Thought and Prayer of the Day
by Mother Jennifer
One of the key prayers for Anglican morning prayer is psalm 100 – The Jubilate.
It is a psalm of praise and rejoicing. It is a reminder that each new day is a gift. It seems to suggest that we are to wake each morning with a song of praise on our hearts, full of joy for the gift of a new day.
Truthfully, I do not always wake in this spirit. I am admittedly a morning person, however there are days when I’d much rather hit the snooze button and wish it was still yesterday, so as not to have to jump up to embrace the new day – especially in song and praise.
Yet in the second stanza of this beautiful poem, we are reminded that “God has made us, we are his, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.”
There are so many wonderful sheep and shepherd metaphors in scripture. This includes psalm 23 which begins “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”. There is also Jesus’ declaration that he is the Good Shepherd, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me”.
Reflecting on these passages – even the mornings I may not want to jump out of bed – I remember that Jesus is the one who will lead me in the day ahead. As I begin my day it is a reminder that I am not alone. Regardless of how I may feel, God is faithful. God knows our needs and our need in asking. Whatever the day ahead may bring, God has promised to be close by. And the daily reminder of that, indeed puts a song of hope in my heart.
Prayer:
Jubilate Psalm 100
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.