Psalm 116 “A man can’t be always defending the truth; there must be a time to feed on it.”

Psalm 116

It seems like a good day to hear the psalm and take it into our hearts. C.S. Lewis, in his Reflections on the Psalms writes: “The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.”

It seemed like a  good time to breathe in the joy of worshiping God and dancing like David. So much goes on in our lives that feels tiresome. Let’s take time to be like David and worship anyway!

Of course, anyone who has read more than one of the Psalms knows that not all of them sound like dancing. Some of them are down right harsh. David, and the other psalmists, did not seem to have any problem telling God exactly how life felt to them. They were pretty blunt.  But in the honor of joy and praise, I will skip quoting any of their complaints.

Still, I also believe that when one can be so open and honest with one's complaints without fear, that too is worship. To know God’s grace so well and to be so certain in it, is to worship.

And today's Psalm touches my heart. 

Who has not felt the pain of life to the point that one wished for death? Or perhaps did in fact come near to death? Even in the moments when it is not physical death, most of us have known the emotional pains that feel as if ones heart is being torn apart.

I too have called out to God for help. Have you? And sometimes with a whisper, a gentle breeze, sometimes with a quick rescue, I have felt the hand of God Save. 

God listens. God listens deeply. God listens with compassion. And because God lived the human experience through Jesus, God’s empathy is complete. For God too has had to take up a cross.

God is indeed gracious and merciful. And the psalmist also calls God righteous. That is a great word. Often the word righteous has connotations of living according to the law, not sinning. But it is really so much more than that. Righteousness is right relationship with one another. God’s actions toward us are about a relationship built on love. Mercy is to love deeply. 

When I was brought low he saved me. Those moments of humiliation, God is there. Those moments of utter weakness and despair, God is there. Those moments when we think nothing can ever save us, perhaps our sin is too great, God is there.

Return o my soul to your rest. Like a child in the arms of its mother, our souls find rest in the presence of God.

In my silent prayer, centering prayer, I find God, here in my chest. I feel the warmth of utter love, acceptance and peace. I find salvation. Did you know that the word we translate as to be saved means to be made whole? I find, in the silence of God, wholeness.  Trappist Monk Thomas Keating writes that “silence is God’s first language.” The quote is also attributed to St John of the Cross.

Return o my soul to your rest in the place of God’s presence (silence)!

And each day I walk with God , here on this earth. It is such a joy, such an honor to know that we don’t need to wait until we go to some far away place at some far away time. But rather today we walk with God, here on planet earth.

It is election time. If you are on Facebook or any social media, if you are around others with different political views than you, if you watch the news or read the paper, you may need to remember that the peace, the wholeness, the deep love of God is with you. 

The beautiful thing about letting your soul rest in God during these times is his love shines through you. You will bring peace to the moment in which you are living. We need this. Not just for our souls but also for the souls of the world who share this moment with us.

If the concept of 6 degrees of separation is true, and I believe with technology it is even less, then touching the soul next to you can indeed be the pebble tossed in the water. Waves of hope and peace going ever outward.

Is quiet time with God a waste of time? Never! I am convinced it is the only hope our world has.  Again C.S Lewis in Reflections of the Psalms writes: “A man can’t be always defending the truth; there must be a time to feed on it.”―

So I would like to leave you with an alternative reading of today’s psalm.  There is a lovely book called “Psalms for Praying; an Invitation to Wholeness.”  Nan Merrill has rewritten the psalms into prayers of love. Here is Psalm 116:

(Perhaps close your eyes or simply quiet your mind as I read it.)

Receive my love, O Beloved, You who

hear my voice and my supplication.

You incline your ear to me, and

I call upon You with trust both day and night.

When the snares of fear encompass me,

when the pangs of loneliness envelop me,

I suffer distress and anguish.

Then I call upon You, my Rock:

You come to my aid,

Your strength upholds me.

Gracious are You, just and true;

Heart of all hearts, You are merciful and forgiving.

You preserve the simple; when

I am humbled, You lift me up.

Return, O my soul, to your rest;

For You, O Loving Friend,

bestow grace upon grace, a balm for my soul.

You raise me up to new life;

You dry my tears, and guide my feet on straight paths.

Now, I walk hand in hand with Love

in the land of the Awakened ones.

I keep my faith, even in times of great turmoil;

I invite others to Awaken to the joy of your Presence.