“My heart is stirring with a noble song;
let me recite what I have fashioned for the king;
my tongue shall be the pen of a skillful writer.”
Psalm 45:1
Reflection: There is a place for writing on the trail. Many hikers keep a journal. Some simply log in miles and places; others write down things they have thought about as they journeyed through the day. At every shelter is a trail log where hikers can sign in with their trail name and write down whatever they want others on the trail to know. Some entries are funny; some are informative, some are philosophical and some are soul-searching. A few are complaints about this or that. Psalms are a kind of trail log of the journeys in life for God’s people, except that the Psalms are also songs and hymns—not just journal entries. In fact, the Psalms are Jesus’ hymnbook. Important words, after all, are always easier to learn by heart when they are set to music. In the case of the Psalms the music has been lost, but the words have survived through centuries, and now people of faith set them to their own music. This particular psalm was written for a king’s wedding day, complete with a description of the bride. Unless we are getting married, maybe we wouldn’t get too excited about this psalm and just let it pass by. Although, it is Valentine’s Day! So take this as an earthly valentine. And it is also Sunday, and sometimes when Christians sing this psalm, they think of the metaphor of the gathered Church being the bride of Christ. Here is a prayer to go with this psalm in “Psalms for All Seasons” (Calvin Institute of Worship, 2012, p. 278).
O God, our king and glory, set your seal upon our hearts. Fashion our lives into a song of your justice and goodness, so that the world may know of your righteous reign. And when our earthly songs are spent, bring us to the marriage supper of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? What hymn (psalm or otherwise) do you know so well you can sing it by heart?
2. Or read all of Psalm 45 to discover how this verse fits into the psalm or to discover a different verse.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that illustrates this verse’s meaning for you.
Tomorrow’s verse: Psalm 46:1-3
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
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