URC Daily Devotion 12th January 2025
Sunday 12 January 2025
Baptism of the Lord
Psalm 64
Hear my voice, O God, as I complain,
guard my life from dread of the foe.
Hide me from the band of the wicked,
from the throng of those who do evil.
They sharpen their tongues like swords;
they aim bitter words like arrows
to shoot at the innocent from ambush,
shooting suddenly and recklessly.
They scheme their evil course;
they conspire to lay secret snares.
They say: “Who will see us?
Who can search out our crimes?”
He will search who searches the mind
and knows the depths of the heart.
God has shot them with his arrow
and dealt them sudden wounds.
Their own tongue has brought them to ruin
and all who see them mock.
Then all the world will fear;
they will tell what God has done.
They will understand God’s deeds.
The just will rejoice in the Lord
and fly to him for refuge.
All the upright hearts will glory.
Reflection
It will be no surprise if this psalm is unfamiliar as it is never read out as part of the Revised Common Lectionary. And as all football fans will recognise it is a game of two halves!
At the beginning the Psalmist is asking for protection from God from those who would hurt them with their words and actions, their plots and schemes. Whoever is guilty of hurting them seems to be getting away with it. Sound familiar to today’s society? So often we hear about criminals “getting away with it”. But this is not the end of the story.
Having asked for support, the psalmist realises that God is present in their life and has heard their prayer. God sees what is in the hearts of those who hurt and will repay them. Their words will come back to bite them and their actions will have consequences. This will then encourage all who are mistreated to trust in God and fly to him for refuge. Those with pure hearts will praise God.
How often do we only see the first half of this psalm and cry out in despair at all the injustices we see in the world around us? And then how often do we get so overwhelmed that we can only cry out in silence? Is that then where we stop? Are we so exhausted that we cannot see a way forward? How can we move from devastation to exhortation? How do we see the light in a dark world?
Is this the reason we are given a candle at our Baptism so we can see the Light of the World in our world? May this light encourage us to move to part two of the Psalm where we can rejoice in the Lord and bring praise.
Prayer
Loving God, you are the light of the world, chasing away our darkness. Help us to put our trust in you that not only will you hear our cries, even in our silence, but that we will know that you are our refuge and strength and our ever present help in times of trouble. Then we will delight and praise your name. Amen.