Fr Gerard Kelly 神修講座

CCC 伊士活中心將於八月六日(主日)，由Fr Gerard Kelly 主持神修講座，歡迎各位教友和朋友一起參加。

華人天主教會靈修講座

Fr. Gerard Kelly

2023 年 8 月 6 日

主題：「用聖詠祈禱」

Power Point: Click here

1. 如果你把聖經平放在桌子上，並從中間揭開，很可能你會揭開了《聖詠》。《聖詠》是舊約中的一個書卷。（Slide）就像聖經中的所有書卷一樣，我們將它視為天主的話或天主的啟示。為此，我們稱這些書卷為「天主所默感的話」。意味著這是天主向我們這世界說話的方式之一。因此，當我們閱讀聖詠時，就像我們閱讀聖經中的任何一個書卷一樣，我們是在聆聽天主對我們所說的話。

• 如果你仔細看《聖詠》，你會發現文本的排列方式看起來與聖經其他書卷的排列方式有點不同。這是因為聖詠是歌曲或詩歌。它們最初被撰寫時，是被用作歌曲的。我們可以說它們是一本詩歌的書卷。我們可能常見的圖像是達味王正在彈奏著豎琴。（Slide）頌唱聖歌也是在聖經時代，人們讚美天主的一種方式。因此，我們更多地認識了聖詠的內容，它們不僅是天主對我們所説的話，也是人們向天主獻上讚美和敬拜的歌曲。

• 沒有任何翻譯足以讓我們捕捉到希伯來語詩歌原文的全然美感。但是，現代翻譯致力保存聖詠的音樂節奏。與《聖經》的其他書卷不同，《聖詠》這書卷在歷史中不同的時期，曾以許多不同的形式被配之以音樂。其中一個例子是法國作曲家Fr. Joseph Gelineau SJ 為《聖詠》第23 (22) 篇所設定的音樂，（Slide）在澳洲和世界其他地區的天主教堂經常被使用。

• 如果你看一下這本「詩歌集」，你會發現有150首聖詠。大多數的聖詠只有一頁紙長；而有的甚至少於一頁，有些卻長達好幾頁紙。這些較長的聖詠更像是敘事詩歌，講述了人們某方面的歷史。如果你仔細觀看聖詠，你會看到第一篇聖詠是第1篇，而最後一篇聖詠是第150篇。但是當你仔細查看，你會發現這些編號有時會顯得混亂。事實上，許多聖經都會用兩個編號來呈現一首聖詠。這種差異是由於當聖經被翻譯為希臘文時，希伯來文聖經中原本的編號被更改了。情況是：希臘文譯本將《聖詠》第9篇和第10篇合併起來，然後將聖詠第113篇分成兩篇聖詠。這意味著希臘譯本聖詠的編號比希伯來文的聖詠少了一個編號。同時聖詠第146 篇也有另一個更改。不過，今天我們無須掛慮這個編號的系統。一般來說，天主教徒使用希臘文譯本的編號，而基督新教徒使用希伯來文本的編號。有些聖經同時使用兩個編號，把其中一個編號放在括號中。了解這一點是很重要的，因為當你要查看某篇特定的聖詠時，你需要知道使用的是哪個編號，否則你會誤讀了另一篇聖詠。就以我在不久前提到的聖詠為例，詠：23在希臘文譯本編號中，它是詠：22。這就是為什麼有時你會看到這篇聖詠被稱為詠：22，而有時被稱為詠：23的原因。（Slide）  

• 今天我想讓我們集中關注聖詠如何是祈禱。我已經說了很多聖詠與祈禱有關的內容。
  • 我說過，它們是天主對我們所說的話。當我們想要祈禱時，我們就前往祈禱的地方，這樣我們就可以聆聽天主，而聽到天主對我們所說的話。我們知道，當耶穌上山祈禱時，祂是在尋找一個安靜的地方，可以單獨與天父在一起。在祂做出每一個重要決定之前，祂都會用時間去祈禱並聆聽天父。所以，當我們祈禱時，我們可以用聖詠作為聆聽天主的方式。
  • 我也說過，聖詠是讚美的詩歌，讚美正是祈禱的核心。你記得當耶穌祈禱時，祂經常大聲讚美天父。想想那些時刻當祂開始祈禱時，說：「父啊! 天地的主宰! 我稱謝你……」（瑪11:25）。聖詠可以成為我們讚美天主的一種方式。有一些聖詠特別專注於讚美天主。就好像最後的一首聖詠（詠150）是這樣開始的：「請眾在上主的聖所讚美他」。

• 我們知道我們還可使用其他形式的祈禱。聖詠在這方面也可以幫助我們。
  • 我們可能有時為生活中的失敗、或爲不愛天主、或爲傷害了我們所愛的人，而在祈禱中流露傷悲。在聖詠中，我們可以找到這類祈禱的例子，聖詠的作者向上主呼求寬恕。在這種時候，我們可以用這類聖詠來幫助我們祈禱。

• 我們也有些時候想向天主祈求一些事物，也許我們不肯定該如何祈求。有許多聖詠是向天主的懇求。通過使用這些聖詠，我們可以找到方法，向天主表達我們的需求。

• 另一種祈禱的形式就是向天主抱怨，這是我們祈禱傳統中的一部份。我們可能不認為這是祈禱，並且通常我們也盡量不向天主抱怨。但這卻是我們祈禱傳統中的一部份。 在聖詠中有很多這類祈禱的例子，它們被稱為「哀怨詩」。

• 這給我們帶來了關於聖詠的一個要點。它們是林林種種真實人類經驗的表達。我們看到人類齊全的情感，從完全的喜悅到徹底的絕望。我們看到人類好極了和壞透了的經驗。這告訴我們該如何去誦讀聖詠。我們不該只把它當作一種思考的練習；我們需要用我們的心神和我們的情感去以聖詠祈禱。

1. 有時它們會與我們祈禱時的感受產生共鳴。那可以是喜悅或是悲傷，是恐懼或是信心，是絕望或是希望。那首聖詠可以幫助我們認識到我們正在經歷著什麼，並把它帶到天主面前。

• 又有些時候，我們誦讀著的聖詠可能不會觸動我們當下的情感。在讀著一篇聖詠作者認為天主已經拋棄了他們的聖詠時，我們卻可能感覺與天主很親近。在這些情況下，我們可以帶其他人進入我們的祈禱中。那可能是我們所認識的某個人，他正經歷著與聖詠作者所表達的相同境況。所以，我們可以為那些人祈禱。但有時我們可能私下不認識任何人經歷著聖詠作者所描述的境況，在這些情況下，我們可以為那些我們所不認識、但經歷著聖詠作者所描述的境況的人祈禱。例如，我們可以為生活在飽受戰爭蹂躪而引致飢荒的那些國家的人民祈禱。或者，我們可以為那些生活在愧疚和罪惡中、而不知道如何尋求和解或平安的人祈禱。這樣，我們的祈禱就超越了對自己的關注，而把別人帶到天主的面前。

聖詠及猶太人祈禱

8. 聖詠被用於祈禱可能至少有七個世紀了。 換句話說，它們的使用可以追溯到耶穌之前五個世紀。 它們曾經是猶太人祈禱的重要組成部分，現在仍然如此。

9. 聖詠捕捉了天主的大能和天主的恩典。有時，當人們在遊行隊伍中前進時，會唱起聖詠。 讓我們看其中一篇——《聖詠》第47首。

a.２萬民，你們要鼓掌歡騰，也要向天主歡呼祝慶！
  ３因上主至大至尊，可敬可畏，祂是統治宇宙的偉大君主。
  ４祂鎮壓萬民屬我們管轄，祂屈服列邦在我們腳下。
  ５祂為我們選定了我們的基業，即祂所鍾愛的雅各伯的光彩。
  ６天主上升，有歡呼聲護送，上主騰空，有號角聲相從。
  ７你們應歌頌，歌頌我們的天主，你們應歌頌，歌頌我們的君王。
  ８因為天主是普世的君王，你們都應該以詩歌讚揚。
  ９天主作王統治萬國，天主登上聖座寶位。
１０萬民的王侯聚集起來，要作亞巴郎天主的子民；
    因為大地的權貴，盡屬於天主，唯天主至高至尊。

b. 你們需要想像一下那時人們在遊行中走動，拍手，演奏音樂來讚美天主。 這首聖詠讚美天主所做的一切。 天主一直在他們的世界裏工作。天主使他們比任何其他國家都偉大，因此其他國家在這個國家面前都謙卑下來。 這個國家的身份是他們是天主的子民，祂的選民。 這聖詠提到亞爸郎，提醒人們天主對亞爸郎的應許，他的後裔將比天上所有的星辰還要多。

c. 在這裡值得注意的是，他們認識天主的方式是認識到天主在世界和他們的生活中工作。 他們所認識的天主是一位有回應行動的天主。這就是他們所崇拜的天主。 這就是在光榮中登上寶位的天主。此外，在讚美天主時，他們也認識到自己的尊嚴。

d. 值得注意的是，我們也使用這首聖詠作為耶穌升天節的答唱詠。

10. 另一首關於遊行的聖詠特別關注耶路撒冷。 虔誠的猶太人會定期前往耶路撒冷朝聖，參加盛大的節日。 耶穌也進行了這樣的朝聖之旅。 讓我們來聽聽《聖詠》第122首

a. １我喜歡，因為有人向我說：我們要進入上主的聖殿！
   ２耶路撒冷！我們的雙足，已經站立在你的門口。
   ３耶路撒冷建築的好似京城，確是內部劃一整齊的京城。
   ４各支派，上主的各支派都齊集在那裡，按照以色列的法律稱頌上主的名字。
   ５那裡設立了執政者的座席，那裡有達味王室的寶位。
   ６請為耶路撒冷祈禱和平：願愛慕你的人獲享安寧，
   ７願在你的城垣內有平安，願在你的堡壘中有安全！
   ８為了我的兄弟和同伴，我要向你說：祝你平安！
   ９為了上主我們天主的殿宇，我為你懇切祈禱，祝你幸福。

b. 我們需要想像人們登上耶路撒冷，然後到達城門。 天主世世代代保護著這座城市。 正如群山圍繞著耶路撒冷一樣，天主也圍繞著這座城來保護它。 遊行隊伍正在前往聖殿的路上。 即使他們在思考天主賜予這座城市的祝福時，他們也總是意識到這座城市可能會受到敵人的攻擊，或者城裡的人們可能會叛亂並互相爭鬥。 因此，這首遊行讚美詩就變成了祈求的禱告。 他們祈求天主保護這座城市及其居民，驅逐惡人。

c. 有趣的是，我們要提醒自己，耶穌很可能也唱過這首聖詠。 回想一下福音中他去耶路撒冷途中的場景； 他俯瞰整座城市，流下了眼淚。 他的話呼應了這首聖詠：「恨不能在這一天，你也知道有關你平安的事」（路19:42）他哀嘆說，他們對天主眷顧他們的那一刻視而不見，也未能領受天主所賜的平安。

11. 聖詠也被用來紀念讚美天主的重大節日。 這些節日可能標誌著某個季節和即將到來的莊稼，或者他們可能會記念天主如何拯救祂的子民。 其中最突出的節日是逾越節。 在逾越節晚餐期間，人們會頌唱聖詠，就像我之前所舉的例子一樣，讚美天主的最重要的方式就是講述天主在他們歷史中所做的事。 對於猶太人（以及基督徒）來說，記憶是非常重要的。《聖詠》第114首記述出谷紀的拯救事件。

a.１當著以色列出離埃及，雅各伯家離開蠻夷時，
  ２猶大成了上主的聖所，以色列成了衪的王國；
  ３海洋見了，頓時逃溜，約旦立即回轉倒流。
  ４山嶽跳躍像公羊，丘陵舞蹈似羔羊。
  ５海洋，什麼使你逃溜。約旦，什麼叫你倒流﹖
  ６山嶽，你們為什麼跳躍像公羊﹖丘陵，你們為什麼舞蹈似羔羊﹖
  ７大地，你應該在上主的面前，在雅各伯的天主面前搖撼，
  ８衪使磐石變為水潭，衪使礁石變成水泉。

12. 在講述天主所做之事的歷史時，這首聖詠合併了歷史上的兩個決定性時刻。 其中之一是以民離開埃及的事蹟。 他們會記得他們如何在埃及當奴隸，以及天主如何將他們從法郎手中拯救出來。 他們會記得天主如何帶領他們，引領他們渡過紅海。

13. 但這首聖詠也提到了他們歷史上的另一個重要時刻。 這就是跨越約旦河進入應許之地。請注意這首聖詠如何利用自然界的景像來傳達天主所施展的大能。 山巒顫動，猶如羊群，上竄跳下地狂舞。 這個充滿詩意的景像，需要我們運用想像力去意會。 猶太人就是利用這些圖像來讚美天主的。

耶穌用聖詠禱告

14. 如果這些是猶太人如何禱告的例子，那麼我們也應該注意到耶穌會用同樣的聖詠禱告。我已經提到耶穌看著耶路撒冷，我想他很可能用《聖詠》第122首禱告。

15. 如果我們想像耶穌和他的生活，很明顯，當他長大後，他會被教導用聖詠作為禱告的一種方式。他會和父母一起去會堂，也可能去聖殿。在那些地方，他會和其他人一起用聖詠祈禱。他會禱告安息日的祈禱，也會慶祝逾越節。在馬竇、馬爾谷和路加福音中，最後晚餐發生在逾越節晚餐的背景下。因此，它將包括祝聖餐酒和其他聖詠祈禱。

16. 我們最熟悉的耶穌口中的聖詠是《聖詠》第22首，開頭是：「我的天主，我的天主，你為什麼捨棄了我？」當耶穌死在十字架上時，我們聽到這些話。在耶穌受難的福音記載中，也有許多關於這篇聖詠的回響。例如，「他們拈鬮分了我的衣服」。這篇聖詠很長，所以我不會全部引用。它開始是：

a. ２我的天主，我的天主，你為什麼捨棄了我﹖你又為什麼遠離我的懇求，和我的哀號。

   ３我的天主，我白天呼號，你不應允；我黑夜哀禱，你仍默靜。

b. 請注意這首聖詠是如何表達深度的痛苦和絕望。在經歷極端痛苦的過程中，會有苦楚。但這苦楚絕對比不上天主缺席的悲痛。你可能忍受這痛苦，希望最終會有得著，或者有人在支持你。但是這篇聖詠的開頭幾節顯示一個人（聖詠作者/耶穌）處於絕望的深淵，因為天主拋棄了他們。在聖經（和生活中），如果天主拋棄你，那麼你的生活也就會毫無意義。

17. 在這篇聖詠的下一節中，我們看到聖詠作者宣告他們對天主的瞭解。聖詠的這一部分是要重要的提示。 它採取的形式是懇求天主記住，但聖詠作者也在提醒自己天主的憐憫。

a. ４但是你居於聖所，作以色列的榮耀！
   ５我們的先祖曾經依賴了你，你救起他們，因他們依賴你；
   ６他們呼號了你，便得到救贖，他們信賴了你，而從未蒙羞。

b. 請注意聖詠作者如何使用這篇聖詠在絕望中建立希望。這盼望是基於天主為祖先所做的一切。這種信心是基於過去，每當他們向天主呼求時，天主便伸出援手並拯救了他們。

18. 這首聖詠的下一個章節是回到我們在第一節中聽到的絕望。這一次，聖詠作者開始說出正在發生和他正在經歷的事情。這越來越個人化了。

a. ７至於我，成了微蟲，失掉了人形；是人類的恥辱，受百姓的欺凌。
   ８凡看見我的人都戲笑我，他們都撇著嘴搖著頭說：
   ９「他既信賴上主，上主就應救他；上主既喜愛他，祂就該拯救他。」 

b. 我們在這裡看到，聖詠作者的絕望還有另一層次。他被人群嘲笑。他被嘲笑是因為他信靠天主。如果我們從耶穌的角度來思考這一點，我們知道他的講道和神蹟呼召人們信靠天主，對天主上主有信心。然而在十字架上，他似乎被天主拋棄了。所以，人群不只是在嘲笑耶穌; 他們也在嘲笑天主。

19. 隨著聖詠的延續，聖詠作者説明了他應該繼續信靠天主並依靠天主的理由。聖詠的這一部分顯示了天主和聖詠作者之間的親密關係。

a. １０是你使我由母腹中出生，使我在母懷裏享受安寧。
   １１我一離開母胎，就已交托於你，尚在母懷時，你己是我的天主。
   １２因為大難臨頭，求你不要遠離我，求你來近，因為無人肯來扶助我。 

b. 當我聽到這些話時，我想起了福音的一部分，耶穌正在教導人們，並希望他們明白天主對他們的愛是無限的，天主從他們出生的那天起就愛他們。沒有必要害怕。在路加福音中，我們聽到耶穌說：「五隻麻雀不是賣兩文銅錢嗎﹖然而在天主前，他們中沒有一隻被遺忘的。就是你們的頭髮，也一一被數過；你們不要害怕! 你們比許多麻雀尊貴多了。」（路12：6-7）。耶穌呼籲天主眷顧百姓的悠久傳統，這可以追溯到亞巴郎。這是在聖詠中看到的一個傳統：你可以呼喚天主並懇求天主，天主會聽到你的聲音。 只要相信！

20. 讓我們回到這首屬於哀歌類的聖詠。我們聽到聖詠作者，有時會持續強烈地以各種可能的方式，表達使他不知所措的傷害、悲傷、痛苦和困惑。這篇聖詠22篇繼續表達這些感受，向天主呼求。然而，一直以來，不確定天主是否在傾聽或天主是否關心。但最終，這些聖詠表達了希望，它們讚美天主。對天主的信任勝過正在經歷的所有恐懼和痛苦。讓我們聽聽這首聖詠的最後三節。

a. ２６我在盛大的集會中要向祂頌讚，我在敬畏祂的人前還我的誓願。
   ２７貧困的人必將食而飽飫，尋求上主的人必讚頌主；願他們的心靈生存永久！

   ２８整個大地將醒覺而歸順上主，天下萬民將在祂前屈膝叩首；
   ２９因為唯有上主得享王權，唯有祂將萬民宰治掌管。
   ３０凡安眠於黃泉的人都要朝拜祂，凡返回於灰土的人都要叩拜祂。

   ３０我的靈魂存在生活只是為了祂，
   ３１我的後裔將要事奉上主，向未來的世界傳述我主，
   ３２向下代人，傳揚祂的正義說：「這全是上主的所作所為！」 

b. 我認為，重要的是要注意這種哀歎是如何得到解決。如果我們把耶穌在十字架上所用的聖詠作為我們的參照點，我們知道，儘管那些嘲笑耶穌的人想要什麼，天主並沒有干預並將耶穌從十字架上帶下來。 耶穌死了。在他周圍的人眼中，天主似乎對他的禱告充耳不聞。然而，我們知道他被證明是正確的，天主使他從死裡復活。沒有人在耶穌受難日觀看時，預料到復活節星期天會發生什麼。聖詠以同樣的方式結束。我們很少聽到關於一直在哭泣的聖詠作者的命運。相反，我們聽到列國已經歸向天主，後代將能夠宣揚上主的大能作為。那些偉大的作品是什麼？讓我們再聽一節聖詠：

２５因為祂沒有輕看或蔑視卑賤人的苦痛，也沒有向祂掩起自己的面孔，他一呼號上       主，上主即予俯聽。

教會以聖詠祈禱

21.我一直在談論聖詠作為猶太人和耶穌的祈禱。聖詠也被基督徒團體接受和使用。 在最早的日子裡，基督徒的聚會，特別是在周日，會使用猶太人的禱文，其中包括聖詠。 我們在今天的禱文中仍然使用聖詠。

22.我們以聖詠祈禱最熟悉的地方是在彌撒中。在每次彌撒裡，第一篇讀經後都會有一首聖詠。 我們稱它做答唱詠，因為我們通常在讀完這首聖詠的每一節後，都會做出回應。 另外一個原因，是因為它是作為第一篇讀經之後的回應。 這意味著它經常會涉及第一篇讀經中的一些主題，並為這些主題提供某種默想。

23.我們來看看今天彌撒的答唱詠。因為今天是顯聖容節，所以取代了常年期第十八主日彌撒。 今天彌撒的讀經是專門為這節日而揀選的。 第一篇讀經取自《達尼爾書》，給我們描繪了人子乘着雲彩，來到坐在寶座上的萬古常存者面前。 當人子來到坐在寶座上的君王——萬古常存者——面前時，君王將榮耀和尊榮賜給他。 因此，聖詠採用了這個主題，並將它轉變為讚美詩。 讓我們聽一下《聖詠》第97首的開頭。

  a.１上主為王！願大地踴躍，無數島嶼，也都要歡樂！
     ２雲彩和黑暗將衪團團包圍，正義與公道支持衪的座位。

b. 請注意這首聖詠是如何頌揚主的尊榮。 他統治著整個大地，比大地上所有的強大力量     更強大。 這在答唱詠的下一節中被帶出來：

５面對上主，即普世的主宰，大山要像蠟燭一般溶解。
  ６蒼天宣揚衪的公道，萬民目睹衪的光耀。

c. 最後一節宣告天主被高舉於整個大地之上。在禮儀的背景下，聖詠正在準備我們聆聽 主顯聖容的福音。 這是答唱詠的最後一節：

  ９上主，你在普天下是最尊貴的，你在眾神中，是最崇高的。

24.教會以聖詠祈禱的另一個地方是時辰祈禱——也稱為日課或教會祈禱。 許多人對時辰祈禱並不熟悉。 然而，這種祈禱已經使用了至少十五個世紀。 基本上，這是在一天中的特定時間所進行的祈禱，以便將這一天奉獻給天主。 這種將一天中的時間奉獻給天主的活動，通常是由修士和修女完成的。 司鐸們也慶祝這個禮儀。許多平信徒也在自己的祈禱中使用時辰祈禱，選用最接近那個鐘數的禱文。最基本的時辰祈禱，就是我們早上(晨禱)和晚上(晚禱)所做的。 也可以延長時間，以便在中午(日禱)和睡覺前(夜禱)也進行祈禱。 這個禱告的形式是以聖詠祈禱和讀經。

25.晨禱可能使用的典型聖詠詩篇是《聖詠》第95首 。這是一個讚美天主的邀請。 它就像我們之前看過的遊行聖詠詩篇之一。

a.１請大家前來，我們要向上主歌舞，齊向救助我們的磐石高歌歡呼。
  ２一齊到衪面前，感恩讚頌，向衪歌吟聖詩，歡呼吟詠。
  ３上主原是尊高的天主，原是超越諸神的大主；
  ４大地的深淵，全在衪手，高山的頂峰，為衪所有。
  ５海洋屬衪，因為是衪創造的，陸地也是衪親手所形成的。

  ８「不要再像在默黎巴那樣心頑，也不要像在曠野中瑪撒那天！
  ９你們的祖先雖然見過我的工作，在那裏他們還是試探我，考驗我。
  １０四十年之久，我厭惡了那一世代，曾說：這百姓心中迷惑，不肯承認我的真道，
  １１因此我懷著憤怒而起說：他們決不得進入我的的安所。」

b. 所以，你可以想像當人們進入祈禱的地方時，人們會頌唱這首聖詠。 它還指在敬拜行為中在天主面前鞠躬祈禱的形象。 當然，這就是我們進入教堂時的鞠躬或下跪。 聖詠承認我們是天主草場上的羊。 最後，它繼續提醒我們要整天聆聽著天主的聲音。 它讓人想起人們在前往福地的路上穿越沙漠時，卻背叛了天主的時候。 因此，在一天的開始，朝聖者們都是以這首聖詠祈禱的人。 它提醒我們，新的一天是我們塵世朝聖的又一天。 它提醒我們有一個選擇：聽從天主的話或背叛天主。 它也鼓勵我們來到天主的面前，讓祂整天與我們同在。

26.教會是以團體形式以聖詠祈禱，通常是在修道院和大教堂裡。 這是個團體祈禱。 有時，一小群人可以聚集在一起以聖詠祈禱。他們可能不會做完整的時辰祈禱，而只是拿一首聖詠一起頌讀。

聖詠與個人祈禱

27. 人們喜歡以聖詠作為個人祈禱的工具。因為聖詠提供了的不同的人生體驗，善惡的分歧，情感的表達。 以《聖詠》第1首為例：

a.１凡不隨從惡人的計謀，不插足於罪人的道路，不參與譏諷者的席位，
  ２而專心愛好上主法律的，和畫夜默思上主誡命的，像這樣的人才是有福的！
  ３他像植在溪畔的樹，準時結果，枝葉不枯，所作所為，隨心所欲。
  ４惡人卻不如此，絕不如此！他們像被風吹散的糠秕。
  ５在審判的時日，惡人站立不住；在義人的會中，罪人不能立足：
  ６因上主賞識義人的行徑，惡人的行徑必自趨沉淪。

b. 人若想得到永恆的喜樂，就要選擇天主為生命的基礎，生命就可以一如河邊的樹林，得到充足的水份。相反，遠離天主，人就如枯萎的糠，只可隨風而逝。當邪惡被審判，犯罪者就會得到懲罰，在公義前，罪人無法抵賴，罪行會被毀滅。這篇詩歌可以看成為《聖詠》的主題，是對每一個聖詠讀者發出邀請，去學習在人生路上，怎様去尋找永恆的水源。

28.  看《聖詠》第23首，我們會能得到類似的啟示。這篇以青綠的草場替代溪畔，以牧者代表天主，為人類提供生命的食糧。

a.１上主是我的牧者，我實在一無所缺。
  ２祂使我臥在青綠的草場，又領我走進幽靜的水旁，
  ３還使我的心靈得到舒暢。

b. 這裡有賜我們安息的天主的形象，也暗示生活很艱難，所以我們需要休息，需要水來恢復我們恢復活力。可以想像一如耶穌在井邊給予口渴的撒瑪利亞婦人活水一樣。

c. 作為牧者，天主不單提供食物，更給予我們庇護同安全。
  ３祂為了自己名號的原由，領我踏上了正義的坦途。
  ４縱使我應走過陰森的幽谷，我不怕兇險，因你與我同住。你的牧杖和短棒，是我的安慰舒暢。

d. 我們戰勝了敵人——攻擊聖詠作者的外邦軍旅，天主為我們安排了筵席和美酒。而今天我們面對的敵人，可能是那些我們認為太大的挑戰。

  ５在我對頭面前，你為我擺設了筵席；在我的頭上傅油，使我的杯爵滿溢。
  ６在我一生歲月裏，幸福與慈愛常隨不離；我將住在上主的殿裏，直至悠遠的時日。

29. 我們亦可以將聖詠看成是天主對我們鼓勵，例如《聖詠》第8首:

a.２上主，我們的主！你的名號在普世何其美妙！你的尊榮在天上彰顯光耀。
  ３由赤子乳兒的口中，你取得完美的讚頌；為使恨你的人受辱，為使仇敵有口無用。
  ４當我仰望你手指創造的穹蒼，和你在天上佈置的星辰月亮，
  ５世人算什麼，你竟對他懷念不忘﹖人子算什麼，你竟對他眷顧周詳﹖
  ６竟使他稍微遜於天神，以尊貴光榮作他冠冕，
  ７令他統治你手的造化，將一切放在他的腳下：
  ８所有的羊和牛，與野外的走獸，
  ９天空的飛鳥和海裏的魚類，及種種游泳於海道的水族。
  １０上主，我們的主！你的名號在普世何其美妙！

b. 以上的章節提醒我們有關聖依勒內的教導，天主的光榮是建於人類的完美，人的生活就是讃美天主，我們的言行，是用來見証天主的臨在。

30. 聖詠不單表揚人的珍貴，但亦表示出人的輭弱。人在墮落的時刻，就需要懺悔。而《聖詠》第51首就正正是一篇代表性懺悔詩篇。達味王因一時的貪念，佔有了部下的妻子，然後將部下送上戰場去被殺。這個故事在《撒慕爾紀下》11-12 章中有敘述。這詩篇充分反影了達味王的羞恥，他充心希望得到天主的寛恕。他對天主的信任，亦同主反射出天主是唯一的寬恕者，無其它人同事物可代替。

《聖詠》第51首：

a.３天主，求你按照你的仁慈憐憫我，依你豐厚的慈愛，消滅我的罪惡。
  ４求你把我的過犯洗盡，求你把我的罪惡除淨，
  ５因為我認清了我的過犯，我的罪惡常在我的眼前。
  ６我得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你，因為我作了你視為惡的事；

b. 從心底求原諒:
  ８你既然喜愛那出自內心的誠實，求在我心的深處教我認識智慧。
  ９求你以牛膝草灑我，使我皎潔，求你洗滌我，使我比雪還要白。
  １２天主，求你給我再造一顆純潔的心，求你使我心重獲堅固的精神。
  １３求你不要從你的面前把我拋棄，不要從我身上將你的聖神收回。

c. 對天主救援的信任和感謝天主:

  １４求你使我重獲你救恩的喜樂，求你以慷慨的精神來扶持我。
  １５我要給惡人教導你的道路，罪人們都要回頭，向你奔赴。
  １６天主，我的救主，求你免我血債，我的舌頭必要歌頌你的慈愛。
  １７我主，求你開啟我的口唇，我要親口宣揚你的光榮。

總結

31. 我希望你能明白為什麼聖詠在禱告中被使用了這麼久。以上所談到的章節，反影着聖詠是多元化的祈禱經文，反影着人類在生命中所面對不同景況，有時是歡樂，有時是渴望，有時是失望甚至悲傷，絶望。雖然天主並沒有減免人不同的遭遇，但縂是給予人的最可靠的倚仗，讓人從信靠得到力量，得到希望，從而感受到被愛的恩寵，願意以自己的生命作為光榮天主的奉獻。

32. 讓我們以《聖詠》第150首作為今日結束的禱主。

  １亞肋路亞！請眾在上主的聖所讚美他，請眾在莊麗的蒼天讚美他，
  ２請眾為了上主的豐功偉業而讚美他，請眾為了上主的無限偉大而讚美他。
  ３請眾吹起號角讚美他，請眾彈琴奏瑟讚美他。
  ４請眾敲鼓舞蹈讚美他，請眾拉絃吹笛讚美他。
  ５請眾以聲洪的鐃鈸讚美他，請眾以響亮的鐃鈸讚美他。
  ６一切有氣息的，請讚美上主。亞肋路亞。

CCC SPIRITUAL TALK

Fr Gerard Kelly

6 August 2023

“Praying with the Psalms”

1. If you place your Bible flat on the table and open it at the middle, you will likely open at the Psalms.  The Psalms is a book in the Old Testament. (Slide) Like all books in the Bible, we regard it as God’s word or God’s revelation. This is why we call these books the “inspired word of God”. This means that it is one of the ways that God speaks into our world. So, when we read the psalms, just as we do when we read any book of the Bible, we listen for what God is saying to us.
2. If you look closely at the Book of Psalms you will see that the way the text is set out looks a bit different to how the text in other books of the Bible is set out. This is because the psalms are songs or poems. When they were first written, they would have been used as songs. We could say that they are a hymn book. The common image we might see is King David playing a harp. (Slide) Singing the psalms was also a way that the people in the Biblical times praised God.  So, we learn something more about what the psalms are. Not only are they God’s word to us, but they are also the songs of praise and worship that the people offer to God.
3. None of our translations will capture the full beauty of the poetry in the original language of Hebrew. Yet, modern translations try hard to keep the musical rhythm of the psalms. The Book of Psalms, unlike other books of the Bible, has been set to music at various times in history and in a variety of modes. One example of this is the setting of Ps 23 (22) by the French composer, Fr Joseph Gelineau SJ. (Slide) This is a setting that is often used in Catholic Churches in Australia and other parts of the world. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me4utPKJBZA).
4. If you look at this “hymn book” you will see that there are 150 psalms.  Most are just about a page long; and some are even less than a page. A few are much longer and take several pages. These longer psalms are more like narrative poems that tell some aspect of the history of the people. If you look closely at the psalms, you will see that the first psalm is number 1, and the last psalm is number 150. But when you look in between you will see that the numbers sometimes get confused. In fact, many Bibles will present a psalm with two numbers. This difference is because the original numbering in the Hebrew Bible was altered when the Bible was translated into Greek. What happened is that the Greek translation joined Psalms 9 and 10, and then broke up Psalm 113 into two psalms.  This means that the Greek number is one behind the Hebrew number. There was also another change at Psalm 146. But this numbering system need not concern us today. In general, Catholics use the Greek numbering and Protestants use the Hebrew numbering. Some Bibles use both numbers, placing one in brackets. It is important to know this because if you go to look at a particular psalm you need to know which numbering is used, otherwise you will look at the wrong psalm. To use the example of the psalm I mentioned a moment ago, Ps 23: in the Greek numbering it is Ps 22. This is why sometimes you will see this psalm referred to as Ps 22 and sometimes as Ps 23. (Slide)
5. Today I want us to focus on how the psalms are prayer.  Already I have said a lot that relates to them being prayer.
   1. I have said that they are God’s word to us. When we want to prayer, we go to our place of prayer so that we can listen to God and hear God’s word to us. We know that when Jesus went into the hills to pray, he was looking for a quiet place where he could be alone with his Father. Before every important decision he made, he took time to pray and listen to his Father. So, when we pray, we can use the psalms as a way of listening to God.
   1. I have also said that the psalms are songs of praise.  This is at the heart of prayer. You remember that when Jesus prayed, he often spoke out loud his praise of the Father. Think of the times when he began his prayer saying, “I praise you Lord of heaven and earth …” (Mt 11:25). The psalms can be for us a way for us to praise God. There are some psalms which are specifically focused on praising God. The last psalm begins (Ps 150), “Praise God in his holy place”.
6. We know that there are other forms of prayer that we use. The psalms can also help us here.
   1. There may be times when our prayer expresses our sorrow for failures in our life, or for not loving God, or for hurting someone we love.  We have examples of this type of prayer in the psalms, where the psalmist cries out to God for forgiveness. We could use these types of psalms to help us in our prayer at such times.
   1. There can also be times when we want to ask God for something. Maybe we are not sure how to ask. There are many of the psalms that are a petition to God. By using these psalms, we can find ways to express our needs to God.
   1. Another form of prayer that is part of our prayer tradition is complaining to God. We might not think this is prayer, and we usually try not to complain to God. But this is a part of our prayer tradition. There are many examples in the psalms of this type of prayer.  They are called the “lament psalms”.
7. This brings us to an important point about the psalms. They are expressions of real human experience in all its variety. We see a full range of human emotions from complete joy to utter desperation. We see human experience at its best and at its worst. This tells us something about how we should read the psalms. We don’t just do it as a head exercise; we need to pray the psalms with our heart and our emotions.
   1. Sometimes they will connect with the feelings we have at the time we are praying. It could be joy or sorrow, fear or confidence, despair or hope. The psalm may help us recognise what we are experiencing and bring that before God.
   1. At other times, the psalm we are reading may not touch our present emotions. We may be feeling close to God, yet reading a psalm where the psalmist thinks that God has abandoned them. In these cases, we might bring others into our prayer. It may be someone we know who is experiencing what the psalmist is expressing. So, we could pray for those persons. But sometimes we might not personally know anyone who is going through what the psalmist is expressing. In these cases, we could pray for those that we don’t know, but who are experiencing what the psalmist is expressing. For example, we might pray for those who are living in countries torn by war and where there is famine as a result.  Or we could pray for those who live with guilt and sin, and don’t know how to find reconciliation or peace. In this way, our prayer extends beyond a focus on ourselves, and we bring others before God.

The Psalms and Jewish Prayer

• The psalms have been used in prayer for probably at least seven centuries.  In other words, their use goes back five centuries before Jesus. They were an important part of Jewish prayer and still are.
• The psalms capture the might of God and the graciousness of God. Sometimes the psalm would be sung as the people moved along in procession.  Let’s look at one of these – Ps 47 (46).
  • All peoples, clap your hands.
    Cry to God with shouts of joy!
    For the Lord, the Most High, is fearsome
    the great king over all the earth
    
    He humbles peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
    Our heritage he chose for us,
    the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
    
    God goes up with shouts of joy.
    The Lord goes up with the sound of trumpet.
    Sing praise for God, sing praise!
    Sing praise to our king, sing praise!
    
    God is king of all the earth.
    Sing praise with all your skill.
    God reigns over the nations.
    God sits on his holy throne.
    
    The princes of the peoples are assembled
    with the people of the God of Abraham.
    The powers of the earth belong to God,
    and he is greatly exalted.
  • You need to imagine the people moving along in procession, clapping their hands, making music to praise God. This psalm praises God for all that God has done. God has been at work in their world. God has made them greater than any other nation, so that other nations are humbled before this nation. The identity of this nation is that they are God’s people, his chosen ones. The psalm refers to Abraham, as a reminder of God’s promise to Abraham, that his descendants would be more numerous than all the stars of heaven.
  • It is helpful to note here that the way they know God is by recognising that God is at work in the world and in their lives. The God they knew was a God who acts. This is the God they worship. This is the God who is enthroned in glory.
    Further, in praising God they also recognise their own dignity.
  • It is worth noting that we use this psalm as the responsorial psalm on the feast of the Ascension.
• Another processional psalm focuses specifically on Jerusalem.  Devout Jews would regularly make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the great feasts.  Jesus too made this sort of pilgrimage.  Let’s listen to Ps 122 (121)
  • I rejoiced when they said to me,
    ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’.
    And now our feet are standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem.
    
    Jerusalem is built as a city
    bonded as one together.
    It is there that the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord.
    
    For Israel’s witness it is
    to praise the name of the Lord.
    There were set the thrones of judgement,
    the thrones of the House of David.
    
    For the peace of Jerusalem pray,
    ‘May they prosper, those who love you.’
    May peace abide in your walls,
    and security in your towers.
    
    For the sake of my family and friends,
    let me say, ‘Peace upon you’.,
    For the sake of the hours of the Lord, our God,
    I will seek your good.
    
    
  • We need to imagine the people climbing up to Jerusalem and then arriving at the gates of the city. God has protected the city for generations. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds the city to protect it. The procession is on its way to the Temple. Even while they are thinking of the blessings God has given the city, they are always aware that the city could be attacked by enemies, or that the people in the city could rebel and fight one another. So, this processional hymn becomes a prayer of petition. They ask God to protect the city and its inhabitants, to drive out the wicked.
  • It is interesting to remind ourselves that Jesus may well have sung this psalm. Recall that scene in the gospel when he was on the way to Jerusalem; he looked over the city and wept. His words echo this psalm, “If you too had only recognised on this day the way to peace!” (Lk 19:41) He laments that they have been blind to the moment when God visited them, and they had failed to receive the peace that God gives.
• The psalms were used to mark the big festivals where God would be praised. These festivals might mark a certain season and the crops that came, or they might remember how God had saved the people. The most prominent of these was the Passover. During the Passover meal, psalms would be sung. Just as with the previous example I gave, the most important way to praise God was to tell what God had done in their history. For the Jewish people (and for Christian people) memory is very important.  Ps 114 (113A) remembers the saving event of the Exodus.
  • When Israel came forth from Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a foreign people,
    Judah became his temple,
    Israel became his domain.
    
    The sea beheld them and fled;
    the Jordan turned back on its course.
    The mountains leapt like rams,
    and the hills like yearling sheep.
    
    Why was it, sea, that you fled;
    that you turned back, Jordan, on our course?
    Mountains, that you leapt like rams?
    Hills, like yearling sheep?
    
    Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
    in the presence of the God of Jacob,
    who turns the rock into a pool,
    and flint into a spring of water.
• In telling the history of what God has done, the psalm conflates two decisive moments in their history. One was the Exodus when they came forth from Egypt. They would remember how they had been slaves in Egypt, and how God has saved them from the hands of Pharoah. They would remember how God had led them and guided them across the Red Sea.
• But the psalm also makes reference to another significant moment in their history. This was the crossing of the Jordan River to enter the promised land.
  Notice the way the psalm uses the natural world to convey something of the grandeur of what God is doing. The mountains and hills are like sheep that jump up and down in a type of ecstatic dance. This imagery is poetic; it calls on our imagination. The Jewish people used these images to praise God.

Jesus prayed with the Psalms

1. If these were examples of how the Jewish people prayed, then we should also note that Jesus would have prayed with these same psalms.  I have already referred to Jesus looking over Jerusalem, and I suggested that he might well have prayed with Psalm 122 (121).
2. If we think about Jesus and his life, it is obvious that as he grew up, he would have been taught the psalms as a way of prayer. He would have gone with his parents to the synagogue and possibly also to the Temple. In those places, he would have joined in the praying of the psalms with others. He would have prayed the Sabbath prayers and also celebrated the Passover. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the Last Supper happens in the context of the Passover meal. So, it would have included blessing prayers over the cup of wine and other psalms.
3. The psalm we are most familiar with on the lips of Jesus is Ps 22 (21), which begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We hear these words as he is dying on the cross. There are also many echoes of this psalm in the gospel account of the Passion. E.g., “They divide my clothing among them, casting lost for my robe”. This psalm is quite long, so I won’t quote all of it. It begins:
   1. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
      Why is your rescue far from me,
      so far from my words of anguish?
      O my God, I call by day and you do not answer;
      I call by night and I find no relief.
   1. Notice how this psalm expresses the depths of distress and despair. There is distress during the experience of extreme suffering. But the greater distress is the absence of God. It is possible to put up with the suffering if you believe there is some good point to it or that someone is supporting you. But the opening verses of this psalm show a person (the psalmist/Jesus) in the depths of despair because God has abandoned them. In the Bible (and in life) if God abandons you then your life is meaningless.
4. In the next verses of this psalm, we see the psalmist proclaiming what they know of God. This part of the psalm is a call to remember.  It takes the form of pleading with God to remember, but also the psalmist is reminding himself of the mercy of God.
   1. Yet you, O God, are holy,
      enthroned on the praises of Israel.
      In you our ancestors put their trust;
      they trusted and you set them free.
      when they cried to you, they escaped;
      in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
   1. Notice how the psalmist is using this psalm to build hope in the midst of despair. Hope is based on what God has done for the ancestors in earlier times. It is based on the confidence that in the past when they cried to God for help, God reached out and saved them.
5. The next movement of this psalm is a return to the hopelessness we heard in the first stanza. This time, the psalmist begins to name what has been happening and what he is experiencing. This is getting more personal.
   1. But I am a worm, not even human,
      scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
      All who see me deride me;
      they curl their lips; they shake their heads,
      ‘He trusted in the Lord, let him save him;
      let him release him, for in him he delights.’
   1. We see here that the despair of the psalmist has another layer to it. He is being mocked by the crowd. He is being mocked because he trusted in God. If we think of this in terms of Jesus, we know that his preaching and miracles were calling people to trust God and have confidence in God. Yet on the cross, he seems to have been abandoned by God. So, the crowd are not just mocking Jesus; they are also mocking God.
6. As the psalm continues, the psalmist gives reasons why he should continue to trust God and rely on God for help. This part of the psalm shows something of the intimacy between God and the psalmist.
   1. Yes, it was you who took me from the womb,
      entrusted me to my mother’s breast.
      To you I was committed from birth;
      from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
      Stay not far from me;
      for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.
   1. When I hear these words, I am reminded of a part of the gospel where Jesus is teaching the people and wants them to understand that God’s love for them is boundless, and that God has loved them from the day they were born. There is no need to be afraid.  In Luke’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say: “Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? And yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Yet even the hairs on your head have been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows” (Lk 12:6-7). Jesus is appealing to a long tradition of God’s care for the people, right back to Abraham. It is a tradition that is seen in the psalms: you can call out to God and plead with God, and God will hear you.  Just trust!
7. Let’s go back to the psalm. This psalm belongs to a category of psalms called psalms of lament. They are sometimes relentless as we listen to the psalmist express in every possible way the hurt, sadness, agony, and confusion that overwhelms him. This psalm 22 goes on expressing these feelings, crying out to God. Yet all the time, not sure that God is listening or that God cares. But ultimately, these psalms express hope, and they praise God. Trust in God outweighs all the fear and agony that is being experienced. Let’s listen to the last three stanzas of this psalm.
   1. You are my praise in the great assembly.
      My vows I will pay before those who fear him.
      The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.
      They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.
      May their hearts live on for ever and ever!
      
      All the ends of the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,
      all families of the nations worship before him,
      for kingship is the Lord’s, he is ruler of the nations.
      They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth;
      before him shall bow all who go down to the dust.
      
      And so me soul shall live for him, my offspring serve him.
      They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,
      declare his saving justice to peoples yet unborn,
      ‘These are the things the Lord has done.’
   1. I think it is important to notice how this lament is brought to a resolution. If we take Jesus’s use of the psalm on the cross as our point of reference, we know that despite what those who were mocking Jesus wanted, God did not intervene and bring Jesus down from the cross.  Jesus died. To the eyes of all around him, God seemed deaf to his prayer. Yet, we know that he was vindicated, and that God raised him from the dead. No one watching on the Good Friday expected what happened on Easter Sunday. The psalm ends the same way. We don’t hear much about the fate of the psalmist who had been crying out. Rather, we hear that the nations have been converted to God, and that future generations will be able to proclaim the Lord’s mighty works. What are those mighty works? Let’s listen to one more stanza of the psalm:
      
      He has never despised
      nor scorned the poverty of the poor.
      From them he has not hidden his face,
      but he listens to the cry of the poor.

The church prays the psalms

• I have been talking about the psalms as Jewish prayer and also the prayer of Jesus. The psalms were also taken up and used by the Christian community. In the very earliest days, the gathering of Christians, especially on Sunday, would use the Jewish prayers, and this included the psalms. We still use the psalms today in our prayer.
• The place where we are most familiar with the psalms in prayer is at the Mass.  At every Mass, after the First Reading there is a psalm. We call it a responsorial psalm because there is usually a response that we make after each stanza has been read.  It is also a responsorial psalm because it acts as a response after the First Reading. This means that it will often take up some of the themes in the First Reading and offer a sort of meditation on them.
• Let’s look at the responsorial psalm for today’s Mass. Because today is the Feast of the Transfiguration, we did not have the Mass for the 18^th Sunday. The readings for today’s Mass were specially chosen for the feast. The first reading was from the Book of Daniel and gave us an image of the Son of Man coming on the clouds and arriving in the presence of the one of great age, who was sitting on his throne. When the Son of Man came to the king – this one of great age – sitting on his throne, the king conferred glory and honour on him. So, the psalm takes up this theme and moves into a hymn of praise. Let’s listen to the beginning of Psalm 97 (96).
  • The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
    let all the coastlands be glad.
    Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
    his throne, justice and right.
  • Notice how this psalm is celebrating the splendour of the Lord. He reigns supreme over all the earth, more powerful than all the earth’s powerful forces. This is brought out in the next stanza in the responsorial psalm:
    
    The mountains melt like wax
    before the Lord of all the earth.
    The skies proclaim his justice;
    all peoples see his glory.
  • The final stanza proclaims that God is exalted above all the earth. In the context of the liturgy, the psalm is preparing us to hear the gospel of the transfiguration of the Lord.  Here is the final stanza of the responsorial psalm:
    
    For you indeed are the Lord
    most high above all the earth
    exalted far above all spirits.
• Another place where the church uses the psalms in prayer is at the Liturgy of the Hours – also called the Prayer of the Church or the Divine Office. Many people are not familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours. Yet it is a prayer that has been used for at least fifteen centuries. Basically, this is a prayer that is said at specific hours during the day in order to consecrate the day to God. This dedication of the hours of the day to God is typically done by monks and nuns. Priests also celebrate this liturgy. Many lay people are also using the Prayer of the Church for their own prayer, praying what hours there are able to. At its most basic form, this prayer is what we do at morning and evening. It can be extended so that there is also prayer in the middle of the day and also just before bed. The form this prayer takes is to pray the psalms and to have a Scripture reading.
• A typical psalm that might be used in the morning is Psalm 95 (94). It is an invitation to praise God. It is like one of those processional psalms that we looked at earlier.
  • Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
    hail the rock who saves us.
    Let us come into his presence, giving thanks,
    let us hail him with a song of praise.
    
    A mighty God is the Lord,
    a great king above all gods.
    In his hands are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his.
    To him belongs the sea, for he made it,
    and the dry land that he shaped by his hand.
    
    O that today you would listen to his voice!
    ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
    as on that day at Massah in the desert
    when your ancestors put me to the test;
    when they tried me, though they saw my work.
    
    ‘For forty years I loathed that generation,
    and I said, “Their hearts are astray;
    these people do not know my ways.”
    Then I swore an oath in my anger,
    “They shall not enter my rest”.’
  • So, you can imagine this psalm being chanted as people are moving into the place of prayer. It also refers to an image of praying as bowing before God in an act of worship. Of course, this is what we do when we enter the church and bow or genuflect. The psalm acknowledges that we are the sheep of God’s pasture. Finally, it goes on to remind us to listen to God’s voice throughout the day. It recalls the time when the people were wandering through the desert on their way to the promised land but rebelled against God. So, at the beginning of the day, this psalm is being prayed by people who are pilgrims. It reminds us that the new day is another day on our earthly pilgrimage. It reminds us that we have a choice, to listen to God or to rebel against God. And it encourages us to come into God’s presence and keep him with us throughout the day.
• The church prays the psalms as a community, often in monasteries and cathedrals. This is communal prayer. Sometimes, small groups of people can gather to pray the psalms. They might not pray the full Liturgy of the Hours, but just take one psalm and read it together.

The Psalms and personal prayer

• People can also use the psalms for personal prayer. The secret or praying the psalms well is to allow the experience of the psalmist to connect with your own experience. In the Book of Psalms, we have the whole range of experiences and emotions. Let me look at some of these. I want to start with Psalm 1.
  • Blessed indeed is the one
    who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
    nor stands in the path of sinners,
    nor sits in the company of scorners,
    but whose delight is the law of the Lord,
    and who ponders his law day and night.
    
    Such a one is like a tree that is planted
    beside the flowing waters,
    that yields its fruit in due season,
    and whose leaves shall never fade;
    and all that he does shall prosper.
    
    Not so are the wicked, not so!
    For they, like winnowed chaff,
    shall be driven away by the wind.
    
    When the wicked are judged they shall not stand ,
    nor shall sinners in the council of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.
  • In one sense, this psalm sets the tone for the Book of Psalms. It invites the reader into a life of blessing and joy. There is a beautiful image of the person who follows the path of God being like a tree planted beside the river so that it gets plenty of water for its growth and will be able to withstand drought when it comes. Then comes the contrast with those who do not follow God’s path. They will be dried up like chaff in a drought, carried along by the wind, with no direction in their lives. So, this psalm becomes an invitation to set our roots where there is living water.
• This type of image is common in the psalms.  We have already seen it in the Shepherd Psalm, Ps 23 (22). This psalm gives us an image of being shepherded by the Lord and taken to green pastures where there is plenty of food. The opening verses are among the most familiar in the Bible:
  • The Lord is my shepherd;
    there is nothing I shall want.
    Fresh and green are the pastures
    where he gives me repose.
    Near restful waters he leads me;
    he revives my soul.
  • Here we have the image of God who gives us rest. There is a hint here that life has been difficult, so this is why we need rest. It is why we need the water that will revive us. Of course, we can make a connection to Jesus who spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well and offered her living water.
  • Let’s continue reading the psalm, where it becomes more explicit that the Shepherd is guiding us and sheltering us:
    
    He guides me along the right path,
    for the sake of his name.
    Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death,
    no evil would I fear, for you are with me.
    Your crook and your staff will give me comfort.
  • After this the image changes. We are now enjoying a banquet, with the finest wine. We have been victorious against our foes. While the foes at the time of the psalmist were the foreign armies that attacked them, our enemies might be the challenges we face and that we sometimes think are too great for us. Let’s continue to listen to the psalm:
    
    You have prepared a table before me
    in the sight of y foes.
    My head you have anointed with oil;
    my cup is overflowing.
    
    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life.
    In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
    for the length of days unending.
• You can see that the psalms are God’s word that encourages us. When we pray with the psalms, we get a sense of the worth of persons before God. This is perhaps best expressed in Psalm 8.
  • O Lord, our Lord, how majestic
    is your name through all the earth!
    
    Your majesty is set above the heavens.
    From the mouths of children and of babes
    you fashioned praise to foil your enemy,
    to silence the foe and the rebel.
    
    When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars which you arranged
    what are human beings that you should keep them in mind,
    or their children that you should care for them
    
    Yet you have made them little lower than the angels;
    with gory and honour you crowned them,
    gave them power over the works of your hands.
    You put all things under their feet,
    
    all of them sheep and oxen,
    yes, even the cattle of the fields,
    birds of the air and fish of the waters
    that make their way through the seas.
    O Lord, our Lord, how majestic
    is your name through all the earth.
  • This reminds us of the saying of St Irenaeus that the glory of God is human beings fully alive. In other words, God is praised in our living. We are a testament to the glory of God.
• Despite all the recognition of the high place of human beings before God, the psalms also tell of the utter depths to which human beings can fall. One of the most moving examples of this is Psalm 51 (50). This psalm belongs to a category called penitential psalms. We know a lot about the origins of this psalm. It is a prayer of repentance by King David, after his sin of taking another man’s wife and then sending the man out to be killed on the battle field. This story of recounted in 2 Samuel 11-12. The psalm takes us to the depths of shame and guilt. It is a profound prayer of repentance, and an expression of confidence in the mercy of God.  We won’t read all of it, but here is how it begins:
  • Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
    In your compassion blot out my offence.
    O wash me more and more from my guilt
    and cleanse me from my sin.
    
    My offences truly I know them;
    my sin is always before me.
    Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
    what is evil in your sight I have done.
  • A little later, the psalmist prays for forgiveness and healing in the depths of his heart:
    
    Indeed you love truth in the heart;
    then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom,
    O purify me, then I shall be clean;
    O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
    
    A pure heart create for me, O God,
    put a steadfast spirit within me.
    Do not cast me away from your presence,
    nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
  • This then develops into an expression of confidence in God, as the psalmist – the sinner – praises God:
    
    Give me again, the joy of your help;
    with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
    that I may teach transgressors your ways
    and sinner may return to you.
    
    O rescue me, God my helper,
    and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
    O Lord, open my lips
    and my mouth shall declare your praise.

Conclusion

• We have tried to sample some of the psalms, and to get a sense of their variety. I hope you can see why they have been used for so long in prayer. They are a gentle expression of the range of human situations. They capture the joy and the hope of human life before God. They also capture the disappointments and sorrows that are part of every human life from time to time. The psalms don’t try to pretend that life is not as simple and as complex as all of this. Rather, they show the power of the human spirit when sustained by the love of God and by true worship of God. Ultimately, all of the psalms are expressions of praise and worship of God. In praying with them, we allow them to express in words, the trust and hope we have in God. In this way they become our song of praise.
• Let’s conclude now with the last psalm, Psalm 150 – a final song of praise.
  • Praise God in his holy place;
    praise him in his mighty firmament.
    praise him for his powerful deeds;
    praise him for his boundless grandeur.
    
    O paise him with the sound of trumpet;
    prise him with lute and harp.
    Praise him with timbrel and dance;
    praise him with strings and pipes.
    
    O praise him with resounding cymbals;
    paise him with the clashing of cymbals.
    Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.