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Why is it called “Maundy Thursday?”1 That was my question as I began looking at these texts for the Thursday of Holy Week. You’d think I would know the answer to that question, having attended Lutheran Maundy Thursday services all my life and having taught religion and biblical languages at a college and at various … Continue reading “Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 Commentary by James Limburg”

Drinking Deeply from the Psalms Commentary and hymns for a six-part preaching series on the Psalms.1 This worship and preaching series on the Psalms is meant to move through six psalms in a manner that reflects how believers actually experience the life of faith. The series loosely follows Walter Brueggemann’s typology that in life we … Continue reading “6-week preaching series on Psalms.]

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 Commentary by Amanda Benckhuysen”

[This is Week 2 of a 6-week preaching series on Psalms.] Week 2 (June 7, 2015) Preaching text: Psalm 113; accompanying text: Luke 15:8-10 Orientation, Part 2: God Stoops Down Psalm 113 is a classic hymn of praise — perhaps we can consider it the class hymn of praise — perfectly embodying the form of a … Continue reading “Psalm 113:1-9 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”

When I think of interpreting the psalms I am immediately thrust into a world that is both foreign and familiar. As someone born half a world away, separated by 3,000 years of culture and history, and a non-Hebrew speaker, I wonder how I might read, hear, and interpret the words as the Word of God. … Continue reading “Psalm 113 Commentary by Paul O. Myhre”

Psalm 113 is the third psalm in a group of psalms in Book Five known as the hallelujah psalms (Psalms 111-118). It also the first of a collection of six psalms (Psalms 113-118) that are known as “the Egyptian Hallel” and are used in the celebration of Passover. In modern Jewish life, Psalms 113-114 are … Continue reading “Psalm 113 Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”

Psalm 113, which begins and ends in “Hallelujah” (113:1a, 9c), participates in the grand drama of the Psalter which moves from lament to praise, from cries of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1) to imperative calls to praise the LORD: Hallelujah! The formulaic call to praise the LORD, Hallelujah, is … Continue reading “Psalm 113 Commentary by Paul K.-K. Cho”

Psalm 112, a Wisdom Psalm, provides instruction in right living and right faith in the tradition of the other wisdom writings of the Old Testament. It, like Psalm 111, is a succinct acrostic, with each of its twenty-lines beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 111 celebrates God’s mighty deeds on behalf … Continue reading “Psalm 112:1-9 [10] Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”

There are two obvious connections a preacher might make between Psalm 112 and Matthew 5. The first has potential for highlighting the liturgical season: the light/darkness theme in 112:4 (“They rise in the darkness a light for the upright”) appears in Matthew 5 when Jesus proclaims, “You are the light of the world” (verse 14). … Continue reading “Psalm 112:1-9 [10] Commentary by Shauna Hannan”

Psalm 111 is classified as an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving, a psalm type in which the singer gives thanks for God’s goodness in delivering him/her from various life-threatening situations such as illness, oppression, or enemy attack. The words of thanks by this individual worshiper are unusual, however, for they recount not an event of God’s … Continue reading “Psalm 111 Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”

“The ABC’s of Theology” In his commentary in the Westminster Bible Companion series, James Limburg titles Psalms 111 and 112, “The ABC’s of Theology” and “The ABC’s of Anthropology,” respectively.1 The reason for this is that the two neighboring psalms are “twins.” Each psalm is 22 lines, divided into 10 verses. Each psalm is an … Continue reading “Psalm 111 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”