Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina on Psalm 77.
As you may be able to hear I'm recording outside.
Please welcome the sounds of nature,
Maybe the odd car might go past in the lane,
An aeroplane may go overhead or the dog may make some snuffling noises.
Please welcome everything you hear as part of this meditation.
Let everything belong.
I invite you to come to a comfortable position either sitting or lying down in a way that you can be attentive and relaxed.
Spend a few moments arriving simply being here in this moment with no demands or expectations.
You're simply here just as you are turning up and the Beloved welcomes you.
The Beloved finds you here.
Let whatever needs to fall away to fall away and notice what remains that needs tending to as you listen to these words.
I'm going to read the whole of the psalm once and then return to some verses two or three more times.
Psalm 77 from Nan Merrill's book Praying the Psalms.
I cry aloud to you,
O friend,
To the eternal listener,
That I might be heard.
In the day of trouble I seek the Beloved.
In the night my hand is stretched out in prayer.
My soul yearns to be comforted.
I think of the Beloved and I moan.
I meditate and my spirit is weak.
You trouble me and I cannot find peace.
I am so fearful I cannot sleep.
I am so filled with fantasies I cannot speak out.
How well I remember years past when you were a companion close by.
I commune with my heart all through the night.
I meditate,
My spirit seeking its friend.
Will you abandon me forever and leave me comfortless in my distress?
Where is your steadfast love that made my soul to sing?
Are your promises empty that I feel so alone?
Where is the comforter to ease this emptiness?
How have I offended you,
O friend,
That I am so alone?
And I wonder,
Is it those walls of fear and guilt that separate me from the very heart of my heart?
I call to mind the closeness of my friend.
Yes,
I remember the joy of the Beloved's presence.
I contemplate in the silence,
Recalling how you led me along the way.
For your way,
O Beloved,
Is holy.
There is no other like you.
You are the one who will bring us to wholeness.
You manifest your love to all who call upon you.
With you the peoples are redeemed,
The nations brought to peace.
When our fears sense you,
O Beloved,
When our doubts encounter your love,
They are afraid and attack.
Our eyes pour forth oceans of tears.
Our countenance grows cloudy.
We hide behind walls of resistance.
The power of your love seems too much for us.
Your light unveils the secrets hidden in our heart.
Can you wonder that we tremble?
Yet you stand beside us as we walk through our fears to the path of wholeness and love.
Though our footsteps are unsure,
You send the counsellor as a guide to lead us on the road to peace,
Truth and love.
I'm now going to pick out a few verses from the psalm and as I read these through the first time,
I invite you to notice any that capture your attention.
It may be one word or a whole phrase.
Notice what lands in your heart.
I call to mind the closeness of my friend.
Yes,
I remember the joy of the Beloved's presence.
I contemplate in the silence,
Recalling how you led me along the way.
For your way,
O Beloved,
Is holy.
There is no other like you.
You are the one who will bring us to wholeness.
You manifest your love to all who call upon you.
With you,
The peoples are redeemed,
The nations brought to peace.
This second reading gives you the opportunity to continue to notice and savour that word or phrase.
Begin to become aware of what it might be offering you or inviting and how it's making you feel and respond in your body,
In your heart.
I call to mind the closeness of my friend.
Yes,
I remember the joy of the Beloved's presence.
I contemplate in the silence,
Recalling how you led me along the way.
For your way,
O Beloved,
Is holy.
There is no other like you.
You are the one who will bring us to wholeness.
You manifest your love to all who call upon you.
With you,
The peoples are redeemed,
The nations brought to peace.
On this final reading,
Let that word or phrase take root.
Let it bring its gift,
Its offering.
Allow it to firmly settle within you so that as you leave this meditation,
It stays with you and continues to bring to you all that's needed and offered within it.
I call to mind the closeness of my friend.
Yes,
I remember the joy of the Beloved's presence.
I contemplate in the silence,
Recalling how you led me along the way.
For your way,
O Beloved,
Is holy.
There is no other like you.
You are the one who will bring us to wholeness.
You manifest your love to all who call upon you.
With you,
The peoples are redeemed,
The nations brought to peace.
I invite you to linger,
To stay a while longer,
To write or journal and continue to be with the word or phrase.
May you be blessed.
May you know peace and rest.
And may you know the closeness of your friend and the joy of the Beloved's presence.
Amen.
