Psalms for the Spirit

Welcome to this new series, “Something Psalmic,” in which I invite my guests to share what’s lifting their spirits and offering them healing and hope right now. In this rich and moving episode of Psalms for the Spirit , I’m joined by Rev. Cheryl Meban ~ Presbyterian minister, university chaplain, member of the Corrymeela Community, choir singer, and faithful “walker of the Way.” Born during the co...

This Psalm praises the God of creation and is based on an old version of the air ‘Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn,’ rediscovered by singer Pádraigin Ní Uallacháin, which marks the arrival of summer. It moves through various aspects of the natural world, considering how God is behind it all, and as the Psalm concludes, we are led into thankfulness for all of life’s “good things,” for life and breath...

Welcome to this new series, “Something Psalmic,” in which I invite my guests to share what’s lifting their spirits and offering them healing and hope right now. In this warm and wide-ranging conversation, I’m joined by Jim Deeds , a pastoral worker, poet, and author whose “yes” to God’s invitation years ago set him on a winding and spirit-filled path. Formerly a social worker, Jim now serves commu...

This Psalm is sung to the air ‘I Wish My Love was a Red, Red Rose,’ and praises God’s compassion and mercy. A song that is sweet and simple in some ways also explores the theme of forgiveness (“far as the east is from the west, so far God removes our sins”) and the finitude of our lives (“though all our days are like the grass that flourishes, then blows”), it remains grounded in the steadfast lov...

Welcome to this new series, “Something Psalmic,” in which I invite my guests to share what’s lifting their spirits and offering them healing and hope right now. In this episode of Psalms for the Spirit , I’m joined by Rev. Heather Prince Doss ~ an ordained Presbyterian minister, lifelong traveler, and founder of Progressive Pilgrimage , a ministry that guides spiritually rich journeys for open-hea...

This Psalm tells the story of one who is ill in mid-life and of the particular struggles of that experience. It is joined here with Irish words of the original song ‘Taim cortha o bheith im’Aonar mo lui,’ and the refrain “I am weary from being alone.” Both the Psalm and the Irish song contend with grief, loneliness, and the depth of life’s sorrows, yet they take some consolation from simply being...

Welcome to this new series, “Something Psalmic,” in which I invite my guests to share what’s lifting their spirits and offering them healing and hope right now. In this inspiring episode of Psalms for the Spirit , I’m joined by Miriam Diephouse-McMillan , a chaplain, ordained minister, and author of Sacred Balance: How Ancient Practices Can Restore Modern Minds . Miriam has served for over 12 year...

‘Willy Taylor’ is the inspiration for this song of praise to a steadfast God. The Psalm tells the story of the Exodus, of the Hebrew people’s liberation from slavery, and of the joyful thanksgiving through which we can sing a new song, with the accompaniment of musical instruments and along with the rest of creation. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further q...

Welcome to this new series, “Something Psalmic,” in which I invite my guests to share what’s lifting their spirits and offering them healing and hope right now. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Almut Furchert, a German-American scholar, therapist, philosopher, and founder of Cloister Seminars. Raised in a pastor’s family in East Germany and now living in the American Midwest, Almut brings a de...

A prayer of protection for a loved one, this Psalm makes the hopeful claim that God will provide ultimate redemption from the evils that threaten us. Set to the Irish tune ‘Dearthairin Ó Mo Chroí,’ it is a fervent prayer for safety, despite the perils of this world, and it expresses a faith that in the end, God will protect us in a way that this life cannot. Continue your reflections with the acco...

A Psalm of recognition of the fragility of life as well as God’s eternal nature. Combined here with the Irish traditional song ‘Casadh an t’Súgain,’ it broaches the subject of how we might live with “wise hearts,” recognizing that from dust we came and to dust we return. Importantly, this paraphrase emphasizes that we return to God ~ our maker, to whom we belong in life and in death and who will r...

A Psalm of abandonment, full of questions without any attempt at resolution, this Psalm presents a heart-rending, honest portrayal of someone in the midst of deep difficulty. Combined with the lamenting tones of the Irish tune ‘Bean Dubh a Ghleanna,’ this song holds a space for the most forsaken experiences of humanity, while continuing to retain a relationship with the God to whom it asks these q...

The haunting melody ‘My Lagan Love’ accompanies this Psalm’s plea for the listening ear of the loving God who is “Lord of All,” words kept from the original lyrics by Joseph Campbell. This Psalm expresses lament from a place of weariness deepest longing to be saved from the grave, and turns to God for guidance on the way forward, recalling also God’s deep love and goodness. Continue your reflectio...

Depicting a vision for what this world could be, this Psalm, set to the Scottish tune ‘Lovely Molly,’ imagines love and mercy (or truth or faithfulness, in other translations), justice and peace coming together to greet and kiss. This rendition of the Psalm continues to unfold that vision of the future as one in which God’s goodness and kindness are evident, healing takes place, and the people wil...

Set to the beautiful air ‘Carrickfergus,’ this Psalm depicts the pilgrimage of faith. It recounts the ways we can enter into God’s courts of dwelling, such as through the birds who sing their praise, or through the desert valley that becomes a place of flowing streams, and gain strength for our journey towards our heavenly home. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includ...

This moving Psalm speaks of someone overwhelmed by the circumstances of life, who cries out for salvation and receives deliverance. Set to the tune ‘The Streets of Derry,’ it tells of the distress the psalmist is facing, the weariness from calling out, and the request for God’s face not to be hidden. The Psalm ultimately turns towards the hope that God will rebuild the broken people and that all w...

The tune for this song is the Scottish air ‘Ae Fonde Kiss,’ and the Psalm acts as a benediction prayer. Asking God’s gracious blessing on all people and all nations, it also recalls God’s kindness and sustaining presence and asks for God’s face to shine on us all. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer...

Set to the Irish tune the Old Cross of Ardboe, this is a Psalm of joy and thanksgiving, having come through a trying time and experienced God’s listening ear, leading, and help. This is no trite expression of praise ~ it emerges out of a deep and real experience of God’s kindness and support, compassion and love, and ignites a genuine desire to give heart, life, and soul in return. Continue your r...

Happy Still-Easter! Yes, it is still Easter and will be until the first week of June this year, with Pentecost. But, this will be my last Easter Psalm. This song pulls together the last three Psalms and weaves them with some of the words of the traditional song Happy Are We All Together. It’s a song full of life and joy, and it speaks especially to the pleasures of life. I’ll never forget when, af...

This Psalm, set to the tune Rathlin Island by Brian Connors, is written from the farthest oceans and the ends of earth and seeks a reminder of hope out of a place of despair. Wondering if God will listen when facing a difficult situation, and remembering God as Creator of the mountains and silencer of storms, the Psalmist takes strength in God’s great salvation and redemption of even the greatest...

In this week’s Easter Psalm, we hear a song of praise to the healer of our souls. It’s a Psalm that creates a vibrant image of earth, moon, and stars singing praise together to the God of Love. Following the season of Lent, this Psalm takes on a deeper meaning. This is a song of joy in the God who doesn’t ignore our laments, but offers solace for the soul. And at the end of the song, we hear the w...

Written by Ireland’s great composer Turlough O’Carolan, Eleanor Plunkett is a cascading tune, set here to a Psalm of yearning and praise. It begins with longing like a “dry land,” acknowledging our deep desire to be in God’s presence, through which we can be “satisfied” as though our thirst is quenched. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for r...

Happy Easter, listeners! I can’t lead a Lenten series without marking its culmination in the joy and hope of Easter. For the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the Psalms of joy and hope that come at the end of the book of Psalms. What I love about those Psalms is that the hope they offer doesn’t ignore the suffering and brokenheartedness of the world ~ they tend to those hurts and pains, and...

This arrangement, set to the wordless tune ‘Caisleán an Óir,’ portrays the urgency and energy with which the psalmist may have written these words. In this Psalm, we find numerous images of the various ways God can provide refuge and shelter for us when we feel we are at the “end of earth.” Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and...

In this final week of Lent, Holy Week, we really settle into what we’ve been preparing ourselves for since Ash Wednesday: the silence of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The questions that, for a time, went unanswered. The injustice and cruelty that couldn’t be undone. The cavern of grief and loss, of betrayal and failure. The abandonment, the forsakenness. All this we find in the brutally honest qu...