Psalm 31:5, 9-16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 31:5, 9-16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
Verse 9Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.
Verse 10For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.
Verse 11I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
Verse 12I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
Verse 13For I hear the whispering of many- terror all around!- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
Verse 14But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God."
Verse 15My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Verse 16Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
Devotion
One of my favorite walks is to the top of the hill behind my home where there is a Catholic retreat center with stations of the cross. As I observe Jesus carrying the cross, I can hear the lament of this psalmist: “They scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.” Yet I can hear Christ saying: “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand.” As I walk the stations, I whisper: “Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.”
Prayer
May your hands hold my spirit, O Lord, and the light of your steadfast love continue to sustain and guide me on this journey. Amen.