Stephen Mitchell. A Book of Psalms: Selected and Adapted from the Hebrew. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. Psalm 139 (continued from last week)
Where can I go from your spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I take the wings of the morning
and fly to the ends of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me
and your spirit will give me strength.
If I rise to heaven, I meet you;
if I lie down in hell, you are there:
if I plunge through the fear of the terrorist
or pierce through the rapist’s rage,
you are there, in your infinite compassion,
and my heart rejoices in your joy.
2 comments:
In this portion of Psalm 139, the psalmist talks about trying to flee from God. We sometimes feel oppressed by what we think God is like and what we imagine God demands from us. Yet later the psalmist discovers that God is really guiding, offering compassion and joy.
Loving God, help me to stop running from my misconceptions about you. Help me to enter more deeply into your loving presence and be a part of your love in the world.
Oh, God, You can find compassion -- you ARE compassion and joy -- wherever you are. Yet I do not even want to look for those qualities when I am angry, enraged or very very afraid. Help me, God, for you are all ways all days, everywhere. Help me willingly to follow you, I pray.
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