"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered...whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit there is no deceit" (vs. 1 & 2 ESV).
Father, we thank-You that You have imparted Your righteousness; "imputed" Your righteousness to all of the followers of Your Son Jesus Christ. They are those who have accepted Him as Savior. You have justified us for the sake of Your Son who died to redeem us; to atone for our sins, to bear the punishment for our sins making that way of salvation open for mankind.
I thank-You for that and Lord, as You are working on us in the process of sanctification, may there be no deceit found in our spirits. It seems like its so easy to lie. People lie, left, right and center, constantly.
Lie to one's face.
Lie with a straight face, looking so innocent all the while.
Maybe they aren't outright lies but Lord, its not the whole truth. When people go to a court of law, they're sworn in promising to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help them, God. Oh well, maybe in this day and age, they leave out the God part which may well be the whole problem. No fear of God.
So the truth often gets covered up. What a farce!
May I ask that Your people, Your children, make every effort to be truthful as Your Son Jesus IS. Jesus said that He is,
"The Way..the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6),
If we are going to be more and more Christ-like, help us to be more and more honest, to have integrity, that transparency, that people often talk about especially wanting political leaders to be so but forget to examine themselves. May we be as innocent as babes..Perhaps, cunning as serpents but as innocent and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).
We represent You, LORD. There are times though that we are not very good ambassadors. We acknowledge our sins and that we often try to cover up our iniquities, however, as David said,
"I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" (Psalm 32:5).May we be still in Your presence so we can be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit's convictions, and humbly make our confessions to You Father.
This also reminds me of 1 John 1:9,
"If we confess our sins..."
IF.
The 'if' is on our shoulders. It's up to us whether we confess or not. Oh, glory, Father, You are ever ready and waiting because as David goes on here in Psalm 32:5, he says,
"...and You forgave the guilt of my sin..."
He confessed.
You forgave.
That is just like 1 John 1:9 again,
"If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins..." [emphasis mine]
What's more,
"He'll purify us from all unrighteousness..." [emphasis mine]
That is not just that one sin but from all. He will scrub them all clean! So clean there won't be any teeny-tiny stain remaining.
We thank-You for this mercy You bestow upon us.
"Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You..." (Psalm 32:6 ESV).
Father, compel us, Your children, to look up to You. We need to cry out to You. We need to be found in Your presence in communion with You.
David, in some of his other Psalms, said he loved to be in Your house and he loved to be there with other people. Father, often, when we go to church, depending on which church, some are crowded, filled up with thousands of eager, expectant faces. Others, are small; faint, yet pursuing (Judges 8:4). Wherever we are, we know that even when two or three are gathered together in the Name of Jesus, Your presence is there among the congregation.
We can pray in our own closets, but also together with the two's and three's, or thousands. This we can do in confidence because YOU are there and we trust You! Even in this COVID-19 time, we can still 'zoom' and "meet" via conferencing calls and the like. You know our current troubles and You understand. Thank-You Father for Your understanding. We know You are still with us.
It says, "Let the godly pray" (v. 6). May we all be godly. May we all pray to the one true God. There's no excuse because You've made us righteous in Your sight. In addition to that, You are in the process of sanctifying us, through Your words as we obey Your will and ways in our lives.
Surely then, when the mighty waters rise they will not reach us (v. 6), they will not shake us. If we are godly, praying truthfully, depending on You, when the "mighty waters" of temptation, of trials and troubles and tribulations assail us, we'll realize the "flood waters cannot reach us". They cannot harm or destroy us. Instead, we will have our faith firmly planted in You and You will give us the strength to overcome. That's because there's no intentional deceit in us, we are godly, we trust and pray and look up to You, oh Father God.
That said from as truthful-as-possible, humble hearts, Father.
Our sins have been covered and we can look up to You with dignity, a clear conscience, not in self-esteem but in God-esteem because You esteem us. We can lift our eyes and hands up to You, not in pride nor arrogance but with all godliness and honesty; in confidence in You.
"You are our hiding place and You will protect us. You surround us with songs of deliverance" (v. 7).
Father, let the Christians sing songs of deliverance. Teach them to sing. Sing, Christians sing! Burst into song! Sing songs of deliverance of how Our God protected us, helped us to pull through all our times of distress.
It is actually exciting, Father, to see some of your people, and others around the world, singing to each other from balconies, sidewalks and even from their homes to uplift and encourage themselves and others during this depressing, stressful COVID-19 time. That's really cool.
This is possible because You also taught us how to go, how to live. You give us the wisdom and insight through Your Holy Spirit and the Words we read in Your Holy Bible. In Your words, because You instruct and teach You counsel us in the way we should go and watch over us. Help us not be stubborn like an ox or mule that has little to no understanding and need to be controlled by a yoke or bit and bridle.
May we, as we are affected and infected with Your unfailing, unconditional love and with Your protection upon us, with our justification from You, all combine as our compelling force, then follow You. Not to be whipped from behind, not to have the constraint of the bit and bridle but because of Your unfailing love we would voluntarily follow You.
Like the good shepherd who knows his sheep and the sheep willingly following. May we be "trusting sheep" following the shepherd's voice, negating the need of sheep dogs nipping from behind; nipping and barking at us, "Get going!"
Yes, some of us may well need the goading; that pistol shot to get us going but Lord, may it rather be your love that compels us and not Your discipline. We know Your unfailing love surrounds us. Help us to trust in You because of it. Then we can rejoice and be glad in the Lord because You are the Righteous, Truthful One who has made us righteous in Your sight. May those of us who have been made righteous indeed be glad, rejoice and sing because we are of upright hearts, made so by You through Jesus Christ, Your Son.
On this Lord's Day, let us remember all this by partaking of the bread and wine showing the Lord's death and resurrection power. He bore our sins upon the tree, paying the full price. In turn He gave us His righteousness and more. It is only because of this that we can appropriate all His love and blessings. You have given us so many privileges through Your "salvation package". Give thanks with grateful hearts, oh people of God.
In His Redemptive Name we give You praise, thanks and adoration, Father. Its's also in this Name of Jesus Christ, our Royal Master, we rejoice and come into Your presence and commune openly, honestly, with You.
Thank-You, Father.
Thank-You, Jesus
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
~ERC April 2020~
Prayer based on Psalm 32.
Onward Christian Soldiers as sung by Bill & Gloria Gaither crowd.
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