Listen to a meditation on Psalm 71.1-14 for Tuesday of Holy Week
Meditation on Psalm 71.1-14
Despite the relentless and inevitable nature of our journey towards Good Friday, Psalm 71 does not convey any sense of urgency.
Rather, it is a psalm that reflects upon a lifetime that has been spent trusting in the faithfulness of God.
There can be little doubt that it was written for us in times of distress, times when the oppression of the righteous by the wicked seems overwhelming and unassailable.
However, despite these negative undertones, Psalm 71 is permeated with and dominated by expressions of trust, hope and praise.
As we read today’s psalm it becomes clear that the psalmist harbours a dread of being abandoned by God, and yet he knows in his heart that this can never be the case.
The psalmist knows from his own experience, and from the experience of others, that God is, and always will be, a sure refuge and strength.
The psalmist knows, and encourages us to know, that God can be relied upon until the end of our earthly lives.
In today’s psalm we find both comfort and encouragement transmitted through the expression of faith in the midst of suffering.
This is such a fitting psalm for this moment on our journey through Holy Week, a moment when we hear Jesus, yet again, foretell his own death (John 12.27-36).
In later times, in his letter to the Romans, Paul will pick up the psalmist’s reliance on God’s fidelity to his promises and God’s serving justice as revealed in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As we journey towards the events of the days to come, let us reflect on our own lives.
Let us hope and pray that we, like the psalmist, might find our life histories permeated and dominated by trust, hope and praise … trust and hope in, and praise for, the God whose faithfulness never fails.