Psalms 50:7-15

“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall honour me.” vs. 15

This psalmist, like a prophet, has a word from the Lord for the people of Israel. They had believed that their sacrifices and burnt offerings would make their needs known to the Lord, that the rituals were the key to their divine relationship. But the psalmist tells them that since all things already belong to God, the Lord has no need of what they offered.

 In fact, the psalmist assures them, all God wants is their thanksgiving and a promise to be faithful. They too belonged to God; they were God’s people, and in the day of trouble they should be sure to ask for help. God would not be deaf to their pleas and would deliver them, no questions asked!

It’s this kind of relationship to the Divine that Joseph Scriven was thinking of in the second verse of his poem, Pray without Ceasing, familiar to us as the hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus: “Have we trials and temptations, is there trouble anywhere, we should never be discouraged, take to the Lord in prayer. O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.” 

This psalmist would surely agree with Scriven. God is our greatest help in the day of trouble.

Thought for the Day: When has prayer given me peace?