Isaiah 49:1b before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps?” It’s fascinating to look at a newborn baby and realise that you could be looking at a future Prime Minister, Nobel Prize winner or Under 11s table tennis champion. You just don’t know! A child born today could grow up to pursue a career that doesn’t even exist yet. But that wasn’t the case for the Servant. From before he was even born, there was no doubt at all what his life’s work would be. He was chosen and set apart by God to be the saviour of God’s people. This verse just tells us that he was called before birth, but 1 Peter 1 tells us that in fact he was chosen before the creation of the world. The Servant was appointed to be the saviour before any of the people he would save had even been made, and before the sin from which we would need saving made its first messy marks on God’s perfect creation.  Isn’t that so reassuring? At no point in human history has God ever been caught off-guard. Never has he had to scrabble around for a Plan B because his original idea failed. His wonderful decision to send Jesus to be our rescuer has stood the test of time, accomplishing God’s purposes perfectly. Even more wonderfully, we know from the rest of the Bible that this Servant is not an unwilling participant in the salvation plan, like the child who inherits a generations-old family business, but who would much rather have done something else with their life instead. This Servant is only born into a human body because he chose to leave the glory of heaven in order to save us.  He didn’t have to go anywhere near a mother’s womb if he didn’t want to. But he chose birth, and life and death, in all their messiness and pain, for our sake. Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:1a Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:   Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands’, as we’ve already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn’t Israel’. The Servant, when he speaks, addresses all the nations - not just those who considered themselves to be God’s people.  Who does this Servant think he is?! It's one thing to the expect a hearing from the small band of people who already identify as followers of Yahweh. It's quite another to demand the attention of the entire world! Yet that is exactly what he does: "Listen to me, you islands. Hear this, you distant nations" All people, everywhere. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to me! If Isaiah was writing today, I imagine he'd be bracing himself for the backlash: "What right have you got to go foisting your religious ideas on the rest of the world?!" "By all means keep your own traditions alive, but don't expect everyone else to join in.” "Haven't you heard of cultural imperialism?!" It’s still – just about – OK in our society for Christians to listen to God (providing he doesn’t say anything too controversial!).  It’s definitely not OK for us to suggest that what God says applies to everyone, everywhere, even those who don’t call themselves his people. Most people might reluctantly agree that God’s allowed to speak to his followers if they’ve willingly signed up to receive his emails. But they’re pretty convinced that he hasn’t got the right to broadcast, uninvited, across the airwaves.   Except, of course, he has. Because there isn’t a person alive in the world right now who God didn’t make. There isn’t a single square inch of the planet that isn’t his, because he created it all. So when he sends his Servant as his appointed ambassador, the Servant has every right to address all people everywhere.   Let's not be bullied into thinking that Jesus is only relevant to the few who call themselves Christians. The coming of this Servant is momentous news for the whole world - those who were waiting for him and those who've never heard of him. Those who welcome his coming and those who want to turn him away.   Let's pray today that allpeople everywhere would listen to the words of Jesus, and acknowledge his authority over them. And let that begin with us.

Isaiah 42:9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.’ So far, we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be gentle, just and faithful. He will bring hope and light to all the nations, by being the one who makes possible God’s covenant with his people. He will free the captives and make the blind see. Doesn’t that sound exactly like the life and ministry of Jesus, as described in the pages of the New Testament? Even the people of Isaiah’s time had some grounds for knowing that God keeps his promises. They have already seen all the ‘former things’ that God has done for his people, from the calling of Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the Promised Land. Again and again, God has announced in advance his good plans for his people, and then acted mightily to make those things happen. So, when he promised ‘new things’ - that the nation will be brought safely through the coming judgment and exile, and then restored by the promised Servant - they had good reason to believe that it would happen. But they didn’t get to see the compete fulfilment for themselves. The return from exile wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. It would be hundreds of years before the Servant would set foot in their land. How much more confident we can be of God’s faithfulness, now that we have seen this Servant for ourselves. One of the things I love most about the Bible is the way that we get to see God’s purposes developed, from Old Testament promises to real, flesh-and-blood historical New Testament events. It’s like watching an artist sketch a rough pencil outline, lightly at first, but then building up the details and filling in the colours until we see the complete masterpiece in all its glory. So let’s praise God today for faithfully keeping his promises in the past, and ask for his help to go on trusting him completely as we wait for the completion of the promises that are yet to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. Back in verse 5 we were reminded that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is the covenant LORD who has committed himself to care for and protect his people. As we remember those things, it would be fitting to praise him. In fact, the next section of this chapter is all about the praise and glory which a God like that deserves from all people everywhere. When human leaders court glory and chase praise, it’s usually a bad sign. We’re rightly sceptical of people who go out of their way to tell us how great they are, or who insist that we celebrate their successes. I think most of us would probably take being described as someone who ‘blows their own trumpet’ or ‘hogs the limelight’ as criticisms rather than compliments. God alone is right to direct the spotlight onto himself. God alone can draw attention to his greatness, goodness, power and wisdom without being selfish or self-obsessed.  God alone is entitled to command that all people everywhere should sing his praises. He deserves all glory and honour. And so it is right that he should guard that glory jealously. Nothing and no-one comes close to God in holiness and might, authority and wisdom, mercy and grace. So nothing and no-one should share the praise which he deserves. And yet … there is one who is entitled to sit at the Father’s right hand and share the applause of his people for eternity. The Servant, who we see in Isaiah as a humble and often despised figure, is in fact the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ before whom every knee will one day bow. When the LORD shares his glory with the Servant, he is not giving glory to some undeserving other. When Jesus is worshipped in heaven, it is not as an idol who has stolen the praise which is due to God.  The Servant deserves to be worshipped as God because he is God. That wasn’t made clear to the people of Isaiah’s day, but we can look back and know that the Servant we read of here is none other than God himself in human form. And so he is fully deserving of all the praise and glory and honour and worship that we – and every creature ever created – can give him. Let’s praise and worship wholeheartedly today.

Isaiah 42:7 I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness Over the past few years we’ve got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we’re likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well for families like ours, where we share one account between us. My husband recently bought some bits for servicing his bike and so now I’m targeted with ads for all kinds of replacement bike parts, most of which I couldn’t even name!  I’m never going to click on the link, or take up the special offer, because they’re not things I’m remotely interested in. We only respond to the ads that get it right – the ones that offer us things we actually want, or recognise that we need. In this verse we’re shown another aspect of what the Servant has come to do. He is sent to open the eyes of the blind, and release the prisoners. Is that an irresistible offer? Or just another piece of irrelevant spam to be ignored? It all depends on how we see ourselves. If we know that we are the blind, sitting in darkness, unable to clearly God, or ourselves, or the true nature of reality around us, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to open our eyes. If we know that we are hopelessly trapped by our sin, held captive by the devil, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to set us free. But if we see ourselves as clear-eyed, far-sighted, liberated individuals, successfully making our own choices and living life our own way, then this servant has nothing to offer us. The gospel is good news to those who know they need to be rescued, but utter foolishness to those who don’t think they are lost. Which are we? So today – whether for the first time, or the millionth time – let’s ask God to grant us the humility to see ourselves as we really are: blind prisoners, in need of rescue. And let’s thank him for sending us the rescuer we so desperately need.

Isaiah 42:6b I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read about ‘a covenant for the people’ to assume that God has in mind only those people, the 12 tribes of Israel. But in fact as we read on today, we discover that the Servant has come not only for those who are already part of God’s people, but also for the Gentiles. The outsiders. The other nations who weren’t included by birth in the promises which God had made to Abraham. We already got a glimpse of this back in verse 4, when we read about ‘the islands’ putting their hope in the promised Servant. Throughout Isaiah, ‘the islands’ refers to the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God. Here we see another important aspect of the Servant’s mission – he comes to throw open the gates of God’s kingdom to those from every tribe and tongue, every language and nation. Which is good news for all those of us without any Jewish ancestry. We were born outside the promises of God. We have no natural claim on the covenant promises which were made to Abraham and his descendants. Yet God has graciously invited us in. He has sent this Servant to shine his light into the remotest corners of his world to seek and to save us. Let’s praise and thank him for his generosity in opening up his kingdom to us, who were far off, and bringing us near to him through Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6a I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It’s as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to the Servant himself. It’s a bit like when a service leader introduces a visiting preacher to a church and says something like, “well, Steve, I’m delighted to welcome you to speak to us today. It’s been 20 years since I first met you at Bible college, and it’s been so great to keep in touch and watch how God has used you in your ministry. You’ve been a real encouragement to me.”  Why on earth is the leader telling Steve that they’ve been good friends for 20 years? Surely Steve knows that already!  Of course, he’s not saying it for Steve’s benefit … He’s speaking to Steve but he’s saying it for the congregation who are listening. He wants the people to know that this is someone who he knows and trusts. Someone who has been faithful in ministry for many years and is therefore worth listening to. I think it’s the same here. What God says in these verses is addressed to the Servant, but he’s not speaking for the Servant’s benefit. It’s intended for the people, so that they will understand who the Servant is and why he has come. They, and we, need to know that this Servant is called and led and protected by God himself. He’s not self-appointed. He has been chosen by the LORD for this mission. But what is his mission? He has come to be ‘a covenant for the people’. What does that mean?! A covenant is a binding promise. When God says here that he will make his Servant ‘a covenant for the people’ it’s not that the Servant is suddenly inventing the idea of a covenant where one ever existed before. From the time of Abraham onwards, God’s relationship with his people has always been a covenant relationship in which he committed himself to be their God and to bless them.  Rather, I think it means that the Servant will be the mediator of the covenant, the basis of the covenant – the one who makes it possible. Only with the coming of Jesus do we discover how it is that a holy God can enter into binding relationship with sinful people. Only by the death of Jesus can we fully enjoy the blessings of being God’s people, in God’s place, living under his rule and blessing for all eternity, which God first promised to Abraham. So, today, let’s thank God that we can experience the blessings of being part of his covenant people forever, because of the death of the Servant in our place.

Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the Lord says – the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it So far we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be just, faithful, gentle and will bring hope to the world. That sounds amazing! He’s exactly what our unjust, fickle, hostile, cynical world needs. But maybe it’s just too good to be true. How can we be sure? How could the people of Isaiah’s day – facing the prospect of judgement and exile – be certain that God really would send them such a wonderful rescuer? Here in v.5 is God’s answer. We can be confident that this Servant will come, and will be as wonderful as has been promised, because God’s word is powerful and trustworthy. The God who makes this promise – to Isaiah and to us - is the creator. Everything that exists exists because he made it. He spoke, and galaxies appeared, oceans were tamed, land emerged which produced plants that produced fruit to feed the creatures that his word brought to life.  God knows how to make things happen just by speaking.  And he is not only the creator but the sustainer. He gives life and breath to his people. Generations of descendants of Adam and Eve have walked the earth since God first spoke. Each one had life and breath only because God decided that they would. He sustains and provides for his people throughout history.  If this God has a plan to rescue his people, he will certainly carry it out. If he says he will send them the Servant that they need, then he will surely do it. So today let’s thank the God who has given us life and breath and all good things. And let’s praise him that he alone is mighty, creating and sustaining us by the power of his words.

Isaiah 42:4b In his teaching the islands will put their hope. What are you hoping for today? This month? This year? Our hopes may be huge – an end to the pandemic, a miracle cure for us or someone we love, world peace. But we all also hope for all kinds of smaller things – making it through the day without losing our temper, finding a parking space when we’re running late. Most of our hopes are pretty flimsy. They’re things we WANT but we can’t have any great confidence that they will really happen. So often, what we hope for is beyond our control. Sometimes, we may give up hope entirely, overwhelmed by cynicism or despair because we can’t face the prospect of having our hopes raised only to be disappointed. The people of Isaiah’s day were much the same as us. Squeezed on all sides by more powerful nations, they regularly faced decisions about where to put their hope – would they depend on their God to defend and deliver them, or would they trust in their own resources – military might, or political alliances with their neighbours? Into that world, God promises to send a Servant who will bring hope. His teaching will offer true and lasting hope to the islands – that is, not just to God’s people but to the whole earth. This hope is more than the wishful thinking that makes us long for parking spaces and miracles cures that deep down we don’t expect to get. The words of Jesus give us a hope that is steadfast and certain. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes this hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’  It’s a hope we can lean all our weight on. Jesus’ teaching gives us unshakeable hope for the future, because Jesus’ life and death have guaranteed for us a place in heaven with him forever. Not only that, but we have hope for each day in this life, because Jesus promises that he is with us to lead and protect and sustain us, as we trust in him. This is a hope we can rely on. Such good news that all the world needs to hear it.  However hopeless our circumstances feel right now, however often our other hopes have been crushed, the hope that Jesus offers will never fail us. So today, let’s praise Jesus for the hope that he brings to our lives. And let’s ask him to help us to put our hope and trust completely in him, for whatever today holds, and for our eternity.

Isaiah 42:3b-4a In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. If at first you don’t succeed … try, try again. Why do we have a proverb for that? Presumably it’s because most of us are inclined to give up rather than to persevere. Faced with a simple task, and few obstacles, we might be willing to do some hard work to achieve a goal. But throw in some setbacks, and make the task a long-term project rather than a quick and easy win, and it’s much more tempting to give up. Faithfulness – a long-term commitment to someone or something, come what may, is not our natural state. We know from the earlier chapters of Isaiah that the task God has in store for his servant is definitely not going to be quick and easy! Remember, the people have rebelled against God, and are facing invasion from a foreign power. They need both physical and spiritual rescue. Their immediate, practical problems feel enormous but actually their spiritual state is worse. They have seen God commit himself to them over and over again, making a covenant with their forefathers which he has kept even as generation after generation of the people have rebelled. Redeeming a people like that is no small task. What great news, then, that this servant is going to be faithful. He is going to stick to his God-given task of bringing justice – that is, putting right the people’s relationship with God that they have repeatedly broken. He shares his Father’s unbreakable commitment to these rebels. However often they turn away, his righteousness will be sufficient. He will never resign from his role as their rescuer, discouraged by their repeated failures. He will never abandon his Father’s salvation plan, and turn aside to some new project. He will persevere until his work is complete. That’s an amazing promise, even for the people of Isaiah’s day. But how much more amazed should we be by the faithfulness of Jesus to his calling, since we know what it involved.  Establishing a just means of rescuing us cost him his life. It meant bearing the weight of our sin and being separated from his eternal Father at the cross. Yet Jesus the servant was faithful in his task, for our sake. Let’s praise and thank him for that today.

Isaiah 42:3a A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. We thought yesterday about how we often associate loudness with power. In a similar way, the world often expects an effective leader to be somewhat ruthless, interested only in strength and achievement and dismissing the weak and needy. In Isaiah’s time, God’s people were a tiny nation, helpless in comparison with the likes of Assyria, Bablyon and Egypt. Surely they needed God to send them a mighty, victorious king to lead them, like the great King David? Someone to bring them military success, marking them out as a force to be reckoned with. But God’s plan is different. He promises them a gentle, quiet leader who will protect life rather than destroy it. One who will value the weak and vulnerable rather than the strong and successful. I wonder if Isaiah’s first hearers struggled to get excited about the prospect - perhaps they’d have preferred a more-impressive sounding solution to their problems. Similarly today, those who preach a message of ‘health, wealth and happiness’ sound far more appealing than those who invite us to follow a crucified outcast. If we like to think we are powerful and success, a gentle leader who keeps stopping to gather up the broken won’t be very attractive. We’d much rather live under a system that promises to reward our achievements and ignores those who don’t make the grade. But once we admit that we ourselves are weak and helpless, it’s a different story. When we know that we’re more like a smouldering wick, barely flickering, than a blazing fire, ready to set the world alight, then we will welcome the one who breathes gently on us to sustain us, rather than snuffing us out. When we acknowledge that we are dead in sin we will long for a rescuer who helps the helpless, rather than one who rewards those who help themselves. There will come a day when this servant will return in blazing glory to crush his enemies forever, but how gracious of him to come first in gentleness and humility, to heal and help and forgive. Let’s thank him for that today and come to him honestly, in all our frailty and need, trusting that he welcomes, not despises, those who know that they are weak.

Isaiah 42:2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. The World Record for the loudest shout was set in 1994 by a Belfast Primary School teacher. At 121 db, her shout of “Quiet!” was as loud as a chainsaw! We may not often hear shouts that loud. But we probably all hear – and do – more shouting than we’d like. We live in a world where gaining an audience can be less about what you are saying and more about how much noise you make. It sometimes feels as if whoever makes enough noise to drown out their opponent wins, regardless of who is actually right.  In a world like that it’s hard to imagine a quiet leader. We easily associate loudness with strength and we fear that the softly-spoken will be weak and ineffective. Yet that doesn’t have to be the case. The other day one of our daughters was describing a teacher at her school who never shouts ‘because she doesn’t need to.’  She has such an air of authority that she is able to command the room without ever raising her voice. That’s the sort of softly-spoken person that we see in this verse. It’s not silence of someone who knows they will never be heard so they don’t even bother trying. Here we see someone whose authority is so compelling that they don’t need to shout. The promised servant will not come to throw his weight around, drowning out his opponents and bullying his way into leadership. Isn’t that what we see when we look at Jesus in the pages of the New Testament? Plenty of people shout at Jesus, or about Jesus, during his life on earth. But he never shouts back at them. He very rarely raises his voice, and when he does it is never to dominate or silence others. It’s only ever to call people to come to him to him for life (John 7:37, John 11:43) or to commit himself humbly to his Father’s keeping as he takes his final breath. His loudest words are not spoken in anger, or self-promotion, as ours so often are, but only ever for the good of others. So today, let’s thank Jesus for being the one who speaks to us in quiet, gentle, life-giving words. And let’s ask him to help us tune our ears more and more to his voice, and not be swayed by the voices of the world around us who shout louder.

Isaiah 42:1b I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. Justice. We all want justice. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, we all recognise the anger that comes from injustice. The frustration of seeing wrong-doing left unpunished. We have a deep-seated instinct that tells us that justice should be done. God agrees. In Isaiah’s day, injustice is one of the clear indications that God’s people have turned away from him. Back in Chapter 1 God tells them “Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.” Justice matters to God because he himself is just. Isaiah 30:18 tells us “For the Lord is a God of justice” It is an essential aspect of his character.  Again and again, throughout the book, when God describes the great future which lies ahead for his people, after they have been carried through his judgement, we’re told that it will be a time of justice. So it’s no surprise that when the Servant comes, he brings justice with him. In fact, it’s such a characteristic of this servant that it’s repeated 3 times in 4 verses! He will rule rightly. He will properly discern between right and wrong. He will ensure that righteousness is rewarded and evil is punished. He is not dependent on a committee to agree the rules, or a criminal justice system to hold trials and investigate offences. He has the Spirit of God himself, the one who alone can properly determine right from wrong. So he is uniquely able to establish justice. To put every wrong to rights. So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect justice, and thank him that we can look forward to an eternity under his just rule, where every evil will be banished and righteousness will finally flourish.

Isaiah 42:1a Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; In Isaiah chapter 41, God addresses his people – the nation of Israel – as his servant. He reminds them that he has chosen them and is with them. He has committed himself to help them and be their God.  But they are an unfaithful people; a rebellious servant. Much of Isaiah’s ministry is spent warning them of great upheaval and suffering which is to come, when they will experience God’s righteous judgement for turning away from him. So, when we read this verse, at the start of chapter 42, we might expect that the servant God is talking about is still Israel. But as we read through the chapter we discover that he is actually talking about another servant. A better servant. One who is faithful and just. One in whom God the Father delights. One who will be a light in the dark world of the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God. This is not just any servant. This is THE servant. He is not only faithful and obedient himself, but he is the one who will rescue and restore faithless and disobedient Israel. He is Jesus - God’s chosen one. Beginning today, we will spend the next 7 weeks looking together at what God tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, about this promised servant.  We’ll focus on the so-called ‘Servant Songs’ – the sections of the book of Isaiah where God speaks to, or about, this promised servant, and where the servant speaks about himself. It’s my hope and prayer that these passages will help us all to reflect on the character and work of Jesus. That we will appreciate afresh the suffering servant whose perfect life and death have made it possible for rebels like us to be called servants of the Most High God. So today, let’s pray that as we read about Jesus, God’s chosen one, we too would delight in him. And let’s ask the Spirit to open our eyes in the weeks ahead, to see more clearly the beauty and majesty of Jesus, which Isaiah foretold.

Psalm 62:11-12 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’; and, ‘You reward everyone according to what they have done.’ I don't know about you, but as I reflect on my past week I don't much like the idea of God rewarding me according to what I have done! It hasn't been as bad as it could have been. But I've still been selfish, impatient, more concerned about my own plans than serving others and more focused on my own kingdom than on listening to God and speaking to him in prayer. How wonderful, then, that our God is full of both power and unfailing love. He alone has the power to defeat our sin and the death which we rightly deserve because of it. Yet his love means that he has chosen to rescue us and forgive us, by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. We can enjoy the reward of an eternity in God’s presence because of what Jesus has done. Praise God for his great power and his unfailing love. And let's pray that we would keep trusting in him, rather than in ourselves, today and every day.

Psalm 62:10 Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Back in verse 5, we thought about some of the things that we might put our hope in. I doubt that 'stolen goods' were top of your list! But riches (or, at least, 'things') probably come quite near the top for most of us. Are we confident because the cupboard and the fridge and the bank account feel full enough? Or are we anxious because they are not?  These things are good gifts from God for which we can be thankful. But David warns us not to 'set our hearts' on them. Not to let them be the things that we long for and cling to, that determine our happiness. Why? Because, though they seem solid and lasting, they – like us - are only a 'breath'. However much we hope or work for material things, we’re not guaranteed to get them. And if we do get them, they probably won’t last. They will rust or rot, get lost or stolen, or be eaten up by inflation. And even if we keep them and our riches increase in this life, they will never fully satisfy people who were designed to find our ultimate joy in relationship with God. The only thing secure enough to set our hearts on and not be disappointed by is God himself, our rock and refuge. Let’s pray that we will set our hearts on him.

Psalm 62:9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Who do you rely on? When the going gets tough, who do you look to to sort things out? The government? The scientists? Or closer to home, a husband or parents? Perhaps many of us rely on ourselves. We’re told that if we simply believe in ourselves we can do anything. David knows that none of us has the power that we think we have. Recently, we've been reminded that even world leaders and governments are powerless against a microscopic virus. All their apparent power is 'a lie'. And all of us are but 'a breath' - not the powerful, substantial, world-changing people we aspire to be. But fleeting, temporary, weak mortals. Let's not put our confidence in ourselves, or in others. Why would we want to lean on 'a breath' when could lean on the rock that is God? It may be hard to admit that we’re less powerful than we think we are. But it makes it all the more amazing that God would love fleeting, insubstantial 'breaths' enough to give us solid, everlasting resurrection bodies in which to spend forever with him. Let's praise him for that today!

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Do you ever 'pour out your heart to God'?  We often come to God with our lists of requests, or our thanks. We praise him. We confess our sins.  But do we pour out our hearts? Just telling him what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling. Unedited. Unpolished. Even when we’re too upset or ashamed or confused to pray ‘properly’, and have to blurt it all out in one big rambling incoherent mess.  Are we even allowed to talk to God like that? David says Yes! Talking to God like that is a good thing. It's an expression of our trust in him. The times when we most need to pray may be the ones when we are least able to find the words. Yet we can still speak to him, even then, because he is our refuge at all times. After all, why is it that God hears and answers our prayers? Is it because of our well-crafted sentences? Of course not. It’s because Jesus died so that we could call God ‘Father’ and he now stands in heaven interceding for us. Our prayers are acceptable because of him, not because of the quality of the prayers themselves. Prayer is not a performance to impress God, but an expression of our intimate, personal relationship with him. So, whether we are anxious or excited, sad or celebrating, let’s pour out our hearts to God, today and every day.

Psalm 62:7 My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. What does your honour depend on? It's not a word we often use, but we recognise the idea. It's like 'reputation'. What do people think of me? What am I recognised, valued, appreciated or praised for? Does my 'honour' depend on other people's opinions? Do I need ‘likes’ on my social media posts in order to feel significant? Do I need the affirmation of my colleagues or the appreciation of my boss in order to feel honoured at work? Do I need someone to recognise how hard I’m working at keeping the wheels on family life? Does what I do behind closed doors even matter, if no-one sees it and honours me for it? David is the king of Israel. Surely all his honour comes from his role and status? He must have had endless people ready to tell him how great he was. But that’s not where he looked for honour. His honour depends on God. He is content to place all his confidence in God's name, God's reputation, God's achievements. He doesn’t want his name to be praised. He’s not consumed by building his own reputation. He doesn’t need his achievements to be praised. He would prefer God to get the glory. Enemies may attack him, rubbish his reputation, slander his name or dismiss him as insignificant. He trusts in God. If David’s name needs to be honoured, God will do it. And if not, that’s OK. He will simply depend on God. Let’s pray that we would do the same.

Psalm 62:6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken. Do these words sound familiar? They should do! Verse 6 is an exact repeat of verse 2. Why? Why does the psalmist repeat himself? I imagine it's because he is like us, and needs to keep hearing the same truths over and over again because his mind wanders. He is easily distracted. He quickly turns his attention away from the God who saves, to look at the enemies who attack. He takes his eyes off the God who is his rock and focuses on himself, the wobbly fence. That's why we need to hear God speak to us daily. A weekly sermon or Bible study is a wonderful thing. But if David needs to remind himself of the same things within the space of 4 verses we shouldn't be surprised that we reminders to focus on God more than once or twice a week! However often we feel weak, uncertain or afraid, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our rock. However often we face temptation to sin, or discouragement because we’ve failed, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our salvation.  And if we don’t feel any of those things, and think we can live perfectly well without God, then we definitely need to fix our eyes on him again and remind ourselves just how much we need the one who made us and gives us our every breath. Let’s pray that we will be people who build time with God into our daily habits so that we stay focused on the one who is our rock, salvation and fortress.