Psalm 9 [Merely Human]

For some reason, the Revised Common Lectionary omits the first eight verses from Psalm 9, which only occurs once in the three-year cycle (12th Ordinary/Proper 7, Year B). By virtue of this partial coverage, I did not prioritize it for inclusion in Year D. Since Psalm 9 and 10, however, are considered to have been a single unit originally, and since Psalm 10 is omitted from RCL and included in Year D, I decided to include Psalm 9 among the Revenant Psalms, where it will be the first track on Vol. V (presently a work in progress). [CORRECTION: The distinction of "first track" now belongs to Psalm 2.]

Those first eight verses do not seem to me any less hopeful or more strident than the remainder of the psalm. Both sections complain about the wicked and praise the Lord. But since I wanted to ensure all eight verses gained a hearing, they are all sung together here in short order over the course of four musical verses. After that, the remainder of the psalm unfolds in single musical verses consisting of roughly two textual verses each. But the affirmation in v. 8 should not be lost, neither in the wordy burst of so many verses sung together nor by way of the failure of both RCL and Year D to include it: "With justice he judges every sphere and his righteous judgments will all be fair" (my para.)

The arrangement is, once again, all guitar, with just a few unobtrusive keyboard pads to lend a further sense of mystery. The Mellotron flute and my favorite patch (Blue Carpet) put me in mind, as always, of the Breeze in the Trees. These trace the melody very simply (or propose one that the vocals never quite manage to follow) along with an organ that hopefully takes us to church. 

It is a sobering psalm, to be sure, as are all the Revenant Psalms, ... as are all (!) the psalms, come to think of it. But, as the Good Lord well knows, if there was ever a time to sober up, that time is now. "Today!"

Soli Deo gloria.

Johannes Zwick's prayer "Before the Children's Service"

O God and Father of all fathers [parents], teach us!

O God and Father of all children, teach us!

O Lord of lords, teach us!

O Spirit, Teacher of Truth, teach us,

that we may join ourselves to the Holy Child Jesus, 

follow his example in all that we do,

grow in spirit, grace, and truth,

for the benefit of all Christians,

that together we children may adorn your Church and your Name.

O Lord God, teach us this!

— Johannes Zwick (1496—1542), translated by TMS from the Alsatian Evangelical Songbook [Evangelisches Gesangbuch für Elsasz] (Lothringen [i.e., Lorraine], 1907) p. 498. 

  

Psalm 102 [Martyrs on the March]

UPDATE: Streamers now added. Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Pandora, Deezer. Watch for YT, Tidal, and others soon.

Just released, this epic 10-minute track for an epic psalm. If there was ever a psalm for a blue Christmas, this one is it.

And in case you are wondering what all these psalm recordings have to do with Year D, well, it is these very individual lament psalms (those excluded from the lectionary) that started me on this Year D project in January 1999, during a course on the Psalms with Walter Brueggemann, going on a quarter century now.

Psalm 141 [Prayer Walk]

Releasing this single—a bit of music therapy from our Holy Paraclete—from the distantly forthcoming Revenant Psalms, Vol. III. While this is an ongoing project, the prospect of a third volume is so far off, it seems best to release this track now, as the "healing balm" offered by this classic metrical paraphrase of Psalm 141 (slightly modified by yours truly) is sorely needed now on so many fronts, from the personal and the individual to the international, global, and cosmic. With so many losses being borne and with a friend in her 80s soon to inaugurate a stone labyrinth that she personally installed in her back yard—all of these reasons seemed to lobby for sending this contemplative track out into the world to do its pastoral, therapeutic work. 

Here's a nice link to listen ad-free (where you can also access your preferred streamers):

 https://timslemmons.hearnow.com/psalm-141-prayer-walk

Here the YT link: 

Listen closely and you will hear the plodding guitar track doubled at the mid-point when the psalmist asks for help in avoiding going astray, "when evil footsteps lead the way," and then finds his true yoke-mate (as it were) to keep his steps on the straight and narrow. At the end, "Charlemagne the dog," the true rock-star of the family (pictured on 2020's Persevere), makes a special guest appearance with a couple of well-timed percussion solos—first just outside the studio door, then on the way out the hall—with his nails on the parquet, no doubt summoning me out for another prayer walk ... no telling where.

Like other works of indie artists and authors with a day job, these tracks have no sponsors behind them or prominent promotional platforms from which to break through the brave new world's batteries of bots and algorithms, just word of mouth and your willingness to share organically. So do please share widely, especially with those in need of peace, comfort, solace, and healing, with worship leaders, and with those inclined to intercession and prayer walking. Thanks and may God bless us everyone.

A fresh devotional for the new year.

UPDATE: This post was originally from December 29, 2019. Seems a good time to bump it to the top of the stack.

I really like and frequently recommend these one-year Bible reading plans, as much for their manageable structure as for their probing and thought-provoking devotional commentary. The Spirit at Work starts at Pentecost. The Word at Work starts on the second Sunday of Easter. Now I see there is a new one, Sitometrion, that starts (or started) on Christmas Day. Each of them, with just a bit of adjustment, can be taken up at any time of year. Just jump in on the day (you can ignore the year for the most part), then wrap around when the time comes.

        

"Lord Jesus, Think on Me"

This is a really ancient text by Synesius of Cyrene (375-430), translated by Allen William Chatfield (1808-96), a Charterhouse alum (Genesis fans will recognize the reference), and set to the tune Southwell that has been appearing in hymnals since 1876 or so, though it dates back to Daman's Psalter from 1579. All I've done here is set it to guitar, laid down some eerie synth pads with one of my favorite patches, stood a bit too close to the mic, jazzed up the beat (à la Jethro Tull's "Bourée" or any number of pieces on their Christmas album), and added a flute solo, which is actually not as Tullish as you might expect: not so snarly, spitty, lilty, or even all that dynamic. The mystery of tune and text seemed to call for something fairly dry, steady, and sober, not dripping with emotion, while the simplicity of the tune wanted some mysterious intervals—OK, maybe a little bit of lilt—in the flute solo as well as a certain rhythmic slippage or laziness (there is a lot of that on this album, which I hope may serve to offset the quantization that pervades everything these days). The title of this text brought to mind the petition of the repentant thief on the cross, but while hymnary.com lists Luke 23 among gobs of other scripture references underlying the lyric, Holy Week is not among the liturgical occasions suggested for its use. Obviously, by including it here, I would like to suggest it might be. It certainly warrants singing in Lent.

Your choice of streamers at the link:

Meanwhile, the physical CD — an imminently endangered species! (going away in May) — is here.

Return to God: Historical and Modern Confessional Sources for the Renewal and Regathering of the Church

My latest book gathers a number of sources together that (1) are previously unpublished or are translated here into English for the first time, (2) have struck me as important both in their original  time and context and (potentially) for our time and place, (3) share a common confessional conviction (in both the "penitential" and the "professional" sense), and (4) may be of particular value as the Church shakes off it Covid shackles and regathers to pray, sing (!), worship, celebrate the sacraments, and breath in the Holy Spirit together.

Two sermons from the American Awakenings are here: one by Gilbert Tennent (First GA) on how we should listen to sermons, and another by Samuel Miller (Second GA) on the glory of the Gospel. 

Several first-ever English translations are also included (which I mention here in reverse chronological order): 

• the long prayer from the London journal of the brilliant critic of the Enlightenment, Johann Georg Hamann; 
• a prayer of confession "for more difficult times" from Oswald Myconius (the successor to Oecolampadius in Basel)
• three pieces from the Oecolampadius corpus: 
• A Litany to God the Father (a clear attempt to reform the rosary in a more orthodox direction, this is a wonderful tool for commiting the life, work, and ministry of Jesus to memory)
• Questions and Answers for the Examination of Children (a child's catechism)
• Discourse at the Synod of Basel (1531), delivered not long before the Reformer's death and culminating in his own Profession of Faith.
• the opening and closing prayers of confession from the 1520 edition of Jodocus Windsheim's Confession of a Repenting Christian, to which Oecolampadius provided the preface. Earlier editions of this piece have roots going back to at least early 1517. It made a big impression on Oecolamapadius, who later wrote his own attempt to reform the penitential rite. 

These pieces by Windsheim—offered here only in partial translation for its 500th anniversary—surround his nine prayers of confession in response to the Ten Commandments (he responds to the ninth and tenth commandment with a single prayer), and this form in turn inspired my own eleven prayers of confession, offered here in the modern section of the book, in response to the Decalogue (one for the prologue and one each for the commandments) and with the current state of the church and the world in view. 

The modern section also includes four "scripture messages" or postils, if you will, consisting purely of biblical verses arranged in logical sequence and which may prove useful for either outreach or in lieu of a sermon where the services of a preacher are not available. With no pretensions of adding to the authoriatively confessional literature of the church, I have also included my own Twenty-four Theses as a personal confession of faith offered at such a time as this, in view of the social unrest of the age.

A Prayer of Confession in Response to the Ninth Commandment

"Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor." (Deut 5:20) 

God of Justice, 

you have prescribed an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

to punish false witnesses with the same punishment they wish 

to impose on those they malign and slander. 

 

Have mercy, O God! 

 

We confess the corruption of our human nature.

Condemning in others what we despise in ourselves,

we readily and thoughtlessly project onto our neighbors 

the evil we harbor within.

 

Quick to accuse, slow to confess,

eager to judge, reluctant to repent,

we say one thing and do another,

crafting a self-image that cannot withstand scrutiny

and will not be able to stand in the judgment.

 

Forgive our hypocrisy, O God. 

Forgive every careless and libelous word, 

every indulgence in gossip,

every smear, every slur, every disparagement of others.

 

Spirit of Truth,

you require honesty of your people

and love for our neighbors.

 

O give us courage 

to remove the logs and beams from our own eyes,

to think of others as better than ourselves, 

not only that we might avoid the punishment 

of the hypocrite and the false accuser,

but that we might embody the grace 

of the true Judge who refrains from judging,

and who bore the judgement for us in his death on the cross,

the Faithful and True Witness, 

your Son Jesus Christ

who taught us to pray, saying,

 

The Lord's Prayer

"Our Father, who art in heaven ..."

Our Father Knows (now on Kindle)

The Kindle edition of Our Father Knows: The Prayer that Jesus Taught is now available.

Our Father Knows: The Prayer That Jesus Taught

UPDATE (10-29-2016): Reissued today in print with several corrections.

  

ORIGINAL POST (03-16-2016): In the aftermath of Super Tumult, er, Tuesday, and before St. Patrick's Day sees everyone, shall we say, forgetting what St. Patrick stood for (well, hopefully not everyone), it seems like "3/16" may be a good day to publish a book, and not just any book, but a book on The Lord's Prayer. I suspect we need it — by which I mean "the Prayer" more than the book, but the book, too.

So, for those who share my conviction that we need to earnestly beseech our heavenly Father right about now — and indeed every day — let me introduce Our Father Knows: The Prayer that Jesus Taught. This short series of studies is the artifact of an adult Sunday School course I offered in early 2003. After my comprehensive exams and the submission of my dissertation proposal I had about a month before I could expect feedback on the proposal; given the chance to offer some adult ed, I thought I would try and tackle one of the chief catechetical "heads." Only once I got into it did I discover what a mammoth amount of literature there is on "the Prayer" — yes, the definite article is merited — so I pretty much stuck with first things first, namely, reading the petitions within the reverberations of the canon itself. The Foreword lists what are (to my mind) the chief secondary sources that a thorough study should take into account, if it were to venture beyond biblical study itself and into the history of Christian thought, interpretation, and preaching on the Lord's Prayer. It is quite possible I may have missed something important, especially since the recommended list of titles "For Further Reading" is admittedly light on commentaries. Including whole book commentaries would have added a level of research I did not and do not have the time to undertake, so let me refer any interested parties to the Biblical Studies department for that. All of which is to say, this was and is a quick study, prepared intensively but on the fly, without significant revision to what was first offered, despite the baker's dozen years that have since lapsed.

Perhaps you might consider using this for a Sunday school class or other adult ed event, or find in it inspiration for a sermon series on the Lord's Prayer. Sooner or later, and perhaps especially at this juncture, we need to remember the importance of catechesis, including catechetical preaching, do we not? [Where Year D is concerned, I have suggested Matthew 6:7-15 as the gospel lection for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, but I do think the petitions are well worth at least one sermon each.]

Meanwhile, for an added bonus, see the final pages where, in "An Eschatological Postscript," you will find a prayer composed of (relatively neglected) petitions, other things for and about which Jesus also said we should pray. Can you imagine what the good Lord might do if we were to actually start praying for such things?

May your faith be strengthened by this study and may those with whom you serve the Lord be well nourished by it as well. Blessings and peace in Christ to one and all.

Why the creed(s) in public worship?

Twenty-five years after releasing A Soundtrack for the Close of the Age with a simple, unadorned statement of "The Apostles' Creed" as the first track — probably the least successful marketing strategy of all time (of course, that was not the intent) — I ran across this statement that, better than I have ever been able to put into words, explains why the Creed deserved (and deserves) such a prominent place:

"A declaration of personal trust and allegiance is in reality a high form of worship; to recite a creed is no barren and dry test of orthodoxy; it is a loving outburst of a loyal heart, and a claim to receive the blessing promised to members of Christ, children of God, and heirs of heaven. The well-instructed Christian will on no account part with creeds as portions of public worship." — Bishop Harvey Goodwin, The Foundations of the Creed, p. 11; quoted in A. J. Worlledge, Prayer: The Oxford Library of Practical Theology, 2nd ed. (London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1902), p. 73

Prayers of Confession (General)

Here are some classic, general prayers of confession from the deep history of the church. The versions that appear here have been slightly adapted, updated or "corporatized," as the case may be, by yours truly. I hope you find them worth adding to your files and using in worship, probably in Ordinary Time. Meanwhile, if you find this sort of thing helpful, please copy and share the link with others and let them know what wonderful resources are to be found at The Year D Project. With warm wished for a blessed New Year to one and all. — TMS

§

O God, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins. 
Mercifully grant that we may be delivered from the bondage of sin, 
and that we may one day rejoice in perfect liberty 
in our very Fatherland, which is in heaven. Amen.

— Roman Breviary (adapted by TMS).

Almighty and merciful God,

the Fountain of all goodness,

who knows the thoughts of our hearts,

we confess that we have sinned against you,

and done evil in your sight.

Wash us, we pray, from the stains of our past sins,

and give us grace and power to put away all hurtful things;

that we, being delivered from the bondage of sin,

may bring forth worthy fruits of repentance.

O eternal Light, shine into our hearts.

O eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.

O eternal Power, be Thou our support.

Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance.

Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us.

Grant that, with all our hearts, and minds, and strength,

we may evermore seek your face;

and, in your infinite mercy,

bring us at last into your holy presence.

Strengthen us in our weakness, so that,

following in the footsteps of your blessed Son,

we may obtain your mercy, 
and enter into your promised joy. Amen.

— Alcuin of Tours (adapted by TMS)

Forgive our sins, O Lord. 

Forgive us the sins of our youth and the sins of our old age, 

the sins of the mind, the soul, the spirit, and the body;

forgive our secret and our whispering sins, 

our presumptuous and our crying sins, 

the sins we have done to please ourselves, 

and the sins we have done to please others. 

Forgive us those sins which we know, 

and those sins which we neither know nor remember; 

forgive them, O Lord; 

in your great goodness, forgive them all. Amen. 

— Private Devotions, 1560 

(adapted for corporate confession by TMS)

The Complete Series

    

Christmas with A Phenomenal Llama

It has been observed that a lot of stuff tends to lie downstream of culture. Well, here is one way to improve the culture of Christmas, and hopefully mitigate the legacy of one Clement Clarke Moore. If you are looking for a fresh angle on the Christmas story or for new pageant ideas, this is a sweet, delightful, imaginative story that is fun to read aloud. 

Ideas:

1. Check out the good reviews, and order copies early for your Sunday school teachers, educators, pageant planners. Here, under "From the Author," is a bit of background.

2. Order two readers' copies to break it into voices for a dramatic reading at Christmas.

3. Design costumes for one pastor (narrator), a lead llama (Gregory), St. Francis, Noah, a camel, reindeer, a donkey, cows, sheep, any number of other animals (lions, peacocks, monkeys), ... and of course, plenty of extra llamas.

4. Make sure to get a copy of the e-book so you can project the lovely illustrations for the congregation.

5. Schedule a fireside reading at home with the family or for a fellowship night.

6. Consider sending a copy to your families with children, or letting a copy serve as your Christmas card to the congregation. 

7. Visit A Phenomenal Llama on FB, give it a Like, or better yet: "Share."

8. Post a review on Amazon or your favorite online bookstore or book review site.

9. Spread the word to neighboring churches, pastors, parents, and friends.

10. Ask for your local bookstore to carry it.

Time to get a jump on Christmas. I hope you, you family, and your families of faith enjoy A Phenomenal Llama.

Second Sunday of Advent (Year B)

IN PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP [from WHEN HEAVEN STANDS OPEN: LERW, YEAR B]
We wait for you, little knowing that you wait for us to reach out.
We call to you, heedless of your voice in our ears.
We approach you, making no forward progress, but turning around,
we discover you have been with us all along.

Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship

Consisting of one RCL cycle, plus Year D ...

       

One colleague suggested issuing them in a slip case. Now that would be nice, wouldn't it!

An open invitation to the Church

Dear Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you, one and all, who are baptized in the name of the Triune God and who are called by "the name that is above all names." 

Far too many times we hear a call to repentance as though it were an insinuation that we ourselves are about to embark on a guilt trip that none of us wants to take; but only rarely—far too rarely—do we hear it and welcome it as a call to intercede in the priestly ministry of Christ, the ongoing ministry of reconciliation on behalf of a world that is, frankly, ignorant of spiritual things, biblically illiterate, and thoroughly deluded by any number of forces that are hostile to faith: sin, the flesh, the principalities of this present darkness, etc.

In light of the many daunting challenges facing the church and the nation at present, challenges arising on so many different fronts, but especially the fact that the nation and the world stand on the cusp of a major epidemic—Ebola—that has for decades been isolated to a remarkably small part of the world, I hope you will consider, whether you are overly familiar with or not at all acquainted with it, putting into practice this important and vital text from the Old Testament book of 2Chronicles:

"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (7:14). 

No doubt, if the Church were to do this and if the Lord were to relent and, with the breath of his mouth, instantaneously eradicate this virus from the entire world—may it be so!—the world would almost certainly disregard our efforts as silly, unnecessary, and superstitious; while if for some reason this plague were to continue to spread, the world would likely ridicule our prayers as ineffective. Either way, we have nothing to gain in the eyes of the world. But, in the eyes of the Lord, what we do now is an altogether different matter.

... if my people who are called by my name ...

As you know, this is a word not for unbelievers, who will not give a thought to any of this; rather, it is a word for the Church of both testaments: Jews and Christians alike.

... humble themselves ...

Let me encourage you to kneel if you are able, or at least bow your head, and perhaps lie down face first on the ground. Show the Lord, show heaven, that you mean it.

... pray ...

In many ways, any prayer will do that is reverent and directed to the Holy One whom we meet in the pages of the Bible, for it is faith and fellowship with us that God desires above all; but let me suggest general prayers of confession—lots of them—that apply not only to you, but to the whole church [see the Book of Common Prayer, The Book of Common Worship, Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion; and/or any volume of Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship]; add your specific confessions to express remorse not only for sins that offend you and your politics, but everything, including the sins that perhaps don't bother you so much, but which may cause others to stumble. Remember Bilbo's confession to Frodo: "I'm sorry for everything!" Let us speak thus to God! Grab a worship resource, one that offers multiple confessional prayers, and read as many as you can, and if possible, read them aloud.

... seek my face ...

Let God know that you desire the joy of his presence, the peace of restored fellowship, and the blessedness of his radiant glory. He will not refuse, for that is precisely what he desires with us.

... turn from their wicked ways ...

Commit to letting go those empty, vain, profane, offensive, self-destructive, selfish, hurtful habits that you have protected and reserved up to now. Remind yourself that God desires better for you, a better state of spiritual health, stronger faith, a purer heart, and a richer life—richer in the treasurers of the kingdom, not in the fleeting riches of this world. Remember that life is short, far too short to waste on ... waste.

The rest of this vital verse consists in a series of three promises: 

... then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Let those promises sink in. Let their goodness and our immeasurable need for them move you to your knees, to prayer, to confession, and to an earnest seeking of the Lord's face. 

Dismiss this open letter, if you must, as the ramblings of a pious old fool. I will gladly bear the caricature if it will move others to pray earnestly in faith and beseech the Lord for mercy. By all means, pray for those infected and exposed to this virus; and absolutely, pray for the CDC, NIH, WHO, etc., that their efforts to contain and stop Ebola altogether would be successful, and, mind you, in a way that does not create other (and perhaps worse) collateral consequences. But, as you well know, "unless the Lord (does it), those who (labor for it do so) in vain" (Psalm 127).

God be with you all, for "our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth." Let us delight the saints of heaven with a demonstration of the confessional intercession of the saints on earth. Yes, we saints too have sins to confess. But we are uniquely the ones who know we are to confess them, and we are the ones who have been given the Spirit as the Lord of the conscience so that we may respond to such a call as this, at such a time as this.

Yours in Christ,

TMS

A Phenomenal Llama

OK, this has nothing to do with Year D, but it does — in the end — have something to do with worship. No, the fantastical elements in this story will not be found in Year D, or even in the biblical canon, but if you can bear with a bit of absurdity in the spirit of Christmas, perhaps you will enjoy my new book, beautifully illustrated by artist Danielle Baudouin.

Available at CreateSpace:

A Phenomenal Llama: A Tall Christmas Tale for Children of All Ages

On Amazon:

and Kindle:

 

And make sure to visit, "like," and "share" Gregory's FB page. (It's time to put this reindeer thing to rest, isn't it?)

What? Another book on heaven?

Well, yes! Here's a handy flier from the publisher of my LERW series, with description, blurbs, and contact information for anyone who would like to request a review copy. Feel free to print, display, and share. Meanwhile, paperback and/or e-book copies can be ordered here.

Kneeling with Giants, by Gary Neal Hansen

For several years now, one of Dubuque Seminary's most popular and important elective courses has been Gary Neal Hansen's course on prayer. Now, finally, his long-awaited work on prayer, Kneeling with Giants: Learning to Pray with History's Best Teachers, is in the pipeline. Due out in 2012, this one is bound to be a classic of Christian devotion. Well done, Gary!


UPDATE: It's out and flying off the shelves ...





Gary's fine work on Calvin as exegete can also be found here:


    ... and here: