Psalm 32 (NRSV)
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Verse 1Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Verse 2Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Verse 3While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Verse 4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
Verse 5Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Verse 6Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
Verse 7You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
Verse 8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Verse 9Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
Verse 10Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Verse 11Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
Devotion
There’s an old story about a farmer who lent his neighbor his mule. But no matter what the man did, the mule would not respond to any of his commands.
“Go,” he yelled. "Forward!” he screamed. “Gee,” he said. “Haw,” he tried. Nothing worked.
Finally, in exasperation, he went back to the farmer and asked, “What am I doing wrong? What do I have to do to get your mule to move?”
“Just wait a minute,” the farmer said. “I’ll come on over and show you.”
A short time later he arrived at the man’s house. Very calmly the farmer picked up a 2-x-4 and whacked the mule over the head.
“You just have to get his attention,” the farmer told his neighbor.
The psalmist advises us not to be like a mule. Instead we are to be alert to the instruction that God gives us – to stay near to him and learn.
Prayer
God, forgive us when we don’t listen for you or look for you. Help us instead to be attentive to your word. Help us to be so attuned to you that we could be described as watching for the smallest movements of your eye. In Christ’s name. Amen.