Epiphany 2 / OT 2
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
-- Psalm 40:2
You can listen to this story with the life of David in mind, as the superscription suggests. You can hear David praying these words after he had escaped the exile that Saul had driven him into and had been hailed king by the people. Or you could hear the words as David's prayer after he had escaped the coup attempt by his own son and had his kingdom restored. "I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation." But with that memory in mind, you can also hear Jesus praying these words as he prayed right before his arrest. In the moment of great anguish (Luke 22:44), you can hear Jesus pray, "Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever." In that same prayer, Jesus could recognize that his life had a greater purpose than whether he survived that immediate challenge. So he prayed, "Then I said, 'Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me I delight to do your will, O my God, your law is within my heart.' " As the church hears this prayer with both David and Jesus in mind, it can gain strength to resist the seduction of the society around her. "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods." All churches go through crises in which their very survival seems to be threatened. At such times, they need to remember again the one who sets their feet upon a rock, making their steps secure.
-- Psalm 40:2
You can listen to this story with the life of David in mind, as the superscription suggests. You can hear David praying these words after he had escaped the exile that Saul had driven him into and had been hailed king by the people. Or you could hear the words as David's prayer after he had escaped the coup attempt by his own son and had his kingdom restored. "I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation." But with that memory in mind, you can also hear Jesus praying these words as he prayed right before his arrest. In the moment of great anguish (Luke 22:44), you can hear Jesus pray, "Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever." In that same prayer, Jesus could recognize that his life had a greater purpose than whether he survived that immediate challenge. So he prayed, "Then I said, 'Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me I delight to do your will, O my God, your law is within my heart.' " As the church hears this prayer with both David and Jesus in mind, it can gain strength to resist the seduction of the society around her. "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods." All churches go through crises in which their very survival seems to be threatened. At such times, they need to remember again the one who sets their feet upon a rock, making their steps secure.
