Censored Lectionary – Psalm 79
I wrote a post today for my wife’s devotional list that refers to the boundary line between the [tag]lectionary[/tag] reading, Psalm 79:1-9 and the rest of the Psalm.
Similar Posts
Psalm 119:119 – Scorn
Which way do you point scripture when you “fire” it? Do you see your own issues? And do you remember how you have been led up to now?
Psalm 119:16 – Ways to Forget
In your statutes I delight.I will not forget your word. If this were not poetry, I might be tempted to talk about the rather optimistic promise of not forgetting God’s word. But then I remember how many times I have said, “I’m not going to forget that” in reference to some planned task or another….
Psalm 119:78 – Get the Bad Guys!
Explorin the struggles of understanding why the wicked prosper while good people suffer, emphasizing the psalmist’s pleas for justice and the importance of seeking God’s approval.
With All the Faults and Failings
One of the things I find most interesting about the Bible is the way that its stories openly–one might even say brutally–cover the faults and failings of the main characters. Nobody manages to come off all that well in the story. Even Moses, author of the Torah, or perhaps receiver of it, is not presented…
Psalm 119:60 – Obedience without Delay
I hurried, and didn’t delayin obeying your commands. The Message has an interesting way of expressing this: I was up at once, didn’t drag my feet,was quick to follow your orders. Psalm 119:60 (The Message) Some might like me to talk about what seems like a rash statement. Who can claim to have always been…
2 Comments
Comments are closed.
This kind of censorship is not new. I remember years ago that the Church of England Morning Prayer service included Psalm 95, the Venite – but in the copies of the service we used the part from the middle of verse 7 to the end (ironically the part quoted in Hebrews) was bracketed as “optional”, and this part was never sung in my church. I guess the vicar didn’t believe in God testing his people, nor perhaps his people hearing his voice, so we stuck to the comforting parts like “we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand”.
I’ve noticed this before as well. It also happens with Psalm 137. I’m not always opposed, though I find it interesting that there are parts of the Bible that we don’t feel comfortable reading in church. Of course, I could nominate a few passages myself!