Psalm 146

This summer I've decided to paraphrase the lectionary Psalms as a prayer practice and then read prayerfully (lectio divina) with my own paraphrase.  Finally, I'll develop a breath prayer to take the transformed psalm with me into my week.  You are invited to join me and paraphrase the summer psalms for yourself.   As we work with the psalms and rewrite the text in our own words/using our own vocabulary, we will find deeper meaning as the week unfolds.  The psalms are prayers of dearly faithful people.  We can pray them into a personal prayer language that lives and breathes our own faith. 

Psalm 146 is one of the daily "Hallel" Psalms (145-150) which conclude the Book of Psalms.  The Hallel Psalms are still read aloud in morning Synagogue services.  They are called Hallel psalms because they begin and end with the Hebrew word halal {haw-lal'} which means to shine, to flash forth light, to praise, or to boast.   Today's modern translation of this word is Hallelujah!  But we might also say Praise the Lord!  

Another interesting note is the chiastic structure of Psalm 146 which begins and ends with "Praise the Lord" which is a clue to the literary device (chiasm) used by the Psalmist.   A chiasm begins at the edge of a thought, leads you in to a central idea and then reverses you back to the edge.  The pattern would be, very simply ... ABCD - E - D'C'B'A'.   Don't be confused by the verses which were not there in the original writings.  The Psalmists were orators, not writers!  Our present division of chapters and verses unfolded from around 1200-1600 in order to make the sacred text more accessible for readers, not listeners.  We are looking for ideas, not "verses" in a chiasm through which we find the central message in the "center."

Here is my analysis of the chiastic structure of Psalm 146 in which we find the central point that God is faithful ...

A = Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord! 
B = The Psalmist promises to praise God for life
C = The Psalmist turns away from untrustworthy humanity
D = The Psalmist finds hope only in God

E (CENTER) = GOD keeps faith FOREVER

D' = God is the hope of the hopeless
C' = God brings the wicked ways of humanity to ruin
B' = God reigns for all generations
A' = Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!

Paraphrasing the Psalm ... 

Step 1:  Read the Psalm from a translated version, such the NRSV ... several times and out loud if you dare!    Get a sense of the underlying feelings of the Psalmist and the worshiping listeners.  Look back up at the chiastic structure for help in discerning the overall message the Psalm writer was trying to convey.  What message are you hearing for your own life?

 

Psalm 146 (NRSV) 
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live; 
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. 
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. 
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, 
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. 

Praise the LORD!

Step 2:  Explore the images you find in the psalm and seek new ways of proclaiming the message of in words and phrases that translate to the situation we find in our world today.  Be creative and think not in words but in ideas and give your psalm a sweeping form. 

Step 3:  Take up a journal OR pull up a blank document on the computer ... begin writing in a stream of consciousness with new images, words, and phrases.  Let the images grow and become.  Let the words and phrases emerge to translate the psalm anew in your own prayer language, a new song!

Step 4:  Paraphrase the Psalm with your own images in your own words and phrases ... here is mine and feel free to share yours in the comments

Cindy's Paraphrase of Psalm 146
Let's Celebrate God!
For all my life I will celebrate God who lifts me up and I will shout to the world of God's presence.
Don't listen to those who promise something for nothing, for nothing is exactly what you will get when you expect politicians and scoundrels to keep their promises for they are in it for themselves They think they can take it all with them when they die but it is all dust just like they are. 
And yet, be filled with pure joy as you let the God of our ancestors whisper sweet promises of life.  
Look around!   God creates today as beautifully as when creation emerged from nothing.  
Turn to God for God was faithful in the past, God is faithful right now and God will be faithful throughout all of eternity!
Even so, God seeks to alleviate suffering in our world now and encourages a just society -- where all people are equal in the world as they are in God's eyes ... inmates and their families find acceptance in God, those who cannot see will find God's presence in their mind's eye, God reaches down and lifts up those who are hurting and broken down.  God loves all who seek to enter into a love relationship with the Holy One.  God reaches out to those who do not even know there is a God and to those who have been abandoned by their families through death and desertion.  
God will reject those who have rejected others and will abandon them to themselves.
The God of eternity will rule forever in our hearts and in the hearts of our children!
Let's Celebrate God!!

Lectio Divina ... 

Step 1:  Read Psalm 146 slowly and reverently ... 

Use the NRSV text, my paraphrase or your own, or take link to use this Message Paraphrase:

What image, word, or phrase calls for your attention?  Spend a few moments pondering ... 

Step 2:  Read your selection again and reflect ...  

How does this paraphrase illuminate your life right now?

Step 3:  Read your selection again and respond ... 

What do you say to God about your life and how you are seeing God's presence in it?

Write a one-sentence prayer as an Amen to your time of lectio ... here is mine and feel free to share yours in the comments

O God, just as you created our world from nothing ... you can create a beautiful life with me.

Step 4:  Rest ... Come to a place of silence within yourself and just "be" with God.

Breath Prayer ... 

Step 1:  In 3-4 syllables, what image of God is emerging from your time of prayer?

Step 2:  In 3-4 syllables, what prayer of desire is rising within you? 

Step 3:  Create your breath prayer ... here is mine and feel free to share yours in the comments

Breathe in … Beautiful God  (pause) 

Breath out … Create my Life  (pause)

As you continue to journey through your week, breathe!  And take the Presence of God with you through the breath prayer your have created from your time with Psalm 146 ... Amen!