Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

July 15, 2010

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
---Deuteronomy 33:27---
Lord,
Help us to see:
To see what is eternally good and true,
And having seen, to go on searching
Until we come to the joys of heaven.
---New Zealand Prayer Book---

Ancient Comfort

For the last two months, I have been attempting to read more of the Psalms. In the Psalter in the Book of Common Prayer, you can find headings saying, Fifteenth Day, Morning Prayer, for example. For morning and evening a set of psalms has been set aside, so that one can read all 150 psalms each month.

This is a new discipline for me, and there are times when the discipline itself defeats me. I have yet to make it through all 150 psalms; I miss reading on this day or that, but I continue to pursue my goal.

The wonderful thing about this new adventure is that I get to read the psalms over and over again, and as I do so each month, they become more familiar. Reading the psalms is like listening to music. The more you listen, the more familiar the music becomes. The melody of the psalms speaks to me of ancient heartache, fear, distress, even hatred. They echo the common emotions we experience, from anger to joy, comfort, and wisdom. But through all of these texts there is an overwhelming theme of trust in God. Trust that God will see us through whatever difficulty we are encountering, and trust that God, beyond all reason, loves us and abides with us.

Your throne O Lord has stood firm from of old;
From all eternity you are God.
Mightier than the noise of great waters;
Mightier than the waves of the sea;
So the Lord in high is mighty.
---Psalm 93:3,5---

Daily Morning and Evening Prayer

Daily Morning and Evening Prayer

This Week at St. James

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

In Closing:

I cry aloud to God: I cry aloud to the one who will hear me.
In the day of my distress I sought the Lord:
By night my hands were spread out in prayer without ceasing,
My soul refused all comfort.
I remembered my God, and I groaned:
In my thinking my spirit fainted.
You kept my eyelids from closing:
I was dazed and I could not speak.
I thought of the days of old:
I remembered the years long past.
At night I communed with my heart:
I pondered and I questioned my spirit,
"will you O Lord reject us forever:
and never more show us your favor?
"has your unfailing love now failed us forever?
Is your promise made void for all generations?"
But then I remember what the Lord has done:
And call to mind your wonders of old.
I meditate on your works:
And ponder the things you have done.
You are the God who does wonders:
You have shown your power among the nations.
---Psalm 77:1-8, 11,12 14---

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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