“O God Our Help In Ages Past” is a venerable hymn on God’s eternal faithfulness. Isaac Watts wrote the text as a paraphrase of Psalm 90:1-6, looking to God as the one constant in a changing world, a rock in the midst of the passing stream of time.
Silence Beyond Expectation: A Reflection on Psalm 131
“Mom, Mom, Mom.” I hear this mantra often. Balancing family life and a career is challenging, and sometimes I just want silence. Not any silence, but a silence that requires absolutely no follow-up. A few years ago, I signed up for a silent retreat. I approached the retreat like a spiritual vacation: a little rest,…
The Monthly Psalter: A Rookie Anglican Guide
In the Prayer Book, the Psalter follows a 30-day cycle, assigning Psalms for both morning and evening each day.
Hymn Guide: The King of Love My Shepherd Is
If Psalm 23 had been written by Saint Peter rather than King David, the result would be something like “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.”
Living Inside Psalm 51: A Conversation with David Roseberry
In a sense, Psalm 51 is emblematic of the Old Testament. It struggles with sin and the distance it creates from God—a distance King David is very nervous about personally experiencing—but it doesn’t offer a path to reunion and redemption except through the offering described at the end of the Psalm.
Psalms and Prayers for Ice and Snow
I grew up in Chicago, where snow is a frequent fact of winter. We noticed the first snow and major snowfalls, and every once in a while, a blizzard would shut down work and school. In such a storm, the danger often comes more from ice than from snow; ice can cut power, damage homes,…
Shame in the Psalms
All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. Psalms 44:15-16 While some of the psalms exult in joy and praise, many others describe the more challenging aspects of the human experience—including shame….
The Gloria Patri: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Gloria Patri (Latin for “glory to the Father”) is that small but mighty doxology in Anglican worship where we proclaim: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. The Gloria Patri is used most…
Finding Rest by Singing the Psalter
Rest, Inc.: It’s So Hot Right Now! Contemporary society is increasingly marked by a pervasive sense of burnout. We are more developed, advanced, healthy, and connected than ever, yet we are weary. The yoke of modernity appears hard, and its burden is heavy. In this exhaustion lies a hunger for the rest of the Living…
My Journey into Psalm Chanting (with the St. Bernard Breviary)
The St. Bernard Breviary offers a gentle introduction to chant, explaining why it is beneficial and giving a primer on how to get started. For parishioners with no previous experience in chant or musical education, it is a wonderful resource.
I Will Lift Up My Eyes: Reflections on the Midday Psalms
The meat of the Midday Prayer rests in its psalms. Four options can be read, though some prefer to read all of them daily.
Hymn Guide: How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place
“How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” is a hymn of longing and spiritual ascent. It is a paraphrase of Psalm 84 and began in the ancient Hebrew practice of pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
