Tag Archive for ‘Psalms’
Numbering of the Psalms
At the last Oblate meeting a question about the numbering of the Psalms was raised. This difference is important particularly as you read the Rule of St. Benedict or the commentary on the Psalms that have been posted to the site. The reason for the difference is the Christian numbering of the Psalms, as found [...]
Psalm 118 [117]: In all our trials, God has the last word
1. The sequence of Psalms from 112[111] to 117[118] was sung during the most important and joyful feasts of ancient Judaism, especially during the celebration of the Passover. This series of hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God were called the “Egyptian Hallel” because, in one of them, Psalm 114 A [113], the exodus of Israel [...]
Psalm 147[147]: Jerusalem, praise your saving God
The Lauda Jerusalem that we have just proclaimed is dear to Christian liturgy that often used Psalm 147 to refer to the Word of God which “runs swiftly” on the face of the earth, and also to the Eucharist, the true “bread of finest wheat” that God generously gives to “satisfy” human hunger (cf. vv. [...]
The secret of the psalter
The secret of the psalter is that when we apply ourselves to it it transforms us into the poor, the anawim. It was the anawim who wrote it, adding one collection of psalms to another on their return from Exile. The communities of the poor have handed it down through the centuries. Only the truly [...]
Psalm 147[146]: “Praise the Lord!”
1. The Psalm just sung is the first part of a composition that also includes the next Psalm, n. 147[146], that the original Hebrew had kept as one. It was the ancient Greek and Latin versions which divided the song into two different Psalms. The Psalm begins with an invitation to praise God and then [...]
Psalm 146(145): Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Commentary: 1. Psalm 146[145] that we have just heard is an “alleluia”, the first of five which complete the entire collection in the Psalter. The Jewish liturgical tradition formerly used this hymn as a morning song of praise; it culminates in the proclamation of God’s sovereignty over human history. Indeed, the Psalm ends with the [...]
Psalm 100(99): In prayer we abandon ourselves to God’s embrace
1. In the spirit of joy and celebration that continues in this last week of the Christmas season, we want to resume our meditation on the Liturgy of Lauds. Today we reflect on Psalm 99[100], just proclaimed, which is a joyful invitation to praise the Lord, the shepherd of his people. Seven imperatives are scattered [...]
Psalm 145(144) 13- 21: “The Lord is faithful in all his words’
Commentary: 1. Following the liturgy that divides it into two parts, let us return to , a wonderful hymn in honour of the Lord, a loving King who is attentive to his creatures. Let us now meditate upon the second part of the Psalm: they are verses 14 to 21, which take up the fundamental [...]
Psalm 145(144) 1-13: I will give you glory
Commentary: 1. We have just prayed Psalm 145[144], a joyful song of praise to the Lord who is exalted as a tender and loving King, concerned for all his creatures. The liturgy presents this hymn to us in two separate parts that also correspond to the two poetical and spiritual movements of the Psalm itself. [...]
Psalm 67(66): “the earth has yielded its fruit” (v. 7)
1. “The earth has yielded its fruit”, exclaims Psalm 67[66], one of the texts inserted into the Liturgy of Vespers that we have just proclaimed. The sentence calls to mind a hymn of thanksgiving to the Creator for the gifts of the earth, a sign of divine blessing. This natural element, however, is closely interwoven [...]
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