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Some readings from the book
PSALMS OF COMFORT:
Lord, how could someone I cared about so much be gone? I feel like I've been dropped into a deep pit, and terrible darkness is pressing in on me from all sides. Help me!
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:1-2a, 5
Jesus, you've promised us that you'll be very near to the brokenhearted. That you'll console all who mourn. And that you'll give us your peace, a peace that no one else can give. I need you, Lord. Be very near to me.
*****
Pain has been beating on me, Lord. Constant, wall-to-wall pain. It's wearing me down, sapping my strength. Help me!
I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
Psalm 31:7
When I cried out to you, you took my burden on your own shoulders, and I knew that I wouldn't have to go on carrying it by myself. The greatest thing in all creation is your tender love for us, Jesus. Nothing else even comes close. Thank you.
*****
I've had such a deep longing for something, Lord, and I've tried so many different things, but nothing has ever satisfied this longing.
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
It's been a long search, and I keep coming up empty. Now I realize that what I've been longing for is you. Only you can give me the love, the joy, and the peace that I need -- and the sense that my life has meaning. Come into my life, Jesus; forgive my sin, and be my Lord and Savior.
*****
I've had to face many fierce storms in my life, Lord, and I'm afraid there'll be more to come. How will I ever be able to make it through them?
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
You led your people like a flock.
Psalm 77:19-20a
Lead me, Jesus, through the troubled waters of this life just as you led your people through the dark waters of the Egyptian sea. Keep me in your loving care. Help me share your love and concern with the people around me, and bring me home at last. I ask in your name. Amen
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About PSALMS OF COMFORT,
the small book
by Barbara Jurgensen
that can give great hope
in times of trouble:
Over the years, I'd been wishing there were a small book I could give to parishioners who were going through tough times--illness, surgery, family problems, the death of a loved one, losses of many kinds.
I wanted it to be based on the Psalms, inexpensive enough that pastors could buy it in quantity to give to those they visited, and set in large enough print that the hospitalized and the elderly could read it easily.
Not finding such a book, I decided to write one.
Now some hospitals are placing a copy of PSALMS OF COMFORT by each bed, congregations are buying one for each family, and parishioners are buying copies for friends and neighbors.
***
Outwardly [we] may pretend to be satisfied and strong; inwardly [we are] poor, needy, vulnerable, always on the verge of misery, prone to suffer mentally and physically.
Scratch [our] skin and you come upon bereavement, affliction, uncertainty, fear and pain.
Disparity between [our] appearance and reality is a condition of social integration. Suppression is the price [we pay] for being accepted in society.
Abraham J. Heschel
***
Humbled and ashamed, I turn from my best deed as from something inferior and find rest in grace.
Let the proud pagan storm heaven or at least try to; from this descent into humility comes the levitation which blissfully arives at heaven.
Soren Kierkegaard |
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Praise for PSALMS OF COMFORT:
"Comforting words from the Psalms, with short prayers that translate comfort into hope. A useful resource in counseling and pastoral care."
H. George Anderson
Bishop Emeritus
The Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America
"Speaks to the heart. For pastors and chaplains it offers a beautiful way to begin prayers and devotions with patients and their families."
Dolores Heidt OSB
Chaplain
Trinity Health
Minot, North Dakota
"Tough times, burdened hearts, loneliness, grief and guilt can visit us. A word of hope to see us through can be found in this much needed collection, PSALMS OF COMFORT. Let them speak to you."
Jesse L. Wood
Assistant Pastor
Metropolitan Baptist Church
Washington, D.C.
"Every human life is touched by loss and grief. This book will be a valuable resource for those who are in trouble."
Otto Dreydoppel, Jr.
Professor
Moravian Seminary
Bethlehem , Pennsylvania
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PSALMS OF COMFORT
is available from CSS/Fairway Press
www.csspub.com
1-800-241-4056
Price List for PSALMS OF COMFORT:
1 $4.95 +p&h
50 $4.00 +p&h
100 $3.00 +p&h
*****I am body and spirit. My body hungers for food, thirsts for water, craves the finite, and all its urges are me-centered.
My body seeks what is here below.
My spirit hungers for Spirit, thirsts for living waters, craves the infinite, and all its urges are God-centered.
If my body loses its normal appetite, it is sick. If my spirit loses its normal appetite, it, too, is sick.
Edna Hong
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