Saturday 04 July 2015

Psalm: Psalm 40:1-10

Background

This is Isaiah's benediction. His closing passage to hisreaders, readers who yearned for Jerusalem to be restored to herprevious glory. In the last few passages of Isaiah, he has shownpeople their sin, he has shown a God of action and he has shown thepeople that the issue at the moment is sin.

He closes his book with an amazing picture of hope - a picturewhere the future is so much better than what people wereexperiencing now. He closes by saying, yes it's bad, but let's lookforward into a glorious future of hope. A promise of something tolive for.

Jesus also left us with a promise: "I go to prepare a place foryou" (John 14:2). Here is the idea of there beingsomething better in the future. In the meantime we need to livewith that hope, a hope that things will get better but for now weneed to restore the relationship with God.

As you start this weekend remember that in our busy-ness weoften forget about God. But God loves that moment when we share itwith God. As you weed the garden, walk through the park, look atthe countryside through a train window or just watch Countryfile onTV; whatever it is you have planned - look at nature, and thinkabout how the world around you testifies to God. Think about howmuch better it will be in the future when God has made all thingsnew.

To Ponder

• What is your hope for the future? How does this influence yourdaily life?

• What does it mean to you when you read this passage? Considerwhat Isaiah's original readers might have felt. And think about howwe view this passage now that we know Jesus.