Thoughts for the Day

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt-offering,
you would not be pleased.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite hearts, O God,
you will not despise.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

My husband Adrian was a Welshman who couldn't sing! He was completely tone-deaf, which as a singer I found hard. It was obvious that he should have been a light tenor. However, there was one line he could sing on a recognisable note. It was the opening response for Matins: "O Lord, open thou our lips." In later years when deeply into the throes of dementia he would happily sing in church, even if the words and music made no sense, though I guess God saw his pleasure. But it was this verse from Psalm 51, that I remember most, along with a line from 'Blue suede shoes', and something about a 'man digging a hole'!

As Christians we are called to praise God, and Psalm 51 (the Miserere), reminds us that we don't do much of it! We often blame God, and we constantly ask for his help, but we don't do a lot of praise. Perhaps it's hard to praise God in the middle of a pandemic (when we usually start prayers with "Please help!"), but could we not try some praise this Lent? Listen to New College Oxford's recording of this Psalm written by Allegri - if nothing else you will probably find yourself praising God for the ability that He gives some people to write and sing music.

Lord God,
You hold all the world
in your hand,
and care for everything
You have made.
Teach us this Lent
to thank You
and to praise You
as You deserve.
Amen.