Showing posts with label Psalm 61. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 61. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2026
Psalm Meditation 1341
¶Second Sunday in Lent
¶March 1, 2026
¶Psalm 61 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2061&version=NRSVUE
¶Sometimes all we need to do is close our eyes, open our hearts and minds to be in the presence of someone who is not physically present, yet so much a part of us that we experience them as if they were with us in the flesh. It could be a parent, a friend, a mentor past or present, or, as for the psalmist, God. The physical environment has not changed, however, we can feel the change around us, as we call to mind the one who can lead us to a place of refuge and security against any onslaught.
¶The psalmist leans on the abiding presence of God in this time of crisis, reminding us that we can do the same. Knowing that God is with us we are able to face the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,’ and stand firm in the presence of all adversities as we are sheltered in the wings of God. As we receive refuge in the presence of God, we also know that we are surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses who choose to abide in the tent of God.
¶As we weather the storms of life in the presence of God, we feel our hearts lift and lighten. With lightened hearts we can more readily sing the praises of God for every gift that comes from God’s hand.
¶February 23, 2026
¶LCM
Monday, March 27, 2023
Psalm Meditation 1189
¶Palm/Passion Sunday
¶April 2, 2023
¶Psalm 61
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+61&version=NRSVUE
(NRSV)
¶There are a couple of good things about being on the highest point in an area. For one, we can look down on people and things, and by look down I mean we can stand in judgement of them as if being higher somehow makes us superior to them. In a favorite movie quote an admiral snaps at a captain, “You are addressing a superior officer.” to which the captain responds, “No, just a higher ranking one.” Standing over someone does not automatically make you superior.
¶The other good point about being on the highest point is the ability to look on a grand vista in awe of all that God has created and assembled into this one wonder-filled place. Knowing that we are in the presence of God keeps us from believing that any height makes us better than anyone or anything that is currently in a lower place. When God is our refuge we are prevented from letting a high position of any kind give us permission to look down on anyone with whom we come in contact.
¶If all those in high places allow God to appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to keep watch the world would be a different place. Folks would not rule, legislate, or administer in order to get their own way. They would use their high positions to see that the rights of as many people as possible are respected and protected. The faint of heart could be lifted up and the overly proud could be kept in check by God’s steadfast love and faithfulness at work in the lives of each of us.
¶March 27, 2023
¶LCM
Monday, July 6, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1047
Proper 10
July 12, 2020
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
Before we can make any vows or promises, God is our refuge. It takes us a while to figure that out so we spend a lot of time trying to earn God’s love, trying to deserve all the gifts that God showers on us. We beat ourselves up for not being able to do all the things that seem important to earn God’s love. We have been known to judge the quality of our actions even if we have done the right things. ‘God still doesn’t love me fully because I didn’t do that one thing as well as I could have. And that other thing was not perfect, so how can God possibly love me if I can’t even be perfect?’
First and foremost, God is our refuge. It is a refuge of steadfast love. It isn’t because we have earned a place in God’s strong tower, it is because God loves us. I have an image of a child wrapping arms around a parent’s leg or waist, knowing that there is safety in this kind of closeness. To complete the image a parental hand moves down with a comforting hand on top of the child’s head. For the child, that is the safest refuge, the strongest tower ever. When we change the image to place God in the parental role imagine how safe and comforting that place is when we melt into it.
Know that God already loves you and that you can’t earn or deserve that love. Relax into God’s love and allow it to seep in to all your cracked and broken places. There is no time limit. God is not going to move away from you or get impatient that you are not doing something right or quickly enough.
July 6, 2020
LCM
Proper 10
July 12, 2020
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
Before we can make any vows or promises, God is our refuge. It takes us a while to figure that out so we spend a lot of time trying to earn God’s love, trying to deserve all the gifts that God showers on us. We beat ourselves up for not being able to do all the things that seem important to earn God’s love. We have been known to judge the quality of our actions even if we have done the right things. ‘God still doesn’t love me fully because I didn’t do that one thing as well as I could have. And that other thing was not perfect, so how can God possibly love me if I can’t even be perfect?’
First and foremost, God is our refuge. It is a refuge of steadfast love. It isn’t because we have earned a place in God’s strong tower, it is because God loves us. I have an image of a child wrapping arms around a parent’s leg or waist, knowing that there is safety in this kind of closeness. To complete the image a parental hand moves down with a comforting hand on top of the child’s head. For the child, that is the safest refuge, the strongest tower ever. When we change the image to place God in the parental role imagine how safe and comforting that place is when we melt into it.
Know that God already loves you and that you can’t earn or deserve that love. Relax into God’s love and allow it to seep in to all your cracked and broken places. There is no time limit. God is not going to move away from you or get impatient that you are not doing something right or quickly enough.
July 6, 2020
LCM
Monday, August 20, 2018
Psalm Meditation 949
Proper 16
August 26, 2018
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
When we were in England many years ago we visited the valley from which we get our last name. Some of us climbed up to the cave in the hillside. From the mouth of the cave we could look over the valley. At least one of us climbed the rest of the way to stand on the outcrop over the mouth of the cave. The view was both frightening and exhilarating. From his place on the edge of the rock face my brother could look down on the valley and saw birds flying in the sky below him. It must have been this kind of rock to which the psalmist anticipated being led.
To be able to see every direction and to be able to look down on friend and foe alike gives one a great sense of security. That kind of view makes it difficult to be surprised by any type of approach. It is a great and comforting view. When God is the one who has led us to that point, we can rest assured that it is a safe place from all but the most concentrated attack. To know that God is with us in the place adds greatly to the sense of security.
Sometimes our high place is a physical place. A place from which we can look down in every direction to see who and what is coming our way. Sometimes our high place is a spiritual place from which we can get a sense of what is coming so that we are prepared for almost anything that comes our way. In many of those cases, a good bit of our preparation involves being wholly/holy in the presence of God. In the presence of God we can see beyond our own sight. In the presence of God we can see a vision of what is and of what can be.
August 20, 2018
LCM
Proper 16
August 26, 2018
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
When we were in England many years ago we visited the valley from which we get our last name. Some of us climbed up to the cave in the hillside. From the mouth of the cave we could look over the valley. At least one of us climbed the rest of the way to stand on the outcrop over the mouth of the cave. The view was both frightening and exhilarating. From his place on the edge of the rock face my brother could look down on the valley and saw birds flying in the sky below him. It must have been this kind of rock to which the psalmist anticipated being led.
To be able to see every direction and to be able to look down on friend and foe alike gives one a great sense of security. That kind of view makes it difficult to be surprised by any type of approach. It is a great and comforting view. When God is the one who has led us to that point, we can rest assured that it is a safe place from all but the most concentrated attack. To know that God is with us in the place adds greatly to the sense of security.
Sometimes our high place is a physical place. A place from which we can look down in every direction to see who and what is coming our way. Sometimes our high place is a spiritual place from which we can get a sense of what is coming so that we are prepared for almost anything that comes our way. In many of those cases, a good bit of our preparation involves being wholly/holy in the presence of God. In the presence of God we can see beyond our own sight. In the presence of God we can see a vision of what is and of what can be.
August 20, 2018
LCM
Monday, September 29, 2014
Psalm Meditation 746
World Communion Sunday
October 5, 2014
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
Some of the traits we inherit come through our DNA. Other traits come from the example that is set for us by the people around whom we grow up. Some folks learn the lessons of violence and abuse, some learn that wealth and power trump all other attributes, some learn the habits of serving others, just to name a few. As we are raised in one environment or another we learn to live as life is modeled for us. In many cases we learn how to act and in some cases we learn how we do not want to be when we grow up.
The psalmist is able to celebrate having been raised among folks whose example led to a relationship with God, even in this particular time of trial. We don’t know the details, we only know that the psalmist feels pushed to the end of the earth, to the outer reaches of where human life exists. At this edge of the world the psalmist knows that God is present and is able to lead from here to a place of strength and stability. In many instances simply knowing that we are in the presence of God makes a situation seem less daunting even as the danger remains the same.
Abiding in God’s tent, sheltering under the wings of God, we find a security that is not available any other place. There is great comfort in knowing we are not alone in any time and place. To know that we are in the presence of God is greater comfort still. As we experience ourselves in the presence of God we join our hearts and voices with the psalmist, “I will always sing praises to your name...”
September 29, 2014
LCM
World Communion Sunday
October 5, 2014
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
Some of the traits we inherit come through our DNA. Other traits come from the example that is set for us by the people around whom we grow up. Some folks learn the lessons of violence and abuse, some learn that wealth and power trump all other attributes, some learn the habits of serving others, just to name a few. As we are raised in one environment or another we learn to live as life is modeled for us. In many cases we learn how to act and in some cases we learn how we do not want to be when we grow up.
The psalmist is able to celebrate having been raised among folks whose example led to a relationship with God, even in this particular time of trial. We don’t know the details, we only know that the psalmist feels pushed to the end of the earth, to the outer reaches of where human life exists. At this edge of the world the psalmist knows that God is present and is able to lead from here to a place of strength and stability. In many instances simply knowing that we are in the presence of God makes a situation seem less daunting even as the danger remains the same.
Abiding in God’s tent, sheltering under the wings of God, we find a security that is not available any other place. There is great comfort in knowing we are not alone in any time and place. To know that we are in the presence of God is greater comfort still. As we experience ourselves in the presence of God we join our hearts and voices with the psalmist, “I will always sing praises to your name...”
September 29, 2014
LCM
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