I will sing of your strength.... from the Rectory 12th May

From psalm 59

Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. 2 Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood.

David was in a clearly under attack which resulted in him crying out to God for help and protection knowing that God was his only hope.

You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress, 10 my God on whom I can rely.

Having poured out his heart to the Lord he gets to a place at the end of the psalm where his focus is no longer on his problems (although they remain as real as ever) but where he can confidently worship God and praised him for his help knowing that God will ultimately vindicate him.

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

17 You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.

At the moment there seems to be no end in sight to the coronavirus crisis and it can feel overwhelming. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been crying out to God for mercy and deliverance, which is by far the best thing that we can possibly do. While we might not have as yet seen an answer to our prayer for an end to this awful virus, we can be assured that God has heard our cry for help.

Although we might not always feel like praising God, in my experience, when I lift my eyes from the problems and make that sacrifice of praise, I have always found my faith and trust in God has been strengthened as I have been reminded of the greatness of God. That’s why I chose the song way maker as part of the service yesterday. As I sing that song it reminds me of what God has done in the past, against all the odds making a way through the Red sea and gives me hope to believe that he can do it again for us today. (If you have not already listened to Tom Walters beautiful version of this song you can still access it via the Brinsley with Underwood Parish facebook or youtube pages.)

Suggested songs for the 12 noon prayer times

Tuesday Great is the Lord

Wednesday Way maker

Thursday Oceans deep

Friday Blessed assurance

Saturday Good, good father

Monday sovereign over us

David