Archive for the ‘Psalm 64’ Category
I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.
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Posted February 25, 2023 by neatnik2009 in Psalm 1, Psalm 10, Psalm 100, Psalm 101, Psalm 102, Psalm 103, Psalm 104, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, Psalm 107, Psalm 108, Psalm 109, Psalm 11, Psalm 110, Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 113, Psalm 114, Psalm 115, Psalm 116, Psalm 117, Psalm 118, Psalm 119, Psalm 12, Psalm 120, Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Psalm 123, Psalm 124, Psalm 125, Psalm 126, Psalm 127, Psalm 128, Psalm 129, Psalm 13, Psalm 130, Psalm 131, Psalm 132, Psalm 133, Psalm 134, Psalm 135, Psalm 136, Psalm 137, Psalm 138, Psalm 139, Psalm 14, Psalm 140, Psalm 141, Psalm 142, Psalm 143, Psalm 144, Psalm 145, Psalm 146, Psalm 147, Psalm 148, Psalm 149, Psalm 15, Psalm 150, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Psalm 18, Psalm 19, Psalm 2, Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 29, Psalm 3, Psalm 30, Psalm 31, Psalm 32, Psalm 33, Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Psalm 36, Psalm 37, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 4, Psalm 40, Psalm 41, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Psalm 49, Psalm 5, Psalm 50, Psalm 51, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 58, Psalm 59, Psalm 6, Psalm 60, Psalm 61, Psalm 62, Psalm 63, Psalm 64, Psalm 65, Psalm 66, Psalm 67, Psalm 68, Psalm 69, Psalm 7, Psalm 70, Psalm 71, Psalm 72, Psalm 73, Psalm 74, Psalm 75, Psalm 76, Psalm 77, Psalm 78, Psalm 79, Psalm 8, Psalm 80, Psalm 81, Psalm 82, Psalm 83, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalm 86, Psalm 87, Psalm 88, Psalm 89, Psalm 9, Psalm 90, Psalm 91, Psalm 92, Psalm 93, Psalm 94, Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, Psalm 99
READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART XLVII
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Psalm 64
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Psalm 64 covers ground familiar in the Book of Psalms: the psalmist, beset by slanderers, turns to God for deliverance. This destructive speech is like swords and arrows, poetically.
This metaphor still works. It may even be more applicable in the age of the Internet and social media. I also think of the danger of partial information in public records, accessible on the Internet. For example, the record of the arrest of an innocent person (who may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time or worked in the wrong office) may come up in Internet search records. Yet the record of a court dismissing charges due to insufficient evidence may not come up on the Internet. A partial truth may do more to assassinate or damage someone’s character than a lie does.
One metaphor in Psalm 64 reminds me of a vision of Jesus in the Apocalypse of John:
…and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword….
–Revelation 1:16b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Furthermore, James 3:1-12 emphasizes the power of speech and the tongue, with its potential for great evil and much good. By extension, the same caution applies to written words.
What a vast amount of timber can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark! And the tongue is a fire, representing in our body the whole wicked world. It pollutes our whole being, it sets the whole course of our existence alight, and its flames are fed by hell.
–James 3:5b-6, The Revised English Bible (1989)
In my societal and political context, certain politicians and pundits habitually use violent language when speaking or writing of their opponents–those who disagree with them. Then these same politicians and pundits are shocked–shocked, I say–when some people act violently against those opponents. And the pundits and politicians in question refuse any responsibility for the violence. This does not surprise me, though. It dismays me yet does not shock me.
Words matter. May we always speak and write carefully, based on that truth.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 21, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MIROCLES OF MILAN AND EPIPHANIUS OF PAVIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ALBAN ROE AND THOMAS REYNOLDS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1642
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN YI YON-ON, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN KOREA, 1867
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Above: David and Jonathan
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART XIX
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1 Samuel 20:1-42
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Hear my voice, O God, when I complain;
protect my life from the fear of the enemy.
–Psalm 64:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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1 Samuel 20 does not flow from 1 Samuel 19, except for an addition in the first verse. If one has been paying close attention to the composite narrative, one may recall 1 Samuel 19. One may remember that King Saul, aware of David’s absence from the royal court, had started to pursue the former shepherd. One may also recall that King Saul had instructed Jonathan to kill David and that Jonathan had spoken up for David. I mention all this because, at the beginning of 1 Samuel 20, we read of Jonathan being unaware of the monarch’s plans and efforts to kill David. If I were a Biblical literalist, this would bother me, and I would seek to reconcile the different sources and resolve the contradictions. I prefer, however, to acknowledge the factual inconsistencies and write about the friendship of David and Jonathan.
Jonathan, heir to the throne, sided with David, whom he acknowledged as a future king. Jonathan did this to the disadvantage of this position. He was at peace with his decision. King Saul, who was not at peace with Jonathan’s decision, cursed out the crown prince (verse 30). (The Living Bible came closest to getting the English translation correct. It had King Saul call Jonathan, “You son of a bitch!”) King Saul even threw a spear at Jonathan, as the monarch had done to David (19:8-10).
Friendship is a form of love. Focusing not on selfish gain but on what is best for a friend constitutes expressing this form of love. Doing the right thing may be dangerous and/or costly. It remains the only morally feasible option, though.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 21, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRUNO ZEMBOL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC FRIAR AND MARTYR, 1942
THE FEAST OF SAINTS CAMERIUS, CISELLUS, AND LUXORIUS OF SARDINIA, MARTYRS, 303
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF EDESSA, CIRCA 304
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN OF ANTIOCH; MARTYR, CIRCA 353; AND SAINTS BONOSUS AND MAXIMIANUS THE SOLDIER, MARTYRS, 362
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Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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The psalter of the Septuagint contains 151 psalms.
I have written based on all of them, in numerical order. I have retained the Hebrew numbering system, not that of the Septuagint.
Although I have no theological reticence to venture into textual territory that, according the United Methodism of my youth, is apocryphal, I do have limits. They reside in the realm of Orthodoxy, with its range of scriptural canons. Beyond that one finds the Pseudipigrapha. Psalm 151 concludes the Book of Psalms in The Orthodox Study Bible (2008); so be it.
The Hebrew psalter concludes with Psalm 150. In other psalters, however, the count is higher. In certain editions of the Septuagint, for example, Psalm 151 is an appendix to the Book of Psalms. In other editions of the Septuagint, however, Psalm 151 is an integrated part of the psalter. There is also the matter of the Syraic psalter, which goes as high as Psalm 155. I have no immediate plans to ponder Psalms 152-155, however. Neither do I plan to read and write about Psalms 156-160 any time soon, if ever.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 23, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARTIN DE PORRES AND JUAN MACIAS, HUMANITARIANS AND DOMINICAN LAY BROTHERS; SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, HUMANITARIAN AND DOMINICAN SISTER; AND SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN COPELAND, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Book One: Psalms 1-41
Book Two: Psalms 42-72
Book Three: Psalms 73-89
Book Four: Psalms 90-106
Book Five: Psalms 107-150
Also in the Greek: Psalm 151
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Posted August 23, 2017 by neatnik2009 in Psalm 1, Psalm 10, Psalm 100, Psalm 101, Psalm 102, Psalm 103, Psalm 104, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, Psalm 107, Psalm 108, Psalm 109, Psalm 11, Psalm 110, Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 113, Psalm 114, Psalm 115, Psalm 116, Psalm 117, Psalm 118, Psalm 119, Psalm 12, Psalm 120, Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Psalm 123, Psalm 124, Psalm 125, Psalm 126, Psalm 127, Psalm 128, Psalm 129, Psalm 13, Psalm 130, Psalm 131, Psalm 132, Psalm 133, Psalm 134, Psalm 135, Psalm 136, Psalm 137, Psalm 138, Psalm 139, Psalm 14, Psalm 140, Psalm 141, Psalm 142, Psalm 143, Psalm 144, Psalm 145, Psalm 146, Psalm 147, Psalm 148, Psalm 149, Psalm 15, Psalm 150, Psalm 151, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Psalm 18, Psalm 19, Psalm 2, Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 29, Psalm 3, Psalm 30, Psalm 31, Psalm 32, Psalm 33, Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Psalm 36, Psalm 37, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 4, Psalm 40, Psalm 41, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Psalm 49, Psalm 5, Psalm 50, Psalm 51, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 58, Psalm 59, Psalm 6, Psalm 60, Psalm 61, Psalm 62, Psalm 63, Psalm 64, Psalm 65, Psalm 66, Psalm 67, Psalm 68, Psalm 69, Psalm 7, Psalm 70, Psalm 71, Psalm 72, Psalm 73, Psalm 74, Psalm 75, Psalm 76, Psalm 77, Psalm 78, Psalm 79, Psalm 8, Psalm 80, Psalm 81, Psalm 82, Psalm 83, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalm 86, Psalm 87, Psalm 88, Psalm 89, Psalm 9, Psalm 90, Psalm 91, Psalm 92, Psalm 93, Psalm 94, Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, Psalm 99
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POST XXIII OF LX
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The Book of Common Prayer (1979) includes a plan for reading the Book of Psalms in morning and evening installments for 30 days. I am therefore blogging through the Psalms in 60 posts.
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 226
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Men of lowly birth are mere vapor,
those of high degree a delusion.
On scales they are lighter than leaves,
together lighter than vapor.
–Psalm 62:10, Mitchell J. Dahood translation
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Men are mere breath;
mortals, illusion;
placed on a scale all together,
they weigh even less than a breath.
–Psalm 62:10, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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God, however, is substantial.
Psalms 62, 63, and 64 express confidence in God. Psalm 63, set in the Israelite desert, brings that principle home in a concrete way. There is a good reason that, for thousands of years, many holy men and women have tested their piety and trained themselves to rely on God in deserts.
Psalms 63 and 64 mention the fates of enemies. Whereas Psalm 63 expresses a desire for divine vengeance–by experiencing gutting with a sword and becoming food for jackals, Psalm 64 simply acknowledges that people will reap what they sow. Those who set down the path of righteousness are not secure from all suffering, but they do walk with God. Those who trod a different trail–the one to destruction–will meet with the predictable fate. This is a cause for mourning, not rejoicing. One should desire that such people will repent and turn to God, for their benefit and that of others, and to the joy of God. One cannot make those kinds of decisions for others, however.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 12, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THADDEUS STEVENS, U.S. ABOLITIONIST, CONGRESSMAN, AND WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
THE FEAST OF SARAH FLOWER ADAMS, ENGLISH UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER; AND HER SISTER, ELIZA FLOWER, ENGLISH UNITARIAN COMPOSER
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 14:1-9
Psalm 64 or 119:73-96
John 16:16-24
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17
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The reading from Hosea is interesting. Thematically it is similar to the assigned portions from the Book of Psalms, with the exception that exile would certainly occur but that return will follow it. The rub, so to speak, is that Hosea 14 refers to exiles returning from captivity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, not the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. The prophetic book refers to the Ten Lost Tribes. Genetics and cultural anthropology have revealed the locations of those tribes, from South Africa to Afghanistan. Although some members of this diaspora have emigrated to the State of Israel, most have not. The fulfillment of this prophecy resides in the future.
Jesus is about to die in John 16. Nevertheless, future joy is on his mind. As one reads, that joy will be complete, by the power of God. In God one will find deep joys that people are powerless to take away.
Joys–fleeting and timeless–seem off the table in the reading room from 2 Corinthians. St. Paul the Apostle spends time attempting to soothe the hurt feelings of some overly sensitive Corinthians, who have mistaken his kindness for an insult. Eventually he makes the point that faithful Christians are the aroma or fragrance of Christ–the scent produced by the burning of incense in worship. People, depending upon how they respond to this aroma, will go onto either salvation or destruction.
St. Paul turns a metaphor on its head in 2:14. The triumphal procession is a reference to a Roman military procession following a conquest. Victorious soldiers and defeated prisoners, led either to death or slavery, were participants in such a procession. But in which category does one find oneself–soldier or prisoner? Is Christ the victorious general in the metaphor? St. Paul argues that point of view.
Christ, whom the Roman Empire executed as a threat to national security, is like a victorious Roman general leading Christian forces in triumph and glory. That is an intriguing metaphor from St. Paul. I am uncertain what Jesus might have to say about it, had someone suggested it to him. Christ was (especially in the Gospels of Mark and John) a powerful figure, but he declined to accept the definition of himself as a king, at least in conventional human terms. As he said, his kingdom was not like any earthly kingdom; the two were, actually opposites, as he said. Also, the image of Christ leading conquered people to death or slavery does not sit well with me.
I do, however, like the reminder that Christ proved victorious over human evil. That is a worthy theme for the Second Sunday of Easter.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 11, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP THE EVANGELIST, DEACON
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter-year-d/
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Above: Burning Bush
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O Lord God, we bring before you the cries of a sorrowing world.
In your mercy set us free from the chains that bind us,
and defend us from everything that is evil,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 32:1-10
Psalm 64
Luke 9:37-43a
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Everyone will be awestruck,
proclaim what God has done,
and understand why he has done it.
The upright will rejoice in Yahweh,
will take refuge in him.
and all the honest will praise him.
–Psalm 64:9-10, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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We read two different accounts of how God’s victory and glory become widespread knowledge. In Ezekiel 32:1-10 (which I recommend that one read in the vivid language of TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985) God will strike down the Pharaoh of Egypt just a few years after the destruction of the first Temple at Jerusalem. God will do this in the open, in plain sight, the text indicates. The Kingdom of Judah may have fallen, but no power has defeated–or can conquer–Yahweh.
In Luke 9, immediately after the revelation of Christ’s glory in the Transfiguration, Jesus heals a boy who most likely suffered from epilepsy. (The Hellenistic worldview understood the cause of the affliction as demonic possession.) The Revised English Bible (1989) says of the witnesses to the healing:
And they were all struck with awe at the greatness of God.
–Luke 9:43a
Much of human religion, regardless of labels, consists of attempts to control God. In Exodus 3:13-15 God’s insistence on providing a non-name, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh,” testifies to the divine refusal even to seem controllable. That non-name can mean, among other things, “I Am Who I Am” and “I Will Be What I Will Be.” God, being uncontrollable, is also unconquerable. This should not surprise anyone. It should, however, inspire one to revere God and be awestruck.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 5, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EUPHRASIA OF CONSTANTINOPLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HORNBLOWER GILL, ENGLISH UNITARIAN THEN ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-7-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Job Speaks With His Friends, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O Lord God, we bring before you the cries of a sorrowing world.
In your mercy set us free from the chains that bind us,
and defend us from everything that is evil,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 18:1-21 (Monday)
Job 19:1-22 (Tuesday)
Psalm 64 (Both Days)
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (Monday)
Ephesians 2:11-22 (Tuesday)
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They sharpen their tongues like a sword,
aim their arrows of poisonous abuse,
shoot at the innocent from cover,
shoot suddenly, with nothing to fear.
–Psalm 64:3-4, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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Blaming victims is among the oldest of human practices. Consider the Book of Job, O reader. Chapters 1 and 2 explain why the eponymous character suffers; God allows it. Job is upright; he suffers not because of any sins he has committed but because he has become a pawn in a heavenly wager. Job protests repeatedly that he is innocent. Bildad the Shuhite, however, will hear nothing of it. The righteous flourish and the wicked suffer, according to Bildad. This does not lift Job’s spirits, of course.
Sometimes “received wisdom” is actually foolishness. The example of Jesus of Nazareth belies the theology of Bildad the Shuhite, a system of thought which has staying power, unfortunately. Sometimes innocent and righteous people suffer, even die unjustly. Jesus was not only innocent but the most righteous person ever, and he died unjustly.
I wonder how much “received wisdom” we assume to be valid and true is actually invalid and false. I also wonder how often we, acting on that erroneous assumption, harm others when we should help them. May God show us the errors of our ways and forgive us for them. And may we, by grace, succeed in changing them so that we will become agents of divine healing, comfort, and reconciliation for all who need them and whose paths cross ours.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 5, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EUPHRASIA OF CONSTANTINOPLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HORNBLOWER GILL, ENGLISH UNITARIAN THEN ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-proper-7-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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