t be afraid’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Psalm 91 (NRSVA):

1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling-place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honour them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Mission in Australia.’ It was introduced on Sunday by Peter Burke, Manager at Mission and Anglican Community Engagement AnglicareSA.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (25 May 2022) invites us to pray:

Let us remember and give thanks for the work of local parishes across the world, which serve their parishioners on a daily basis.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Praying with the Psalms in Easter: 24 May 2022 (Psalm 90)

‘The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong’ (Psalm 90: 10) … this psalm and a road sign in Venice are reminders of my own mortality and frailty (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 90:

Psalm 90 is the first or opening psalm in Book IV in the Book of Psalms, which includes Psalm 90 to Psalm 106. In the slightly different numbering scheme in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this is psalm is numbered as Psalm 89.

Uniquely among the psalms, Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses.

This psalm is well known for its reference in verse 10 to human life expectancy being 70 or 80 (‘threescore years and ten,’ ‘if by reason of strength ... fourscore years’, in the King James Version). This verse has inspired Shakespeare in Macbeth and influenced the opening words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The King James Version tells us: ‘The days of our years are threescore years and ten’ (Psalm 90: 10). Other translations can lack the elegant cadences and rhythms of the Authorised Version, so that the NRSV, for example, says: ‘The days of our life are seventy years.’

Thankfully, the Psalter in the 2004 edition of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of Ireland retains a poetic approach to translation, and reminds us: ‘The days of our life are three score years and ten.’

Many Biblical turns of phrase found in the King James Version were picked up by Shakespeare. In Macbeth in 1605, for example, we have:

Threescore and ten I can remember well:
Within the volume of which time I have seen
Hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore night
Hath trifled former knowings.

I reached that benchmark of ‘threescore years and ten’ this year, and I have been reminded of my own frailty in recent months with a stroke on 18 March that left in hospital for two weeks first in Milton Keynes University Hospital and then in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. I am still waiting for a further procedure in Sheffield.

This psalm is a moving reflection on the eternity of God and the shortness of our own lives. We read a succession of poetic images conveying the brevity of human life: it flows as fast as a swollen river; it ends as quickly as a sleep or a dream; it fades like grass in parched land that withers by the end of the day; it is like a sigh, a mere breath, like a bird that lands briefly and then flies away.

The speed which these metaphors succeed one another mirrors the rapidity with which the days and the years pass.

The moral at the heart of the psalm is its lesson to remember how short life is, so that we may spend our time on those things that endure.

The first section (verses 1-6) contrast God’s eternity with the short and troubled span of human life.

Verse 4 (‘For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night’) inspired Isaac Watts in 1719 as he was writing his hymn ‘O God, our help in ages past’:

A thousand ages in thy sight
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.

Indeed, this hymn is an encapsulation of Psalm 90 in miniature, pulling out some major themes and leaving us with hints of others.

The second section (verses 7-12) deals with our own inner anger during this short life on earth.

The third part (verses 13-17) seeks God’s compassion and mercy.

‘May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us’ (verse 17): according to the Sages, this is the blessing Moses gave to the people when they finished building the Tabernacle, adding: ‘May the Divine presence rest in the work of your hands.’

‘The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong’ (Psalm 90: 10) … No 70 Bridge Street, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 90 (NRSVA):

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling-place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn us back to dust,
and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.
10 The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due to you.
12 So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.

13 Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Mission in Australia.’ It was introduced on Sunday by Peter Burke, Manager at Mission and Anglican Community Engagement AnglicareSA.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (24 May 2022) invites us to pray:

We pray for AnglicareSA and its work within the Anglican community in South Australia.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org