Jeremy Thompson

Tag: Book of Psalms

  • The Superscription of Psalm 34

    Abimelech in Psalm 34? There is an interesting anomaly in verse 1 of Psalm 34.  It reads: Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who forced him to depart. The problem is that in the episode where David feigns madness the king is actually Achish (see 1 Samuel 21), not Abimelech.  So, how has…

  • Psalm 34 Listening

    Psalm 34 has inspired, in my opinion, some of the best Psalmody in modern times within my own church tradition.  Below I’ve posted a YouTube video of one of my favorite responses based on Psalm 34, “The Cry of the Poor,” though this is not the greatest rendition. The Cry of the Poor (Psalm 34)…

  • A Heaping up of Individual Requests

    … asking for something, occurs only peripherally in the Psalms, if at all.  Almost always petitions of the Psalms are concerned with deliverance from acute trouble.  We never meet what is so common and entirely natural in our modern prayers: a heaping up of individual requests. Claus Westermann, Psalms (Chapter 1, “The Community Psalm of…

  • Psalm 1.1 – Translation Comparison

    The Responsorial Psalm for today is Psalm 1 as you might have gathered from my previous post.  In reading through Psalm 1 in the New American Bible (=NAB), I felt like it obscured the progression to be found in verse 1, so I took a look at the verse in parallels.  It turns out that…

  • Psalm 1.4 – A Video Illustration of Chaff

    Psalm 1.4 But not the wicked! They are like chaff driven by the wind. (NAB) Have you ever wondered what chaff being driven by the wind looks like?  Of course, modern Africa is not Ancient Israel, but I doubt chaff being driven by the wind has changed much.  Here is a video that shows chaff…

  • Psalm 103 & Prosperity Thought

    I was reading Psalm 103 from the lectionary and was particularly struck today by verse three.  It contains a pretty big, bold sounding statement that without looking I’m sure has probably been seized upon by prosperity preachers.  Now, I would be the first to tell you that I think health-wealth and prosperity preaching is a…

  • Psalm 98 and Assonance

    I glanced at the lectionary readings earlier in the day, but spent a little more time with them tonight, especially the response, which was Psalm 98.  I wanted to point out one feature of verse 1 in particular that struck me, and this is one of the types of things I think we miss in…

  • This Psalmist Must Have Never Had Children

    Today’s responsorial Psalm blew my mind, but not in some super spiritual way.  Psalm 131 reads as follows: 1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted…

  • Listening for Psalm 24

    Here is some listening for today’s responsorial Psalm, which was Psalm 24.  Many people may not realize that the song “Give us Clean Hands” is taken almost entirely from this text:

  • Video Illustration for Psalm 124

    Psalm 124:7 “We escaped with our lives like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare was broken and we escaped.” Thought he had one … but it got away.