Reflections on the Psalms. Steven Croft

The Lord is at my right hand; I shall not fall.

      Prayer:

       Give to us, Lord Christ,

       the fullness of grace,

       your presence and your very self,

       for you are our portion and our delight,

       now and for ever.

       Psalm 17

       Hear my just cause, O Lord; consider my complaint;listen to my prayer, which comes not from lying lips.

       ‘Hide me under the shadow of your wings’ (v.8)

      The psalmist is under siege here and convinced of his own righteousness. Do we perhaps feel a little uncomfortable with the author’s conviction that he is unquestionably in the right? If we do, it may be because his experience finds some resonance with our own. Like the author, we long for justice in the world. We, too, struggle when the ‘unrighteous’ appear to prosper, their greed and wickedness seeming to go unpunished. We, too, may be tempted to thank God that we ‘are not like other people’ (Luke 18.11), seeing ourselves as ‘righteous’ in comparison. Where, on such occasions, do we take our pride, our anger and our fear?

      Despite his inner turmoil, the psalmist here continues to reach out to God in hope and trust (v.8). Other psalms use the image of the shadow of God’s wings as both a place of safety (Psalms 57.2; 91.4) and of rejoicing (Psalm 63.8). There is an ancient Celtic morning prayer that uses the same imagery when seeking God’s protective power: ‘Even as I clothe my body… Cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing’ (Carmina Gadelica).

      We need to learn – and learn again – that whatever turbulence we encounter in our lives, it is only by the side of our heavenly Father – ‘under the shadow of [God’s] wings’ – that we can know sanctuary and peace.

      Reflection by Barbara Mosse

      Refrain:

       Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand.

      Prayer:

       Generous Lord,

       deliver us from

       all envious thoughts,

       and when we are tempted by the desire for wealth,

       let us see your face;

       for your abundance is enough to clothe our lack;

       through Jesus Christ our Lord.

       Psalm 18, vv. 1-16

       I love you, O Lord my strength.The Lord is my crag, my fortress and my deliverer…

       ‘… my rock … my shield, the horn of my salvation’ (v.2)

      If you chose nine names for God today, what would they be?

      Psalm 18 begins with a short direct song of devotion to God who is given nine deeply personal descriptions (my crag, my fortress, my shield …).

      These two verses are the prelude to the longest psalm of testimony and thanksgiving in the Psalter. Psalm 18 is closely linked to the life of David the King, not only by the heading and the final verse, but also by its setting in 2 Samuel 22, at the end of the stories of David.

      This prelude gives way to four graphic verses that describe the danger faced by the psalmist and his cry for help. But these prepare the way for the even more graphic, powerful description of the Lord coming to the rescue of his chosen anointed. Here is earthquake, wind and fire in abundance – in the words of Robert Grant’s hymn ‘O worship the King’: ‘His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form, And dark is his path on the wings of the storm’.

      God is in heaven and the psalmist on earth. Yet prayer is a powerful bridge between the two. The Lord hears the psalmist’s cry of help. He parts the heavens and comes down. The first act of salvation is the Lord’s appearing.

      If you chose nine names for God today, based on your life story, what would they be?

      Reflection by Steven Croft

      Refrain:

       The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.

      Prayer:

       From your royal throne, O God,

       you sent your living Word

       to pierce the gloom of oppression;

       so, in our souls’ night,

       come with your saving help

       and penetrate our darkness with the rays of your glory

       in Jesus Christ our Lord.

       Psalm 18 vv. 17-30

       He reached down from on high and took me;he drew me out of the mighty waters.

       ‘You also shall light my candle’ (v.29)

      The great crescendo of the Lord appearing is followed by a more gentle song of praise. The psalmist describes his own salvation. God rescues him from danger and death, and restores him to liberty and life.