Made great through grace

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…

Made great through grace

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,…

Made great through grace

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…

God’s concern for his people

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…

God’s concern for his people

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…

God’s concern for his people

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,…

God’s concern for his people

Standing firm To hear the groans of the prisoners To set free those who were doomed to die. Psalm 102:20   Read 1 Kings 21:17—21 Because the Lord is the protector of the alien, the orphan and the widow, because he has declared that the poor will always be with us and our hand will…

The Lord’s concern for his people

A picture of prayer May the hand of God protect us. May the shield of God defend us. St Patrick   Read Exodus 17:8—15 I see in this story something my doubting friends will set to one side (at its most polite). Others will pity me for reading texts like this. But for all that,…

The Lord’s concern for his people

God himself is the reason Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8   Read Deuteronomy 7:6—11 I have this in common with the Israel of God: I am called from among the peoples and there is no reason I can give beyond God himself. It’s…

The Lord’s concern for his people

The visitation of the Lord Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised In the city of our God. Psalm 48:1   Read Luke 19:41—46 What moves Jesus to tears? What is the deep pain that he cannot brush off? Surely it is the outright horror that those he made, made for relationship with…