Author: Administrador

Psalm 51 is, by any measure, one of the best-known and most often read penitential texts in the canon, and, as such, presents both opportunities and challenges for the interpreter. Particularly if read in the context of Ash Wednesday or some other occasion where sin and repentance are particularly in view, this text’s vivid exploration … Continue reading “Psalm 51:1-12 Commentary by Matthew Stith”

This is a text that must be handled with care. It is not one to be read lightly, and certainly not one to be preached on lightly. The voice that we hear in Psalm 51:1-12 is one of desperation, which could very well echo the unheard voices of desperation among our sermons’ hearers. It is … Continue reading “Psalm 51:1-12 Commentary by Elizabeth Webb”

Psalm 51 is one of the most common psalms recited by Protestant Christians. They know it as a familiar component of weekly worship services. It has been a mainstay for decades in corporate prayers of confession. People affirm together their individual and corporate guilt within a service of worship and seek as individuals and communities … Continue reading “Psalm 51:1-10 Commentary by Paul O. Myhre”

Psalm 51 is classified as an individual lament in which a single voice cries out to God for deliverance from a life-threatening situation. In the case of Psalm 51, the life-threatening situation is King David’s guilt over the taking of Bathsheba. The psalm’s superscription reads, “To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet … Continue reading “Psalm 51:1-10 Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”

Psalm 51:1-10 provides us, the readers, with an opportunity to think deeply and critically about the complex and ever important issue of sin, about where it originates and how it can be put to death and about its nature and its effects. The complexity of sin should curb any expectation that the half psalm (or … Continue reading “Psalm 51:1-10 Commentary by Paul K.-K. Cho”

How do you respond to the words, “The boss would like to set up a meeting with you?” Depending upon both your relationship with the boss and your recent performance at work, you may be one who is encouraged by this imminent meeting. “Finally, a raise!” Or you may get that proverbial pit in the … Continue reading “Psalm 50:1-6 Commentary by Shauna Hannan”

The chosen portion of Psalm 50 is rich with the light imagery that is common to all of the lectionary selections for Transfiguration Sunday. The arc of the sun, the fire of the divine presence, the radiant beauty of Zion, and especially the image of God “shining forth” offer points of connection to the radiance … Continue reading “Psalm 50:1-6 Commentary by Matthew Stith”

What will it take for us to see — really see? What will it take for us to see Jesus for whom he really is? What will it take for us to see God? And perhaps hardest of all, what will it take for us to see ourselves? The combination of Psalms 50 and 51 … Continue reading “Psalm 50:1-6 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”

Lifestyles of the Rich and Ransomed The four lectionary texts assigned for this Sunday have a common theme: wealth. More specifically, the texts are concerned with attitudes toward wealth. The theme is considered in a variety of literary types: a parable, a piece of wisdom literature, a letter, and a psalm. The comments below suggest … Continue reading “Psalm 49:1-12 Commentary by James Limburg”

“The One Who Dies with the Most Toys Wins.” Forgive my crude attempt at upending the philosophy of a well-known bumper sticker (“The one who dies with the most toys wins”) at least from my vantage point behind the fine vehicles that have proclaimed such a message. At every turn Christ’s followers, regardless of their … Continue reading “Psalm 49:1-12 Commentary by James K. Mead”