Thoughts for the Day

* Qumran cave where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Psalm 145 is the last of David's psalms in our Psalter, and the last of the eighth acrostic ones, five of which are attributed to him. We might like to think of these as "an alphabet of prayers and reflections on the Word of God". It means that each Hebrew letter gets its chance to introduce different verses. In Psalm 145 one letter is missing (nun) though a text found in Qumran had the missing verse. Our reading above only gives us the first twelve verses of this psalm that is set for Morning Prayer on the Second Sunday of Epiphany, but it continues the theme of "showing forth" to the world, that started with the arrival of the three Wise Men to the Christ-child born in Bethlehem.

David expresses his desire to shout his praise of God. He wants to bless God for all that He has done. He wants all who hear him to pass on the great news about God's mighty acts - from generation to generation - to tell others of God's righteousness, of His compassion, His mercy, His power, and of the glory of His kingdom. That is what "showing forth" means.

But today we have even more to shout about, for we know that God sent His Son to rescue us. Epiphany is the time to shout our praise about God to the world in word and in song - to our children and family; to one another in church; and of course, to God!

Heavenly Father,
as Your servant David
sang his praise of You,
we too lift our voices to bless You,
for all that You give to us
through Your Son, our Lord.
May we praise and glorify You each day
whatever our circumstances,
for Your love for Your children
does not change;
Your compassion and mercy
is everlasting;
and the glory of Your Kingdom
still awaits us.
Amen.