Answer the Phone (2)

Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.  Psalm 88:1 (English)  NASB Cried out – “The phone’s ringing.  Answer it!”  Do you find it difficult not to answer a call?  Are you annoyed with people who just let the phone ring but don’t pick up?  For decades…

Tears on Your Shoulder (2)

Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.  Psalm 88:1 (English)  NASB Lord, the God – Make sure you realize why both of these words are found at the beginning of this poem.  YHVH, of course, and ʾĕlōhîm.  Today we consider both of these as designations of…

Sing It Again (with Additions)

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.  Psalm 88:1 (Hebrew) Music director – We investigated this unusual psalm about three years ago (perhaps you remember).  At the time I didn’t know the “frightening emotional darkness in [this] psalm that is absent…

Answer the Phone

Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.  Psalm 88:1 (English)  NASB Cried out – “The phone’s ringing.  Answer it!”  Do you find it difficult not to answer a call?  Are you annoyed with people who just let the phone ring but don’t pick up?  For decades…

Tears on Your Shoulder

Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.  Psalm 88:1 (English)  NASB Lord, the God – Make sure you realize why both of these words are found at the beginning of this poem.  YHVH, of course, and ʾĕlōhîm.  Today we consider both of these as designations of…

Sing It Again

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.  Psalm 88:1 (Hebrew) Music director – Of course you know that many of the psalms (mizmôt) are really lyrics for songs.  No news there.  But some of these songs are particularly interesting—and troubling.  This…

Who Died?

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.  Psalm 88:1 (Hebrew text – NASB) Sons of Korah – Our story begins with the rebellion of Korah against Moses’ authority.  The event is recorded in Numbers 16 and again in Numbers 26. But there…