In Our Distress

Meditation: angelus est nomen officii

In my extremity, I called out to the Lord;
I cried out in the congregation in my distress.
I was answered with love;
I was restored and removed to a better place;
With the love of the Lord with me, how can I be cut down?

Place your trust in the Lord;
Seek the Almighty where he waits upon his beloved;
Though your enemies surround you;
Though you find yourself at fault and unworthy;
Though you see no escape, there is help and hope for you;
The Lord is our strength and right arm;
His servants listen for the cry of the oppressed;
They wait upon the word of the Lord.

The Lord is our salvation and our help;
Though we may be chastised,
we are not condemned;
Though we find ourselves in distress;
even at the end of our lives and beyond;
We are enfolded and comforted;
In the Lord we find our true labor;
In the Lord we truly find ourselves.

-distantly after Ps 118

After Psalm 90

Antiphon: Laugh with the joy of the spirit; Who stands with the humble and meek.

Dearest God, our hearts and souls are yours
And have been since time began

Before the earth brought forth mountains
And before the seas were formed
From everlasting to everlasting
You are God

At your will we return to dust and are forgotten
For a thousand years in your sight
Is like yesterday when it is past
Less than a watch in the night

Our days, our lives, even our times are swept away
They are like a dream,
Like grass that withers and dies
Grass that you renew in the morning, in the spring
With the rising of your Son.

LE

My Shepherd Is The Lord (Reprise)

My shepherd is the Lord
For nothing shall I want
In pastures green I rest
From waters still I drink

My soul my God restores
In fear God gives me strength
When lost God leads me home
And keeps me as God's own

God names me as his child
My sins for me forgives
With oil anoints my head
And sees to all my needs

My home is with the Lord
With God I'll always be
In joy God leads me out
With love God leads me home

In dark I have no fear
In trouble I have peace
In God I put my trust
For God is always near

In faith I have my life
and rise when life is done
The Lord keeps me each day
In life eternaly

(prior entry)

After The Fifth Psalm

Hear my cry, O Lord
May my sighs arouse your mercy
Hear me, help me Lord
Let my morning prayer incite you

Evil is not of you
You overturn all it's schemes
You expose it's lies
It cannot abide your judgement

Killers you bring down
Decievers are reduced to shame
Their sins are exposed
You abhor them and bring them down

But the good you love
And the repentant they are blessed
Welcomed to your house
Worshiping you in your temple

Lead me O my Lord
Lead me in your great righteousness
Straightly in your paths
Help me to walk in your favor

My foes surround me
They lie constantly against me
Declare them guilty
Let their intrigues be their downfall.

Against you they rebel
But let your servants find great joy
All your faithful, bless
Let those who love you sing for joy

God blesses the good
God sheilds them within his strong wings
They pray not in vain
Their souls lie safe within his hand

After The Fourth Psalm

God of my strength
Answer my call!
You sheltered me
When I was hurt
Be kind to me
And hear my prayer

I am Ashamed
Held in contempt
Truth matters not
When men seek lies
Raise me back up
Save me from shame

My God has set
His folk apart
He hears our cry
When we suffer

Hard times should not
Cause us to sin
Stop, pray and think
Pause and reflect
Do what is right
Before the Lord


These times are hard
And long and cruel
O that we might
See better times!
But shine upon
Us Lord and God
And we will be
Glad beyond cause

I will lie down
And sleep in peace
God guards my soul
God gives me peace

After The Third Psalm

Many are against me
Many rise to harm me
They mock my faith
They tease and taunt:
Where is your Savior now?

They ask where is my help.
But it is with me still.
God stands by me
In good and bad
My sheild and advocate

My God lifts up my head
Assures me of His love
God honors me
And comforts me
And answers all my prayers

God watches when I sleep
Sustains me so I wake
How should I fear
Ten thousand men
When my God holds me dear

Arise my Lord I pray
Deliver me from woe
Unseat my foes
And save my life
And wipe away my tears

God, bless the saints with love
Restore them by your hand
Show all the world
Your saving love
So they can understand

After The Second Psalm

Why seek to thwart the Lord;
Or work against his will?

And plan for your own gain,
Via your neighbors ill?

Although you be a prince;
With force at your command,

You are a tiny mote
Within God's mighty hand.

The rules that God set out
Apply to one and all.

It is at your own risk
That you ignore God's call.

God's eyes they are not dim
God does not doze or sleep.

Today if you sow ill
Tomorrow ill you'll reap.

In Zion stands the king
His hand upon his sword.

The wise doubt not his will
The prudent hear his word.

Plot not harm or evil;
Don't kill or cheat or steal.

The Lord God is watching
And his wrath is real.

The First Psalm

(In a fixed meter)

Happy those who do not evil;
Who seek out not evil counsel;
Steering clear of paths of evil;
Scoffing not at what is righteous.

Happy those who study the law;
Who find delight in God's command.
Their roots tap unfailing water;
Greening them in drought and famine.

They bear fruit, they do not wither;
They are blessed and they will prosper.

This is not true for the wicked;
They do not have deep roots in them;

They thirst, suffer without releif.
Judgement will find them quite wanting;
With the righteous they can not stand.
Burned like weeds, they are cast away.

The Lord loves and guides the righteous;
Watches over every footstep;
It is not so for the wicked;
Their path leads to deepest
darkness;
Their way is lost, where none should go.

My Shepherd Is The Lord

My shepherd is the Lord
For nothing shall I want
In pastures green I rest
From waters still I drink

My soul my God restores
In fear God gives me strength
When lost God leads me home
And keeps me as God's own

God names me as his child
My sins for me forgives
With oil anoints my head
And sees to all my needs

My home is with the Lord
With God I'll always be
In joy God leads me out
With love God leads me home

In dark I have no fear
In trouble I have peace
In God I put my trust
For God is always near

In faith I have my life
and rise when life is done
The Lord keeps me each day
In life eternaly

Inspired by The 23rd Psalm.

Peace to you;

LE

After Psalm 33

...
Praise and thank God for our many blessings, because we are truly blessed.
Thank God with music, with dance, and with art
Proclaim your love and praise God loudly, so all can hear and see - because God is good and God's every deed is done in faithfulness.

God loves Mercy and Justice; the world is full of the steadfast love of the Lord;
God spoke and the universe was created, and God's breath lives within all life. God knows the fish of the sea, and the stars of the sky, every one by its own name.

God is awesome; God stands before time and also after; God was concerned with the events of your life before your eldest ancestor crept from the sea, and lovingly contemplates the echo of your features in the descendants of generations to come.

There is nothing that is hidden from God, and each of us is in God's sight. God knows us from the inside out, in our most shameful secrets and our hidden joys.

Nations, leaders and movements plot and plan, and seek to own the world, but the world is in God's hands, and God frustrates their plans. God's direction is clear and unchanged. Judgment and time belong to God, and from God no wealth, no power, and no physical strength can save you.

Happy are the people who follow in God's footsteps, who enter into God's labors. God watches over the faithful, who find eternal life in his steadfast love, and manna in the midst of want.

We wait upon the love of God, who is our help and protector. In God we find our joy and in God's name renewal. O Lord, be with us and bless us, even as we hope in you.

Peace,
Locust Eater

For the Families of the Departed

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.

He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me;

you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.