Thoughts for the Day

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord rescues them from them all.
He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Our readings in the Lectionary begin to reflect the fact that we are moving ever nearer to Good Friday and the death of our Lord. Psalm 34, set for this morning's Communion Service, is about the time that King Saul is trying to kill David and he has had to feign madness to escape his death. It's a glorious call upon all who read it to reflect that while God hates those who do evil, He loves those who seek to do good, and he will rescue them in His own way.

Our opening words, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous" (verse 15) reminded me of an incident when I was working with dozens of adults and children in a large hall making banners out of sheets of sugar paper. The motive or symbol was put on one large sheet, then the other sheet was cut into two parts (one-third and two-thirds), the small part was the fringe for the bottom, and the large piece made a folded top for the banner. The theme was "God", and small groups were working together on each banner. One group decided to cut out coloured shapes showing a head smothered in eyes that looked in all directions. Their text was taken from Psalm 34 and said "His eyes are on the righteous".

The thought that God sees all that we do shouldn't scare us. It's no different to having a loving parent watching over a child. The parent stands there ready to offer help or consolation when it's needed. Just as a parent will cuddle an upset child, so God enfolds us in love when we are broken and comfortless. Try turning to Him, and don't be surprised at what may happen.

Heavenly Father,
as Jesus called You by a familiar name
so we call You 'Father'.
May we never forget that Your eyes are on us:
ready to forgive when we confess our sin;
ready to offer help when we are in trouble;
ready to give consolation when needed;
and ready to surround us with love at all times.
Amen.