Our last practice was in a psalm of lament, a psalm that named our disorientation that we most regularly experience in a life of faith. We don’t like the psalms of lament. Yet, the people of God have always believed that it is crucial to not leave anything out in our conversations with God. “everything must be brought to speech, and everything brought to speech must be addressed to God, who is the final reference for all of life.” In this way, the psalms of lament, protest, and complaint help us name how life really is, so that new life “reorientation,” might be possible.
Slowly, painfully, honestly, the psalms of lament move into the disorientation and help us move out to something new, an “alternative way of reading reality,” a new orientation. These “post” lament psalms, sometimes referred to as “psalms of confidence,” assume that we have walked through our disorientation and not avoided it. Having traversed the problematic realities and survived, they express a trust in God’s presence and purposes that lacks all credulity and piousness. As Brueggemann points out, “The speaker of these poems cannot imagine a situation that would cause doubt or trouble enough to jeopardize the trust. The relationship has been tested severely, and Yahweh has shown himself to be profoundly reliable and powerful.”
While the world does not cease to be a troubling and problematic place, the psalms of confidence “walk through the valley of deep darkness,” without being overcome by the fear of that which opposes our Father’s presence and purposes. Psalm 27 is a psalm of confidence. Yet unique in its structure and content.
Psalm 27 begins with the boast of confidence in verse 1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the refuge of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” And the psalmist continues to heald God’s grace and might as the foundation of his trust through verse 6. Despite the presence of opposition, the psalmist is confident that no harm should befall him or the enemy overcome him. But something happens between verse 6 and verse 7.
Perhaps the psalmist faces once again the worldly troubles which he thought removed, and they are seemingly winning. Or maybe, the dark night of the soul which had been covered in dawn’s new light returns. Or perhaps something else? Regardless, the swell of spiritual renewal bursts in verse 7, and continues to deflate through verse 10. However, the deflation does not lead to despair but prayer in verses 11-12. The psalmist seeks the LORD because he both needs God’s intervention and because he knows that God will indeed intervene.
The final two verses (13-14) are a return to “deep trust.” Whereas many translations transcribe verse 13’s first lines as “I believe,” it can be best rendered “I have utter confidence…” The psalmist’s confidence is not in envisioned outcomes (vs. 4-6), but “the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!” His new orientation has sobered him to the realities of life—realities that he need not deny or keep silent. At the same time, there is a buoyancy in the psalmist’s run-in with difficulties, a resilience that brings him back to where he started, a confident hope in the LORD. The psalm ends where it begins, in the double iteration of the name “LORD,” reiterating the sustaining source of the psalmist’s experienced confidence.
Moving from disorientation to a new orientation does not lead to the removal of all those things, people, and circumstances that disorient. Yet is does lead to a resilient trust, a buoyed (or anchored) confidence in the One who calls us His own.
PREPARATION:
IMPORTANT: Try to make sure you have at least 25 minutes of uninterrupted time for this practice. Be realistic and honest about how much space and stamina you have for the quiet components. Some of us will welcome stillness and silence, but most of us will likely struggle to get through even 3-5 minutes of silence—and that is okay! Arrange whatever time you think reasonable (suggested times are provided), and set a timer, it helps. Get into a comfortable position but not too comfortable, so you don’t fall asleep.
PRACTICE:
READ
Read Psalm 27 slowly.
Now that you are familiar with the context and words, close your eyes and take three deep breaths. As you breathe in, pray “Holy Spirit… and as you breathe out, pray, “…Give me ears to hear.” Ask God to give you an openness to hear whatever the Spirit wishes to bring to you today. If (when!) your thoughts wander in the stillness, breathe the centering prayer to quiet your mind. Focus on your breaths as you envision breathing in God’s presence.
Now, reread the passage slowly, immersing yourself in the psalm’s movements through confidence to prayer to confidence once again. As you read,
· Listen for a word or phrase or detail of dis- or reorientation that stands out to you. Don’t choose this yourself, let the Spirit bring it to your mind. Even if you don’t like it, try to welcome it with humility (it’s key!) and see what happens.
· Consider where you are in this new orientation? At the beginning: confidently challenging anything that might stand in your way? In the middle: deflated, doubtful, needy in the face of unremoved troubles? At the heart: intimately prayerful? Or, tethered to a confident hope amidst the tossing waves?
Give yourself 3-5 minutes to ponder the questions and listen quietly.
REFLECT
Reread the psalm, slowly. As you reflect on the psalm, consider the following:
· The word or phrase or detail that stood out to you. Why do you think these words resonated with you?
· Your place in the new orientation.
Give yourself 2-3 minutes to ponder all this. Then, ask God, “How does this connect with my life today? What do I need to know or be or do?”
RESPOND
Read the psalm one last time, preparing yourself for what you want to say to God about what you think the Spirit might have spoken to you or what came to you as you found yourself in the different spaces or reorientation.
Pray whatever you need to pray. You might thank God for something or confess to God something or ask God for something.
Give yourself 2-3 minutes to respond.
REST
Do as you are led for the last 5 minutes. You may wish to wait quietly on God—to simply be with Jesus. You may want to pay attention to God, pondering: what God does in this psalm and what we do, or what about God makes you marvel, or least want to be with him? Sit in the companionship of God—the whose goodness you shall look upon in the land of the living!