Circumstances have conspired to prevent me reaching my goal of a blog post every day in 2021. But I managed it for over six months, and I’ve already exceeded the total number of hits and visitors for the whole of 2020. Thank you for reading, I’ll resume normal service as soon as possible.
For those of you running Windows 11, Microsoft have just released a cumulative update that caused me problems. I had to perform a System restore to get the taskbar and other functions back.
Others have reported this problem, so it’s probably best not to update with KB5006050. I’ve paused updates to prevent this problem happening again, and I’ll probably wait until Windows 11 becomes generally available before updating again. For now, I’m going to stay on the safe side.
I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect:
the Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Saviour!
Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
Life’s honouring deeds we start and do not do –
I know, I know that these are counted too.
The flowers that do not come to flower
but drop to earth and lose their power,
the rivers that run dry in desert, never to renew,
I know, I know that these are counted too.
Today’s intentions that are not seen through,
I know, I know that these are not untrue.
All my deeds so long delayed,
all the tunes I have not played
sound out on your bina’s strings,
all performed by you.
I know, I know that these are counted too.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
Sometimes peace in our human hearts can seem elusive. We can so easily be knocked off balance, experiencing discouragement and distress in our inner being.
The psalmist expresses this in Psalms 42 and 43. These are two psalms which in many Hebrew manuscripts form one psalm, and when you read them together you can see why. Separated by number, but not by obvious thematic connection and narrative flow.
You can read them by clicking on the links here: Psalm 42 & Psalm 43
Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee. Augustine
Although inner peace and quietness characterise the Christian life, many things can knock us off balance. These times should be expected, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when they come.
Peace in the Bible refers to the complete wholeness and wellbeing of body, mind, and soul. It’s about security, lack of conflict, and being in harmony with God, ourselves, and others.
If you’re feeling out of balance right now, the words of the Psalmist and the poet may help:
Peace of the tranquil heart,
Fall upon me;
Gift of the Father
My sentinel be:
Guard Thou my heart
In the presence of ill,
Hold me – encompass me –
I would be still.
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory –
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the belovèd’s bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
To Christ our Lord
I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)
Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.
And, spite of old sorrows
And older sinning,
Troubles forecasted
And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.
Susan Coolidge (1835-1905)
See also New Every Morning.
I’m a member of the National Trust. For an annual subscription I get free parking and free entrance to all their properties and can visit any of them as often as I wish. If I resign from the National Trust, I will have to pay parking and entrance fees every time I visit a National Trust property. The National Trust are not penalising me by imposing those charges, only applying the charges that apply to all non-members, which I chose to become by resigning.
It’s a bit like the EU.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 23 from the King James Version (1611) of the Bible. For a more modern and accurate translation from the New International Version (1978) click here. See also: 10/05/20 Sunday Reflections.
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