Sunday 23rd August 2020 Psalm 11
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2 Fear not, He is with thee, O be not dismayed,
For He is thy God, and will still give thee aid;
He’’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by His righteous, omnipotent hand.
3 When through the deep waters He calls thee to go,
The rivers of grief shall thee overflow;
For He will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
4 When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
His grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; His only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”
5 “The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”
from Rippon’s Selection of Hymns 1787
you can hear this sung by Maddy Prior and the Carnival band here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G68FV4xPhrE
Reflection
This is a Psalm of trust. It begins with the greatest trust we can place in anyone, taking refuge. Trusting God to look after our lives. God offers us a firm foundation, through the promise and love.
There are a great many words of comfort to be taken from this Psalm. Particularly the words surrounding being able to find rest, and find comfort. It says repose, but I’ve never used that word in my life!
Though we may get battered and bruised, and be facing the storms of life. We know we can find rest and solace in God’s welcoming arms.
In the second stanza, we hear of being strengthened, helped, and caused to stand.
It reminds me of these words from the Rend Collective song ‘Resurrection Day’:
“Because You’re risen I can rise
Because You’re living I’m alive
Because Your cross is powerful
Because You rose invincible
I can get up off the floor”
This is about us getting off the floor, about us being empowered to do so. As the chorus continues “This is my resurrection day”. Easter seems like a long time ago, but I’d encourage you to have your own Easter now!
This is not something to expect God to do without upholding our side of the bargain! We have been enabled, and given blessing to get up off the floor, but it’s still us who need to get up.
Our relationship with God is a 2-way one, one we must partake in, not just receive. But if we give, then truly, freely, we shall receive.
Prayer
This is my resurrection day
Nothing’s gonna hold me in the grave
This is my resurrection day
Nothing’s gonna hold me down
Say goodbye to my yesterdays
Ever since I met You I am changed
This is my resurrection day
Nothing’s gonna hold me down.
© Rend Collective