Thursday 26 September 2019

Psalm: Psalm 63:1-8

Background

There was a great revival during the reign of King Hezekiah (c. 715-686 BC). He was just 25 years old when he became king and quickly set about a programme to repair and restore the Temple in Jerusalem. Doors and fittings were fixed and the Temple priests were told in no uncertain terms that it was time to clean things up – both in terms of the fabric and behaviour. It was at this time that Temple worship was also reformed. The singing of hymns and the playing of instruments became an important part of worship again (2 Chronicles 29-30). Hezekiah took great interest in the words and hymns of David and, it appears looking at verse 1 of today's reading, with the words of Solomon, which were collected together and written down by the king's men.

Some two hundred years or so after Solomon's death, Hezekiah understood the importance of preserving the stories and the words of wisdom that had been passed down through the generations and that reflected the journey of God’s people.

This connexional year provides us with a similar opportunity to pass on wisdom through The Year of Testimony – a year of reflecting on our own journeys and sharing the story of God in our lives. The Story Project run in conjunction with Cliff College gives the chance for each of us to share those stories more widely (if we wish!) so that the story of God at work in the Methodist Church can also be preserved for generations to come. As part of this, Word in Time authors will, from time to time over the coming months, share their own story through their reflections too. Testimonies are real human stories, so they are not all the same, of course. They are honest stories of gratitude, struggle, changed perspective, joy, lament, doubt, beauty, anger, confession – and how the teller has perceived God’s presence (or even absence) in the midst of those experiences.

"As we tell God’s story, God’s story 'tells' us, and we have a new story to tell' – Lillian Daniel

What's your story?

To Ponder:

• What three words would you use to describe your journey of faith?
• What words of wisdom or sayings have been passed down to you?