March 15

“Your thoughtshow rare, how beautiful . . .”

Scripture: Psalm 139: 17-18

Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!  
      God, I’ll never comprehend them!  
   I couldn’t even begin to count them—  
      any more than I could count the sand of the sea.  
   Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

Reader: This is the word of the Lord.   Response: Thanks be to God.

Some thoughts:
In Psalm 119:164 David writes “Seven times a day will I praise thee.” It might be a good idea to remind ourselves aloud seven times a day of the presence of the Lord. Those words could be, “Lord, you are with me.” Or “The Lord is with me.” I’d suggest: when we awaken, when we eat breakfast, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon, at dinner time, and when we go to bed. See if you can do it one day, maybe tomorrow or today if you are reading this in the morning. During the season of Lent, we want to reflect and walk with Christ on the road that leads to Calvary. Time and time again as the disciples traveled the hills of Judea with Jesus, they were surprised by what he said and did. In Psalm 139, David writes of the joys of reflecting on God’s thoughts. He notes the overwhelming scope of the mind of God. The Scriptures are filled with God’s thoughts. The Holy Spirit guides us in our thoughts and brings God’s thoughts to our minds.  I think this is what David is getting at because he writes of his longing to live throughout the day in the presence of the Lord. Did you ever notice how close Jesus was to his heavenly Father and how often they communicated during the day and night, especially during his last hours on earth? Jesus practiced what David was writing about. Resolve to talk with the Lord seven times a day for the next week. You may even have to turn the car radio off! Maybe even leave the car radio off for the rest of Lent and use that time to talk to the Lord.

Music: “Hear My Prayer”    Henry Purcell Clare College Choir, Cambridge

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WXx5tttwGo

Prayer: You are God and we praise you; you are the Lord and we acclaim you, You are the eternal Father; all creation worships you. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, cherubim and seraphim sing in endless praise, Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Forbid it Lord, that of all your creation, we should remain dumb in your presence. Seven times a day do we praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
―adapted from Te Deum 4th century