Wheaton recently performed a concert featuring Leonard Bernstein and his extended choral composition Chichester Psalms. The second movement, which juxtaposes Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd…” with Psalm 2 “The nations rage” has an especially powerful prophetic message for the world right now. I’ve listened to this again and again this week and it strikes me as a masterful interpretation of these Psalms. The choice of Elisabeth (who is half Slavic, half American) to sing the solo adds to the prophetic power of this interpretation. This is what art is and should do. This is how the Psalms should be read and applied to life.

I’m writing this on February 24. This morning the Russians invaded Ukraine. Right now there’s a Ukrainian family staying in our church on their way to who knows where. Twenty more Ukrainians will be staying at a campsite run by a couple from our congregation. Please pray for Ukraine and pray for wisdom and strength and willingness to help.

UPDATE: The twenty Ukrainians I mentioned above decided not to leave Ukraine because they would have to leave their husbands and fathers behind. Some estimate that up to 4 or 5 million people could end up as refugees as a result of this conflict. Since 2014 a large number of Ukrainians have emigrated and come to Slovakia. We have wonderful Russian-Ukrainian neighbors. Two of our pastors in Slovakia have wives from Ukraine and families still in Ukraine. I’ve been very encouraged by Slovakia’s attitude toward these people and would appreciate your continued prayers.

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