Video: Let the Floods Clap Their Hands: An Ecological/Feminist Reading of the Enthronement Psalms—Fall 2018 Lund Lecture

In session 1 of the Fall 2018 Nils W. Lund Memorial Lectures, Dr. deClaissé-Walford invites listeners to read the enthronement psalms (especially Psalms 93–99) through an ecological and feminist lens. She argues that these psalms—traditionally understood as celebrations of God’s sovereign rule over all creation—also implicitly challenge anthropocentric readings by giving voice to nonhuman creation. In her interpretation, ecological motifs (rivers clapping hands, hills singing) are not merely poetic embellishments but theological witnesses: creation itself participates in divine praise, and thus must be taken seriously as a subject, not an object, in the biblical economy.

She also weaves in feminist critique, highlighting how reading from marginalized perspectives can expose assumptions about dominion, agency, and relationality. She suggests that a feminist posture attends to the often-overlooked “seams” in the Psalter—not only between human and nonhuman but between tradition and silence, voice and vulnerability. Such a reading does not weaken the enthronement theme, but rather deepens it by insisting that God’s reign must account for all creatures and that human stewardship must be accountable to creation itself.

Timestamps

• Introduction to enthronement psalms and their canonical place 3:10

• Ecological imagery in the enthronement psalms (rivers, hills, creation) 9:45

• Feminist critique of dominion language 16:20

• Voice and silence: giving creation a “word” 22:55

• Seams, transitions, and canonical connections 29:30

• Implications for theology, ethics, and stewardship 35:50

• Summary and invitation to faithful ecological reading 42:15