Psalm 121
 
I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
 
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
 
The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.
 
Reflection
 
“I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come?” Psalm 121 has taken on new meaning for me since leaving Eastbourne, a place shaped by hills, cliffs, and long horizons. Those landscapes are woven into my sense of home, and whenever I hear this Psalm, they rise in my mind again, providing a sense of familiarity and comfort amid life changes. Lifting eyes to the hills, the Psalmist had not yet reached the destination, but strongly trusted in God’s divine presence to sustain through the journey, no matter the challenges or circumstances lying ahead. Similarly, having started my first year of ministerial training, I find myself looking at the journey ahead.
 
Training often encompasses moments of uncertainty and new ways of navigating through the different responsibilities to carry, the times of stillness and the joys of the unexpected and unknown. In those moments, the Psalm’s assurance speaks deeply: “He will not let your foot be moved.” God’s keeping is not fragile or sporadic; it is firm, protective, and unwavering. We are reminded that our foundation is not our own competence or confidence but God’s faithfulness and grace, on which we are able to balance firmly, while environments around us are constantly changing. When everything around us feels in motion, God remains the ground on which we stand.
 
This Psalm also invites us to trust in God’s constant presence: “The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in.” There is great comfort in knowing that we are never walking this journey alone. Whether we are stepping into something new, finding our way through uncertainty, or simply learning to grow, God is both companion and guardian.
 
As I continue in this first year of training, Psalm 121 anchors me. Whatever road you are on, trust in the solid foundation and the promise of God’s watchfulness in your journey of life, having the courage to take the next steps.
 
Prayer
 
Faithful God,
as we lift our eyes to the hills, 
steady our steps and strengthen our hearts.
In moments of uncertainty, 
be our sure foundation; 
in times of change, be our constant guide.
Keep our going out and our coming in, 
that we may walk with courage, trust, and hope.
Lead us onward in your presence, now and always.
Amen

Reading          verses from Psalm 18
 
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
 
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me;
 the torrents of perdition assailed me;
 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
 the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears…
 
He reached down from on high; he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
 but the Lord was my support.
 He brought me out into a broad place;
 he delivered me because he delighted in me.
 
 
Reflection
 
Pilgrimage can profoundly change how you see the world and your place in it. God is not distant but woven into the very fabric of creation; alive in wind and water, flame and stone. When Psalm 18 speaks of the Lord as rock, fortress, and deliverer, a Celtic imagination might hear not only metaphors but also encounters the Divine Presence that pulses through the natural world.
 
God is not an abstract refuge; God is the firmness of the granite beneath our feet, the sheltering curve of the hills, and the steady rhythm of the tides, perhaps along the Northumbrian coast.
 
The Psalm describes a God who hears our cry and bends low, who moves heaven and earth to reach us. In Celtic spirituality, this is the God who walks the shoreline with us, who whispers through the rustling of oak leaves, who meets us in the ordinary places where our hearts become quiet enough to listen.
 
The Psalm’s imagery of God reaching down into chaos to draw the psalmist out mirrors the Celtic sense of God as Anam Cara; the soul-friend who descends into our depths, not to condemn but to free.
 
To be found and to be freed from the self-imposed guilt of failure and regret at not having been strong enough alone withstand loss and sorrows.
 
Service then becomes an act of gratitude, a response to being rescued and restored. Joy comes from gratitude not perfection. It is okay to not be perfect.
 
To answer God’s call is to step into a path that is both ancient and deeply personal. It is to trust, with the Psalmist, that: “He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me because he delighted in me.”
 
The broad place is not only safety; it is vocation. It is the wide-open field where our gifts, wounds, passions, and hopes are gathered and offered back to God for the healing of the world.
 
Prayer
 
Lord, if we listen for You,
You can rescue us from the dark places,
that we place ourselves in.
Your voice calls us to serve You, Lord.
We are grateful to You.
Let our gratitude become our joy,
and may that joy be pleasing to You.
Amen

Reading  St Matthew 10:26-31

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
 
Reflection

“What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light” – Jesus’ words are both commission and permission. This call to purposeful authenticity and personal discipleship sits at the heart of faith’s journey, and the common vocation of Christians. Within this, the Ministry of Word and Sacraments has offered me a remarkable freedom: the privilege of pursuing the kingdom while simultaneously becoming most authentically myself.

We are always in the process of becoming. Faith, and the vocation to live it individually and in community, is not a static destination but a dynamic unfolding. As I engage with faith, Scripture, and the lived experience of ministry, I am made and re-made. The call I hear feels different as I change – not because God has changed, but (hopefully) because I have grown into deeper authenticity.

Jesus’ command to proclaim from the housetops what we hear whispered speaks to the heart of authentic ministry. Authenticity, as Kierkegaard knew, requires courage – the courage to speak our truth even when our voice trembles.

The sparrows remind us that in God’s economy, every step of authentic kingdom witness, every becoming matters. Every hair is counted, every act – even the secret ones – acknowledged. Ministry offers the extraordinary opportunity to pursue self-actualisation not as selfish individualism but as sacred vocation. We are freed to explore the depths of our own being-in-relation to God and others and in that finding an exploration that serves the kingdom.

Mary Oliver’s question resonates ‘What will you do with your one wild and precious life?’ Ministry of Word and Sacraments is one way to answer that question with our whole selves – mind, body, spirit. It is freedom to become, to speak what we know in our depths, to live congruently between inner conviction and outward action.

We are of more value than many sparrows. Your life, however you live it out, matters to God and to God’s kingdom.
 
Prayer
 
Creating God, 
you call us into becoming, 
trusting us with our one wild and precious life. 
Grant us courage to speak our truth, 
wisdom to grow through all our years, 
and freedom to serve your kingdom 
while becoming most authentically ourselves. 
May our lives proclaim your liberating love. 
Amen

Vocation

Dear Friends,

I hope you enjoyed Stephen Orchard’s thoughts on some of our favourite hymns.  We now turn to two weeks on vocations.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul outlined a number of offices in the Church to which people were called.  As the Church developed offices, of course, changed. In the broad Orthodox and Catholic tradition ordained ministry is divided into three orders of deacon, priest and bishop.  In the Reformed tradition we ordain Ministers of Word and Sacrament and Elders and, in the URC, we commission Church Related Community Workers, Assembly Accredited Lay Preachers, and Lay Pioneers.  In less grand, but arguably more necessary, ways we are each called to roles within our local churches and to find ways to live out our vocation in our daily lives.  Over the next two weeks those associated with our colleges – as tutors, students or ministers in their early years – explore this thing called vocation. 

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

We are not our own. 
Earth forms us,
human leaves on 
nature’s growing vine,
fruit of many generations,
seeds of life divine.
 
2 We are not alone. 
Earth names us:
past and present, 
peoples near and far,
family and friends and strangers
show us who we are.
 
3 Therefore let us 
make thanksgiving,
and with justice, 
willing and aware,
give to earth, and all things living,
liturgies of care.
 
4 Let us be a house 
of welcome,
living stone 
upholding living stone,
gladly showing all our neighbours
we are not our own!
 

Opening Prayer
 
Creator God, You called the universe into being,
You set our earth in its perfect zone.
You sang life in all its wonderous beauty into existence.
Giving us you own breath, and you call us to worship you.
Help us to lay down all that would stop our ears to hear your voice,
or halt our hearts from knowing your love.
Forgive us when the best person we could be is so far away.
Give us the courage to try again.
And assure us of a new beginning in your love.
We are far apart, but, time and distance are different to you, 
unite us in our prayers as we say together the prayer that Jesus taught.
Our Father ….
 
Reading   Psalm 89: 1-4, 15-18
 
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
“I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:
‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.’…
 
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favour our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
 
Reading   St Matthew 10: 40-42
 
Jesus said: “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.  And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
 
Hymn       Tell Out My Soul
Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926-2024) from Luke 1: 46-55 © administered by Oxford University Press OneLicence No. # A-734713 
Performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.
 

Tell out, my soul, 
the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, 
give my spirit voice;
tender to me 
the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour 
shall my heart rejoice.
 
2 Tell out, my soul, 
the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, 
the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, 
from age to age the same;
his holy Name, the Lord, 
the Mighty One.
 
3 Tell out, my soul, 
the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions 
lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn 
wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, 
the humble lifted high.
 
4 Tell out, my soul, 
the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, 
and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, 
the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children 
and for evermore!

Will you let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant, too.
 
2 We are pilgrims 
on a journey,
we are trav’lers on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
 
3 I will hold 
the Christ-light for you
in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.
 
4 I will weep 
when you are weeping;
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
till we’ve seen this 
journey through.
 
5 When we sing to God in heaven
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together
of Christ’s love and agony.
 
6 Will you let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant, too.

Prayers for the world.
 
Creator God, you made our world and set it in the liquid water zone. Without water there would be, no sea, no fish, no plants, no life. You have shown your care for our planet long before we could understand.
 
Be with us now and hear our prayers.
 
We bring to you those who struggle to take clean water and food to those who need it. Give them strength to carry on. 
 
We pray for those who’s daily struggle is to find the necessities of life and who find it difficult to provide for their children.
 
We pray for those in our world who can not express their love for you in freedom, by whatever name they call you.
 
We think of the people who we know do not always receive the kind of welcome you would want them to have. We ask that we find ways to make them welcome. 
 
We pray that our churches become places of welcome, showing your kindness.
 
And we pray for ourselves. You know the times when we have not had the things we needed and you know when we have not felt welcome.
Help us to be true to your teaching and give what welcome we can and share what we can and give hope when we can. In Jesus name, Amen.
 
Offering Prayer
 
We give in so many ways; from welcoming the newcomer to offering the simple things of hospitality.  We give listening ears and shoulders to cry on.  We give of our time, our talents, and our treasure.  We give to those we love, to charities and good causes we value and, of course, to the Church – sometimes on the plate, sometimes with those wonderful Gift Aid declarations, and sometimes directly to the bank.  However we give – through money, through doing things, through simply offering our time, we do as acts of generosity to give back to God something of what has been given to us.  So let’s give thanks for the gifts that have been given.
 
With grateful hearts and cheerful hands, we offer our gifts, time and money and welcome. Use them, and us to build your kingdom.  Amen.
 
Hymn       Praise To The Lord, The Almighty The King of Creation.
Joachim Neander (1650-1680), Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
Public Domain Accapelridge Music
 

Blessing
 
So may the blessing of God 
who made water and set our planet in the liquid water zone,
the blessing of Jesus 
who gave food and shared drink,
and the blessing of the Holy Spirit 
who welcomes us all, 
be with those you love and pray for, 
now and forever, Amen.

Hymns 6 I Will Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving In My Heart  

Rejoice and Sing 386

I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart,
 I will enter his courts with praise,
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made,
 I will rejoice for he has made me glad.
Leona von Brethorst

© 1976 Maranatha! Praise Inc/Universal Music Publishing/Small Stone Media BV Holland/Adm. by Song Solutions Daybreak  OneLicence A-734713  You can hear the song here.

Rejoice and Sing 415

You shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace,
 and the mountains and the hills shall break forth in singing,
There’ll be shouts of joy, – and the trees of the field
 shall clap, shall clap their hands.

Stuart Dauermann (b. 1944) © 1975, Lillenas Publishing Company / Music Services. OneLicence  A-734713 
You can hear the song here.

Isaiah 54:11-14

Storm-battered city, distressed and desolate,
now I shall set your stones in the finest mortar
and your foundations with sapphires;
I shall make your battlements of red jasper
and your gates of garnet;
all your boundary stones will be precious jewels.
Your children will all be instructed by the Lord,
and they will enjoy great prosperity.
You will be restored triumphantly.
You will be free from oppression
and have nothing to fear;
you will be free from terror, for it will not come near you.

Reflection

The two songs given here are from the many based on scripture. The duty of worshipping with our fellow-Christians may also be a delight. A dark winter Sunday morning may not leave us in the right mood for going to church but there will be cause for thanks if we reflect on it. Time and again our spirits are lifted in worship and we go out the better for it. Isaiah had a greater vision than a happy congregation leaving church. It is a song for returning refugees; it is about the freedom of enslaved people, the fall of despots, the belief that God is on our side when all seems lost. This is what leads all nature to rejoice. It is good to rejoice in our own salvation but Jesus calls us to share in the great work of redeeming all that is lost.

Prayer

Honour and glory are yours, our God, for you intend your world to live in peace and harmony. Show us what we must do to set the captives free and bring healing to the world you have given us. As faithful disciples may our singing echo the joy in heaven when evil is forsworn and righteousness prevails. You have set before us great choices in the way we live. May we use our freedom to choose life rather than death, hope rather than despair, love rather than indifference. So may we fill our lives with thankfulness and praise.

Hymns 5 O Lord My God When I In Awesome Wonder 

Rejoice and Sing 117

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed;

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou are, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
 and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
 when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;

But when I think that God. His Son not sparing,
sent him to die – I scarce can take it in
that on the cross, our burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away our sin;

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home – what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
and there proclaim: My God, how great thou art!

Carl Boberg (1859-1940) Translated by Stuart K Hine which you can hear here.
© Hope Publishing Company The words are copyright and covered by the URC’s OneLicence No. # A-734713

Job 38:28 -33 

[Aldebaran is a bright red star in the constellation of Taurus]

Does the rain have a father?
Who sired the drops of dew?
What womb gave birth to the ice,
and who was the mother of the hoar-frost in the skies,
which lay a stony cover over the waters
and freeze the surface of the deep?
Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades or loose Orion’s belt?
Can you bring out the signs of the zodiac in their season
or guide Aldebaran and satellite stars?
Did you proclaim the rules that govern the heavens
or determine the laws of nature on the earth?

Reflection

This hymn became popular in Britain after its use in the Billy Graham Crusades of the 1950s and is internationally sung. It originated in Sweden and Stuart Hine came across it in a Russian translation to which he added further verses leading to the familiar version given here. It is a firm favourite, even in city centres amongst people with little access to forests and mountains. The chorus is that essential song of praise which is central to our Christian living. It is said that the last verse was written with the return of refugees after the Second World War in mind. By combining the wonders of creation and the mystery of salvation the hymn offers a comprehensive celebration of the greatness of God which, with an eminently singable tune, is the key to its success.

Prayer

God, whose creation stretches from the cosmos to the atom and beyond, we are humbled by the breadth of your imagination. Throughout time your people have marvelled at your care for the least of your creation amongst all the splendour of the galaxies. No detail escapes you and, like a parent, you share our joys and sorrows and give us freedom to grow and flourish. May we not take it all for granted but renew our songs of thanks and praise throughout our lives.

Hymns 4 Fill Thou My Life, O Lord My God

Rejoice and Sing 406

Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
in every part with praise,
that my whole being may proclaim
thy being and thy ways.

Not for the lip of praise alone
nor ev’n the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
of praise in every part.

Praise in the common things of life,
its goings our and in;
praise in each duty and each deed,
however small and mean.

Fill every part of me with praise,
let all my being speak
of thee and of the love, O Lord,
poor though I be and weak.

So shalt thou, glorious Lord,
from me receive the glory due;
and so shall I begin on earth
the song for ever new.

So shall no part of day or night
from sacredness be free;
but all my life, in every step,
be fellowship with thee.

Public Domain
Horatio Bonar.  You can hear the hymn here.

Psalm 120:169-172

Let my cry of joy reach you, Lord;
give me insight as you have promised.
Let my prayers for favour reach you;
be true to your promise and save me.
Let your praise pour from my lips,
for you teach me your statutes;
let the music of your promises be on my tongue,
for your commandments are justice itself.

Reflection

Bonar’s hymn takes us back to George Herbert and his sense that even sweeping a room might be a response to God. In the longer poem from which these verses are taken Bonar suggests that returning good for ill and acting unselfishly were also acts of praise. There is also an echo of John Mason in the thought that our praise on earth marks the beginning of singing the new song in the heavenly Jerusalem. The editors of New Church Praise called one of the sections ‘All one in God’s eternal praise,’ underlining this idea. It is a theme which can be discovered in many of the hymns we sing. It is good to find times for devotion and to give our whole attention to prayer and praise. Equally, we must not fall into the trap of thinking the rest of our life has no relation to our devotions. An old text often found on parlour walls was ‘Thou God see’st me.’ Put that way it can sound rather threatening. On the other hand, it might equally be reassuring, that God is with us in our joys and sorrows and the everyday routines of life.

Prayer

God ever-present, I confess the emptiness in my life which you are trying to fill. May I be more sensitive to the people and events around me through which you are speaking. Thank you for the times when I am full of life and ready to give thanks and praise, feeling you are near. You also speak to me in times of depression and anxiety though I am deaf to your voice. May I also then find the praise which is already within me.

Hymns 3 How Shall I Sing That Majesty 

Rejoice and Sing 661

How shall I sing that majesty
which angels do admire?
Let dust in dust and silence lie:
sing, sing ye heavenly choir.
Thousands of thousands stand around
thy throne, O God most high:
ten thousand times ten thousand sound
thy praise; but who am I?

Thy brightness unto them appears,
while I thy footsteps trace;
a sound of God comes to my ears;
but they behold thy face;
I shall, I fear, be dark and cold, 
with all my fire and light;
yet when thou dost accept their gold,
Lord, treasure up my mite.

Enlighten with faith’s light my heart,
inflame it with love’s fire,
then shall I sing and take my part
with that celestial choir.
They sing, because thou art their Sun;
Lord, send a beam on me;
for where heaven is but once begun,
there alleluias be.

How great a being, Lord, is thine,
which doth all beings keep!
Thy knowledge is the only line
to sound so vast a deep:
thou art a sea without a shore,
a sun without a sphere;
thy time is now and evermore,
thy place is everywhere.

Public Domain
John Mason.  You can hear the hymn sung here.

Revelation 15: 2-4

I saw what looked like a sea of glass shot through with fire. Standing beside it and holding the harps which God has given them were those who had been victorious against the beast, its image, and the number of its name.
They were singing the son of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

Great and marvellous are your deeds,
O Lord God, sovereign over all;
just and true are your ways,
O King of the ages.
Who shall not fear you, Lord,
and do homage to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship before you,
for your just decrees stand revealed.

Reflection

Once again a poem, this time by the eighteenth century John Mason, has been turned into a hymn. It has been given a rich melody, Coe Fen, by Ken Naylor. Mason contrasts what he has to offer by way of praise with the music of the celestial choir. They are the gold standard of praise, against which we have only a tiny coin to offer. Since we are only dust we might as well keep quiet. Then Mason reminds himself and us that by the light of faith we may be able to take a small part in the song of the immortals. They are in the full sunlight of God but perhaps a sunbeam might be spared to shine on a heart full of love for God, enabling the faithful believer to take a small part in the eternal chorus of praise. 

This link with the praises offered in Heaven is not unique to Mason, and once made aware of it, we may trace it in many hymns. Like George Herbert, John Mason sees the human heart as the ultimate source of praise to God. Hymns may be sung by anyone who chooses, but that may result in mere repetition if the intention to draw near to God is not there. The old rituals of singing hymns at football and rugby finals is simply that, a ritual which does not chime in with the eternal chorus. At an uncle’s funeral we sang ‘The old rugged cross’, as he had requested. I say sung; the two or three of us who knew it sang. Others stood around without even attempting it and one small child looked up at me in wonderment at what was happening. I have seen people moved to tears by John Mason’s hymn but something more than knowing the words and the tune is required if we are to enter into what a hymn is about.

Prayer

Great and marvellous are your deeds, O Lord our God, sovereign over all. We know our praise is faltering and feeble. We acknowledge that we are worldly people, whose minds are not always turned towards your presence and purpose. In asking forgiveness we also look to strengthen our faith and inspire our praise with new life and imagination. You have shared your creative gifts generously and shown us in Jesus Christ the ways in which to live our lives; how ever much we may shrink from your holy light may we find a beam to illumine us. May we stand with all your redeemed people in the new Jerusalem where the songs of praise are without end.

 Hymns 2 Let All The World In Every Corner Sing 

Rejoice and Sing 114

Let all the world in every corner sing
‘My God and King!’
The heavens are not too high,
his praise may thither fly;
the earth is not too low
his praises there may grow.

Let all the world in every corner sing
‘My God and King!’
The Church with psalms must shout,
 no door can keep them out;
But, above all, the heart
 must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing
‘My God and King!’

Public Domain
George Herbert.  You can hear the hymn sung here.

Psalm 98: 4-9

Acclaim the Lord, all the earth;
break into songs of joy, sing psalms.
Sing psalms in the Lord’s honour with the lyre,
with the lyre and with resounding music,
with trumpet and echoing horn
acclaim the presence of the Lord our King.
Let the sea resound and everything in it,
the world and those who dwell there.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing aloud together
before the Lord; for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
and the peoples with equity

Reflection

George Herbert’s antiphon, or repeated chorus, sits in his poem as is it set out here. Sung to a tune it usually requires us to repeat it in the middle. The poem shares some of the sentiments of the Psalmist. Praise is everywhere if we can only see and hear it. That is not to say that everything is perfect. However, there is praise to be found everywhere in the universe, whether in the unimaginable vastness of space or even the most unpromising spots on earth. When reclaiming land which has been the scene of human activity, which apparently has blotted out all natural life, time and again plants and creatures re-appear. However much we despoil the earth or exploit one another, the possibility of praise remains, if only it is given a chance.

Of course, the Church must praise God. The witness of the Church is evident to all, even those who despise it or are in general ignorance of what goes on there. However, George Herbert, committed as he was to the Church, assigns the chief role in praising God to the human heart. Beyond services of worship the continuous praise of God lies with individuals and their attitude to life.

Prayer

Living God, I thank you for everything that gives me joy and hope in life. I give thanks for natural wonders, the sights and sounds of the world on its good days. I thank you for all the people who cherish the natural world and conserve it. I thank you for the people who struggle to bring hope and relief to the dark places of the earth. May my thankfulness show in the way I live my life. May my heart be constant and loving however much I am tempted to cynicism and despair. May I bear my part in the song of praise which rises from the whole earth.