Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina on Psalm 39.
I'm reading from Nan Merrill's book,
Psalms for Praying,
An Invitation to Wholeness.
As we come to this Psalm,
I invite you to stillness,
Sitting comfortably,
Spending a few moments arriving into this space and this moment.
Allowing yourself to sink into the chair or the floor.
Noticing your body.
Following the inhale and the exhale.
And as you do,
Welcoming stillness.
Allow the day so far to fall away.
Knowing that nothing is required right now,
But to simply be here,
Open and present to this moment.
We welcome love and kindness to journey with us through these words.
I'm going to read this Psalm three times.
On this first reading,
Simply let the words come without attaching to any in particular.
I prayed,
Be thou my voice that I may not err with my tongue.
I will remain mute so long as my fears assail me.
I was silent in my ignorance.
I held my peace to no avail.
My distress grew worse.
My heart burned within me.
As I mused,
The fire burned.
Finally,
I spoke with my tongue.
Oh,
Loving presence,
You are with us to the end.
Whatever the measure of our days,
Our life passes by as the blinking of an eye.
For the gift of life fades too soon away.
Yet how precious are we in your sight?
Surely your plan for us is written on our hearts.
Surely your angels stand ready to guide us on our way.
Surely there is nothing to fear for you abide within us.
You await patiently for us to awaken to your love.
And now,
Oh loving friend,
For what do I wait?
My hope is in your guidance.
Forgive me for all my mistakes.
Let me not walk in ignorance.
I stand silent before you.
I hold my tongue.
To you,
I turn in repentance.
Remove the blemishes from my heart.
For I am weary of guilt.
When you blot out the darkness of sin,
Burning it with refining fire.
Surely I am made new,
Redeemed by your love.
Hear my prayer,
Oh listening heart.
Give ear to my cry,
Wash away my tears with your peace.
For I am but a passing guest,
A sojourner on this earth as in all generations.
Look upon me with mercy,
That I may know the joy of living in the realm of love.
Now and in the life to come.
Amen.
On this second reading,
I invite you to notice any words or phrases that stand out to you and capture your attention.
I prayed,
Be thou my voice,
That I may not err with my tongue.
I will remain mute,
So long as my fears assail me.
I was silent in my ignorance.
I held my peace to no avail.
My distress grew worse.
My heart burned within me.
As I mused,
The fire burned.
Finally,
I spoke with my tongue.
Oh loving presence,
You are with us to the end.
Whatever the measure of our days,
Our life passes by as the blinking of an eye.
For the gift of life fades too soon away.
Yet how precious are we in your sight.
Surely your plan for us is written on our hearts.
Surely your angels stand ready to guide us on our way.
Surely there is nothing to fear.
For you abide within us.
You await patiently for us to awaken to your love.
And now,
Oh loving friend,
For what do I wait?
My hope is in your guidance.
Forgive me for all my mistakes.
Let me not walk in ignorance.
I stand silent before you.
I hold my tongue.
To you I turn in repentance.
Remove the blemishes from my heart,
For I am weary of guilt.
When you blot out the darkness of sin,
Burning it with refining fire,
Surely I am made new,
Redeemed by your love.
Hear my prayer,
Oh listening heart.
Give ear to my cry.
Wash away my tears with your peace.
For I am but a passing guest,
A sojourner on this earth as in all generations.
Look upon me with mercy,
That I may know the joy of living in the realm of love.
Now and in the life to come.
Amen.
On this third and final reading,
I invite you to welcome those words or phrases that stood out to you.
To minister to you what you need.
To bring you their offering.
To allow them to stir you,
To invite you.
Receive them into your being.
And receive the gift that they offer.
I prayed,
Be thou my voice,
That I may not err with my tongue.
I will remain mute,
So long as my fears assail me.
I was silent in my ignorance.
I held my peace to no avail.
My distress grew worse,
My heart burned within me.
As I mused,
The fire burned.
Finally I spoke with my tongue.
Oh loving presence,
You are with us to the end.
Whatever the measure of our days,
Our life passes by as the blinking of an eye.
For the gift of life fades too soon away.
Yet how precious are we in your sight.
Surely your plan for us is written on our hearts.
Surely your angels stand ready to guide us on our way.
Surely there is nothing to fear,
For you abide within us.
You await patiently for us to awaken to your love.
And now,
Oh loving friend,
For what do I wait?
My hope is in your guidance.
Forgive me for all my mistakes.
Let me not walk in ignorance.
I stand silent before you.
I hold my tongue.
To you I turn in repentance.
Remove the blemishes from my heart,
For I am weary of guilt.
When you blot out the darkness of sin,
Burning it with refining fire,
Surely I am made new,
Redeemed by your love.
Hear my prayer,
Oh listening heart.
Give ear to my cry.
Wash away my tears with your peace.
For I am but a passing guest,
A sojourner on this earth as in all generations.
Look upon me with mercy,
That I may know the joy of living in the realm of love.
Now and in the life to come.
Amen.
With blessing,
Grace and much love to you.
