Psalm 71

The Grand Canyon

O Lord ... You are my Rock and my Fortress!

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 71:1-6) from a translated version.  This week we read from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).  In the lectionary cycle the psalm reading is an accompaniment to the Old Testament Reading.  This week the church reads the call of Jeremiah 1:4-10.  In it Jeremiah protests the call telling God, "I am only a boy."  You may want to consider this passage before moving into the psalm ... You can read about Jeremiah in my bible study entry: God Speaks! "Jeremiah, Go to all to whom I send you!".  Take Link or choose Psalm 71:1-6 from the cloud in the column at the right.  Imagine young Jeremiah praying this psalm as he prepares himself to answer God's call to be a prophet, one who speaks for God to the people?  Can you imagine yourself praying this psalm as you prepare to answer God's call upon your life?

Psalm 71:1-6
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me
and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O my God,
from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust,
O LORD, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

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 express your own deepest emotions.

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 ... sing a new song in your soul!

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 71:1-6

In your presence, Shechinah, I find rest for my soul
I know you will not let me feel unworthy of being me
Because we are in a relationship, 

be always with me to catch me when I fall
Reach out your hand to me, 

to listen to my troubles and 

to protect me from myself.
Be my strength and my wall of protection, 

for you are powerful and mighty
Reach out your hand to me, my Shechinah 

so that others may do me no harm,

 those who use their power to create injustice without mercy
O Shechinah!  

Only in you do I put my hope and my trust
For you have always been with me, 

forever pursuing me even when I fled from you.  

You were there at my birth 

but you were also the midwife 

of the transformation of my soul. 
I love you!  

I adore you! 

I praise you!  

I worship you!

Lectio Divina ...
Step 1:  Read Psalm Psalm 71:1-6 slowly and reverently ...
Use the NLT text, my paraphrase or your own, or us this paraphrase from Rejoice, Beloved Woman! The Psalms Revisited ... "If a woman wrote the psalms, this is what they would sound like." (from the back cover) 

 In you, Shaddai, have I found shelter, 

you save me from shame.  

In your justice, you hear me and come to my rescue.  

You are my rock, my fortress, a mountain of strength for me.  

You ordain me and deliver me from the vile. 

You alone are my hope.  

Since my birth, I have depended on you.   

You pulled me from my mother's womb 

and nourished me at her breast.  

You, Shaddai, I praise with all my existence.  

Although I have become a target for many, 

you have wrapped me with protection.  

My heart belongs to you and 

I sing of your splendor.  

Do not leave me now that I am growing old.  

Do not toss me aside as my strength fails.

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?  How is God inviting you to change or grow?

Step 3:  Read your selection again and respond ...
What do you say to God about your life and how you are being invited?   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 Shechinah!  Listen to my troubles and be with me always.  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 …O Shechinah ... (pause)
Breathing out … Listen to me ... (pause)

As you continue to journey through your week, breathe!  If music is a pathway to God for you ... sit back, close your eyes or watch the nature visuals, and listen to this prayer called Bar'chu Shechinah.  Bar'chu is the traditonal Jewish call to prayer. This version calls on the Shechinah, the Divine in-dwelling Presence of God.  There are many who consider Shechinah to be the feminine aspect of the Trinity ... See my Blog Entry entitled Trinity: A Reflection on Holy Wisdom, the Feminine Face of God for more information.

Breathing ...  O Shechinah, listen to me and be present to me always, wrapping me in your presence as a warm embrace.  Amen.