I incline my heart

Listen.
Life scatters seeds indiscriminately.
Seeds of hope, of peace, of kindness;
seeds of joy, of love, of wisdom.
Falling on stone, birds may steal the seeds.
Falling on rocky ground, the seeds grow fast, but
do not live long without depth for resilience
when the wind howls, and the sun scorches.
Falling among thorns, the seeds are choked,
no air to breathe, no room to move.
Falling on healthy soil, the seeds of hope,
of peace, of kindness, seeds
of joy, of love, of wisdom push their roots
down deep, stretch their leaves high and wide,
grow strong, fruitful, spreading hope, peace
kindness, joy, love, wisdom, letting seeds
fall for more to grow in time.
Listen.
Which soil are you, for the falling seeds?
Listen. Listen and hear.
Amen.

Sarah Agnew, Pray the Story 

Psalm 119 is an epic ode to the Law, Torah, teaching of Holy One.

In its stanzas and lines of celebration, delight flows upon delight as the Psalmist revels in the Wisdom that brings life, brings us into full, thriving life. Like the Bach imitations Chris will play for us in the postlude, repeating and reimagining a theme, inviting us ever deeper into the music, into joy, Psalm 119 repeats, delights, imitates a life in the Spirit that returns again and again to the theme that shapes our being.

And we pick up this psalm at verse 105

Your word – wisdom, voice, teaching

is a lamp to my feet – have you been in the dark with a candle, or seen a film that is set in pre-electricity times and the way a lamp, paraffin or oil, casts just enough light to see where to take your next step – is a lamp to my feet

a light to my path

parallelism is a core feature of Hebrew poetry, a naming of the same thing twice, differently, or two similar things together, in order to evoke a fulness, a breadth and a depth – the hills and the mountains

a lamp and a light

evoking a rich clarity of sight – even if it’s only as far as the next step, a depth of understanding, and trust on this journey through life.

I swore: I promised

I confirmed: and, what’s more, I committed wholeheartedly to the promise

to follow God’s guidance

Hebrew parallelism – twice for fulness

with what, the Psalmist doesn’t say,

I am severely afflicted, but give me life Holy One, according to your word

the plea for life here suggests this affliction is diminishing life for the Psalmist, and shows a reliance on God as the source of life, on God’s word as full of promise

to have to ask God to accept these offerings of praise – do we take it the Psalmist feels these offerings are inadequate?

Of course they are. Our offerings cannot be adequate as a response to the gift God gives – the gift of life itself!

Our praises cannot be adequate for the Holiest One, Source of All!

and yet, our offering of praise is what we have to give, and it is appropriate

an appropriate gift

an appropriate response

an appropriate posture, along with the demonstrated posture of the Psalmist of desire to learn, to receive wisdom, to revel in and constantly return to God’s teaching

the psalmist says.

Is that another way of saying I take my life in my own hands? Or that life is fragile, risky, full of temptations away from the path we want to walk?

The psalmist says, in the next line, and I also take Holy One’s teaching with me.

Then the psalmist names the risks, wickedness, the wicked – are they people, is this a power?

there is temptation, risk, everywhere

and again, the psalmist says, and I stay true to Holy One’s teaching

No doubt there is at least some element of this expression that is aspirational – this is what the psalmist aims to do, hopes to do, wants to do – and why does the psalmist want to stay true to Holy One’s teaching, in the midst of the powers that tempt us away from Wisdom?

Joy. Here, the psalmist says, is my joy. Joy is found in the teaching of God, in the life that is found through walking God’s Way of Wisdom

the gift I receive from my ancestors

Wisdom, this teaching, tells me who I am; holds me in my belonging

Wisdom, Holy One’s teaching, is my joy

and joy, remember, is not shallow, fleeting, happiness, oh no, it is deeper

joy endures through heartache, grief, trouble and sorrow

joy gives hope, it brings peace, is rooted in love and that belonging and identity – joy is life-giving

Our portion of Psalm 119 ends with a gorgeous phrase –

I incline my heart to enact your teaching

I incline my heart

I lean in

I yearn for, desire, what will nurture me, what will give life!

I choose to live according to this wisdom. always.

Tilling the soil of our inner being to keep it healthy and receptive for Holy seeds, is like, perhaps, Bach’s repetitions, is like Psalm 119 – a constant returning to the theme that gives the music, gives our being, its joy, its shape, its life.

Imagine, then, if we prayed these verses every day – these aspirational yearnings, this delighted leaning into Wisdom

perhaps, in time, these verses might come true in us and we might actually delight in God’s teaching, incline our hearts to enact Holy Wisdom

be shaped by it in our being, come to life through Holy teaching

bring life with us into the world

Imagine

Listen

Listen.
Life scatters seeds indiscriminately.
Seeds of hope, of peace, of kindness;
seeds of joy, of love, of wisdom.
Falling on stone, birds may steal the seeds.
Falling on rocky ground, the seeds grow fast, but
do not live long without depth for resilience
when the wind howls, and the sun scorches.
Falling among thorns, the seeds are choked,
no air to breathe, no room to move.
Falling on healthy soil, the seeds of hope,
of peace, of kindness, seeds
of joy, of love, of wisdom push their roots
down deep, stretch their leaves high and wide,
grow strong, fruitful, spreading hope, peace
kindness, joy, love, wisdom, letting seeds
fall for more to grow in time.
Listen.
Which soil are you, for the falling seeds?
Listen. Listen and hear.
Amen.

Sarah Agnew, Pray the Story