Calming Howlite, Ps. 23 & the Book of Ruth
Psalm 22 (Anguish) & Psalm 23 (Assurance)
Meditate holding this calming stone to overcome anger and stressful emotions, selfishness and physical pain. It can bestow patience, discernment, boost the immune system, spur you to positive action and help you study. Importantly, it can help you reassess your life and past lives to gain wisdom.
Either hold the stone in your hand or simply meditate on the stone. You can do this anytime, calling upon the energy of the gemstone even without presence of the stone. Speak peace into your heart by simply asking God to fill your heart with peace, or optimism, love, encouragement, relaxation or whatever you need.
Sidenote: Did you know that as turquoise becomes more scarce, much of the 'turquoise' now being sold is actually dyed howlite? Here’s how to tell the difference: turquoise has different shades of blue throughout, and howlite is less dense.
Many people meditate on Psalms 23 because it expresses total assurance of being taken care of by the God who created the universe.
The 23rd Psalm is the resolution David reached after the anguish described in the 22nd Psalm when he had to run away from King Saul and his entire army. Even though young David was already anointed the next king by the prophet Samuel, Saul became extremely jealous of him and tried to kill him many times. David had to hide in the mountains of Judea for 20 years as Saul and the Israelite Army wasted an entire generation trying to kill innocent David.
Thankfully, due to a fluke of history, David’s great-grandmother Ruth was from Moab, even though the Law of Moses specifically forbids Israelites from inviting anyone from Moab into their assembly, much less marrying them. Because of Ruth, the King of Moab proudly took in David’s family to hide them in Moab, preventing them from being slaughtered by their own evil king Saul. The Book of Ruth, my favorite book of the bible, tells the very unlikely story of how a Moabite became the matriarch of the royal house of Judah.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. [I shall lack nothing.] 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
By complete coincidence, a man had just finished having his sheep photographed when Keith Green arrived for his photo shoot for the album “Songs for the Shepherd” (released April 1982). On a whim, the popular singer/composer decided to pick up a lamb and be photographed with it. It was his last album.
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!