Here’s a readers’ theatre setting of Psalm 77 from
Eugene Peterson’s The Message. It comes from the One Mind
Mental Illness Ministry website.
Readers’ Theatre: Psalm 77
Cong: I yell out to my God,
I
yell with all my might,
I
yell at the top of my lungs.
1: He
listens.
2: I
found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;
my
life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal.
When
friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,”
I
didn’t believe a word they said.
3: I
remember God—and shake my head.
I
bow my head—then wring my hands.
I’m
awake all night—not a wink of sleep;
I
can’t even say what is bothering me.
1: I
go over the days one by one,
I
ponder the years gone by.
I
strum my lute all through the night,
wondering
how to get my life together.
Cong: Will the Lord walk off
and leave us for good?
Will
he never smile again?
Is
his love worn threadbare?
Has
his salvation promise burned out?
2: Has
God forgotten his manners?
Has
he angrily stalked off and left us?
3: “Just
my luck,” I said.
“The
High God goes out of business just the moment I need him.”
1: Once
again I’ll go over what God has done,
lay
out on the table the ancient wonders;
I’ll
ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,
and
give a long, loving look at your acts.
Cong: O God! Your way is holy!
No
god is great like God!
You’re
the God who makes things happen;
you
showed everyone what you can do—
2: You
pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble,
rescued
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
3: Ocean
saw you in action, God,
saw
you and trembled with fear;
Deep
Ocean was scared to death.
Cong: Clouds belched buckets of
rain,
Sky
exploded with thunder,
your
arrows flashing this way and that.
1: From
Whirlwind came your thundering voice,
Lightning
exposed the world,
Earth
reeled and rocked.
2: You
strode right through Ocean,
walked
straight through roaring Ocean,
but
nobody saw you come or go.
All: Hidden
in the hands of Moses and Aaron,
You
led your people like a flock of sheep.
Now,
lead us O God. Lead us into this season of hope and promise.
~ from Bonnie Kinschner’s Blue Christmas
Service. From One Mind Mental Illness Ministry, http://www.onemindmentalillnessministry.com/resources.html
