URC Daily Devotion 26 July 2026
Psalm 135
Alleluia!
Praise the name of the Lord,
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord for the Lord is good.
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself
and Israel for his own possession.
For I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas.
He summons clouds from the ends of the earth;
makes lightning produce the rain;
from his treasuries he sends forth the wind.
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
of humans and beast alike.
Signs and wonders he worked
in the midst of your land, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
Nations in their greatness he struck
and kings in their splendour he slew.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He let Israel inherit their land;
on his people their land he bestowed.
Lord, your name stands for ever,
unforgotten from age to age,
for the Lord does justice for his people;
the Lord takes pity on his servants.
Pagan idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see.
They have ears but they cannot hear;
there is never a breath on their lips.
Their makers will come to be like them
and so will all who trust in them!
House of Israel, bless the Lord!
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear him, bless the Lord!
From Zion may the Lord be blessed,
he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Reflection
One of the things my husband and I do to cement our inter-church marriage is to share Catholic Morning and Evening Prayer together, daily. This Psalm comes up in its entirety every four weeks. (Why the first half also appears three days later is still a mystery to me!) So I am very familiar with it.
But hang on a minute; doesn’t ‘familiarity breed contempt’? Well, maybe not contempt so much as indifference. It has been good for me to spend time with this Psalm. Like many Psalms it is in two parts. The first recalls significant history; the way God’s hand was seen at work gives rise to praise and thanksgiving.
I am reminded of another form of daily prayer, the Examen, a pattern of prayer from St Ignatius of Loyola. At the end of the day (or other period of time) we are invited to review the day, giving thanks for the blessings we have received. It is amazing how, even on what has felt like a dreadful day, looking back we can usually find some moments when the light has shone through.
The Examen pattern then leads us to reflect on those things which went less well, for which we may need to say sorry, seek God’s forgiveness, or find ways to do better.
This Psalm jumps in a step ahead! It cautions against pagan idols and false gods diverting our path. Those who follow such things become like them; but they are shallow and lead no-where. The only God to be followed is the God who has blessed us through history, and in times more recent than the Psalms, especially through Jesus Christ. That we can access God through scripture, in prayer, and in every moment of our lives is cause for great thanksgiving. May the Lord be blessed indeed!
Prayer
Thank you God that I can see your hand at work in the story of my life.
Thank you for the many blessings you have given me.
I am sorry for the times I have been distracted by the false gods of this world.
Please help me make amends, stay on course, and grow closer to you.
Thank you.
Amen.