Praying with the psalms by Sli Nua

Praying with the Psalms

Prologue The Psalms are personal. They were written by a real human being or beings who lived and grew and aged and struggled and suffered and enjoyed and … left a very rich memory and resource. The psalms are songs, poems and prayers of deep feeling, insight and wonder. They are a lot more reckless, risky, astonishing and liberating than we might initially think. The Psalter has shaped how we use language and think more than we might realise. Recited, sung, mused over and digested by countless millions over thousands of years they possess a life of their own. Even the ‘cursing’ psalms or verses must be seen in this way. We may not like what we are reading or even reciting but that’s human life divinely inspired sounds and looks like. In this e-booklet I have brought together some verses from the Psalms that resonate, in particular, with me. I have grouped the verses by theme using, normally, a verb as the title. The choice of the ‘Grail Translation’ of the Psalms (and associated numbering which may be a little confusing to some readers) is deliberate. This is what ‘I grew up with’. Moreover, I had the privilege of being a member of a monastic community for four years some decades ago. During that time I sang, in community, the entire psalter every two weeks divided into days and hours and with seven offices a day. So, the ‘Grail’ psalter is in my system. I must apologise, in advance, for any typos. This is a work under construction. I welcome suggestions and comments (tomhealy50@eircom.net). INDEX Affirming Ageing In Anguish Asking (intercession) Beauty Consoling Courage Preparing for Death and Resurrection Desire Discerning Discipleship In the Evening Flourishing Forgiven Healing 1

Hoping Humbling EnJoying Liberating Listening A Loving God Mercy In the Morning Natural world Patience Peace Praising Presence A Protecting God Repenting Seeking Being Sent (Mission) Steadfast Thanking Trusting Uniting Victory in persecution Vocation Wholeness Wisdom (and counsel) Witnessing Working Loving the whole World

Affirming Psalm 30:18 ‘Let me not be put to shame for I call you’ God affirms our dignity, our self-worth and our esteem. We don’t depend on others for these qualities.

Ageing Psalm 70:9 ‘Do not reject me now that I am old; when my strength fails do not forsake me.’ In every season of life we can call upon the Lord even when strength of body and mind might fail. Psalm 70:18 ‘Now that I am old and grey-headed, do not forsake me, God.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘You may be grey-headed but you still have some hair left so why complain!’ 

In Anguish Psalm 4:2 “When I call, answer me, O God of justice; from anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!” Psalm 4:4 “It is the Lord who grants favours to those whom he loves; the Lord hears me whenever I call him.” There are times and occasions when the invisible hand and presence of God makes a crucial difference. We may not know it at the time. We should never tire of asking, seeking and knocking on the door of God’s heart. Psalm 6:3-5 ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength; Lord, heal me, my body is racked; my soul is racked with pain. But you, O Lord...how long? Return, Lord, rescue my soul. Save me in your merciful love’ When all seems hopeless and lost it is then that God acts. Our cries of desperation are heard. We only have to trust and put one foot forward. Psalm 7:2 ‘Lord God, I take refuge in you. From my pursuer save me and rescue me’ Taking refuge until the storms of destruction pass by. Safe in the hands of the One who saves us, rescues us because He loves us. Psalm 9.2:1 ‘Lord, why do you stand afar off and hide yourself in times of distress?’ There are times when we have to complain! Psalm 10:1 ‘In the Lord I have taken my refuge.’ In God alone is my soul at rest. Psalm 12: 2-3 ‘‘How long, O Lord, will you forget me? How long will you hide your face? How long must I bear grief in my soul, this sorrow in my heart day and night? How long shall my enemy prevail?’’ When at the end or our tether miracles happen. Psalm 17:4-6 ‘The Lord is worthy of all praise, when I call I am saved from my foes. The waves of death rose about me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the snares of the grave entangled me; the traps of death confronted me. In my anguish I called to the Lord; I cried to God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.’ In moments of darkness and despair we must call on the name of the Lord. He will deliver us no matter what is happening in our lives. Psalm 17:20 5

‘He brought me forth into freedom, he saved me because he loved me.’ And the truth will set us free. Freedom is the price and the reward of obedience to God’s ways. Psalm 19:2 ‘May the Lord answer in time of trial; may the name of Jacob's God protect you.’ To be protected and safe is a deep human need. In anguish, pain and trial we cry out to the name of Jacob’s God and He will protect us. Psalm 21:2-3 ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? You are far from my plea and the cry of my distress. O my God, I call by day and you give no reply; I call by night and I find no peace. These words were uttered by Jesus on the cross. Psalm 21 was etched on his heart and mind. Yet, the Psalm continues in an overwhelming vain of hope and trust from verse 4 onwards. At times we nearly despair. But, our questioning has a sequel. Psalm 21:12 ‘Do not leave me alone in my distress; Come close, there is none else to help.’ ‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him’ (John 8:29) Psalm 21:20 ‘O Lord, do not leave me alone, my strength, make haste to help me!’ To be alone without You is the ultimate anguish. Lord do not abandon me. Psalm 24:16-18 ‘Turn to me and have mercy for I am lonely and poor. Relieve the anguish of my heart and set me free from my distress. See my affliction and my toil and take all my sins away.’ These are lines that we can say from time to time. Who has not experienced at least once in their life an overwhelming sense of sadness, loneliness, guilt, anxiety and poverty of spirit and sentiment? Psalm 26:9 ‘Dismiss not your servant in anger; you have been my help. Do not abandon or forsake me, O God my help!’ God is a helper ever at hand 24/7. Try it now! Psalm 29:3 ‘O Lord, I cried to you for help and you, my God, have healed me.’ God will not fail me. Psalm 30:2 ‘In you, O Lord, I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame. In your justice, set me free’ God vindicates our dignity and person. Nobody or nothing can leave us in shame. That is not God’s way.

Psalm 30:10 ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress.’ In acute distress and near despair real prayer takes root. Psalm 33:5 ‘I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free.’ There is no anxiety or terror that can come between us and the Lord if we entrust all to Him. Psalm 33:19 ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save.’ We may believe that we are crushed. It is then that God steps in and shows his saving power. Psalm 33:14 ‘I went as though mourning a mother, bowed down with grief.’ Closeness to a mother by a son or daughter is noted. Psalm 36:39-40 ‘The salvation of the just comes from the Lord, their stronghold in time of distress. The Lord helps them and delivers them and saves them: for their refuge is in him.’ In times of distress we need a strong foundation and rock. There is only One, ultimately, who can deliver and save us and in whom we find refuge. Psalm 37:9 ‘Spent and utterly crushed, I cry aloud in anguish of heart.’ ‘utterly crushed’. Then all one can do is cry aloud in anguish of heart and believe that God is listening. Psalm 37:11-12 ‘My heart throbs, my strength is spent; the very light has gone from my eyes. My friends avoid me like a leper; those closest to me stand afar off.’ When desolate, cut off and shunned there is One we can turn to 24/7. Psalm 37:18 ‘For I am on the point of falling and my pain is always before me.’ That wound, that pain, that recurring matter – in body or mind or soul – can be acknowledged and accepted and offered. Psalm 40:6 ‘Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me? Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.’ The antidote to pessimism and discontent is hope, trust, praise and an opening to all that is positive (as well as negative) in our lives today, now.

Psalm 41:11 ‘With cries that pierce me to the heart, my enemies revile me, saying to me all day long: "Where is your God?"’ As a sword pierced Mary’s heart so the actions and words of others may cut deeply inside us. However, as it says in this Psalm: ‘Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me? Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.’ (verse 11). Psalm 65:20 ‘Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer nor withhold his love from me.’ God will never fail us. We must take courage and keep going. Psalm 68:2-4 ‘Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck. I have sunk into the mud of the deep and there is no foothold. I have entered the waters of the deep and the waves overwhelm me. I am wearied with all my crying, my throat is parched. My eyes are wasted away from looking for my God.’ At times we can be submerged under the waves of doubt, anguish and alone-ness. Even then we can cry aloud to God who is never absent. Psalm 68:30 ‘As for me in my poverty and pain, let your help, O God, lift me up.’ The entire Psalter is summed up in this pith sentence almost mid-ways through the entire Psalter. Psalm 83:6-7 ‘They are happy, whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the roads to Zion. As they go through the Bitter Valley they make it a place of springs (the autumn rain covers it with blessings).’ Even during periods of great personal trial and suffering are hearts are set on the road ahead, our strength is in a loving God and in this bitter valley of passage we find quiet momentary springs of water. Psalm 87:19 ‘Friend and neighbour you have taken away: my one companion is darkness’ In the very depths of darkness and despair we feel that there is no support or friendship. Even these are taken away. It is precisely in these moments that hope is born and God’s power is most powerfully at work. Psalm 106:12-14 ‘He crushed their spirit with toil; they stumbled; there was no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their need and he rescued them from their distress. He led them forth from darkness and gloom and broke their chains to pieces.’ God is love and God can do nothing but love. He hears our despair and meets us before we even are aware of it. Psalm 108:22 8

‘For I am poor and needy and my heart is pierced within me.’ In the depths of anguish we cry out to God who is love. Psalm 114:3 ‘They surrounded me, the snares of death, with the anguish of the tomb; they caught me, sorrow and distress.’ At times we seem to be overtaken suddenly and almost without warning by sorrow and distress. In these special moments God seems completely absent. But, he is not. Psalm 117:5 ‘I called to the Lord in my distress; he answered and freed me.’ In my distress and anguish there is One to whom I can turn at any hour or day. He will answer in his way and in his time and will free me. Psalm 118:25 ‘My soul lies in the dust; by your will revive me.’ It is God’s will that we should be lifted up and honoured as appropriate. First, however, we must embrace humility and suffering in this present time. Psalm 118:93 ‘I will never forget your precepts for with them you give me life.’ There are times and moments when we think back and remember those other times when we tasted life and joy and peace and their source. This, too, is a moment of special grace. Psalm 118:107 ‘Lord, I am deeply afflicted; by your word give me life.’ In the midst of afflictions we can turn to the Word who gives light and comfort. Psalm 118:143 ‘Though anguish and distress have seized me, I delight in your commands’ In anguish and distress we delight in God’s abiding love which never fails. Psalm 120:2 ‘My help shall come from the Lord who made heaven and earth.’ In darkest hour we should never doubt the help of God who is close to hand. Psalm 129:1-2 ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice! O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading.’ From the depths of despair and need we cry out with words and sighs that only God can fathom. Psalm 138:11-12

‘If I say: "Let the darkness hide me and the light around me be night," even darkness is not dark for you and the night is as clear as the day.’ It is when the darkest hour just before dawn breaks. Psalm 141:2-3 ‘ With all my voice I cry to the Lord, with all my voice I entreat the Lord. I pour out my trouble before him; I tell him all my distress’ In anguish and near despair we can cry out with all our voice and entreat the Lord telling him of all our troubles. We can trust that we are listened to. Psalm 141:5-6 ‘Look on my right and see: there is no one who takes my part. I have no means of escape, not one who cares for my soul. I cry to you, O Lord. I have said: "You are my refuge all I have in the land of the living."’ There are times in one’s life when all human support fails. You feel utterly alone and yet others are in our company. At these moments we can take refuge – through faith – in the One who knows all, cares all and who ‘takes my part’. Psalm 143:11 ‘in your justice save my soul from distress.’ God’s desire is to save us from distress and anguish. It is not his will to see us tortured by doubt, unease, guilt, fear or unhappiness.

Asking (intercession) Psalm 3:5 I cry aloud to the Lord. He answers from his holy mountain. Lift up my mind and heart to God – to his holy mountain where he dwells. And I cry aloud: Lord hear me. Psalm 13:2 ‘From heaven the Lord looks down on the sons of men to see if any are wise, if any seek God.’ Seek wisdom and she will come to you. Psalm 16:6 ‘I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my words.’ We ought never to doubt that God listens to every word and silence and sigh of our praying even when we are asleep or distracted or busy with various matters. And She will answer in Her time, way and manner. Psalm 19:5 ‘May he give you your heart's desire and fulfil every one of your plans.’ If our plans and our heart’s desires are in accordance with God’s will who or what can stand against us? We just need to ask and to keep moving forward. Psalm 20:3 ‘You have granted him his heart's desire; you have not refused the prayer of his lips.’ God will never refuse any desire that is for our good. Psalm 26:7 ‘O Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer.’ At any time and in any place and in situation. Psalm 27:2 ‘Hear the voice of my pleading as I call for help, as I lift up my hands in prayer to your holy place.’ To ask and plead, to lift up and to stand our ground. Psalm 36:4 ‘If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart's desire.’ God does not turn a deaf ear to our deepest desires and needs. All will be revealed in the fullness of time. Psalm 36:5 ‘Commit your life to the Lord, trust in him and he will act’ If we commit and if we trust God will do the rest. Psalm 26: 11

‘Be still before the Lord and wait in patience’ Patience and waiting bring their reward. Nothing will be lacking. Psalm 36:10 ‘O Lord, you know all my longing: my groans are not hidden from you.’ Nothing is hidden from God including our inner most needs and longings. Psalm 37:16 ‘I count on you, O Lord: it is you, Lord God, who will answer.’ We can completely abandon ourselves to God in time of need. Psalm 39:2 ‘I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry.’ All things come to the person who is prepared to wait, patiently, on God while being active. Psalm 43:27 ‘Stand up and come to our help! Redeem us because of your love!’ We can call upon the Lord at all times because he alone loves us completely as only God can. Psalm 49:15 ‘Call on me in the day of distress. I will free and you shall honour me."’ We only have to call upon the name of the Lord and he will act. Psalm 60:3 ‘From the end of the earth I call; my heart is faint. On a rock too high for me to reach set me on high’ Some things seem to be beyond us. We can call up on the name of the Lord and He will find a way forward for us. Psalm 60:9 ‘Take refuge in God, all you people. Trust him at all times. Pour out your hearts before him for God is our refuge.’ Trust him at all times. Never lose heart. Keep praying and seeking after God. Psalm 76:2-3 ‘I cry aloud to God, cry aloud to God that he may hear me. In the day of my distress I sought the Lord. My hands were raised at night without ceasing; my soul refused to be consoled.’ Those who persevere in prayer will find some moments of peace in their distress. We are encouraged not only to ‘cry’ but to ‘cry aloud’ with hands ‘raised at night without ceasing’. Psalm 84:10 ‘His help is near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land.’ God is never far in times of trial. His glory is around us. Psalm 85:1-2 12

‘Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am faithful; save the servant who trusts in you.’ Recognising our own weaknesses and vulnerability is the first step in recovering our lives. Trust is the key. Psalm 85:3 ‘You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord, for I cry to you all the day long.’ Persistence in heartfelt prayer will open the gates of heaven. Psalm 100:2-3 ‘O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear towards me and answer me quickly when I call.’ When we find ourselves in distress and in need of urgent help we can turn to God in prayer of petition that he may answer quickly but not as we dictate it. Psalm 118:145-146 ‘I call with all my heart; Lord, hear me, I will keep your statutes. I call upon you, save me and I will do your will.’ To call with all our heart early and often every day is sure way to God. He may not answer today. But, in time he will. Psalm 137:3 ‘On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.’ We find new strength to on and on even against huge odds. Psalm 141:7 ‘Listen, then, to my cry for I am in the depths of distress.’ Psalm 144:18 ‘He is close to all who call him, who call on him from their hearts.’ Many are those who call on the Lord from time to time for fair weather, passing of an examination or recovery from illness, but how many call on him repeatedly for all their needs and those of others ‘from their hearts’?

Beauty Psalm 94:4-5 ‘In his hands are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his. To him belongs the sea, for he made it and the dry land shaped by his hands. In God’s garden we delight in the beauty and stillness of his creation. Psalm 47:3 ‘His holy mountain rises in beauty, the joy of all the earth.’ God is good, true and beautiful. The fruit of this is joy for all the earth.

Consoling Psalm 10:7 ‘the upright shall see his face.’ Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God. Integrity Psalm 14:2 “He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart” To do what is right, to believe in what is true and to avoid causing harm and evil. This is a summary of what it means to be a human in the image of God who is loving kindness and truth. Psalm 143:1-2 ‘Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my arms for battle, who prepares my hands for war. He is my love, my fortress; he is my stronghold, my saviour my shield, my place of refuge.’ We can face into the dark abyss but we can be sure that God is with us at all times. He is our stronghold and place of refuge until the storms of doubt and destruction pass by.

Courage Psalm 30:25 ‘Be strong, let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.’ Psalm 26:14 ‘Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!’ Psalm 60:3 ‘From the end of the earth I call; my heart is faint. On a rock too high for me to reach set me on high’ When it seems that all courage fails and circumstances crush us we are left with one option – trust and trust again where a rock seems too high to reach.

Preparing for Death and resurrection Psalm 16:15 ‘As for me, in my justice I shall see your face and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory.’ As we go into the night the darkness around is light. In the morning we will awake to a new glory surpassing our imagination and dreams. Psalm 38:13 ‘In your house I am a passing guest, a pilgrim, like all my fathers.’ We are ‘passing ships in the night’ from Tales of a Wayside Inn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1874. Psalm 115:15 ‘O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.’ At our moment of passing we are precious in the sight of God, his holy angels, saints and witnesses here on earth. Psalm 117:17 ‘I shall not die, I shall live and recount his deeds.’ Great is the saving power of God in every situation. We should cry out with joy and hope. Psalm 142:5-6 ‘I remember the days that are past: I ponder all your works. I muse on what your hand has wrought and to you I stretch out my hands. Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you.’ At the end we can look back with gratitude and forgiveness.

Desiring Psalm 40:2-3 ‘Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and see the face of God?’ A yearning for the face of God leads us forward. No trial, no force can stand in our way as the kindness of God draws us. Psalm 41:8 ‘Deep is calling on deep, in the roar of waters; your torrents and all your waves swept over me.’ In the roar and tumult of our daily existence something deep moves within us and calls out from depth to depth. Psalm 62:2-3 ‘O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.’ Our very bodies and hearts ache. Psalm 69:5 ‘Let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you’ The goal and the means of our seeking God is joy and goodness. Psalm 72:25-26 ‘What else have I in heaven but you? Apart from you I want nothing on earth. My body and my heart faint for joy; God is my possession for ever.’ To desire God and God alone is perfect joy. Psalm 77:34 ‘then they would seek him, return and seek him in earnest’ After tribulation they would seek him and seek him in earnest. Psalm 83:2-3 ‘How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts. My soul is longing and yearning, is yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my soul ring out their joy to God, the living God.’ Joy comes with waiting patiently and arduously. Psalm 100:3b ‘I will not set before my eyes whatever is base.’ We ought to set our desires and our heart on what is good, true and lasting. Psalm 104:3 ‘let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice’

Hearts that yearn and seek in the right places will find joy. Psalm 104:4 ‘Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.’ Constantly seek God’s face never yielding to discouragement. Psalm 118:2 ‘They are happy who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts’ To seek God with all our hearts is the doorway to peace and happiness. Psalm 118:10 ‘I have sought you with all my heart’ Can I say this, truly ? Psalm 118:82 ‘My eyes yearn to see your promise’ We will never rest until we set our eyes, face-to-face, on the God who-is-love. Psalm 118:123 ‘My eyes yearn for your saving help’ Yearning and longing for God’s saving help is the story of our lives. Should we be surprised?

Discerning Psalm 138:1-2 ‘O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar.’ For each one there is a divine, loving plan. We can open our hearts to this in silence and waiting as we continue to follow the way of Jesus. Psalm 138:23-24 ‘O search me, God, and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts. See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path of life eternal.’ In times of doubt, trial and uncertainty how do I know what to do? Trust in God. Turn to him in your heart. Pray. Ask, Wait. Let God test and know my inner thoughts. And I will follow not the wrong path but the right one that leads to ‘life eternal’ in the here and now and beyond. Psalm 141:4 ‘..But you, O Lord, know my path…’ God, alone, knows our path. But, he respects our freedom and choices. We chose our path with God’s help and love.

Discipleship Psalm 118:18 ‘Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your law.’ Your law is love. On this hangs everything. Open my eyes to this truth. Psalm 118:19 ‘I am a pilgrim on the earth; show me your commands.’ We have no lasting abode on this earth. Your command of love is our guiding light through the night and towards the day. Psalm 118:37 ‘Keep my eyes from what is false; by your word, give me life.’ There is much to draw us away from true beauty, truth and goodness. Let’s stay firmly in God’s word moment by moment. Psalm 118:174 ‘Lord, I long for your saving help and your law is my delight.’ As I long for that saving help that surpasses all human help my soul is filled with a joy that surpasses all earthly joy.

In the Evening Psalm 4:9 “I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” “Fear him; do not sin: ponder on your bed and be still” A clear conscience is the best night cap for a good’s night rest. Make peace before I retire. Safe in the hands of God as we put behind another day. Psalm 15:7 ‘I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart.’ God is ever active and ever present. Psalm 16:3 ‘You search my heart, you visit me by night.’ At the close of the day we open our heart to God for searching: ‘have you loved me in others?’ ‘were you aware of my love today?’ ‘how are you this evening?’ Psalm 17:37 ‘You gave me freedom for my steps’ God leaves us chose what is right, what is best, what is wholesome. Psalm 54:17-18 ‘As for me, I will cry to God and the Lord will save me. Evening, morning and at noon I will cry and lament.’ We cry to God by day and we cry to God by night. Always on; always listening. Psalm 62:7 ‘On my bed I remember you. On you I muse through the night. Should we fail to sleep sometimes, we can contemplate the love of God in the watches of the night Psalm 64:9 ‘The lands of sunrise and sunset you fill with your joy.’ Above all let there be joy first thing in the day and joy last thing in the evening. Joy every morning and every day is the fruit of days filled with love. Life can be a succession of loving breaths, actions and thoughts. Psalm 73:16 ‘Yours is the day and yours is the night. To God alone be the praise and the glory. Psalm 86:7 ‘In you all find their home’ In the evening of each day we find our home again the heart of compassion. 22

Psalm 87:2-3 ‘Lord my God, I call for help by day; I cry at night before you. Let my prayer come into your presence. O turn your ear to my cry.’ Perseverance in prayer, morning, noon and evening will not go unanswered. Psalm 118:55 ‘I think of your name in the night time and I keep your law.’ Through the night I cling to your presence, your love and your word. Psalm 118:62 ‘At midnight I will rise and thank you for your just decrees.’ Even during the night we are called to prayer. Better than any sleeping medication! Psalm 118:148 ‘My eyes watch through the night to ponder your promise.’ If you can’t sleep try prayer! Psalm 120:6-8 ‘By day the sun shall not smite you nor the moon in the night. The Lord will guard you from evil, he will guard you soul. The Lord will guard your going and coming both now and for ever.’ God is ever at my side morning, noon and night; key to the day and bolt for the night. Psalm 131:4-5a ‘I will give no sleep to my eyes, to my eyelids I will give no slumber till I find a place for the Lord’ By night and by day, awake or asleep we seek a place for the Lord in our hearts and in our minds. Psalm 133:1-3 ‘O come, bless the Lord, all you who serve the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord through the night. May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made both heaven and earth.’ Even at nights while at sleep are hearts pray in secret. And if we are awake we can meditate on the love of God. Psalm 140:2 ‘Let my prayer arise before you like incense, the raising of my hands like an evening oblation.’ Morning, noon and evening it is a blessing to raise our hands, hearts and minds to the Holy One who sustains us.

Flourishing Psalm 1:3 “He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.” Any person who follows God’s call and ways is like a tree planted beside flowing waters. She will flourish and bear fruit in ways not foreseen. Life will be abundant and well. For all things will be well and all manner of things will be well (Julian of Norwich). Psalm 51:10 ‘But I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever.’ On the foundation of trust we flourish and grow. Psalm 118:45 ‘I shall walk in the path of freedom for I seek your precepts.’ Your law of love sets me free.

Forgiven Psalm 31:1-2 ‘Happy the man whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.’ Psalm 85:5 ‘O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of love to all who call.’ Psalm 102:3 ‘It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills’ Psalm 129:4 ‘But with you is found forgiveness: for this we revere you.’ Forgiveness is found in the heart of God – no where else.

Healing Psalm 50:10-11 ‘Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, that the bones you have crushed may thrill. From my sins turn away your face and blot out all my guilt.’ The freedom and joy of being forgiven can be so strong that our very bones ‘thrill’. Body and mind are rejuvenated and, in this case, literally. Psalm 114:9 ‘I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.’ In the midst of anguish I will walk in his presence.

Hoping Psalm 26:14 ‘Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!’ Hold firm and take heart – a theme throughout the scriptures from promise to fulfilment. Psalm 32:22 ‘May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.’ We are invited to place all our hope in Him. What a privilege and what a great risk worth taking. Psalm 38:8 ‘And now, Lord, what is there to wait for? In you rests all my hope.’ All my hope rests in Him who alone can fulfil all my desires. Psalm 70:5-6 ‘It is you, O Lord, who are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. On you I have leaned from my birth; from my mother's womb you have been my help. My hope has always been in you.’ Just as my human mother never let me down so, also, will God be my underlying hope and trust even ‘from my youth’ when at times I erred and wandered. Psalm 70:20-21 ‘You have burdened me with bitter troubles but you will give me back my life. You will raise me from the depths of the earth; you will exalt me and console me again.’ We pass through difficult moments and periods in our lives and we continue onwards in the hope that better times lie ahead – filled with joy and with fulfilment. We journey in hope and trust never wavering never diverting never giving up. Psalm 118:116 ‘let my hopes not be in vain’ As long as we live we hope. We live in hope for better things. We work for that. Psalm 118:166 ‘I await your saving help’ There are times when all we can do is patiently, lovingly and actively await God’s saving help.

Humbling Psalm 130:1 ‘O Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me.’ We do well to not seek beyond our area of ability and understanding. Many falls are in store for those who are foolish, arrogant and presumptuous whether in matters of theology or other areas. Psalm 146:6 ‘The Lord raises the lowly; he humbles the wicked to the dust.’ This psalm echoes the ‘Magnificat’. Watch out you proud and arrogant!

EnJoying Psalm 4:7-8 "What can bring us happiness?" many say. Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord. You have put into my heart a greater joy than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.” The secrets of God’s love revealed to the soul that obeys and that trusts. All good things are possible. Psalm 7:18 ‘I will thank the Lord for his justice: I will sing to the Lord, the Most High.’ Aren’t there times when you just have to shout out and sing for joy at what God has done? Coming to think about it, singing together with others in Church is now one of those rare occasions when we can sing together with others in public even if we can’t sing too well! Psalm 8:2 ‘How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!’ May Jesus Christ live in the minds and hearts of all people! Psalm 9:2 ‘I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will recount all your wonders’ Not just any type of praise but praise ‘with all my heart’ Psalm 15:2 ‘I say to the Lord: "You are my God. My happiness lies in you alone."’ Lasting happiness, peace, joy are to be found in God alone. Psalm 15:11 ‘You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness for ever.’ God will never fail to lead us to true freedom and true joy. Psalm 17:50 ‘so I will praise you, Lord, among the nations: I will sing a psalm to your name.’ We should never tire of singing God’s praises. It is infectious for others. Psalm 18:2 ‘The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.’ Even when we are stuck for words and for feeling the whole universe proclaims and sings. Psalm 19:6 ‘May we ring out our joy at your victory and rejoice in the name of our God.’ What can bring us joy? Obedience, faith (trust) and praise of the Lord. Psalm 20:7 29

‘You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence.’ In His presence joy for ever. To be ever mindful of His presence is freedom and power to change our lives and the world around us. And joy is infectious. Psalm 24:13 ‘His soul shall live in happiness and his children shall possess the land.’ God’s will is for our peace and happiness. Psalm 29:12-13 ‘For me you have changed my mourning into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. So my soul sings psalms to you unceasingly. O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.’ After night comes the day. After sadness joy. Psalm 31:11 ‘Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord, exult, you just! O come, ring out your joy, all you upright of heart.’ No excuses for perpetual moaning and misery. We are bid to rejoice and the bidding is repeated again and again throughout the Psalms and throughout the scriptures. As St Pauls wrote: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!’ (Philippians 4:4). Psalm 32:1-4 ‘ Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts. Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp, with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs. O sing him a song that is new, play loudly, with all your skill. For the word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted.’ There is no apologising for singing out, singing up and singing along with others in the assembly. For the love of God is ever faithful and his ways to be trusted now and forever. Psalm 32:21 ‘In him do our hearts find joy. We trust in his holy name.’ True and complete joy is found in Him alone. Psalm 33:6 ‘Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.’ In him there is mercy and forgiveness. There is no remaining shame when we seek his mercy and healing. Psalm 34:9 ‘But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord and rejoice in his salvation.’ Joy is the result of faith in God. What a great gift. Psalm 36:4 ‘If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart's desire.’ God does not turn a deaf ear to our deepest desires and needs. All will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Psalm 36:5 ‘Commit your life to the Lord, trust in him and he will act’ If we commit and if we trust God will do the rest. Psalm 26: ‘Be still before the Lord and wait in patience’ Patience and waiting bring their reward. Nothing will be lacking. Psalm 39:4 ‘He put a new song into my mouth, praise of our God. Many shall see and fear and shall trust in the Lord.’ The proof of the pudding is in the eating. When – through trust and love – we encounter a new song of joy we know that God is blessing and guiding us. Psalm 40:5 ‘These things will I remember as I pour out my soul: how I would lead the rejoicing crowd into the house of God, amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving, the throng wild with joy.’ In moments of great sadness we can look up and beyond and outward to a time and place where we can rejoice – not only us but those who share our company. Psalm 46:2 ‘Cry to God with shouts of joy!’ Not just peace, contentment and satisfaction but ‘shouts of joy’. This might make for lively liturgy in places! Psalm 50:14 ‘Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me’ Joy is to be found in opening up to God. We can always reset our compasses and take a chance on God’s mercy and help. Psalm 53:8 ‘I will sacrifice to you with willing heart and praise your name for it is good:’ A joyful sacrifice I will make. God asks for cheerful givers. Psalm 55:14 ‘for you have rescued my soul from death, you kept my feet from stumbling that I may walk in the presence of God and enjoy the light of the living.’ Walking in God’s path sets us free to enjoy our lives. Psalm 62:6 ‘My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy.’ Feasting on God’s love.

Psalm 62:8 ‘for your have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.’ In God’s presence we rejoice. Psalm 67:4 ‘But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God, they shall exult and dance for joy.’ Have you ever seen someone literally exulting and dancing for joy in praise of God? I have. It is awesome. Psalm 70:23 ‘When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice and my soul, which you have redeemed.’ Gratitude, humility and joy go together. They drive forward prayerfulness and their fruit is prayerfulness. Psalm 72:28 ‘To be near God is my happiness. I have made the Lord God my refuge’ To be in the will of God by living his commandments of love is to reach a level of happiness that is possible in this life. Psalm 80:2 ‘Ring out your joy to God our strength, shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.’ Shouting for joy may be seen as over the top especially in a liturgical gathering. But, there are times and places …..alone or with others …… Psalm 83:5 ‘They are happy, who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise.’ We inhabit an invisible place which is the house of God wrapping the entire universe in his loving embrace. Psalm 85:4 ‘Give joy to your servant, O Lord, for to you I lift up my soul.’ We discover joy in the midst of affliction by lifting up our soul to God with outstretched arms. Psalm 89:15 ‘Give us joy to balance our affliction for the years when we knew misfortune.’ While there is no rose without a thorn there is no thorn without a rose. Joy is the true mark of faithful discipleship. Psalm 94:1-2 ‘Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord.’ Joy is a mark of authentic love and acceptance of what is true in oneself and others. Ultimately, it leads to the Source of all joy. 32

Psalm 96:11 ‘Light shines forth for the just and joy for the upright of heart.’ Insight and joy of heart are the fruit of obedience of God’s word. Psalm 103:33 ‘I will sing to the Lord all my life, make music to my God while I live.’ Sing once and pray twice. Joy in song and dance can be prayer. Psalm 103:34 ‘May my thoughts be pleasing to him. I find my joy in the Lord.’ Joy in the Lord and purity of intention go hand in hand. We sleep and wake with a good conscience and we find our joy in the Lord. Psalm 117:13-14 ‘I was thrust down, thrust down and falling, but the Lord was my helper. The Lord is my strength and my song; he was my saviour.’ From the depths we are lifted up. Psalm 117:24 ‘This day was made by the Lord; we rejoice and are glad.’ Today – this very day – was made by God that we might rejoice and be glad. And some days are special. This too will pass. Psalm 118:32 ‘I will run the way of your commands; you give freedom to my heart.’ True freedom is the fruit of obedience. Psalm 118:111 ‘Your will is my heritage for ever, the joy of my heart.’ In his will we find joy of heart. Psalm 118:159 ‘in your mercy give me life’ God desires nothing more than that which gives us life and joy and peace. Psalm 125:6 ‘They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves.’ God is our refuge and joy. We pass through times of great sadness, trial and aridity. But, then joy comes and not infrequently as a complete surprise. Psalm 126:3-5

‘Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, a blessing, the fruit of the womb. Indeed the sons of youth are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. O the happiness of the man who has filled his quiver with these arrows! He will have no cause for shame when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.’ Our families can be our mainstay in a world of conflict and contestation. Let’s keep it that way or – if it has been lost – rebuild it. Psalm 143:9 ‘To you, O God, will I sing a new song; I will play on the ten-stringed Harp’ Joy, song and praise go together. Psalm 146:1 ALLELUIA! ‘Praise the Lord for he is good; sing to our God for he is loving: to him our praise is due.’ Praise God in every situation because He is good. To him our praise and joy is due in song and in silent meditation. Psalm 149:1 ‘ALLELUIA! Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.’ Out with sadness and in with joyful praise!

Liberating and empowering the poor and oppressed Psalm 9.1:3 ‘for the Avenger of blood has remembered them, has not forgotten the cry of the poor.’ God will not forget the cries of the poor. Woe to those who ignore the oppressed and the poor. Psalm 9.1:10 ‘For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold, a stronghold in times of distress.’ The Lord is the strength of the oppressed. Psalm 9.1:19 ‘for the needy shall not always be forgotten nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.’ Hope is coming. God is near. Turn to his love and struggle for what is right. Psalm 9.2:2 ‘The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked: he is caught in the schemes that others have made.’ Many are without power and excluded. A day of liberation is coming. Psalm 9.2:9 ‘He lurks in hiding like a lion in his lair; he lurks in hiding to seize the poor; he seizes the poor man and drags him away.’ Injustice cries out for a response – our response. Psalm 9.2:12 ‘Arise then, Lord, lift up your hand! O God, do not forget the poor!’ The Lord rises up in power to lead the oppressed. May we not lack courage to respond to his call. Psalm 9.2:17 ‘Lord, you hear the prayer of the poor; you strengthen their hearts; you turn your ear’ The Lord is ever present in our brother or sister who suffers. Let us recognise him today. Psalm 9.2:18 ‘to protect the rights of the orphan and oppressed: so that mortal man may strike terror no more.’ The orphan and widower are specially cared for. Psalm 11:6 ‘ "For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan I myself will arise," says the Lord, "I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst."’ God is on the side of those who are poor – in access to the worldly goods that have been give to serve human need. Let’s not dodge this truth by manoeuvring words or attempting to dilute and shift the emphasis to something ephemeral, and other wordly. Psalm 13:6-7 35

‘You may mock the poor man's hope, but his refuge is the Lord. O that Israel's salvation might come from Zion! When the Lord delivers his people from bondage, then Jacob will be glad and Israel rejoice.’ Liberation comes from God. Let us rejoice and be glad in this freedom. Psalm 14:5 ‘who takes no interest on a loan and accepts no bribes against the innocent. Such a man will stand firm forever.’ Integrity in the cause of justice requires us to act honourably and favourably no matter at what cost in a culture that is often against our principles. Psalm 16:1 ‘Lord, hear a cause that is just, pay heed to my cry. Turn your ear to my prayer: no deceit is on my lips.’ As we join in the struggles of others for a just world we practice honesty, courage and clarity. Psalm 21:4-5 ‘Yet you, O God, are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you set them free.’ Freedom is the fruit of trust. We trust and God will set us free. Psalm 21:25 ‘For he has never despised nor scorned the poverty of the poor. From him he has not hidden his face, but he heard the poor man when he cried."’ God loves infinitely everyone everywhere regardless of who they are. However, He has a special or preferential love for the poor in this world. We are invited to follow this example. Psalm 28:11 ‘The Lord will give strength to his people, the Lord will bless his people with peace.’ God will never fail his people. The price of sacrifice and hardship and toil as his people struggle for justice is peace. Psalm 33:7 ‘This poor man called, the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress.’ The poor have a special place in God’s heart. He hears the cry of each one for help and change. Psalm 34:10 ‘My whole being will say: "Lord, who is like you who rescue the weak from the strong and the poor from the oppressor?"’ Rescue is on its way. Psalm 39:17 ‘O let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you.’ Joy is the outcome of our seeking. 36

Psalm 40:2 ‘Happy the man who considers the poor and the weak. The Lord will save him in the day of evil’ To consider the needs of others – especially those who are ‘poor’ and ‘weak’ is a source of blessing and strength especially ‘in the day of evil’. Psalm 44:5 ‘..ride on in triumph for the cause of truth and goodness and right.’ We are called to courageously give witness to truth, goodness, beauty and justice. Psalm 48:13-14 ‘In his riches, man lacks wisdom; he is like the beasts that are destroyed. This is the lot of those who trust in themselves, who have others in their beck and call.’ Clinging to riches and power can blind us to others, ourselves and, ultimately to God. Psalm 50:7 ‘O that Israel's salvation might come from Zion! When God delivers his people from bondage, then Jacob will be glad and Israel rejoice.’ First the truth. Then liberation. Finally, joy. Psalm 66:5 ‘Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth.’ God is watching over all of human activity. Psalm 67:6 ‘Father of the orphan, defender of the widow, such is God in his holy place.’ A constant theme throughout the scriptures is God’s special heart for the ‘widow and orphan’. Psalm 67:36 ‘He is the Lord, Israel's God. He gives strength and power to his people. Blessed be God!’ When we are weak then we are strong in God our deliverer. Psalm 68:33-34 ‘The poor when they see it will be glad and God-seeking hearts will revive; for the Lord listens to the needy and does not spurn his servants in their chains.‘ God, Yahweh, Jesus has come to save and set free. No more no less. Psalm 71:4 ‘May he defend the poor of the people and save the children of the needy (and crush the oppressor). The idea of defending the poor and saving children is not a priority of many regimes and institutions in our modern world. We do well to pray and live out this psalm. Psalm 71:13-14 37

‘He will have pity on the weak and save the lives of the poor. From oppression he will rescue their lives, to him their blood is dear.’ Psalm 81:3-4 ‘Do justice for the weak and the orphan, defend the afflicted and the needy. Rescue the weak and the poor; set them free from the hand of the wicked.’ A consistent and recurring theme throughout the entire scriptures is the primacy of justice and freedom for the oppressed, the poor, the marginalised, the needy. Psalm 84:14 ‘Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps’ Every so often there is a shaft of light and a breach in the wall. Justice shines through and God’s hand is seen. Psalm 84:11 ‘Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced.’ Heartfelt love among people coupled with social justice is an essential of discipleship on the pattern of Jesus Christ. Psalm 84:13-14 ‘The Lord will make us prosper and our earth shall yield its fruit. Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps’ All of creation is caught up in the struggle for justice, flourishing and peace. The environment in which we live and breathe and move is the theatre of God’s action for justice and freedom. Psalm 88:15 ‘Justice and right are the pillars of your throne, love and truth walk in your presence.’ Love, truth and justice form a triad of single love. Take on out and the whole collapses. Psalm 100:18 ‘Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers.’ Those in acute need and distress have a helper and a liberator who is never far. Psalm 101:21 ‘that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.’ God is ever caring towards those in prison and on the point of death. Psalm 102:6 ‘The Lord does deeds of justice, gives judgment for all who are oppressed.’ God is ever at work in our broken world brining consolation and encouragement to the oppressed to break their own chains. Psalm 104:43 ‘So he brought out his people with joy, his chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing.’ 38

The poor and oppressed have a special place in God’s heart. Psalm 106:41 ‘he raises the needy from distress’ God’s help is never far for those oppressed. Psalm 112:7-8 ‘From the dust he lifts up the lowly, from the dungheap he raises the poor to set them in the company of princes, yes, with the princes of his people.’ God raises the lowly and poor and sets them over the world. Psalm 117:27 ‘the Lord God is our light.’ Psalm 131:13-15 ‘For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling: "This is my resting-place for ever; here have I chosen to live. I will greatly bless her produce, I will fill her poor with bread.’ Bread for the poor in that place prepared by the Lord. Psalm 141:8 ‘Bring my soul out of this prison and then I shall praise your name’ Imprisoned by doubt, the opinion of others and our own demons we call up on the Name of Godwho-is-love. Psalm 145:6-9 ‘It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever, who is just to those who are oppressed. It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets prisoners free, the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord, who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan.’ God is faithful and will not abandon those who turn to him for freedom. Psalm 149:4 ‘He crowns the poor with salvation.’ God has a special heart for the poor.

Peace Psalm 33:15 ‘Turn aside from evil and do good; seek and strive after peace.’ Peace of mind and heart are the signs and direct fruit of obedience. Psalm 34:27 ‘"Great is the Lord who delights in the peace of his servant."‘ God delights in our well-being, our happiness, our peace and our flourishing. His plans are for peace. As it says in Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Psalm 84:9 ‘I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people and his friends and those who turn to him in their hearts.’ Turn to God with all our heart and he will answer. His voice is ever there if we just listen. It is a sweat voice of peace that wants our good only. Psalm 93:19 ‘When cares increase in my heart your consolation calms my soul.’ God’s calming presence and discrete love brings peace in the midst of worry and stress. Psalm 118:114 ‘You are my shelter, my shield’ God is my rock and my peace and my safety. Psalm 121:8-9 ‘For love of my brethren and friends I say: "Peace upon you." For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good.’ Peace is God’s gift. And it is ours too for those nearest.

Praising Psalm 33:2-4 ‘I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips; in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. The humble shall hear and be glad. Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name.’ Never, ever neglect to praise God whether alone or with others gathered for that purpose. Psalm 44:2 ‘My heart overflows with noble words.’ At times, the words just flow out of our hearts and minds and through our lips or on a sheet of paper or computer screen. At other times, there is dryness and bareness. Both times are important in our journey. Psalm 50:17 ‘O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.’ This is among the opening verses at morning and evening prayer. When we hit a block we can call out and the doors open. Psalm 65:8-9 ‘O peoples, bless our God; let the voice of his praise resound, of the God who gave life to our souls and kept our feet from stumbling.’ God has given life to our very own souls: let us rejoice and tell of his love. Psalm 66:4 ‘Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.’ For praise is fitting for hearts that seek the Lord in truth and love. Psalm 68:31 ‘I will praise God's name with a song; I will glorify him with thanksgiving.’ Sing once pray twice! Psalm 70:14 ‘But as for me, I will always hope and praise you more and more.’ No matter what happens I will continue to hope and continue to praise ‘more and more’. Psalm 89:2 ‘Before the mountains were born or the earth or the world brought forth, you are God, without beginning or end’. In the mountains we ponder the infinity of God’s love and presence and timeliness. Psalm 91:6 ‘O Lord, how great are your works! How deep are your designs!’ The mysteries of God’s loving ways are beyond our full comprehension. 41

Psalm 96:1 ‘The Lord is king, let earth rejoice, let all the coastlands be glad.’ All of creation sings to God and we join in. Psalm 103:1 ‘Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are, clothed in majesty and glory’ Our God is a mighty God gentle in all his ways and loving in all his deeds. Psalm 113b:18 ‘But we who live bless the Lord now and for ever. Amen.’ As long as we live we hope and breathe and praise. Psalm 144:1-2 ‘I will give you glory, O God my king, I will bless your name for ever. I will bless you day after day and praise your name for ever.’ Praise is fitting for loyal hearts. That we may never tire of giving thanks and praise day-by-day. Psalm 148:13 ‘Let them praise the name of the Lord for he alone is exalted. The splendour of his name reaches beyond heaven and earth.’ God’s glory is lifted up in all the cosmos and not just our tiny part of it. His glory truly exceeds our puny horizons. Psalm 150:6 ‘Let everything that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.’ And so the Book of Psalms finishes with a call for every living and breathing thing to praise our Godwho-is-love. Just as the Psalms start off with a declaration of what it means to follow God’s ways: ‘Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners’, so at the very end we give praise at the end of a life journey through wonder, thankfulness, praise, anguish, petition and faithfulness. All is covered in the psalms and more.

Presence Psalm 25:8 ‘O Lord, I love the house where you dwell, the place where your glory abides.’ Psalm 26:4 ‘There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.’ Savouring the sweetness of the Lord is our portion. If we would only seek after those things that are worthwhile and wholesome. Psalm 26:8-9 ‘Of you my heart has spoken: "Seek his face." It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face.’ We may constantly seek his face in every way, in every situation, in every person, in every agony, in every joy, in every moment. The face of God in all. Psalm 33:9 ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him.’ God is so close to us and so present in our inner most being that we can taste and see his goodness right now. Psalm 45:11 ‘”Be still and know that I am God..”’ The entry into a deeper sense of connection, prayerfulness and mindfulness of God’s love is in stillness and quiet. The second half of this verse reads as follows: ‘’.. supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!"’ Psalm 54:7-8 ‘O that I had wings like a dove to fly away and be at rest. So I would escape far away and take refuge in the desert.’ At times we need to fly away to God’s presence where we gather strength in quiet and trust. Psalm 60:5 ‘Let me dwell in your tent for ever and hide in the shelter of your wings.’ The presence of God surpasses all our yearnings and our needs. Psalm 68:10 ‘I burn with zeal for your house’ Psalm 72:23 ‘Yet I was always in your presence; you were holding me by my right hand.’ We never walk alone. In the shadow of darkness or in the ray of light a hidden loving presence holds us by the hand. Psalm 83:11 43

‘One day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere’ A moment of joy in God’s presence is worth a lifetime of suffering. Psalm 90:1-2 ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides in the shade of the Almighty says to the Lord: "My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!"’ We live constantly in his loving gaze. Psalm 98:9 ‘Exalt the Lord our God; bow down before his holy mountain for the Lord our God is holy.’ We bow down at or before God’s ‘holy mountain’. We do not bow down to the mountain itself nor do we worship anything or person other than God alone. Psalm 148:14 ‘He exalts the strength of his people. He is the praise of all his saints, of the sons of Israel, of the people to whom he comes close.’ Who is this God who, in my heart of hearts (Augustine) comes so close to us that he is closer to me than I am?

A Protecting God Psalm 3:6-7 “But you, Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, who lift up my head. I will not fear even thousands of people who are ranged on every side against me.” With your power today I can rise to any challenge you allow to come my way. I trust! Psalm 16:8 ‘Guard me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.’ We hide in the shadow of a loving God when the storms of destruction pass by. There we are safe and renewed. Psalm 17:2-3 ‘I love you, Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress, my saviour. My God is the rock where I take refuge; my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.’ We stand on a rock in a lonely wilderness. God is my shield and protector. Psalm 17:47 ‘Long life to the Lord, my rock! Praised be the God who saves me’ God is a rock. We are reminded of this over and over again in the psalms. Psalm 17:17 ‘From on high he reached down and seized me; he drew me forth from the mighty waters.’ God’s initiative is powerful and unexpected. Psalm 17:29-30 ‘You, O Lord, are my lamp, my God who lightens my darkness. With you I can break through any barrier, with my God I can scale any wall.’ God is on my side. God is on your side. Trust. Keep moving forward. He will not fail you and me. Psalm 17:31 ‘He indeed is the shield of all who make him their refuge.’ As we go into life’s battles God is a shield protecting us from the darts and the arrows of careless words. Psalm 17:34 ‘My feet you make swift as the deer's; you have made me stand firm on the heights.’ God goes before us and secures the ground on which we stand today and the next moment. Psalm 19:9 ‘We shall hold and stand firm’

We stand on solid rock and we shall not be overcome from within or without. Our strength is in God alone. He will see us through anything. Psalm 22:1-3 ‘The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.’ When we flag the Lord carries us along. He gives us rest and peace. Psalm 24:2-3 ‘I trust you, let me not be disappointed; do not let my enemies triumph. Those who hope in you shall not be disappointed, but only those who wantonly break faith’. God is on our side. He will not fail us. We can always trust in him. He will show me and you the way. Psalm 24:15 ‘My eyes are always on the Lord; for he rescues my feet from the snare.’ With eyes firmly set on the Lord we can walk on troubled waters! Psalm 26:5-6 ‘For there he keeps me safe in his tent in the day of evil. He hides me in the shelter of his tent, on a rock he sets me safe. And now my head shall be raised above my foes who surround me and I shall offer within his tent a sacrifice of joy. I will sing and make music for the Lord.’ On a rock he sets me safe. He keeps me safe in his tent in the day of evil. What encouraging and consoling words these are. Psalm 27:1 ‘To you, O Lord, I call, my rock, hear me’ On this rock we stand and lift up our voices. Psalm 30:3-4 ‘hear me and speedily rescue me. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mighty stronghold to save me, for you are my rock, my stronghold’ We stand on solid rock. God will act speedily to rescue me. Psalm 30:16 ‘My life is in your hands, deliver me from the hands of those who hate me.’ Sometimes, with cause or without cause we encounter animosity. Sometimes, this borders on hate. We must not despair. Our lives rest in His hands. Psalm 30:21 ‘You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the plotting of men; you keep them safe within your tent from disputing tongues.’ God covers us with his gentle cloak and loving presence when the arrows of bitter words, looks and gestures assail but do not penetrate us.

Psalm 32:20 ‘Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield.’ Waiting in patience and hope. Psalm 34:3 ‘O Lord, say to my soul: "I am your salvation."‘ We need to hear it again and again: ‘I love you. I am your salvation.’ Psalm 35:6-7 ‘Your love, Lord, reaches to heaven; your truth to the skies. Your justice is like God's mountain, your judgments like the deep. To both man and beast you give protection.’ God’s love is everlasting and never-ending and deeper than deep. Psalm 39:3 ‘He drew me from the deadly pit, from the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm.’ When we are low and down in the mud God lifts us up and sets our feet on a rock. Psalm 39:12 ‘O Lord, you will not withhold your compassion from me. Your merciful love and our truth will always guard me.’ God does not withhold his loving kindness and mercy. He guards us even when help seems far off. Psalm 40:13 ‘If you uphold me I shall be unharmed and set in your presence for ever more.’ Psalm 45:2 ‘God is for us a refuge and strength, a helper close at hand, in time of distress’ God is a refuge in the midst of trials. We can always turn to him and acknowledge that he is there under our feet and deep within us in the midst of acute distress. Psalm 45:4 ‘The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.’ Psalm 53:6 ‘But I have God for my help. The Lord upholds my life.’ In God alone I am strong. Nothing will faze me. Psalm 54:19 ‘He will deliver my soul in peace in the attack against me’ In God alone is my defence. Psalm 56:2

‘Have mercy on me, God, have mercy for in you my soul has taken refuge. In the shadow of your wings I take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by.’ When under fire there should be opportunities to take refuge in a quiet place or your mind and soul. Psalm 60:2-3 ‘In God alone is my soul at rest; my help comes from him. He alone is my rock, my stronghold, my fortress; I stand firm.’ Ever and always we have one sure foundation – Jesus Christ. My ‘help’ (verse 2) and my ‘hope’ verse 6 of this psalm) comes from him. Psalm 62:9 ‘My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.’ God carries us and holds us gently in his arms. Psalm 63:11 ‘The just will rejoice in the Lord and fly to him for refuge.’ Joy is to be found in the seeking of God. Psalm 67:20 ‘May the Lord be blessed day after day. He bears our burdens, God our saviour; There is nothing that burdens us now that God cannot carry. We can entrust to him every single thing. Psalm 70:2 ‘In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.’ God is a sure refuge in times of trouble and doubt. There we encounter Him face to face and He covers over our shame with his cloak. Psalm 70:3 ‘you are my rock, my stronghold.’ Psalm 77:72 ‘He tended them with blameless heart, with discerning mind he led them.’ Servant leadership calls for moral integrity (practice what you preach) and wisdom which comes from obedience to God’s will. Psalm 80:8 ‘You called in distress and I saved you. I answered, concealed in the storm cloud; at the waters of Meribah I tested you.’ God seems to be concealed in the storm cloud. He stands ready to respond. We must call out. He will save Psalm 83:12

‘For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield; he will give us his favour and glory. The Lord will not refuse any good to those who walk without blame.’ God will to it that we are safe and surrounded by his love that guides us forward. Psalm 88:27 ‘'You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.’ God is for us a sure refuge in times of stress and strain. We can trust. Psalm 90:3-6 ‘It is he who will free you from the snare of the fowler who seeks to destroy you; he will conceal you with his pinions and under his wings you will find refuge. You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that prowls in the darkness nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.’ Many fears, criticisms and negative thoughts may assail us but we stand firm in God-who-is-love. Nothing will overwhelm us. Psalm 93:14 ‘The Lord will not abandon his people nor forsake those who are his own’ God-who-is-love will not turn away anyone who comes to him in a sincere trusting and seeking. Psalm 104:39 ‘He spread a cloud as a screen and fire to give light in the darkness.’ God’s help is never lacking by day and by night. His grace is sufficient for each moment and situation. Psalm 108:31 ‘for he stands at the poor man's side to save him from those who condemn him.’ The Holy Spirit of God stands with us in the dock as our advocate, consoler, inspirer and protector. If we only realise this more fully. Psalm 114:6 ‘The Lord protects the simple hearts; I was helpless so he saved me.’ Again and again God comes to our aid. Simplicity of heart and trust is all we need. Psalm 118:54 ‘Your statutes have become my song in the land of exile’ When I am afflicted and alone I will sing your song of praise and thanksgiving. Psalm 120:6-8 ‘By day the sun shall not smite you nor the moon in the night. The Lord will guard you from evil, he will guard you soul. The Lord will guard your going and coming both now and for ever.’ God is ever at my side morning, noon and night; key to the day and bolt for the night.

Repenting Psalm 18:14 ‘From presumption restrain your servant and let it not rule me. Then shall I be blameless, clean from grave sin.’ We do not presume – never. Psalm 25:2-3 ‘Examine me, Lord, and try me; O test my heart and my mind, for your love is before my eyes and I walk according to your truth.’ God knows the inner most secrets of our heart. He knows all and understand all. Psalm 35:2-4 ‘Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes. He so flatters himself in his mind that he knows not his guilt. In his mouth are mischief and deceit. All wisdom is gone.’ There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. When gripped by evil the human heart does not even see itself. Or, perhaps, it does but turns the other way and lies to itself. Psalm 37:19 ‘I confess that I am guilty and my sin fills me with dismay.’ Honest acknowledgment of our sins is a first and necessary step towards healing. Psalm 40:5 ‘As for me, I said: "Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul for I have sinned against you."’ We can call upon the name of the Lord and He will show mercy. Psalm 50:5-6 ‘My offenses truly I know them; my sin is always before me Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done’ The first step in recovery from spiritual ill is an open, frank and ruthless honesty with ourselves – assisted where appropriate – with the ministry of another skilled in these matters and in whom we can trust. Psalm 50:12-13 ‘A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit.’ We go with a contrite and humble heart to the source of grace, healing and forgiveness and we experience cleansing at its deepest. Steadfastness of spirit is the fruit of honesty with ourselves and God. Psalm 50:19 ‘my sacrifice, a contrite spirit, a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn’ When all is said and done God cannot reject a broken, humble and repentant heart. 50

Psalm 64:3-4 ‘To you all flesh will come with its burden of sin. Too heavy for us, our offenses, but you wipe them away.’ Sometimes, a sense of guilt can overwhelm people. At those moments there is only one option – surrender to the infinite loving mercy of God. Psalm 78:8 ‘God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved’ To turn back from wrong-doing and to turn towards the face of God-who-is-love. Psalm 89:8 ‘Our guilt lies open before you; our secrets in the light of your face’. Nothing is hidden to God who knows us and loves us. Psalm 118:11 ‘I treasure your promise in my heart lest I sin against you’ Psalm 118:15 ‘I will ponder all your precepts and consider your paths.’ Psalm 142:2 ‘Do not call your servant to judgment for no one is just in your sight.’ No one is just. What a comforting thought!

Seeking Psalm 82:17 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cover their faces with shame, till they seek your name, O In shame and confusion we seek your name and your face O God of infinite compassion.

Lord.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Being Sent - Mission Psalm 2:8 “Ask and I will shall bequeath you the nations” We do not receive because we do not ask. We do not ask because we do not trust. We do not trust because we are stuck in our own plans, minds and wills. Psalm 15:2 ‘He has put into my heart a marvellous love for the faithful ones who dwell in his land.’ Love of people is a driving force of our mission to the whole world. Go out into the world and bear witness to the love of God. Psalm 142:8 ‘In the morning let me know your love for I put my trust in you. Make me know the way I should walk: to you I lift up my soul.’ A gentle uplift and positive start each morning sees us through the day and God will show us the way.

Patience Psalm 36:8-9 ‘Calm your anger and forget your rage; do not fret, it only leads to evil. For those who do evil shall perish; the patient shall inherit the land.’ All things come to the one who waits; who is patient; who knows how to trust and wait for God to act. Worrying, fretting and resentment only prolong waiting!. Psalm 38:2 ‘I said: "I will be watchful of my ways for fear I should sin with my tongue. I will put a curb on my lips when the wicked man stands before me."’ So easily we can succumb to a lack of charity and care for those with whom we speak. We owe others respect and a listening ear even when they abuse or criticise or speak to us harshly. A quiet and firm response can change hearts. But then may be not. It doesn’t matter. We stand on the ground of charity. Psalm 65:10 ‘For you, O God, have tested us, you have tried us as silver is tried’ In the trials and tribulations of life there is, in the background, the hand of a loving God. Psalm 97:3 ‘He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.’ Though Israel is God’s specially chosen family salvation is for all. All the ends of the earth including this damp winter land of Hibernia have seen God’s saving love at work. Even there the sun shines and reveals the beauty of this island as its coastlands, hills and plains participate in a cosmic dance of praise and joy. Psalm 146:11 ‘The Lord delights in those who revere him, in those who wait for his love.’ Patience’s reward is never missing.

Steadfast Psalm 15:8 ‘I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.’ Like soldiers going into battle we can place our whole trust in the One who guides us and on whose word we stand. Psalm 20:8 ‘The king has put his trust in the Lord: through the mercy of the Most High he shall stand firm.’ It is through God’s mercy and not our own virtue that we stand firm – in Him alone. Psalm 20:12 ‘they shall not prevail.’ No force can stand between us the love of God.

Thanking Psalm 49:23 ‘a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours’ This is the type of sacrifice God asks – obedience, joy, thankfulness. We must let go. Psalm 74:2 ‘We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks and call upon your name. We recount your wonderful deeds.’ Thankfulness is the gateway to life as we remember all the good we have experienced at the hands of God. Psalm 76:12-13 ‘I remember the deeds of the Lord, I remember your wonders of old, I muse on all your works and ponder your mighty deeds. When times are specially difficult it is good to remember the good works and all the ‘works’ of God in our lives yesterday, today and hopefully in the future. Psalm 83:6 ‘They are happy, whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.’ We journey on towards the goals set by a loving God. Our daily strength and our daily bread comes from him. Psalm 85:12-13 ‘I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart and glorify your name for ever; for your love to me has been great: you have saved me from the depths of the grave.’ For those who have passed great mental torment or physical pain praise and thankfulness can come naturally. Psalm 99:1-2 ‘Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.’ Gladness, thanksgiving and praise are fitting for those who seek God in humility of heart. Psalm 102:1-2 ‘My soul, give thanks to the Lord all my being, bless his holy name. My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings.’ We thank God-who-is-love ‘all’ our being. Remembering his kindness, gentleness and invitatory approach on all occasions. The Lord draws us by love and not fear. Psalm 102:22 ‘My soul, give thanks to the Lord!’ With all my being I thank my God.

Psalm 107:4-5 ‘I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples, among the nations I will praise you, for your love reaches to the heavens and your truth to the skies.’ Thankfulness if an attitude of mind and heart. Psalm 110:1-2 ‘I will thank the Lord with all my heart in the meeting of the just and their assembly. Great are the works of the Lord, to be pondered by all who love them.’ We may never cease pondering the relishing the goodness of God. Psalm 115:12-13 ‘How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord's name.’ There is so much good that we have received from God in so many ways and through so many persons. We can only cry out in humility and thankfulness. Psalm 117:29 ‘Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures for ever.’ His love is everlasting. Thankfulness and praise well up in our hearts. Psalm 135:1 ‘ALLELUIA! O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures for ever.’ Indeed God’s love for each individual person as well as for all of his people is a cause of joy and thankfulness. Psalm 135:36 ‘To the God of heaven give thanks, for his love endures for ever.’ To God be thanks and praise for his great love for us that never fails even when we fail at times. Psalm 137:2 ‘I thank you for your faithfulness and love which excel all we ever knew of you.’ Gratitude overflows when we realise just how much we are loved – beyond our wildest dreams and imaginings. Psalm 138:5-6 ‘Behind and before you besiege me, your hand ever laid upon me. Too wonderful for me this knowledge, too high, beyond my reach.’ If we had a glimpse of God’s total, unconditional, continuing love for you, for me, for each person we would not be able to deal with ‘this knowledge’. It would be ‘too high’, ‘beyond reach’ – overwhelming.

Trusting Psalm 2:12 “Blessed are they who put their trust in God” To trust in the love of God is truly to be blessed this day. Nothing can take this freedom and joy from us. Nothing. Psalm 12:6 ‘As for me, I trust in your merciful love. Let my heart rejoice in your saving help:’ The merciful love of God – Hesed in Hebrew – is above all real, present and to be trusted. Psalm 4:6 “Make justice your sacrifice, and trust in the Lord.”“ Do the right thing here and now and trust. God will answer. Psalm 15:9 ‘And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; even my body shall rest in safety.’ After trial and tribulation comes peace and joy. This line from Psalm 15 was useful after surgery. Psalm 24:5, 7c ‘In you I hope all day long because of your goodness, O Lord.’ Psalm 24:21 ‘for my hope is in you, O Lord.’ when all is said and done ‘my hope is in you, O Lord’. Psalm 25:12 ‘My foot stands on level ground’ We stand on holy ground – the ground of God’s holy word. His word is our trust. Psalm 26:1 ‘The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?’ Nothing can obstruct our path if it is God’s will. He is our light and our help especially in moments of acute anxiety, uncertainty and risk. Psalm 26:3 ‘Though an army encamp against me my heart would not fear. Though war break out against me even then would I trust.’ No matter who says what we can stand firm in God’s will and trust. Psalm 30:6 ‘Into your hands I commend my spirit. It is you who will redeem me, Lord.’ Words used by Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:46) 58

Psalm 30:15 ‘But as for me, I trust in you, Lord; I say: "You are my God.’ There is only one we can entrust to totally and always. Psalm 33:23 ‘Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.’ We can seek our hiding place in God. There we are rescued. Psalm 50:3-4 ‘Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offense. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.’ The opening verses of this great Repentance Psalm is a declaration that God is kind and it to his kindness and compassion that we appeal when evil and sin have overtaken us. Psalm 54:23 ‘Entrust your cares to the Lord and he will support you. He will never allow the just man to stumble.’ Entrust our cares to the Lord and he will carry us. Footsteps in the sand. Psalm 55:4 ‘When I fear, I will trust in you’ Psalm 90:1-2 ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides in the shade of the Almighty says to the Lord: "My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!"’ We live constantly in his loving gaze. We trust from within his gaze. Psalm 93:18 ‘When I think: "I have lost my foothold"; your mercy, Lord, holds me up.’ As when the disciple Peter attempted to walk on the waters (Matthew 14). Psalm 111:7 ‘He has no fear of evil news; with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.’ Nothing can faze the one who is grounded in God’s love and knows the meaning of trust. Psalm 115:10 ‘I trusted, even when I said: "I am sorely afflicted.."’ Even when sorely afflicted we are invited to trust in a God who sees us through any situation. Psalm 124:1 ‘Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken, that stands for ever.’ To trust in God is our one sure foundation. 59

Psalm 129:5 ‘My soul is waiting for the Lord. I count on his word.’ To wait in patient trust on a God-who-is-Love is divine. Psalm 146:3 ‘he heals the broken-hearted, he binds up all their wounds.’ Only in secret places can God, alone, heal and heal very fully. It is a lifetime’ work.

Listening Psalm 94:7b-8a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;O that today you would listen to his voice! "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah..â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Every day on this earth is another opportunity, another chance to listen and to listen again. What is it that God is saying to me today in this situation, in these events, among these persons, in my thoughts, feelings and actions? O that today I would listen and hear and understanding and act accordingly.

A Loving God Psalm 5:8 “But I through the greatness of your love have access to your house. I bow down before your holy temple, filled with awe.” A loving God cannot but be present to us always and everywhere. This very thought is enough to quieten our minds so very often and to stop, stare and be amazed. The holy temple is my soul. It is the presence of God all around me in others as well. Psalm 17:26 ‘You are loving with those who love you: you show yourself perfect with the perfect.’ God shows himself to those who love and dwells with them (John 14:23) Psalm 17:32-33 ‘For who is God but the Lord? Who is a rock but our God? the God who girds me with strength and makes the path safe before me.’ God makes clear and safe a way before us as journey onwards. Psalm 22:4 ‘If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.’ In the midst of great stress, danger and pressure, He is my rock and my love. Psalm 22:5-6 ‘You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.’ Banqueting is the best form of communion. God is utterly gracious to us and will not spare any good gifts. Psalm 27:7 ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts. I was helped, my heart rejoices and I praise him with my song.’ Strength, trust, joy, praise. Psalm 27:9 ‘Be their shepherd and carry them for ever.’ We have a kind, gentle and inviting Shepherd who carries us now and always. Psalm 30:8 ‘As for me, I trust in the Lord: let me be glad and rejoice in your love. You who have seen my affliction and taken heed of my soul's distress’ God has taken heed. Let us rejoice, always, in his great love. Psalm 30:17 62

‘Let your face shine on your servant. Save me in your love.’ The face of God is all compassion, all kindness, all gentleness and all inviting. Psalm 30:20 ‘How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you, that you show to those who trust you in the sight of men.’ Our trust is evidence in the sight of others. Psalm 32:12 ‘They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own.’ God is our sure foundation. He loves us always, and each one of us one by one, name by name. Psalm 41:9 ‘By day the Lord will send his loving kindness; by night I will sing to him, praise the God of my life.’ God’s very essence is kindness. He can only love. Praise be the God of my life the ground of my being. Psalm 42:4 ‘It was your right hand, your arm and the light of your face; for you loved them.’ God is power and God is love. With god we are en-abled. Psalm 47:10 ‘O God, we ponder your love within your temple.’ And Mary pondered (treasured) all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19) Psalm 55:9 ‘You have kept an account of my wanderings; you have kept a record of my tears; (are they not written in your book?)’ God counts every hair and every tear. Psalm 56:4 ‘May you send from heaven and save me and shame those who assail me. O God, send your truth and your love.’ The Holy Spirit will guide us into truth, love and freedom. Psalm 58:11 ‘the God who shows me love. O God, come to my aid and let me look in triumph on my foes. Psalm 58:18 ‘O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn, for you, O God, are my stronghold, the God who shows me love.’ We can turn to God-who-is-love and the God-who-shows-me-love. Psalm 60:12-13 63

‘For God has said only one thing; only two do I know: that to God alone belongs power and to you, Lord, love’ Power that serves in love and love in serving power. That’s God’s way and he shares this with us. The two go together. They are never apart. Psalm 62:4-5 ‘For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise. So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands.’ Such is the love of God: it surpasses our wildest dreams and wishes. Psalm 67:7 ‘God gives the lonely a home to live in; he leads the prisoners forth into freedom; but rebels must dwell in a parched land.’ God never abandons those who turn to him in trust and faith. Psalm 68:17 ‘Lord, answer, for your love is kind; in your compassion, turn towards me.’ God answers and acts because God is love. Psalm 78:8 ‘Let your compassion hasten to meet us; we are left in the depths of distress.’ In the depths of distress we can call upon the name of God-who-is-compassion and he will surely ‘hasten to meet us’ there where we are in the ‘depths of distress’. Psalm 80:6-7 ‘A voice I did not know said to me: "I freed your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the load.’ The silent and discrete presence of God is such as to place our thoughts and our emotions in a safer place. We can listen to that voice that we may not know so well. Psalm 85:15-16 ‘But you, God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger, O Lord, abounding in love and truth, turn and take pity on me.’ God’s name is love and his way of being and acting is pure innocence and compassion. We can turn to him in all our travails. Psalm 88:3 ‘Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever, that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.’ There is one reality that we can take refuge – God’s unconditional love for us and his integrity at all times. Psalm 88:34 ‘I will never take back my love, my truth will never fail’

The one underlying constant is God’s unconditional love and truthfulness. Our full and undivided trust is in Him alone. Psalm 90:14-16 ‘Since he clings to me in love, I will free him; protect you for he knows my name. When he calls I shall answer: "I am with you," I will save him in distress and give him glory. With length of days I will content him; I shall let you see my saving power.’ God’s love seeks our happiness more than we could ever imagine or expect. His desire is to free us and find us in enduring happiness. Psalm 101:28 ‘But you neither change, nor have an end’ God’s love is never ending. We can trust in him forever. Psalm 102:8 ‘The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.’ There we have it from the Old Testament: ‘The Lord is compassion and love…’ In other words, ‘God is love’ 1 John 4:8 Psalm 105:1-3 ‘Alleluia O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures for ever. Who can tell the Lord's mighty deeds? Who can recount all his praise? They are happy who do what is right, who at all times do what is just.’ Giving thanks to a God who loves us always and who is ever faithful no matter how many times we falter. If we turn to God in humility and trust and genuinely seek to ‘do what is right’ then we will find true happiness for some of the time here in this life and forever in the one to come. We hope. Psalm 105:44-45 ‘In spite of this he paid heed to their distress, so often as he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant. In the greatness of his love he relented’ God is ever faithful; ever loving even when we are not. Psalm 106:1 ‘"O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures for ever."’ Thankful hearts know their gifts and count them. Psalm 108:26 ‘Help me, Lord my God; save me because of your love.’ Help, saving, presence – because of his great love for me. Psalm 110:4 ’ The Lord is compassion and love.’ God is love is the core truth of our faith.

Psalm 116:1-2 ‘O praise the Lord, all you nations, acclaim him all you peoples! Strong is his love for us; he is faithful for ever.’ Ever faithful, ever strong, ever loving. Let us praise the God who never disappoints or never fails us. Psalm 117:1 ‘Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures for ever.’ Psalm 118:64 ‘Lord, your love fills the earth’ In all the world, among all people and at all times in human history and before it. Psalm 118:76 ‘Let your love be ready to console me by your promise to your servant.’ God’s love is ever present especially in moments of darkness and trial. Psalm 118:88 ‘Because of your love give me life and I will do your will.’ Love begets life and in this life we go forward in doing the will of him who loves us without limit. Psalm 118:149 ‘In your love hear my voice, O Lord; give me life by your decrees’ God never fails to hear. How could he do otherwise. He is love. Love listens. Love acts. Psalm 134:3 ‘Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.’ Since pray twice! Joyful praise is fitting for loyal hearts. Psalm 144:14 ‘The Lord supports all who fall and raise up all who are bowed down’ Each time we fall we get up and start again. The Lord raises us up each time. Psalm 144:8 ‘The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.’ This is probably one of the finest lines in the entire Bible and in the history of human thought and writing. May we be like God in loving.

Mercy Psalm 24:6-7 ‘Remember your mercy, Lord, and the love you have shown from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth. In your love remember me.’ God covers a multitude of sins and faults. We can always start again now. Psalm 31:1-2 ‘Happy the man whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.’ Happy indeed those who know God’s mercy and renewal. Psalm 102:17 ‘But the love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear’ When we approach the Throne of Grace and Mercy in penitence and humility God’s healing love will not be lacking. Psalm 138:13-14 ‘For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother's womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation.’ Thank God for me and for you and for others. A mystery.

In the Morning Psalm 3:6 “I lie down to rest, and I sleep. I wake, for the Lord upholds me.” First thing this morning I consecrate myself to you. Living baptism every day. Psalm 5:4 “It is you whom I invoke, O Lord. In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting.” Watching and waiting – the very first thing we need to do after switching off the alarm clock and jumping out of bed! No excuses!  Psalm 18:15 ‘May the spoken words of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart, win favour in your sight, O Lord, my rescuer, my rock!’ God searches our minds and hearts early in the day. We may not be aware at the time. Psalm 24:2 ‘To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.’ Prayer is an uplifting of mind, heart and soul. Psalm 45:5-6 ‘The waters of a river give joy to God's city, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, it cannot be shaken; God will help it at the dawning of the day.’ First things first every morning. Acknowledge the God’s love within us and commit our entire trust to him. Psalm 56:8-12 ‘My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. I will sing, I will sing your praise. Awake, my soul; awake, lyre and harp, I will awake the dawn. I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples, among the nations I will praise you for your love reaches to the heavens and your truth to the skies. O God, arise above the heavens; may your glory shine on earth.’ Praise in the morning and thanksgiving in the evening – our daily bread. Psalm 58:17 ‘As for me, I will sing of your strength and each morning acclaim your love for you have been my stronghold, a refuge in the day of my distress.’ Each morning we rise to sing a new song a song of God’s love that never fails and in whose gentle arms we lay our cares for the approaching day. Psalm 60:9 ‘So I will always praise your name and day after day fulfil my vows.’ Each day is an opportunity to renew our baptismal vows.

Psalm 66:2-3 ‘O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help.’ In the morning we seek your face. Praise will rise in our hearts as we seek your saving help in the quiet of morning. Psalm 88:16-17 ‘Happy the people who acclaim such a king, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face, who find their joy every day in your name, who make your justice the source of their bliss.’ Every day we find the seeds of joy and contemplation in God. Let us awake in such an expectation every morning. Psalm 89:14 ‘In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days.’ A good, joyful start to the day is the best way. There is much to be thankful for and much to be hopeful for. Psalm 95:1-3 ‘O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.’ Each day is a new day and we must sing a new song and continue to witness joyfully to the God of everlasting surprises. Psalm 107:2-3 ‘My heart is ready, O God; I will sing, sing your praise. Awake, my soul; awake, lyre and harp, I will awake the dawn.’ As we wake to a new day our hearts are ready – ready for praise and ready for joy. This is the way to prepare for a new day. Psalm 112:1-4 ‘ALLELUIA! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! May the name of the Lord be blessed both now and for evermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting praised be the name of the Lord! High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory.’ Glory and praise are fitting, in particular, at the start of every new day and its close. Psalm 117:19 ‘Open to me the gates of holiness: I will enter and give thanks.’ We stand on the outside and seek entry to that place of fellowship, unity and joy. Psalm 117:24 ‘This day was made by the Lord; we rejoice and are glad.’

Today – this very day – was made by God that we might rejoice and be glad. And some days are special. This too will pass. Psalm 118:147 ‘I rise before dawn and cry for help, I hope in your word’ The key to the day is early prayer and the Word. Psalm 120:6-8 ‘By day the sun shall not smite you nor the moon in the night. The Lord will guard you from evil, he will guard you soul. The Lord will guard your going and coming both now and for ever.’ God is ever at my side morning, noon and night; key to the day and bolt for the night. Psalm 122:1 ‘To you have I lifted up my eyes, you who dwell in the heavens’ Early in the morning we lift our eyes to God who calls us from on high to a new day. Psalm 123:8 ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.’ Our help is in a mighty one who loves us to the ends of the earth. Psalm 129:6-7 ‘My soul is longing for the Lord more than watchman for daybreak. (Let the watchman count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord.) Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption’ A yearning for God’s tender mercy and love is so strong. This is a time of the day to focus … Psalm 130:2 ‘Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother's breast, even so is my soul.’ The image of a child at its mother’s breast is a powerful conveying trust, dependence, comfort, peace, still ness. What every baby of the good Lord really wants! Psalm 145:5 ‘He is happy who is helped by Jacob's God, whose hope is in the Lord his God’ Blessings, hope and trust go together.

Natural world Psalm 95:11-13 ‘Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad, let the sea and all within it thunder praise, let the land and all it bears rejoice, all the trees of the wood shout for joy at the presence of the Lord for he comes, he comes to rule the earth.’ The world around us cannot contain itself for joy in proclaiming the ever present love of God. Psalm 97:7-8 ‘Let the sea and all within it, thunder; the world, and all its peoples. Let the rivers clap their hands and the hills ring out their joy’ All of nature joins in one cosmic dance of praise and joy to the One Creator. Psalm 103:24 ‘How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches.’ In wisdom God has placed us in the midst of the natural universe where we are part of all that he has made. Psalm 103:30 ‘You send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth.’ As in the beginning the Spirit or breath of God is over all of creation and is renewing the earth from within. Psalm 144:10 ‘..All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord..’ Every living creatures gives glory to its maker.

Uniting Psalm 132:1 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers live in unity!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; How good it is that brothers and sisters live in unity leaving aside strife and discord. It is the way to true happiness here on earth. And it is possible.

Victory in persecution Psalm 6:11 ‘ All my foes will retire in confusion, foiled and suddenly confounded.’ In every walk of life there are those who cross us and pain us. If we stand true to our principles and refuse to act or treat others as they sometimes treat us we have won. Psalm 9:11 ‘ Those who know your name will trust you; you will never forsake those who seek you.’ A covenant with our God is written in the stars. We trust. I trust. Psalm 31:6-7 ‘So let every good man pray to you in the time of need. The floods of water may reach high but him they shall not reach. You are my hiding place, O Lord; you save me from distress.’ As I swim across I will not be submerged. Psalm 32:11 ‘His own designs shall stand for ever, the plans of his heart from age to age.’ Who or what can stand in the way of God’s purposes? Psalm 91:2-3 ‘It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night’ Throughout every period of 24 hours we can join all of humanity in proclaiming God’s fathomless love and truth. We can sing and dance silently and out loud. Psalm 117:6 ‘The Lord is at my side; I do not fear what can man do against me?’ None to fear; nothing to lose; forward in trust and love. Psalm 118:22 ‘Relieve me from scorn and contempt for I do your will.’ Though we may be the subject of ‘scorn and contempt’ the one thing that matters is to love God and love our neighbour in the here and now. Leave the rest to God. Psalm 118:41-42 ‘Lord, let your love come upon me, the saving help of your promise. And I shall answer those who taunt me for I trust in your word. ‘ Under fire and under pressure – your loving word rests in me and upholds my head. Psalm 118:86 ‘help me when lies oppress me’ When the tables are turned over and the counter-narrative holds sway and lies about oneself are firmly established and believed I will trust in God alone. He knows all. 73

Psalm 118:1-2 ‘To the Lord in the hour of my distress I call and he answers me. "O Lord, save my soul from lying lips, from the tongue of the deceitful."’ In the hour distress we can out to the Lord in trust and faith and He who is never absent will respond in his own time and in his own way. Psalm 128:2 ‘"They have pressed me hard from my youth but could never destroy me.’ Nothing can stand between us and the love of God. Nothing can overcome or destroy us as long as we continue to be rooted in God-who-is-love. Psalm 139:8 ‘Lord my God, my mighty help, you shield my head in the battle.’ In life’s travails and inevitable conflicts from time to time we do well to remember that God is our only shield. He shields not only the body but the head space as well as we are under fire from within and without.

Vocation Psalm 64:5 ‘Blessed is he whom you choose and call to dwell in your courts. We are filled with the blessings of your house, of your holy temple.’ We are called in a way that is unique and dignified. Psalm 79:18 ‘May your hand be on the man you have chosen, the man you have given your strength.’ Those called have been chosen. Those chosen have been given strength. Answering a call is not about our strength or choosing so much as recognising and saying yes to a choice that is from God.

Wholeness Psalm 23:6 ‘Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.’ Love and we will see the face of God. Psalm 91:14-16 ‘Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish in the courts of our God, still bearing fruit when they are old, still full of sap, still green, to proclaim that the Lord is just.’ To flourish and to bear fruit in all seasons of life is our sacred duty and privilege. Psalm 118:2-3 ‘They are happy who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts, who never do anything evil but walk in his ways’ Seek God and his will; be compassionate to all and avoid evil. This is the road to being happy. Psalm 132:3 ‘For there the Lord gives his blessing, life for ever.’ Where there is unity and love there is God living and breathing his holy spirit on the world.

Wisdom (and counsel) Psalm 18:8 ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted, it gives wisdom to the simple.’ Trust in God. Do what is right and true. He will give you wisdom. Psalm 22:3 ‘He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name.’ God will not leave us alone. He will show us, step by step, the way to go. He is true to his name which is love and salvation. Psalm 24:4 ‘Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths.’ If we listen with an open hear – in humility, trust and openness – then God will show us the way and teach us how to go there. Psalm 24:8-9 ‘The Lord is good and upright. He shows the path to those who stray, He guides the humble in the right path, He teaches his way to the poor.’ To listen and be guided by God’s holy spirt we must empty ourselves of ourselves. Psalm 24:12 ‘If anyone fears the Lord he will show him the path he should choose.’ Choosing a course of action can rest on openness to God in prayer and trust. Psalm 26:11 ‘Instruct me, Lord, in your way; on an even path lead me.’ God’s ways lead to peace and the pathways – though rough and circuitous lead to an even place. Psalm 30:4 ‘For your name's sake, lead me and guide me.’ God’s purpose is to lead us to peace and wholeness of life. Psalm 31:9 ‘I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel with my eye upon you.’ We are constantly walking and standing in the gaze of God who directs us if we listen and are willing. Psalm 32:15 ‘he who shapes the hearts of them all; and considers all their deeds.’ God works on us night and day and, if we are open, he shapes and re-shapes our hearts. This involves deep healing and restoration of life and joy where sin and division have wounded us. 77

Psalm 33:12-13 ‘Come, children, and hear me that I may teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is he who longs for life and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?’ These lines are taken up in the prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict where the act of listening and obeying are central to Benedictine spirituality. Psalm 35:10 ‘In you is the source of life and in your light we see light.’ God is life and light and the source of all life and light. We walk and live in this Source every moment of our existence. To Him be Glory forever! Psalm 36:23 ‘The Lord guides the steps of a man and makes safe the path of one he loves.’ God directs our steps and makes safe the path before us. Psalm 36:30 ‘The just man's mouth utters wisdom and his lips speak what is right’ wisdom comes from on high through life’s experiences; enters deep within the soul; and is shown in the way we act and speak. Psalm 38:5 ‘"O Lord, you have shown me my end, how short is the length of my days. Now I know how fleeting is my life.’ Life is short and eternity is long. There is much that we do not need to take on our shoulders. Psalm 39:7-8 ‘You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I’ An open heart, an open mind and willing hands are enough. Psalm 42:3 ‘O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my guide. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.’ As pilgrims on our way through life God’s presence and word guides us one step at a time. Now and again we catch glimpse of a holy place near a mountain. Psalm 47:15 ‘It is he who leads us.’ God is in charge of things! Psalm 48:4 ‘My lips will speak words of wisdom. My heart is full of insight.’

The Holy Spirit comes to visit us at times and we speak words of wisdom without preparation and our hearts are full of insight without study. Psalm 48:5 ‘I will turn my mind to a parable, with the harp I will solve my problem.’ When in doubt and anguish turn to the stories that have nourished us including those from the Bible. With recourse to beauty, art and music (which is food for the soul) there is nothing that – with God’s help and in the fullness of time – we cannot work out and resolve. Psalm 50:8 ‘Indeed you love truth in the heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.’ The holy spirit teaches us night and day if we are ready to listen and accept. God’s truth can reign in our hearts and minds. Psalm 72:16-17 ‘I strove to fathom this problem, too hard for my mind to understand, until I pierced the mysteries of God and understood what becomes of the wicked.’ Some things remain beyond our understanding or full grasp. In so far as we may pierce ‘the mysteries of God’ in this world we do well to remain open, trusting towards God and kind to our neighbour. This will guard and guide us. Psalm 72:24 ‘You will guide me by your counsel and so you will lead me to glory.’ God never fails to be ready to guide us if we listen and are open. Psalm 85:5 ‘O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of love to all who call.’ If this is the way God treats each one of us then, surely, this is the way we should treat others too. Psalm 85:11 ‘Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth.’ We trust in God’s own time and opportunity. All we need is to take one step at a time. Psalm 89:10 ‘Our span is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong. And most of these are emptiness and pain. They pass swiftly and we are gone. Who understands the power of your anger and fears the strength of your fury? Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Appreciation of the shortness of our lives is a step towards deeper wisdom. Psalm 93:11 ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of men. He knows they are no more than a breath’ Our thinking and our reasoning are only a limited and small part of the universe. Psalm 106:5-7 79

‘Hungry they were and thirsty; their soul was fainting within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their need and he rescued them from their distress and he led them along the right way, to reach a city they could dwell in.’ God knows our deepest needs better than we do. We can trust in him and he will surely guide to a place of peace, contentedness and freedom for our souls. Psalm 111:4 ‘He is a light in the darkness for the upright: he is generous, merciful and just.’ Through our acts of kindness we can reflect light for others. We may not even realise this. Psalm 118:29 ‘Keep me from the way of error and teach me your law.’ Ask for wisdom and it will be given. Psalm 118:66 ‘Teach me discernment and knowledge for I trust in your commands’ God will teach us in the depths of our hearts and our minds. We must be open to this. Psalm 118:102 ‘you yourself have taught me’ God is my teacher night and day. Psalm 118:105 ‘Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.’ God lights up our pathway one step at a time. We may not see the end destination or the road ahead. Psalm 140:3 ‘Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth; keep watch, O Lord, at the door of my lips!’ Vigilance in what we say and do at all times! Psalm 140:4 ‘Do not turn my heart to things that are wrong’ We ought to pray for strength and wisdom to do what is right and not to turn to what is wrong. Psalm 143:10 ‘Let your good spirit guide me in ways that are level and smooth.’ God’s holy spirit leads you and me in ‘ways that are level and smooth’ if we open our hearts to the Ruach of God’s Holy Breath. Anáil (Gaeilge) and Ruach (Hebrew) is a feminine word.

Witness Psalm 21: ‘I will tell of your name to my brethren and praise you where they are assembled.’ Praise is indeed fitting for loyal and grateful hearts. And what an opportunity when we join unostentatiously with others in a collective act of worship, praise and thanksgiving. Psalm 68:7 ‘Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord of hosts: let not those who seek you be dismayed through me, God of Israel.’ We carry a heavy duty to be a sign of hope and affirmation and not rejection and scandal that others might fall or experience betrayal. Psalm 88:48 ‘Remember, Lord, the shortness of my life and how frail you have made the sons of men.’ As we go through life we realise the shortness of our span and how frail we are. Hopefully we grow in tolerance, patience and kindness. It is never too late. Psalm 115:18 ‘My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people’ In baptism we die to ourselves in Christ and in fulfilling our baptismal vows moment by moment in the time that remains to us we grow in the likeness of Jesus who became a servant of all. Psalm 118:133 ‘Let my steps be guided by your promise; let no evil rule me.’ God’s promise is our light and our guide through difficult paths. We must not presume to look beyond the next steps or know where it leads. Evil can rule those who presume they know better.

Working Psalm 127:2 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Every work done out of love and service has value. God-who-creator is glorified in our work. We participate in the re-creation of all.

Loving the whole World Psalm 23:1-2 ‘The Lord's is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.’ Every living creature and organism belongs to God. Let us respect everyone and let us respect the earth of which we are part. Psalm 147:15 ‘He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command’ Psalm 147:18 ‘he sends forth his word and it melts them’ God’s word is alive and active in our world and is present in every situation no matter what people do. We cling to this faith.