Psalms for Readers of The Urantia Book: A Testimony of Love.
Rev. Dr. Meredith J. Sprunger.
Preface.
Psalms for Readers of The Urantia Book has been in the process of composition for over forty years. Most of the Psalms I have written have been discarded. Each person, of course, would do this differently. I hope my effort will stimulate your imagination and motivation to compose your own Psalms of praise.
An Ideal Plan (1)
We thank you, Universal Father, for giving us a loving Spirit Partner who has an ideal plan for our lives.
Deliver us from the boredom of routine living without a sense of calling and mission. Inspire us with creative insight to actualize our abilities and potentials that will facilitate your ideal plan.
Grant us wisdom in selecting objectives that will lead to following your way.
When it appears that we have come to the end of the road in our present work, reveal new avenues of service that will follow your creative plan.
Bless us with coworkers who will bring balance and success to the mission entrusted to us.
We have faith, Loving Spirit, that our partnership will bring new opportunities for spiritual growth on our world.
Thank you, Universal Father, for letting us share in your plans for the enlightenment of our handicapped planet.
Daily Guidance (2)
Each morning, Gracious Father, I look to you for guidance.
I listen for your inner voice of wisdom.
Deliver me from the inappropriate love of things and self.
Teach me how to understand and cope with frustrations and difficulties.
Lead me by your loving kindness into the supreme joy of progressive growth in spirit-guided living.
Make your way clear to my vision, that I may recognize all other ways as diversions from my highest good.
For this wonderful ministry, my deepest thanks!.
The Mind in Which We Live ( 3)
We thank you, Infinite Spirit, for the creative and self-determining qualities of the human mind. In it we live and move and have our being.
You have given our thoughts dominion over our material bodies.
You have equipped us with the control of our destiny.
We rejoice that you have given us this cosmic instrument that is subject to our will; And have given our will the ability to master the minds in which we live.
Direct us in partnership with the Father’s indwelling Spirit, that our minds may be trained and structured by truth, beauty, goodness, and love.
Help us to lose ourselves in service that we may discover the joy of a transcendent mission.
We are grateful that through your guidance we increasingly establish our identity in the spirit-consciousness of our soul.
Eternal thanks for this opportunity to direct our destiny!.
God’s Loving Care (4)
Gracious God, in your loving care I put my trust.
Save me from the disintegrating pressures of life.
Establish me in the unified, integrated life of the Spirit.
Inspire my judgment and renew my energy.
Assist enlightened love to motivate all of my relationships.
May the appeal of the many not distract me from the wisdom of the One.
Illuminate my vision of the highlands of the soul.
May the light of your love enable me to see myself as I am against the background of what I ought to be.
How wonderful is your presence in my experience, not leaving me to the folly of my lower nature, but urging me to actualize my higher self.
I live in the identity of my soul-mind, as I anticipate the adventure of my universe career!.
God’s Unfathomable Love (5)
Universal Father, how majestic and revered is your Spirit in all the cosmos.
Father of Fathers, whose glory is proclaimed from the mortal worlds to Paradise, you are the First Source and Center of all things and beings.
How marvelous is it that you govern the universe of universes by the inspiring power of our love!
When I envision the astronomical systems and contemplate the endless galaxies which you have established, we are but mites in the universe.
Yet you have made us your cherished children!
How can I understand your unfathomable love which has a supreme concern for us mortals?
Indeed, you have bestowed yourself upon us, given each of us a Divine Monitor which endows us with endless possibilities for spiritual growth! In this precious gift you have crowned us with glory and honor.
Paradise Father, you have made us stewards over the affairs and resources of this planet; provide us also with the wisdom necessary to co-operate with your forces of creative evolution.
Lead our lowly planet, step by step, to that great era of Light and Life when the kingdoms of this world shall truly become the kingdoms of the Most High.
O Lord our God, how infinite is your wisdom in the plan for all creation!.
The Father’s Way (6)
I love you, Universal Father, and rejoice in your partnership in my life.
I am thankful for the lawful behavior of phenomena upon which I can depend.
I am grateful for the values of truth, beauty, and goodness that you have established to govern all human interaction.
All that is not in harmony with your perfect way will eventually perish.
Those who thwart your purposes for humanity will be vanquished.
The iniquitous find the way of the transgressor is hard, their plans do not prevail.
Your Triune judgment is the arbiter of time and the template of eternity.
The mills of your divine justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine!
Your Fatherly rule of love is ascendant in the worlds of space.
It will bring justice and peace to humankind.
There is an integration of spiritual influences empowering us to transcend our animal legacies.
A confederation of divine powers is directed toward freeing us from our material limitations and finite handicaps.
We rejoice that nothing in all the universe can separate us from your Fatherly care and blessing!.
Spiritual Progress (7)
How long, Mighty Supreme, must we wait for the enlightenment of humanity?
How long will we be afraid to turn our face toward new spiritual paradigms?
How long must we struggle with closed minds and stunted souls?
How long will your people be led by the priests of the past instead of the prophets of the future?
Give us the patience to co-operate with your laws of creative evolution.
Deliver us from the folly of devising short-cuts to sound spiritual growth.
May we not indulge in the short-lived joys experienced by the midwife of the premature.
Rather, Universal Father, give us the joys of those who stand on the mountain top and view the rich plain of abundant growth and future potential.
Give us the satisfactions of those pioneers who break new trails knowing that others will follow, settle, and build.
May all the lone voices of truth crying in the wilderness become a mighty chorus of humanity affirming your will and way.
We have complete trust in the triumph of your great plan for humankind.
Your steadfast love and Fatherly care sustain us every step of the way.
In the midst of the problems and suffering of this confused world, we live in the bountiful blessings of renewal, growth, and joy that your inner presence provides.
We will praise you eternally!.
My Prayer (8)
Heavenly Father, I love you!
Thank you for being my mentor and my partner.
Thank you for evolving our soul, for your love, and for your guidance.
You are my hope and my salvation, my authentic self.
With your help, I am striving to master my mind and dedicate my will to follow spiritual ideals.
Help me, Indwelling Spirit, to ascend the cosmic circles of mind and personality development.
Lead me to those mysterious factors preliminary to our eternal fusion.
Guide me in the joy of creative service in bringing your epochal revelation to the seekers of truth and spiritual enlightenment.
Out of the Depths (9)
Out of the depths I cried unto you, O Lord.
When the pressures of my human condition were about to break me, when it seemed that I was on the brink of breakdown, in desperate concern,
I placed myself totally in your hands.
Never, Gracious Sustainer, shall I forget the deep peace which came upon me.
So great and overwhelming was the relief, I knew it was a singular event.
My gratitude was beyond words, and I knew I would remember it even when I stand before you on Paradise!
Countless of your children, Loving Father, have experienced your deliverance from the depths of anxiety and despair.
Always, do we remember your seemingly miraculous intervention when we were snatched from the jaws of disaster.
We are living witnesses to your loving-kindness and saving empowerment.
The Saving Presence (10)
The subconscious mind speaks to us according to our hungers and desires.
All too often, our sensual needs and egocentric motives take precedence and dictate their guidance to our plans.
Our selfish intentions are styled in respectable clothing.
The thwarted ego assures us that we have our rights, that our indulgences are justified.
Your steadfast love, Universal Father, does not abandon us to this dark side of our nature; our lower urges are challenged by the integrity of your indwelling presence.
Your saving grace reaches us in the midst of despair; our fragmented and imperfect lives are saved by your loving guidance.
You rescue us from the pitfalls, the addictions, and the evil lures which have captivated us; and you save us from ourselves.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
We children of earth live in its warmth in deep confidence and unshakable security.
Your Spirit is our foundation of life; in your light we see the truths of eternity.
As we strive to live by these great truths of your kingdom, all other needful things become ours as well.
Indeed, your blessings are so abundant and so deeply satisfying, we feel an eternal debt of love.
This overflowing fellowship of love is bringing joy to our days and meaning to our destiny!.
On Being Human (11)
Universal Father, I see so many needs that cry out for help.
Because of my human limitations, I must choose where I will serve.
Even when I am guided by your Spirit and make wise decisions, I have a sense of frustration bordering on guilt.
Help me to concentrate on what I can do so that I will not feel responsible for the undoable.
Because we are material beings, the needs and health of our bodies assume primary importance.
Help us who are called to serve the needs and welfare of the mind and soul not to feel as second class servers.
Inspire us to live by values that transcend our material existence.
May the fruits of the Spirit nourish our total personalities as your sons and daughters.
Nobility of the Common Person (12)
We rejoice that the common person has the same spiritual status and potential as royalty, rulers, and brokers of power.
Each person is cared for with the same Parental love; and the same standard of growth toward perfection is required by all.
The indwelling divine Spirit strives to lead us to our true heart’s desire and reveal an ideal plan for our life.
The celestial hosts of a great universe are constantly seeking to help us grow in spiritual stature.
As we ascend the psychic circles of personality growth, doors of accomplishment open and victorious living becomes ever more a reality.
One day we will become one with God’s Spirit and in this fusion we join the immortals!.
Mustard Seed Beginnings (13)
Universal Father, we thank you for your marvelous plan for the finite creation.
Here everything has mustard seed beginnings, all entities start as germs of potentiality.
On the finite level experience is required, risk and courage are indispensable, effort and suffering are indigenous.
Your Incarnate Son is the divine embodiment of your plan and the living assurance of your constant love and never ending guidance.
Here in the small, the weak, and the unknown are hidden the potentialities of divinity.
In the babe of Bethlehem resides the Sovereign of a universe.
Through his matchless life, your light and your truth shine in purity and power.
In him we see the latent possibilities of human nature.
The Master of Life has opened our consciousness to a new and higher level of living.
We who are born with animal drives and material mindedness are invited to recognize and accept our status as your children.
His Spirit of Truth leads us to transcend the dominance of our physiological conditioning through the spirit mastery of our material minds to achieve a new identity and soul consciousness centering in the realities of your kingdom.
We thank you for your Supreme plan of love in our finite creation.
We rejoice that we are your children in time and eternity.
Enlarge Our Perception (14)
Supreme Being, we marvel at the diversity of the finite creation.
We rejoice in the variety of talents and abilities the Creator has given his sons and daughters.
Inspire us to celebrate our differences and lovingly accept those who follow your leading that is different than ours.
Help us to appreciate the diverse ways which are ordained to achieve the spiritual maturity of Life and Light on our world.
Open our minds to perceive the broad spectrum of reality encompassed by Truth.
Enlarge our conception of the vast combinations of creation that are possible to create Beauty.
Deepen our appreciation of the multitude of activities which establish that which is Good.
We thank you, Supreme Integrator, for evolving a cosmos replete in the elements of Perfection!.
Deliverance from Self-deception (15)
Blessed is the person who knows that God's love is unconditional; who does not despair because they are human.
Happy are they whose attunement with God free them from a sense of guilt.
When we run away from reality and fail to be honest with ourselves before
God, trouble is sure to come.
The ego has countless strategies of self-defense and self-deception.
Rationalization enables us to have good and honorable reasons for following selfish and evil motives.
Until we become God-integrated persons, we are a battle ground of conflicting drives, emotions, and motives.
In this inner conflict our vitality is dissipated, our effectiveness is dampened, and our health is undermined.
No one can face the depth of their imperfection and finitude except in the presence of the Father's sustaining love.
As we abide in God's presence, gradually we receive deeper insights into our true motives and a larger vision of our purpose and destiny.
The Inner Leading constantly instructs us in the way we should go.
The Universal Father has given us a perfect guide for time and eternity.
Our task is to always remain teachable.
Rejoice, for in the Father's way of truth and love we can never be enslaved by our inferior motives and desires.
God's down-reach has opened to us a glorious destiny!
Secular Illusion (16)
Father of All, looking out on the decadent structure of our society, it often appears that you are not present or concerned with the human condition.
Mistaking your permissive freedom and patient forbearance for the absence of control or nonexistence is the greatest of human delusions.
Experience reveals the gnawing emptiness of secular living.
The wisdom of history clearly warns all who listen:
Without the spiritual nourishment of truth, beauty, and goodness all that is human degenerates; the soul withers and unhappiness proliferates.
All that is not in harmony with our universe Father's way of love shall perish.
Self-esteem and spiritual growth is the reward of all who are meek, Reality-oriented, and teachable.
Those who are led by truth shall find life-giving freedom.
Those who are inspired by beauty shall be drawn into transforming worship.
Those who are motivated by goodness shall find the rich satisfaction of service.
They have found the way to victorious living and are dynamic participants in the Family of God!.
Delivery from Illusions (17)
Infinite Spirit, we thank you for the multiple gifts of the human mind:
For the objective and logical ability to perceive and analyze the material world.
For the subjective and creative insight that discerns intangible values.
For the will capacity to choose the true, the beautiful, and the good in contributing to the growth of our immortal soul.
We are inspired by the subliminal perception of the soul recognizing our partnership with the Father’s indwelling Spirit.
Guide us as we search for the unique meaning and direction of our life.
Deliver us from the illusions of objective materialism and the delusions of subjective dogmatism.
Free us from the chains of orthodoxy and tradition that attempt to eternalize the temporal.
Prepare us for the discovery of challenging realities that shake our past assumptions.
Open the doors of our mind to enlarged truth and expanded vision.
Undergird our joy as we fearlessly face the problems of time and the adventures of eternity!.
The Ground of Creative Living (18)
Loving Universe Sovereign, thank you for establishing the Ground for Creative Living:
For the freedom to establish and direct unique life plans;
For the wisdom and guidance to formulate fulfilling spiritual objectives;
For the loving partnership with supportive and creative coworkers;
For the joy of service cultivating the ground of growth and spiritual transformation.
Thank you, Loving Creator, for the foundation of Universe Reality:
For the universal nature and recognition of truth in all societies and cultures;
For the emergence of spiritual values from the morass of animal inclinations;
For the goodness indigenous in the human soul that nourishes the growth of noble character;
For the leavening standards of justice draining the quagmires of greed and corruption;
For the ubiquitous attraction of beauty that enhances and elevates the human scene.
Thank you, Universe Father, for these divine qualities undergirding our human struggle.
The Necessity of Perseverance (19)
Teach me, Timeless Spirit, to enlarge my concept of time.
Deliver me from the desire for immediate results.
Help me to understand and experientially know the timelessness of spiritual growth.
Lead me through effort, struggle, and uncertainty to realize the necessity of perseverance in progressive growth.
Focus my attention on the immediate goals of service that I may lose myself in creative activities.
Grant me that inner peace of knowing that nothing can separate me from your love and guidance.
Uplifting Service (20)
Creative Spirit, I am thankful for the urge toward constructive activity.
For the motivation to pursue my sense of calling.
For the desire to help my fellows in the daily opportunities of living.
For the joy of actualizing the fruits of the Spirit.
Undergird my integrity that I may be trustworthy.
Strengthen my courage to persevere when it would be easier to give up the struggle.
Enhance my vision that I may live in the potential reality of the distant goal.
Renew my energy as I climb the mountain of projected spiritual ideals.
Restore my soul in the joys of uplifting service.
Outworn Dogmas (21)
Eternal source of loving wisdom, I long for a deeper awareness of your presence. Minister to the true needs of my soul.
Deliver me from vain words, mindless rituals, and outworn dogmas.
Inspire me with a fresh vision of reality for our day.
Teach me to lay solid foundations of truth and justice.
Help me to understand that there are no shortcuts in your creative way.
Your way is perfection in process; your purposes working out in time are sure.
This realization fills my heart with a deep and overflowing joy.
I am involved in the battle of reality’s triumph over half-truth and evil!
I do not doubt; the love of the Universal Father will some day rule our planet! In this surety of faith, I live without fear and anxiety.
Beyond Tradition and Orthodoxy (22)
Save us, Supreme Teacher, from the pride of learning, the arrogance of theological elitism, and the self-righteousness of tradition and orthodoxy.
Teach us to be mindful that your ways are open to the humble and the unlearned, but are often hidden by the self-interests of the proud, the affluent, and the sophisticated.
Enlighten our realization that even though intellectual comprehension may be partial or erroneous, understanding of spiritual truth may be real and genuine.
Your truth, Universal Father, cannot be imprisoned in creeds, dogmas, or theological treatise, but flows freely through living personalities.
The static forms of intellectualism fossilize your living and growing revelation of truth; but prophets in each generation advance the understanding of your progressive plan for humankind.
Deliver us from confusing political and economic action for the more basic spiritual transformation and dedication which is the foundation of social justice.
Save our religious fellowships from secular entanglements that they may have a clear vision of your will and way and proclaim your goals and objectives for humankind.
Undergird and guide those who labor in the vineyards of the world, that your will may increasingly be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Testimony of History (23)
I marvel at the faith of our forebears.
Without the aid of science and technology to help in their struggle and assuage their pain and suffering, they remained steadfast and loyal to your purposes.
This testimony of history reinforces my faith in eternal purposes as
I struggle with the vicissitudes of time.
Universal Father, I am beginning to understand that even the inevitability of pain and suffering is germane to your perfect divine plan for the development of strong, courageous, and resilient sons and daughters.
These tested souls are the meek who shall inherit the earth.
I dedicate myself to your service anew, gracious Father.
I will follow wherever your truth leads me; and
I will sing your praise and proclaim your love to all people!.
Save Us From Destruction (24)
Deliver us, Universe Sovereign, from the distortions of truth that would divert us from a balanced view of reality:
The sectarian who appeals to group loyalty and convention to justify discriminatory and immoral practices.
The traditionalist who seeks to establish truth by authority and antiquity.
The radical who makes sweeping generalizations on the basis of a few selective examples.
Save us from the poisons which corrupt and bring the downfall of civilization:
The society where sensual pleasures are dominant and life becomes artificial, fast, and shallow.
Quality is replaced by quantity, beauty by utility; skepticism flourishes and spiritual values decline; the body prospers and the soul decays.
The commonwealth is governed by the dictatorship of money.
Humanity becomes a slave of the machine and economic profit.
The inferior multiply and the gifted decline.
Class conflict raises its ugly head and irrationality abounds.
Social institutions have become an end in themselves.
Their calling to ministry and service is lost in the feverish cultivation of the institution.
Prophetic voices are ignored and the bureaucrats govern the land.
Rescue us, O Most High, from our headlong plunge into disaster!
You are our guide, our strength, and our fortress.
May your will and way take first place in our lives.
Shepherd us in the family of your kingdom which inspires loving service and establishes the foundations of peace.
We thank you for your Fatherly care, and we bring you our unconditional love! .
A New Paradigm of Reality (25)
Savior of humankind, enlighten our confused and beleaguered society with a vision of reality that will inspire and transform its citizens.
Our traditional sectarian standards have been found wanting.
The value-customs of yesterday are outworn and threadbare.
We hunger for a larger and more encompassing revelation of universe truth and spiritual insight.
May your Supreme leavening power of growth give us the wisdom and courage to phase out obsolete and decadent folkways.
We pray that your Spirit of Truth will illuminate our hearts and minds to create new styles of living and reformed social institutions that more perfectly actualize your will and way.
Your partnership in our troubled society transforms its meaning and destiny.
We confidently place our lives and fortunes in your hands, knowing that the resources of a vast universe are structured for the ultimate salvation and victorious ascendancy of your mortal creation.
We rejoice and praise you, Universe Father, for the triumph of this bitter- sweet adventure on the planets of time and space!.
The Advent of a New Day (26)
Gracious God, help us respect the faith of our forefathers; but deliver us from their simplistic and erroneous view that health and prosperity are signs of your blessing, while sickness and poverty are indications of your displeasure.
Teach us the dynamics of your evolutionary way of working in our lives and in the world.
Past civilizations are teaching us that when your spiritual values are not actualized in our lives, we become frustrated, maladjusted, and ill.
Life becomes artificial, fast, and shallow; the body prospers and the soul decays.
The dictatorship of money and the struggle for power characterize the nations of the world.
Our sensate culture contains the poisons of its demise;
May a new vision of your universe reality enlighten our minds and inspire humanity to travel a higher road.
People everywhere are seeking a new spiritual vision; the spirit of expectancy is abroad in the land.
My faith intuits that we are on the brink of the advent of a new day.
I rejoice in hope, for your saving renewal is near!.
A New Dispensation (27)
Why, Infinite Spirit, do the people of earth love doctrinaire clichés more than new, vibrant visions of truth, outworn customs and traditions more than progressive ways of living?
Send forth a new dispensation of your light and your truth; let them lead us into a new era of living.
May social interaction be enhanced by international and interracial fellowship, facilitated by a common language and mutual respect.
Let educational cross-fertilization and ethical awakening unmask the immorality of human intolerance and strife.
Through your spirit's transforming power, bring all people into your family to dwell in peace, well-being, and love.
Empower us, then, to rise to heights of culture undreamed of by present-day humanity; where simplicity of living is achieved amid ever increasing scientific and technological complexity; where spiritual values reign supreme, and your praise and adoration is the joyful recreation of all.
The Spiritual Fellowship (28)
Infinite Spirit, inspire us to create a dynamic spiritual fellowship rooted in love and devotion to the Father/Motherhood of God and the sister/brotherhood of all people.
Ground us in the mystery of epochal revelation that inspires us to strive for the perfection that is beyond our grasp.
Keep us in chaordic openness that stimulates social development and spiritual progress.
Bind us to the truth insights which are permanent in the midst of change.
We thank you, Conjoint Actor, for mediating unto us the love of the Universal Father, the mercy of the Eternal Son, and an increasing awareness of the Supreme.
Our Loving Sovereign (29)
Universe Father we thank you for your creative love.
You have formed us in harmony with the established patterns of reality.
We are secure in your benevolent care for you know us as Creator and creature. You have experienced the vicissitudes of our mortal nature.
We praise and glorify you for your saving ministry to our world.
We are forever grateful for your unparalleled revelation of the loving nature of the Universal Father.
We are inspired by your demonstration of the acme of religious living in our midst.
You are the way, the truth, and the life.
You are the source of abundant living.
You are the bridge between time and eternity.
We rejoice that you reign as our understanding and compassionate Sovereign!
The Ground of Love (30)
Universal Father, your love is the ground condition of the universe and the supreme reality of the cosmos.
We are sustained and energized in the realization that the dominant characteristic of your relations with humankind is loving kindness.
Your love is the most powerful cosmic drawing force for all of your ascending children, and the greatest enabler of all their finite potentials.
We are grateful that your creative wisdom has made love the most satisfying and rewarding of all human experiences, and the most effective embodiment and expression of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Lead us in love that is rooted in true understanding, nurtured in the goodness of unselfish service, and perfected in the beauty of experiential wisdom.
Inspire us in that dynamic and infectious urge to do good to others that it may become the dominant and ruling motive of our lives.
We give you our undying love and our eternal devotion to the actualization of truth, beauty, and goodness!
A service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship
Serving the Readership since 1955