Weekly Letter – 22nd May, 2020

Dear Friends,

For the last several weeks Heather and I have been working our way the Psalms. It has been a long time since we have done this. I was reminded again what a mixture they are; some are angry, some are cries for help, some are very meditative and others a just wonderful songs of praise to our great and generous God.

This morning we came to Psalm 100. It is only short so let me put it here:

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

We do not know the particular circumstances in the psalmist’s life that led to this outburst of praise and adulation, but we do know that we, thousands of years later, have even more than he, or she, to celebrate.

We live under the New Covenant, with all the fullness of Christ in our possession.

He has taken away our sins. He has come to us through the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and helper. He has given us the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life.

The writer of Psalm 100 knew little of these things.

Of course we do share with whoever wrote these wonderful words the blessing of this life, only in our case, even more than any psalmist could have dreamt of back then.

It is good to be reminded of how wonderful is our God, and how much he has lavished upon us, especially in times of difficulty, which are part of life in this present age.

Far better is it to focus on the Lord, from whom all blessings flow, than to be captive to this world and its cares as if they represent the essence of our being and the fullness of all that our Lord Jesus has given us.

‘Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!’

Your friend,

Bruce Ballantine-Jones
Acting Rector