Tuesday 24 March 2026

Psalm 102:1-17

Background
Like much poetry, these lines are more evocative than descriptive. They convey a mood of anticipation and unfulfilled desire, of a longing that involves body, mind and spirit. We can read this desire in its literal sense of a young woman searching for her lover and wanting to consummate their relationship. Commentators, though, remind us that the Song of Solomon comes from a culture where sexual relationships were severely constrained by social rules and conventions. This is more likely to be a song of imagination rather than direct experience, and would remind its hearers of the need for patience rather than instant gratification in love.

The spiritual reading of the Song of Solomon can also pick up on this mood of searching, of a desire for God’s presence that often seems elusive and beyond our grasp. Welsh poet and priest, RS Thomas, writes of the unfulfilled desire for God in his poem, 'Sea Watching', where he says:

"Ah, but a rare bird is
rare. It is when one is not looking,
at times one is not there
that it comes."

Or we might think of Charles Wesley’s hymn, 'O for a heart to praise my God' (Singing the Faith 507) and its final lines: "Write thy new name upon my heart, thy new, best name of love."

To Ponder:

• Think of something that you have deeply desired but found difficult to locate. What are the ways in which this might resonate with your search for God?

Prayer
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, and are so far from my salvation, from the words of my distress? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; and by night also, but I find no rest. Psalm 22:1-2, (Singing the Faith 804)

Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck
Richard is a supernumerary presbyter, living in Gloucestershire after a ministry that has taken him to Tonga, London, Gloucester and Belfast. He was formerly Principal of the West of England Ministerial Training Course and of Edgehill Theological College.