Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina on Psalm 57.
An opportunity to receive these words and let them bring their gift.
I invite you to arrive into this space by noticing your breath.
Following the inhale and the exhale.
Maybe taking some deeper,
Wider breaths.
And allowing those breaths to bring your attention to your body away from the head,
From the busyness it contains.
Letting go of the day so far and of all that it's contained.
Knowing that in these moments,
Right here,
Right now,
This is all that's needed to be here,
To rest,
To receive,
To be still.
You are welcome here,
Exactly as you are.
You are met with love,
With tenderness,
With kindness.
You are seen and known.
I'm going to read the whole Psalm once and then pick out a portion of it to read twice more.
Psalm 57.
Be merciful to me,
O beloved.
I open my heart to you,
For in you is love and wisdom.
In the shadow of your wings I will find peace,
Until the fears that bind me are transformed.
I cry to the source of all life,
To the eternal one whose plan is wholeness for all.
Find your angels to awaken me,
Put to rest all that keeps me in darkness.
Help me to live the oneness we are eternally with love consciousness.
I lie at night in the midst of dragons,
Fears that seek to overpower me.
They rise up to taunt me,
They seek to control my life.
The exalted,
O Holy One,
Creator of the galaxies,
Let your glory,
Your love and light embrace all the earth.
Fears have woven a web like a spider that seeks to entrap and eat me.
Fears live within me gnawing at my bones.
They bring only suffering,
Despair and paralysis.
Yet in my heart I know,
Beloved,
Your love is the healing balm for fear.
I will sing and make melody,
Awaken my soul,
Awaken me to love song.
I yearn to co-create with you.
I give thanks to you among the peoples,
O heart of my heart.
I sing praises to you among the nations,
For your enduring love and light fills the universe and even makes a home in my heart.
The exalted,
O Holy One,
Creator of the galaxies,
For your glory reigns throughout all the universe.
So,
I'm going to return to some of the verses at the beginning of the psalm and read them twice through.
On this reading I invite you to notice any words or phrases that capture your attention.
Be merciful to me,
O beloved.
I open my heart to you,
For in you is love and wisdom.
In the shadow of your wings I will find peace.
Feel the fears that bind me are transformed.
I cry to the source of all life,
To the eternal one whose plan is wholeness for all.
Send your angels to awaken me,
Put to rest all that keeps me in darkness.
Help me to live the oneness we are eternally with love consciousness.
And on this third and final reading I invite you to notice those words or phrases again,
To welcome them.
To let them bring you their gift.
To notice how they make you feel and respond.
To receive them into those places of need at this time.
And to let them come as a balm,
As an ointment.
To welcome them to minister to you in the deeper parts of your being.
Be merciful to me,
O beloved.
I open my heart to you,
For in you is love and wisdom.
In the shadow of your wings I will find peace,
Until the fears that bind me are transformed.
I cry to the source of all life,
To the eternal one whose plan is wholeness for all.
Send your angels to awaken me,
Put to rest all that keeps me in darkness.
Help me to live the oneness we are eternally with love consciousness.
If you want to linger with these words I invite you to re-listen,
To return to them.
To continue to welcome them to bring their gift.
May you be blessed.
May you know hope and peace and love accompanying you in every moment.
Amen.
