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The previous week’s lectionary reading recalled the introductory chapters in the book of Job, and in so doing, highlighted critical themes for the book. Immediately after the opening chapters, Job issues a caustic lament regarding (...)

Although it is not entirely unique in the Psalter, the most striking thing about Psalm 91 is that it ends with a divine speech in verses 14-16.1 Usually when God speaks in the Psalms, it (...)

On this Christ the King Sunday, we hear about the ideal king from the “sweet singer of Israel,” himself, King David. Like Jacob (Genesis 49) and Moses (Deuteronomy 33) before him, David before his death (...)

We don’t like to talk about sin. Especially if it means talking about our own sin. We would much rather talk about injustice, or evil, or the ways in which another’s sin has contributed to (...)

Psalm 22 is a prayer of complaint that, perhaps more than any psalm, serves as a link between the Old Testament and the story of Jesus’ passion. 1 Indeed, this psalm is an appropriate lectionary (...)

Psalm 118 is the psalm of psalms for the Easter season. The early church found in Psalm 118 the words of Jesus, who remembered his suffering and persecution during Holy Week and who gave thanks (...)

The subject of Psalm 15 is the question, what is expected of a person who comes into the presence of God? Many scholars believe the psalm was inspired by and patterned after liturgies performed at (...)

The prophet Jeremiah likely delivered this oracle in the terrifying last days of the Judahite kingdom, during the reign of King Zedekiah. It comes near the end of a section of the book focused on (...)

Psalm 121 is a “song of ascent.” It is the second psalm in a collection used by Israelites making pilgrimages to Jerusalem (Psalms 120–134). In Exodus, Israelite males are commanded to “see the face of (...)

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