THE COMFORT OF PSALM 139
When I first read Leslie Brandt’s translation of the 139th Psalm (Psalms Now, 1973), I was overwhelmed by a feeling of total awe. The Psalm begins “O God, You know me inside and out, through and through.” How was I supposed to act before this all knowing God? I thought I needed to reconcile myself to the divine mystery which I had for so many years denied existed. I had been alone and afraid of the world I was living in. Yet when I first read the words of this Psalm, I felt in my heart that they held truths which I could barely understand. Over time, with each reading, new meaning opened to me from inside the words.
Further into the psalm are these verses. “If I ascend to the heights of joy, You are there before me. If I am plunged into the depths of despair, You are there to lead the way. I could walk into the darkest of nights, only to find You there to lighten its dismal hours.”
Looking back I have known many dark places before I thought that God was with me. As I have looked more honestly at my own inner dark places, reading this psalm told me that God has always known these places in me and always loved me unconditionally. I have never needed to reconcile with God. I have just needed to reconcile with myself.
I am comforted by these last verses of this psalm which Brandt phrases in this way, “Nothing about me, from beginning to end, was hid from Your eyes. How frightfully fantastically wonderful it all is! May Your all-knowing, everywhere-present Spirit continue to search out my feelings and thoughts. Deliver me from that which may hurt or destroy me, and guide me along the paths of love and truth.” This 139th Psalm has helped me to love my whole self leading me into greater compassion for my fellow life journeyers.
Fran MacEachren
When I first read Leslie Brandt’s translation of the 139th Psalm (Psalms Now, 1973), I was overwhelmed by a feeling of total awe. The Psalm begins “O God, You know me inside and out, through and through.” How was I supposed to act before this all knowing God? I thought I needed to reconcile myself to the divine mystery which I had for so many years denied existed. I had been alone and afraid of the world I was living in. Yet when I first read the words of this Psalm, I felt in my heart that they held truths which I could barely understand. Over time, with each reading, new meaning opened to me from inside the words.
Further into the psalm are these verses. “If I ascend to the heights of joy, You are there before me. If I am plunged into the depths of despair, You are there to lead the way. I could walk into the darkest of nights, only to find You there to lighten its dismal hours.”
Looking back I have known many dark places before I thought that God was with me. As I have looked more honestly at my own inner dark places, reading this psalm told me that God has always known these places in me and always loved me unconditionally. I have never needed to reconcile with God. I have just needed to reconcile with myself.
I am comforted by these last verses of this psalm which Brandt phrases in this way, “Nothing about me, from beginning to end, was hid from Your eyes. How frightfully fantastically wonderful it all is! May Your all-knowing, everywhere-present Spirit continue to search out my feelings and thoughts. Deliver me from that which may hurt or destroy me, and guide me along the paths of love and truth.” This 139th Psalm has helped me to love my whole self leading me into greater compassion for my fellow life journeyers.
Fran MacEachren
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