Monday 25 May 2026

Psalm 18

Background
This passage cannot be fully appreciated without reference to the passage preceding it. At the end of chapter four of Romans, Paul speaks of Abraham’s faith and ours. He talks of Abraham hoping against hope that he would be the father of many nations, as God had promised, in spite of the fact that he and his wife, Sara, were old and childless.

Paul then says, "Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (v. 1) God’s promises have been present from the beginning of time yet are coming true in a renewed way in Jesus Christ. Reconciliation is at the heart of today's passage – we have put up barriers to God but we are still offered a personal relationship with God despite our lives being warped by rebellion, denial, apathy and wrongdoing.

Paul goes on to say that having a relationship with God will not mean that everything in life will be easy. We will need to hold on to hope even when we do not sense God’s presence with us. Our sufferings will transform us – in a progression from patience to character and then to hope. This is no superficial hope but a deep confidence in God’s future. With this hope we are called to swim against the tide of a society that focuses on the immediate and the transient.

Through the Holy Spirit, we are part of God’s family – in continuity with the faith and hope of Abraham and in the renewed covenant through Jesus Christ.

To Ponder:

• We live in difficult times – economically and politically – in a world beset with wars and rumours of wars. How challenging do you find it not only to retain a deep hope for yourself but to be able to express that to others?
• Do you believe that suffering always produces endurance, and endurance character and character, hope? (vs 3-4)

Prayer
Heavenly Father, you have given your people promises of hope throughout history. Grant to us the grace to be people of hope, even when we live in a society where so many live in despair and hopelessness. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Jennifer Potter
The Revd Jennifer Potter is a supernumerary minister living in the Croydon Circuit. She works as a part-time chaplain at the local MHA (Methodist Home for the Aged). She was previously a minister at Wesley’s Chapel in London.