Psalm 50

The mighty one, God the LORD, 

speaks and summons the earth 

from the rising of the sun to its setting.  Psalm 50:1 (NRSV)

This summer I am paraphrasing the lectionary Psalms as a prayer practice and then I'm reading the selection prayerfully (lectio divina) with my own paraphrase.  Finally, I'm developing 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. 

Paraphrasing the Psalm ... 
Step 1:  Read the Psalm selection (Psalm 50:1-7, 22-23) from a translated version.  This week we read from the Names of God Bible (NOG).  This is a version that highlights the names of God used in the original text, noting that we often obscure the original languages by using the same reference "God" for many different Hebrew/Greek words with embedded meaning.  In this Psalm we see the author primarily use the name Elohim for God.  When following the Documentary Hypothesis, or "source theory" of biblical scholarship we find that we can find streams of oral stories that have been written down using the vernacular of the particular communities from which the oral stories were told.  Have you often wondered why some stories seem to be in the scripture twice with only minor detail changes.  This is why.  The writers knew the same or a similar story but used the vocabulary and details of their own community.   Although there is some controversy surrounding this hypothesis, James F. McGrath, writing on Patheos.com writes an article entitles "The Best Evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis is in the Psalms."  (Link to Article)  The people who read the bible and wrote the bible didn't have a problem with including competing stories filled out with different details.  Because the writer of this psalm uses Elohim for God, this psalm most likely emerged from the Northern kingdom during their exile to Assyria. 

Two additional notes:  1) Asaph may have been a member of a known family of temple musicians, the Asaphites.  2) Selah may have been a musical note for worshipers which mean to take a moment and ponder. 

Names of God used in Psalm 50
Yahweh: {yeh-ho-vaw'} Jehovah ... the "proper" name of God unspoken by the Jewish people
El: {el} God  ... mighty, powerful
Elohim{el-o-heem'} ... a divine being or judge
Shophet: {shaphat} ... to govern or to judge
Eloah: {elowahh} ... God, can mean false god

Read Psalm 50 and immerse yourself in the rich images you find ... A psalm by Asaph

Yahweh, the only true El, has spoken.
    He has summoned the earth
        from where the sun rises to where it sets.
Elohim shines from Zion,
    the perfection of beauty.
Our Elohim will come and will not remain silent.
    A devouring fire is in front of him
        and a raging storm around him.
He summons heaven and earth to judge his people:
“Gather around me, my godly people
    who have made a pledge to me through sacrifices.”
The heavens announce his righteousness
    because Elohim is the Shophet. Selah
“Listen, my people, and I will speak.
    Listen, Israel, and I will testify against you:
    I am Elohim, your Elohim!
Consider this, you people who forget Eloah.
    ... I will tear you to pieces,
        and there will be no one left to rescue you.
Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me.
    I will let everyone who continues in my way
        see the salvation that comes from Elohim.”

Step 2:  Explore the images you find in the psalm and seek new ways of proclaiming the message in words and phrases that translate to the situation you find in your life today.  Be creative and think not in words but in ideas and let your psalm scream, cry, and fight for you.

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 that emerge from pondering on the text.  Let the images grow and become.  Let new words and phrases come alive 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 50:1-7, 22-23
O God, the only God of the Cosmos, I hear you speak in truth and love
As our Creator you call forth the green earth to grow under our feet from sunrise to sunset
The Shechinah glory of God shines in the natural Sanctuary, beauty fulfilled from within
Our majestic God will fill all of our silent pauses with full-bodied presence.
Within the Chaos of the Earth’s natural ebb and flow, God remains, calm in the center
With justice and mercy our God calls us to come to the judgment place
“Come my children, you who follow me with lives of thanksgiving and painful sacrifice.”
All of the Cosmos sings and dances in relationship with God who is strong, mighty and fair
          ~worshiping people, take a deep breath and turn toward God~
Hear my voice as I tell you who you really are, 
      created good but badly cracked in the fire of the world
I am the only God, the God who brings discipline for your waywardness
I will allow brokenness to come into your life and will not put you back together
Yet if you offer songs of thanksgiving for your life as it is
I will heal you with the wholeness that comes only from me, your God and Creator

Lectio Divina ...
Step 1:  Read Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23 slowly and reverently ...
Use the NOG text, my paraphrase or your own, or take link to use this paraphrase from The Voice Bible:  What image, word, or phrase calls for your attention in your reading?  Spend a few moments pondering the God you find within your reading ...

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

Creator God, the sanctuary of your presence in the natural world is both choas and beauty, and life is a paradox.  As I live into the tension created in my soul between you and the world ... heal my brokenness.  Amen!

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

Breathing in … Shechinah Glory (pause)
Breathing out …let me praise you with light (pause)

As you continue to journey through your week, breathe!  And take the glory of our continually creating God with you through the breath prayer you have created from your time with the God of earth and heaven ... or use mine!   Why not allow God to heal any brokenness you find within yourself by embracing the light with songs of praise and thanksgiving.  Try this one by Chris Tomlin:  Sing, Sing, Sing ... We will sing, sing, sing!  Let us make music with the heavens.

And let us pray ...O my God ... God in the center of the Cosmos ... I am a mosaic person, shattered once upon a time but put back together ever so gently by your grace and mercy.  I will sing your praise with thanksgiving and light.  Amen.

Breathing ... Shechinah Glory, let me praise you with light!