Thoughts for the Day

Supplication for Help. A Prayer of David.

You are my God; be gracious to me, O LORD,
for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O LORD,
or are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O LORD,
and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
I give thanks to you, O LORD my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name for ever.
For great is your steadfast love towards me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol....

But you, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)a

Thoughts

I have not included all the verses of this psalm, but one thing becomes really obvious by just glancing at what is included above. David's plea for help includes the words "O Lord" again and again. But there's another oddity - read the words again if you didn't spot it! Sometimes it's written 'Lord' and sometimes 'LORD' (and it's not my rubbish typing). So what is the difference and why is David using different terms?

The word LORD reflects the original term yhwh which appears some 6,823 times in the Hebrew scriptures as the name for God, and which was never pronounced aloud. However, over centuries this has been translated in order to say the word, as Yahweh, that is the God who appeared to Moses and gave His name as "I AM" (Exodus 3.14). In other words He just "IS". On the other hand 'Lord' is the English translation of the Hebrew word adonai (used 300 times) meaning 'my Lord' or 'my Sovereign', which emphasises God's power and strength.

When we (or our world) need help we need to make a good case for it. It's no good just saying "Help!" Why do we want help? (eg "I'm drowning!") What do we expect should happen? ("Send a boat!") And the result will be? ("I will offer thanks and blessings to my rescuer and my Saviour!").

LORD,
God of all that is,
seen and unseen,
we ask Your help this day for our world,
and especially for all people of goodwill:-
for those who work to bring about peace;
or seek to achieve justice;
or help to reduce the effects of climate change.
May we look again at our own lives
to see how we can transform them
to reflect these concerns,
and then may we continue to praise You.
Amen.