...give thanks to the lord, call on her name...

As a rule, when I speak about God I refrain from applying gender.

For the past two years, I have been transcribing the Psalm into journals. I don't do this every day because there is a lot of Bible to read! I have never been good at memorizing Scripture so this practice has allowed me to feel the Scriptures. It has helped in the sermon writing process because I can more easily identify with the emotional side of what is often a highly academic endeavor. The process reminds me that God may be all-knowing, but God is also all-emotional!

Today I transcribed the first 11 verses of Psalm 105. Normally I write word-for-word what is in the New Revised Standard Version translation. I decided at verse 3 to replace all he, his, him, with she, hers, her. I was surprised by the feelings that arose in me. I caught myself saying things, like...

"A woman would never say, "...the word that he commanded. It sounds so harsh! Women aren't harsh!"

Truthfully though, that's asinine! As I woman I command, I judge... I can be harsh. We all can be.

But going back I see that this particular psalm mixes what I perceive to be soft (feminine words-not that they are) and hard (masculine words-not that they are). I may have to go back and look at the other chapters I have transcribed. Perhaps this will be my next endeavor when I finish this more than two-year task.

But check out this verse - you'll see what I mean, I hope:

He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded.

Now read it like this:

She is mindful of her covenant forever, of the word she commanded...


It is reminiscent of how I interact with my daughter. I am mindful of her well-being, the promise I've made to God to protect her and love her, but at the same time, I have to be a disciplinarian - which often seems harsh and ugly. The verse though is nurturing while being authoritative.

This is our God - a nurturer with expectations for our well-being because she loves us.