| CARLOS G. VALLES PRAYING TOGETHER ® CONTEMPLATIONPaper Back: Rs. 50 $ 8 Cloth Bound: Rs. 55 $ 10 PRAYING TOGETHER by Carlos G. Valles, S.J. Pages 344 THE AUTHOR Carlos Gonzalez Valles was born in Spain, came early in his life to India where he was ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus, and worked for many years as professor of mathematics in St. Xavier's College, Ah- medabad. Together with his professional teach- ing he entered the literary field in the Guja- rati language, and published many books which won for him the Ranjitram Gold Medal, the highest literary award in the land. Retired now from his university chair he has tumed to writing in English and Spanish, bringing to the spiritual and psy- chological fields his western’roots and his eastern branches. He also gives courses on Oriental Spirituality in India and abroad.ato .Y PRAYING TOGETHER No — 23hPRAYING | TOGETHER | PSALMS FOR CONTEMPLATION Carlos G. Valles, S.J. 1989 GUJARAT SAHITYA PRAKASIL P.B. 70 ANAND, 388 001. INDIA.Imprimi Potest: A. Sankoorikal, S.J. Prov. of Gujarat February 8, 1989. Imprimatur; + C, Gomes, S.J. Bishop of Ahmedabad February 9, 1989. Ist Edition, August. 1989, 5,000 copies 2nd Edition, November 1989, 5,000 copies © 1989, Carlos G. Valles, S.J. St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, 380 009, India. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published by X. Diaz del Rio, S.J., GUJARAT SAHITYA PRAKASH, P.B. 70, ANAND, Gujarat, 388 001, India. Photo-typeset and printed at ANAND PRESS, GAMDI-ANAND, Gujarat, 388 001, India.- BOOK I Psalm. Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm. Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm 10: ll: 12; 13: 14: 15: 16: 17: 18: 19: Psalm 20: Psalm 21: Psalm 22: Psalm 23: Psalm 24: Psalm 25: Psalm 26: Psalm 27: OCHIOArHOdr INDEX PRAYER OF A LUCKY MAN 1AM YOUR SON DAILY PRAYER NIGHT PRAYER MORNING PRAYER REPENTANCE AT NIGHT GOD IS MY REFUGE THE PRAYER OF THE HEAVENS PRAYER OF THE OPPRESSED THE COURAGE TO LIVE WORD OF GOD AND WORD OF MAN HOW LONG, O LORD? HERE I AM, O LORD! TO STAY CLOSE TO GOD SINCERITY WITH MYSELF SHOW ME YOUR LOVE! THE LORD'S THUNDER NATURE AND GRACE ON CHARIOTS AND HORSES MY HEART'S DESIRE WHEN DEPRESSION STRIKES JOYFUL AND CAREFREE LIFT UP YOUR HEADS! DO NOT LET ME DOWN! PRAYER OF A GOOD MAN I SEEK YOUR FACE ROCK OF AGESPsalm 28: Psalm 29: Psalm 30: Psalm 31: Psalm 32: Psalm 33: Psalm 34: Psalm 35: Psalm 36: Psalm 37: Psalm 38: Psalm 39: Psalm 40: BOOKIE Psalm 41: Psalm 42: Psalm 43: Psalm 44: Psalm 45: Psalm 46: Psalm 47: Psalm 48: Psalm 49: Psalm 50: Psalm 51: Psalm 52: Psalm 53: Psalm 54: Psalm 55: Psalm 56: Psalm 57: Psalm 58: Psalm 59: Psalm 60: Psalm 61: DARKNESS IN THE SKY MOODS OF THE SOUL MY LIFE IN YOUR HANDS SHADOWS IN MY SOUL THE LORD'S OWN PLANS TASTE AND: SEE "l AM YOUR SALVATION" THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE WAIT FOR THE LORD. PRAYER OF A SICK MAN PRAYER OF A TIRED MAN OPEN MY EARS! CONCERN FOR THE POOR LONGING FOR THE LORD THE GOD OF MY JOY PRAYER FOR A TROUBLED CHURCH ASONG OF LOVE BE STILL YOU CHOSE OUR LAND FOR US THE CITY OF GOD THE ETERNAL RIDDLE THE BLOOD OF GOATS MY SIN AND YOUR MERCY THE RAZOR AND THE TONGUE, THE DEATH OF GOD THE POWER OF YOUR NAME VIOLENCE IN THE CITY TO WALK IN YOUR PRESENCE, YOUR PURPOSE FOR ME THE CURSE OF DEAFNESS MY TOWER OF STRENGTH THE FORTIFIED CITY MY TENT IN: THE DESERT TRUE LOVEPsalm 62: Psalm 63: Psalm 64: Psalm 65: Psalm 66: Psalm 67: Psalm 68: Psalm 69: Psalm 70: Psalm 71: BOOK II Psalm 72: Psalm 73: Psalm 74: Psalm 75: Psalm 85: Psalm 86: Psalm 87: Psalm 88: BOOK IV Psalm 89: Psalm 90; Psalm 91: Psalm 92: Psalm 93: THIRST ARROWS THE RAINY SEASON COME AND SEE THE MISSIONARY'S PRAYER, FROM SINAI TO SION THE BURDEN OF LIVING MAKE NO DELAY! YOUTH AND OLD AGE PRAYER FOR JUSTICE THE PANG OF ENVY THERE IS NO PROPHET! THE CUP OF BITTERNESS THE SCOURGE OF WAR THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD SALVATION HISTORY THE ENEMY WITHIN PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH REMEMBER YOUR LIBERATION JUDGE OF JUDGES TIME FOR ACTION LOVE OF GOD'S TEMPLE JUSTICE AND PEACE GUIDE ME, O LORD! ZION, MOTHER OF PEOPLES LONELINESS, SICKNESS AND DEATH THE POWER AND THE PROMISE LIFE IS SHORT GOD'S DAILY CARE A SONG OF OPTIMISM THE LORD OF THE SEA TEACH ME, LORD 155 158 161 163 165 167 172 174 176 178 180 182 186 188 193 201 205 207 209Psalm 94; GOD'S OWN REST 211 Psalm 95: ANEW SONG 214 Psalm 96: REJOICE IN THE LORD! 216 Psalm 97: ASONG OF VICTORY 218 Psalm 98: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY 220 Psalm 99: THE SHEEP OF HIS FLOCK 222 Psalm 100: RESOLUTIONS 224 Psalm 101: I LOVE MY CITY 226 Psalm 102: TRUST IN GOD'S MERCY 228 Psalm 103: HARMONY IN CREATION 230 Psalm 104: DON'T TOUCH MY SERVANTS! 232 Psalm 105: ISRAEL'S SHORT MEMORY 235 BOOK V Psalm 106: THE DANGERS OF LIFE. 239 Psalm 107: THE WHEEL OF LIFE 241 Psalm 108: THE WEAPON OF THE POOR 243 Psalm 109: YOU ARE A PRIEST FOR EVER 245 Psalm 110: COMMUNITY PRAYER 247 Psalm 111: PORTRAIT OF A JUST MAN 250 Psalm 112: STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS 252 Psalm 113: IDOLS ON MY ALTAR 254 Psalm 114: PASSION AND RESURRECTION 257 Psalm 115: RENEWAL OF VOWS 259 Psalm 116: A SHORT PRAYER 261 Psalm 117: THE JOY OF EASTER 262 Psalm 118: A YOUNG MAN'S PRAYER 264 Psalm 119: THE EXILE'S PRAYER 266 Psalm 120: MY WEAK POINTS 268 Psalm 121: CITY OF PEACE, 270 Psalm 122: MY EYES' PRAYER, 272 Psalm 123: DELIVERANCE 274 Psalm 124: ENDURANCE 276 Psalm 125: THE TIDES THAT TURN 278 Psalm 126: PRAYER OF THE COMPULSIVE WORKER, 280Psalm 127: Psalm 128: Psalm 129: Psalm 130: Psalm 131: Psalm 132: Psalm 133: Psalm 134: Psalm 135: Psalm 136: Psalm 137: Psalm 138: Psalm 139: Psalm 140: Psalm 141: Psalm 142: Psalm 143: Psalm 144: Psalm 145: Psalm 146: Psalm 147: Psalm 148: Psalm 149: Psalm 150: THE FAMILY MEAL MY ENEMIES PRAYER OF PRAYERS THE PRAYER OF THE INTELLECTUAL A DWELLING FOR THE LORD FAMILY PRAYER VIGILS IN THE NIGHT OG AND SIHON THE GREAT HALLEL HOW CAN I SING? DO NOT LEAVE UNFINISHED THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS! YOU KNOW ME THROUGH AND THROUGH JUSTICE TO THE DOWNTRODDEN THE EVENING SACRIFICE I CRY ALOUD IN THE MORNING WHAT IS MAN? GENERATION TO GENERATION NO SUBSERVIENCE TO MAN OF HEARTS AND STARS WINTER SONG PRAISE DANCE MUSIC 304 306 310 312 314 316 318 320 322 324 326 328PRAYING TODAY This is a book of prayers. Of actual prayers to be prayed, of living matter for individual prayer, of practical help for religious contemplation, of concrete prayers for personal or community use. In our prayer life we are al- ways learning, always open to the winds of the Spirit, ready to explore new ways of approaching the unap- proachable and expressing the inexpressible. A wise and earnest believer asked Jesus in a burst of charming spon- taneity: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" I translate the urgent plea into my own prayer situation and say: "Lord, I know how to pray; teach me how to pray!" Every new help is welcome in the unending endeavour of coming closer to God. The psalms are a permanent source of inspired prayer. I have lived with them through years in a stormy relationship of wild enthusiasm, devoted intimacy, schol- arly study, temporary estrangement and fervent rediscov- ery. For me to write a book on the psalms was inevitable. The only question in my mind, while the seeds of the fu- ture work were growing unattended in the depths of my soul, was what shape the writing would take. I soon knew I could not write a cold commentary, but a personal version of each psalm as it had come to form part of my life through loving recitation in a thousand contexts. When 1 say "version" I don't mean "translation", but my own reliv- ing of the psalm, expressing in personal idiom the echoesthat the original psalm awakes in my sensilivity and my experience. That is the way the psalms make sense to me, the way I pray them, and the way I set them down here. The words in italics are verbal quotations (mostly according to the New English Bible) from the psalm that is being prayed. Then I express in my own words the meaning the psalm has for me today and the feelings it arouses in me. I do that as a gentle invitation to each one to find his or her own psalm in the folds of the old. This is the real sense of this book. Of the two conflicting ways of numbering the psalms I have chosen the one of the Greek Septuagint. I consider it to be the more accurate one, as the Hebrew numbering gets culpably out of step in psalm 9, and is therefore responsi- ple for most of the long discrepancy down the whole list. The five books into which the psalms are traditionally di- vided to echo the five books of the Pentateuch are marked in the text by a separate page. The psalms bring with themselves a blessing which I have experienced in my own life, and which I fondly hope will be experienced by all those who take this book into their hands for prayerful use: the blessing to become a “new song” in our weary lives. Joyful blessing indeed. Carlos G. Valles, S.J. St. Xavier's College Ahmedabad — 380 009 India.BOOK I tl iywr PRAYER OF A LUCKY MAN Psalm 1 Happy is the man whose delight is the Law of the Lord. I am lucky, Lord, and I know it. 1 am lucky I know you, I know your ways, I know your will, I know your law. Things make sense to me because I know you, because I know there is a purpose behind this difficult world, a lov- ing hand behind my life, a gentle touch in all I do and a constant presence within me day and night. I know my way, because I know you, and you are the Way. And when I think of it, I realize the happiness that is mine for know- ing you and living with you. There is so much confusion all around me, Lord, so much darkness and doubt and sheer bewilderment with life in people I know and in writings I read, that I myself suffer with that suffering and go blind in that darkness. People speak their aimlessness, their lack of purpose, of direction, of certainty, their sense of drifting from no- where to nowhere, their emptiness, their shadows, their void. All touches me, and I too feel it in myself, brother to my brothers (and deep down sister to my sisters) and mem- ber of my race. Many people are like "straws driven by the wind", painfully hanging on the whims of the breeze, on the de- 3PRAYING TOGETHER mands of a competitive world and the sudden storms of their own desires. Unable to steer their own course and de- fine their own lives. That is the disease of modern man, and I learn from your Word that it was also the disease of ancient men when the first Psalm was written. And I also know your remedy for it, which is your word, your will, your law. Faith in you gives direction and purpose and firmness and strength. Only you can steady the heart of man, only you can enlighten his mind and direct his course. Only you can give stability in a changing world. It is you who give me roots for strength and for life. You make me feel like "a tree planted by the side of a stream;” I feel the current of your grace running through my soul and my very body, keeping ever green my power to think and my power to love, and turning my desires to fruit when the season comes and the sun of your presence plesses the crops in the fields you yourself have sown. I need security in an insecure world, Lord, and your Jaw, which is your will and your love and your presence, is my security. I thank you, Lord, as the tree thanks the wa- ter and the earth. -I AM YOUR SON Psalm 2 These are the words I most like to hear from your lips, Lord: "You are my son." It takes faith to proclaim them before my own misery and before a sceptical crowd, but I know they are true, and they are the root of my life and the core of my being. Daily I call you Father, and I call you Father because you have called me son. That is the dearest secret of my life, my most intimate joy and my deepest claim to happiness. The initiative of your love, the thrill of creation, the intimacy of fatherhood. The loving accent with which I hear you say the words, at once sacred and tender, "You are my son.” And I love just as much your next word: “Today.” "You are my son; today I have become your Father.” 1 know that for you every moment is today, and every instant is eterni- ty. That is the fullness of your being, the timelessness of your eternal present. And I want to reflect in my fragment- ed existence the never fading freshness of your permanent "now". I want to feel that I am your son today, that you are giving me life at every instant, that with you every mo- ment is new and every instant alive, that life begins anew whenever I think of you again, because at that moment you again become my Father. Keep breathing into me, Father, the newness of the 5PRAYING TOGETHER birth you give me day by day, that I may never get tired of living, may never get bored with life, may never get stuck in the dullness of earthly existence. That is a recurring temptation with me, and, I sadly guess, with many people around me too. Life is so repetitive, so monotonous, SO grey, that each day Jooks similar to the previous one, all run to the same timetable, and the routine of a necessary job takes away the joy of living from a day which consists only in getting ready for the office, going there, slogging or idling there, getting back home and wearily waiting the time out to go there again the next day. Even my prayers Jook alike, and, forgive me, but even my encounters with you in contemplation and sacrament are marred on my side by the shadow of previous ones and the formalism of repeated procedures. Teach me your "today" to make every moment of my life come alive again. Since you are my Father you give me "the ends of the earth” for my inheritance. I now know that all is mine be- cause all is yours and you are my Father. Make me feel at home in every situation and in every circumstance, be- cause you are its Master and I am your son. Make me enjoy the earth, explore its riches and brave its dangers. Make me feel stranger to no one and out of place nowhere. Make me “rule” the earth, not in power and might, but in the joy of life and peace of heart that come from your presence and attract all your children and make for friendship and nearness and trust among men. Make me rule by serving others and loving all in your name. That is how I want to embrace the ends of the earth that you give me for my own. Yes, I hear the cries and the protests and the turmoil. "The kings of the earth stand ready, and the rulers con- spire together.” People will not keep quiet when someone declares himself a son of God. There fs the irony, the scorn, the veiled contempt and the open threats. There is a strange resentment all around when someone finds peace 61AM YOUR SON and proclaims joy. The hostile world against the free spir- it, the group against the person, the storm against the flower. They vow destruction and plot my ruin. Shall I withstand the onslaught? But then I hear another voice: your very own. Voice of thunder and power over the tides of men. Voice which for me is strength and reassurance because it carries the heavy tone of your seriousness and your anger against the thoughtless mortal who dares to touch him on whom you have set your hand. I hear your'laughter peal through the heavens, and your blessing riding on it. 1 am safe in your protection, and happy in your keeping. Let the world rage; I am your son. I live now in Zion, your "holy mountain,” and the clouds and the storms cannot shake it and cannot shake me. I keep proclaiming your words, and I keep che- rishing your sonship. I stand in the shadow of your hands. Happy are all who find refuge in him.Ww DAILY PRAYER Psalm 3 Tlie down and sleep..., and I wake up again. That is my day, Lord, that is my life. The rhythm of my body in tune with the rhythm of your creation, with the stars at night, and with the splendour of your light during the day. I am yours when I work, and yours when I sleep; yours when I stand erect in the posture that makes me a man, ready to go and to move and to fight and to look up to heaven, and yours when I lie down in the weariness of my body and the confidence of my soul, close to the earth you have created to hold me in my life and to cradle me in my death, giving shelter to my body as you receive my soul. Teach me, Lord, the rhythms of your creation, the friendliness with nature, the intimacy with the earth that holds my step and with the air that fills my lungs. Teach me the wisdom of the seasons, the movements of the stars, the ultimate lesson you always teach me and I always miss, that in nature as in grace there is rise and fall, there is day and night, there is high tide and low tide, there is joy and there is despondency, there is enthusiasm and there is doubt, there is darkness and there is light. It takes courage to stand up, and it takes courage to lie down. And, more than that, it takes courage to accept that 8DAILY PRAYER the whole of life is a succession of getting up and lying down, that the trajectory of living is a wavy line, that I must be ready for the ups and for the downs as they come my way and I go through them with the sun and the moon and the heavens and the winds. Let me breathe at one with your creation, to fill my body with its life. May your blessing rest upon your people.NIGHT PRAYER Psalm 4 My day comes to an end, a day of labour and joy, of moments of love and moments of anxiety, of impatience and of satisfaction. I am going to be myself again for the night, and the last prayer comes to my lips before I close my eyes. Tlie down with a quiet heart..., and sleep will come to me. That is my prayer, because that is the wish of my whole being after a day of toil. Sleep is your blessing for the night, as peace is your blessing during the day, and sleep comes where there is peace. You have given me peace among the thousand pressures of the day, among the envy of people, the burden of work and the perplexity of deci- sions. You have put happiness in my heart, greater than the happiness of food and wine, and the care you have tak- en of me during the day has prepared me lovingly for the rest in the night. 1 know the fears of the man in the desert when he laid himself to sleep, the men who made these Psalms out of their life and their experience. The fear of the wild beast that may attack at night, of the personal foe who may seek vengeance in the dark, of the enemy tribe that may spring a surprise gitack while all the men sleep. And I know my 10NIGHT PRAYER own fears too. The fear of a new day, the fear of meeting life again, of facing myself in the uncertain light of a new dawn. The fear of competition, the fear of failure, the fear of not being able to stand the strain to be what I daily have to be, to meet expectations, to play roles, or, harder still, the fear not to be able to ignore those expectations and re- ject those roles as I know I want to do and don't have the strength to do. I am afraid of falling asleep thinking that I shall nev- er get up again; and I am afraid of waking up and having to take up again the dreary business of existence. That is the visceral fear that weighs down my life. And its remedy is in you. You watch my sleep and you protect my steps. Your presence is my sanctuary, your company is my strength. And because I know that, I can now rest with confidence and joy. I will lie down in peace, and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me live unafraid. 1MORNING PRAYER Psalm 5 IT set out my morning sacrifice, and watch Sor you, O Lord. I bow down toward your holy temple in reverence of you. I begin my day facing your temple, facing the sacra- ment of your presence, the shadow of your throne. I want the first breath of my day to be a feeling of wonder and awe, an act of worship and acknowledgement of your ma- jesty that fills all things and gives life to all beings. Your temple sanctifies the earth, and the earth, on which you walked one day, sanctifies the entire cosmos of which it is a minimal and privileged part. That is why I want to face in its direction in the morning to set my bear- ings and fix my balance. J know that during the day I am going to be engulfed in a tide of work and stress and suspicion and jealousy. 1 can trust no man and believe no word. Many want my downfall, and a single false step may cause my ruin. "People talk smoothly, but their mouth is an open grave. " I am no match for their wiles, I am lost in the double-talk people use today; I want to trust all and believe what they say, but I have suffered too much in the past to be able to be naive again. Make people straight with me, Lord. Make me carry with me the shadow of your temple, the sign of your 12MORNING PRAYER preserice, so that people may speak the truth with me, be honest in their dealings and direct in their speech. This is the blessing I ask for at the dawn of a new day: May all see you in me, that they may deal gently with me. | In the morning, when I say my prayers, you will hear me. 13WwW REPENTANCE AT NIGHT Psalm 6 I cannot sleep tonight. My pillow is wet with tears, my bed is crumpled with my grief. 1 am not weeping for fear of man or weakness or self-pity. I lie awake at night because I know I have been mean with you, and that thought breaks my heart and defeats my sleep. I could not imagine, at that unhappy moment in the day when my conscience blacked out and the evil deed was wantonly done, that its shadow was going to grow so fast on me, destroy my mood and ruin my sleep. And I cannot imagine now how I can have forgotten you at that fateful moment, and acted as if you did not exist, as if you were not in my neighbour whom I well knew I was wronging. I did it coldheartedly, as all do it in the harsh competition of this ruthless world. I did it too, and thought I would get away with it. But with the night the flimsy support of the surround- ing hypocrisy faded away, and I was left alone with my conscience and my deed and the tears on my pillow. I] am weary with sorrow, and that is not a made-up feeling of re- pentance but the naked realization that if I have failed you so badly and unexpectedly today, I can do it again any time any day..., and where does that leave me? How can I trust myself any more? How can I say that I love my neighbour 14REPENTANCE AT NIGHT if I hurt him so easily? And if I don't love my neighbour, how can I say I love you? And if I cannot say I love you, how can I sleep? My vigil today is not penance but love; is not to im- plore pardon, but to create awareness; or rather, yes, it is to implore pardon in the shape of healing, to ask for mer- cy, and the greatest mercy which is grace not to do it again. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, my very bones are shaken; my soul quivers in dismay. Come back, O Lord, set my soul free; deliver me for your love's sake, The Lord has heard my entreaty; the Lord will accept my prayer. The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 15ww GOD IS MY REFUGE Psalm 7 Icall you "my refuge” and "my shield’, and so you are, and I want to understand the ways in which you protect me and shield me. When] call you my refuge, I don't imagine you as a hidden cave in a high mountain range where I run to hide myself from my enemies so that nobody can find me and I feel safe and secure; or again I don't think that when I invoke your help you come to me and put your shield all around me so that nobody can hurt me and I escape unharmed. You don't protect me from the outside, but from inside me. You don't run to my help, you are in me. You don't shield me by wrapping me up, but by being me. You are not an astronaut's suit to guarantee my subsistence in an un- friendly atmosphere, you are my very skin. You protect my body by giving me a healthy organism, and my soul by strengthening it in your grace. You protect me by being one with me, and that is my strength. When I meei a difficulty in lifg and 1 think of you, that is not to ask you to remove the difficulty, but to give me the strength to face it; not to commit you to bring about a particular outcome, but to empower me to accept it what- ever it may be; not to impose on you my solution, but to make me take yours as mine. That is why you are my strength, because you are my being. 16GOD IS MY REFUGE You understand me, and my cry to you in a sudden crisis may take any spontaneous shape. I may claim deliv- erance, I may protest, I may rebel. I may even sound at times exacting and insolent. But you know me well now, and you know how to translate into coherent language the elementary groanings of my troubled spirit under the weight of pain. What I want in every case is you and your presence and your comforting touch on my wounded soul. You will even hear me at times, perhaps too often in these Psalms, refer to other men as my “enemies”. Here again I hope you understand my language and adapt my meaning. I live in a world ruled by competition, where the success of others is a threat to my advancement, where the very existence of millions around me crowds me out of the centre of living. Every man in a queue ahead of me is an "enemy", every driver who by a split second steals the park- ing place from me is an "enemy", every one of the candidates interviewed for the same job I badly want and sorely need is an “enemy”. Of course they are all my brothers, and I em- brace them and love them before you, and I am ready to help them if the need arises. I do not wish ill to anybody, and will never hurt anybody knowingly. Even if | use the language of war, I am at peace with all men and accept them all in you. My only fear is that the competition I suffer may turn unfair, that bribes and tricks and malpractices may rob me of the job or the prize or the advantage I justly deserved, and that context is where the word "enemy" arises and gets into my prayers. And so when I ask for your protection it is pre- cisely protection against the unfair means others may use to put me down, so that I may not fall a victim to them, and may not feel the temptation to hate anybody. Protect me in my life, so that the word “enemy” may never come to my lips. Do justice to me, that I may believe in man. Shelter me from jealousy that I may feel kindly towards all. I will praise you for your justice; I will sing a Psalm to the name of the Lord Most High. 17