Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina on Psalm 59.
Recording outside,
So welcome the sounds of nature,
Of life as part of this meditation.
As you arrive,
Get comfortable,
Settle in,
Take some deeper,
Wider breaths and begin to welcome rest and stillness.
Receive the grace to be here in this moment,
The grace to receive these words as a gift.
I invite you to let go of your day so far and of what's to come,
To know that you can attend to all of that in a little while.
And for now you can be present and receive what these words have to offer you.
Know as you come to this Lectio Divina that you are loved and seen and that you are met with kindness and compassion.
I'm going to read the whole Psalm once and then return to a section twice more.
Awaken me from my fears,
O my beloved.
Give me strength to face them as they rise up within me.
Let your love envelop me and direct my thoughts to peaceful paths.
Where I have erred in thought and spoken in anger,
Where I have acted without love,
I ask for forgiveness.
Rouse yourself,
Come to my aid,
Heed my cry.
For you are the compassionate one,
Comforter to all who ask.
You come to those who seek you,
O mender of broken hearts.
Create a new heart within me.
I long to sleep at night in peace,
To awaken to a new dawn.
Too long have my fears,
My guilt pursued me,
Whispering lies in my ears and evoking beguiling images of illusionary darkness.
Yes,
In you,
O my beloved,
I find rest.
I am strong.
You remember not my erring ways.
Your forgiveness is forever.
O my strength,
I will sing praises to you.
For you are my rock.
With steadfast love,
You stand with me.
You teach me to face my fears.
They disappear in the light.
Cast them not out,
But help me face them.
Give me courage to let them go one by one.
O comforter my strength.
Let me make amends and start anew.
Help me grow in wisdom and understanding.
For the havoc that my fears wield within me turns to chaos in my life,
Wounding others and leading to a living death.
Then,
As I become free of fear,
I will live in harmony.
Love will shine through and people will know that you live in my heart.
At night I will rest in the heart of the beloved.
My days will be guided by love.
My thoughts will become prayers offered from the silence deep within.
O how I will sing of your kindness.
I will sing aloud of your love for all.
For you have been my rock and my refuge in the days of my distress.
O blessed heart,
I sing my songs of love to you.
For you,
O beloved,
Have renewed my life.
You have set me free to live with gratitude and joy.
So on this second reading,
I'm going to return to just a few verses.
And I invite you to notice any words or phrases from these verses that stand out to you and capture your attention.
Rouse yourself.
Come to my aid.
Heed my cry.
For you are the compassionate one,
Comforter to all who ask.
You come to those who seek you.
O mender of broken hearts,
Create a new heart within me.
I long to sleep at night in peace,
To awaken to a new dawn.
Too long have my fears,
My guilt pursued me,
Whispering lies in my ears and evoking beguiling images of illusionary darkness.
Yes,
In you,
O my beloved,
I find rest.
I am strong.
You remember not my erring ways.
Your forgiveness is forever.
O my strength,
I will sing praises to you.
For you are my rock.
I'm going to read those lines once more.
And I invite you to welcome the words or phrases that stood out to you,
To bring you their gift,
Their offering,
Their invitation,
To bring you what you need in this moment.
Rouse yourself.
Come to my aid.
Heed my cry.
For you are the compassionate one,
Comforter to all who ask.
You come to those who seek you.
O mender of broken hearts,
Create a new heart within me.
I long to sleep at night in peace,
To awaken to a new dawn.
Too long have my fears,
My guilt pursued me,
Whispering lies in my ears and evoking beguiling images of illusionary darkness.
Yes,
In you,
O my beloved,
I find rest.
I am strong.
You remember not my erring ways.
Your forgiveness is forever.
O my strength,
I will sing praises to you.
For you are my rock.
Do re-listen to the whole psalm if you want to and return to those few lines and verses.
I trust that they will be a gift to you and will bring you what you need at this time.
I trust that peace and love,
Goodness and faithfulness will go with you.
Amen.
.
.
