Psalm 34:1-8 (NRSV)
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Verse 1I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Verse 2My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
Verse 3O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Verse 4I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Verse 5Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
Verse 6This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.
Verse 7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Verse 8O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.
Devotion
Cold and cloudy mornings bring a damp chill to the bones. The night’s rain clings to everything. Then the clouds become ever thinner. The sun’s radiance embraces the earth and spreads across the horizon.
The Psalmist offers many instances of similar testimony, being in a dark place, enclosed. Then an encounter with the Holy One changes his corner of the earth. Radiance. What was once veiled and fearful is pierced by a ray, then a wide beam, then a whole sky of God’s shining countenance.
By his witness the Psalmist urges us out of our small, hidden places of shame and trouble into the majesty of the LORD; the long view, the whole of time and space, the wonder of the cosmos. Our darkness is no match for God’s light.
Prayer
Holy Lord, when we are in lonely or dark places, may we trust that your light is ever coming toward us. Amen.