Oh David! The first words out of his mouth: "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." Psalm 32:1 God does not count this travesty against David.
There is a rush of great waters for all of us. God, You are our Hiding Place. Psalm 32:7.
Oh David! You moved through this under the Grace of God, the Power of God, the Goodness of God. Under The Mercy.
Surrounded by the Steadfast Love of God. Psalm 32:10
Have mercy on me, God. Blot out my sins. Psalm 51:1
My sin is ever before me. But not so with You.
Oh God! You delight in Truth in my innermost being, wisdom in my secret heart. Psalm 51:6
Create, out of nothing, and certainly nothing I bring You,
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Psalm 51:10
Be gracious to me for I cry out all the day. Psalm 86:3
I cannot forget. You forgive!
"Let's go to the house of God!" Psalm 122:1
Oh David!
COME BOLDLY: Timeless Prayers
Oh Father, there's not a person on earth who has not lived a day without being "curved in" on ourselves. In our secret hearts, forgive and help us to stand this day and come to You.
PHOTO: No Words.
Healing and restoration take place when we confess our sin to God and truly repent. I pray I have David's attitude and remain in prayer throughout the day as I work, run errands, and deal with family.
ReplyDeleteCreate in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Amen and Amen.
DeleteI'm just shaking my head over here as we read David's beautiful response of love to his father-in-law, to his sin of adultery and murder, to his God. He sees the depth of the sin in his life and he moves in faith. Thank you for saying this Abba's Girl!!! You have such a precious gift.
DeleteMany are the sorrows of the wicked,
ReplyDeletebut steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Create in me a new heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
Even though these were yesterday's readings, I am so glad to be able to come back to them. I'd rather do Psalms anyday than the disturbing passage today.
Since today's (it is Thursday morning as I write this) readings are again about the history of King David's sons and the rape of Tamar, I much prefer the sweetness of psalms for a morning meditation. And if I am being fully honest, I never really know what to do with the story of Tamar. Seems like one awful decision leads to the whole house falling. And we don't know anything more about Tamar. The rest of the story eclipses her own violation, and I'm left with the gnawing thought, "what about Tamar?"
The forgotten, the violated, the once loved-then-hated-more-than-she-was-loved (and if this is love, God help us all) Tamar is left to deal with her pain by not saying a word. And the psalmist from Wednesday writes:
"For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long."
Let us remember the Tamars today--the injustices and their forgotten pain--and personalize our prayers with faces and names for healing and restoration. I offer up today two that I think might feel abandoned in this world: Vivian and Cathy. Lord, bless them with Your whole and pure love. Renew their hearts. Upright them with Your Spirit so that Your tender touch heals them and restores their trust to You alone.
Bless us all this day in our hurt places. Those places are where we fall vulnerable to sin. Heal us to wholeness, Lord, like only You can. In Your Name of our Salvation, Jesus alone, Amen.
Oh Father, I echo Annette's prayer. May they find You in the midst of it all in ways they never imagined. Have mercy on them.
ReplyDelete