Daily Readings and Thought for January 2nd. “YOU HAVE PUT MORE JOY IN MY HEART than … “

Through into March is that delightful time of year when our readings take us through the Psalms.  We sometimes wish that the Psalms readings were broken up and spread through the year.  All the early Psalms were written by David and they reveal the intimacy of the relationship he experienced with God.

In the heights of that relationship he writes some inspiring Psalms.  But, also just as much, when his relationship with God falters, his thoughts of self examination on such occasions are also inspiring.  These show us the way to get back on the true path when our feet have started to stumble or stray.  Consider the words of Psalm 4, “There are many who say, ‘who will show us some good?  Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!’  You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” [v.6,7] 

Those who seek to be shown something good have, in most cases, their own agenda, as to what that “good” should be!  Do they see the abundance of “grain and wine” as the way to what they consider to be “good”? We suspect that is the case – and with the celebrations we have just experienced at the start of a new year, the revelry and partying that went on, we could not but ask ourselves – for what purpose is all this? 

Do people have good reason to think that 2024 is going to give them cause to be specially happy?  What is happiness?  Is it when your team wins a game?  If so, your happiness depends on the other team losing and their supporters being unhappy!  What important principle is David teaching us in this Psalm?  

He says to God, “you have put more joy in my heart than they have when …”   What sort of joy is this?  As we read the Psalms this question will be answered several times. Take Psalm 63 as an example. “… my God, I earnestly seek you … as in a dry and weary land where there is no water … your steadfast love is better than life … so I will bless you as long as I live … my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night” [v.1,3,4,6]  So much today is “dry and weary” leading us to aim for David’s kind of relationship with God and have true joy in our hearts.