Sunday, February 9, 2020
Psalms 105 & 106: Collective Stillness
![stillness[1]](https://thenoontimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/stillness1.jpg?w=300&h=225)
Psalms of collective jubilation, collective lamentation, of collective recognition that we are human, of collective jubilation that we are forgiven and loved. We hear a clamoring in these verses as the psalmist recites the many good things Yahweh has bestowed and also the many ways Yahweh’s people have strayed. We might be overwhelmed by the goodness and mercy Yahweh displays as he repeatedly gathers in the lost, and heals the hungry, broken and sorrowful people. There is almost too much going on in these psalms to take in all that Yahweh is and does.
The morning prayers in MAGNIFICAT today are all about being still . . . being patient . . . being calm amid the clatter . . . to listen to and receive the saving power of God. (Cameron 123-125)
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies. Isaiah 30:15b
The Lord . . . remembers forever his covenant, the pact imposed for a thousand generations. Psalm 105:8
The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still. Exodus 14:14
When they were few in number . . . he let no one oppress them. Psalm 105:12&14
The kingdom of God is within you! Luke 17:21
Save us, Lord, our God; gather us from among the nations that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in praising you. Psalm 106:47
When we gather together in the great collective . . . we often lose the stillness. When we remember the many times we have sinned, the many times we have forgiven and the many times we have been forgiven ourselves . . . we may be overcome by the great difference that exists between our creator and ourselves. Yet this originator brings us forth in his image, with his love . . . to be jubilant in the world he has created for us. So that we might not become bogged down in our sorrow or anxiety, we must look for our collective celebration and joy.
It is often in the stillness that we best re-find our umbilical cord to our source. This calm returns us to our genuine purpose . . . eternal joy and celebration with God. Perhaps in our collective tumult we might also find a collective stillness and peace.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, Amen! Hallelujah! Psalm 106:48.
Image from: http://robertrabbin.com/blog/?p=1699
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 9.2 (2009): 123-125. Print.
Written on February 9, 2009 and posted today as a Favorite.
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