The Divine Hug

Last time I suggested that we look to the Psalms to find examples of God’s care for us. Here are a few verses I found in the first    Psalms. The translation I am using is the “Grail” translation that we pray in our celebrations of the Divine Office. A new version is coming available but you might still be able to get a copy of the original version—which I highly recommend. Look for The Psalms: a new translation published by the Paulist Press. Now, for the Psalms themselves:

I lie down to rest and I sleep.

I wake, for the Lord upholds me. (Psalm 3:6)

These lines evoke the image of God looking over us and caring for us even while we sleep, looking over us like a parent who takes a peek in a beloved child’s room at the end of an evening. The next psalm also speaks about sleep:

I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once

for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. (4:9)

Try repeating this verse before you go to sleep at night, especially if you sometimes have trouble falling asleep.

It is you who bless the just man, Lord:

you surround him with favor as with a shield. (5:13)

We are nestled within a divine “hug.”

It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care

and protect us for ever from this generation. (12:8)

”This generation” is the way of the world. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we naturally find it more and more necessary to withdraw from the world and reject its false values.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

who even at night directs my heart. (16:7)

The Lord in his caring for us guides us and teaches us. How does he do that in your life?

Perhaps you can answer the question in the comments section of this blog, or by email.

One more:

Guard me as the apple of your eye.

Hide me in the shadow of your wings. (17:8)

Is there someone in your life who is the “apple of your eye?” God looks at you in the same way, magnified infinitely. “The shadow of your wings” evokes for me the divine hug which I alluded to earlier.

May God bless you and keep you and care for you with his unfathomable love.