Author: Administrador

Life comes with the blessing of choices, although some philosophers have endeavored to make us think of them as a curse. Our psalm selection reports the blissful choice that the psalmist made to recognize God as the Lord, without whom there is nothing good or lasting. It echoes the first lesson from 1 Kings 19, … Continue reading “Psalm 16 Commentary by Jin H. Han”

A Response to the First Reading “O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?” (15:1). We might understand the psalmist’s answer to this question as a description of Abraham and Sarah, who hosted the three men. Abraham and Sarah did not give in hope of gain (cf. 15:5).  … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by Craig A. Satterlee”

The opening verse of Psalm 15, asking who can be admitted to worship at the tabernacle/temple, makes for a daunting introduction to this “entrance liturgy” psalm.1 On one level, such questions may seem as remote to us as those asked of grail seekers at “the bridge of death” in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by James K. Mead”

1LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill? 2Those who lead a blameless life and do what is right, who speak the truth from their heart; 3they do not slander with the tongue, they do no evil to their friends; they do not cast discredit upon a neighbor. 4In … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by Henry Langknecht”

Our question was, “How do we get into this place?” A half-dozen of us were seeking entrance into a synagogue in the downtown area of a large German city. We had the address but could not find any building that looked like it might be a synagogue. Finally we saw a small black plaque that … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by James Limburg”

There are two divergent ways to think about Psalm 15.  We can regard it from a historical point of view, understanding its place in Israel’s worship life; and we can weigh its content from a theological, even personal perspective. The first is far more pleasant. A cluster of other Psalms, especially Psalm 24 but also … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by James Howell”

What makes a good guest? At summer’s end, when many people are returning from visits with family and friends, this is a timely question. There is an old joke that says a visitor and a fish smell the same after three days. Both stink! But there are also guests who bring so much joy and … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by Esther M. Menn”

Psalm 15 is usually categorized as an entrance liturgy. The mention of God’s “tent” in v. 1 recalls the portable tabernacle of the wilderness era (Exodus 33:7-11; Numbers 12:5); but the designation came to be used of the Temple (Psalms 27:5-6; 61:4), which was located on Mount Zion, God’s “holy hill” (Psalms 2:6; 3:4; 43:3). … Continue reading “Psalm 15 Commentary by J. Clinton McCann”

“Are We Alone?” asks the December 2009 issue of National Geographic, against the backdrop of a sky billowing with stars. “Searching the Heavens for Another Earth,” reads the subtitle, and the article within details the scientific search for Earth-like planets outside our solar system, planets that might be able to sustain life. The psalmist of … Continue reading “Psalm 8 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

A problem with our hearing of Psalm 8, as with so many other biblical texts, may be our affluence. Most of us are so used to being more or less well off and more or less comfortable that we have difficulty hearing the text from the margin, from the perspective of the underdog or the … Continue reading “Psalm 8 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”