Thoughts for the Day

A Call to Worship and Obedience

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As a small girl I have a clear memory of the choir in St Nicholas' Church, Pevensey (where I was baptised aged 7 years old), the ladies all wearing their dark purple "pointy" hats, with white arm ruffs and white neck bands, singing the service of Matins. I sat entranced, for there was my Aunt and Godmother in the choir. A few years later I was singing in another church choir, the same service of Matins, and the same psalm (Psalm 95, as above), often known by its more familiar name as 'The Venite'.

'Venite' is Latin for 'Come!', and the Venite is the traditional call to worship sung every Sunday across the world in Anglican churches for centuries. It goes back to the time of St Benedict (6th century) and was included in medieval prayer books as well as Protestant liturgy after the Reformation. It was also probably used in the Temple by the Israelites, calling the people to come before the Lord with songs of praise and celebration.

Today, we are halfway through the 40 days of Lent (excluding Sundays), and the words of the psalm calls us to worship, wherever we are are this day - to come into His presence joyfully, and to kneel before Him (spiritually if not physically!) as our King. We can just as easily do this on our own in silence or by listening to the psalm sung for us by the groups in 'Further Thoughts' below.

Lord God,
as our forebears worshipped You,
by singing the Venite at each service,
so today we say this psalm
in praise and thanksgiving
that You are our God,
that You call us to worship You,
and kneel before You.
Amen.