View as Webpage

Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

September 12, 2022

Invitatory

Send our your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.

Reading - Psalm 56

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;

         all day long foes oppress me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

         for many fight against me.

O Most High, when I am afraid,

        I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

         in God I trust; I am not afraid;

what can flesh do to me?

All day long they seek to injure my cause;

         all their thoughts are against me for evil.

They stir up strife, they lurk,

         they watch my steps.

As they hoped to have my life,

         so repay them for their crime;

in wrath cast down the people’s, O God!

You have kept count of my tossings;

           put my tears in your bottle.

           Are they not in your record?

Then my enemies will retreat

           in the day when I call.

           This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

           in the Lord, whose word I praise.

In God I trust; I am not afraid.

           What can a mere mortal do to me?

My vows to you I must perform, O God;

           I will render thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,

           and my feet from falling,

so that I may walk before God

           in the light of life.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

There seems to be a notion out there in the world that we are always supposed to be happy. Happiness and success are bound together as mutually beneficial: the happier you are, the more successful; the more successful, the happier you will be. Sure, success often does lead to happiness. And yes, perhaps being happy inspires hard work which may lead to higher productivity. This may all be true. But there are also benefits to lament. To expressing when we are not happy and successful. Complaint and frustration are not always negative, in fact, sometimes they are productive and helpful. As in Psalm 56, the act of complaining and feeling fear or frustration can actually be cathartic and can even turn us from fear or anger to praise and thanksgiving to God.

Psalm 56 is associated with David, likely written when he was seized by the Philistines. It expresses trust in God in the midst of oppression. While it may have been written regarding the specific position in which David found himself, the sentiments translate to almost any predicament one might go through. The psalmist writes of others seeking to injure him, “their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps.” The others that the psalmist describes sound like predators, and he, their prey. These aggressors are not limited to people, though, but can be understood as any sources of negativity. Perhaps “they” are the bad things that just seem to keep piling on: added responsibilities at work and with family, more demand for your time, increasing bills and more meetings than one person can reasonably schedule. It can feel, as the psalmist describes, as though all our burdens hope to have our lives, as though we are at our very outer limits, and one more bit of bad news or one more task will kill us. Those moments do not naturally lend themselves to prayer or to quiet calm. They almost never lend themselves to gratitude. Yet that is the psalmist’s response.

“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.” What an odd thing to describe, and yet, a comforting one. This striking image depicts a God so caring, so concerned about His flock, that He would save our tears as records of who each of us is and of the burdens we carry. That is the image of a God who knows us better than we can fully comprehend. Maybe a God that we cannot understand. But such hope and encouragement are we given in this psalm and in other laments! Our deepest woes, our fears, our anxieties - none is too much for God to handle. So take heart, pour out your complaints, and pray with the psalms of lament!

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

    hallowed be thy Name,

    thy kingdom come,

    thy will be done,

        on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

    as we forgive those

        who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

    and the power, and the glory

   for ever and ever. Amen.