02 May 2022

Praying with the Psalms in Easter:
2 May 2022 (Psalm 68)

‘As the smoke vanishes, so may they vanish away’ (Psalm 68: 2) … smoke at a mountain railway station in Wales (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Today (2 May 2022) is a public holiday, marking the May Day holiday. During this season of Easter, I am reflecting each morning on the Psalms, and in this Prayer Diary on my blog I am reflecting in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 68:

Psalm 68 begins in the Latin version: Exsurgat Deus et dissipentur inimici eius. In the slightly different numbering in the Septuagint and Vulgate, this is Psalm 67.

It has 35 verses in most English translations, including the NRSVA, and the Latin Vulgate version, but 36 according to the Hebrew numbering. It has been called ‘The Great Redemption Accomplished’ and ‘one of the greatest Psalms.’

God’s name is found in seven different forms in this psalm: YHWH, Adonai, El, Shaddai, Yah, Yahweh-Adonai and Yah-Elohim.

This Psalm is sometimes difficult to interpret. It consists of snippets, each a few verses long, commemorating how God has looked after the people. For the Early Church, this psalm foretold the ascension of Christ.

It may have accompanied a liturgy or drama in the Temple depicting the escape of the people from Egypt (verse 7), through their presence before God on Mount Sinai (verses 8, 16) to the promised land (verse 9-10) and to Jerusalem, where God dwells (verse 17). However, this movement is difficult to see in the selections of verses in the lectionary readings.

The opening verse echoes Moses’s words whenever the Ark was moved (see Numbers 10: 35).

The language in verse 2, ‘as wax melts,’ is the language of God’s presence. In Canaanite culture, the storm god, Baal, ‘rides upon the clouds’ (verse 4), but both here and in verse it is the Lord God who does his. This is God who is the defender of orphans and widows, the needy and the prisoners (verses 5-6).

Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed Exsurgat Deus (H. 215) ca 1690, set for soloists, chorus, two treble instruments and continuo, based on this psalm. Handel’s oratorio Messiah cites verses 1 and 18. There are settings by many other composers, including Johann Pachelbel and John Stainer.

The second part of verse 31, ‘Let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God,’ was part of the coat of arms of Emperor Haile Selassie, and was once used as the national motto of Ethiopia.

‘Lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds’ (Psalm 68: 4) … small clouds and clear skies over Skerries, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 68 (NRSVA):

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.

1 Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3 But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.

5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.

7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah

8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of those who bore the tidings:
12 ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil,
13 though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.

15 O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the Lord will reside for ever?

17 With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18 You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah

20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

21 But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’

24 Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing tambourines:
26 ‘Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your might, O God;
show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah

33 O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Truth Tellers,’ and it was introduced yesterday by Steve Cox, Chair of Christians in the Media.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (2 May 2022) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for the work of Christians in the Media, a network which supports Christians who work in our media industries.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow



Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

A stroke that was my first
health crisis since I was
diagnosed with sarcoidosis

A magnolia tree in a courtyard in Milton Keynes University Hospital … a reminder of nature in a confined area (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

It was quite a surprise to experience the trauma of a stroke on what should have been an extended weekend. I was in Stony Stratford, one of the towns that form part of Milton Keynes, when it became obvious that something was deeply wrong.

It was supposed to be a beautiful day. I went for a 5 km walk in the Buckinghamshire countryside, and I enjoyed a late lunch in the sunshine. But my speech became incoherent, my words were making no sense, and although I knew what I wanted to say no-one could understand what I was trying to say.

I was rushed to Milton Keynes University Hospital, and after more than a week, I was transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. As I went through the first major medical crisis since I was diagnosed with sacrcoidosis in 2008 and a severe Vitamin B12 deficiency. I reminded myself of the beauty of the outside world with a magnolia tree in a courtyard in the hospital in Milton Keynes and a window view in Oxford of the rolling countryside. But it was the first time in over half a century that I can recall missing being at church on two successive Sundays.

Dr John Radcliffe … a copy of a portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

John Radcliffe and
a king’s dropsical legs


I was moved from Milton Keynes University Hospital to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, one of the world’s leading centres of medical excellence and teaching hospitals. Informally known as the JR, this is the main teaching hospital for Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University.

The JR is part of the Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), a world renowned centre of clinical excellence and one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the UK.

The JR first opened half a century ago in 1972, and the distinctive large white-tiled building stands on a prominent position on Headington Hill, about 5 km east of Oxford city centre. It replaced the Radcliffe Infirmary, the main hospital in Oxford from 1770 until 2007.

* * *

The hospital was built on the estate of Headington Manor, bought in 1919 from the executors of Colonel James Hoole, who died in 1917. But it was only in the 1970s that the first block of the present hospital was built on this land, dwarfing the old Manor House, which was first used as a training school for nurses and later as offices. The Radcliffe Infirmary completed its move to the old manor in 2007 and the Oxford Children’s Hospital opened in its grounds.

John Radcliffe (1650-1714) played an important role in the development of Oxford, albeit posthumously, through a large bequest to the university of £140,000 which became known as the Radcliffe Trust. He gives his name to the Radcliffe Infirmary, the Radcliffe Observatory, the Radcliffe Science Library, the John Radcliffe Hospital and, of course, the Radcliffe Camera, a landmark building in Radcliffe Square in the centre of Oxford.

Radcliffe’s main intention was to create a new library, the Radcliffe Camera. But after it was completed enough funds remained for many other buildings that now have the Radcliffe name.

Radcliffe always attributed his success to his Oxford education. He acquired a large fortune and as a private London doctor he had the rich, the royal and the famous among his patients. He was the physician to Queen Mary, King William III and Queen Anne.

Radcliffe once told Queen Anne, who thought she was ill, that her trouble was only ‘imaginitis.’ He too know about dropsy: he once offended William of Orange by referring to n his dropsical legs, saying ‘Sir, I would not have your two legs for your three kingdoms.’

The Radcliffe Camera in Radcliffe Square, Oxford, built in 1749 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Eagle and Child,
Bird and Baby


Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), who was Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857-1867, first described Oxford as ‘the city of dreaming spires’ in his poem ‘Thyrsis.’

Seamus Heaney, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995, was Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1989-1994 and was an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College. Other professors of poetry with Irish backgrounds include Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, Cecil Day-Lewis, Robert Graves and Paul Muldoon.

Once in the past, I tried to soak in the literary legacy of Oxford at the Eagle and Child, a pub in Saint Giles’ Street, between Pusey House and the Radcliffe Observatory. The pub was the venue for meetings of the Inklings, a group of writers who included JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Charles Williams.

The Inklings met on Thursday evenings at Lewis’s rooms in Magdalen, where they read and discussed their unfinished manuscripts. Their lunchtime gatherings in various Oxford pubs became a regular meetings over lunch at the Eagle and Child, also known affectionately as the ‘Bird and Baby’.

The Eagle and Child … the venue for lunchtime meetings of the Inklings, including JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Cock and Bull stories
in Stony Stratford


Eventually, when I left the John Radcliffe Hospital, I returned to Stony Stratford near Milton Keynes, where I woke each morning to the bells of the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Giles.

Those bells did not make up for missing church on two consecutive Sunday mornings, one after another. But they reminded me that these post-retirement days ring out new changes and are filled with joyful promise.

Radcliffe’s fortune came from the rents collected from the Wolverton Manor estate, which he bought in 1713 for £40,000. This included 2,500 acres of farmland and the whole east side of Stony Stratford’s High Street, where there were several large inns, including the Cock and the Bull.

The Church of Saint Mary and Saint Giles in Stony Stratford dates from the 14th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

* * *

Participants in pub quizzes and those who debate geographical terms may ask whether this part of Buckinghamshire is in the South Midlands or in the Home Counties. It seems appropriate then that Stony Stratford claims to have given the English-speaking world the original ‘Cock and Bull Story’.

At the height of the great coaching era, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Stony Stratford was an important stopping point for coaches travelling between London and Birmingham and on to the North and even to Ireland. Coach travellers were seen as a source of current news from remote parts of the country – news that was shared in the town’s two main coaching inns, the Cock and the Bull on the High Street.

The Cock Hotel has stood in one form or another on the current site since at least 1470, and the present building dates from 1742. The Bull is certainly older than 1600, and the present building dates from the late 18th century.

These two neighbouring inns rapidly developed a rivalry, seeking the most outlandish and scurrilous tales from travellers. Perhaps the Cock and the Bull became better known for their stories than the literary output at the Eagle and Child.

Stony Stratford maintains the tradition of spreading exaggerated yarns today with the recently revived Cock and Bull Story Society. But visitors these days may only get to hear half the story: the Cock is open, but the Bull has been closed since the Covid lockdowns.

The Cock Hotel … one half of the Cock and Bull stories (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)