I’ve always loved poetry. And, just for the beauty of the words – mostly reminding me of song. Poetry makes me happy, gets me going, provides a gateway to singing. And so then Psalms come along…reminding me of the gift God gives us in his word. The beautiful gift of poetry – David, the psalmist (most of the time, I believe), wrote some stuff that really rocks my world. And, in this world of … well … worldly things, it’s great to have psalms that sing of our creator….in so many different ways.
The Psalms are part of my daily reading plan – but in Church yesterday, we read Psalm 51, and I was moved by it. Remembering how sinful David was…how absolutely human he was, I reread every line and thought how beautiful his request is.
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant
mercy
Wash me thoroughly from
my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin
For I know my
transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight
so that you may be justified in
your words
and blameless in your
judgement
He implores God to “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me”
Don’t we all want that? I mean, I guess some don’t want that – but in the beauty of this stanza lies a request that many of us have. Regardless who you implore it from – most of us want to “be right” with … well … something.
This is merely one instance of the psalmist (David) desiring redemption in this psalm alone. Restore me to the joy of your salvation. Do not banish me from your prsence, Forgive me for shedding blood, purify me, unseal my lips….
My newfound love for this psalm lies in the beseeching manner he uses…he is contrite, and when we come to the Lord with contrite hearts and ask forgiveness of our myriad sins, he looks with compassion on us.
I love it. I love the poetry of it, because it is beautiful in its construction – I’m partial to the ESV of the psalm, but all versions are beautiful.
I encourage you reading it.
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