...pray for God's loving mercy...

“1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

 2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,     and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

 3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away     through my groaning all day long.

 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;     my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

 5 Then 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

 6 Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you;   at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.

 7 You are a hiding-place for me; you preserve me from trouble;    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

 8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;     I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

 9 Do 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.

 10 Many are the torments of the wicked,     but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.

 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,     and shout for joy, all you upright in heart” Psalm 32.

These are some of the most beautiful and powerful words ever uttered! Here we are, we humans, struggling with our weaknesses and sin. We wonder if we can ever put together days or weeks or months without transgression or sins against the Lord. And God speaks to us in a moment of quiet surprise, and assures us that our “transgressions are forgiven…our sins are covered.” What Jesus accomplished on the Cross and in the empty tomb assures us that “the Lord imputes no iniquity!” We cry out to God that “our strength is dried up…as we acknowledge our sin…” and we pray that we will never “hide our iniquity”…but pray instead that God will “forgive the guilt of our sin.”

Dear friends, there is “no hiding-place for you and me” in this 40-day journey of Lent. We wish only that the Lord will “surround us with glad cries of deliverance!” And if we return to the Lord, we will hear Him tell us, “Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle” — instead remember that “the steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.”

In the remaining days and hours of your life, pray that the steadfast love of the Lord will surround you. Pray that your joy and happiness will reside in the Lord, and that your heart will “shout for joy…in your upright heart.”

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,

have mercy on me a sinner!