Inner Shield of Psalm 54

Neville's Inner Vision

Verse 54 invites us to collapse the scene into an inner state. Save me by thy name becomes the determination to declare I AM as the governing Presence in my life; to 'judge me by thy strength' is to allow the inner power to define my circumstances. The cry 'Hear my prayer' is the turning of attention inward, listening to the I AM that speaks within. 'Strangers' and 'oppressors' are not people but thoughts and habits that arise when I forget God before me. They have not set God before them means I have forgotten that the Presence is the only reality. The declaration 'God is mine helper' becomes the experienced certainty that the inner ally upholds my soul. When I affirm 'the Lord is with them that uphold my soul,' I feel supported by the truth I dwell in. Thus, the desire for punishment of enemies is really the desire to be freed from false images by truth, for 'cut them off in thy truth' means remove what is not true about me. The practice is to dwell in the I AM until the outer world echoes that unity.