Psalm 51:1-17 (NRSV)
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Verse 1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Verse 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Verse 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Verse 4Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
Verse 5Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
Verse 6You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Verse 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Verse 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Verse 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Verse 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Verse 11Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Verse 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Verse 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
Verse 14Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
Verse 15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Verse 16For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
Verse 17The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Devotion
Both Paul and Isaiah remind us that we are not cast away from God's presence. We receive the gift of God's own Holy Spirit at our baptism into the body of Christ. But in our daily lives we often lose sight of that life-giving gift and our calling to be ambassadors of God. Or we grow weary and weak. It is not easy to love our neighbors in a world where love is not often welcome or to speak truthfully in a world that loves deceit. The Psalmist knows that God alone can restore our awareness, our joy in a relationship with creation and its creator. Only God can sustain us through all those things that would rob us of joy and darken our vision.
Prayer
Let us simply lift our hearts with the psalmist and pray, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain in me a willing spirit." Amen.