ISSL Reflections October 31 2021 Psalms 149:1-5, 150 Post 3

VII.
Again, in Bread in the Wilderness, Thomas Merton writes –
“The Psalms acquire, for those who know how to enter into them, a surprising depth, a marvelous and inexhaustible actuality. They are bread, miraculously provided by Christ,to feed those who have followed Him into the wilderness.”

VIII.
Psalm 149:1-5 (NRSV)

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.

Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.

Psalm 150 (NRSV)

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

IX.
… for those who know how to enter into them …

During these weeks we have spent with the Psalms, what might we have learned about “how to enter them”?

We have learned they speak of praise to and for The Lord God.

Does hearing them speak of praise help us find ways to express our desire to praise?

And might they even help us when we do not have the desire to praise or have words of praise?

I am not thinking that we should only repeat their words but that we can listen to their words and try to find their paths to praise. Maybe seeing how they walked toward praise can serve as a map for us.

And don’t forget the Psalms can express disappointment and anger. They can be very explicit in such expressions.

Maybe taking note of their honesty with God can help us move to such honesty.

The Psalms are not “flat” praise songs, but multidimensional expressions of very human emotions as they seek to encounter God and as they find reality in that encounter.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}


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ISSL Reflections October 31 2021 Psalms 149:1-5, 150 Post 3 — 1 Comment

  1. Pingback: Entering Scripture – Lectio Divina | Disciples' Walk

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