Psalm 63; 2 Chronicles 13:1 – 14:1; John 20:1-10
This is one of my favourite Psalms!
God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you – this should be our prayer every day.
Our Old Testament reading reminds us that David was given dominion over Israel. It also tells us this was a “covenant of salt” – a serious covenant, sealed by sacrifice. A covenant of salt was also associated with being a pure covenant – salt is a pure chemical compound, an enduring covenant – salt preserves things; and being a valuable covenant – salt was, and still is, expensive.
While there was rebellion against God King Abijah tried to keep the people focussed on God, reminding them that any who rebel against him will not prosper.
While Jeroboam was causing an ambush from all sides Judah could only cry to the Lord – in our times, the enemy will surround us and try to keep us apart from God but there is always a way to him when we repent of our sins.
The children of Judah, who trusted God and called on him, were defended against Jeroboam and all Israel.
We can read more of King Abijah in 1 Kings, as we do we see that he was not always focussed on God, and that when we slip away from God, when we decide our way – not his – is best, then God will not always defend us! Being a Christian, following Jesus, is a daily commitment, we cannot expect his protection based on our past commitment to him.
In our gospel, we find Mary being the key person – the person who went, with other women, to the tomb and then ran back to inform the disciples what she had found. Jesus had cast demons out of Mary earlier in his ministry – but that didn’t stop her being used as a messenger for his resurrection.
Our past is just that, it is past, once we have confessed and repented God forgives us and forgets – we would do well to learn to forgive ourselves too sometimes!
Mary’s first thought was that Jesus’ body had been stolen. When Peter and John arrived they looked more closely at the tomb, they saw the neatly folder burial clothes – the oils and spices used in the preparation on Friday would have been drying on the linen making it stiff and difficult to remove without cutting, yet somehow Jesus had taken them off and neatly folded them. We are told that first Peter, and then John, saw and believed – even though they didn’t understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
And so we return to our Psalm – in the same way that King Abijah, and the people of Judah, were protected when they focussed on God, in the same way that Mary was used by God despite her past; so too we are protected and used by God. Once it has been forgiven our past does not matter. God will protect us, God will defeat our enemy, God will provide for us, God will provide shelter and refuge for us. We only need to thirst after him.
May our prayer today, and every day, be that we gaze upon him, that we might see his power and his glory. May we be people who meditate on God in the watches of the night, who acknowledge Him as our helper and who rejoice under the shadow of His wings.
Amen