Reflections on the Psalms. Steven Croft

       Over a calendar month:

Day 1	119.1-8
Day 2	119.9-16
Day 3	119.17-24
Day 4	119.25-32
Day 5	119.33-40
Day 6	119.41-48
Day 7	119.49-56
Day 8	119.57-64
Day 9	119.65-72
Day 10	119.73-80
Day 11	119.81-88
Day 12	119.89-96
Day 13	119.97-104
Day 14	119.105-112
Day 15	119.113-120
Day 16	119.121-128
Day 17	119.129-136
Day 18	119.137-144
Day 19	119.145-152
Day 20	119.153-160
Day 21	119.161-168
Day 22	119.169-176
Day 23	121, 122
Day 24	123, 124
Day 25	125, 126
Day 26	127
Day 27	128
Day 28	129
Day 29	130
Day 30	131
Day 31	133

       Over a week or fortnight:

       Psalm 119 and the Psalms of Ascent may be used over a fortnight as follows:

Sunday	119.1-32
Monday	119.33-56
Tuesday	119.57-80
Wednesday	119.81-104
Thursday	119.105-128
Friday	119.129-152
Saturday	119.153-176

Sunday	121,122
Monday	123,124
Tuesday	125,126
Wednesday	127
Thursday	128
Friday	129,130
Saturday	131,133

       Alternatively, Psalm 119 and the Psalms of Ascent may be used, together or alone, on a weekly cycle.

       REFLECTIONS

      ON THE

       PSALMS

Psalm 1

       Blessed are they who have not walkedin the counsel of the wicked…

       ‘… planted by streams of water’ (v.3)

      The image, in Psalm 1, of trees planted by streams of water is a vibrant and evocative picture. It brings to mind refreshment and rootedness. The trees, which the psalmist invites us to imagine, are sustained not just occasionally but permanently from a source that invites them to sink their roots down deep and find nourishment and strength. Those who do not take the path of the wicked are like these trees, the psalmist tells us, with deep roots in the law of the Lord.

      The wicked, in contrast, are not like sturdy trees but like chaff – dried out, lacking in substance and blown away by the breeze. Although we may not naturally make chaff the opposite of trees, it doesn’t take much thought to see why the psalmist chose this particular contrast.

      This opening psalm of the whole Psalter presents us, then, with two rich images that not only stir our imaginations but also present us with a choice. Will we choose to be like those who love God’s law or those who spurn it? Will we, by the choice we make, find depth and refreshment, or aridity and flimsiness? By presenting us with this choice at the outset of the Psalter, Psalm 1 challenges us to choose what kind of life we will have and, as a result, how we will respond to the rest of the psalms that follow.

      Reflection by Paula Gooder

      Refrain:

       The Lord knows the way of the righteous.

      Prayer:

       Christ our wisdom,

       give us delight in your law,

       that we may bear fruits of patience and peace

       in the kingdom of the righteous;

       for your mercy’s sake.

       Psalm 2

       Why are the nations in tumult,and why do the peoples devise a vain plot?

       ‘Let us break their bonds asunder’ (v.3)

      Many people will hear the stern voice of the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah when reading this opening verse. ‘Why do the nations so furiously rage together?’ he sings. Pilgrims would gather in Jerusalem for the new-year festival and this psalm was spot on with its theme of the kingdom of God as a new king was crowned or an established king renewed in office.

      So why do the nations still conspire and plot against the peaceful way of the Lord, or in the old words ‘so furiously rage together’? Good question. The nations still believe what the rebellious choir in the Messiah sings, that they can burst asunder the bonds