Abide - Psalm 65

Podcast Transcript

Welcome, Tyndale. Welcome to abide, a journey through the Psalms, and today's meditation will be on Psalm 65. Psalm of David, one of praise.

And I just want to thank you for coming and turning this podcast on. I find one of the hardest things about prayer is just deciding to do it. So well done, the hardest part is over, just making this choice, and creating the space for yourself.

So let's just enjoy what God has before us in these next 25 minutes or so. So by now, you've probably found that space to pull away, to have a nice comfortable seat or to lie down, remembering that you want to be alert, and yet comfortable. And just start to settle in by taking a nice deep breath in through the nose, and exhaling out.

St John of the cross wrote, the Father uttered one Word. And that Word was His Son. And he utters it everlastingly, in silence. And in silence, a soul has to hear it. So this is our intention together as a Community to quiet ourselves to move inward. And to hear the voice of Jesus to be near his silence, his peace, his perspective, his inspiration.

And as we begin our gratitude practice for today, I'm wondering if you can imagine Jesus with you, wherever you are. Sometimes it's hard to imagine Him with you. And so maybe imagine someone in your life that is very kind, that has been very helpful. Maybe it's a friend, parent, a sibling, a spiritual guide or a mentor. Allow that presence, that loving presence, to come near to you now. Today, we'll spend time in gratitude for our bodies, our hearts and our minds. For the Creator of the universe has made us with these wonderful places that he dwells, and so let's spend time and gratitude for each one, and I'll guide you through it.

And so we'll begin with the body. Let's take another deep breath in as we settle in the body. So Breathing in and breathing out. Just become aware of your whole body. Places where you might feel ease or tension. Places that feel warm or cold. Places that are hard or soft. Notice how much your body has been carrying, all the physical demands of coming and going. Maybe you're carrying physical pain or the stress the body holds, or the anxiety. Just gently look over your body as an observer, from head to centre, to your feet, just recognizing all that your body holds. Maybe you could say thank you body. Thank you for caring so much for me, for holding everything together. But now is the time to rest. Everything's okay now. And maybe you can imagine, Jesus or that loving person that's with you in the room, to give you a gentle gaze or a hug, an embrace of compassion around your body just now.

And I'd love for you to bring this same loving awareness to your heart. Oh, the heart, it carries so many things, doesn't it? Longing and love, fear, hurt, anger, disappointment, boredom, delight, frustration. And your heart. It carries your pain. But it also carries pain of the people you care about. Or for the world. It carries hopes and concerns. Feel how much your heart carries. Take this time to say thank you heart for pulling so much. You can rest now. Everything's okay. Just imagine those arms once again, of Christ, or your dear beloved friend, to surround your heart in an embrace of love, and care.

And now bring your attention to your mind. That beehive of thoughts, images, packed so tightly together, busily planning, remembering, nonstop. Look how energetic your brain is. And all the movement that it does in a day. See how you can hold your mind with compassion. It tries really hard. So we say thank you to our minds for doing such a good job. You can rest now for a moment. Let your mind soften and just quiet. And imagine Jesus and that dear friend, to come around your beautiful mind with the arms of compassion, and understanding, and love. So God we are grateful for our bodies for our hearts, and our minds that holds so much and we're grateful for your tender arms.

In this gratitude, we move ourselves into the Psalm for today.

Psalm 65.

¹ Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.
² You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
    you forgave our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed are those you choose
    and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
    of your holy temple.
⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Saviour,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.
⁹ You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.[d]
¹⁰ You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
¹³ The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

Allow these words to settle into your being, into your body, into your mind, into your heart. The presence of Jesus, maybe a loved one. Rest in the silence. I'll read the Psalm once again and we'll break it down into three pieces, three parts and pause in between each and reflect a bit deeper, with these words and with our very lives.

Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.
² You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
    you forgave[c] our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed are those you choose
    and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
    of your holy temple.

Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion. And we know in history that praise is centered in Zion at the temple where God dwells. Where does God dwell now? But within your very being. You have all that you need within you to praise our God, In your temple, in your home, in your body. And throughout the day as it says, we are overwhelmed by sin, in our transgressions. And yet here we are choosing to bring near to you and to live in your courts, with our whole selves.

I ask you now as you continue to deepen your gaze inward, where God dwells, can you gently open to him? These places in your life where you feel as though you're falling short, you're missing the mark. You're not coping so well. The habits aren't so great. Wondering if you can just lay it all down, all the burdens, and just rest. It says here when we come near to you, God in your courts, that we are then filled with good things of your house. We're filled with your loving gaze, your tenderness, and your compassion. So wrap your compression around these areas that are twisted, or broken, or hurting right now Jesus.

David moves forward in the Psalm. After being comfortable with God in his house and in His forgiveness, he praises by saying

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Saviour,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of praise

And this is a time of remembrance of how God has been faithful, how his power has worked in your life. And here David writes about how roaring seas have been calmed, roaring waves have been stilled. Can you think back in your life when there were many roaring seas? That he calmed? Can you remember turmoil of relationships, of challenges, that you've been able to see grow or bear fruit? I'm wondering if you can remember some of the wonders and times of awe that you've experienced with God? And so as we remember the things God has done, how he is stilled our storms and how he has stilled and quieted some of the challenges in our past. We bring forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.[d]
¹⁰ You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
¹³ The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing..

These last phrases in the Psalm are speaking of abundance, and of the continued care of God, the Creator, over his land and over his people. And maybe you might have a hard time thinking of God as an abundant God right now. Or one that is caring for His land or His people.

But I wonder if the spirit could remind you of things that are happening on a daily basis where God is continually caring for you, and holding you and sustaining you. Whether that be food, a walk, a new practice or habit that you've begun. A new song you can sing.

Yes, we are in times of drought in a particular way. And yet, we are in times of abundance where God can soften. Soften our hearts and our lives and shower us in ways maybe we never noticed before. Take this time to observe your days, and where you might see God's continued gentle care over you.

This Psalm is rich in how it guides us to return to Zion, to return to our home, the temple that God has created within us, where we can let down, where we can be ourselves, where we can lay our burdens and be held. And as we're held, we can remember all that God has done and we can observe his ongoing care.

And so as we begin to bring this meditation to a close, if your eyes have been closed, maybe you can open them and start to wiggle your fingers or move your toes and, just to practice moving from a sitting quiet meditation into more of life. And maybe your next task is to get to your email, or get to your chores, or take a walk. So we move from this quiet, stilling of the heart, meditation, now into action. And we want to carry this love, and this sustaining, tender, presence of Christ with us now into our next tasks. That Jesus would take us by the hand and awaken us in body, heart and mind. To recognize Him, to draw near to Him, and to shout for joy, and to sing whatever song comes to us in this day. And so we move from sitting meditation into standing, walking and serving meditation into the world and into our lives.

And so we say, Glory be to the Father. Glory be to the Son, and glory be to the Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as it is now today, for you, in your space, and will be forever and ever, world without end. Amen. Go in peace, my friends. Thank you for spending this time with me, and with many others, as we long to live more deeply and richly in God.

— End of transcript —