What language shall I borrow? Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains so that they smoke. Psalm 144:5 Read Isaiah 57:15—21 So here I am, seeking to formulate a prayer to this God who, his word to me says, inhabits eternity. I do not. I am found in this particular…
When the Lord’s ways are hidden Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, For I am poor and needy. Psalm 86:1 Read 2 Samuel 16:5—14 Because I have read the story I know that David did not shed Saul’s blood. He had the opportunity, at least twice. But he saw Saul as God’s…
The sign of Jonah He drew me up from the desolate pit, Out of the miry bog. Psalm 40:2 Read Jonah 2:1-10 At the end of all this Jonah was spewed out. I can imagine him stinking, spew steaming off him. He, Luther said, ‘snored in his sins’ on the boat before he was…
A living being And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; And the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 Read Ezekiel 17:22—24 Ah, it is good to be a living being. It is sweet to have life. It is like sap running through me. It is thrilling to grow. To feel growth…
God’s anointed I have found my servant David; With my holy oil I have anointed him. Psalm 89:20 Read 1 Samuel 24:8—12 Saul was on a campaign to assassinate David. God had promised David the kingship that Saul occupied. And David was no man of peace. He was a warlord. I would have thought…
At a banquet But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, In those who hope in his steadfast love. Psalm 147:11 Read Luke 14:7—11 At first blush this looks like advice on party etiquette, thoroughly consistent with Jesus’ attitude to relations on social occasions, and I can take it at that. Admittedly,…
Be merciful to me, a sinner Against you, you alone, have I sinned, And done what is evil in your sight. Psalm 51:4 Read Luke 18:9—14 If I have ever thought I am not like others, not like those lost in their shame and abject failure; if I have somehow been able to put…
The people of the promise May God continue to bless us, Let all the ends of the earth revere him. Psalm 67:7 Read Romans 11:25—32 I would have to admit that I have a deep ingrained tendency to see this Gospel I believe in from a very restricted perspective. In the instance of this…
The choice of God You only have I known Of all the families of the earth. Amos 3:2 Read Deuteronomy 32:3—12 Almost any creature I am familiar with could give me a way of picturing God’s focus upon me, his choice to be my God, his guiding me, his guarding me, his holding me…
Seek the welfare of the place where you live He led them by a straight way, Until they reached an inhabited town. Psalm 107:7 Read Jeremiah 29:4—9 Even if I live in the culture of my birth and upbringing, my heart culture, my familiar language, hearing the kind of jokes I don’t need explained,…