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With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:10-11
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:10-11
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119:10-11 It is one thing to think a thought, it is quite another to bury it and hide it in the heart. Years ago people would learn verses of the Bible off by heart; sadly this is no longer in vogue educationally. Pity! We deprive ourselves. Memorizing a verse, meditating o…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 112:7-8
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 112:7-8
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 112:7-8 A sign of the heart established in God is that it does not shrink. Nor is it ‘afraid of any evil tidings’. The reason for this is that ‘unto the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness’ (v. 4). That light is none other than the mercy of God which rescues us fro…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 36:1, 10
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 36:1, 10
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 36:1, 10 In the chapel at Bishop’s Lodge where we live and work there’s a sculpture over the Lord’s Table of Jesus bent over the city weeping, ‘If only you knew the things that make for peace’ (see Luke 19.41– 42). For centuries the Church has built up the experience of com…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 33:11, 14, 20
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 33:11, 14, 20
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 33:11, 14, 20 This psalm comes to a crescendo with a psalm of praise to the heart of God. His word is true, his works are faithful, he loves justice, he’s made the earth full of goodness and oceans full of treasure. These are just some of the signs of the providence that fl…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 37: 4, 7, 32
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 37: 4, 7, 32
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 37. 4, 7, 32 The promise of God to give us our heart’s desires is conditional. When our heart is in tune with God’s heart and hence our will with his will then, as Jesus said, ‘Ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’ (John 15.7 nrsv). The secret is to stay c…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 34:1, 18
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 34:1, 18
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 34:1, 18 Contrition comes in many guises. A bogus one is betrayed by the little word ‘if ’, for example, ‘I’m sorry if you feel so upset.’ This apology is qualified. It transfers responsibility away from the culprit and on to the victim. Instead of taking the weight of the …
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 32:12
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 32:12
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 32:12 This psalm with its final verse offers hope to us all because the ‘true of heart’ at the end of the song are none other than the unrighteous at the beginning! When we become aware of the call of God to commit our life or to give ourselves more wholeheartedly we can ho…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 27:15-16
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 27:15-16
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 27:15-16 With these words I began to come to terms with the news that I was to have major heart surgery. All of us have our own stories of confronting something we dread, and then feeling faint. Ever since doing biology at school I had been squeamish and nervous about the i…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 28:8
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 28:8
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 28:8 Through all his trials and tribulations St Paul urged others to discover with him that God’s strength is made perfect in human weakness, and that his grace is always sufficient. These are discoveries we do not always wish to make! They involve us in situations where we…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 35:20, 25
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 35:20, 25
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 35:20, 25 Civilized and liberal societies that over the centuries have tamed the wilder elements of humanity find the concepts of original sin and evil either unfamiliar or uncomfortable. But, as Golding’s Lord of the Flies showed, these realities lurk underneath the surfac…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 31:27
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 31:27
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 31:27 Jesus, of all people, knew the human heart. He knew how fickle the heart could be. He could see what flowed from it and knew what it was capable of, both good and bad. I don’t think any human being would dissent from that assessment. The heart is like a rudderless bo…
With My WholeHeart - Prelude to the Psalms
With My WholeHeart - Prelude to the Psalms
by SPCK - James Jones
Prelude to the Psalms On a certain Tuesday I was on my feet in the House of Lords asking a question about the future of the Community Justice Centre in Liverpool. As I sat down I could feel my heart pumping and a pain in my chest. On the Wednesday I was at the Heart and Chest Hos…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 9:1
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 9:1
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 9.1 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will speak of all thy marvellous works. A truly grateful heart is rarely seen or heard. It goes against the grain of entitlement whereby people expect their rights to be delivered. It runs counter to the tenor…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 4:4
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 4:4
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still. I would have thought that this invitation to communion would begin with a call to commune with God. But as we try to relate to God we need also to know ourselves, or at least to h…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 7:10-11
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 7:10-11
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 7:10-11 For the righteous God: trieth the very hearts and reins. My help cometh of God: who preserveth them that are true of heart. The character of God feels to me at times as if it were kept under a soundproof blanket. Just as well! He shudders in indignation at the unjus…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 4:8