Thursday, 4th March, in the evening
That which you desire you do not yet see; but by desiring you become capable of being filled by that which you will see when it comes.
Augustine of Hippo, quoted in 'The Spirit of Early Christian Thought' by Robert Louis Wilken
While rarely disatisfied with my lot in life these days, I feel a relentless pull of the Greater unknown, and a calm confidence that the longing is not in vain. Augustine captures the sense perfectly here.
Sunday, 28th February, in the afternoon
Sunday morning at Kings
Full of life this morning! Life and hope were my themes for opening worship.
'Strength will rise' into "We lift up our eyes, you're the giver of life" worked very well thematically but it's more of a change in rhythm than I thought it would be.
I cling to the cross absolutely soared this morning. I think that's the first time I've ever led with two of my own songs in a meeting. I tend to like to use different authors throughout my sets. Both songs fit really well today, though.
We had dancing in the aisles for 'There's a place'!
Friday, 19th February, in the afternoon
Continuing my occasional series on Worshipping with the Psalms, here are my reflections on Psalm 15...
"O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?" (v1)
A clear question setting the theme for David's meditiaion in Psalm 15: what marks out true worshippers?
Given all the nationalistic tub-thumping of various of the Psalms we've already encountered I think it's with noting that the answer to his question is not 'Israel, obviously'. Instead the psalm goes on to reflect on qualities of the heart - things a person does and doesn't do in fact - which I've compiled as two lists:
They do:
They don't:
It's an interesting list. The only things that might stick in the throat for contemporary readers are 'despise the wicked' and maybe 'don't lend money at interest'. Lending money at interest is a question of exploitation so we shouldn't get hung up on that, but I think we need to engage with 'despise the wicked'...
I suppose the reason why the idea of 'the wicked' is difficult for us in this and other psalms is that it seems to define some people as 'wicked' full-stop.
Most people wouldn't have a problem identifying certain actions or motivations as 'wicked', and I think there would be a significant consensus on the core content of that category despite the undeniably fuzzy edges, but writing people off completely as 'wicked' is another thing.
I find it a lot easier engaging with 'the wicked' in the psalms if I interpret it as meaning 'doing wicked things' rather than 'this set of people who are inherently wicked'. This actually casts the net a lot wider and forces us all to examine ourselves.
Given that David is defining worshippers based on their indvidual character and actions in this psalm rather than some inherent and arbitrary identity I don't think that move is as much of a fudge as it may at first appear.
Zooming back out to the list as a whole I think it's worth noticing an important theme in the broader character of these true worshippers...
Every aspect of a person's existence is covered by the list: the way they act, the way they speak, the attitude of their hearts. But the characteristic that stands out to me the most is 'stand by their oath even to their hurt'.
To be a true worshipper is perhaps most profoundly a question of integrity. That quality is borne out in all the 'to-do' items on David's list, even "despising the wicked", which is partly to do with not affirming or colluding with wicked actions.
Equally, the list of 'things-not-to-do' consists entirely of actions that betray a lack of integrity, particularly slander and bribery.
In terms of how this Psalm relates to our contemporary worship? It's much more about the worship we bring with our lives than a specific time of gathered worship. It's important to remember that as part of our gathered worship still today.
So what does mark out a true worshipper?
In John's gospel Jesus is asked the same question. I think it's interesting to compare Jesus' answer to the woman at the well with David's list above. Jesus famously answers:
"True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth"
(John 4.23, NRSV).
'Spirit' and 'truth' are both ideas that have deep connotations of integrity; the resonance with Psalm 15 is strong.
The hallmark of a true worshipper? A life of integrity is a pretty good place to start. Is that what our lives look like?
Mainly setlists and reflections on leading worship these days, but also Various Other Things.
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