Day 6: Psalms 16-18

You may have noticed that sometimes I write the word psalms with an uppercase P and sometimes with a lowercase P.  What's the difference?  When referring to the Book of Psalms or the collection of Psalms, an uppercase P is warranted.  An uppercase P is also used when noting a specific psalm as in Psalm 23.  But when referring to psalms in general, as in "these psalms are beautiful," or "I will read a psalm every day," a lowercase P is used.  In addition, when citing verses from a psalm, for example Psalms 16:1-7, Psalms is plural because it is a citation from the Book of Psalms.

Psalm 16

1	Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *     I have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, my good above all other."

2	All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, *     upon those who are noble among the people.
3	But those who run after other gods *     shall have their troubles multiplied.
4	Their libations of blood I will not offer, *     nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
5	O LORD, you are my portion and my cup; *     it is you who uphold my lot.
6	My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *     indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
7	I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; *     my heart teaches me, night after night.
8	I have set the LORD always before me; *     because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
9	My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; *     my body also shall rest in hope.
10	For you will not abandon me to the grave, *     nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11	You will show me the path of life; *     in your presence there is fullness of joy,     and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. Another song of praise, written at a time when there were many gods to choose from to worship.  The writer declares that his God is his one and only God. Psalm 17 1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD; give heed to my cry; *     listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips. 2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence; *     let your eyes be fixed on justice.     3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night, *     melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.     4 I give no offense with my mouth as others do; *     I have heeded the words of your lips.     5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law; *     in your paths my feet shall not stumble.     6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; *     incline your ear to me and hear my words.     7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, *     O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand     from those who rise up against them.     8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; *     hide me under the shadow of your wings,     9 From the wicked who assault me, *     from my deadly enemies who surround me.     10 They have closed their heart to pity, *     and their mouth speaks proud things.     11 They press me hard, now they surround me, *     watching how they may cast me to the ground,     12 Like a lion, greedy for its prey, *     and like a young lion lurking in secret places.     13 Arise, O LORD; confront them and bring them down; *     deliver me from the wicked by your sword.     14 Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand *     from those whose portion in life is this world; 15 Whose bellies you fill with your treasure, *     who are well supplied with children     and leave their wealth to their little ones.     16 But at my vindication I shall see your face; *     when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding                              your likeness.     More of the same. Psalm 18 1 I love you, O LORD my strength, *     O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.     2 My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, *     my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;     you are worthy of praise.     3 I will call upon the LORD, *     and so shall I be saved from my enemies.     4 The breakers of death rolled over me, *     and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.     5 The cords of hell entangled me, *     and the snares of death were set for me.     6 I called upon the LORD in my distress *     and cried out to my God for help.     7 He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *     my cry of anguish came to his ears. 8 The earth reeled and rocked; *     the roots of the mountains shook;     they reeled because of his anger.     9 Smoke rose from his nostrils and a consuming fire out of his mouth; *     hot burning coals blazed forth from him.     10 He parted the heavens and came down *     with a storm cloud under his feet.     11 He mounted on cherubim and flew; *     he swooped on the wings of the wind.     12 He wrapped darkness about him; *     he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.     13 From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds, *     burst hailstones and coals of fire.     14 The LORD thundered out of heaven; *     the Most High uttered his voice.     15 He loosed his arrows and scattered them; *     he hurled thunderbolts and routed them.     16 The beds of the seas were uncovered, and the foundations of the world laid bare, *     at your battle cry, O LORD,     at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.     17 He reached down from on high and grasped me; *     he drew me out of great waters.     18 He delivered me from my strong enemies and from those who hated me; *     for they were too mighty for me.     19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster; *     but the LORD was my support. 20 He brought me out into an open place; *     he rescued me because he delighted in me. Okay, so this psalm goes on for another 30 more verses.  While I like the imagery,  the As I wrote this last night, a car ran off the road and into my front yard, landing in my juniper bushes.  No one was hurt and I assume the insurance will take care of it. Ken always hated those bushes.

Day 5: Psalms 13-15

In ancient times, the Book of Psalms was often bound as a separate volume called The Psalter.  That's why it's called the Psalter in the Book of Common Prayer--it is a separate collection of the Psalms.  These Psalters were often richly decorated and put on special display.  They were also used to teach people how to read.  

Psalm 13

1	How long, O LORD? will you forget me for ever? *     how long will you hide your face from me?

2	How long shall I have perplexity in my mind, and grief in my heart, day after day? *     how long shall my enemy triumph over me?
3	Look upon me and answer me, O LORD my God; *     give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
4	Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him," *     and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.
5	But I put my trust in your mercy; *     my heart is joyful because of your saving help.
6	I will sing to the LORD, for he has dealt with me richly; *     I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High.

A nice short psalm.  This psalm begins by imploring for God's attention and yet ends with just kidding, God, you're great!  Lack of maturity. 

Psalm 14

1	The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." *     All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;     there is none who does any good.
2	The LORD looks down from heaven upon us all, *     to see if there is any who is wise,     if there is one who seeks after God.
3	Every one has proved faithless; all alike have turned bad; *     there is none who does good; no, not one.
4	Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers *     who eat up my people like bread     and do not call upon the LORD?
5	See how they tremble with fear, *     because God is in the company of the righteous.
6	Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted, *     but the LORD is their refuge. Another short one!  And no cries for help.  Now the psalmist turns his attention to others--the nonbelievers.   Not me, God!  I believe!  It's those other people who don't believe! Christopher Hitchens was a famous atheist who wrote and debated extensively about his non belief.  And now he is dead.  I guess he has his answer now.

Psalm 15

1	LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *     who may abide upon your holy hill?
2	Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *     who speaks the truth from his heart.
3	There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; *     he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4	In his sight the wicked is rejected, *     but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5	He has sworn to do no wrong *     and does not take back his word.
6	He does not give his money in hope of gain, *     nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7	Whoever does these things *     shall never be overthrown. Okay, so this is a famous one.  But is there really anyone who leads a blameless life?  Is there anyone who has never heaped contempt on his neighbor?  I reject the notion that God has set us up to fail. I have to have chemo today to make up for Presidents Day last week.  A friend is coming to sit with me and keep me company while the arsenic is infused into my veins.   She is giving up a beautiful Sunday afternoon to sit inside with me for several hours.  I don't know if she believes in God or is an atheist.  But it doesn't matter if she believes or not.   She (and Christopher Hitchens) will be among those who will abide upon his holy hill.

Day 4: Psalms 10-12

The final way of reading the Psalms in a church is responsorial recitation.  In this method, the verses are sung by the choir or a cantor.  After a group of verses, a refrain is sung by the congregation.  The refrain is usually drawn from one of the verses.  My church uses responsorial recitation.  The psalm is chanted by a member of the choir and the congregation sings the refrain.  Apparently this method is becoming more and more popular, but It depends greatly on the skill of the cantor.  When Annie at my church chants the psalm, the angels weep.  

Psalm 10

1	Why do you stand so far off, O LORD, *     and hide yourself in time of trouble?
2	The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor, *     but they are trapped in the schemes they have devised.
3	The wicked boast of their heart's desire; *     the covetous curse and revile the LORD.
4	The wicked are so proud that they care not for God; *     their only thought is, "God does not matter."

5	Their ways are devious at all times; your judgments are far above out of their sight; *     they defy all their enemies.
6	They say in their heart, "I shall not be shaken; *     no harm shall happen to me ever."
7	Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; *     under their tongue are mischief and wrong.
8	They lurk in ambush in public squares and in secret places they murder the innocent; *     they spy out the helpless.
9	They lie in wait, like a lion in a covert; they lie in wait to seize upon the lowly; *     they seize the lowly and drag them away in their net.
10	The innocent are broken and humbled before them; *     the helpless fall before their power.
11	They say in their heart, "God has forgotten; *     he hides his face; he will never notice."
12	Rise up, O LORD; lift up your hand, O God; *     do not forget the afflicted.
13	Why should the wicked revile God? *     why should they say in their heart, "You do not care"?
14	Surely, you behold trouble and misery; *     you see it and take it into your own hand.
15	The helpless commit themselves to you, *     for you are the helper of orphans.
16	Break the power of the wicked and evil; *     search out their wickedness until you find none.

17	The LORD is King for ever and ever; *     the ungodly shall perish from his land.
18	The LORD will hear the desire of the humble; *     you will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear;
19	To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, *     so that mere mortals may strike terror no more. This sounds like a continuation of the previous psalm.  Same theme. Today is my birthday.  I am 53 today.   Last Sunday, I received a birthday blessing at church.  I teared up.   I made it to my birthday! Psalm 11 1 In the LORD have I taken refuge; *     how then can you say to me,     "Fly away like a bird to the hilltop; 2 For see how the wicked bend the bow and fit their arrows to the string, *     to shoot from ambush at the true of heart. 3 When the foundations are being destroyed, *     what can the righteous do?" 4 The LORD is in his holy temple; *     the LORD'S throne is in heaven. 5 His eyes behold the inhabited world; *     his piercing eye weighs our worth. 6 The LORD weighs the righteous as well as the wicked, *     but those who delight in violence he abhors. 7 Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire and                               burning sulphur; *     a scorching wind shall be their lot. 8 For the LORD is righteous; he delights in righteous deeds; *     and the just shall see his face. The LORD is righteous and delights in righteous deeds.  And yet "Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire and burning sulphur; a scorching wind shall be their lot."  A lot of anger in this writer!  He was greatly wronged at some point! Psalm 12 1 Help me, LORD, for there is no godly one left; *     the faithful have vanished from among us. 2 Everyone speaks falsely with his neighbor; *     with a smooth tongue they speak from a double heart. 3 Oh, that the LORD would cut off all smooth tongues, *     and close the lips that utter proud boasts! 4 Those who say, "With our tongue will we prevail; *     our lips are our own; who is lord over us?" 5 "Because the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery, *     I will rise up," says the LORD,     "and give them the help they long for." 6  The words of the LORD are pure words, *     like silver refined from ore     and purified seven times in the fire. 7 O LORD, watch over us *     and save us from this generation for ever. 8 The wicked prowl on every side, *     and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone. I like the image of the wicked prowling on every side.   "…and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone."  Makes me think of the Kardashians.  They prize fame, but their fame is worthless.

Day 3: Psalms 7-9

Two more ways of reading a psalm are antiphonal recitation and responsive recitation.  Antiphonal recitation is when the recitation or singing of verses alternates between the choir and congregation or one side of the church and the other.  Responsive recitation is when a leader reads or sings alternating verses with the congregation.  The church I grew up in used responsive recitation.  The leader said the first verse and the congregation said the next.  I remember quickly glancing at the psalm to see if it had an even or odd number of verses.  When there was an odd number of verses, I would snap shut my prayerbook after the final even verse was said.  I was finished!  

Here's Psalm 7

1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; *     save and deliver me from all who pursue me; 2 Lest like a lion they tear me in pieces *     and snatch me away with none to deliver me. 3 O LORD my God, if I have done these things: *     if there is any wickedness in my hands,

4	If I have repaid my friend with evil, *     or plundered him who without cause is my enemy;
5	Then let my enemy pursue and overtake me, *     trample my life into the ground,     and lay my honor in the dust.
6	Stand up, O LORD, in your wrath; *     rise up against the fury of my enemies.
7	Awake, O my God, decree justice; *     let the assembly of the peoples gather round you.
8	Be seated on your lofty throne, O Most High; *     O LORD, judge the nations.
9	Give judgment for me according to my    righteousness, O LORD, *     and according to my innocence, O Most High.
10	Let the malice of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; *     for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.
11	God is my shield and defense; *     he is the savior of the true in heart.
12	God is a righteous judge; *     God sits in judgment every day.
13	If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; *     he will bend his bow and make it ready.
14	He has prepared his weapons of death; *     he makes his arrows shafts of fire.
15	Look at those who are in labor with wickedness, *     who conceive evil, and give birth to a lie.

16	They dig a pit and make it deep *     and fall into the hole that they have made.
17	Their malice turns back upon their own head; *     their violence falls on their own scalp.
18	I will bear witness that the LORD is righteous; *     I will praise the Name of the LORD Most High. So another psalm beseeching God to rescue the writer from the enemy.  I can't imagine a time when your daily life had to include a prayer that you wouldn't be torn to pieces like a lion. Psalm 8

1	O LORD our Governor, *     how exalted is your Name in all the world!
2	Out of the mouths of infants and children *     your majesty is praised above the heavens.
3	You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *     to quell the enemy and the avenger.
4	When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *     the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
5	What is man that you should be mindful of him? *     the son of man that you should seek him out?
6	You have made him but little lower than the angels; *     you adorn him with glory and honor;
7	You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *     you put all things under his feet:
8	All sheep and oxen, *     even the wild beasts of the field,
9	The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *     and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
10	O LORD our Governor, *     how exalted is your Name in all the world! A psalm of praise!  Finally!  I love this image "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses."  The writer, or psalmist, continues on to praise God for creating humans and placing them just below the angels. This reminds me of the soliloquy from Hamlet---"What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable!  In action how like an Angel!  In apprehension how like a god!" Psalm 9 1 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart; *     I will tell of all your marvelous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; *     I will sing to your Name, O Most High. 3 When my enemies are driven back, *     they will stumble and perish at your presence. 4 For you have maintained my right and my cause; *     you sit upon your throne judging right. 5 You have rebuked the ungodly and destroyed the wicked; *     you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 As for the enemy, they are finished, in perpetual ruin, *     their cities plowed under, the memory of them perished; 7 But the LORD is enthroned for ever; *     he has set up this throne for judgment. 8 It is he who rules the world with righteousness; *     he judges the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD will be a refuge for the oppressed, *     a refuge in time of trouble. 10 Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, *     for you never forsake those who seek you, O LORD. 11 Sing praise to the LORD who dwells in Zion; *     proclaim to the peoples the things he has done. 12 The Avenger of blood will remember them; *     he will not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13 Have pity on me, O LORD; *     see the misery I suffer from those who hate me,     O you who lift me up from the gate of death; 14 So that I may tell of all your praises and rejoice in your salvation *     in the gates of the city of Zion. 15 The ungodly have fallen into the pit they dug, *     and in the snare they set is their own foot caught. 16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice; *     the wicked are trapped in the works of their own hands. 17 The wicked shall be given over to the grave, *     and also all the people that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, *     and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever. 19 Rise up, O LORD, let not the ungodly have the upper hand; *     let them be judged before you. 20 Put fear upon them, O LORD; *     let the ungodly know they are but mortal. Another psalm asking for God to smite the enemy.  My enemy is cancer.  Does that count?

Day 2: Psalms 4-6

The Psalms are collected in a section of the Book of Common Prayer called the Psalter, which caused me no end of hilarity when I was in confirmation class.  "And so where is the Psepper?!"  The BCP directs us to recite psalms in several ways.  Written for chanting or singing, they can also be recited aloud. And then they can be chanted, sung or recited in several ways.   The first is direct recitation, in which the psalm is read aloud in unison, much like a prayer.  Tomorrow I'll continue with other methods of psalmody--ways of reciting, singing, chanting psalms.

Here's Psalm 4:

1	Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *     you set me free when I am hard-pressed;     have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2	"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *     how long will you worship dumb idols     and run after false gods?"
3	Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *     when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.
4	Tremble, then, and do not sin; *     speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5	Offer the appointed sacrifices *     and put your trust in the LORD.
6	Many are saying, "Oh, that we might see better times!" *     Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.
7	You have put gladness in my heart, *     more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8	I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *     for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Well, I'm not offering any appointed sacrifices, though the table at the front of all of our churches is an echo of the altars used for sacrifices.  (A former deacon at my church refused to call this structure an altar.  He said altar was way too high church or Roman Catholic for him.  He insisted on calling it the Lord's table--even calling it the holy table was too Roman for him!)

Psalm 5:

1	Give ear to my words, O LORD; *     consider my meditation.
2	Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, *     for I make my prayer to you.
3	In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; *     early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.
4	For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, *     and evil cannot dwell with you.
5	Braggarts cannot stand in your sight; *     you hate all those who work wickedness.

6	You destroy those who speak lies; *     the bloodthirsty and deceitful, O LORD, you abhor.
7	But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy I will                                go into your house; *     I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.
8	Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness, because of those who lie in wait for me; *     make your way straight before me.
9	For there is no truth in their mouth; *     there is destruction in their heart;
10	Their throat is an open grave; *     they flatter with their tongue.
11	Declare them guilty, O God; *     let them fall, because of their schemes.
12	Because of their many transgressions cast them out, *     for they have rebelled against you.
13	But all who take refuge in you will be glad; *     they will sing out their joy for ever.
14	You will shelter them, *     so that those who love your Name may exult in you.
15	For you, O LORD, will bless the righteous; *     you will defend them with your favor as with a shield.

The writer insists that liars and braggarts are bad and will be punished. I imagine that the writer had had a bad day with men whose tongues were full of deceits (that's from Shakespeare, not the Bible!) He is devising all kinds of brave punishments (Shakespeare again!) for those who have wronged him.  But he would rather let God mete out the punishment than himself.

Psalm 6:

1	LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger; *     do not punish me in your wrath.

2	Have pity on me, LORD, for I am weak; *     heal me, LORD, for my bones are racked.
3	My spirit shakes with terror; *     how long, O LORD, how long?
4	Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; *     save me for your mercy's sake.
5	For in death no one remembers you; *     and who will give you thanks in the grave?
6	I grow weary because of my groaning; *     every night I drench my bed     and flood my couch with tears.
7	My eyes are wasted with grief *     and worn away because of all my enemies.
8	Depart from me, all evildoers, *     for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9	The LORD has heard my supplication; *     the LORD accepts my prayer.
10	All my enemies shall be confounded and quake with fear; *     they shall turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

The writer begins in terror and grief and ends in confidence that God will save him.  He asks plaintively, "how long, O LORD, how long?"   Who hasn't asked that question?   But I strongly reject the notion that God will "rebuke me in your anger," or "punish me in your wrath."  That is not the God who loves me.  

Psalms 1-3

The Psalms are found in the Old Testament and were written as songs of praise, sorrow, confession, thanksgiving, invocation and supplication. The Psalms are recited, chanted and sung in churches, synagogues and temples around the world. A version of the Psalms also appears in the Koran. 

Here's Psalm 1: 

1	Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of                               the wicked, *     nor lingered in the way of sinners,     nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2	Their delight is in the law of the LORD, *     and they meditate on his law day and night.
3	They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *everything they do shall prosper.
4	It is not so with the wicked; *     they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5	Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when                                judgment comes, *     nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6	For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, *     but the way of the wicked is doomed.

We hope that is true, don't we? But why is it that so often the nice guys finish last? My husband died a painful death from cancer. He was one of the nice guys. And I have tried all my life to "not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread…" and yet I have leukemia. I promise the rest of this blog will not be such a downer. I can't help which psalm comes first!

Here's Psalm 2

1	Why are the nations in an uproar? *     Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2	Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together, *     against the LORD and against his Anointed?
3	"Let us break their yoke," they say; *     "let us cast off their bonds from us."
4	He whose throne is in heaven is laughing; *     the Lord has them in derision.
5	Then he speaks to them in his wrath, *     and his rage fills them with terror.
6	"I myself have set my king *     upon my holy hill of Zion."
7	Let me announce the decree of the LORD: *     he said to me, "You are my Son;     this day have I begotten you.
8	Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for                               your inheritance *     and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9	You shall crush them with an iron rod *     and shatter them like a piece of pottery."
10	And now, you kings, be wise; *     be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11	Submit to the LORD with fear, *     and with trembling bow before him;
12	Lest he be angry and you perish; *     for his wrath is quickly kindled.

13	Happy are they all *     who take refuge in him!

Why are the nations in an uproar?  Because we are human and it is human nature to desire power.  God in this psalm is pretty angry, but when God gave us free will, God should really have expected this outcome. Okay, we move on to Psalm 3: 1 LORD, how many adversaries I have! *     how many there are who rise up against me! 2 How many there are who say of me, *     "There is no help for him in his God." 3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; *     you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head. 4 I call aloud upon the LORD, *     and he answers me from his holy hill; 5 I lie down and go to sleep; *     I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6 I do not fear the multitudes of people *     who set themselves against me all around. 7 Rise up, O LORD; set me free, O my God; *     surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,     you will break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Deliverance belongs to the LORD. *     Your blessing be upon your people! The writer is kind of whistling in the dark here, don't you think?  "Rise up, O Lord; set me free, O my God; surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face, you will break the teeth of the wicked."  Sounds more like wishful thinking to me than reality.  I would rather go back to the last verse of the previous psalm. "Happy are they all who take refuge in him!" which is more active than passively waiting for God to come and smote the enemy for us. I am off to Kaiser for my chemo. There is a medical assistant there who has a lanyard bedecked with angel pins.  She says, "Praise Jesus" a lot and professes her love for Bible study.  Sometimes I think she's kind of silly for her hallelujahs and amens.  But as she was taking my blood pressure yesterday I looked at her and thanked God for her.  Her kind words and sincere inquiries as to my health have made a difference during my treatment.  "Your blessing be upon your people!"

Day 1-first post

Today is Ash Wednesday 2015. My Lenten challenge is to read the Book of Psalms. There are 150 psalms. I will read three each day during Lent and through Easter and post my impressions. I will read the Psalms in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. I grew up with the 1928 prayer book and the beautiful Coverdale psalms (more about them later) but the current prayer book is what I read now at church. I will consult other versions, if I am so inclined. A little background. I am a cradle Episcopalian who loves liturgy, church history and traditional hymns. That being said, I am politically and socially liberal. I do not find it incompatible to be a churchgoer and to be a liberal. I have two grown children. I was widowed at the age of 45 and am now undergoing treatment for leukemia. Okay. Here we go.