O Holy Spirit,
as I open my Bible to read Psalm 51,
I worship You
along with the Father and the Son.
You, indeed, are the Spirit of truth.
You speak throughout the Word of God
and assist me in grasping the profundity of its truth.
You teach me everything I need to know for life and godliness.
You bear witness to the Son.
You glorify Christ Jesus in the fruit You bear in me.
You are the Counselor sent from the Father
in the name of Jesus to dwell in my heart.
You breathe into my nostrils and my lungs
the very life of God.
O Spirit of truth, instruct me.
Guide me to know Christ -- Christ crucified!
Help me to glorify the Son -- the Man of Sorrows!
Breathe on me, O very breath of God!
In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen!
My heart wells up in gratitude for the opportunity given me to commemorate the 50 days of waiting between Easter and Pentecost -- the day the Holy Spirit was granted to each believer in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. On Easter Sunday, I began reflecting on Psalm 51 and will continue to do so until June 8 (Pentecost Sunday). My heart's desire is to glean and gain wisdom from the Most High as I meditate on this famous prayer of confession penned by King David.
The psalm goes like this:
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18 In Your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight You;
then bulls will be offered on Your altar.
Although it has only been nine (9) days since I began meditating on this passage this time around, Psalm 51 has been in my life ever since I gave my heart to the Lord at the ripe old age of five. So, the challenge I find myself facing today is this series of poisonous thoughts:
What new nuggets of wisdom could I possibly gain from this passage at this point?
Have I made the wrong decision in choosing to park in Psalm 51 for fifty days?
Isn't Psalm 51 like an old hat, so worn and overfamiliar?
Clear as a bell, the Holy Spirit quickened my heart to something Jesus said to the disciples as He was nearing the end of His earthly ministry:
3 For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18 In Your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight You;
then bulls will be offered on Your altar.
Although it has only been nine (9) days since I began meditating on this passage this time around, Psalm 51 has been in my life ever since I gave my heart to the Lord at the ripe old age of five. So, the challenge I find myself facing today is this series of poisonous thoughts:
What new nuggets of wisdom could I possibly gain from this passage at this point?
Have I made the wrong decision in choosing to park in Psalm 51 for fifty days?
Isn't Psalm 51 like an old hat, so worn and overfamiliar?
Clear as a bell, the Holy Spirit quickened my heart to something Jesus said to the disciples as He was nearing the end of His earthly ministry:
"I have much more to say to you,
more than you can now bear.
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
more than you can now bear.
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on His own;
He will speak only what He hears,
and He will tell you what is yet to come."
John 16:12-13, NIV
It is the above promise that guides this season of waiting for me. Jesus, my Lord, has much more, and I mean so much more, to say to me through Psalm 51 than I can bear at this time. However, in time, day by day as I lean in closely to what the Holy Spirit testifies about the Son, more and more will be revealed to me:
- solid truth
- solid food
- solid faith
Would you, my friend, join me as I wait and learn from the Holy Spirit?
No comments:
Post a Comment