Lent and Easter 2023

Psalms, Poetry and Silent Prayer

Journey to Easter

For Sunday 16th April

Psalm 16:7-11

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fulness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Whereas in English the heart is the seat of the emotions, in Hebrew that is for the mind and will, with emotions (and conscience) seated in the kidneys or belly. So the Hebrew for the opening verse above says that ‘my kidneys instruct me’. It is at night that we feel things, and wonder if we have got things right or wrong. But because our faithful Jesus has risen from the Pit named in these verses, we may keep the Lord always before us, and find the path of life.

16 Bless my Kidneys

‘I bless the Lord who counsels me,
at night my heart [Heb.: my kidneys] instructs me’ v.7

Bless my kidneys, one might say,
reading Hebrew body language
with a knowing smile: away

with careful, icy comprehension,
make for the warm choppy wake
of David, his sweet and salty passion

for a God who wants to ravish,
sandblast, sort and wrap the soul
secure within its deepest wish.

When the sea’s a trampoline,
bouncing plans, churning guts,
settle your skis, laugh, lean

back into the breeze behind,
hold God’s line, let God balance
body fluids, brace your mind.

This Sunday we are ‘in the wake of’ Easter, and in the poem I suggest that we read the Psalms like water-skiers ‘in the wake of David’, since so many feature him in their headings, whether written by him, in honour of him, or just in memory of him. If you read the story of David’s life in the Old Testament, you know that his wake is both warm and choppy, rough and mixed up as ours is. So we can pray these Psalms with confidence, knowing – as David could not have known – that we have a Saviour who has occupied our rough humanity and carried it safely into life eternal.

Opening Hours

The office is open from
8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m,
Monday to Friday.

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Find us

St Columba’s is located on Pont Street in Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Church is within easy reach of three London Underground stations – Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line), South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle and District Lines) and Sloane Square (Circle and District Lines).

	St. Columba's Pont Street London SW1X 0BD
	+44 (0)20-7584-2321
	office@stcolumbas.org.uk

Getting here by tube

Knightsbridge Station

Take the Harrods exit if open (front car if coming from the East, rear car if coming from the West). Come up the stairs to street level, carry on keeping Harrods on your right. Turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on into Walton Place with St Saviour’s Church on your left. At the traffic lights, St Columba’s is to your left across the street. If the Harrods exit is closed, take the Sloane Street exit, turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on past Harrods with the shop on your right, into Walton Place as before.

South Kensington Station

Come up the stairs out of the station and turn left into the shopping arcade. Turn left again into Pelham Street. At the traffic lights at the end of Pelham Street cross Brompton Road, turn left then immediately right into the narrow street of Draycott Avenue. After just a few yards turn left into Walton Street. Carry on walking up Walton Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn right and after a few steps you will be at St Columba’s!

Sloane Square Station

Cross over the square into Sloane Street. Walk along Sloane Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn left into Pont Street. St Columba’s will then be in sight.