Monday, September 6, 2021
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with Psalm 62 and the heart of its prayer of confidence, verses 6-9.
Carroll Stuhlmueller, revered Old Testament scholar, places Psalm 62 among the Wisdom psalms – those which “seek the harmonious, stable order of life”. They do this by presenting a kind of curriculum for spiritual happiness.
That teaching is clear in Psalm 62: we find our soul’s fulfillment “only in God”.
Does that mean nothing else in our lives matter? That we should push all but God to the margins?
No. The psalm encourages us to look deeply at all of life and to find God in every aspect.
Often, a spiritual director will ask this question of the directee:
“Where is God in this situation, in this moment?”
The question points us to the realization that we can’t compartmentalize God to our “prayer time”, or Sundays, or “religious experiences”.
God lives within us, and lives every moment of our lives with us. Until we align ourselves with God’s loving Presence, we will not find complete peace.
Trust in God at all times, O my people!
Psalm 62:9
Pour out your hearts before God;
God is our refuge!
Prose: from the Confessions of St. Augustine, Book 1, Chapter 1
Great are You, O Lord, and greatly to be praised;
great is Your power,
and of Your wisdom there is no end.
And we, being a part of Your creation,
desire to praise You….
You move us to delight in praising You;
for You have made us for Yourself,
and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.
Cor nostrum inquietum est donec requiescat in Te.
Lord, teach me to know and understand which of these should be first: to call on You, or to praise You; and likewise to know You, or to call on You. But who calls upon You without knowing You? For the one that knows You not may call upon You as other than You are. Or perhaps we call on You that we may know You.
But how shall they call on Him
Romans 10:14
in whom they have not believed?
Or how shall they believe without a preacher?
And those who seek the Lord shall praise the Lord.
Matthew 7:7
For those who seek shall find God,
and those who find God shall praise God.
Let me seek You, Lord, in calling on You,
and call on You in believing in You;
for You have been preached unto us.
O Lord, my faith calls on You —
that faith which You have imparted to me,
which You have breathed into me
through the incarnation of Your Son,
through the ministry of Your preacher 1.
1 (Here Augustine is referring to St. Ambrose, his mentor)
Music: Only in God – John Michael Talbot
Lavish Mercy 