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From its opening lines, Psalm 37 closely resembles the didactic tone of the book of Proverbs.1 For example, Proverbs 23:17 counsels, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the (...)

Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm that serves as the preface to the psalter, sharing literary and theological relationship with the Torah.1 Torah—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—is traditionally translated as the “law” (...)

As Brueggemann and Bellinger say about Psalm 49, “The psalm is particularly important and surely pertinent in a contemporary society that is ‘rich in things and poor in soul.’”1 As they suggest, Psalm 49 has (...)

The first seven verses of Psalm 25 are, at the broadest level, a prayer for help. The psalmist calls upon God for relief from some sort of trouble involving unspecified “enemies” (verse 2). As such, (...)

Psalm 47 played a major role in the interpretation of the Psalms in the 20th century. It was the centerpiece of Sigmund Mowinckel’s claim that the enthronement of God was enacted liturgically in ancient Israel/Judah (...)

As the moment of Jesus’ death approaches in this short passage, we find two notes about how Jesus is fulfilling Scripture through these events. This may seem to be a story about human sin, cruelty, (...)

What are the stories that you replay over and over again in your mind? What are notes that you choose to hear in your inner ear long after an event has played its tune? What (...)

This psalm is a prayer of penitence, confession, remorse, owning mistakes made, and seeking a fresh start of new life with a restored soul upon receiving God’s forgiveness.  Psalm 51 is traditionally attributed to David, (...)

Psalm 138 is a song of thanksgiving in individual style. The opening line, “I give you thanks” (verse 1a) is a common feature of thanksgiving songs. Such songs perhaps served as liturgies for the offering (...)

Growing up in a rural, black Baptist Church, one of the songs I heard often was a spiritual, “Little David, Play on Your Harp.” That is the song that came to mind as I began (...)