Lent 1 | Psalm 25:1-14 (with Nick Locke)

Opening Song:
25 by Red Rocks Worship

Lyrics:
To you, Lord, I lift my soul
I will trust the one who steadies me
I will wait and have no shame
As you make me to know your ways
All my days are yours
Take me by the hand and lead me in your truth
Teach my soul to rest only in you
For you are the one who saves all the lengths of my days
My hope rests only in you
Forever I will fix my eyes
On the rock who stands much higher
You defend, you call me friend
You have marked me with your righteousness
Your presence is my home
Take me by the hand and lead me in your truth
Teach my soul to rest only in you
For you are the one who saves all the lengths of my days
My hope rests only in you
You are good Lord
Steadfast is your love
You are good Lord
Steadfast is your love
You are good Lord
Steadfast is your love
You are good Lord
Steadfast is your love
Take me by the hand and lead me in your truth
Teach my soul to rest only in you
For you are the one who saves all the lengths of my days
My hope rests only in you, only in you

Passage:
Lord, I appeal to you.
2 My God, I trust in you.
Do not let me be disgraced;
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
3 No one who waits for you
will be disgraced;
those who act treacherously without cause
will be disgraced.
4 Make your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
I wait for you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your compassion
and your faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
or my acts of rebellion;
in keeping with your faithful love, remember me
because of your goodness, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and upright;
therefore he shows sinners the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth
to those who keep his covenant and decrees.
11 Lord, for the sake of your name,
forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.
12 Who is this person who fears the Lord?
He will show him the way he should choose.
13 He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The secret counsel of the Lord
is for those who fear him,
and he reveals his covenant to them.
-- Psalms 25:1-14 (CSB)

Musical Reflection:
“Be Thou My Vision,” old Irish folk tune

Reflection Notes:
The hymn commonly known as “Be Thou My Vision” is set to the tune SLANE, which is an old Irish folk tune. It samples both major and minor tonalities, with a perfect balance between the two.

Prayer:
I am spent, O my Christ, breath of my life. Perpetual stress and surge, in league together, make long, O long, this life, this business of living. Grappling with foes within and foes without, my soul has lost its beauty, blurred your image. Did ever oak such buffeting from winds or ship receive from waves as I do now? Labor to labor, task succeeds to task. . . . Friendship has bowed and illness wasted me. . . . Do not forsake me, my Strength, I beseech you. When the storms beat hard I may have betrayed you, but let me return to you now.
-Gregory of Nazianzus