so much love of ‘vain things’ – an obsession with that which is empty – in our world. We are surrounded by false promises of satisfaction from sources that cannot deliver.
The test of faith comes when Saul seems to be winning, when sin seems to be paying, when emptiness seems to fill its supplicants with what they need – ‘when their corn and wine and oil increase’ (v.7). It is in those moments that we are called upon to exercise the strength of faith, believing that God can be trusted to ‘lift up the light of [his] countenance upon us’ (v.6).
The first dawn of God’s light is gladness of heart (v.7), a deep inner joy that overrides outward difficulties. The fullness of God’s light upon us and our world, though, is the promised shalom, the peace of God that penetrates every dimension of human life, putting right that which is wrong and proving that it is the Lord, only, who secures life for humanity.
Reflection by Christopher Cocksworth
Refrain:
In peace I will lie down and sleep.
Prayer:
Give us today, O God,
a glad heart and a clear conscience,
that when we come to this day’s end
we may rest in peace with Christ our Lord.
Psalm 5
Give ear to my words, O Lord;consider my lamentation.
‘Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness’ (v.8)
When Jesus calls his disciples he says ‘Follow me’. In doing this he indicates that the life of faith is not static but dynamic; it involves walking in his footsteps. As Jesus’ ministry unfolds, it becomes clear that the footsteps are leading somewhere. This is a journey to a destination, not an aimless ramble.
The way that we set out on this journey is therefore important. The psalmist’s reference to the morning – the start of the day (v.3) – is significant here. We need to orient, and daily to re-orient, ourselves in God’s direction, to align ourselves with his nature.
In this psalm we are offered a helpful model of how to do this. First, we can call out to God (v.1). This very act expresses the belief, made explicit in verse 4, that this is the sort of divine being on whom it is worth calling, because he orders the universe with justice. Second, we can draw physically or metaphorically close to God in worship (v.7). We may not always feel like it; indeed we may feel that God is far off. Nevertheless, we can make an active decision to set our compass Godwards (the Hebrew of verse 7 indicates a wilful intentional act), trying to discern the right way to live and then taking the first few halting steps along the path. This is what the Bible means by ‘faith’. Here we can be greatly encouraged by joining with others (vv.12-14), for when his people gather God is in their midst to bless (Jeremiah 14.9).
Reflection by Joanna Collicutt
Refrain:
You, O Lord, will bless the righteous.
Prayer:
Lord, protect us from the deceit
of flattering tongues and lying lips;
give us words of life which speak your truth
and bless your name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 6
O Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath;neither chasten me in your fierce anger.
‘Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak’ (v.2)
To read this psalm is to go against the flow of our culture. These days we are continually pressed to boast of how well we are, how well we cope, how fit, how rejuvenated, how much improved by our current diet or exercise regime. We are even tempted to tweak our Facebook pics to prove it. The psalmist does just the opposite. He is frank about the fact that he is not a ‘well’ man. Indeed the confession ‘I am weak’ is followed by: I am ‘weary … wasted … worn away’ (vv.6,7). In some ways it’s a relief to be able to say that, to be licensed by our liturgy to make that confession, and to make it in good company. For if the psalmist suffers and feels cut off and rebuked at the opening of the psalm, by verse 8 he knows that in spite of his weakness, he has got through to God. If he has, then so have I, who take his words on my lips and make them mine.
And what of these enemies, put to shame and confusion? Whoever his enemies were, ours are just those voices in our culture that want to shame us with our weakness, that only credit the young, the fit and the strong. Here God rebukes those voices and turns them back, so that we need never feel ashamed of our weakness with him, but rather bring it swiftly and simply to his mercy.
Reflection by Malcolm Guite
Refrain:
Turn again, O Lord, and deliver my soul.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
may the tears shed in your earthly life
be balm for all who weep,
and may the prayers of your pilgrimage
give strength to all who suffer;
for your mercy’s sake.
Psalm 7
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me.
‘I will give thanks’ (v.17)
As in so many of the psalms, God is here described as a safe haven to whom we can run in times of stress or danger – a refuge (v.1) and a shield (v.10). Running to God in times of trouble is an expression of faith. Yet in this case the psalmist’s troubles seem to have arisen from his attempt to walk God’s way. He knows that God is just (v.11), yet his current situation is marked by injustice and unmerited persecution.
How is he to make sense of this? How are we to make sense of the injustice that afflicts the whole world, and that sometimes touches our nearest and dearest? The psalmist begins by exhorting God to act in accordance with his nature. Even in the midst of his distressing and confusing situation, he asserts that God is a God of justice.
Then somehow he seems to see the world differently. He observes a kind of natural justice at work in the lives
