Slices
Prepare
Today is Mothering Sunday in the UK. Thank God for all that you’ve received from your mother and your family, wherever you are! Where others have filled up what was missing, thank God for them.
Bible passage
A song of ascents.
1 ‘They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,’
let Israel say;
2 ‘they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory over me.
3 Ploughmen have ploughed my back
and made their furrows long.
4 But the Lord is righteous;
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.’
5 May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
6 May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;
7 a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
8 May those who pass by not say to them,
‘The blessing of the Lord be on you;
we bless you in the name of the Lord.’
Explore
This psalm is one of the processional songs used by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The first four verses function more like a creed or a testimony than a prayer. The phrase ‘Let Israel say’ (v 1) is in the mouth of a service leader, encouraging those on pilgrimage to join in: together they are Israel, and while their story has been one of opposition and struggle, no enemy has ever gained final victory. They remain a people sustained by God’s presence and justice. In spite of others’ determination to make them suffer (v 3), God has cut them free (v 4).
Ascending to the heights of Zion, the heart of their nation and its faith, the psalm becomes a prayer that all who wish to oppress Israel will be turned back in defeat (v 5); that they will be like a failed harvest (vs 6–8a). In contrast, the concluding lines declare blessing (v 8) on God’s people, who have a special relationship with the Lord, as they remember their own place in Israel’s story.* Remember today how God has blessed you, your family and your church.
*See Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms, IVP, 2001
Respond
Together we are a chosen people (1 Peter 2:9,10). Ask for a greater sense of community and togetherness as you praise God today and thank him for his blessings on you.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Numbers 26,27; Matthew 22
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for the leaders in Scripture Union Madagascar as they meet this month. Pray that they will hear from God, that each participant will renew their commitment to the work and for the materials they will use to welcome these leaders.
