Welcome,
Friends,
To part two of Psalm 105.
Begin to settle and arrive,
Gathering yourself into this moment,
Letting the day so far fall away,
Letting what's to come fall away.
Let yourself be here,
Knowing that love,
The divine,
Is here.
Notice how you arrive into this moment,
What you bring with you,
What's present,
Acknowledging how you are right now,
Knowing that it matters.
Breathe and soften,
Create a welcome within your being for these words.
As we come to part two of this Psalm,
I'm going to read it all the way through once and then focus in on a few verses.
The second part of Psalm 105.
O divine presence,
As we surrender our hearts to you,
Teach us to be worthy of trust.
O that what we think and speak might be in accord with our highest aspirations,
That our faces might shine with openness,
Reflecting integrity and honesty within,
That we would choose to live in peace and harmony,
Our decisions made in accordance with love.
Upon the path of trust,
O friends,
We need not judge ourselves or others,
For as we reverence all life,
The beauty and unity of diversity will be seen.
Gentle us,
O compassionate one,
That we tread the earth lightly and with grace,
Spreading peace,
Goodness and love,
Without harm to any creature,
For in gentle serenity is strength and assurance,
Confusion and suspicion find no home here.
In all things may we be grateful,
Our hearts open to joy.
O mighty counsellor,
Speak to us within our hearts,
Let your voice be heard.
And as we listen and heed your way,
Joy will be our song of thanks.
As you lead us into the silence,
We become friends with solitude.
With trust in you,
Our lives become simple,
Assurance and peace leaving no room for fear.
All that we have is gift from you,
O gracious beloved,
All that we are is yours as well.
May we come to see that all we give to others,
We give to ourselves and you.
As I read a few verses,
Notice any words or phrases that are capturing your attention.
Gentle us,
O compassionate one,
That we tread the earth lightly and with grace,
Spreading peace,
Goodness and love,
Without harm to any creature,
For in gentle serenity is strength and assurance,
Confusion and suspicion find no home here.
In all things may we be grateful,
Our hearts open to joy.
As we return to those verses one last time,
Let any of the words or phrases continue to bring their gift.
Let them settle in your heart,
In your body.
Become aware of what they're offering you,
Of what they want to bring you and of how you want to respond to them.
Gentle us,
O compassionate one,
That we tread the earth lightly and with grace,
Spreading peace,
Goodness and love,
Without harm to any creature,
For in gentle serenity is strength and assurance,
Confusion and suspicion find no home here.
In all things may we be grateful,
Our hearts open to joy.
May you go in gentle serenity.
May you know yourself held in tender love.
Amen.
