Newsletter - 13 October
Why read (and pray with) the Psalms?
Here is how CS Lewis answered the question in his book Reflections on the Psalms.
David, we know, danced before the Ark. He danced with
such abandon that one of his wives thought he was making a
fool of himself. David did not care whether he was making a
fool of himself or not. He was rejoicing in the Lord…
The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express that same delight in God which made David dance. …We need more of the joy and delight in God which meet us in the Psalms.
The poets (who wrote the Psalms) knew far less reason than we for loving God. They did not know that He offered them eternal joy; still less that He would die to win it for them. Yet they express a longing for Him, for His mere presence, which comes only to the best Christians or to Christians in their best moments. They long to live all their days in the Temple so that they may constantly see ‘the fair beauty of the Lord’ (Ps 27:4). Their longing to go up to Jerusalem and ‘appear before the presence of God’ is like a physical thirst (Ps 42:2). From Jerusalem His presence flashes out ‘in perfect beauty’ (Ps 50:2). Lacking that encounter with Him, their souls are parched like a waterless countryside (Ps 63:2). They crave to be ‘satisfied with the pleasures’ of His house (Ps 65:4). Only there can they be at ease, like a bird in the nest (Ps 84:3). One day of those ‘pleasures’ is better than a lifetime spent elsewhere (Ps 84:10).
In the Psalms, I find an experience fully God-centred, asking of God no gift more urgently than His presence, the gift of Himself, joyous to the highest degree, and unmistakably real. What I see in the faces of these old poets tells me more about the God whom they and we adore.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand is happiness for evermore. – Ps 16:11
Deacon Ted Wood, ccn
Focus of the Week
AUTUMN BIBLE STUDY
The Psalms are the Bible’s prayer book. The aim of this series is to help us better understand the Psalms so we can include them more fully in our prayer life. Sessions will be offered online, Monday evenings, 7 October to 25 November, 7:30 to 9 pm. If there is sufficient interest, it will be offered in-person at the parish, Wednesday afternoons, 9 October to 27 November 3:00 to 4:30pm.
Led by Deacon Ted Wood.
To register please notify Ted or the parish office leaving name, email address, phone number and indicating if you would attend the on line or in person sessions.
Please consider a free will donation to the Parish.
ALPHA
This year’s ALPHA Programme will begin on the evening of 10 October.
If you are interested in attending please register with the Parish Office.