Thursday 12 February 2015

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-16

Background

The tagline of the advert for Ronseal products is "It does exactly what itsays on the tin". It makes a virtue and a selling point out ofplain speaking. And this is what the apostle Paul is doing here,when he says he does not speak with "lofty words" (v. 1).

Other adverts, often for cleaning products or washing powder consist of a demonstration oftheir effectiveness. Paul follows in this vein, proclaiming Jesuswith a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (v. 4).

In the second part of today's passage (verses 6-16), Paul talksabout the wisdom of God which has been revealed to us through theSpirit (verse 10). It is only the Spirit of God that comprehendwhat is truly God's (verse 11).

One of the prayers for day 12 in the Methodist Prayer Handbook is this:

God, almighty and majestic, we giveyou thanks,
for through the sacrifice of the cross,
we are brought to you.
Be our guide through this uncertain world:
in the darkest of our nights we look to you,
yours are the arms that hold us safe until morning,
your are the hands that comfort us
in the turmoil of despair.
Give us compassion
to deal with the demands of poverty and sickness.
Give us courage to deal with issues that daunt us.
Be the rock on which we rest, the staff on which we lean. Amen.

It is in no small part the Spirit of God that enables us to dothis: "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instructhim? But we have the mind of Christ" (v. 16)

To Ponder

• What would be your tag line for the Christian faith? And howwould you some up your faith and discipleship in just a fewwords?

• Where do you see God's Spirit and power being demonstratedtoday?

• Use the prayer above as your prayer for today.