Welcome,
Friends,
To this Lectio Divina on Psalm 102.
You are welcome here just as you are.
Nothing is demanded.
There is nothing to fix.
You are simply here,
Right now.
Welcome.
Welcome.
Give yourself some moments to settle in and become comfortable.
Softening,
Letting go,
Allowing.
And begin to open your heart,
Whatever that means to you,
To open to the beloved,
To open to love,
To open to what wants to be given to you in these words.
This is a long psalm.
I'm going to read the whole thing once and then offer a few of the verses twice more.
So as I read the whole thing,
Simply settle in and let the words come.
You may notice yourself drawn to one or two of the phrases.
Simply receive and let the words come as a gift.
Psalm 102.
Hear my prayer,
O merciful one.
Let my cry come to you.
I long to see your face in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me.
Be quick to answer in the day when I call.
For the days pass away like smoke.
A fire within consumes me.
My heart is broken.
The fragments scattered to the winds.
I have lost my appetite.
My groaning never ceases.
Day and night I call to you.
I lay and wait,
Expecting vultures to devour me.
Dry and barren as the desert sands.
I lie awake like a lone bird on the rooftop.
All the day my fears well up,
Threatening to overwhelm me.
Bread turns to ashes in my mouth.
And tears mingle with my drink.
Because I feel so far from you,
Fear separates me from your presence.
My days are like an evening shadow.
I wither away like grass.
Yet you,
O comforter,
Are ever near.
Your kindness is made known to all generations.
You answer the prayers of those who cry to you.
Come,
Melt every heart.
The appointed time is nigh.
Those who trust in you find solace for their souls.
Tears soon turn to joy.
All who reverence and honour the beloved are nourished and held by love.
For you,
O healer,
Invite us to wholeness.
To be co-creators along love's way.
You hear the cries of the afflicted and answer their prayer.
Yes,
Beware,
Our thoughts are also our prayers.
May they be for the well-being of all.
Let this be recorded for all generations to come,
So that a people yet unborn may praise the beloved.
That you come down from the holy mountain to live in every receptive heart.
You hear the groans of the prisoners,
Liberating those doomed to die.
Let all nations declare the glory of your holy name and gather together in peace to honour the creator of all.
Though my strength be broken in midcourse and my days shortened,
I cry to you.
Would that this cup be taken from thee,
You who are everlasting.
Yet into your hands I commend my soul.
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens to reflect your glory.
Even though they perish,
Your love will endure and you will raise us up to new life.
Our lives are like the seasons and they pass away.
Yet you remain constant and sure.
Your years have no end.
All generations will call upon you until all people return to your heart in the realm of love.
So I'm going to return now to a few verses taken from this beautiful psalm.
As I speak these words,
Notice any of them that capture your attention.
Yet you,
O Comforter,
Are ever near.
Your kindness is made known to all generations.
You answer the prayers of those who cry to you.
Come,
Melt every heart.
The appointed time is nigh.
Those who trust in you find solace for their souls.
Tears soon turn to joy.
All who reverence and honor the beloved are nourished and held by love.
For you,
O Healer,
Invite us to wholeness,
To be co-creators along love's way.
As I read those words once more,
Welcome them into the deeper places of yourself.
Notice your response.
Open to what they're offering you and how they're connecting to your life at this moment.
Yet you,
O Comforter,
Are ever near.
Your kindness is made known to all generations.
You answer the prayers of those who cry to you.
Come,
Melt every heart.
The appointed time is nigh.
Those who trust in you find solace for their souls.
Tears soon turn to joy.
All who reverence and honor the beloved are nourished and held by love.
For you,
O Healer,
Invite us to wholeness,
To be co-creators along love's way.
There is so much in this psalm,
So much depth,
Lament,
Comfort,
Hope.
So please return to listen to the whole of it again if you want to.
Return to those few verses and re-listen.
You may want to journal or write or stay in the quietness as those words or phrases that you were drawn to bring the depth of their gift.
And may you find solace for your soul.
May your tears soon turn to joy.
And may you know yourself a co-creator with divine love.
Be blessed,
My friends.
Know yourself held in the tenderness of the beloved.
Amen.
