You can read today’s Psalm below
Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.[b]
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”
You can listen to today’s passage here: Psalm 62 Audio
I’m writing this post towards the end of the working day on Wednesday. A few hours from now, at 7pmGMT I’ll be leading a short service of Evening Prayer on the Emmanuel Group of Churches Facebook page
During the time of the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak in the UK in 2020 it’s been a great joy for me to find that the Bible has words of comfort and hope as well as challenge. I know that a lot of people dismiss the idea that a book, or collection of books could have power beyond the words in other books, but it is fascinating to me how day by day something from this ancient collection of texts, songs and poems has connected very closely with me.
Today, the psalmist, David, repeats in a variety of ways that his soul finds rest, peace and hope only in God. David was a man who was reported to be ‘after God’s heart’, or to put it another way, someone God saw something of himself in. We can look for rest, peace, hope, even perhaps a little joy, in a lot of places, particularly in uncertain times like those that we are living through at the moment, but true rest, true peace, true hope and true joy, I’ve only ever found them why I’ve admitted my need for God and invited Him to take my life and use it for His glory. I know that sounds church-y. Some of us just want to get out of this period of time alive, still breathing, still able to enjoy the delights of the world around us. That’s understandable. David was writing, and living, under pretty extreme pressure – sometimes through his own fault and sometimes because of enemies seeking to destroy him. A lot of talk recently has been that Covid-19 is an invisible enemy. So it would be easy to curl up and use every resource we have just to keep on breathing over these next weeks and months, with every hope and good wish that all will be ok in the end.
The thing is, unless hope has a foundation, it’s not really hope at all. It’s a strongly held wish. There’s a song we sing at Emmanuel along with Churches around the world that starts
‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness’
The goodness of God which David knew is the same goodness of God that Jesus showed in His life – his righteousness, his goodness was proved because He did what He was asked to do and completed the task set out for him without sinning (turning away from God and doing His own thing). His death, though hugely unfair and unimaginably painful, opened the way for anyone who wants to to know God and to be known by God. My hope is built on the truth that God knows and loves me and wants me to know Him too.
Power belongs to God, not me, and that’s exactly the right way round.
Something To Do
Make a list of the things you have hope in. Is God on the list? What else is?
Something To Pray
Pray for those who are powerless at the moment, that they would experience God using His power for their good.
