Author: Erin Newton

Scripture Focus: Psalm 42:5-7
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.
6 My soul is downcast within me;
    therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
    the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.

Psalm 43:5
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

Reflection: Sluggish Grief
By Erin Newton

In the movie, Paddington, one character reflects on his emotional journey of settling into a new place: “My body had traveled fast, but my heart… she took a little longer to arrive.” The heart can be sluggish during grief. It’s frustrating and discouraging.

I wish grief was a cycle; instead, it is a web. Our bodies are bound to the linear progression of time. We are moving from one event to another, but our hearts and minds are stuck in a tangled web of emotions and thoughts.

The repeated phrase, “Why, my soul, are you downcast?” reflects this emotional tangle. The psalmist tries to soothe himself with words of counsel. “Hope in God…Remember the good times.” Oh, I’ve heard those platitudes from others. And I’ve tried to use them to urge my heart into better spirits.

But grief is not linear. The stages—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance—don’t happen sequentially.

Psalms 42-43 show this type of tangled emotional experience. At first, we see the depth of sadness, “tears have been my food day and night” (Psalm 42.3). Then a joyous memory, “How I used to go to the house of God…with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng” (Psalm 42.4). Then the declaration of depression, “all your waves and breakers have swept over me.”

The journey of emotional experience is like traveling across the mountains. There is the bright ascent to the peak, the crisp breeze, and clear skies. We gaze upon the view and see the other mountaintops, each basking in the pure sunlight. But to get there, we must descend into the valley, the dark woods.

Amy Carmichael calls this “The Ravine.” It is the painful memory of better days: “Yes, we were one of a festive crowd; was there any happy thing that we did not do? And we think of what used to be, so different from all that is now.”

Our minds know of God’s goodness, the joy of his presence, the hope of better days, but our hearts take a little longer to get there.

“We know that it is true. And yet there is something in the trend of our thoughts that is like the backwash of the waves, as wave after wave breaks on the shore…We have seen the lovely radiance of that upper air. But our feet must walk the ways of earth down that dreary hill, past those somber trees, and into the valley…”

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. — Psalm 126.6-7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Kings 21 (Listen 4:19)
Psalms 42-43 (Listen 2:32)

Read more about Be With Me
The weight of our sadness reflects the hope of a beautiful life that has been tragically altered.
But we are not alone. God is near to the brokenhearted…

Be With Me

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Scripture Focus: Psalm 35:5-6
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
     with the angel of the Lord driving them away;
 6 may their path be dark and slippery,
     with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

From John: Erin and I are both ready for our daily readings, especially imprecatory psalms, to be less topical to current events. It’s distressing to write from the scriptures referencing some of the horrors we’ve recently witnessed up close and far off. But isn’t that what the scriptures are for? And what regular reading does for us? One of the best features of the way we approach devotionals at The Park Forum is that we don’t chase topics, we just walk in the scriptures. For no matter what valley we walk through, Jesus is with us in his Word, through the Spirit, and among the community of faith. Peace be with us, in us, and among us.

Reflection: Wartime Prayers
By Erin Newton

The book of Psalms reveals a wide range of emotional responses to life: praise, joy, lament, pleas for deliverance, and expressions that seek justice. Psalm 35 is one of the latter types of psalms—an imprecatory prayer.

The psalmist utilizes militant language asking for shield, armor, spear, and javelin to be set against the enemy. There is hope that the foe will be caught in a net, fall into a pit, and be disgraced and put to shame.

It is a prayer against injustice. It is a prayer for retribution.

Many of us are peace-time civilians in the West. Our conflicts are not wartime struggles but personal attacks, neighborly conflicts, and systemic injustices. But war still happens, is happening now, around the globe. The cry for justice is universal.

Federico Villanueva, a Filipino scholar, reveals the most important aspect to this type of prayer: “The difference is that this prayer is directed to God. It is not simply wishing that something bad will happen to a person; it is asking God to do this action.”

Psalm 35 is unique within the book of Psalms. Together with Psalm 34, it is the only place the angel of the Lord is mentioned. The plea is for the enemy to become worthless, useless, weak, chaff. The psalmist begs for the way of the enemy to be darkened and treacherous. The whole plot to disarm the enemy is done by the angel of the Lord.

Injustice should lead our hearts to lament and pray. Our emotions should rise with the stories of pain and suffering. These psalms give voice to the Spirit that stirs within us, “Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me!”

The desire to defend the weak is good and righteous. We are called to seek justice in every area of our lives. Let us seek God as we pray for his will to be done. When we are cornered and afraid, let us call upon God to impart perfect justice as only he can.

Federico reminds us: “Human justice is very imperfect…The imprecatory prayers become expressions of trust in God our Father who is not only powerful but is just and loving. It brings comfort to those who are weak and oppressed, who have no one else to go to but God. It also serves as a strong warning for the oppressors. There is a God who fights for the right of the weak.”

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel. — Psalm 69.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Kings 15 (Listen 5:30)
Psalms 35 (Listen 3:21)

Read more about Miracles of Deliverance and Judgment
In a warzone, however, wickedness removes its disguises…The lies of wicked rulers corrupt those around them and cost lives.

Miracles of Deliverance and Judgment

Read more about An Imprecatory Psalm for Mass Shootings
The imprecatory psalms and our angry prayers in crisis are still valuable to God.

An Imprecatory Psalm for Mass Shootings

Scripture Focus: Psalm 34.18
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
     and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Reflection: Be With Me
By Erin Newton

In the kingdom of the heavens, no suffering is unknown;
 each tear that falls is holy, each breaking heart a throne.
 There is a song of beauty on every weeping eye —
 for there is One who loves me: His heart, it breaks with mine

These words, which bring me to tears every time, are from the song “Little Things with Great Love” by Porter’s Gate.

At the end of this summer, just a few weeks ago, my mother died. For six years, I limped along this journey of anticipated grief, knowing that her cancer was incurable. I became accustomed to sadness. It was simply a part of my life.

Many of us carry the weight of grief, pain, suffering, trauma—all sorts of sadness—with us every day. Instead of a passing feeling, it becomes a state of being. Grief is an unwelcome guest that lingers too long and too close.

Psalm 34 speaks of deliverance from fear and salvation from troubles. It was the plea of my anguished heart. I like to avoid sadness. Bottling up emotions, avoiding all sad movies, and never lingering too long on tragic events—this was my way of living.

Now I have learned that we get to grieve deeply because we have loved deeply. The weight of our sadness reflects the hope of a beautiful life that has been tragically altered.

What is never mentioned in the psalm is the absence of trouble. It is not praising God for a carefree life. As much as I want to escape heartache, suffering is part of living.

But we are not alone. God is near to the brokenhearted, the completely broken and crushed soul.

In the last days of my mom’s life, I would step out of the car and take a deep breath. I had to go in there and sit by her bed, counting breaths as they labored and slowed. I knew I had to go inside. There was no choice. “Dear Lord, can you go in there with me?” And he did.

I have known the depths of pain, but I have felt the strength of God’s presence. My mom could hear songs “like a choir” and felt an unseen hand rest upon her shoulder. God is near to us.

If there is any way I could talk to my mom now, I’d let her know I’m doing okay. Because I’ll never be alone.

Music: “Little Things with Great Love,” by Porter’s Gate

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
…come to me speedily, O God. You are my helper and deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry. — Psalm 70.5-6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Kings 14 (Listen 5:22)
Psalms 34 (Listen 2:14)

Read more about In the Face of Grief
None of Christ’s followers had to leave their sorrow behind for Jesus to come to them.

In the Face of Grief

Read more about The Grace of Holding Space
What is most needed in these times is a willingness to simply “hold space” for another.

The Grace of Holding Space