Psalm 10: 8-18

Text
Wickedness sitteth in the lurking places of the villages. In the secret places doth it murder the innocent, its eyes are privately set against the poor. It lieth in wait secretly as a lion in its den. It lieth in wait to catch the poor. It doth catch the poor, when it draweth them into its net. It croucheth, and humbleth itself, that the poor may fall by its strong ones. It hath said in its heart, that thou, divinity, hath forgotten and hideth thy face and will never see it. Arise, O guide, O divinity, lift up thine hand, forget not the humble. Why doth wickedness condemn divinity? It hath said in its heart, Thou wilt not require it. Thou hast seen it, for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it…with us, thy hand. The poor committeth himself unto thee, thou art the helper of the orphan. Thus shall the arm of wickedness be broken and evil as well. Seek out wickedness till thou find none.
Thou art my guide for ages and ages. Heathen ways are perished out of thy land.
Thou hast heard the desire of the humble, thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause the ear to hear. To bring justice to the orphan and the oppressed, that the people on the earth may no more oppress.

Text Notes

• "for ages and ages" is more literal than the 1611 "for ever and ever". The original conveys both a sense of indefinite time AND of character (of "my guide").

Reflection
The message is clear in this passage. Wickedness is here characterized by its pursuit of the innocent poor. To gain by the oppression of others. And our guide works through us: "with us...thy hand." Spirit's work within us is to prepare our heart and cause our ear to hear the real need. Then we are to "bring justice to the orphan and the oppressed." Sometimes all this seems overwhelming to me. Our inequities seem built in. Let me listen and do what I can to be the hand of Love.

Psalm 10: 1-7

Text
Dost thou stand afar off, O guide? Dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble? The wicked in their pride do persecute the poor, let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For wickedness boasteth of its heart's desire, and blesseth covetousness, which thou abhorrest. Wickedness, through the pride of its countenance, will not seek after divinity, divinity is not in all its thoughts.
Its ways are always grievous, thy judgments are far above out of its sight, as for all its enemies, it puffeth at them. It hath said in its heart, I shall not be moved for I shall never be in adversity. Its mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud, under its tongue is mischief and vanity.

Text Notes

• Except for the 2nd verse, this psalm's long passage on wickedness is again abstract in form. Thus, the focus remains on the nature of wickedness rather than seeing others as our personal enemies.

Reflection
Why, indeed, does it seem that our guide is so far from us during times of trouble? Part of our problem is our religious indoctrination: we have over anthropomorphized God. As we mature in faith, we realize the real nature of divinity within us. This presence is subtle, but powerful! To ignore the best within each human being is to not seek after divinity. And, that is genuine wickedness. May my life be free of deceit and fraud. Integrity found in self respect. That's something worth celebrating!

Psalm 9: 17-20

Text
Wicked ways are turned into hell and all the nations that forget divinity. For the needy shall not always be forgotten, the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ages. Arise, O guide, let not flesh prevail. Let my heathen thoughts be judged in thy sight. Put them in awe, that is, that the nations may know themselves to be but human. Selah.

Text Notes

• This King James Inclusive Version retains the usage of "hell" in the OT unlike most contemporary versions. The dozens of occurrences are overwhelmingly present tense,i.e. Hell is Now.
• "Awe" captures more fully the semantic range of the original and is more appropriate in psalms for meditation than the rendering "fear".

Reflection
To forget divinity, that of God in every person, is to be "turned into hell". This text also makes explicit what it means to be wicked: to forget the needy. And, to allow the "expectation of the poor" to perish. These are truly "heathen thoughts" that I must overcome with love, which flows from God, my divine center.

Psalm 9: 11-16

Text
I sing praises to thee, which dwelleth in Zion and declare among the people thy doings. When inquisition is made for blood, thou rememberest them, thou forgettest not the cry of the humble. May I enter into mercy, O consider my trouble which I suffer from thoughts of hate. Thou liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may show forth all thy celebration in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy wholeness. My heathen thoughts are sunk down in the pit that they made, in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. Thou art known by the justice which thou executeth: the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Text Notes

• Psalms for Meditation again makes abstract, thus internal, the sense in another phrase. In this case it is "thoughts of hate" rather than "them that hate me".
• And, the fullest meaning of the original is captured in the word "wholeness" rather than "salvation" as in KJV1611.

Reflection
Any form of religion that fosters hatred of 'the other' is a death-oriented faith. A genuine inward sense of God is that which lifts me up from death. Much of what passes for fundamental faith seems to be mere tribalism. Real salvation is "wholeness", an inclusive embrace of life as it really is. Our Guide will lead us into justice and deliverance.

Psalm 9: 5-10

Text
Thou hast rebuked the heathen ways, thou hast destroyed wickedness, thou hast put out that name for ages and ages. O thou enemy within, destructions are come to a perpetual end, and destroyed are cities, their memorial is perished with them. But thou, my guide within, shalt endure for ages. Thou hast prepared thy throne for justice. And shalt judge a world in rightness, thou shalt minister justice to the people in uprightness. Thou also wilt be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thou hast not forsaken those who seek thee.

Text Notes

• The K-JIV makes the internal struggle clear: "heathen ways" rather than "heathen"; "enemy within" instead of "enemy", etc. In meditation, the focus is on our inward "rightness" with eventual outward justice.

Reflection
Yes there are. There are "heathen ways" exalted in our culture. And internalized too often within me. Destructive, even violent, lifestyles are the proposed solutions to our world's problems. But, "thou has prepared thy throne for justice". That is the crying need. As I win the battle over the selfish enemy within, then I can see justice for the oppressed in society around me.

Psalm 9: 1-4

Text
I will celebrate thee, O guide, with my whole heart. I will show forth all thy marvelous works! I will be glad and rejoice in thee. I will sing and celebrate to thy name, O thou most high. When mine enemy thoughts are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause, thou dost sit in thy throne judging right.

Text Notes

• The King James Inclusive Version, K-JIV, has "celebrate" where the KJV1611 translates "praise". Both English words are part of the broad sense of the original.
• In these Psalms for Meditation, "enemies" are understood as "enemy thoughts".

Reflection
To celebrate for the sheer joy of it! The Psalmist captures the flavor of the spirit I feel when we gather in Meeting for Worship. It is good to be glad and rejoice. The inward guide "judges right" and those self-serving enemy thoughts can be vanquished! They "fall and perish at thy presence". And so celebration leads to a life lived intentionally.

Psalm 8: 5-9

Text
For thou hast made them a little lower than the messengers, and hast crowned them with glory and honor. Thou madest them to have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou hast put all things under their feet. All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Presence, our guide, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Text Notes

As is well known, the general sense of the word often rendered "angels" in the KJV1611 is "messengers". In these psalms for meditation, the more basic sense is typically used.

Reflection
Yes, we sense our "dominion" over creation, even over the "beasts of the field". But, what shall we do with this supremacy that we feel?! My need for respect for other creatures is great. I suspect that this is the only "crown of glory and honor" that humanity can wear: respect for all of life. Do I recognize that the very excellence of "thy name" consists in it being fully recognized "in all the earth?

Psalm 8: 1-4

Text
O thou Presence, our guide, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, which hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, as the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, What is humanity that thou are mindful of them? And the child of humanity, that thou visitest?

Text Notes

• The KJV1611 differentiates two different Hebrew words in the first verse by capitalizing one of them, YHWH. In the Psalms for Meditation, the K-JIV distinguishes the two by using "Presence" and "guide".
• Likewise, the older phrase "son of man" is here "child of humanity".

Reflection
Babes and sucklings are one of the best witnesses to the glory of this connecting Presence in creation. In the presence of an infant, even a robust one (!), I feel stillness. The Psalmist's use of anthropological language, as in "thy fingers", brings intimacy to the sense of divine love and power in creation and within my soul.

Psalm 7: 12-17

Text
If wickedness turn not, thou wilt whet thy sword. Thou hast bent thy bow and made it ready! Thou hast also prepared the instruments of the death of wickedness. Thou ordainest thine arrows against the persecuting spirit. Behold the way of evil: they travail with iniquity, and conceive mischief, and bring forth falsehood. They made a pit and dug it, and are fallen into the ditch which they made. Their mischief shall return upon their own head, and their violent dealing shall come down upon their own pate. I will celebrate thee, O inward guide, according to thy rightness, and will sing and celebrate to thy name most high!

Text Notes

• The abstract word "wickedness" continues to be the focus in these psalms for meditation. It is the death of the principle of wickedness that is in view.
• Similarly, it is the "persecuting spirit" that our inner light struggles against in our lives.

Reflection
To engage in warfare is important! The battle rages within. Should I capitulate to sectarian impulses? Should I spread hate speech? The Psalmist says that we all, in effect, get pregnant. In the language above, we conceive, we travail, and we bring forth! What will I be pregnant with? Self destructive thoughts? Or plans of inclusive justice? May I, indeed, celebrate the best within me, thou inward light!

Psalm 7: 9-11

Text
Oh let the wickedness of our ways come to an end, but establish justice! For the right-living, divinity trieth the hearts and emotions. My defense is from divinity which maketh whole the upright in heart. Yea, divinity judgeth the right! But, is divinity angry with the presence of wickedness every day? If wickedness turn not, thou wilt whet thy sword. Thou hast bent thy bow and made it ready. Thou hast also prepared the instruments of the death of wickedness, thou ordainest thy arrows against the persecuting spirit.

Text Notes

• In these meditative psalms, "wicked" (in the 1611KJV) is "wickedness", an abstract quality within us rather than "the other".
• And, the Psalms for Meditation understand the Psalmist to be asking, "is divinity angry" rather than stating"God is angry" as in the KJV1611. It is a question to sit with in our meditation of our divine center.

Reflection
In our text above, the opposite of wickedness is justice. What is my role in furthering justice in this society? Yes, I am made whole in divinity, but not as an end in itself. I want to be able to say with the Psalmist: wholeness leads to working for the death of wickedness, injustice, around me. The persecuting spirit must perish.

Pslam 7: 1-8

Text
O guide my divinity, in thee do I put my trust, make me whole from all those who persecute me, and deliver me. Lest they tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. O guide my divinity, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands, if I have rewarded evil unto one who was at peace with me (yea, I have delivered a person who without cause is mine enemy), then shall the enemy within persecute my soul, and take it! Yea, it shall tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honor in the dust. Selah. Arise, O guide, in all this anger, lift up thyself from amidst the rage of my struggles. And awake for me to the judgement that thou hast commanded. So shall the gathering of the people encompass thee about, for their sakes therefore return thou on high. The divine center shall judge within people. Judge me, O my guide, according to my rightness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

Text Notes

• The word "within" is added twice in the passage above, as elsewhere in the Psalms for Meditation, to clarify the nature of the internal struggle.
• Thus "enemy within" as well as "judge within" (specifying the location of judgment).
• Where the 1611KJV has "thine anger", the K-JIV is less anthropomorphic with "all this anger".

Reflection
Real righteousness ('rightness') is not tribalistic, not used to demean others. Too often my sense of offended justice focuses on the faults of someone else. Rather than only rage at perceived injustice, I need the judgment of this divine center within. In that way I can learn to act from my own integrity!

Psalm 6: 6-10

Text
I am weary with my groaning, all the night I make my bed to swim, I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief, it waxeth old because of all mine enemies within. Depart from me all you works of iniquity, for the guide hath heard the voice of my weeping. The guide hath heard my supplication, Love will receive my prayer. Let all these enemy thoughts be ashamed and sore vexed, let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

Text Notes

• The phrase "enemies within" makes explicit that, in personal meditation, our primary enemies are within us.
• "Love" is used occasionally as a translation of YHWH in Psalms for Meditation. This is at least as accurate as using an Anglo-Saxon title of nobility ("Lord").

Reflection
In my experience, the normal struggles of life have been made much worse by fundamentalist religion. When religion falsely amplifies feelings of guilit or anger, then it is destructive and punishing. Allowing all of this simply to "depart" (as in the text above) is the best solution. True religion and true prayer are a joy! Enemy thoughts return whence they came and I am free to live in Love's presence.

Psalm 6: 1-5

Text
Dost thou rebuke me in anger? Or chasten me in hot displeasure? Thou hast mercy upon me even when I am weak. O guide, heal me for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed, but thou, O guide, how long? Return thou, deliver my soul, oh make me whole for thy mercies' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee, in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Text Notes

• Here again is another example of how, in the Psalms for Meditation, context determines whether a sentence is a question or a statement.
• Thus the first verse above consists of two questions which are then answered in the next line: "Thou hast mercy..."

Reflection
I join with the Psalmist in questions about anger. And, I join in the affirmation of mercy as well! Often the cause of my outward affliction is my inward turmoil. That is, my bones are "vexed" because my soul seems "sore vexed"! But, life feels very full and rich when I am "whole", in right relationship with the light and with others.

Psalm 5: 8-12

Text
Lead me, O guide, in thy rightness because of mine enemies, make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth, their inward part is very wickedness, their throat is an open sepulcher, they flatter with their tongue. They destroy themselves, O divinity, they fall by their own counsels. They are cast out in the multitude of their own transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee. But let all those who put their trust in thee rejoice, let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them. Let them also who love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou wilt bless the right, with favor wilt thou encompass as with a shield.

Text Notes

• As noted earlier the wonderful word "righteousness" has accumulated some theological baggage over the centuries. In Psalms for Meditation "rightness" is typically used to convey the original sense.

Reflection
Self destructive behavior is again noticed in this text. It is characterized by a lack of faithfulness and by flattery. Perhaps one of our greatest temptations is to be less than genuine. To be a fake is to transgress. To trust our inward light and be real: that is something to love and shout about!

Psalm 5: 4-7

Text
For thou art not divinity that hath pleasure in wickedness. Neither shall evil dwell with thee. Foolishness shall not stand in they sight. Thou hatest all works of iniquity. They destroy themselves who speak lies. Thou wilt abhor the bloody and deceitful work. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy awe will I celebrate toward thy holy temple.

Text Notes

• The K-JIV used in the Psalms for Meditation often renders the 1611KJV's discrete nouns as abstract. Thus, "wickedness" rather than "wicked" persons. In meditation, it is the internal struggle that is contextually significant.
• As noted earlier, to worship is to celebrate.

Reflection
I cannot respect myself if I engage in 'evil', destructive behavior. There is no place in divinity for wickedness. To lie is to destroy oneself! There is an abhorrence in our divine center of the two traits named by the Psalmist: bloodshed and deceit. Rather, in meditation, I enter God's House, the realm of the spirit. I partake of awe and mercy. And, finally, celebration!

Psalm 5: 1-3

Text
Give ear to my word, O guide, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my inspiration and my divinity, for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O guide. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up.

Text Notes

• The Hebrew text anthropomorphizes as "King" in verse two. In these psalms for meditation, the key personal sense of "inspiration" is sometimes used.

Reflection
"Consider my meditation". To the ancient Hebrews, meditation was not so much a placid state as a heartfelt cry. And a focus on "my inspiration and my divinity." In meditation, I want to connect to Spirit, for my cry to be heard, to know the divinity of love. This is real prayer!

Psalm 4: 6-8

Text
There are many who say, Who will show us any good? O guide, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us! Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their grain and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou only makest me dwell in safety.

Text Notes

• This text is a good illustration of basic fidelity to the text of 1611 wherever possible in Psalms for Meditation. Aside from a modest update of an archaic verbal form and the usual translation of YHWH by "guide", the K-JIV text remains very close to the KJV.

Reflection
It would be easy for me to echo the question above: "Who will show us any good?" Fundamentalist religion feeds our war mentality. Greed masquerades as the free market. But, the light of love's countenance puts "gladness in my heart". And this deep rooted sense of gladness is not a shallow euphoria. It is something more than even when "their wine increased". For me, it is an experience of peace and safety as a place to "dwell"...and from which, to live.

Psalm 4: 1-5

Text
Hear me when I call, O divinity of my rightness. Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. May I enter into mercy; and hear my prayer. And you, fellow children of humanity, how long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity and seek after falsehood? Selah. But know that this Presence hath set apart the one who is loving. Thou wilt hear when I call unto thee. Stand in awe and be not self-centered. Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of rightness and put your trust in the guide.

Text Notes

• The word translated "Presence" in this context is usually "Guide" in Psalms for Meditation.
• The K-JIV "Self-centered" is translated "sin" in the 1611KJV. The broad sense of the Hebrew word is: to miss.

Reflection
I love the Psalmist's language: "Thou has enlarged me". That's exactly it: my capacity to engage life needs to be enlarged! Even as some dwell on the superficial, may I live in the Presence as one who is loving. Indeed, I would "stand in awe" and learn to commune with my own heart AND become "still": a good definition of the process of meditation.

Psalm 3: 5-8

Text
I laid me down and slept. I awakened, for thou didst sustain me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O guide. Make me whole, O my divinity. But, would I wish, that thou smite all mine enemies upon the cheek bone? Or that thou break the teeth of the selfish? Wholeness belongeth unto thee. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Text Notes

• As noted earlier, the original does not indicate whether a given verse is a question or statement. It is a matter of context.
• The word translated "salvation" in the 1611KJV has a broad semantic range: deliverance, safety, restoration. In these Psalms for Meditation, it is usually "wholeness" or a synonym.

Reflection
In this text, meditation leads to a blessing: "I laid me down and slept". Heartfelt cries to our inward guide often lead (eventually) to genuine peace. And, even the confidence to stand against 10,000 others who disagree with our convictions! Sometimes my sense of fairness feels like asking, with the Psalmist, for "the selfish" to have their teeth broken. Then I realize that justice would have to begin with me! What I really require is Wholeness. Throughout the Psalms, there is a continual refrain of thankfulness for true wholeness (or "salvation") in living. What a blessing, amidst life's growing pains, to find a sense of satisfaction and rest in divinity within us.

Psalm 3: 1-4

Text
How are they increased who trouble me! Many are those who rise up against me. Many there be who say of my soul, There is no help in divinity. Selah. But thou, O guide, art a shield for me, my glory and the lifter up of my head. I cried unto thee with my voice and thou didst hear me out of thy holy hill. Selah.

Text Notes

• Because these are psalms for meditation, the Hebrew word Elohim, usually "God" in the KJV, is translated in a way that captures the fullest possible sense of the word. Plural in etymology, but often rendered by the singular, Elohim has a broader semantic range than is usually conveyed by the English word "God". Most often, in the K-JIV, the best translation is "divinity".

Reflection
What is the nature of God's help for me? Too often both we and those whom we see as enemies misunderstand the essence of divine help. Is there help in divinity? Yes! Our guide is, indeed, a "shield" and a "lifter up of my head". There is profound inward strength available in the divine center. There is no guarantee of not suffering in this world, but I have learned to be open to divine power within my spirit. And this power of Love lifts me in wonderful ways.

Pslam 2: 10-12

Text
Be wise now therefore, O you leaders. Be instructed you judges of the earth. Celebrate the guide with awe and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the child, but not in anger lest you perish from the way when wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in thee.

Text Notes

• Where the KJV translates YHWH as "Lord", in the K-JIV we often read "Guide". The 1611KJV rendered a personal Hebrew name by an Anglo Saxon title of nobility. In Psalms for Meditation, "guide" or related nouns are at least as accurate a translation of YHWH as "Lord".
• Here, the K-JIV has "celebrate" rather than the KJV "serve".
• "Trembling" may also be "quaking".
• The phrase "Kiss the child, but not in anger" is unclear in Hebrew. Several possible renderings.

Reflection
In meditation, I look inward to the guide, divine love within. Out of this sense of God, celebration and awe overwhelm me. And I find myself quaking! Kissing and anger? Can they go together? More questions to sit with. One thing seems sure: anger (though sometimes appropriate) can lead eventually to "perishing on the way". A better, blessed, way seems to be that of trust.

Psalm 2: 7-9

Text
I will declare the decree: Thou hast said unto me, Thou art my child, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. They are broken with a rod of iron. They are dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Text Notes

• Because these are inclusive psalms for meditation,"son" in the 1611KJV is "child" in the K-JIV. The Hebrew word is often used generically.
• The word "nations" is elsewhere "heathen". Here the context is global in scope.

Reflection
The images of this passage cover the gamut! From personal family relationship to global inheritance to the brokenness we see in the world! And the world often looks that way to me: broken and in pieces. Do we want to "inherit" a globe like this, even if we are meek? How do I grapple with all this? For me, having a sense of community, of spiritual family, is a wonderful place: a place to work from, in small ways, to address the larger world's struggles.

Psalm 2: 4-6

Text
Dost thou sit in the heavens and laugh and hold them in derision? Dost thou speak unto them in wrath and vex them in sore displeasure? Thou hast set thy leader upon thine holy hill of Zion!

Text Notes

• Verses 4 and 5 are questions in Psalms for Meditation rather than statements as in the 1611KJV. In the original language texts of scripture, there was no punctuation. Context dictates whether we render as question or statement. See more in the reflection below.

Reflection
What I used to understand as statements, I find myself now engaging as questions. How do I listen to the inward guide? Do I anthropomorphize my concept of divinity? In this second Psalm, good questions are asked about the nature of anger and its role in human life. And, then the answer: there is a leader "upon thine holy hill of Zion". There, in the sacred place, is real guidance.

Psalm 2: 1-3

Text
Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The leaders of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together, against thee, and against thine anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us!

Text Notes

• The KJV 1611's "heathen" (otherwise "nations") is often retained in the K-JIV, particularly in a setting of conflict.
• In these inclusive psalms for meditation, the word "kings" becomes "leaders" which is within the semantic range of the original.

Reflection
One of the problems of organized religion is the concern to name "others" as different than ourselves. Too often, my tribalism blinds me to a simple fact: I am the heathen. I am the one working against "thee"...the light of my divine center. And, as in our text above, it is too often true that it is our society's political leadership that plots to destroy the bonds of our common humanity and divinity.

Psalm 1: 5-6

Welcome back to Psalms for Meditation!

Text
Therefore the unloving shall not stand in the judgment, nor selfishness in the gathering of right. For thou knowest the way of right-living, but the way of unloving shall perish.

Text Notes

• It's a great word, but the English word "righteous" has gained theological baggage over the centuries. It is healthier to meditate on "right" or "right-living" which better reflect the sense of the Psalmist.


• The phrase "the judgment" in the original is not necessarily a future, eschatological event. Rather it is a recurrent experience of our human lives in which unloving acts become self evident.

Reflection
Some translations have "self destructive" for "shall perish" in the last verse. We perish or self-destruct without love: I perish when I act without love. And, I have had some "perishing" times! My experience is that I can respect myself when I live rightly. And, for me, this is the essence of integrity: self respect and respect for others.

Psalm 1: 3-4

Text
And they shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season. Its leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever they do shall prosper. The unloving are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Text Note

• Inherent in the inclusive method of translation is the use of plural pronouns when appropriate. So, in the Psalms for Meditation, "they" is often used rather than "he" as in the 1611 KJV. This common English convention is frequent throughout the K-JIV. Ironically, it is often true that the Hebrew does not use a gender specific pronoun. The same is true of the Greek NT as well.

Reflection
Though I've transitioned from conservative evangelical/anabaptist (mouthful!) to unprogrammed Friend, I feel the same rootedness in the spirit. I feel the blessing of being planted by rivers of water. I've left behind a lot of my strident doctrinal positions, but I appreciate the ongoing sense of stability that trust in Love provides. Without that Love as guide, my modern life becomes so superficial that I really am as chaff driven by wind: empty and all over the place!

Psalm 1: 1-2

Each of these posts in Psalms for Meditation will usually be threefold: the Text, the Text Notes, then a brief Reflection.

Text
Blessed is the one who walketh not in the counsel of the unloving, nor standeth in the way with the selfish, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But whose delight is in thy law; and in thy law doth meditate day and night.

Text Notes

• During personal meditation in the Psalms, it is helpful not to be distracted with gender, so, "man" (1611KJV) is now "one" (K-JIV) in spite of the male root of the Hebrew word.
• Where possible in this version, the Psalmist addresses the Guide directly. So,in the verses above, there is "thy" (K-JIV) rather than "his" (KJV). That is, Psalms for Meditation, K-JIV, speaks first person (to our guide) rather than third person (about the guide). This is the spirit of prayer.
• The word "unloving" illustrates another type of updating. The underlying Hebrew word is not etymologically derived from a component of "god", as in the 1611's "ungodly". The word indicates those who have strayed from the basis of right living: wickedness, waywardness, unloving. To retain the flow of the KJV, "unloving" is used here.
• Similarly, K-JIV's "selfish" rather than the 1611's "sinner" is within the semantic range for the original word.

Reflection
Blessing (or happiness), says the Psalmist, often lies in avoiding those who counsel these three traits: scorn, selfishness or unloving acts. I don't have to look too far to find this counsel: its right in my heart! And, to compound my temptation, our culture sometimes places the highest value on just these traits except we tend to call them "healthy skepticism", "taking care of yourself" and "being pragmatic". My answer? It's the second verse: day and night meditation. Meeting for Worship is wonderful, but personal meditation is possible 24X7. That's the fun and dangerous part: meditation may break out at any moment!