Hello friends and welcome to this next recording of Psalm 78.
So this is part two.
I'm recording outside so please welcome the sounds of nature,
Of life going by as part of this meditation.
As we begin I invite you to be comfortable to settle into your space,
To settle into your own being,
Your own body,
To gather yourself in from the day and to receive the grace to be here and to be present in this moment.
This is sacred space and we welcome the beloved,
We turn towards love and in these moments of settling I invite you to notice what you need,
To notice how you arrive into this Lectio Divina and to spend a few moments receiving,
Asking and receiving what you need in this moment.
So as we come to part two of Psalm 78 I'm going to read all of it through once and in this first reading simply let the words come,
Let them come as a soft and gentle rain.
Did they not know how their rebellions separated them from the source of all that is.
How often the people lost faith on the journey,
Not trusting in the saving power of the beloved.
Even so their complaints were answered with compassion and the doors to heaven opened raining down their sustenance the very grain of heaven.
They ate of the bread of angels,
Food was sent in abundance.
The east wind blew in the heavens and the south wind was called forth.
Out of heaven's abundance came the winged birds,
As many as the sand of the seas.
They fell right in their midst all around their habitation and the people ate and were well filled.
All that they craved was given to them,
Yet justice prevailed,
Retribution was made even as their mouths were still filled with food.
To restore the balance the stronger among them died,
The strongest in their midst.
In spite of all this the people continued to separate themselves from love,
Their eyes and ears are closed.
So they lived their days in fear and their years in terror.
When they fell they sought the Most High,
They repented and sought help earnestly.
They remembered then the rock who was their strength,
The Almighty One their Redeemer.
Flattery poured from their tongues,
Their hearts were not filled with love,
They were not true to the covenant.
Still the Beloved being compassionate forgave their hypocrisy and gave them new life.
How patient was the Eternal Lover,
How blind to their fickle hearts.
Knowing that they believed themselves to be but flesh,
A wind that passes and comes not again.
How often the people rebelled against love in the wilderness,
Grieving the Beloved with their distance.
I'm going to now focus in on just a couple of lines from this psalm and read them twice more.
So notice any words or phrases from these two lines that capture your attention.
Still the Beloved being compassionate forgave their hypocrisy and gave them new life.
How patient was the Eternal Lover.
As I read those words again let them bring their gift,
Let them connect with you where you need them,
Bringing their offering,
Their invitation.
Still the Beloved being compassionate forgave their hypocrisy and gave them new life.
How patient was the Eternal Lover.
I invite you to linger with these words to let them bring the fullness of their gift and as I leave you I'm going to read them once more.
Still the Beloved being compassionate forgave their hypocrisy and gave them new life.
How patient was the Eternal Lover.
Be blessed my friends.
Amen.
