Gentle Reader,
Did attend the chat last week, but neglected to go and see what the prompt was, thus this belated entry.
Completely unconnected thought: I have never dyed my hair. Well, I guess that’s technically not true; one summer, several years ago, I had some low lights put in that were about two shades darker than my natural color. Wild, I know. But yesterday, I found myself thinking, “I should go blonde.” Utterly random and it 99.9% won’t happen because I am lazy and/or a hippie when it comes to my hair – obviously, or I’d be straightening these locks every morning – but you never know. I might show up looking like a completely different person one of these days.
Kate says: well.
Go.
LORD, you have treated your servant well,
just as You promised.
Teach me good judgment and discernment,
for I rely on Your commands.– Psalm 119:65-66 (CSB)
If you’re ever feeling down, turn to the psalms.
The whole range of human emotion is expressed in these poems. We are given permission, by their inclusion in holy writ, to be the fragile, frail people that we are. We are given space to cry out to God. To doubt, question, and wrestle. To express the desire to call down fire on someone’s head. (Don’t tell me you’ve never felt urge). The psalms are the sinner’s songbook, full of fear, passion, and rage.
And yet the stanzas are so much more. Time and again we watch as the author shifts from complaint to praise, from worry to wonder. The pen stills as the heart drops into a steadier rhythm. Despite the brokenness, despite the pain, despite the suffering, God is good. Like the true Father He is, He guides His children into places of peace and wholeness. When we are done fighting and fussing, He draws us into His lap and whispers words of love.
Yes, Lord. You treat Your servants well. We raise our hands in praise to You not because of the perfection of our existence, because it is not perfect, but because of the perfection of Your presence. You enable us to walk the path You have set before us, sometimes sure and swift, sometimes halting and hushed. This path, it leads straight to the heart of the better country, the place for which we are made and for which we ache.
Yes, Lord. Teach us good judgment. Teach us discernment. We rely on You.
Stop.
Barb coloured my hair and beard once, as a joke. Bright blond. I looked like a cross between Thor and Gimli.
My favourite Psalm (I’ve read ’em all)
has to be the one I’m made for.
It summons me with clarion call:
it’s Psalm one-forty-four.
Mine was a violent profession;
I’m a killer, born and trained.
Many times hell was in session
and I alone remained.
God makes the hands to fit the tools
of which use He requires.
Rifles are not made for fools;
one needs to hit at whom one fires.
He tells His enemies, with blunt-force tact:
“Vengeance is Mine!”; but He subcontracts.
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I will never be able to get that image out of my mind. LOL!
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I love the Psalms! They are so rich! One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 30:5. I posted late this week too. I am in the 43 spot!
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Have you ever read the book “A Heart Set Free?” It takes you through the Psalms of Lament, teaching you how to allow yourself space for both mourning and trust. Really good!
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The Psalms connect us to our humanity. They remind us of our broken state-due to someone else’s sin, our own sin or simply the sinful state of an earthly kingdom. I have learned about using them as prayers for ourselves as well as prayers for others. They give words to our human experience yet point us to hope. Aubrey Sampson in her book, “The Louder Song” holds the Psalms up as lamentations. She points out the significance in Hebrew of the place they turn to hope.
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Amen! I’m going to have to check out that book.
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