Psalm 107

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

In the psalm trouble and turmoil are encountered.

Through these troubles God becomes "as our kinsman".

It is in this intimate relationship that we are redeemed.

The relationship is affirmed and advanced by giving thanks.

I give thanks both for the trouble and its wonderful consequence.

Psalm 107

Psalm 104

O Lord, how manifold are your works!

Today I have awakened entirely too early.

Leaving the house I startled a deer, she snorted grumpily crashing through the woods.

In awe and appreciation I stood beneath the arc of stars.

On this Rosh Hashanah I awake to a new year, new challenges, new opportunities.

It is also the feast day of Michael and all the angels, a whole other order of being.

Another translation of the verse above: That Which Exists what are your works becoming?

That Which Exists is constantly becoming, emerging, unfolding.

There is, I perceive, divine intention. But just as the starry host is beyond my full comprehension, so surely is that intention.

We engage divine intention through becoming: changing, opening, choosing, failing, succeeding, discovering, unlearning, creating, and risking.

Psalm 104

Psalm 119

I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
Guarantee your servant’s well-being;
do not let the godless oppress me.

This is the attitude that many religious bring to worship, prayer, and to every aspect of their relationship with God.

It is a persistent temptation to me, a kind of cosmic Let's Make a Deal.

I have not very often done what is just and right. I mostly do what is self-interested and easy. Occasionally I am unjust and wrong.

But even if I was more consistently just and right, God has not promised well-being, prosperity, or even peace as a reward.

God has given me and my fellows freedom of choice. We can choose justice and righteousness, but usually do not and we suffer the consequences of our choosing.

God has guaranteed to be with us in the struggle and suffering.

Psalm 119

Psalm 87

Singers and dancers alike say,
‘All my springs are in you.'

Some psalms are better at capturing human desire than divine intent.

Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side. (Psalm 97)

O Lord, you God of vengeance,
you God of vengeance, shine forth! (Psalm 94)

We have adversaries. We seek vengeance.

Jesus has taught that God loves all and we are to love our enemies.

We are invited to love God and neighbor.

That is enough and, usually, too much for us.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing. (Psalm 100)

Psalm 87

Psalm 102

My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.

While pointing toward death, this is not an unpleasant image.

It suggests a long day completed.

It implies a season's growth fulfilled.

In the dusk of a hot summer's day the grass may even recover.

But the close of one season is, in any case, succeeded by the Spring.

Psalm 102

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.

That Which Exists is as a river, even four rivers.

Constantly moving, transforming, cleansing, sweeping all before it.

Heraclitus said,"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man."

This is true. It is also a paradox. It is still the river that our great grandfather and his great grandfather knew. We persist even as we change.

The river - the change - is our refuge.

Psalm 46

Psalm 90

Our years come to an end like a sigh.
The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Toil and trouble for sure.

But also goodness, beauty, and joy.

I give thanks for good toil.

I give thanks for troubles to meaningfully engage.

I give thanks for blessings abundant.

Psalm 90

Psalm 91

Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honour them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.

Above is a picture of children arriving at Auschwitz.

Did God protect them?

Did God rescue them?

I understand how they were delivered, honored, and saved.

I am sure that God was with them.

Did God protect them: another translation offers, "set securely on high"?

Did God rescue them: draw off, take away, free?

Psalm 91

Psalm 85

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.

A reconciliation of sometime opposites is suggested.

Love meets truth.

Individual expression kisses social wholeness.

Earth and heaven are one.

Thy kingdom come...

Psalm 85

Psalm 81

But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.

God -- That Which Exists -- is not easy.

That Which Exists is profound, complex, beyond prediction.

But in creation, prophecy, and incarnation God has been explicit.

While not easy, the way of God is discernible.

It is up to us, each of us, to choose in this moment and always.

Psalm 81

Psalm 124

We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

The purpose of the incarnation is to tell us, demonstrate to us, that the snare has been broken - permanently. We have escaped. Do I give thanks and live in accordance with this reality?

Psalm 124

Psalm 126

Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Psalm 126

Psalm 34

Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

What we say and do is the source of evil.

What we say and do is the cause of good.

What we say and do creates peace or war.

Rather than mislead, deceive, and beguile,

Speak truthfully, behave honestly, and lead boldly.

Psalm 34

Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.

Every enemy I have actually met is internal to me.

The adversarial will that holds me back is mostly my own.

The only breath of violence I have encountered is from my own mouth.

Dear God, help me past these impediments.

Show me the level path you have made for me.

Psalm 73

When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast towards you.
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will receive me with honour.

I am a sinner: vain, stubborn, and self-serving.

I am a child of God: loving, creative, and giving.

I am both good and bad, potentially evil.

Hold me tight dear God, keep me from evil.

Lead me to fulfill your intention.

Psalm 73

Psalm 71

You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.

The word translated above as calamities is רֵעֶה or re'eh.

The literal translation is friend or, more precisely, friend of the king.

In relationships and especially in relationship with power we experience many troubles.

At the core of the trouble is our effort to choose for others, to control.

In relationship with God we learn that control is not possible.

Psalm 71

Psalm 119

I am yours; save me,

for I have sought your precepts.

לְךָ-אֲנִי, הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי: כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי.

Deliver, complete, liberate.

Seek, study, inquire.

Visit, observe, gather.

God is a verb and calls each of us to action.

Psalm 119

Psalm 68

But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

We struggle and we will struggle.

We suffer and we will suffer.

We are relieved and fulfilled to give thanks and praise.

To be loved by God is cause for joy.

To exult in gladness is a good cause.

Psalm 68

Psalm 65

You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

I am troubled.

My situation is fine, has seldom been better.

Yet I am troubled.

I should put aside worry and give thanks.

Praising God for his goodness.

Psalm 65

Psalm 8

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honour.

The moon and stars remind me of mortality.

My reach is small, my time is brief.

They also remind me of the eternity of God.

Yet I have been invited by God to be co-creator.

I have been invited to participate in eternity.

Psalm 8

Psalm 138

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

I hope the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.

As I read the Hebrew, that phrase can be read many ways.

The most literal, at least to me, is: That Which Exists completes, perfects, brings to an end through time, space,and partnership.

Less likely, but still possible is: That Which Exists perfects with me.

In any case, may I be a creative collaborator in the work.

Psalm 138

Psalm 51

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Renew me.

Restore me.

Repair me.

Return me to the way.

Receive me into your reality.

Psalm 51

Psalm 84

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

There is a recurring sense of being on a journey.

The destination is known: Spiritual Zion, our proper home.

There are various routes available, straight or winding, each with their particular opportunities and challenges.

Whatever way is chosen will include thirsty, desolate places.

But in our heart-of-hearts we know the way and can choose the way to God's abundance.

Psalm 84

Psalm 49

My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

I shall be shrewd and skillful.

I shall observe, discern, and exercise reason.

I shall listen carefully and participate in discourse.

I shall engage difficult and perplexing questions.

Psalm 49

Psalm 47

God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.

The Hebrew word for praise is זָמַר or zamar.

In a context such as that above, the translation is to sing or praise or both.

In other contexts the very same word means to trim or prune.

Scholars speculate the two uses are related through the use of trimmed wood as percussive and reed instruments.

But I notice that when I have offered praise to God, when I have sung my heart out, I am cleansed and pruned of excess.

Psalm 47

Psalm 62

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

That Which Exists is where I set my expectations.

That Which Exists is where I choose to stand.

That Which Exists is where I can be effective.

That Which Exists is where I am saved.

That Which Exists is where past, present, and future unfold.

Psalm 62

Psalm 103

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.

The promise of redemption was given long before the crucifixion and resurrection.

But our transgressions persist, even in refusing forgiveness

God has given us a rich feast, it is left for each of us to eat and be satisfied.

Psalm 103

Psalm 43

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

The Hebrew נֶפֶש or nephesh is usually translated as soul.

For the Greeks the soul was a mysterious, somewhat ghostly, potentially eternal element... possibly even a particle of God temporarily housed in a mortal body.

For the Jews nephesh is self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion. The soul is the outcome of how we choose to live.

Psalm 43

Psalm 31

I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many—
terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

In this psalm terror is magowr, which sounds right, like a menacing growl.

It means to fear. It is derived from guwr, which can also mean to be afraid, but which more literally means to abide with a stranger.

We are afraid of the other. Yet who is more profoundly other than God?

We come to trust in God - That Which Exists - by reaching out and entering into relationship with what can cause fear.

Psalm 31

Psalm 37

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.

An alternative translation, as literal as possible:

Be careless regarding That Which Exists, be kind, do good, create;
be as one with the earth tending it with firm faithfulness.
Open yourself to That Which Exists,your inner most needs will be fulfilled.
Roll down the road of That Which Exists, act boldly.

Psalm 37