A Reading from Psalm 70
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; *
O LORD, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life be ashamed
and altogether dismayed; *
let those who take pleasure in my misfortune
draw back and be disgraced.
3 Let those who say to me "Aha!" and gloat over me turn back, *
because they are ashamed.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; *
let those who love your salvation say for ever,
"Great is the LORD!"
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; *
come to me speedily, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
O LORD, do not tarry.
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Meditation
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.
This first verse of Psalm 70 is probably most familiar to us in its use in the daily offices in the Book of Common Prayer as “O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us” (BCP 117). John Cassian, a 4th-century monk, shared the wisdom of the desert Fathers and Mothers with western Christianity through the writing of his Institutes and Conferences.
In the Tenth Conference, Cassian teaches in part about this verse: “It takes up all the emotions that can be applied to human nature and with great correctness and accuracy it adjusts itself to every condition. ... It contains an invocation of God in the face of any crisis … a consciousness of one's own frailty, the assurance of being heard, and confidence in a protection that is always present and at hand. ... It contains a burning love and charity. … This verse is an unassailable wall, an impenetrable breastplate, and a very strong shield.”
Wow! Now that is one powerful arrow prayer to take with us all day, every day: O God, make speed to save me. O Lord make haste to help me.
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Michael G. Smith served as bishop of North Dakota for 15 years and is currently assists in the dioceses of Dallas and Albany. He is a Benedictine Oblate and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Ten wonderful grandchildren call him “Papa Mike.”
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Sul-Ocidental (South Western) – Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil
The Diocese of Southeast Florida
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