Canticle 9: 

The First Song of Isaiah   

Isaiah 12:2-6

Surely, it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and he will be my Savior.

Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation.

And on that day you shall say, Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;

Make his deeds known among the peoples; see that they remember that his Name is exalted.

Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, and this is known in all the world.

Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

(This year, Monday Matters will focus on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen. Please note that these days in the church, there are two tracks of readings in the lectionary, offering a choice of psalms. Your church may or may not have read the psalm included in this email.)

I don't know what the future may hold but I know who holds the future. -Ralph Abernathy, Civil Rights Activist

Every night, before the lights go out, I read an entry from Howard Thurman’s book “Meditations of the Heart.” Once I come to the end of the book, I return to the beginning and start over again. I’ve made it through the book a number of times. Because I’m increasingly forgetful, passages often strike me as if I'm reading them for the first time. Others have made unforgettable impression, and I’m glad every time I get to revisit them. An example is a meditation he offers on the theme of trust. He offers this prayer:

Teach me, O God, the simple lesson of trust. Bring into my sorely pressed spirit the sure confidence of birds floating in the sky with nothing to support them but the automatic trust of wings, or the sure confidence of fish that keeps them from drowning with nothing to save but the automatic trust of their gills. Teach me to trust, to work for the renewal of my strength, all without pressure, without paying hostage to my anxieties.

Teach me to trust. I’ve got a lot to learn. Trust is at the heart of the canticle you may have heard in church on Sunday. It’s appointed by the lectionary, reprinted in this email, and comes not from the psalms but from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

This canticle, as you can see, is called the First Song of Isaiah. It’s fitting that it has been set to music which makes it all the more memorable. If you want help reflecting on it musically, you can find this canticle in our hymnal (#679). Or you can look up Jack Noble White’s version, easily found on YouTube. I recently became acquainted with a version composed by Paul Zach, simply entitled Surely. If it’s the case that the person who sings prays twice, these musical settings are a way to call ourselves back to trust. That’s especially important when it seems like we’re sinking, or when we feel uncertain or fearful about what the future holds, when our heart aches for ourselves and others.

Another great way to tap into trust is to reflect on the stories in the Bible where people exhibited exemplary trust. Abraham leaving a comfortable life to answer God’s call to go to a land, leaving not knowing where he was going. Isaiah declaring trust as invasion and exile of his nation is just about to happen. Peter seeing Jesus walking on the water on a stormy night and stepping over the gunwales of the boat to join Jesus. Jesus setting his face to Jerusalem, going through the dead end of Good Friday, saying to the one he called Father “Into your hands I commend my spirit,” only to meet sunrise on Easter.

The challenge before us, perhaps particularly acute this week for you, is how to live with the confidence Howard Thurman describes. In an uncertain world, how can we affirm that surely it is God who saves us. As Peter started strolling on the water, but then panicked as he saw the waves, so our trust may come and go. So like Peter, we reach out a hand to the one who offers strength. That exercise of trust is a profound spiritual practice, meaning that we put it into action in our lives. It also means that the more we do it, the more we are able to live with that confidence. Let this canticle, spoken or offered musically, help you this week in that practice.