Tuesday 09 March 2021

Psalm 102:1-11

Background

If you have given up something for Lent, you may already have succumbed to temptation! Like New Year resolutions, our Lenten intentions do not always last for long. In today’s passage, Jeremiah is addressing a similar problem. The people have abandoned God and, to add insult to injury, they have put something else in God’s place. What’s more, this is not just a few rogue rebels. It is everyone. The priests, the lawyers, the rulers, and the prophets have all turned away from God and gone after “things that do not profit”. (v. 8)

The double nature of this betrayal makes it especially hard to stomach. We can understand (in our heads, if not in our hearts) why someone might trade in what they see as old and inadequate for a newer, better model. But in this case, the people have done the opposite. They have exchanged a fountain of living water for a cracked cistern. (v. 13)

Another part of the problem is that the people are living under the illusion that they can do everything  through their own strength. They have dug out these cisterns for themselves. They are trusting in their own labours rather than in the grace of God. Eventually, their thirst will drive them back to God again, but possibly not until they are completely drained.

Giving something up – whether it is chocolate or God – can help us to realise whether we can live without it, and whether or not there is a viable alternative.

To Ponder:

• When have you abandoned God? What or who did you rely on instead?
• What has the pandemic forced you to give up? Will you resume your previous practice?  

 
Prayer
Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to Thy cross I cling;
naked, come to Thee for dress,
helpless, look to Thee for grace:
foul, I to the fountain fly,
wash me, Saviour, or I die.                       Singing the Faith  434 verse 3