IV.
Today spend time with the Psalmist.

Please don’t just read his words, passing over then like you have heard him before, but sit with him, listen to him, see if you have some degree of empathy for his pain.

V.
Psalm 71:12-21 (NRSVue)

O God, do not be far from me;
       O my God, make haste to help me!
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
       let those who seek to hurt me
       be covered with scorn and disgrace.
But I will hope continually
       and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
       of your deeds of salvation all day long,
       though their number is past my knowledge.
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
       I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,
       and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
       O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
       to all the generations to come.
Your power and your righteousness, O God,
       reach the high heavens.

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.
You will increase my honor
       and comfort me once again.

VI.
What’s that phrase I use to hear a lot? “Where is he coming from?”

Do you know where the Psalmist is “coming from”?

Take some time with the Psalmist words again, and make note of what he tells you about himself.

You might ask yourself, who is he (or she)? What does he tell you about the kind of emotions he is experiencing? What are his disappointments? What are his hopes?

Can you recall a time you were in a place similar to where he is?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}